Anna exited her car in a parking spot designated for residents just in front of her front door. She then retrieved her handbag and a shopping bag stuffed with veggies from the passenger seat before exiting the vehicle. She straightened up, stretched her shoulders, and sighed with contentment as her gaze swept over the narrow strip of the front yard, which was a riot of color in the June light. The trip to Fullerton was nice.She had a fantastic day; she had helped Mark, her father-in-law, in the garden, and she had eaten a wonderful lunch that had been provided by Marga, her father-in-law's wife. After that, the three of them went for a stroll on the beach, and on their way back, they stopped by Allen's grave. Following that, they went back to the house and had some tea there.During the ride back to Los Angeles, Anna rationalized the terrible thoughts that had kept her up for a significant portion of the previous night. Her stomach was full, and her spir
Anna, on the other hand, was not amused and she had no intention to partake in his humor. She was at a noticeable disadvantage because his large frame towered over her. He was just inches away from her. She retreated involuntarily and braced herself against the bench as she came to a standstill there. Because she had nowhere else to go, she chose to ignore his implication and instead look up at him. She spoke calmly but with a sarcastic expression on her face as she replied, "Then let me pass, and I'll get you a cold drink." She tilted one of her beautiful brows.When he was too close, his dazzling deep stare was too knowing, and all of a sudden, the heady aroma of his perfume sent her back to another time and place—the close quarters of a yacht's cabin. She inhaled a slow breath that was shaky and deep. She had no intention of coming there...David Miller declined to get a cold drink for Anna, saying, "I don't want a cold drink, Anna." He was tryin
"Would you want the drink I offered?" Anna repeated back in a tone of complete disbelief, as the man's audacity astounded her. "Are you out of your mind? I demand that you leave my home at this very moment.Is this how you treat your visitors?" David straightened up and made his way forward in a casual manner. "Consider what your father would say if he heard that his daughter had shown such a shocking lack of manners to the grandson of one of his major shareholders," he said. "Think what your father would say if he heard that." Then there's Annet as well, as you were so nice to point out.' He halted alongside her, his brown eyes focusing in on her hot face as he stared at her."My father and Annet?' Anna said once again. What exactly was he talking about? And what was the source of the unsettling sensation that there was a danger lurking somewhere in it?Since the death of your spouse, Annet has been under the notion, as have the rest of the people
David concurred, saying, "If that is what you want...yes."Anna started her speech on the assumption that he was telling the truth. " Allen and I first crossed paths while he was working as a researcher for my Aunt Martha when I was twelve and he was twenty-one. When I was in college, he quickly became not just my closest friend but also my boyfriend. He supported my passion for landscaping designs, and once I graduated, he urged me to go into business with Sara. He was sweet, loving, and offered complete and utter support. When I was twenty-two years old, we were married. After another four years, he was eventually taken from us by a ski accident.David mumbled, "He might have been a paragon of virtue, but he was also a fool to risk his life skiing with a passionate, sexy woman like you at home to warm his bed." "He might have been a paragon of virtue," David said. "But he was also a fool."She did not like the characterization of herself as "passionate and sex
David prompted me in a really direct manner by saying, “I asked you a question.” He was able to see by the expression on her lovely face that her thoughts had wandered away from him, and this made him extremely uncomfortable... “Why did you lie?' he asked her.”The demand in his low voice succeeded in drawing Anna's attention to the situation. She concluded that thinking about the past was not helping her deal with the circumstances of the present, and she knew from her own experience that David was not going to let her forget or give her space until he had an explanation for what had happened.She got to her feet slowly and cast a gaze down at him as she did so. “All right, let's make a deal,” she said. “I'll tell you what you want to know.” Her intrinsic honesty compelled her to tell him the truth disgrace the demon and finally draw a line under the horrifying occurrence once and for all. “But you have to promise
As he attempted to pry her lips apart, she was momentarily paralyzed with astonishment for a brief moment. But only for the span of a single heartbeat. Not again, Anna swore, boiling with wrath at his antics and the complete disrespect of his agreement to depart. "Not again," she promised."Not again." She clenched her palm into a fist and lunged at him while simultaneously bringing her knee up in a forceful manner, aiming for the weakest area of the man's body. He was able to get away with lightning-fast reactions. But he was thrown off balance, and as he went backward, he carried her with him, and the two of them ended up in a tangled mess on the sofa.Anna was out of breath, and before she knew what had happened, she was lying face down on him with the weight of her body pressing down on David and he hugged her. She made another attempt to strike out at him, but he managed to grab both of her hands and hold them firmly over her head with
Anna felt a chill down her spine as she listened to the unyielding tone in his voice. It appeared like something had gone wrong. She moved into a sitting position without thinking about it at all. His reply, which he delivered in a silky voice, was like a bucket of icy water dumped over Anna's hot senses. He reached out and stroked a few tendrils of hair off her brow before continuing. "And, beautiful and wanton as you are," he said. "I have no intention of making love to you in this shrine to your dead husband." "Anna, the next time we make love, it will be at a location and at a time that I choose," he said.She couldn't bring herself to accept the reality that her thoughts were painting for her, so she just kept staring at his expressionless face. She was able to see the glint of cynical victory in his chocolate brown eyes and the dark yearning in his enlarged pupils, and as a result, she turned her head away from him. He had purposefully made love to h
She was a Haengsu wearing the red silk hanbok and cowers within the darkness of her closet. Her delicate hands clutch the folds of her vibrant garment as she tries to silence her breathing. It was nearly midnight. The room was dark.Outside the closet, the room echoes with the deep, commanding voice of the enigmatic and persistently pursuing Prince. His presence exudes power, a stark contrast to the refined beauty of the Kisaeng house.He was calling through the door “Where are you hiding? You cannot escape me.” “You cannot deny the inevitable.” His voice was playful.She presses herself deeper into the shadows, fear, and determination etched on her face. She knows the reputation of the notorious prince, a black sheep among the monarchy, relentless in his pursuits.Just a moment ago she was doing her duty. Amidst a mesmerizing performance, her captivating voice and graceful movements draw the attention of the crowd. Among them, he
David cupped her face and said, “There is nothing that can make me queasy when it comes from you.”“Your body is where my child grows, and your blood is her blood also.”“Don’t ever think that it is something to be embarrassed about.”Anna smiled weakly at the man before her. ‘How could she not love this man?’David led her to the shower while helping her out of her clothes.He reached out to take the soap, but she said, “Please let me do it on my own, my breast is so sore, and it hurts too much.”“Okay, but let me do your back.” he insisted as he watched her.“We can visit the baby after breakfast.” he said.At this point, Anna was excited to see Selene. She swiftly finished her bath and changed into a wrap-around pink floral dress.They ate their breakfast and went to the hospital after.They were looking at their child through the incubator, she was so beautiful yet so fragile. 'I can't wait to hold her in my arms,' Anna thought. She felt so mesmerized by her. David wrapped his arm
Anna woke up in the hospital the next day. Last night, she had a c-section because of the preterm labor. David was sitting near her. “Is the baby, okay?” She asked weakly. “The baby is in intensive care,” David said calmly. “Oh my God, is she going to be, okay?” concern was evident on her face. “All her vital signs are okay; however, she is in the incubator.” David cupped her face gently. “No need to worry, Anna, her pediatric doctor is a known specialist.” David reached for Anna and hugged her. At this very moment, she wanted to feel his warmth because she couldn't control her anxiety. Then the Doctor came to visit. “Good morning, Mrs. Miller.” She was an older woman with kind eyes. “I’m Doctor Avery Samuel, nice to meet you,” she said. “Nice to meet you too Doctor,” Anna replied. “Can I see my baby?” “Yes, but We had to wait for your OB-GYN, Doctor Ethan's recommendation.” “When it’s safe to move you, then you can visit your baby, but you have to understand that you cannot
Anna dialed a memorized number on her phone.A sleepy voice answered her call, and Anna felt a surge of relief. “Sara? How about lunch?”“I didn't get to bed until three, you impossible person. Must it be today?”“We could make it a late lunch,” Anna persisted and heard Sara's laughing approval.“Name the time and place, and I'll meet you there.”“One-thirty. At the Grove,” she returned without hesitation.They met within minutes of the appointed time and managed, by good fortune to be shown to atable overlooking the fountain. After the serious business of ordering was completed, they settleddown to exchanging news, something which lasted through the starter, and well into the maincourse.“You're positively blooming,” Sara complimented quietly.“Your hair, your skin. everything about you. I couldn't be more pleased everything is working out.”Anna managed a bright smile that didn't fool her friend in the slightest.“Not quite, huh? What's the problem?”“I didn't ask you to meet me
She rose to her feet and gathered the cutlery and glasses, then carried them through to thekitchen.David followed, and she heard him locking the outer doors and setting the security alarm.It was a simple task to load the dishwasher, and she had just finished when he entered the room.He looked over all the powerful masculine: dark trousers, light tan skin, dark hair, in stark contrast to the white shirt. Tall, he almost seemed overpowering, and, while she craved his touch, there was a part of her that cried out against any sexual defeat.She watched as he dispatched food down the waste disposal unit, then dropped emptycontainers into the pedal bin before washing and drying his hands. In silence, he turned andcaught hold of her hand, leading her through to the lounge, and then he selected a slow song.Soft music emanated from the speakers and Anna looked at him speechlessly as he drew her intohis arms.Crazy, she thought, as he pulled her close against him and began to drift slow
“There's an excellent piece you really must see. Expensive, but worthy of investment.” He riffledthrough the catalog pages and brought the item to David's notice, then made his excuses assomeone else demanded his attention.“I happen to like Zhang Hongtu,” Anna protested as David's amused gaze rested on her expressive features.“So do I,” he assured her, and, placing an arm around her waist, he directed her towards a display.“Shall we begin viewing?”Some paintings verged on the bizarre, others resembled caricatures of design over brilliant slashes of color. One, in particular, looked as if a very young child had indulged in a wild battle with numerous pots of multicolored paint.“What do you think?”Anna turned towards David and tried to present a considered viewpoint. After severalseconds she voiced with restraint, “I'd prefer not to answer on the grounds that anything I saycould be overheard, taken into account, and held against me.”“A remarkable nonconformist piece,” David d
“Anna. How are you, darling? Sorry to keep you waiting.”She closed the magazine and rose to her feet with a ready smile. “Michael.”“Your hand? It is still giving you pain?' He drew her towards the far end of the salon and seated her at a basin.“It aches a little.”Michael's personal attention was rare, and Anna, by virtue of being David's wife, appeared tobe one of the favoured few.She wrinkled her nose as he sluiced water over her hair and applied shampoo, rinsed and repeated the process with conditioner, then towelled it dry before leading her to a mirrored cubicle.“Are you able to drive again?”‘The specialist says I can. David would prefer Jacob to continue in the role of chauffeur. Although he has compromised and bought me another car.'“He is being protective, hmm?”“You could say that,” she agreed with suitable dryness.Michael picked up his scissors and comb and went to work. “Don't knock it, darling,” he cautioned wryly.“Men are not usually protective unless they care.
‘Would it ever be any different?’‘Could it be? Sadly, she didn't think so…’Even if she prepares herself for what is to come, she knows that David will also fight for this child to be his. ‘It will be a long battle.’Anna wandered down to the swimming pool and sat in one of the chairs positioned beneath a wide sun umbrella. The sun felt warm against her bare skin, and she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.“Anna? It is eleven-fifteen.”She came sharply awake at the sound of Amy's voice, amazed that she could have lapsed into a light doze. Her hand had swollen slightly and was beginning to show signs of bruising. There was also a degree of pain when the physiotherapist supervised her exercises, a fact which he noted, adding an admonition to be more careful. There didn't seem to be much point in assuring him that it was not self-inflicted.At home, she ate the chicken salad Amy had prepared for lunch, and then she changed into a bikini,selected a book, and wandered out to sit b
When another couple joined them, Anna let out a breath of relief because most of the people were aimlessly wandering from table to table. While the woman had a light talk with Anna, the man—a business associate of David's—began an intense debate with him.Anna glanced at David with a look of surprise as he rested his arm across the back of her chair twenty minutes before they departed.“It is getting close to eleven o'clock.”“Our mission has been accomplished.”“Are you ready to go?” Anna nodded in agreement.Without saying a word more, he had them leave the ballroom and start to lead the way. A number of his friends wanted to talk to him, and while he waited a second to say a few expressions of courteous reply, he did not remain.Anna sank into the leather-cushioned seat and relaxed as David lowered the Bentley to street level, joining the steady flow of traffic leaving the city.It was pleasurable just to relax in the car. The pulsing in her hand had diminished in intensity, and th
Anna caught her breath as David locked eyes with the model, who appeared innocent, in a way that only Amelia could.“Yes, to my great joy.” Underneath the velvety smoothness of his voice, there was no mistaking the steely core.As the guest speaker stepped up to the podium, Anna removed fruit segments from their meringue nest and set the plate aside, choosing tea as the dessert arrived, which was a letdown.Then, a DJ played some tunes in the background and urged everyone to get down on the dance floor. With grace and elegance, Amelia and her partner were among the first to ascend the stairs.She had an air of confidence and sophistication. Anna could tell the model was fully aware of the impact she was making on her partner from the subtle allure of her face.She wanted to know if it was helping David out or not.Meeting his shadowed stare unsettled Anna, who sneaked a peek at him. She blinked when he reached out and intertwined his fingers with hers, and she smiled tentatively becau