~WILLIAM~“Mrs. Frost is not pregnant.”“What?” I grabbed the document from his hands to see for myself.“She might have had a lot of carbs for the past months; that’s—”“So you’re telling me it’s body fat?”“Yes, Mr. Rogers, Mrs. Frost—”“Stop calling her that!” I yelled as the ‘Mrs. Frost’s title was irritating me—it’s like he was purposely reminding me that Anastasia wasn’t my wife anymore.“I apologize; is there anything else you want me to do for you?”“Yes, I would like another test.”“Absolutely not!”“Are you hiding something?” I turned to Anastasia, who now shook her head, “In fact, I don’t trust this doctor. I would like for us to go to another hospital.”“I am not doing that. You saw the results. I’m not pregnant. Why do you want to frustrate me?”“I’m not forcing it on you; I just want to be sure.”“I promise I didn’t make any mistakes.”“No one asked you, doctor,” I turned to the doctor before I looked back at Anastasia. I honestly don’t know what I was saying; I mean, th
~WILLIAM~There was silence, and I knew Vanessa was trying to pick the right words.“I want us to appear for trial by next week, so get it done now.”“Mr. Rogers, can I speak my mind?”“What? You fought with the lawyer?”“No, it's about Ms. Ivy. She's still just a child; I don't think taking her would be the best decision for her.”“Why?”“Considering she didn't grow up with you, you know, change of environment and—”“She didn't grow up with Anastasia either.”“Ms. Anstasia is her mother.”“And I'm her father, Vannesa. I'm not paying you to question my decisions.”“I'm sorry, I'm just thinking of the well-being of Ms. Ivy; this will be a big change, and it will affect her greatly.”“Like I said, I'm not paying you to question my decisions; I'm paying you to carry out my instructions.”“You're right, Mr. Rogers; I will call the lawyer right away.”“I've seen many single dads raise their children, so why would I not be able to?”“Yes, single dads, you're not single, Mr. Rogers; you have
~WILLIAM~No, this was crazy; I wouldn't just re-propose to Jimena when I was not even sure I wanted to marry her anymore; the only reason she was still here was because of the baby in her womb.Not wanting to cause any misunderstandings, I walked toward the stairs, ignoring Karen, who kept saying things. She threatened to drag me to the venue so I could propose to her daughter.I reached the bedroom and removed my clothes—leaving me in a trunk, then headed toward the bathroom but stopped by the door as Jimena came in.“Listen, you better speak to your mother. I—”“You know how she is.”“No, you are not being serious.”“It's not a big deal, William.”“It is a big deal.”“Why? You're marrying me either way; why not let her just help?” Jimena asked and I scratched the back of my head, not knowing what to say. Was I going to marry her? “William?”“Jimena.”“You do plan to marry me, William, right?”“Listen—”“I will not give birth out of wedlock. If you don't marry me, then you just have
~ANASTASIA~Hudson surprised me that night when he said he was willing to raise the baby; he had a condition, though, that we announced to the world that I was carrying his child instead of William. I was afraid the media would take it the other way, so I asked him to give it a few days.The news of my belly showing was already trending, but Hudson asked me not to worry that he would take care of everything.We didn't share a bed that night; I was not comfortable, so he used the couch while I slept in the bed.The next morning he woke up and said he was going for a run. I also woke up early as I wanted to take a shower and see Ivy and explain to her that I wasn't leaving her.I was on my way to the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around my body, when I heard a knock on the door. I knew it couldn't be Hudson, as he had just left, and I received the shock of my life.William.Fast forward William heard of the trending news and wanted a pregnancy test done. I knew he was not happy that I
~JIMENA~After James parked the car, I got out without waiting for him to open the door for me. I was so upset that I just wanted to break something, and I knew three to four plates would do.I walked straight to the door and surprisingly found it open.I headed in; I was not shocked to find Mom sitting in the living room since when William and I traveled, we left her there.“Sweetheart?” She stood up, and I only looked at her before I made my way to the kitchen. She followed me behind and asked me to stop, but I didn't, as I went straight to the cupboards where the plates were. I targeted the glass ones, and taking a pile, I started throwing them one by one on the floor—shattering them into a million pieces.“Jimena!” I heard my mom yell my name, but I didn't turn; instead, I kept throwing the plates on the floor. Mom didn't dare come close, and the plates in my hands were now finished. If I'm not mistaken, I broke like seven, but I wasn't satisfied, so I took a few more and did the
~ANASTASIA~After I agreed, Dad called Mr. Grant and informed him that I would be the one to compete for his partnership but also told him not to treat me any differently. I didn't want to get the contract because they are good friends. Just like Dad, I wanted to work for it; I wanted to earn my position in the family since Santiago had been complaining about being the only one working for the family—I wanted to prove a point.After the call, Margot returned with Ivy, who didn't surprisingly run to hug me.“My love,” I got up and walked to her; she was still holding onto Margot's hand. I tried to take her from Margot, but she refused. “What's wrong?”“You left me, and you came to tell me you'll be leaving me again.”“Honey?”“But you promised me; you said you'll never leave me again.”“Yes, I—”“Then why did you leave me last night?”“That's why I'm here to explain love," I said, then held her hand, and this time she didn't move. I turned back to the family intending to ask them to ex
~ANASTASIA~It was shocking that Trey had a girlfriend; I wanted to know more, but I remembered Hudson was on his way, and I still had to explain to Ivy why I couldn't take her with me, so I focused on that.Ivy was understanding, although I had to make a deal that I would see her every day.After talking to Ivy, Hudson arrived, and Ivy was both excited and shocked to see him.“We should go for the ice cream date, I lost, remember?” She reminded him of the ice cream date, “Mommy doesn't stay with us anymore, but when she comes back, I will let you know; you should give me your contact information.” Ivy insisted. Yes, I hadn't told her I was now married to the man, and Hudson didn't seem ready either as he played along, pretending like he wasn't here for me.“Alright, baby, I will come and see you tomorrow,” I said and kissed her cheeks; it was sad leaving her, but I had to.After bidding goodbye, Hudson and I left after Margot took her away as I couldn't allow her to see us leaving to
~ANASTASIA~I remained silent as I watched Hudson and Gabby now argue like I wasn't there at all.I wasn't even surprised; I told you how marrying a billionaire wasn't a blessing as everyone made it seem, how these men were never faithful, how all they could think of was their wealth, and how they used their money to get any woman they wanted. So this didn't shock me at all.Well, a little, as the way Hudson behaved made me start falling for his lies, but now that it was revealed, wow, I was just glad it happened before anything, well, not that I was going to fall for him, but at least now I wouldn't feel bad.“You promised it was not going to happen.”“Yes, I know, but things happen, Hudson.”“What about the doctor? I personally took her myself.”“Again, it didn't guarantee a hundred percent safety. Look, Hudson, the point is she's pregnant, and she can't work as your flight attendant anymore. She's carrying your child, your heir, Hudson.”“Which is a mistake, an illegitimate child.
~WILLIAM~It's been a month since I returned to Seattle. I've been working mostly from home because I had to spend most of my time with my daughter—I had to help her with her homework since Ana was not in a state to, and the Lancaster family was all a mess now.Gianna was busy helping her husband run the company and house; even their son was mostly assisted by their servants, and I didn't want my daughter to feel neglected again, not now that Ana was barely a mother to her. Hudson even mentioned that sometimes she forgets she is a mother or that she is pregnant.I wanted to be here for Ivy; that's why even at times I had important meetings that needed my presence, and I went with her, and she attended the meeting with me. She literally had a seat in the conference room, and you won't believe she once gave her opinion, which made sales, but I loved her because she knew when to keep quiet. Now I was convinced she was given an adult's brain.While at home I've been chec
~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