Sunlight came in through the windows, exposing the dust motes dancing in the air. In his clean Grey suit, Mr. Blackwood stood in the living room looking ready for office. Anna, wearing a loose sundress, fiddled with the last button on his sleeve. For a moment, she didn't smile but pouted instead."Do you have to go already?" She whined, and her voice was both silly and full of longing. "I am going to be so lonely here without you.”Mr. Blackwood chuckled, turning to face her, his eyes warm. He captured her hand in his, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles. "Just a small problem at the office, sweetheart. I promise, I'll be back before you even know it."He leaned in, and their lips met in a sweet, lingering kiss. Anna couldn't help but smile as they pulled away, out of breath and a little sad, she knew it would be selfish asking him to stay behind.She teased him while fixing his tie, "Okay, Mr. CEO. Go save the day from whatever financial monster is lurking about." She smiled.He l
Mr. Blackwood's gaze was glued to the endless ribbon of asphalt as his car glided through the gates of the Forbes Mansion. Thirteen years. It had been thirteen long years since he last set foot on this opulent estate, a monument to old money carved into the heart of Las Vegas.He remembered the imposing iron gates, now adorned with gleaming biometric scanners that whirred to life and let them pass without a fuss. But he didn't need fancy technology to recognize or enter his childhood home.Even from afar, the mansion held a powerful presence. Nestled amidst sprawling lawns dotted with ancient oaks, it loomed like a grand old king, its white facade gleaming under the desert sun.Tall, arched windows peeked out from ivy-covered walls, whispering secrets of past parties and laughter. The driveway stretched on for what felt like an eternity, each twist and turn etched into his memory with the vibrant colors of childhood summers.Tall pines, silent sentinels, lined the path, their scent fi
The busy city air was very different from the quiet comfort of Mr. Blackwood's home, where Annabel had been spending the last few weeks. She missed the familiar buzz of the publishing house, and the clatter of keyboards. Although he didn’t approve of it, Anna decided to show up at the office today. She was the CEO and didn’t necessarily need to show up but she still had friends there, Alia and co; her new position would not rob her of that.Annabel had come out with one of Maxwell’s cars, it was his least expensive car and she had also not mentioned it to him. Of course the servants had no problem with her taking it, but Anna knew they must have informed him. Too bad she had turned off her phone, so he wouldn’t be able to reach her on time, she would be at the office before he could do anything about it.As she arrived in front of the publishing house, Anna pulled the car over by the roadside. She came down and walked to the back door with her back to the main road, she opened the bac
Anna’s concentration was interrupted by a knock on the door, that was when it called to her attention the time. It was past 6pm already, she needed to be on her way back from the office. With a little sigh, she closed the computer screen and stood up.“Who is there?” she muttered, wondering if she had really heard a knock or it was her ears deceiving her.There was no response and so she had to go check for herself. Annabel walked down to the door and slowly opened it. She looked from the left side of the hallway to the right but there was no one there, it was silent like a graveyard. Anna was confused, she was quite sure she had heard the doorbell ring.Ready to step back inside and round things up for the day, her eyes caught something of interest. There was a package at the foot of the door and an envelope beside it. Her heart skipped and she looked around again to be sure.“Hello? Anyone there?” she muttered, but no response came from the empty hallway.Annabel first picked up the
“Marshall, I am sorry if I…”“No! No!!, it is fine, I was just… never mind, I will tell you.” he smiled.Now Jennifer was curious. What was it about his mom that had him so stressed? Why had she never met his mom? Was she late?“My mother was very young when she got married to my father, their marriage was never going to happen if she didn’t get pregnant with me, it was supposed to be just fun between a boy and a girl. She was from a respectful home, so to avoid having her character questioned, she had to get married to my father.”“Oh,” Jenny mouthed, not exactly how she expected this story to start.“I know, pitiful. A marriage brought to be by lust, there was no love and they both knew it. Somehow, they managed to stay together for twelve years, at that point it felt like they were bound for life now; you would say they had no more reason to separate after being together for so long. But that would be wrong, because just before my twelfth birthday, mom eloped with another guy. They
“So… Do you like stay alone?” she asked as he opened the door to his bedroom for her to walk in.“Yes, my father lives in the heart of the city. I on the other hand prefer the isolated quiet neighborhood,” he chuckled.She huffed and went in, taking a quick glance towards his bed. “Hmm,” she muttered, once again impressed. She never heard brothers but she thought keeping things in order was alien to boys.“There is the wardrobe, pick anything you like.” He offered as he stood behind.“Okay.” she smiled, walking slowly to the shelf.Jennifer searched through his closet and she soon found a matching hoodie and pants. “This? Hope you don’t mind?” she asked and turned to face him, holding up the clothes.“Of course not, you are free to pick anyone you like.” He replied with a warm smile.“Okay then,” Jenny uttered and walked to the bed. She tossed the clothes on the bed and began to take off her gown by slowly unhooking the arm.Marshall turned his back to her immediately and she huffed.
Maxwell and Anna stepped out of the second hospital; they had both submitted their samples at the hospitals and were asked to return in three days for the results. It had cost quite a fortune having a DNA test done twice by different hospitals at such an early age, and Anna now understood why couples hardly opt for that when a child’s paternity is questioned.Utilizing the opportunity, Maxwell had also insisted that she run an all-round test to ensure that she and the baby were fine, with all the stress and fear of getting unalived in the past few days, he thought it was necessary.Fortunately, the test results had come out looking good. Both she and the baby were in good shape, and Anna could credit that to the good life Maxwell had given her since she moved in with him. For some reason, her old landlord was yet to contact her since the fire and that was so unlike him, not even a message from his lawyer.As they got to the car, Maxwell opened the passenger door for her. Annabel wond
Three days had passed and the long awaited day had finally come, the tension leading up to this day between the two parties was so high that Maxwell decided that they should not open the results in the hospital.They first visited Anna’s choice of hospital and from there, they drove to the second hospital in the heart of the city. The whole time, Anna was anxious, she kept glaring towards the envelope, curious yet scared to know what it said. Maxwell as usual appeared confident but within him was turmoil, he was however worried for different reasons.Unlike Anna, Marshall already knew what those results would say and he had dreaded this day for so long, he had purposely delayed this test because he feared what would happen after the truth was out.After picking the second result, they drove home in total silence. Anna would not stop fiddling with her fingers and breathing nervously, it felt like her final exam day all over again.Arriving at home, Annabel and Maxwell went straight to
Maxwell Blackwood stood patiently at the Altar, his eyes zooming to the door every second. He couldn’t wait to see her, his parents had kept her away from him for over twelve hours because apparently it is bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. Not like he believed in that shit but he had to respect their customs.The small gathering of family and friends fell silent when the doors creaked open. Everyone turned towards Annabel Joseph who had just walked in with her father holding her hand. She was wearing a simple yet exquisite white gown and looked stunning in it. A transparent veil covered her face but anyone could tell that she was dazzling beneath it.Maxwell's breath hitched. In that instant, the world around him seemed to fade away. All that mattered was Anna, her beauty chasing away the anxiety that had enveloped him before now.As Anna reached the altar, her father, his eyes shining with pride, placed her hand gently in Maxwell's. A soft squeeze from her hand sent a jol
The white room felt like a tomb. Anna fidgeted in the hard plastic chair, her heart hammering against her ribs. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to turn and run, but she forced herself to stay. Today, she was facing her past, a past she'd hoped to bury forever, she had to do this in order to move on.A buzzer sounded, and a thick slab of reinforced glass slid down, revealing the face she'd dreaded seeing. Jimmy. Gone was the cocky swagger he used to carry. His once-bright eyes were dull, his hair matted, and his face gaunt. A pang of something akin to pity lanced through Anna, quickly replaced by a surge of anger; she shouldn’t be feeling bad for him, he brought this upon himself.He stared at her, a flicker of hope igniting in his eyes. "Anna," he rasped, his voice raw. "I knew you wouldn't abandon me for long. Not when we have a child on the way."Anna scoffed, the sound harsh in the silence. Abandonment. The word twisted like a knife in her gut. But she wasn't here for a fig
Anna and Maxwell split ways when they arrived at the airport; while Max headed for the Forbes mansion in the SUV that was waiting for him, Anna got into a car waiting to convey her down to Jennifer’s office.Anna left the noise and chaos of JFK Airport behind her as she walked out into the bright Nevada weather. With a happy smile on her face, Anna slid into the cool leather seat. As the car pulled away, she looked out the window and was fascinated by what she saw.It was Las Vegas, a place she had never been to before. The tall buildings and fast-paced life of New York City were gone. In this area, the scenery was mostly made up of huge casinos with crazy themes and lots of neon lights. She would see a huge copy of the Eiffel Tower one minute and a pirate ship with sails flapping the next. In the best way possible, it was too much to take in.In contrast to Manhattan's crowded, narrow streets, these roads were wide and smooth, making it easy for cars to move along. The warm breeze ma
Anna sat alone in the sitting room, wearing a simple but elegant dress that touched her knees. Sunlight streamed in through the tall windows and danced on the plush carpet, but Anna didn't pay much attention to her fancy surroundings.She was focused on her hand, where a single diamond ring sparkled on her thin finger, and she smiled as she remembered the beautiful moment of the previous night, when Maxwell got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him.Anna’s attention was called to the sound of footsteps climbing down the stairs and she quickly changed her position, hiding her smile."Ready to go, beautiful?" he asked, his voice laced with a sleepiness that only made him seem more endearing.Anna's heart did a little skip. "Yes," she replied, the single word holding a universe of emotions. She stood up immediately, hiding the ring she had been obsessively admiring behind her back.He crossed the room in three long strides, pulling her close. The warmth of
Maxwell wakes up feeling disoriented. He is confused as to why he was in that room, what happened? He could barely remember any of it. Most of all, why was he half-naked?He grabbed his phone on the blanket immediately and checked the time, it was midnight. He also noticed that he had missed over twenty phone calls, mostly from Annabel. As he tried to remember what happened, he felt a sharp piercing pain in his head.“Arrgh!” Max groaned and rubbed his temple.He got up from the bed and quickly, eager to find out what had transpired. Was the party over? He didn’t remember getting drunk so why does it feel like he had a hangover?Mr. Blackwood put on his shirt and rushed for the door, but as he dragged the handle, he ran into Annabel who looked like she was about to walk in, there was anger and rage in her eyes.“Annabel, what happened?” MB asked almost immediately.Annabel scoffed and walked past him into the room, she was fighting the tears in her eyes. She stared at the bed to confi
After over ten minutes of knocking, the door was finally opened and Anna walked out with a frown on her face. “Who locked me in there?” she yelled.“I am sorry, Ma’am. I was actually walking past when I heard you knocking, I have no idea who locked it.” The maid who had just opened the door replied.Anna sighed and waved her head, instantly regretting why she raised her voice. “It is alright, I am sorry for speaking to you like that. Thank you for opening the door.”The maid nodded. “It is no problem, Ma.”Annabel walked away, heading down for the party. She wondered who thought it was a good idea to lock her inside a bathroom on her birthday, perhaps they were playing a prank on her. It could be one of her silly friends, the Cruz twins in particular were capable of such mischief.As she climbed down the hall, the party was still steaming hot. She found the girls giggling at one end, they waved at her when they saw her and she smiled. Maybe it wasn’t them after all, she could recogniz
“Where did you get the dress, Ann? It is so nice.” Belle complimented as she touched the fabric.“Oh, Jennifer had it made for me.” Anna replied with a smile.“Uh Uh… It looks expensive,” Belle chirped in.“Oh, it sure is expensive.” Jennifer smacked proudly.The ladies were still chitchatting when Jenny’s phone began to ring, she checked the caller ID and blushed, quickly covering it with a smile.Jennifer quickly rejected the call as she looked up back to her friends, she caught them staring at her with suspicious eyes.“Ooommm…” Belle cooed. “What is the new guy’s name?” she asked teasingly“What guy? I don’t know what you are talking about.” Jennifer denied, her cheeks getting redder with each passing second.“Oh come on, since when are you shy about these things, spill it already.” The Cruz twins urged.“His name is Marshall and he is standing right at the door.” Anna suddenly announced.Jennifer’s jaws dropped. “It is a lie,” she muttered to herself as she quickly turned around
Anna hummed to herself gladly as she walked away, she didn’t know what plans Maxwell had but the moment she saw Linda, she knew it was now or never. If she ever wanted to get rid of Linda, this was her chance.It was not like she didn’t trust Maxwell to get the job done but this is someone he used to care for, someone he made love with for months, he clearly still had a soft spot for her or she wouldn’t be here today. She didn’t really blame him, knowing how exes can be manipulative; Jimmy for Example.“Hey! Anna!” A familiar voice called to her attention.Annabel turned to her left and her eyes met Megan. “Megan! You made it!” she said excitedly and they embraced each other.“Of course, sorry I am late, I had to go pick up Ugochi from the airport.” She announced.The name struck a bell but Anna couldn’t recollect where she had heard it before. “Ugochi?” she muttered and then she gasped. “Oh my God, you mean the bar lady from Botswana?”Megan immediately pointed to her where she was s
Maxwell Blackwood and his little sister, Abigail climbed down the staircase, his eyes scanning the room in search of his brother. He couldn’t have Simon causing mischief here tonight.The first familiar faces his eye met were those of his mother, Anna and her own mother. It seemed like Anna was introducing them to each other. Maxwell didn’t want to get involved in that right now, he walked past and up next was Jennifer giggling and pouring champagne with her friends.Then to the left, Maxwell caught sight of his brother speaking to a lady, although she had her back to him, she looked very familiar. He walked down to them immediately, a frown on his face.“You know you could have politely taken an excuse before walking out on us like that.” He growled softly, trying to hold back the anger. This was not supposed to be a big deal but for some reasons, it pissed him off.The lady didn’t flinch or turn around, she remained rooted with her back to him, her long hair rolling against her bac