5: Revenge

Anna

I woke up with a sharp pain running from in between my thighs down to my legs and to the blinding white coat of the doctor temporarily blurring my vision.

“Mrs. Anna, blink twice if you can see my hand movement.”

The doctor had two fingers in the air as she moved it from one side to the other.

I wanted to correct her on the mispronunciation of my marital status, but obliged to her instruction.

I grunted in pain as memories of what happened at the brunch came rushing in.

I could remember up until getting pushed, and the blood, so much blood.

My eyes widened as my hands flew to my stomach.

“My baby, is my baby okay?” I gushed out, my body gyrating as the doctor hesitated to respond to my question.

Something was wrong, even before she validated my assumption, I could feel it deep in my guts.

“There were some complications when you arrived. The fibroid had clotted the baby up, suffocating the foetus. Your life was more important.”

No, this wasn't happening to me. After everything that I had to go through, this baby was all that I had, the reason why I looked forward to another day.

“I never asked you to save my life! You had no right to kill my child, bring her back, bring her back!” I screamed, the pain in my chest intensifying as I struggled to breathe.

I wanted to wake up from this nightmare, this had to be a bad dream.

At that moment, Marcus walked in with his sleeves rolled up and blood stains on his shirt.

The last person I wanted in my space was him, he was the reason I was in this situation in the first place.

Rage, so raw and overwhelming, took over me. I wanted him dead, he had ruined my life again.

There was no coming back from this, and I wanted him to pay for all that he had done.

“You killed my child! I will make you pay, I will make you beg and kneel before me.” I hissed out, meaning every word that came out of my mouth.

After my divorce with Marcus, I was willing to walk away, forfeit my right to owning Everything Sow and starting anew with my baby, but Marcus had done something unforgivable.

My stone-cold heart had found a way to escape the grief of loss and my new-found rage was my solace.

I wanted to make Marcus suffer, his defeat would be my victory and his sadness would bring me great joy.

“I had no idea that you were pregnant. I am so sorry for what happened to you.”

I didn't care if he was being genuine, his apology was medicine after death, and futile.

I wiped the tears off my cheeks and with a voice of resolve I addressed him.

“Get ready for a battle, I am coming for Everything Sow.”

Marcus's reaction following my threat was unreadable. He showed no form of emotion, but I knew that he was frazzled.

“Everything that I have done, is for you. Let me explain myself to you, Anna.” He attempted to speak, but I was so done with giving him grounds to justify his sick actions.

I had always been there for him, when he had nothing, I stuck around. With Marcus, I had sacrificed everything, but no more.

He was about to see a different version of Anna Bel Air, the part who didn't give two fucks about him.

“Get out, get the fuck out!” I growled out angrily at him.

The moment Marcus left, I broke down in tears, the tightening in my chest intensifying as I punched the space in my heart hard, hoping to numb the pain.

The moment I got discharged I got to work. I didn't have the luxury of sulking and crying myself into depression.

The best pill to move on, was making sure to deal mercilessly with those who caused me this loss.

“Mom, I'm ready to take over the company.” My mom appeared shocked by my outburst.

I was doing what she wanted, so why did I feel like something was amiss?

There were gray lines on her face and she appeared to have aged overnight.

“Anna, there is something that I need to tell you.” I could feel the urgency in what she wanted to say, and braced myself for the news.

It wasn't in my mother's nature to be serious, she was the happy housewife who enjoyed spending her husband's money.

However, these days, she was barely herself. I was worried.

“Your father plans on making Brayson the new CEO in the upcoming board meeting.” She choked out this piece of information with a shaky voice.

I shook my head, refusing to accept this stale news.

Brayson was my step brother and for as long as I could remember, we had been in a heated competition on who would take over Bel Air Companies.

Not only was he conniving, he was also a sly brat who knew how to utilize situations to his advantage.

As far as I was concerned, Brayson was not a competition and once I had a one on one conversation with my father, I knew I would get my position back on a platter.

On days like this, I could predict where my father could be. He enjoyed playing solo gulf during the weekend.

I got dressed in a golf attire and headed out to go join him on the golf field.

“Anna, I never took you to be one who plays golf.” My father chuckled lightly as he welcomed me to come join him.

“I am the jack of many trades, you'd be surprised.” I retorted while stroking the golf ball to perfection.

Now was the perfect time for me to have the pressing conversation with him.

We were both playing golf, the weather was nice and he was in high spirits. It was either now or never.

“Dad, I want to assume my position as CEO, it has been long overdue, and I think it is time that I do right by you and the company.”

My father's silence was deafening. He didn't respond to my request.

Instead he walked away from the golf field and made himself comfortable at the reception area enjoying the excessive Vitamin D from the sun on his skin.

I followed right behind him, completely taken aback by his chill response.

I expected him to beam with pride and welcome my proposition with open arms, but his reaction was quite the opposite.

“I heard the news of you collapsing at the brunch meeting. You not only disgraced me, you also gave the press news to eat away at for weeks. How can I trust my company to someone who doesn't have her act together?” He interjected.

“Those damn press people,” I muttered inaudibly under my breath.

Since my direct tactic wasn't working, I decided to try gaslighting him into agreeing to my request.

“Is this because of Bryson? We both know that I am good for the job Dad. I understand the dynamics of the company better and I spent half of my life studying to one day continue your legacy.”

My father stared at me long and hard like he was putting my words into consideration and then rose to leave.

Even after my well spoken speech, he still wasn't convinced to give me another chance.

I was frustrated and was about to concede defeat when he finally said the words I wanted to hear.

“Fine, I'll agree to give you a second chance to prove your worth, but on the condition that you go on a blind date with the son of a very good friend of mine.”

I didn't expect there to be conditions, but since my father had upped his A-game and had me exactly where he wanted, all I could do was to weigh my pros and cons to see which one favoured me.

After all it was just an ordinary date, what could possibly go wrong?

“Tell me the time and the place and I'll be there.”