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~ANASTASIA~I couldn't believe William was standing in front of me and asking such a ridiculous question.“You know well what I'm talking about, my daughter?” He came close to me, and I moved back, chuckling in disbelief, “This is not a joke, Anastasia; my daughter's life is at risk here.”“And so now you care? I mean, that girl is four years old William. Where were you all those years?”“What are you talking about? You took her from me. If anyone should be complaining about that, then it should be me.” He didn't sound like he was joking or anything, which was what pained me the most; he always had to blame someone else for his mistakes.“Okay, I don't know what drug you took, what you drank, or what came over your head, but this is not funny; unlike you, I value people's lives, so leave.”“I should leave? Ana, is it that you want to punish me using my daughter? You want me to take you back if I want to see my daughter?” He came close to me, and I kept moving backward; I couldn't stan
~ANASTASIA~Alright, I know I said William might have taken alcohol or drugs, but trust me, these were cheap drugs. Yes, he was high on cheap drugs because how dare he even say such a thing?I should attend his engagement party with Jimena? What was I—a robot?But I didn't want him to stay any longer, so I forced a smile, grabbed the invitation card from him, and asked him to leave.“I'm only leaving because Jimena needs me,” he said as he took out his ringing phone. Of course, Jimena; it was always her; she always needed him.When he finally left, I slammed the door before letting out a scream.“Aah!” I ran my fingers through my hair; I was going to scream more when the door suddenly opened and the last person I expected to see came in.“Dear, are you okay?” It was Carmen; she tried to touch me, but I pushed her hands away. “You need to calm down; stress is not good for the baby.”“Oh, so you know?”“Dear?—”“Don’t you dare call me your dear!” I raised my voice, “I'm not your daughte
~ANASTASIA~I was still in shock; a tear rolled down my cheek, which wasn't caused by the pain but by the fact that my father had slapped me. Never in his life has he ever raised his hand at me. Not when I was a spoiled heiress, the times I recklessly spent money, or the times when I was just a child and tore up his most important contract, so why…why now?My hand gently rubbed my cheek even when I didn't feel the burning pain anymore; it was just in my chest.“I will not allow you to disrespect my wife. Not when she hasn't found her eternal rest,” he said, his eyes filled with tears.“Calm down,” Carmen said, now rubbing his back.“I will tolerate everything but not my dead wife's disrespect. You know how much I loved her, how much her death affected me, so how can you even think to say such a thing?!” He questioned, his whole body was shivering, and I knew he was very upset.“Oh, it did? You were just a husband, I was her daughter, her last born. How do you think I felt seeing anot
~ANASTASIA~Just like Carmen instructed, I rushed to call Margot, who, when she heard, asked me to call Dr. Luke while she rushed to him. I was too shaken, so I asked one of the servants to call Dr. Luke.Dr. Luke arrived almost immediately, and I was now waiting outside Dad’s bedroom with Carmen while Margot was inside.I wanted to know what was going on, so I kept pacing outside the door while Carmen stood still.“He's going to be okay.” She said, but I didn't respond as I kept pacing. It was all my fault; why did I have to be this evil? I caused so many people pain, first it was Hudson, whom I publicly embarrassed by sleeping with William, then William, who I forced to marry me even when he loved someone else, then taking Ivy from her father, and now my father. “Come with me,” she said, which made me stop and turn to her. “I have something to tell you.” She added, when I looked hesitant, Well, I knew whatever she had to say had to do with my dad, and so I agreed and went with her
~ANASTASIA~I couldn't stand and blame myself; I had to fix this. Grandmother died with the wish; Mom died with that same wish. I will not let my father die leaving that wish to someone else; I will help him fulfill this wish even if it means marrying Hudson, even when he was like a brother to me.I walked out of the library with Carmen following behind. I didn't hear what she was saying, and I didn't care.When I reached Dad's bedroom door, I didn't wait as I walked in.“Ms. Anastasia?” Dr. Luke didn't expect me to enter without knocking, but I didn't care as I walked to the bed where Dad was lying; my heart skipped a beat when I saw his dry lips, but before I could scream, Margot said something that calmed me down.“He just needs thirty minutes of rest and he will be okay.”“I think it's time she knows.” I heard Dr. Luke say, and I knew what he was talking about, but I ignored him as I walked to Dad, sat on the bed, and took his hands into mine—they were so cold and I still couldn't
~ANASTASIA~It still felt like a dream; William had finally agreed to let me go. I didn't want him to change his mind, so I quickly rushed to my bedroom, took a quick shower, and then rushed down. I informed Margot where I was going before heading out.The driver took instructions seriously as he drove at a fast speed. I was still fixing my makeup in the car, so when I was done, I realized we had arrived at my jewelry company, ‘Adira Jewels.’ I stayed frozen as looking at it reminded me of Grandma; she always brought me here even when I was just a little girl. She told me how I would one day take over from her and make her proud. I thought she was going to be with me when I did, but, well, life really is unpredictable.I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw a car park in front of us; it belonged to William, so I knew it was him. I couldn’t believe he got here so early; if not that Dad was dying and I needed to marry Hudson, I would feel bad that he couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I
~ANASTASIA~I didn’t have the answer to that. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize I was biting on the pen and that William’s and the lawyer's eyes were on me because when I snapped out of my thoughts, I almost jumped.“Mrs. Rogers, you do not look ready.” The lawyer said while my eyes traveled to where William was supposed to sign, I was shocked to find that his name was already written on it.Seeing that broke my heart; I mean, he had never loved me, not even one bit, so of course he was going to sign it, and besides, I'm the one who asked for the divorce.Without wasting much time, I positioned the pen on the striped line. I was going to write my full name on it when I heard William sigh heavily. I looked at him and was shocked to find that he was forcing his eyes shut while making a fist.I knew he was impatient; he wanted me to sign quickly, so, turning back, I used all my strength and wrote my full name on it.“Alright, it’s done. I will send each of you a copy of
~ANASTASIA~My eyes roamed her body from head to toe. I was shocked to see the clothes she was wearing, a very short dress that barely covered her thighs and very high heels, and for a second it made me question if she was really pregnant, but again I knew she was, as William and she had spent the past four years of our marriage together.“Jimena, what do you want?” I asked as she was looking around as if searching for something.“Oh, nothing.”“Then leave.”“Of course I will, but not until I tell you this.”“You know you don't need to threaten or tell me how much William loves you anymore; he's all yours.”“I know that, but I'm not here to tell you that; I'm here to ask you to sign the divorce.”“W-what?”“Of course, you know William doesn't love you; his ego won't let him sign, but if you know what's best for you, then you'll sign.”“I already signed the divorce agreement, so I don't know what you're talking about.”“You what? I mean…” She cleared her voice. “That's good. Is that wh
I was now pacing around, still in a towel, as I thought of what to do with Anastasia when someone suddenly knocked, and without waiting for my permission, they let themselves in.It was just who I was looking for.“Mom, you won't believe what just happened,” I said as she placed the bottle of champagne on the table. “William is now picking her side.”“Whose side?” She didn't really sound interested. I mean, her life depended on my marriage with William, so it should worry her.“Who else if not Anastasia, that bitch!” Her name now naturally irritated me, as if separating us was not enough; now she had the nerve to still be in his life even when he was married to me. I am sure she influenced Mr. Grant into putting them in one apartment, and if not that, what I had to take care of here in Seattle was serious; I would have stayed there and made her experience hell there in LA.“You need to calm down; that's not how a woman talks about another woman.” That was Mom's r
~JIMENA~After the failed show, I took the first flight here, taking Mons' advice; she said it would be best if I was with him when he found out so I could know how serious the situation was.I mean, I only wanted to attract more clients; I had the best, so everyone in Seattle should buy from me. Why did Anastasia even sell jewelry when she had such a bad taste?Well, it failed. I don't know how, but somehow the jewelry turned out fake, and trust me, I checked before the show, so whoever did it was inside the room with me.After Mom pulled a show for Carol, she told us where her son was living, and if there was a state I knew well, it was LA, especially the wealthy people's homes, so when she said the Grant home, I told her to say no more. As landing in LA, I ordered a cab, which took me to them.Now since I was good at the manipulation game, I got a key to the apartment, and unfortunately, things didn't go as I planned because William was horny for his ex-wife. Well, I didn't really
~ANASTASIA~I won't say I was surprised; I expected that from Jimena, to cause a scene, but I didn't think she would go so far as to try to stain Williams' name, not that he didn't deserve it, but the way she made him look, I'm sure everyone in this room would start giving him the side eye.I was by my desk, thankfully by myself, as William went out with Jimena. I prayed he wouldn't come back, as I couldn't deal with them today.The rest of the team was already discussing things with their partners—well, decent partners, because William, god, he was just a headache. I keep wondering how things were just working in his favor, first the apartment and now this. It's like it was all planned; maybe we were shooting a movie or something because there's no way things just turned out like this.With that, I looked around, not that I was sure there were cameras, but lost in thoughts.It was beginning to feel boring, so I stood up, and seeing that no one was concentrating on me, I walked out. I
~WILLIAM~When James told me Jimena had left the house, I knew she had come here; I just didn't get how she found my address, but knowing her well, I knew it was possible—she knew LA well—she often came here for work.I quickly rushed to the apartment, and as expected, she was there, dressed provocatively. Well, seeing her even half naked didn't turn me on, so I asked her to cover up, and seeing she failed whatever she had planned, we ended up arguing.She talked of how this was my plan; yes, I once mentioned that it would be good if she got pregnant, but I didn't mean it. I only wanted to go raw because she always asked me to wear a condom, and you know how irritating that is; sometimes I feel nothing in a condom.After the argument, Jimena left—slamming the door hard, and I didn't follow her as I needed a moment; I was worried that Ana heard part of the conversation; so I knew if she heard then my plan to win her wouldn't work.I walked to my room and paced waiting for Jimena, as I
Mrs. Grant turned to me with an expression that clearly said she was sorry, which confused me, as whoever she invited to her table was not my concern.“Thank you. Please, do you have champagne? Marriage can be stressful sometimes.” She asked as she sat down and picked up a glass of water.“How far along are you?” Mrs. Grant asked her, and she, for a moment, looked confused; it’s like she forgot that she was pregnant, and then, as if the words just clicked, she laughed, Mrs. Grant being polite as always, tried to laugh with her, and realizing she answered:“It was a joke; you should have seen your faces.” She said, which made Mrs. Grant nod.“Yes, Jimena can be so funny sometimes; I even wonder why she didn’t register to be a clown instead of a modeler,” I commented.“Yes, she is.” Mrs. Grant agreed before she picked up her glass of juice and sipped on it.“Yeah right, I'm so talented.” Jimena sarcastically said she was giving me those eyes that she always gave me. “Mrs. Grant, did you
I didn't care that William never loved me, but wanting to hurt me so much somehow weighed me down, I knew standing here and crying about it wouldn't change a thing, so taking a deep breath, I put myself together before I used my fingers and touched the skin below my eyes just to make sure I had no tears, even though I didn't feel any. I just couldn't afford to allow William or Jimena to see tears on my face again.After calming down and being sure I had no tears, I made my way toward the door. I didn't care that I would distract them; I just wanted to leave there.When I reached the door, I turned to them and they were silent for a second. It wasn't surprising that they were both looking at me; well, I didn't need to explain myself to them, but I still did.“I’m going to have dinner with Mrs. Grant.”“We don't—”“You should too; arguing causes wrinkles,” I spoke over Jimena as she tried to act smart, and with that, I left, closing the door behind me.Jimena always wanted me to be that
Okay, I didn't understand what Jimena was doing here, and sure, it caught me by surprise, but I knew Jimena well; I couldn't let her intimidate me, so after hanging my coat, I walked to where she was.“What do you think?” She asked, showing me her toenails, which she was painting red, “William is obsessed with red; I thought to spice it up by adding these stones.” She said, sounding like we were friends, I mean, the man she was trying to impress was my ex-husband, the man she stole from me, so what made her think I would be here giving her tips on what would work? “Come on, don't tell me you're still not over him. Like, how does that even make sense? He never loved you.” She made a pitiful face before blowing on her nails, I guess to dry the polish.I didn't have her time anymore, so I told her they looked really beautiful: “Match them with red lingerie; I'm sure William will like that.” I added walking to the kitchen as I got a bottle of water.“Really?” I heard her voi
William seemed shocked; it's like he didn't expect me to agree—maybe he wanted me to refuse and look bad in front of Sebastian; I mean, that's what he always did, so it was no surprise. “Come on, Mr. Rogers, I'm sure you can contribute to the conversation,” I said, a smile on my lips, he hesitated, and I can almost guess he almost changed his mind, but knowing him, he cleared his throat and sat.“Of course I can; what are we talking about?” he said in a challenging tone.“Well, this is Sebastian, Mr. Grant’s personal—”“We have met.” Sebastian cut me off, “Mr. Williams, one of the most successful businessmen in Seattle.” Sebastian, adjusting his glasses, said, God, I didn't realize Sebastian admired William. I mean, everyone else did; I just didn't think Sebastian was one of them—William is one of those men everyone admired; men wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him. Well, little did they know that the William they knew was very different from the William I knew.William se
CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES 2022 ~ANASTASIA~I didn't realize that the car had parked already. I was so lost in a conversation with Vivi, forgetting that I was in front of a guard as I laughed freely. When my senses returned, I bid Vivi goodbye and promised her I would call Hudson as soon as I got time; she said he was worried.I also needed to speak to him about Maddison; Vivi telling me she was crying to Mrs. Frost touched me. She was a mother and only wanted the best for her child, even though she was not doing it the right way. The child was innocent, and I had to make sure Hudson would be with her, of course not as she wanted him but as the father of that child. At least she was doing the right thing, trying to involve the child's father, unlike me, who was hiding it from the father.After ending the call with Vivi, I fixed my makeup and made sure I was good to go. This was my first impression, and I wanted to look presentable.“Should I give you a call later, or?”“I wait here.”“U