~ANASTASIA~I wasn't thinking straight. Trey and I were twins, and so we were very close; hearing this broke my heart.I followed Margot with Dad and Carmen behind. She led us to his room, and when we reached the door, I was the first to enter, as she was a little slow.“Trey?!” I rushed to him as he was on the bed groaning in pain, but when he heard my voice, he sat up and pretended to be strong.“A…Ana…” He struggled to say my name, “I… I’m sorry I couldn’t… couldn’t pick you up.”“You’re bleeding?” I said, ignoring his concern as I tried to wipe off the blood from his nose with a cloth, but he flinched and complained in pain.“Call the doctor.” I heard Dad tell Margot. He didn’t sound worried to me, which got me thinking, but I didn’t address it. As I helped Trey get on the bed, I removed his shoes. Before helping him cover his legs, I noticed he was really hurt; his face had scratches, and blood was leaking from his head.I continued wiping blood off his face even when he asked me
~ANASTASIA~It's been half an hour; yes, my eyes were on the clock, so I knew how long Dr. Luke and Trey had been in there.“Everything is going to be okay.” I heard Carmen say, at this point, I was tired of asking her to stop talking to me, as I've said that about a hundred times already, but she didn't stop.Dad excused himself to take a call while Carmen still decided to be my nanny as she at times rubbed my back.I was going to ask her to stop the act as Dad was not here anymore when Dr. Luke appeared.“Doctor?” I quickly got up.“Is he going to be okay?” Carmen asked rather an odd question.“Yes, as always, he just got into a fight, so you can expect the officer's call, and I say prepare the money as the other person is badly injured.” Dr. Luke said, and I was confused at what he meant by as always. I mean, I've been away from my family, so it might be that he got into these fights often.“Thank you, doctor.” Carmen said and then turned to me, “I told you he will be okay.”“Can I
~ANASTASIA~Seeing my daughter's fear made me realize what a terrible mistake I had made years ago. Why did I send her to live with Santiago? What happened in the times she got scared? How was she able to calm down, and how could I calm her down now?I was just caressing her cheeks, not knowing what to say as tears found their way to my own cheeks.“It’s not Daddy that’s sick, Ivy; it’s someone else, Ji—”“Daddy's friend.” I cut Santiago; Charlie was the one holding the phone up for us.“Daddy’s friend? Is it Uncle Harriot?” Ivy sat up; she still looked worried.“No, it's…”“A work friend.” Santiago saved me, “Yes, but she will be fine.”“It's a woman?” Ivy questioned.“Yes…but honey—”“I want to see Daddy tomorrow and say hi to his friend.” She said, and I nodded, even when I knew I was not going to take her. William heard we were back in town, but he didn't bother coming to see her.“Okay, love,” I patted her back while Charlie walked to the couch with my phone in his hands; he was
~ANASTASIA~ “You don't have to do this,” Trey complained as I forced a spoon of soup into his mouth.“I know, but I insist,” I said and dipped the spoon in the bowl of soup and fed him.It was the next morning; after unblocking Ivy’s nose last night, Gia left while I tried to fall asleep. I still couldn't believe William; he didn't want me but still refused to divorce. A little problem happens, and he blames me. God, how did I not see him for who he truly was? Love really makes us blind.“So how was Sedona, and why are you back so early?” Trey asked.“Oh, I'm back to get my device and, of course, manage the company.”“You don't want to be a doctor anymore?”“No, I mean that was just a silly dream. I’d rather be a CEO than dealing with patients.” I lied because deep down I knew if I had a chance, I would pursue my dream and become a doctor, but now with Ivy and the baby growing in my womb, I knew it was impossible; I didn't want to stay away from Ivy anymore, and studying would requir
~ANASTASIA~Warm tears rolled down my cheek as the pain in my chest got unbearable; I could hear pitiful sounds from Gia and Carmen while Dad seemed to have left.“Honey, you were a little harsh on her.” I heard Gia say.“It’s not about being harsh; she left this family years back with humiliation. I had to walk the extra mile to restore its glory, and now she thinks she can just come back and humiliate us once again. If she’s getting a divorce from William, then she must marry Hudson; otherwise, she must beg William to take her back.” I heard every word that Santiago said.“She never made a dollar for this family, and since I’m the head, I will make sure both Trey and she become something more than just heirs of the Lancaster.” He added, before I felt his footsteps, I felt Gia's hand on mine before she followed him.I still couldn’t believe Santiago and Dad just walked away without saying anything. It was clear they had planned it, but an abortion? I thought they said they were behin
~ANASTASIA~I was lost in my thoughts when my daughter started shaking my arm.“Mommy! Mommy, please.”“Honey?”“Daddy is outside, Mommy, and he said the guards don't want to let him in; only you can do it, Mom; you gave the order.”“Yes.” That was all I could say.“Are you going to open for Daddy?” She looked hopeful.“Okay, I want you to do something for me.” I said and sat up, “I want you to stay here until I come back, okay?”“Mommy?—”“Thank you.” I said, then kissed her forehead before I walked toward the door, ignoring her as she called me and asked if I was going to open for her daddy, “Don’t move from there.” I said before I opened the door and headed out, good thing my daughter obeyed orders.When I reached down, I found Margot in the living room; she quickly stood up as soon as she saw me.“Ms. Anastasia, do… Do you need anything?” She asked, and I had no choice but to talk to her.“Make sure Ivy doesn't come out of this house,” I said, and without waiting for her response,
~ANASTASIA~I couldn’t believe what my eyes were witnessing; Ivy was on her knees, her hands clasped together, practically begging me to open the gate. William seemed to have heard Ivy was here, as his knocking stopped.“Please, I just want to see my daughter; I haven’t seen her in years.” I heard William say. Great, now I will be seen as the monster.“Sweetheart, get up.” My heart was broken seeing Ivy on her knees. It was all William's fault; if he hadn’t done what he did, I wouldn't have a problem with him being around Ivy.“Mommy, please.” Ivy continued; she refused to get up. “I really miss Daddy. Charlie has a daddy; I also want my daddy.” She said, and I couldn't help as I walked to her and helped her up.“Please open the gate,” I said to the gatekeeper, who nodded and opened the gate while I tried to clean her knees. I say tried because as soon as the door opened and William came into sight, Ivy left my side and went to him.“My smart girl,” William said as he picked her up an
~ANASTASIA~I stood by Trey's door until I was sure he was done with the phone call, and then I knocked, when he asked me to go in, I went in pretending to have just gotten there.“Did you purposely allow Ivy to call William?” I asked and sat beside him on the bed.“What? Sis, you know how much I dislike that bastard; I swear I didn't know.”“I trust you; well, he's here.”“Sis?”“It's okay; Ivy seems... happy.” It was hard to say, “I just hope he doesn't break her heart this time.” I tried to sound strong as I didn't want to worry him when he clearly had a lot to deal with.“He's the father; you know it's difficult to say no to that little girl. I had to send her to you.” He admitted, and we both laughed, not loud, just softly, as clearly we were both not at peace.“Who are you ignoring?” I asked, as his phone rang twice already.“It's no one, so tell me, how's business? Why did Dad urgently want you to have breakfast with them? What did Santiago say?” He asked, and I realized Margot
~ANASTASIA~I was going to scream when Carmen's voice echoed in my head. She told me to always think before reacting, and to always hold my composure; she said crying was for the weak, and in this world, no matter how much money you had, you had to learn to control your emotions.Carmen has gone through almost the same, where she's looked down upon and doubted even I had a hand in that, but never has she ever broken down in front of people, she told me she rarely cried; if she felt like it, she would take a cigarette or simply a shot of a strong liquor. I couldn't do either now as I was pregnant, and besides, there was nothing to cry about. I've seen worse than this.With that in mind, I splashed water on my face before drying it with a tissue and then continued to pack.I was done in a second, so I walked out of the bathroom. It didn't surprise me to find Hudson on a phone call with our things on the bed; I mean, William was lazy, so I knew all the men were.“Yes, detective, see you
~ANASTASIA~I was so lost in my thoughts thinking about the marriage that when I heard my name, I jumped.“Yes?” I said and cleared my throat, as it was embarrassing; I had even forgotten we were standing in front of Gabrielle, the friend of Hudson’s contract lover. I couldn't let her think I was to be messed with.“She was asking what you think of the plan,” Hudson said, and I nodded my head before I looked at her plan as she was holding the poster up for me.“How many bedrooms?” I asked after a glance.“Seven, we have the master bedroom, two girls' rooms, two boys' rooms, and two guest rooms.”“Oh, actually…” I brought out the plan I drew earlier with Carmen: “I was thinking six, one master bedroom, two guest rooms, and about our children we will figure it out.”“Yes, that's why I added the extra, as most families have four: two girls and two boys.”“We are not most families, so six.” I sounded confident.“I mean we could turn it into the playroom; I'll see what I can put there,” sh
~ANASTASIA~It's been hours; Carmen and I were still in the library. She was now teaching me how to run a household. I wasn't just doing this for Hudson, but we had three children, so I had to be prepared, I never lived with Ivy, so I didn't know how to take care of a family.Two maids came and brought us snacks as we hadn't left the library in quite a while. Carmen was telling me about infidelity and how I was supposed to deal with that when my phone started ringing.“It's Hudson; I need to pick it,” I said, and she nodded, asking me to go ahead. I stood up and walked to the window before pressing the accept button. “Hudson?”“Anastasia, I'm on my way; I want us to pass by the building before we get home.”“Home?”“Yes, I bought us an apartment; it is safe, and at least there we'll have privacy.” He said. He had earlier mentioned moving out of the hotel as we didn't know who took that video, so privacy wasn't secured.“Oh, yes, sure, you know you don't have to call me every time you'
~ANASTASIA~She turned to Dad, who shook his head, clearly not happy with Carmen.So William re-proposed to Jimena? That means they were really getting married.“Sweetheart, Carmen didn't mean to say that to hurt you.” Dad said, and Carmen nodded, “She just—”“Dad, why are you apologizing?” I asked; I mean, I was married to Hudson, and William marrying Jimena meant I would be left alone, and right now all I wanted was peace; I had a baby to prepare for, and all these recent dramas distracted me. “Hudson is a good man, and Grandma was right; he is my match.” I lied about the match part because I didn't want Dad to worry.“That's good to hear, love; your mom would be so happy for you.”“Thanks, Dad.”“Okay, enough with William. Ana, I heard you found an area for your home; how is it going? How many bedrooms are you going to have? You know it's a home; there will be a name attached to it, so think of guests and not only the present kids but also the future.”“Yes, Gabrielle is helping us
~ANASTASIA~“No, that's a six!” Ivy loudly said.“No, it's a nine.” Dad insisted.“Oh my god, give me a second.” She said, and Dad nodded, then turned to me while I shook my head. Ivy walked to the dresser and then picked up her tablet. I watched as she typed something before she came to us, then showing the screen to Dad, she repeated, “It says this is six; nine is this one.” She sounded annoyed, and I couldn't help but bite my inner cheeks before commenting.“Grandpa is old, sweetheart; he can't see clearly.”“Yes, but he's being stubborn.”“It's okay; go get Grandma; Grandpa needs to take his medicine,” I told her, and she scoffed before leaving. She was so annoyed at Father; as soon as the door closed, Dad turned to me, and we started laughing.We laughed so hard until we lost our breath, and now we had to gasp for air.“My God, she's very smart,” Dad commented.“Yes, she is, and she hates it when she's right and someone insists she's wrong,” I said, and he nodded.“I loved messin
~ANASTASIA~These are the consequences of being from a wealthy family: whatever you do is the public's business because I'm sure just one of the people who were in the bar recorded that video and released it on the internet.“You… kissed him back?”“Hudson, I… I can explain.”“Yes, because I'm confused.”“I didn't know he was there.”“Why did you kiss him back?”“I don't know; I've been married to him for years. Do you think our connection will just disappear that same day?”“It was always you; he never felt the same.”“I know, okay, I'm sorry; I swear I didn't mean to.” That's all I could say; I really had no excuse as I was mad at myself for kissing William back, “but I slapped him so hard after—”“The kiss.”“Hudson?” I stood up as he turned to leave.“I'm going to try and get it fixed,” he said, and I nodded as he got his phone from his pockets and then walked to the bedroom. I watched him disappear before I turned my attention back to the TV screen.Somehow I was glad Hudson was
~JIMENA~I mean, I looked this way because of him. I was this dirty trying to make sure our marriage happened while he was here, clean, and not just that, but watching a movie, unbothered, and eating popcorn like everything was okay?!“You honestly need to stop going out at this time; what would your fans say if they saw you like this?”“My fans?”“Yes,” he plainly answered, then turned his attention back to the TV. I didn't understand how the man I left a few hours ago was already so sober; is it that he pretended to be drunk?I cleared my throat before I walked to where he was; his attention was on the TV, so he didn't hear me until I snatched the bowl of popcorn from his hands.“I think you should have a shower before eating,” he said, sounding unbothered.“Is that it?”“That's what?”“You're not going to ask what happened to me?”“I did, but you didn't—”“You asked where I was coming from, William.”“Isn't it the same thing?”“No, it's not. How does where I'm coming from and what
~ANASTASIA~I couldn't believe Hudson; I mean, how could he even think that? I stood up from the bed as he tried to touch me.“What is going on?” I asked.“What do you mean?” He sounded clueless like what he was trying to do was normal.“This, you—oh my god.” I rubbed my forehead. “You are thinking of sex with everything going on?”“We need to consummate the marriage.”“And you think this is the best time?”“I mean?”“Maddison is carrying your child.”“I will take care of that; nothing to worry about.”“Well, I am worried; my reputation—Lancaster's reputation—is at stake.”“Don't worry; Maddison will be taken care of.” He repeated, and he was sounding annoying at this point; all I could hear was, [She will be taken care of] but how?“Listen, I really don't have a problem with you sleeping with your mistress, but what I'm asking is that you be discreet about it.”“What?”“I mean—”“No, did you just give me, your husband, permission to sleep with another woman?” He sounded shocked.“You
~JIMENA~I was still determined to follow William, my eyes darting between the road ahead and the screen.We were now out of the roadblock; I didn't want William to notice me. He was very smart, but I was smarter; that's why I let three cars overtake me.I was busy canceling calls from Mom, who called me like I had lost my mind. I knew she wouldn't stop calling; that's why I picked up on the fourth ring and told her I was busy.She didn't want to end the call asking me to go back and be calm as usual, but I was not going to sit and play good wife when William was out here chasing his ex-wife, so I ended the call in her ear and pursued William.He seemed to have arrived, and of course, it was at a hotel; I knew it must mean Anastasia was there too.I waited for him to park his car, and after he left the parking lot, I also went ahead and parked. Then getting out of my car, I snatched a black cap from the man I bumped into; he called me crazy as he didn't chase or ask for his cap. I nee