~ANASTASIA~
My eyes were on the clock. I didn't understand what was taking him so long.“Calm down; everything is going to be okay,” Carmen said, but I ignored her as my eyes darted to the door.“Good, the next flight leaves in an hour; let’s hope this fool is back by then,” Trey said, Yes, Trey hated Harriot as well; his crime was being friends with William, but I didn’t hate Harriot; I mean, he was not the reason William was who he is.Dad asked him to show some respect, but he just rolled his eyes and turned to me, “You’ll be fine, sis; I won’t let anything happen to you.” He said, and I nodded my head, and that’s when the door opened, and I quickly sat up.“What’s wrong with my baby?” I asked as soon as Harriot walked in.“Speak.” Trey, who was trying so hard to hold in his temper said.“Calm down everyone,” Harriot said before he looked into his notepad. “I thought it was a big issue, but it’s just stress, th~WILLIAM~ Leaving Anastasia’s house, I went straight to a bar. I was in pain as that Trey guy had the guts to hit me even knowing his family company was at stake. I didn’t care about the pain though, and I don’t know why I was feeling weird that Anastasia asked guards to throw me out. I thought she would be asking for forgiveness; I expected her to be on her knees, but instead, she did that. I honestly didn’t understand her. I mean, if she was playing hard to get me, was she not afraid of losing me? Because as far as I remember, Anastasia was in love with me; even when she found out I was cheating on her with Jimena, she still stayed, so this... this wasn’t making any sense. I was already parked outside the bar; I don’t know what I was waiting for, but I couldn’t bring myself to go in. “I need to be sober,” I said to myself, and with that, I started the car and drove away. Drinking now would not help. I needed solutions because there
~WILLIAM~ I mean, it must be the only reason, and the way Harriot was silent proved it: “Shit, I can't believe she would hide this from me!” “Hide what?” Vivi, who I didn't notice, had returned asked. “She knew about it, didn't she?” I turned to Harriot, but my hand pointed at her. “Know about what?” she asked, but I still ignored her as I now stood up and started searching for my phone but realized I left it in the car. “William, are you sure you're okay?” Harriot asked, and I turned to him, confused at what he meant. “How can Anastasia be pregnant when you rarely touch her?” he questioned. “I mean, it's not like I don't touch her at all,” I muttered under my breath as I tried to recall the last time Anastasia and I had sex, and I remembered it was when Jimena and I argued—Anastasia was the cause of it. Anastasia was also pretty; even though her body was not shaped like a model, I was still attracted to her as sh
ARIZONA, SEDONA 2022~ANASTASIA~“Shit!” I cursed but quickly slapped my cheek as I had forgotten I was with Ivy now; I couldn't curse or use improper words.I picked the candle that fell from its place and placed it back; after that, I unwrapped the towel from my head. I was sure my hair was dry now.After hanging the towel, I walked to the bedroom, attempting to get my hair straightener. When I heard a soft knock on the door, I knew it must be my daughter, so I asked the person to come in.“Mommy, are you done?” She quickly rushed in.“Sweetheart, yes, I'm almost done; I just want to strengthen my hair, then I'll be done.”“Okay, Mommy, I will wait for you,” she said and sat on the bed. I knew how stubborn she was, and so I knew nothing I would say would change her mind, so I nodded and walked to the cupboard and pulled out the strengthener.I had arrived in Sedona an hour ago; Santiago picked me up and brought me to his home. He went to finish sorting papers since they were prepari
ARIZONA, SEDONA 2022~ANASTASIA~I grabbed the phone from Gia’s hands to see for myself and was shocked to find that she was telling the truth. What made it worse was that the photoshopped picture they used was of me on my knees crying and, in a sense, begging William not to divorce me while he was holding Jimena's hands, who had her heel on top of my head.“Don't mind them; the media are just a bunch of liars,” Gia said, and she was right: this is how they made their living, by tarnishing people's reputations. I mean, the image didn't exactly hurt me, but the fact that this could happen—I mean, Jimena could literally step on me, and William would do nothing.“I don't blame them,” I said as I walked to the bed and sat down. “I blame myself.”“Ana—”“No, it is me who had a crush on a man who was clearly out of my league.”“Are you kidding me? You're an heiress, for God's sake, so how is William out of your league?”“I know William is your friend, but he has really crossed the line,” I
~WILLIAM~I took a swig of my drink before I walked to the window; I couldn't believe Anastasia. She really decided to leave. I mean, she never wanted to leave my home; she always wanted to be around me, so what made her really think of leaving the country?Well, I hoped the fake news I asked James to fabricate would get her attention.“It will,” I confidently said before I walked back to the table and placed the empty glass down before reaching for my phone and dialing Jimena's number. I was shocked to find the house empty.The phone rang and went to voicemail, and I tried again as I was beginning to worry. Jimena had become like Anastasia, always nagging, but she sounded weird earlier, and how she didn't call me multiple times made me worry a little.“William.”“Oh Jimena, how are you? Where are you?” I asked as I felt a sense of relief.“I’m in Sedona.”“What?”“I came for a shoot; wait, is there a problem?”“No.” I took a deep breath. Anastasia was also in Sedona, but the way she
~ANASTASIA~I can't believe it's been a month. I spent a full month without William, and I was still alive and healthy at that.Don't get me wrong, but since I married William, I always thought I had to be around him; I always thought he wouldn't survive without me. I mean, I had to do everything for him, help manage his company because he was too busy with Jimena, and make sure his meals were warm even when he came late because he liked homemade food. I thought he wouldn't survive without me, that I wouldn't survive without seeing him. Well, here I was, and I wouldn't exaggerate if I said I was a little happy.“Come on, Mommy, we will be late,” Ivy said impatiently, stomping her feet.“Honey, since when are we late for a private jet?” I asked as I searched for a sweater; we were traveling back to Seattle, and Ivy was so excited to see her father. Well, I was not going to stop her from seeing him, but I would just limit their meeting times.“You know I want to see Charlie; I missed hi
~ANASTASIA~Okay, now I couldn't believe her. I mean, who would offer you a seat in a private jet and, on top of that, send his guards to pick you up?“Vivi, stop—”“I'm not lying to you, Ana; now quit wasting time; his guards are almost there,” she said, and it still sounded too good to be true.I mean, Vivi was a heiress; she had wealthy friends. If anything, she was supposed to be married to a billionaire—she was supposed to marry Trey or one of the wealthy sons who were either CEOs or just billionaires, but she refused; she instead married Harriot, who was from a normal family, a simple doctor.Her parents didn't accept it at first, but when she was stubborn, they gave in, and even though they haven't fully accepted Harriot, they still speak to him and treat her as their daughter, unlike my family, who disowned me even when William was a billionaire.“I mean, does he know I'm with Ivy?” I asked.“Yes, silly. Alright, I will see you later. Bye.” And with that, she ended the call.I
~ANASTASIA~Remember that night Gia and Santiago insisted I go with them to that business dinner? Well, the man we were meeting turned out to be the same man standing here.I didn't like him, and I was pretty mean to him because that night I expected we would go for dinner like Gia said, but he changed at the last minute and asked us to meet him at a boxing arena. He was watching people fighting, and with what I took from him that night, I could tell he was a violent man as he got so excited seeing one of the men beaten.“Are... are you sure?” I turned to the guard, who nodded.“Small world, right?” He brought out his hand; well, I needed his help, and since Ivy was already inside, I couldn't ask her to come out, so I forced a smile but didn't give him my hand.“Thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”“No problem,” he awkwardly cleared his voice. He seemed hurt at first that I didn't take his hand but did well to hide it as he turned to his guards and spoke to them. We
~ANASTASIA~It's been days; I don't know if it's been a week, weeks, or a month; it wasn't honestly important.“Oh yes, finally this girl has been fooling them for a long time now,” I excitedly said and stuffed more popcorn into my mouth. “Let's see how she will get out of this one,” I said, and yes, I was talking to myself.I continued watching for a few more minutes before I heard Hudson's voice.“Are you sure you don't want bacon?” He asked for the hundredth time now.“I'm good, but if you will be so kind, I would like five more cupcakes.”“One.”“Thank you, alright, you two have a good day,” I said as Ivy kissed both my cheeks before taking her backpack. Hudson also bid me goodbye by kissing my forehead, then he asked if I needed help washing my hair.“I can do it if you don't want a hairstylist to do it.”“I'm good, but if you're worried about me, get me more snacks on your way back, okay?”“Okay, Dahlia is here, you're safe, and you can
Those imaginations worked as I went forty minutes without cursing or causing an accident.When I reached the city, I drove straight to the ranch, as he owned a ranch here and liked staying there at times when he was grieving or maybe getting away from the First Lady.Of course, security was tight; most of them knew me, but they still had to confirm my presence and search me. After that was cleared, I was led in, and of course, I found him in the stables, feeding horses.“My dear old friend,” he said, then took me in his arms, clapping my back.Now even with this happening, this man was like a father to me, considering I was seventeen when I met him. He is the reason I and my family were still alive and living well; otherwise, we would be in the streets or worse, dead.“Mr. President.”“I was just telling Daisy you were coming to see us, isn't that right, Ana?” He turned to the white horse, and yes, you heard it right. The white horse's name was Ana; he named
I was trying to make sense of everything when Gabriella asked a stupid question. I mean, she knew I knew the president was in Fall City; why the hell did she ask me that stupid question?“Get to the point, Gabriella,” Rowan said knowing I didn't have the patience.“I think what Gabriella is trying to say is that the president is in Fall City, you found Maddison in Fall City, with the footage and the call history, it’s obvious the president is in it,” Matt explained, and again I already figured that out, although his explanation made it make sense.“So the president didn't, or let's say doesn't, want you and Mrs. Frost to be together,” Dahlia added.“Correct, but for him to go to these lengths, creating a whole new identity must be deeper than just wanting you back as his fixer,” Rowan said, making me nod and say that I wanted the reason.“None of us for sure know the reason, only him.” Gabriella answered, and I turned to her and then patted her back, saying she w
“Why are you calling me?” I asked as soon as I picked, as this was the third time—I missed the other two.“He told me you knew.”“Knew what?”“The secret—why… why the hell didn't you tell me, I wanted to marry her?” He sounded drunk, like why would he be drinking this time when he was supposed to be mourning? Yes, I could judge, as when my dad passed, I never sat and cried or maybe went and drank my life out. I immediately matured as I started searching for ways to provide for my family, so instead of drinking, he could be there helping Santiago arrange everything—it was his damn father for God’s sake.“I don't know what you're talking about.”“Of course you do, and I—” I ended the call before walking into my apartment; I didn't have time to deal with drunkards.“Found anything?” I asked as I removed my coat.“Wait till you hear what Rowan found,” Gabriella said as she came toward me and handed me a packet of warm chips and a drink, I took it but placed it on the table as this wasn't
~HUDSON~After Maddison narrated everything to us, how the attorney who represented her offered her a fresh start, she didn't accept it at first, but when he told her that he who was supposed to help her would work against her, that he would make sure she spent the rest of her life locked up even when he knew she was innocent, well, she was left with no choice but to accept the deal.Everything else happened in the blink of an eye after she signed the agreement. Next, she woke up in a hotel room with a new identity—her look was completely changed, including her fingerprints.She told us how she had two phones, one to connect with them and another for her fake normal life.Unfortunately, she didn't know who they were, as she only received instructions through the phone from meeting one of them, who was covered. Then, going forward, her first task was to seduce me. Now, that was the first night I bumped into her in that club, so initially, we were supposed to have a one-night stand if h
Vivi told me how Hudson saved them as their home and properties were almost taken, how Hudson started providing for them, and they were confused at first as he was just seventeen, but they needed the money, so no one questioned him. He saved them, well, until a few years ago when Mom died; she found Hudson in the hospital.He first acted like it was just a coincidence until she showed up unannounced at his apartment, and there she witnessed Hudson watching someone get killed and doing nothing, instead, he was the one giving the order. She confronted him, and that's when he told her it was what he did.Vivi explained how Hudson didn't tell her everything, as she figured it all out by herself by putting one and one together. She spent a week just investigating him until she arrived at a point where Hudson and the man who was a vice president at that time worked together.She found out how he took care of people who didn't want to vote for him, how Hudson even ordered the d
~ANASTASIA~Opening my eyes and realizing it was early morning, I got up and walked straight to the bathroom. I don't know how I got on the bed or if I imagined William was here; it was honestly not important.After the shower, I walked into the closet where I threw on the first pajamas my eyes landed on, ready, and tying my hair into a messy ponytail, I walked out and headed straight for my computer. I searched through the CDs, and when I found Dad's favorite, I inserted it before moving to the music.I kept dancing, repeating the song, until someone opened the door without knocking.“Want to join me?” It was Vivi; she didn't respond. She shook her head and asked if I was okay, which was honestly a weird question. I mean, did I look sick to her? I was here moving my body.“I need to talk to you about your mom.” She said, and I didn't want to listen at first, but she insisted, saying it was important. Wanting to get over it, I sat on the floor after pausing the m
I let the shoes fall to the floor as I tried to defend myself by trying to remove Hudson's hand from my neck, but his grip was tighter, and all my efforts were in vain. I didn't understand why he was still holding onto me when he could just easily move me from his way.Okay, I'm not weak, especially not after how I've spent the last month in a gym, but Hudson, it's like he was trained to do this.I didn't want to beg him to free me as that would be so low of me, so I tried all means, but nothing moved him. It's like he wasn't there anymore, and I swear if it weren't for those breath-hold training sessions, I would be cold by now.Well, I was now losing it, and just as I thought I was going to fall, a voice sounded, which made him free me.It was Vivi.I struggled and coughed, trying to catch my breath, while Vivi came to me and tried to help.“I hate him, but doing this won't solve it. I called him here.”“You also asked him to insult me?”“Of course
She asked me to sit with her so she could show me a video of her graduating from high school. I understood what was happening to her, so without giving her trouble, I agreed as I removed my shoes and sat next to her on the floor.“I have Cheetos; do you want?” she asked as she pulled out a basket full of snacks, “I also have popcorn and Snickers; it's a long movie; better not watch on an empty stomach.” She said, raising an eyebrow. She was looking at me while I didn't exactly look into her eyes. I still tried to read her face, and trust me, she looked normal, which was weird.I hesitated, and then when I saw she was getting tired of waiting for my reply, I nodded, agreeing, saying I wanted Cheetos.“I love chips,” I said, taking it from the basket.“I know you do; Ivy loves it too. That's one thing you two have in common: both have the same taste for food.” Her voice now scared me because there was no crack, and she was aware that Ivy was our daughter.“I'm sorry for your loss, Ana.