Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 424: Beyond Control

"Listen, maybe we should wait until you’re discharged from the hospital to talk about this," I told him.

I had no idea why Anthony was fervently pushing this issue when he had been quiet before. Perhaps the fact that he was being discharged soon brought about this conversation faster than I was prepared for. I shifted my weight uncomfortably on the chair that I was sitting on beside his hospital bed.

"I don’t think I can wait that long," Anthony said as if he was talking to himself.

Suddenly, Anthony sat up in bed before turning his attention to me. It was hard for me to hide my surprise at his sudden and swift movement. I was further surprised when Anthony suddenly swung both his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. I stared up at him as he stared down at me. It never occurred to me that Anthony would make such a swift recovery over such a short period of time and that he was no longer a man bound to the hospital bed.

"I see that you’re recovering very fast," I said rather than responding to what he wanted to talk about.

Anthony’s eyes narrowed as he leaned closer. His close proximity made me feel even more cornered and more uncomfortable than before. I squirmed in my seat as I tried to scoot away from him.

"Don’t you have feelings for me, Dahlia? You’re always extra nice to me whenever we ar together. I always thought that you must like me too," Anthony said in a low whisper.

His words and the seductive tone of his voice made me freeze in my seat. There was no point in denying or lying that I didn’t hold him in positive regard. Even from a young age, I loved Anthony very much, and I particularly enjoyed spending time with him. However, I no longer knew how much of it was him and how much of it was actually Bradon.

"That’s not exactly..." I murmured my denial.

"I know that you love me! I am sure of it!" Anthony yelled loudly as his hands gripped my shoulders.

He spun me around to face him so that I had no choice but to stare into his wide and intense eyes. The look that he had in his eyes turned my discomfort into a brief moment of fear because I didn’t know what he was about to do to me.

"Anthony, wait..." I protested.

"You don’t have to pretend anymore. I feel so bad that I couldn’t help you when they wanted to send you away, but that doesn’t matter anymore because you’re back now and we can be together," Anthony said almost pleadingly, his voice filled with passion.

His eyes sought out mine as if praying for me to accept his proposal of love. However, I could feel no love in his words-only the pressure of him wanting to make me his.

"We cannot be together," I told him as I tried to keep my tone light.

I wasn’t sure if it was the right time to tell him about my relationship with his brother. The truth was, I was no longer worried about the state of his recovery or how the truth might stress him out and impact his health. At the time, I was scared that telling him the truth just the way it is would drive him over the edge into uncontrollable madness. I had never seen Anthony lose control of his emotions like this before, and I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to handle him.

"Why? We love each other so much, Dahlia. It’s been so long already. It’s time for us to be together," Anthony said as he shook my body, as if it would help his words sink into my skull.

"Stop! You’re hurting me," I exclaimed as I tried to pull his hands away from my shoulders.

"You don’t need to be scared of anything anymore. I’m older now. I can protect you from everyone and from anything. I will get rid of anyone who ever stands in our way," Anthony said, his eyes glowing with determination.

I knew that he meant every word that he was saying, but at the same time, I also knew that he wouldn’t understand just how useless his determination was given the situation. It was already too late, and I had already given my heart to his brother. Perhaps my heart had always belonged to Bradon. In fact, my heart always belonged to Bradon, and it was just an unfortunate misunderstanding that the identity between the two brothers became blurry to me in the past.

"Please just let me go!" I demanded as I tried to free myself from his grip.

It was much harder to fight against him than I imagined. Anthony’s eyes were like a madman’s-as if he had been possessed by something. He was nothing like the Anthony that I remembered. Since he was supposed to be recovering, I guess I truly underestimated his strength and forgot that despite his current condition, he was still a man.

"It’s okay, Dahlia. We can finally be together. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll talk to my parents, and I’ll talk to your parents. Everything will work out, and we can finally be happy together," Anthony rambled on, paying no attention to anything that I said.

"Anthony... wait..." I protested as I tried to push against him.

Anthony only leaned in closer, wrapping his arms around my body and hugging me close. Everything felt so wrong, and I was overwhelmed with a feeling similar to disgust-but also guilt at the very same time. My heart felt like it wanted to jump right out of my chest as I mustered my strength to push him away once more.

"Stop! Just stop this!" I yelled loudly.

My words did not stop Anthony in the least. If anything, it only made him appear more confused. He brought his face closer to mine, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that he was about to kiss my lips.