~ANASTASIA~I cleared my voice before I asked, “What do you want, Jimena?”“Oh, nothing, I just wanted to check on you.”“Why? I mean, it's not like we are friends.”“I know. You almost killed my baby; I almost had a miscarriage because of you.”“What? Ahh, you're insane.”“No, I'm not. You're the insane one, or you thought what, the video would make William come back to you? Well, news flash, Ana, William proposed to me.”“W-what?” I was shocked.“Yeah, I might be in the hospital, but in a few weeks I will be Mrs. Rogers,” she sounded excited, I mean she always wanted my place so it made sense.“Yes… as it should be.” I didn't know what to say; I mean, my marriage with William was long broken, but hearing that he had proposed to her, even when I expected it, just made it feel so real: “He's marrying you.” I unconsciously said.“Yes, he is, and trust me, this baby will be born healthy no matter the stunts you pull. Do you know why? It's because William loves me.”“I don't know why you
~ANASTASIA~It was early morning. I woke up feeling better. Margot came and informed me I was needed in the dining room, but I refused. I told her to tell my father I was not hungry, and when she insisted, I threw pillows at her, and it worked, just like it had always worked years back when I was just a spoiled heiress.I was now getting ready to visit my mom’s grave. I had already asked one of the servants to help Ivy get ready since Charlie had gone with Gianna to see Jimena. She told me, and although it hurt me that my friend was helping the woman who broke my marriage, I still understood because Jimena was her cousin too.“Mommy, are you ready?” Ivy asked while knocking.“Yes, honey, just a second,” I said as I zipped the back of my skirt and then walked to the bed and took the black glasses. I had spots under my eyes, and I didn't want to worry Ivy since she was very smart.After I was done, I picked up my handbag, and then taking my phone, I headed out.“Ow, you look so pretty,
~ANASTASIA~I was scared too; I feared for my father’s life, but being a mother, I had to pretend to be okay, to pretend nothing was wrong.“It’s nothing, baby; Grandpa is fine,” I said, stroking her hair as she was now in my arms hugging me tightly. Ivy was strong, but she had a soft spot for the ones she cared for, just like me, so I understood why she was shaken.My eyes were now on Margot, watching her closely as she spoke in a low tone. They spoke for like five minutes, if I'm not mistaken, before the call ended, and she handed me my phone, but I asked with my eyes for an explanation. I was still upset with Margot, but still, I knew she was the only one to tell me what was happening.“It's a document. I misplaced it, and your father couldn't find it.”“A document?”“Yes, Ms.”“Then why was Carmen sounding like Dad was in a critical condition or something?”“Oh yes, your father… He has become grumpy; I mean, it comes with age…” She nervously chuckled before she continued, “He was
~ANASTASIA~I was lost in my thoughts blaming myself when I felt a hand on my back; it was Ivy. She hugged my legs; I guess she realized I wasn't well. I wiped my tears before I turned to her.“Mommy, are you crying?” She asked; she couldn't tell as I was still in glasses.“No honey… I…” I sniffed, “I'm just, you know what, forget it; we will go and check schools and see which one is best.”“You're registering me for school?”“Yes, honey, I want you to be smart and have a career.”“Oh Mommy, thank you,” she said before she hugged my legs again. “I'm going to have a lot of friends.”“Yes, sweetie.”“Is Charlie coming?” she asked, and I shook my head. “That's fine; I will talk to Aunt Gia.”“Alright, baby, now say bye to Grandma so we can go check out the schools,” I said as I attended to my phone, which beeped with a notification.It was a message from Santiago reminding me of the ball, how I should be ready before five, and what I was to wear. I didn't bother responding as I put my ph
~ANASTASIA~“You know you can cancel, right?” I heard Vivi suggest, “I mean, you don't have to if you're not ready. I'm not going; apparently, Harriot was too poor for them to invite, so I decided to stay. Like, how can I go out and leave my husband behind?” She didn't sound okay at all.I was going to tell her my situation with Santiago, how Trey’s life depended on me… on my decisions, but I couldn't; she seemed to be going through life herself, so I cleared my voice and told her I would go, and I would be fine.“At least just make an appearance, show them I am back,” I said.“Wait, I'm still confused. How did you get invited when they literally hate you? No offense, but—”“Yes, I'm going in Gianna's place, Santiago thought… thought it would be good to show them I was back.” I lied.“Alright, if you say so, call me if that bastard and his mistress give you a hard time, okay?” She said, and I couldn't help but get emotional. I had her, even though she was also dealing with her own pro
~ANASTASIA~With that, I cleared my throat, got my lipgloss, and added to make my lips even more glossy before I comfortably rested my head on the seat.‘You can avoid them; you don't have to see them.’ I convinced myself.Santiago joined me shortly, and the car started moving. All I thought of was Trey, so it gave me the courage to go on.“We are here; remember, you're here for business partners. I'm sure you still remember them, right?” Santiago asked, and I nodded my head, yes, I've been gone for years, but even when I was married to William, he still took me along to important events like this when Jimena was not in the mood, traveling, or when he was required to go with me so I knew which ones to target.“Of course,” I said after clearing my voice.“Good, oh Mr. Rogers is here too; please avoid trouble at all costs; it will ruin your business opportunities.” I nodded before he said we were ready to step out.The driver opened the door for me, and I walked to the other side to mee
~ANASTASIA~Santiago seemed to have noticed I was trying to hide from someone, so he turned to look before he turned to Mr. West and told him we had to say hello to someone, and with that he made us walk toward Mrs. Frost.“Oh my God, so it is true?” Mrs. Frost sounded shocked, and with that, she freed me from Santiago before taking me in her arms. “Ana?” She was hugging me so tightly that I felt like I would break at any moment.“Yes, Mrs. Frost, my sister is back,” Santiago said while Mrs. Frost pulled away.“I’m so happy; Martinez was miserable when she left.” She said, Martinez is Dad's first name. “How have you been dear? How’s your daughter?” She kindly asked, and I nodded, then forced a smile and told her everything was going well.“Ivy is doing pretty good too,” I said, and she smiled.“Oh, I came with your fiancé; he left to greet his partners, and I came straight here as soon as I saw you.” She said she was referring to Hudson; well, I didn't expect her to be this kind to me
~ANASTASIA~I don't even know why seeing the ring made it feel so real; it felt like my marriage with William was just ending today. I guess even when I refused to admit it, I still had hoped that somehow we would fix it and get back together. I was okay with the little he gave me. I was okay with it all but this; god, I couldn't take it anymore.“Tell them, honey,” Mrs. Frost’s voice shook me out of my thoughts; I felt tears stinging the corners of my eyes.“I... I have to use the bathroom.” And with that, I ran out of there with no direction as to where I was going; I just wanted to get away from there, get away from Jimena, William, and everyone else.My heart was beating in my chest; I could hear it through my ears. God, why was I acting like I hadn't prepared for this like Jimena hadn't called me last night and told me about it? Why did it still hurt like I was just finding out today?I was lost in thoughts but sure felt it when I bumped into the wall, “Ouch!” I complained and l
~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.