~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
~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~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
~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
~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
~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
~ANASTASIA~I was on a call with Vivi; the lunch with Hudson went well. He said after I sign, he will send instructions to Williams' company asking him to either sign the divorce or lose the contract. I knew it was going to work, as William loved that company.“Yes, I mean this is like God coming through for me; how could he just agree to our terms like that?” I said to Vivi as I took my handbag and got out of the car, we were already back at the Lancaster mansion.“Yes, it must be God, but I'm just happy you'll finally get to experience real love.”“Aah, Vivi, now I just want to focus on my career and children.”“But I… I thought you were marrying Hudson, or did you change your mind?”“Santiago won't tell me what to do. The man on my side is powerful. He asked for my second favor, and I told him I was still thinking about it so I could get him to deal with my brother as well.” I said, and I wasn't lying; there was no way I was going to marry a man I didn't love.“Oh, that's…unexpecte
~ANASTASIA~Okay, I was really confused; why did it always have to be him? I mean, in Sedona, when Santiago insisted I meet the investor, it was him, the man Vivi said to be good friends with and owned a private jet; it also turned out to be him, then last night and today?I didn't understand this at all.“Hello?” He greeted me after clearing his throat; he didn't look shocked at all. I only pointed at the seat, and he nodded before he came and pulled it out for me. Without wasting time, I sat down and mentally calmed my senses.He walked back to his seat, and the waitress asked what I wanted; she wanted us to get started with drinks. I settled for water while he ordered a glass of juice.“I… are you the one I'm supposed to meet?” I finally gathered the courage and asked; his thin lips extended into a smile, and without answering my question, he asked about Ivy.
~ANASTASIA~I cleared my voice before I asked, “Okay?”“Should I pick up because he never calls me, so it must be you he wants to talk about?”“If you’re sure, then don’t. I don’t want him updated with what’s happening in my… life.” Vivi had ended the call before I could even finish the sentence.“Now get ready; we are getting late.” She said, and I nodded before I headed toward my closet.I was going to a work meeting, so I had to dress for business. With that, I pulled out my office skirt, a white official shirt, and a black suit jacket. After pairing with white heels, I was done as I did light makeup, and surprisingly, even after I ruined the style last night, the curls were still there, so my hair was good. I only sprayed it and made sure it had no splits.“Alright, I'm ready,” I said as I walked to the bedside table and picked up my phone while working on my wristwatch. “I hope the presentation is ready.”“Certainly not.”“What?!” I turned to her as she lazily got up from the bed
~ANASTASIA~Vivi looked as shocked as me; well, I was not going to fall for his games. Although this was the first he ever sent such a thoughtful gift, I was not a fool, so I looked away from Vivi.“You’re right…” Vivi said, which made me slowly turn to her, “This gift means nothing compared to what he put you through.” She said, and I nodded my head. “Oh, and that’s not the only reason I’m here.”“Okay?” I was curious as she reached into her handbag and brought out a card.“The meeting is set this afternoon at a fancy restaurant.”“What meeting?” I was confused.“Oh, we found a business investor. You know how much the company needs an investor.”“And he’s willing to invest?”Vivi nodded, confirming, “And what’s more he’s one of William's top investors. If we get him on our side, we might let’s say, convince him to leave Roger’s Enterprise; a little revenge would be helpful after what that bastard put you through.”“I don’t want revenge, Vivi; I’m the one who drugged him.”“You did?”
~ANASTASIA~ My mood was suddenly ruined, as hearing Williams's name was like rubbing salt in a wound. “Ms., are you sure?” “Don't make me repeat myself; trash them!” “Go on, you know her condition; why are you making her shout?” Carmen questioned, and she quickly apologized before she picked up the bouquet and walked toward the door. “You forgot this,” I said, referring to the gift bag. She turned and then came toward the table to get it, but before she could reach it, a knock was heard on the door, making her rush to get it, which she didn't need to. But as soon as she opened the door, the person pushed her out of the way and came running to me. “Ow, Ana?” It was Vivienne. “I'm fine, Vivi; you didn't need to come here. I told you.” I said, and then eyed Carmen to leave. Vivi and I talked about things besties would talk about, things that we didn't want others to hear. If you have a best friend, you will
~ANASTASIA~I woke up feeling better. Last night I thought I would lose my baby; Santiago called doctor Luke, as I couldn't afford to go to the hospital. William was too smart; he had loyal people working in hospitals, and so we knew he could have gotten the news of my pregnancy.Home, Doctor Luke checked and examined me; it turned out the wetness on my panties was harmless, my baby was fine, but he warned me to rest as the recent stress was weakening my body, which wouldn't be good for the baby.Doctor Luke recommended a few things that I was supposed to do to avoid what had happened to the report itself.So just like he said, I woke up feeling better, but since I was told to rest, Carmen insisted I stay in bed.I walked to the bathroom and took a shower while Carmen said she would be back with my breakfast.It didn't take long to finish putting myself together, as I was now done.I was on my bed and scrolling through my phone. I was bored, and even though I wanted to work, I cared f
~WILLIAM~I looked up at Jimena, who was now shaking her head in disbelief. “Jimena, I—”“Save it. Save it, William, I mean, I always knew there was something fishy about the marriage; I just didn't know it was… this?” She eyed me head to toe.“I think you're angry. Why don't we have this in the morning? The doctor said stress is not good for you, so—”“Oh, now you're pretending to care?”“What do you mean? You know how much I care for you.”“If you knew stress is not good for me, why the hell did you kiss Anastasia?”“Oh, that again…” I ran my hand through my hair. “I'm going to bed,” I said and turned to get my bottle, but before I could even get there, Jimena stopped me as she suddenly appeared in my way. God, I don't even know how she kept doing that when she was pregnant; she moved like a vampire.“I said no one is sleeping,” she said, blocking my way. I closed my eyes and calmed down as I remembered what happened the last time we had such a fight; she ended up in the hospital, a
~WILLIAM~I walked straight to the kitchen, went to the drink cabinet, and pulled out a bottle of whisky, and a shot glass.I walked to the kitchen counter, jumped up, and sat on it before opening the bottle and pouring the drink into the glass.I don't know what I was feeling; I mean, I should be happy that I'm marrying Jimena, that at least Anastasia would not be in our way anymore. This should be good news, but it wasn't; I wasn't happy at all. How could I be?Hudson marrying Ana? I couldn't let that happen, and the way she said it earlier sounded like she was happy.Hudson was the man she was supposed to marry, the man her family chose for her, till she decided to drug and take advantage of me. I agreed to marry her to save my fortune, and even when I was going to change my mind at the last minute, as she was a total stranger, she told me she was pregnant. I just couldn't abandon a pregnant woman.She owes me; Anastasia owes me because when her family disowned her, I accepted her.
~ANASTASIA~I calmed myself as much as I wanted to scream; I didn't want to attract more attention to myself.I looked up at his face with a bored expression. “What do you want, William?” I asked; he didn't respond; instead, he looked shocked, as if he wasn’t expecting me to have such courage. “Shouldn't you be with your fiancé?”“Are you jealous?”“What?” I chuckled, “Am I jealous?” I couldn't believe he was asking such a stupid question. When we were together he told me I had no right to be jealous so what a foolish question. “Why should I? I'm not your wife anymore, so who you marry is not my business.”“You're jealous,” he said with a mischievous smile. “I told you, you thought you could leave me; you're the one who drugged me so I could sleep with you. I should be the one to leave you.”“Blame game again; God, you're so sick.”“Yes, I'm sick of you. Following me around, did you think I would cancel the engagement when I see you?”“W-what?” Okay, he was out of his mind. “Let me go