~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 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
~ANASTASIA~ I couldn't believe it was happening again—Dad choosing Carmen and this time Carol's side too. I could feel my tears threatening to fall, but I bit my inner cheeks, keeping them in; this was not the time nor the place to cry. “Really?” I tried to sound confident, “I should publicly embarrass myself?” “Honey-” “Don't you dare!” I yelled as Carmen almost came to me; she really knew how to play nice; I mean, she just agreed to me publicly humiliating myself. “You need to calm down.” Dad said, and I shook my head, “I might not agree with Carol now, but what she's saying is making sense.” “Why should I go and embarrass myself?” “For peace...” Carmen answered, “We, your family know the truth, so it won't matter what the public will say, right, love?” She turned to Dad, who nodded. “If what the public says is not important, then why bother holdin
~ANASTASIA~ I was back in my room packing the things I left out while Trey was outside preparing the car. I just prayed that Carol kept her word; she said if I was leaving, there was no need for me to call for a press conference as she would make sure her son married Jimena as soon as possible. Well, it hurt me, but there was nothing I could do. William loved her, and it was for the best. I wanted to leave Seattle as soon as possible; I just wanted to be with my daughter now. “Of course, honey, but please don’t tell Daddy, and I have a surprise for you,” I said as I looked at the phone. I was on a video call with Ivy. “Surprise?” She still couldn’t believe I was going to tell her, “Tell me? Is it a new bag? A brand I haven’t seen?” Yes, Ivy liked expensive things; at her age, she was already aware of brands, and she’s not to blame but William; to make up for his absence in her life, he spoils her with expensive things.
Carmen wiped her tears while staring at her daughter's photo. She told me her name was Daniella, or Dani for short.Hudson was explaining the details about her life; “She works at a restaurant, never went to college, has no kids, and has no friends. She rents an apartment in town and doesn’t have a boyfriend.” Everything Hudson said sounded so sad; Daniella's life seemed lonely. No boyfriend or friends? I mean, he didn't need to add that she had no family, as that was obvious.“This is my fault.”“Carmen…”“I abandoned her; it's because of me that she doesn't go to college, that she's this lonely.”“None of it is your fault, Carmen.” I said as I rubbed her back in a comforting way, “You made a mistake; no one is perfect.” I said, and it seemed to make her better as she wiped her tears even though more kept coming—at least she was trying.Hudson was truly helpful as he explained how kind the daughter was; if I hadn't followed the details from the reports, I would think he knew her as a
Carmen and I were now in the living room; Ivy asked for William, and I showed her to William's room, so she went to him. “Should I get you coffee? Tea?”“No, we already had breakfast. We arrived last night; Mrs. Grant gave us a guest room.”“Oh, with Ivy?” I was just curious about how Ivy didn't insist on coming to me.“Yes, she was asleep when we arrived. Now tell me about you. How are you?”“I'm fine; it's not the first time. I'm used to it. Comes with being a heiress, your life is everyone's business.”“I know…” she looked around before she whispered, “Mrs. Frost was at the house; she was very upset.”“She called me.”“I'm so sorry, Ana. I know this is not what you pictured your married life to be.”“It's okay, I'm on it. How's Dad? How's everyone?” I just wanted to focus on spending a day with my daughter and Carmen.“They are all worried about you. Santiago is stressed; you know this is all on him.”“I know, I actually don't know if I sho
~ANASTASIA~I turned as the voices disturbed me; I kept turning and turning, trying to ignore the voices for a moment. I thought it was a dream, but when I heard Hudson’s voice, I quickly sat up—Hudson had never appeared in my dreams before, so it wasn’t a dream.“You’re not coming in. I told you she’s not here.” Okay, that was Williams' voice. I don’t know if Hudson was really here; I mean, he could have called me; he could have texted to ask if it was okay for him to come, so getting out of bed, I walked toward the door, picking the robe that was on the couch; and putting it on, I exited the room.“She’s my wife. I have every right to be here.” I could see William standing at the door, clearly stopping someone from entering, and with Hudson’s voice, there was no doubt it was him.“What’s going on here, Hudson? What are you—what are you doing here?” I asked, shocked, as I fixed the robe.“I came to see you; you’re my wife, remember?” He sounded awkward as he kept looking at William.
But like I mentioned earlier, I was a man who had gone through a lot, so this was not as scary as it sounded, although meeting my real mother was a scenario I never pictured. She never wanted me, but I still wanted to see her. I wanted to ask her why she gave me up, and why she risked my life.Taking a deep breath, I walked in; everyone seemed to have left, and from here, I could see a man, to be precise, a priest, by the end of the room; he was facing the other side, so he didn't see me.Swallowing my saliva, I walked up to the front, and reaching there, I again swallowed my saliva before I called his name.“My son,” he answered without looking at me, he thought I was just some random church member, “we had closed for the day,” he said confirming my thoughts. “Do you need prayers? I…” his jaw dropped as he turned and faced me, he didn't say anything for a moment and I remained silent as well.We stood there without saying anything to each other for a moment before he pointed for me t
~HUDSON~I won't lie. I was impressed; I never thought Maddison was this cunning, but for her to think I would give in because she threatened to take me to jail? I mean, sure, she said she was going to lie that I forced her to sign the contract, and the public would obviously believe her, but I was a man. With what I've gone through, prison didn't scare me, not even a bit.“Leave.” I said, and she looked shocked like she expected me to shiver hearing prison, “Now. Before I change my mind.” I said in a warning tone, and she said I was making a mistake.“You have seventy-two hours to decide; this is only because you're too handsome, and I want you in our child's life. Don't take it for granted.” She said before she turned and left, I waited for her to close the door before I yelled; I didn't want her to think her little threats were getting to me.But shit, Mom and Maddison were now working together. What if they tried to harm Anastasia or Ivy? I knew what my mom was capable of, and for
~ANASTASIA~I still couldn't believe William was here on his knees begging for my forgiveness. I felt disgusted and, at the same time, confused that I almost left when he held me back by my leg, begging that I hear him out.“William?”“Please, Ana, please.”“The baby is not yours,” I said, looking away from him as he was still on his knees, he looked like he meant it, and I didn't want to pity him. “It's Hudsons’.”“W-what?” I slowly looked back at him and saw a smile on his lips; William never smiled, so I was shocked. “There is really a baby,” he sounded unsure, he then raised his hand and almost touched my belly, but I quickly moved away.“I'm saying it's not your baby. Why are you here, William?” I asked, looking to the other side as I calmed myself.“I know it's mine; you can't get pregnant; your marriage is not even a month old, and besides, you can't let any man touch you; you—”“You think I still love you?” I slowly turned and faced him; the smile had now widened. “News flash:
~HUDSON~After hearing Williams' voice, Anastasia ended the call which left me feeling uncertain as I ran a hand through my hair.I didn't want to overthink it, Anastasia admitted to not wanting William to know of the baby so it was alright, if William was there she was going to tell him the baby was mine and she would do anything to get away from him, she was Anastasia, she wouldn't cheat on me even if the man was who she loved.“Shit.” I cursed under my breath and then dialed a contact.“Mr. Frost?”“I asked the reporter not to publish anything without my permission; I was going to ask Anastasia for permission first.”“I understand, but you know how untrusted reporters are; a little gossip like that looks like clicks and paid pages; they can't just take your word for it,” Juliette said, and she was right; I shouldn't have mentioned that in my interview, but the interview was a few weeks ago. Why did they wait until now?“It doesn't matter; I know that the reporter wouldn't mention a
~ANONYMOUS~I took off my coat and gave it to the guard waiting by the door before I stepped in. I went straight to where everyone was, and reaching there, I found that they were seated, already discussing ideas, so I walked to the head seat and joined them.I remained silent as I listened to their ideas, but none were impressive, so I asked them to keep quiet.“How far are we with the girl?”“She's ready to step into the world,” one of them answered.“And she knows what we want?”“She wants the same.”“But you know only one can get it right?”“Yes, we use her; after she gets what we want, we take it from her.”“By holding something against her while she's still on our side.”“And do you have anything?”“Not yet, but we will soon. If we don't find any, we will create our own.”“Good, an update on Ms. Lancaster?”“Still in Los Angeles, she hasn't fallen for Mr. Frost, but her love for Mr. Rogers is dying.”“Why do you say so?”“She doesn't look at him the same way, and with the way she
Years back I would immediately cry; whenever Carol said something bad to me, I would cry—cry to William, who never did a thing about it. Well, I thank God for my experience because now I know how to defend myself; calming myself, I cleared my throat and asked her what she was talking about.“It is not a joke.”“I know it's not; that's why I'm confused. What do you mean by my baby is my ex-husbands’? Did Hudson say that?”“Hudson is a fool, but I'm not. There's no way you got pregnant when you rarely spend time—”“When I was in Sedona, I met Hudson.”“W-what?”“How sure are you that we were not having an affair? How sure are you that we didn't sleep together, Mrs. Frost, or do you have cameras installed in his apartments?”“No, it's impossible.”“Hudson and I are expecting our first child. Yes, Maddison is pregnant too, but I'm his legal wife, and the public will support me.” I really didn't want to do this with her, but if I had to defend myself, this was the only way.“No, that baby