~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
~WILLIAM~ “What do you mean you lost her?!” “I'm sorry, sir, but Ms. Anastasia’s driver is full of tricks.” “And who's Ms. Anastasia? She's still my wife, so address her as Mrs. Rogers.” “Understood sir.” “And you mean Scott is smarter than you?” “I didn't mean it that way, sir, but I promise to find the address before the end of the week.” “I just don't know how I employed a useless creature; you know what? I will hire a private investigator to get me her address. Come and pick me up.” "Alright, sir,” he said, and I ended the call before running my hand through my hair. James was really getting on my nerves. I had him follow Anastasia and her driver last time, just to find out where she was staying. But he failed, Scott was too clever, giving him the slip somewhere along the route. Today, I asked him to follow them again and somehow he managed to lose them all over again.I stood outs
~WILLIAM~ Jimena was now holding me by my belt; I'd never seen this side of her. “You're hurting me.” “I don't care, William; answer me, then I'll let you go.” "Aah, didn't you figure it out already?” “No…” She shook her head. “You can't do this to me, William; you can't be falling for her.” She sounded like she was about to cry. “She refused to go through with the divorce, and the judge gave us two months.” I lied; I didn't want her to cry, I knew what came after that, she would tweet it to her followers since she had a fanbase and they would start a rumor. “That’s ridiculous don't tell me you did nothing about it; I mean-” “I had no choice, Jimena, but it's just two months after that I will separate from her and marry you.” I needed her to calm down; I couldn't deal with her as I was dealing with a lot already. She seemed to buy it as she loosened her grip on my belt. “Two months is a long time. What will happen when my bump starts to show? You know I'm a model; so
{A WEEK LATER}~ANASTASIA~“No, just drive straight home; I'm exhausted,” I said to Scott as he asked if I wanted to stop by somewhere. “I'm so sorry, girl; I wish I could help,” Vivienne said. I was on a call with her. “It's okay, I'm not giving up; sure, he hadn't blackmailed all the companies in Seattle.” “I don't know, but all the companies you have visited so far don't want to employ you." She sounded sad like she was the one going through this. “I'm not losing hope; tomorrow I will try again until I get a job,” I said, sounding confident. “But for how long? You're already a month pregnant. What will happen when it starts showing, don't tell me William will never find out because he will, eventually, and I even don't know how I'm going to help you?” She sighed, but no matter how right she was, there was no way I was going to go back to William; the disrespect and mistreatment I had gone through for the past four yea
~ANASTASIA~ I still couldn't believe William was standing in front of me. I thought I would only see him again in court—when we finalize the divorce, well, I guess I was wrong. I tightened my grip on the documents in my hands to hold my ground. “Another failed interview?” He pouted his lips, which made me roll my eyes. "Oh, I forgot these companies are not even giving you a chance to speak; let me guess this time, I'm sorry we can't employ you, Mr. Rogers gave-” "Oh, save it, William.” I cut him, and for a moment he looked confused. “So what if I didn't get the job? It's not the end of the world.” "Well, it will be the end for you, and both you and I know it.” “You disgust me,” I said then almost walked away, but he held me back by my arm. “Let me go, William.” I struggled to free my arm but he didn't let go. “You just have to beg, then I'll forgive you; you'll not even need to publicly apologize for staining my n
~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
~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~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
I was a little slow, so when I reached there, I found Hudson trying to help Megan, as she seemed to be bleeding, but she wasn't on the floor like I expected; she was standing, and what's more, telling Hudson she was okay.“It's just a minor wound; don't worry.” “If we don't stop the bleeding, it might cause you to lose a lot of blood, and it's on the forehead; any mistake might cause an infection which can later spread to the eye,” Hudson said, making me turn to Vivi, who was standing next to the snooker table.Her facial expression was mild like nothing was wrong; my eyes then traveled to her hands, and there I found that they were shaky. I didn't need to guess, as I then knew what had happened; she was the one who hit Megan.“Vivi!” I quickly rushed to her and tried to take her in my arms, but she refused.“Ana, oh, should I say, sister?” she said with sarcasm. I turned to Hudson, who spoke:“She hit Mom; I don't know with what, but she needs a doctor; please call the doctor.” He s
Vivi abruptly ended the call, and knowing Vivi well, I knew there was going to be trouble. She was someone who never took betrayal, so turning to Trey, I spoke:“You did not kill Dad; it was his time to go, and it just so happened you were the one with him, but he is gone now. Drinking, gambling, or even getting into fights won’t bring him back; it will just bring more problems. Santiago is not well; you know how death reminds him of Susanna. Everything is on Gianna now, which is not fair. Get treated and get back on your feet; help Santiago like he had helped us.” I said it in one breath, and I don’t know if he was listening, but he was quiet.“I’m leaving now; the doctor will come and treat you. Once you’re good, I want you to go back to the mansion and take it from there. I can’t do it; I’ll be going into labor soon.” Standing up, I walked toward the door and was met with Nicole, Hudson, and a man, who by his dressing code I recognized was a doctor. “He’s ready for you. Hudson; we
I didn't know where to even start, but as Nicole said, if I didn't show up, Trey might die, and I knew how stubborn Trey was, so telling Hudson who was waiting for me to explain, I turned to leave, but he, of course, stood in my way.“You've just regained your consciousness, you need rest.”“That same consciousness won't let me rest, knowing my brother is about to die.”“I'll take care of it, take a bath, have dinner, and relax, Trey will be fine, I'll—”“I'd rather go there. I hadn't seen him in a while. I need to speak to him,” I insisted, and Hudson, seeing I wasn't giving in, had no choice but to allow me to go with him.Everything moved so fast that, before I knew it, we were in the car. Matt drove us to Williams' home.“Vivi, can I call you back?” I said as I picked up my ringing phone.“I can't wait, Ana, I need you.”“Alright, what happened?” I said, rubbing my forehead.“It's Harriot. He doesn't want to leave prison, he thinks he deserves it. He said he would be pleading guil
I wish I could say Carmen had an explanation for this, but she didn't. Instead, she looked down, avoiding me, and that was enough to give me an answer… I really couldn't deal with this right now, and just as I was about to say my goodbye because with how this turned out, she didn't deserve to be here, she had to leave even if I had to kick her out myself, well, that's when someone knocked, and I asked them to come in.“It’s your phone, Mrs. Frost.” It was the servant who took my handbag earlier; I had forgotten that my phone was in the bag, so looking at Carmen one last time, I walked out, taking my phone from the servant.“Santiago?”“Hi, Ana. Are you with Hudson? Is… it true?”“W-what's true? Can you calm down?”“He… Susanna…”“Yes, what about her?”“Her death… it wasn't natural; someone caused it.”“What?!” Okay, what was this?“Hudson just called.”“Hudson? But how…?” I stopped myself as I thought for a second, how did Hudson know about Susanna? “How does Hudson know about Susanna
I couldn't even imagine what she was feeling; it was painful, and the thought made me wish I could erase her memory so she could start afresh like she said because I will not be able to count the times I wanted to start over.When Mom passed…I even traveled, but of course, I never succeeded, and don't get me started on when I was married to William; if it weren't that I loved him, I could have started over long back.I wouldn't be here now.I would be in Africa; it's the most affordable and quiet continent, or… England, for a good education for my daughter.Yes, I booked tickets for both continents. I even spoke to apartment owners. Well, like I said, if I didn't blindly love William because I would make up my mind, Vivi would be there waiting, but as soon as William walks in and I see his thin lips and muscles, everything would go hazy, and I would forget to go to the airport.Well, I was stupidly in love back then, and no, I wasn't blaming myself or William; everything happens for
The maid looked confused like I had just said something that was not making sense.“She’s only been gone for a few hours; the police would advise us to wait.”“It doesn’t matter; this family has been in danger lately; we can’t risk another life now; call 911.”“Alright, Mrs.” She finally walked to the telephone while I stood still for a second as I wondered why she didn’t look worried. I mean, didn’t Gianna know, Carmen? Because Margot was the head, she was like family, and despite the betrayal, she still did a lot for this family. Sure, she was paid to do it, but nobody paid her to love us like her children, so she was still very important to the family.After calming down, I finally looked up. Well, my hate for stairs came with the pregnancy. I sighed and was going to give it a try when one of the servants came from the stairs, struggling with a big suitcase.“Wait, whose bag is that?” I asked as looking at it, I could tell someone packed to leave, not for vacation.“Mrs. Lancaster.
Wow, this was something I never expected. I mean, it was Jimena; she always wanted William, so of course she would do anything to be with him, including faking a pregnancy, which is truly hard to believe. As I was a mother, I would never fake a pregnancy.After calming myself down, I asked my assistant to get the job done, getting the cleaner to clean the place. I asked her to supervise as I needed the desk scrubbed or, if possible, changed.“Send me the documents to my email; I will have a look at home,” I said before finally leaving.I could tell the employees were giving me eyes; I knew they knew, but I didn't have the time; I needed to get to the house so I could speak to Carmen about her daughter; something really needed to be done.“Hudson can take down any news reports, right?” I asked Matt as I got in, and he nodded his head, “If I ask him, he might not believe me, or better yet, he will just think I'm hallucinating.”“I can do it, Mrs. Frost; you don't have to ask him.”“News
She sounded confident, making me gasp in shock; her confidence shocked me. I mean, this was absurd; this company was mine. It didn't matter if she managed it for a month or so; I was the rightful owner, and no board member would choose who to manage as this was Adira, very different from all other companies.Hearing the knock on the door, I walked and got it.“Mrs. Frost.” It was the Director, also a board member. “I was in—”“Get security; we have a trespasser.”“I—”“Now and let others know that they won't be voting; I am back.”“Yes, Mrs. Frost, guard!” He called for a guard who I assume was patrolling.“Wait, you're not serious, are you?”“If I were you, I would use the few minutes I have to button up my shirt and leave as soon as possible because I am very sure reporters are on their way. See, we have spies here, and they probably heard of this.”“Oh, I don't care. Like you said, I'm not a Lancaster; I have no reputation to uphold.”“Even better, the media will destroy you as an
I mean, she is a cheater since she slept with Harriot too, but Daniella was new and a woman, so how did they already hit it off?I silently watched as she asked Jimena to excuse us—she even called her babe?…Well, Jimena, who looked ashamed as she couldn't even meet my eyes, rushed out, leaving Daniella and me alone.“Why are you here?” was the question she thought was important, “an hour ago you were enjoying your series looking all miserable, and now you're here all… dressed? What's this? A comedy? Are there hidden cameras I don't know about?” She started looking around, making me shake my head. “Ana, you—”“Do you know she's married?” I cut her off with a question, sure, after what William made me go through, Jimena cheating on him shouldn't be my concern; in fact, it should make me happy, but I wasn't a fan of cheaters, so this disturbed me.“Excuse me?”“Jimena and I didn't know you liked women, but to do it in my office? Now that's unacceptable.”“Wait, wait, wait, did…” She lau