~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~Have you ever had a heart attack? The one that feels like your heart is on fire? The burning starts small, like a spark, but then it spreads fast; it doesn't stop. No matter how deep you breathe, it's still there—hot, forceful, and unshakeable. If you had it, then you know how I was feeling right now.I opened my mouth and gasped for air, but nothing helped; it was as if a fire was lit in my chest, and it refused to let go.I placed one hand on my chest and another on my stomach; as a fresh tear rolled down my cheek, I was on the verge of losing control when my stomach growled. Yes, I was hungry, but that’s what made me pull myself together—for my baby.I tell you when the heart remembers its ‘why,’ the mind finds a way because I suddenly felt better, the burning sensation in my chest disappeared, and I could breathe without needing to gasp for air.After a moment to myself, I turned the doorknob and entered. It’s like they knew I was by the door as they all turned to me.
~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.