~ANASTASIA~Okay, I was really confused; why did it always have to be him? I mean, in Sedona, when Santiago insisted I meet the investor, it was him, the man Vivi said to be good friends with and owned a private jet; it also turned out to be him, then last night and today?I didn't understand this at all.“Hello?” He greeted me after clearing his throat; he didn't look shocked at all. I only pointed at the seat, and he nodded before he came and pulled it out for me. Without wasting time, I sat down and mentally calmed my senses.He walked back to his seat, and the waitress asked what I wanted; she wanted us to get started with drinks. I settled for water while he ordered a glass of juice.“I… are you the one I'm supposed to meet?” I finally gathered the courage and asked; his thin lips extended into a smile, and without answering my question, he asked about Ivy.
~ANASTASIA~I was on a call with Vivi; the lunch with Hudson went well. He said after I sign, he will send instructions to Williams' company asking him to either sign the divorce or lose the contract. I knew it was going to work, as William loved that company.“Yes, I mean this is like God coming through for me; how could he just agree to our terms like that?” I said to Vivi as I took my handbag and got out of the car, we were already back at the Lancaster mansion.“Yes, it must be God, but I'm just happy you'll finally get to experience real love.”“Aah, Vivi, now I just want to focus on my career and children.”“But I… I thought you were marrying Hudson, or did you change your mind?”“Santiago won't tell me what to do. The man on my side is powerful. He asked for my second favor, and I told him I was still thinking about it so I could get him to deal with my brother as well.” I said, and I wasn't lying; there was no way I was going to marry a man I didn't love.“Oh, that's…unexpecte
WASHINGTON, SEATTLE 2022~ANASTASIA~Most stories open up in a decent environment, but mine opened up in a rather rathole—a prison cell. I tried to pinpoint the moment everything went wrong, but I couldn't. I don't even know when my perfect world flipped upside down, let alone how I got here.Never in my life did I imagine I’d be in a prison cell, let alone because of the man I love.God, life can be so unpredictable!I was staring at the dirty ceiling, watching the spiders scurry around. I don't even know how I didn't throw up with this place smelling like it does, full of rats.“Mrs. Rogers?” A guard's voice snapped me back to reality. “You're going home,” she said as she unlocked the cell. A smile crossed my face at the thought of my husband.Finally, I was going home; my husband was here for me; I thought he had forgotten about me.I followed the guard as she led me out of the cell to the reception, but as we reached there, I saw a man I wasn't expecting. I looked at the door, hop
WASHINGTON, SEATTLE 2022~ANASTASIA~“We're getting a divorce.” I was speechless. Sure, the marriage never worked out, and I expected this after his grandfather's death, but today? How could he do that when I sat in that cell for his crime?I shook my head fighting back tears. I’d grown used to his infidelity, but divorce? How could he even suggest that?“I will have my lawyer start with the process,” he brushed his fingers across his lips, removing lipstick, the sight of it made my heart ache.“W-what… What are you saying, William, I-”“Aren't you tired of crying?” He spoke over me. I looked up, seeing the frustration in his face as he raked a hand through his hair. “Listen, you tricked me, and your time is over, or what made you think Grandpa would never die?”“But...why are you saying this? I…” Words failed me.“I’m not doing this. Not today, okay?”“We can talk about this, William; we can’t just…”“Just what? Get a divorce? God, you’re such a headache.” He started rubbing his temp
WASHINGTON, SEATTLE 2022 ~ANASTASIA~I felt my head spin, so I moved back to the bed and sat down as my heart was in pain too.“I did you a favor by packing your bag; I could have just scattered your things,” Jimena said, and I ignored her as I calmed myself down but failed as my chest was uncontrollably moving up and down.“Y-you… You can't be pregnant; William will—he won't accept it.”“Wait, are you calling me a liar?” I don't know what was wrong with her, but I knew I couldn't show her how much she was hurting me. I was William's wife; she was just his mistress. It didn't matter if he loved her or not; the law and the public knew I was Mrs. Rogers, not her.“Yes.” I said as I stood up from the bed, “You have always loved my husband, so I'm sure you made this up.”“No Anastasia,” she said and came closer to me. I looked at her confused. “Liam has always loved me; you are the one who came between us; you are the one who tricked him; I will never–”“It doesn't matter.” I cut her, an
WASHINGTON, SEATTLE 2022~ANASTASIA~I was shocked. Why didn’t William allow me to leave, and most importantly, what made him think I would listen to him?I knew I was still in love with him, but I knew when to stop. I broke eye contact and freed my arm from his grip.“You’re not leaving here, Anastasia.”“Why?” I sounded confident. “Why should I not leave?”“Because I say so.”“God…” I couldn’t believe him. I shook my head as I couldn’t find the words to respond. He was full of himself.“Now go back to the guest room before I lose my patients.” He commanded. I looked at him and then at Jimena, who was as shocked as me as she left the magazine she was pretending to read and fixed her eyes on us now.“I don’t know what’s wrong with you; I mean, sure, I was a fool to fall for you but to think you own me.” I hysterically chuckled.“I own you. I don’t know if your father told you, but the situation his company is in is not good, and without me, it wouldn’t be a company.”“Wait, you’re thr
~ANASTASIA~I slapped my forehead, which caught Scott’s attention as he turned to me with a curious look.“Is-”“Drive.” I cut him; I couldn't deal with him.“Ms. Anastasia-”“I'm not Ms. Anastasia!” I yelled, “I mean, I guess now—agh, just drive, please.” I rubbed my forehead and caught my breath. I had forgotten that I was not married to William anymore.
~ANASTASIA~“If you're here to make fun of me, then I advise you to leave now,” I said and walked back to the couch while he remained frozen.“I know, yes, I was wrong, and yes, I'm in big trouble, but trust me, I know how to solve my problems, okay?” I said as I picked up my bowl and started eating, the person still didn't respond, and I, not wanting to force anything, ignored him and focused on my food."Ana?” he finally said after a long moment.“Just get over with it Trey, what are you going to say now? That you warned me? Well, I'm sorry for being-”“I'm so sorry,” he said, surprising me. I turned to look at him, and he nodded his head and then came to me."Listen, I'm not interested in your pity.”“I'm your brother; if I don't pity you, who will?” He asked as he sat next to me, and then he placed his arm on my back and started running it in a comforting manner, “This bastard hurt you so much. I'm sorry, sis. I really am,” he continuously said, but I didn't respond as I was still
~ANASTASIA~I was on a call with Vivi; the lunch with Hudson went well. He said after I sign, he will send instructions to Williams' company asking him to either sign the divorce or lose the contract. I knew it was going to work, as William loved that company.“Yes, I mean this is like God coming through for me; how could he just agree to our terms like that?” I said to Vivi as I took my handbag and got out of the car, we were already back at the Lancaster mansion.“Yes, it must be God, but I'm just happy you'll finally get to experience real love.”“Aah, Vivi, now I just want to focus on my career and children.”“But I… I thought you were marrying Hudson, or did you change your mind?”“Santiago won't tell me what to do. The man on my side is powerful. He asked for my second favor, and I told him I was still thinking about it so I could get him to deal with my brother as well.” I said, and I wasn't lying; there was no way I was going to marry a man I didn't love.“Oh, that's…unexpecte
~ANASTASIA~Okay, I was really confused; why did it always have to be him? I mean, in Sedona, when Santiago insisted I meet the investor, it was him, the man Vivi said to be good friends with and owned a private jet; it also turned out to be him, then last night and today?I didn't understand this at all.“Hello?” He greeted me after clearing his throat; he didn't look shocked at all. I only pointed at the seat, and he nodded before he came and pulled it out for me. Without wasting time, I sat down and mentally calmed my senses.He walked back to his seat, and the waitress asked what I wanted; she wanted us to get started with drinks. I settled for water while he ordered a glass of juice.“I… are you the one I'm supposed to meet?” I finally gathered the courage and asked; his thin lips extended into a smile, and without answering my question, he asked about Ivy.
~ANASTASIA~I cleared my voice before I asked, “Okay?”“Should I pick up because he never calls me, so it must be you he wants to talk about?”“If you’re sure, then don’t. I don’t want him updated with what’s happening in my… life.” Vivi had ended the call before I could even finish the sentence.“Now get ready; we are getting late.” She said, and I nodded before I headed toward my closet.I was going to a work meeting, so I had to dress for business. With that, I pulled out my office skirt, a white official shirt, and a black suit jacket. After pairing with white heels, I was done as I did light makeup, and surprisingly, even after I ruined the style last night, the curls were still there, so my hair was good. I only sprayed it and made sure it had no splits.“Alright, I'm ready,” I said as I walked to the bedside table and picked up my phone while working on my wristwatch. “I hope the presentation is ready.”“Certainly not.”“What?!” I turned to her as she lazily got up from the bed
~ANASTASIA~Vivi looked as shocked as me; well, I was not going to fall for his games. Although this was the first he ever sent such a thoughtful gift, I was not a fool, so I looked away from Vivi.“You’re right…” Vivi said, which made me slowly turn to her, “This gift means nothing compared to what he put you through.” She said, and I nodded my head. “Oh, and that’s not the only reason I’m here.”“Okay?” I was curious as she reached into her handbag and brought out a card.“The meeting is set this afternoon at a fancy restaurant.”“What meeting?” I was confused.“Oh, we found a business investor. You know how much the company needs an investor.”“And he’s willing to invest?”Vivi nodded, confirming, “And what’s more he’s one of William's top investors. If we get him on our side, we might let’s say, convince him to leave Roger’s Enterprise; a little revenge would be helpful after what that bastard put you through.”“I don’t want revenge, Vivi; I’m the one who drugged him.”“You did?”
~ANASTASIA~ My mood was suddenly ruined, as hearing Williams's name was like rubbing salt in a wound. “Ms., are you sure?” “Don't make me repeat myself; trash them!” “Go on, you know her condition; why are you making her shout?” Carmen questioned, and she quickly apologized before she picked up the bouquet and walked toward the door. “You forgot this,” I said, referring to the gift bag. She turned and then came toward the table to get it, but before she could reach it, a knock was heard on the door, making her rush to get it, which she didn't need to. But as soon as she opened the door, the person pushed her out of the way and came running to me. “Ow, Ana?” It was Vivienne. “I'm fine, Vivi; you didn't need to come here. I told you.” I said, and then eyed Carmen to leave. Vivi and I talked about things besties would talk about, things that we didn't want others to hear. If you have a best friend, you will
~ANASTASIA~I woke up feeling better. Last night I thought I would lose my baby; Santiago called doctor Luke, as I couldn't afford to go to the hospital. William was too smart; he had loyal people working in hospitals, and so we knew he could have gotten the news of my pregnancy.Home, Doctor Luke checked and examined me; it turned out the wetness on my panties was harmless, my baby was fine, but he warned me to rest as the recent stress was weakening my body, which wouldn't be good for the baby.Doctor Luke recommended a few things that I was supposed to do to avoid what had happened to the report itself.So just like he said, I woke up feeling better, but since I was told to rest, Carmen insisted I stay in bed.I walked to the bathroom and took a shower while Carmen said she would be back with my breakfast.It didn't take long to finish putting myself together, as I was now done.I was on my bed and scrolling through my phone. I was bored, and even though I wanted to work, I cared f
~WILLIAM~I looked up at Jimena, who was now shaking her head in disbelief. “Jimena, I—”“Save it. Save it, William, I mean, I always knew there was something fishy about the marriage; I just didn't know it was… this?” She eyed me head to toe.“I think you're angry. Why don't we have this in the morning? The doctor said stress is not good for you, so—”“Oh, now you're pretending to care?”“What do you mean? You know how much I care for you.”“If you knew stress is not good for me, why the hell did you kiss Anastasia?”“Oh, that again…” I ran my hand through my hair. “I'm going to bed,” I said and turned to get my bottle, but before I could even get there, Jimena stopped me as she suddenly appeared in my way. God, I don't even know how she kept doing that when she was pregnant; she moved like a vampire.“I said no one is sleeping,” she said, blocking my way. I closed my eyes and calmed down as I remembered what happened the last time we had such a fight; she ended up in the hospital, a
~WILLIAM~I walked straight to the kitchen, went to the drink cabinet, and pulled out a bottle of whisky, and a shot glass.I walked to the kitchen counter, jumped up, and sat on it before opening the bottle and pouring the drink into the glass.I don't know what I was feeling; I mean, I should be happy that I'm marrying Jimena, that at least Anastasia would not be in our way anymore. This should be good news, but it wasn't; I wasn't happy at all. How could I be?Hudson marrying Ana? I couldn't let that happen, and the way she said it earlier sounded like she was happy.Hudson was the man she was supposed to marry, the man her family chose for her, till she decided to drug and take advantage of me. I agreed to marry her to save my fortune, and even when I was going to change my mind at the last minute, as she was a total stranger, she told me she was pregnant. I just couldn't abandon a pregnant woman.She owes me; Anastasia owes me because when her family disowned her, I accepted her.
~ANASTASIA~I calmed myself as much as I wanted to scream; I didn't want to attract more attention to myself.I looked up at his face with a bored expression. “What do you want, William?” I asked; he didn't respond; instead, he looked shocked, as if he wasn’t expecting me to have such courage. “Shouldn't you be with your fiancé?”“Are you jealous?”“What?” I chuckled, “Am I jealous?” I couldn't believe he was asking such a stupid question. When we were together he told me I had no right to be jealous so what a foolish question. “Why should I? I'm not your wife anymore, so who you marry is not my business.”“You're jealous,” he said with a mischievous smile. “I told you, you thought you could leave me; you're the one who drugged me so I could sleep with you. I should be the one to leave you.”“Blame game again; God, you're so sick.”“Yes, I'm sick of you. Following me around, did you think I would cancel the engagement when I see you?”“W-what?” Okay, he was out of his mind. “Let me go