The only comfort recently was that Anya went to another university so she did not go to the same one with Tristin.
That might be the only good thing she did, otherwise Phil might want to kill her out of rage.
If she really went to the same university as Tristin, chance were that Phil might make his family go bankrupt so that he would lose his financial support to study abroad.
Anya thought she could keep her decision to go to another university from him if Maisie and her friends didn't tell him. But actually, her every move was monitored by his arrangement — he could breathe down her neck.
During his shower, the marks her nail left on his body reminded him how they came into being last night. He was turned on.
He rushed to open the shower head, trying to suppress his sexual impulse.
Phil, who indulged in sex with Anya every night, panicked at the thought of being without her the next three years.
Where did her university lie?
Was it Ustistan?
He did consider establishing a law firm in Britain, or contacting his potential clients there.
But then what Julien advised warned him: "You'd better not cling to her right after her departure, which could only make it worse between you two."
"If you decide to let it go, then let her be truly free. You know, out of sight, out of mind."
"Don't be a bother to her, otherwise you are losing your gentility."
"If you still want your relationship with her to go somewhere, you'd better follow my suggestion. Actually, it's not suggested by me but by Emilia. I just deliver it to you."
It had to be admitted that Emelia saw through the ins and outs of love as a romance writer, and knew him enough as a friend that he wouldn't get over Anya so easily. So the reminder came timely.
Phil also knew Emelia was right.
So he took a deep breath under the shower head and told himself to be cool and patient.
It was odd that he pretended to find his new one before days of her departure. But when she left for real, that thought died down.
His only thought then was to wait for her.
She would never know how well he treated her before she realized "red in tooth and claw."
He needed time for Anya to hate him less and for Lorie to regain her consciousness.
If Lorie could come to herself, he would do anything, even if at the expense of his life of ten years, if possible. No one could imagine how desperate he was to know a car accident happened to Lorie.
He knew well that the accident of Lorie raised the red flag between him and Anya.
He suddenly noticed a black string looking at him in the mirror after the shower. He immediately realized the string belonged to Anya.
He knew it because that string was also specialized for her.
It seemed like a normal string, but it had a delicate golden pendant engraved with her name on it.
It could only be her string.
"I wish your earliest recovery even if you hate me after you wake up, because if not, Anya would never be genuinely happy."
"If you could wake up earlier, maybe you would have a grandson by now. But now we got divorced, let alone a grandson."
"If you couldn't, things between me and your daughter might be over."
"I'm begging you to come to yourself. I am so painful ..." Phil's voice suddenly became hoarse and pitiful.
"I miss her so much."
Phil missed Anya indeed, even though she just left him for several hours.
Anya was never away from him for 24 hours from his crush on her to their fight on a New Year's Eve. He even forced Anya to go on a business trip with him so that he could be accompanied.
Anya's ample leisure time in university and her quick mind made teachers less strict on her absence from class, because her academic performance would not be undermined with several days off, let alone Phil's influence on local universities.
He pretended not to care about her these days before her leaving, but he watched her secretly every day.
He stayed at the hospital for the better part of a night every day when she stayed there, doing the same when she lived at the hotel. Now, her plane should take off already — she left him once and for all.
That her leaving him forever really hurt.
Lorie, who stiffened these days, moved her fingers a little, which Phil noticed right away, but he didn't know which exactly of his words got to her.
He couldn't tell how excited he was, but he did know how Anya might feel when she knew her mother became more conscious not long after her leaving.
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