~WILLIAM~
I took a swig of my drink as I impatiently stomped my feet. What the fuck was taking her long to get back at me? “Just a small task, and it's taking hours," I complained as I stood up and walked to the window, my fingers tracing my jaw. I couldn't believe Anastasia's audacity; what made her think she could divorce me? She's the one who begged to marry me; I should be the one to sign the divorce papers first, not her. I punched the wall, but as pain shot up my arm, I grunted in pain. "Fuck!" I cursed as I tried to soothe the pain. I couldn't wait for her any longer, so I walked back to the table and took my phone. I dialed her number, and she picked up the first ring. “Mr Rogers?-” “I always ask myself how I employed such an incompetent human; I say do this, and you take hours to get it done.” “But sir, it's over ten hotels.” “And so? People get that done in less than ten minutes.” “I'm sorry, sir.” “Whatever, how many have you contacted so far?” “Seven sir.” “Just seven?” "Yes, sir, but they both agreed; they won't let Mrs. Rogers spend a night in their hotel.” “Good, make sure you call the rest; she needs to know who's in charge.” "Understood, sir,” she said, and I ended the call. I almost sat down when I noticed a figure by the door. “I hate when people spy on me," I said, looking at Jimena, who had her arms crossed on her chest, she was dressed provocatively—red lingerie that barely covered her figure. “People? William, do I look like people to you?” She asked, coming toward me. I didn't respond as I focused on my computer. I was searching for the Lancaster properties; I wanted to see if she had gone to one of them, as I doubted she went back to her father as they were not on good terms. “What is it? I'm busy," I said, not sparing her a glance. “I don't understand. What are you busy with? I'm right here,” she let out a nervous laugh. "Work Jimena, work.” “Well,” her voice changed to that that always drove me crazy. "I am sure work can wait,” she whispered in my ear. I didn't notice when she got to me, as she was now seductively running her hands on my arms. I was feeling her for a moment as my dick got hard and I closed my eyes, taking in deep breaths. Jimena licked my earlobes and ran her hands on my back. It was all good at the moment until she mentioned a name I didn't want to hear. “Why the fuck did you have to bring her name into this?” I removed her from my body as I started fixing my clothes. "Wait, why does her name get you so worked up now? I mean, I always mentioned her name, but it was never a problem,” Jimena sounded shocked. Yes, she always made fun of Anastasia; I mean, we always made fun of her, how she couldn't do the things she did, how she couldn't get my dick up; it was never an issue, so I was as shocked as her. “And what's shocking is that I only said she would never be able to make you feel what I make you feel, nothing insulting.” “I don't care what you said; I'm not in the mood anymore," I said and turned my attention to my phone. “You are joking, right? Listen, William, I hate jokes like this. Okay, Anastasia left without us lifting a finger. We should be happy, we should celebrate,” she walked to me and took my hand, then placed it on her flat belly. “And besides, we are having a baby, even more reason to celebrate.” "Jimena, go to bed; I have a lot of work," I tiredly said as I sat down and searched for James' contact on my phone. James was my personal assistant; I needed him to go and search for Anastasia so I know where she was and how I would make her beg to return. “Listen,” Jimena sat on my lap. She forced me to face her. "I think it's time we speed up things,” she said, and I looked at her confused. “Marry me?” She asked, and I first thought it was a joke until she brought out a ring—the same ring that belonged to my grandmother—the ring I gave Anastasia. Looking at it reminded me of everything and made my heart race. I grabbed the ring from her hands and quickly stood up, which caused Jimena to almost fall as I got up without warning her. My heart twisted in pain as the past replayed in my head.~WILLIAM~Where will I even begin? Anastasia ruined my life. I had to marry her. My grandfather insisted that if I hadn't, I could have lost the company. I honestly didn't care much about the company, but my baby.I was going to pull out at the last minute when she told me she was pregnant. I was heartless but would never let an innocent baby suffer for something they didn't do. That's why I went ahead and married her.I sat on the table staring at the ring as I recalled the day I gave it to her, so she dared to remove the ring and leave it behind without my permission. Was she perhaps serious about this divorce? But that wouldn't be possible. Anastasia loved me; she endured years. I didn't give her any attention, so what made her do this?I ran a hand in my hair, ignoring Jimena, who was arguing alone. The only thing that snapped me out of my thoughts was the ringtone of my phone. I quickly reached for my phone and picked it up.“Speak!” It was Vanessa, my secretary.“I managed to ca
~WILLIAM~I never believed in prayer or anything like that, but in this moment, I found myself pleading with the big guy up there, asking him to spare my life—at least to give me a month or even a week to fix this. If I died, Anastasia would tell people she was the one who proposed the divorce first, and I didn't want that.I didn't think it would work as we were seconds from collision, but somehow it did. My car suddenly stopped and so did the truck. I was in shock; I didn't understand how it happened. I calmed myself down as my chest was moving up and down, heavily breathing.Many people came running to my car, and some went to the truck. I could tell they were concerned, but I couldn't let them see me otherwise I might trend online again. I was about to start the car when an idea struck my mind. What if this was all I needed? With this, they will forget about the divorce and soon about everything.With that in mind, I rolled down my window and received the people who approached me.
~WILLIAM~ Why didn't I think of that earlier? “Take me to the Lancasters; I need to speak to my wife.” "Alright, sir, as you wish.” “Good, you're a good boy; I should give you a bonus,” I said in my drunken tone and then closed my eyes and rested a bit as I felt tired. I don't know how long it has been, but when I felt the car coming to a halt, I quickly opened my eyes and looked out the window. James didn't waste time, as he quickly came to open the door and then helped me out. I recognized the house, so I shook my head and asked him to take me back. “I asked you to take me to Lancasters.” "I'm sorry, sir, but I couldn't do that.” “Why? I just want to speak to my wife.” “I'm afraid she's not there.” “Agh, useless…” I grumbled, slumping against James as he helped me stumble to the door. My legs barely cooperated, but he held me up, one careful step at a time. “Now what do you want him to do?” I asked as James knocked on the door, “But at least you did well to brin
~WILLIAM~ I still couldn't believe my ears. Anastasia was calling me; she still cared. I knew it was an act earlier. Of course, she was pretending, but why did she have to pretend knowing I would never chase after her? “Listen if you... If you called to apologize, then it-” “I didn't call to apologize, William.” She cut me, “I just wanted to make sure you are alive; I don't want to be a widow.” “W-what?” I intended to raise my voice but failed as my voice came out as a whisper. “It's impossible to sign anything six feet under, right?” “Wait, so you're saying—” “I'm saying I’d rather you sign the divorce than have people call me a widow; see you tomorrow,” she said and then ended the call. Wow, the audacity. I tried to sit up so I could call her back but failed, so after multiple tries, I gave up and tried to understand Anastasia, so she was serious about this divorce thing. I don't know when I fell asleep. The next time I opened my eyes, I realized it was early mo
~WILLIAM~ Mom looked confused like there was nothing wrong with what she did. “I'm confused, William; you always complained to Mom about Anastasia and that nuisance daughter of-” “Don't you dare refer to my daughter as a nuisance, Nicole?” “Why not? I mean, she's the reason you married Anastasia in the first place.” “Her name is Ivy, and stay out of my business,” I warned I've had enough of her. “Alright, I'm not saying anything again.” She raised her hands in the air and walked to the sofa. She picked up the glass of juice and crossed her legs, and after taking a sip, she placed the glass down, picked a magazine, and started paging. I turned to Mom, who was still confused. “I want you to leave, both of you.” “What?!” “I will deal with the divorce myself,” I said, and without turning back, I walked toward the stairs and headed to the bedroom. Yes, I always complained about how unhappy
~WILLIAM~ I cleared my voice as I impatiently waited for my daughter to speak, but she didn't say a word; it was just silence, and I started to wonder what was happening. “Baby? Are you there?” I asked. “Yes, I'm just making sure these media people got it right,” she said, and that's when I heard the tapping of the keyboard keys, so she was busy searching on the internet. I mean, wasn't she too young for that? If I remember correctly, she was four, even though I haven't attended any of her birthdays. I always made sure I bought her an expensive gift so I knew she was four; in fact, she had just turned four a few days ago, and that was the reason why Anastasia and I got into that fight that led her to be locked up. “They say mom asked you for a divorce.” “W-what?” "Yes, and I asked Mom, but she didn't tell me this; that's why I called you.” She said, and I groaned and rubbed my temples as what I'd feared had happen
~ANASTASIA~ I was lost in my thoughts looking out the window when my phone started to ring. I quickly reached for my purse and picked it up.“Ana, are you sure? I can still come.”"I'm sure, Vivi, I've got this.”“I know you've got it, but... I'm worried.”“And you're worried for nothing,” I cleared my throat. “It will just take a few minutes, and then I will be done with it, okay?" I sounded confident but it was far from what I was feeling. I was terrified, if I had an option I could have avoided today, but I figured out there was no way, and I was prepared to face it.“Alright, please call me if you need anything or if they give you a hard time.”“Thank you,” I said and then ended the call, as I knew speaking to her for a long time would trigger tears. “Okay,” I said as I took a deep breath and looked at myself in the mirror. “I'm ready,” I said to myself, but Scott responded. “We can try to postpone it if you're not-”“I am ready.” I cut
~ANASTASIA~ I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I let out a chuckle because this was absurd. Why would William change his mind now? He never loved me; our marriage was never meant to happen, so why on earth did he refuse to let me go now? “Is this a joke?” I turned to him, but he wasn't looking at me; instead, he was looking down. “Ms. Anastasia, please have your seat.” “I'm sorry, what? I mean, we both signed the divorce document; I'm here to get my copy, not to have second thoughts.” I said as my heart was now racing. “Ms. Anastasia, please sit down.” “I’m sorry, your honor but can we just get over with it.” “And I refuse to go through,” William said he sounded calm, which was the first as he had never been this calm, only when it came to Jimena. “I'm not signing it; I'm not giving up on my marriage.” “You’re sick. I mean…” I stopped myself as I realized what William was trying to do; he wanted me to
~ANASTASIA~ I woke up about thirty minutes ago; I had already taken a shower and prepared myself for the day. I had to see Harriot today for my first appointment. Sadly, it wasn’t weird that William was not going with me. I mean, even with Ivy, he never attended any of the appointments; he was only present at her birth, which he made sure to trend on the news as that was his main goal. I was standing in front of the mirror combing my rich chocolate brown hair. I haven’t looked at myself in a mirror in such a long time. Marrying William somehow made me question myself if I was just that ugly, whenever I looked in the mirror, I saw that ugly woman who destroyed William's life, so I refrained from looking, but now that I wanted to rebuild my confidence, it was going to be difficult, but I had to try. I noticed I had bags under my eyes, so I quickly picked the foundation and hid them. I was pregnant, so I was so emotional that even a little thing made me cry. Last night, after t
~JIMENA~ “Shit!” I cursed as the call ended, “What am I going to do now?” I asked myself as I started pacing around, “They made it clear, god!” I slapped my cheek but quickly rubbed it as it started to tingle in pain. They made it clear that if their plan got ruined, I would be the one to pay for it. “But I... I can’t leave William now.” I said to myself as I stopped pacing, “Mom, she knows what to do.” I said as I got my phone, and with trembling fingers, I dialed Mom's number, and she picked on the third. “Sweetheart, I’m in the middle of something… can…can you call back la-” “You can fuck him later; I need you.” I cut her as I could hear moans; yes, that was my mom. Since Dad died, all she did was sleep around with young men. “Okay, that’s rude,” she said, but I could hear movements, which meant she was now seated. “What happened?” “It’s William.” “What did he d
~JIMENA~ I took a sip of my glass of milk and then glanced at my phone. I don't even know why I was checking at this point when it was clear that William was not going to call. I don't know where to start; this was all so shocking to me. Why was William behaving like this? I mean, a few days ago he was talking about our marriage, how he was going to divorce Anastasia and marry me, how he was going to give me and our child the world, so what changed? I kept asking myself if I had done something wrong, but nothing came to mind. I don't remember doing anything that could have upset him. “Did he fall in love with her?” I asked myself in a low tone as I was in the kitchen still waiting for him to return as he stormed out earlier, leaving his mother and me. “It is like he doesn't want to marry me?” I said as I remembered earlier when he said he didn't care about our honeymoon and his reaction when Carol, his mother, said she was going to move our wedding date. "No, he loves me; we've
~ANASTASIA~ You won't believe I've been married to William for four years and still never saw this side of him. With the mistreatment, I still never imagined him calling me a thief. “You're unbelievable.” “I know you have it.” "Well, my father is experiencing a little trouble now, but that does not mean we are desperate for money.” "I honestly don't care the reason you took it; you know how Jimena is.” “I don't care about Jimena!” I yelled as I was tired of hearing her name, “You love her; then fine, go be with her and stop bothering me.” “What is that?” “What is what?” “I knew it; you still want me,” he said, a smile on his lips as if that's all he wanted to see. Well, if I didn't know him well, I would think he wanted a second chance, but this was William; he would never love anyone apart from Jimena, and besides, I was nothing more than the villai
~ANASTASIA~I didn't understand what William was doing here, so I quickly stood up and walked to the door with Dad following behind.Reaching the door, I was shocked to find that William and Trey were taking turns on each other—hitting each other like little kids on the grass.“Oh my god, somebody stop them!” I screamed, and that's when the gateman and two guards rushed to them and separated them. I couldn't just wait by the door, so I walked to them and asked the guards to free them since they were both struggling and wanting to hit each other more.“Trey, go inside,” I said, and Trey shook his head.“You're not speaking to him, sis; this bastard mistreated you for four years. Give me a good reason why I should leave him alone with you.” Trey questioned."He's in my house; I can take care of myself here, and besides, the guards are here; he can't do anything to me,” I s
~WILLIAM~I couldn't believe after everything I did Anastasia still had the guts to refuse me. I mean, where's that girl who would do anything just so I noticed her? Now I was convinced something was really wrong.“Maybe she hit her head,” I said as I paced around my office, “or is doing this to get to me.” I thought of every possible reason that made her say what she said to me, “She walked out on me, me..." I scratched the back of my head as nothing was making sense.I made sure no one employed her, and she made it easy for me as she refused her brother's help. I thought she would come and beg me, but it seemed she was more stubborn than I thought.“This is insane,” I said as I got my phone and dialed my daughter's number. I was left with no choice but to ask for her help; the divorce wasn't trending anymore, so I wasn't worried about my reputation, but I just couldn't allow Anastasia to be the o
~ANASTASIA~Dad looked shocked as he shook his head, almost not wanting to believe it. Well, I couldn't lie to him even when I wanted to, so I nodded my head as I placed the cupcake down.Dad came toward me, and I stood up as my hands found their way to my flat belly. Dad never liked William but still loved Ivy. I heard how he spoiled her, but I didn't know how he was going to feel about this.“Dad-”“Congratulations!” he surprisingly said as he took me into his arms; my hands were still on my flat belly, not hugging him back as I was in shock.I stayed in his arms for a moment before he pulled away and then sat me on the couch."Well, at least the asshole gave me beautiful grandchildren,” he said, and I still confusedly looked at him, “Cupcake?” He lifted my chin. “You don't look happy about it?”“You're o
~ANASTASIA~ It's been an hour. Yes, the distance from my apartment to the Lancaster mansion was half an hour's drive. We passed by the company. Dad had things to take care of. He asked me to go with him, but I refused and remained in the car. That's why we took another thirty minutes, as we had just arrived at the mansion now. The mansion was located outside town because he wanted all the space as it was very large. We were not the only family; most wealthy families built their homes outside town like there were many other families, including Vivienne's, which was called the Frost mansion. “Are you ready?” Dad asked, and I took a deep breath before I turned to him and told him I was ready. He warmly smiled, then got out before he held out his hand for me, which I took and followed his lead. “Ms. Anastasia, welcome back,” the servants we met on the way to the main entrance greeted, and I ignored them as my attention was on something else. I was
~ANASTASIA~ The man was my dad; it shocked me because I hadn't seen or spoken to him in four years, and from what I remembered, he hated me, so how was he in my kitchen and making cupcakes at that? The words were stuck in my throat as I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. “Cupcake?...” He also seemed shocked as he slowly took steps toward me. I was in so much shock that I didn't react or realize when he got to me as he took me into his arms. "Cupcake…” he repeated; his voice was so low like he was about to cry. I closed my eyes and raised my hands to hug him back, as smelling his scent somehow calmed me. I hadn't seen or spoken to him in years; I didn't even realize how much I missed him until now. “D-dad…” My voice broke, and as he stroked my hair, I couldn't control myself as I started crying, he didn't stop me; instead, he encourage