“Lily?” Anthea heard Rayan’s voice as soon as the call was connected. She had put the call on speaker for everyone to hear while holding it in her hand. “Yeah, it’s me. Where are you right now?” She responded before inquiring about his whereabouts. “I'm going to attend an important meeting in a few minutes. What's the matter?” Rayan answered over the phone. His reply made Anthea pause as she glanced at Aurelia and Sarah, whose smiles widened after hearing Rayan’s response. “Nothing. Can you come over to my office?” Swallowing the sudden hesitancy, Anthea demanded. A small, provocative smile played in the corner of her lips. “Right now?” Rayan sounded a little surprised by her demand. Anthea bit the corner of her lips before responding. “Yeah. Right now. I will see you in 15 minutes." She didn't give him the chance to reply, as she announced before cutting the call. Deep down, she was afraid he would turn her down with an excuse, which would lead to her getting humiliated in f
“Where's the first aid kit? Rayan asked as soon as they stepped inside Anthea’s office. She glanced at him before rolling her eyes. Her lips pressed in a hard line as she tried to process all the things that happened in the last half an hour. “Answer me, Lily.” He narrowed his eyes at her when he didn't get the answer from her. Anthea heaved a sigh at his persistence. “No need. It will be fine in a moment.” She replied nonchalantly while walking towards her desk. She placed her bags and phone on the table before turning around to face him. “It’s bruising. How did this happen, and where were your bodyguards? Why didn't they protect you?” He questioned her at the same time, his eyes fixed on her face. His face turned grim at the sight of her bruised face while he scolded her for being careless. “Ask your sister. Besides, I never thought I would be needing protection in my own company.” Anthea’s response was filled with sarcasm as she leaned back on her desk. Her head was running wil
Right after Rayan left her office, Anthea heard a sudden knock on her door. She heaved a sigh while running her fingers through her hair. She felt exhausted to meet anyone right now. “Come in.” She cleared her throat before asking the person to enter. The door opened, revealing Silas, who smiled at her as soon as their eyes met. Anthea instantly relaxed before smiling back at him. “Hey.” He greeted her while closing the door on his back. Anthea was a little surprised to see him dressed in casual clothing instead of his usual business attire. It was a rare sight. “Silas!” She acknowledged him while walking a few steps before welcoming him with a warm hug. It's been a while since they last met in person. Besides, she had a small argument with him a few days ago, which made her kind of ignore him. Anthea instantly felt guilty for treating him so poorly when he had been a great friend and a mentor from day one. “I just met Rayan on my way. What was he doing here?” Silas inquired as th
Anthea drove straight to the Allen Corporation after getting out of her company. Without wasting a single moment, she reached the floor where Rayan’s office was located. Her heart beat erratically with each step she took towards his cabin. Layla was sitting at her usual desk while doing something attentively on her laptop. However, once she heard Anthea’s footsteps, she raised her eyes before looking at her. “Is Mr. Allen inside?” Anthea inquired, her voice lacing with impatience as she glanced at the closed door of his cabin. “Yes, he just returned from his meeting.” Layla answered with a smile while standing up to greet her. Anthea wasn't in the mood for formalities, nor did she have the time or patience. Each moment felt like an eternity for her. “I will be inside then.” She informed her before turning around. “Yes Mam. I will just inform him." Layla couldn't even finish her sentence properly, as she was about to grab the intercom to inform Rayan. However, she stopped in the mi
Anthea slowly opened her eyes, feeling a little thirsty. The first thing that caught her eye was the plain white ceiling. She tried to clear her throat to get rid of the hoarseness while trying to get up and sit straight on the bed. As she looked around her surrendering, she realized she was in a hospital. Her sudden movements caught Rayan’s attention, who was standing in the furthest corner while talking to someone over the phone with his back facing her. As soon as he heard Anthea clearing her throat, he turned around to look at her. “Are you okay? Do you need something?” Rayan immediately rushed to her side after cutting the call abruptly and putting his phone in his pocket. Anthea looked at her with clouded eyes while shaking her head slightly. “Water.” She managed to mumble the words while trying to clear her throat again. Her mind was still hazy, making her feel slightly dizzy. “Wait a minute,” Rayan urged before quickly moving to the other side of the bed. He quickly grabbed
Anthea reached her home after Rayan dropped her off after their silent lunch. She was totally quiet after he suddenly confessed his love to her. That wasn't something she expected to hear like that. “What happened? You look disturbed” Emilia who was sitting in her living room with Roman, discussing something attentively asked as soon as she noticed Anthea walking inside the apartment like a zombie. She glanced at Emilia but did not say anything instead she kept walking towards her room absent-mindedly. “Anthea,” Roman called her name, noticing the blank and distracted expression on her face. She looked like something bad had happened to her which instantly made him worried. Anthea stopped on her track without turning around as she heard her brother call her from behind. The emotions she tried to hold on suddenly broke through her making her break down into uncontrollable sobs. Both Emilia and Roman were taken aback by the sudden change in her emotions. Both of them rushed to
The next morning, Anthea reached Rayan’s office early in the morning. The office was almost empty, with not many employees present. When she reached his cabin, not even his secretary was present, but since she was already aware of the time Rayan usually came to the office, she decided to come earlier. She couldn't make her heart wait any longer. After pondering over the whole night, she finally came up with a plan on how she could get close to her daughter without Rayan finding out the truth. With that thought in mind, she knocked on Rayan’s door while praying he was inside. At that moment, she realised she had never called him like a civilised person or contacted him before coming here. She always came without informing him. After a few seconds, she heard his voice from behind the door, asking him to come in. Anthea pushed the door open before entering the room. She noticed Rayan sitting behind his mahogany desk, reading some documents attentively. His eyes snapped in her direction be
IN THE PARTY Rayan held Anthea’s hand as they both walked inside the lavish five-star hotel like a dazzling couple. She was dressed in a navy blue gown, while he wore a black tux with a white shirt underneath. As they both walked inside the grand hall, all the people turned their heads to look at them in shock because it was the first time they made an appearance together after their marriage news was leaked. “Is that Anthea Morin? He was really lucky. They look so perfect together.`` Anthea heard someone whisper loudly from the crowd, making her smile widen. “Wow! They really come here together like a couple. That means it's not a rumour.” Another person exclaimed in surprise. “I love their audacity. They both came together at Mr. Jones' party to rub salt on Aurelia Jones' wound. They are really ruthless.” A male voice snickered as his eyes fixed on Anthea. She was sure Rayan also heard everything, but he pretended not to hear anything with a blank face. “Your fiance is loo