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
I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here in silence, but it must be a few hours. I still couldn't believe my mom said all those words to me. That she stole from me, let alone blew my cover; what if Carol was listening? What if William could walk in and maybe catch on to our conversation? My life could be over by now, all because of my mom.I don’t know when she left the room, but I remember her asking me to prepare myself to make the video, or she would tell William the truth.This was a big lie; it could not only end my marriage but my career too.I was just shocked that she was the one who convinced me to keep pretending I was still pregnant even after losing the pregnancy; she’s the one who arranged everything with the doctor, but now if it were to come out, I would be the only one in trouble.I was feeling more like myself. I got up from the bed and walked to the mirror. I had tears, and my eyes seemed a bit swollen, I guess from the crying.I quickly wiped my tears before I s
~ANASTASIA~I was here, physically, but my mind wasn't. I sipped on my tea before my thoughts consumed me.I still didn't understand how Juliette was Mr. and Mrs. Grant's daughter while she was working for Hudson; it just didn't make sense.Last night, after seeing the picture, I kept it to myself but didn't know how to act, so I made up a lie that my stomach was upset and then left without speaking to Mr. Grant.Luckily I still didn't find William or Jimena, which was unusual as the Jimena I knew wouldn't give me a chance to rest. Well, I thought maybe they were at a hotel or something, which was not my concern as at least I was left alone.Today I woke up and found that they were not yet back. I was happy, but when I reached the office and found that William was not there too, I got a little worried and was going to call him if not that Vivi had called earlier, and of course, I told her I was going to call William, but she forbade me from doing so. She even asked why I still had his
~JIMENA~I was feeling much better; meeting them was really a great idea because they calmed me. They assured me that everything would work out; I was not going to lose William, and the baby was going to be born. Yes, I was not pregnant, but we had another plan.I parked the car and took a deep breath as I was about to go inside where I knew my mom was waiting to force me to make the video, which I was now more than happy to make.I was just about to open the car door when my phone started to ring. I didn't want to pick it up, but seeing it was my mother, I rolled my eyes and picked it up.“I'm outside.”“Good, now go in there and get your pretty face crying.”“Wait, you're not home?”“I came for a drink; this might be my last night out.”“Yes. I mean, I'm going to make the video now.”“You better, because if I go down—”“I’m coming with you; I got that part okay.” I cut her off as she was beginning to irritate me.“Good, now let me not distract you.” And with that, she ended the call
My whole body was shivering, and I knew standing further would just make me faint, so I sat on the bed and I tried to put myself together; it was very difficult with William standing in front of me as he waited for an explanation, which I didn't have.I just blamed myself for purchasing online and having them deliver to this address; what even came over me?“That's it? You're not going to explain this?” I heard him ask; his voice sounded harsh, and it hurt me because William, no matter the mistake I made, would always side with me. He never lost his cool with me. I sent Anastasia a vibrator on their anniversary; it was very disrespectful, and I knew it was, but William just warned me not to do it again.Whenever we were out, I would take pictures and send them to Anastasia, but he would do nothing. I even intentionally bullied her in his face but he still sided with me, now hearing him shout at me caused my heart pain.“Jimena?!” he yelled, and that's when I let tears roll down my che
~ANASTASIA~I was very shocked hearing Mrs. Grant say that. I then agreed to go to a cooking lesson with her as I wanted to hear what she knew and why she did what she did—putting me in the same room with William.I couldn't even concentrate. I really wanted to hear Mrs. Grant out, so as soon as it was lunch, I informed Sebastian I had something important to attend to. Of course, he tried to stop me, but I used William. I told him how I didn't have a partner, and he fell for it as he let me go.Outside, I didn't even need to tell my driver where I was going, as he told me Mrs. Grant had informed him already.In the car I kept my mind busy by thinking of Hudson's situation; I didn't understand why he didn't want his child when even the devil rushed and took me to the hospital to get me tested when he heard I was pregnant. I could read William, so when the doctor told him I was not pregnant, I could tell what he was feeling. I wasn't sure at that time, but now thinking of it, William lo
I was so upset. I remember Hudson speaking to me about announcing the pregnancy as his. I asked him to wait; I was still thinking about it. I know Vivi told me it was a great idea; that that way I could get rid of William, but there was no getting rid of William. We had Ivy, and no matter what, we would still be connected.I calmed myself, as I didn't want to cause a scene, but I knew if I stood there any longer and pretended everything was okay, I would be lying to myself, and all I wanted was to confront Hudson about it, so I gave Mrs. Grant her phone back and told her I had to go. She tried to stop me, but I didn't listen, and not wanting to cause a scene, she let me go.I was already outside about to enter the car when my phone started ringing; I quickly reached for my handbag and picked it up.“Santiago?”“I saw the news; I'm so proud of you.”“What news?” I asked, entering the car.“The pregnancy, you don't know how much you saved our family’s name. Finally, you are doing someth
Years back I would immediately cry; whenever Carol said something bad to me, I would cry—cry to William, who never did a thing about it. Well, I thank God for my experience because now I know how to defend myself; calming myself, I cleared my throat and asked her what she was talking about.“It is not a joke.”“I know it's not; that's why I'm confused. What do you mean by my baby is my ex-husbands’? Did Hudson say that?”“Hudson is a fool, but I'm not. There's no way you got pregnant when you rarely spend time—”“When I was in Sedona, I met Hudson.”“W-what?”“How sure are you that we were not having an affair? How sure are you that we didn't sleep together, Mrs. Frost, or do you have cameras installed in his apartments?”“No, it's impossible.”“Hudson and I are expecting our first child. Yes, Maddison is pregnant too, but I'm his legal wife, and the public will support me.” I really didn't want to do this with her, but if I had to defend myself, this was the only way.“No, that baby
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear what Juliette was saying. All I heard was, ‘On my way,’ before the call cut.Julliete was a good friend of mine; we were not only family friends but also childhood friends. We attended high school together. Remember the high school Hudson attended too? Well, she was friends with him too, and I had no choice but to speak to him as well.Hudson was not like me; I quite knew what I wanted from the start. They used to call me a nerd well before I changed in college. Hudson, on the other hand, was the popular boy—looks, tattoos, muscles, you name it. He was every girl's dream, well, nightmare, as he never stayed with a girl for more than two days. He suddenly dropped out, and the next I heard of him was on the news as the new young billionaire who multiplied his family’s businesses.He helped Juliette when she came to be close to Trey, as she was head over heels for him. Well, the playboy never paid attention; I always told her that, but she
I was searching for a car that I could collide with and not cause damage. I mean, yes, maybe the car, but not the people in it, as I didn't want anyone to get hurt, just me, or maybe just a little, as it was the sacrifice I had to make.“Or maybe I should just hire a truck to bump into me,” I said as I couldn't get a perfect car for it, the one in front of me seemed to have a family, and after fucking up my own, I couldn't afford to ruin another man’s family, and the one behind, gosh, they will easily realize, and I could shut them up. I had the money for it, but Ana then would know the truth and my efforts would be in vain.I was still trying to figure everything out when my phone, which was on the backseat, started ringing.I couldn't pick it up as it was a little far from me, but I still tried to reach it but to no success, as I had thrown it a little distance from me.The phone had stopped ringing, and that's when I saw it was raining. Well, my plan wasn't going to work now; the t
~WILLIAM~I had already bought the flowers; the shop assistant helped me pick Ana’s favorite. Apparently, I’m famous in Seattle because she recognized me. She gave me eyes when I asked her to help me pick Ana’s favorite. It’s like she knew Ana wasn’t mine anymore, that I fucked up—yes, fucked up.I mean, I had it all, a loving wife, the one who sacrificed her life—gave up on her career to be with me. Yes, I do remember Mom asking her to quit trying to work or go to college, and I thought that was it. Yep, stupid me wanted her to leave, but then she didn’t. She gave up her career for me?…I had a beautiful daughter, smart at that, ideal for a perfect family, but what did I do? Fuck it up.Remembering that made me mentally face-slap myself because what was I thinking?Why did I do this?Why did I treat Ana the way I did?It wasn’t even her fault, and I knew it…She was also drugged, but I still went on and put the blame on her. Martinez disowned her; she had no one but me. Instead of tr
~WILLIAM~“What do you mean she's not coming with us? It’s Ivy’s first game; she should be there.”“I tried to talk to her, but she didn't want to listen. Now are you coming in or not?”“Where is she?”“She's preparing for the competition.”“Opulence? She has a week for that; why would she miss her daughter's first game?”“And how am I supposed to know that?”“You’re her… husband; you should have—”“What? Talked her out of it?…” He chuckled, “The funniest thing I've heard today. Now, the game starts at three, but we should be there by two. We still have an hour.” He glanced at his wristwatch before he asked, “Do you want to help us make orange juice?” I shook my head; I still couldn't believe he was my brother. “You can come in or sit in your shitty car until we’re done.”“Mom wants to talk to you,” I said out of the blue, I don't even know why I cared. I mean, this man was about to steal my woman, and I was here trying to mend his relationship with his mom.“My mom is home, thank you
It's been exactly about a month since the revelation of Vivi being my sister and the incident of her hitting her mother. Well, that day Megan explained everything, and up to today I still couldn't believe the story, but I knew she was telling the truth, so I didn't doubt that.“I am running late,” I said as I kissed both Ivy’s cheeks before walking to Hudson and pecking his lips. “Alright, you two have fun, okay?” I said, reaching for my ringing phone.“It's a weekend, Mommy. Can't you come with us?” Ivy asked for the fifth time now—she was helping Hudson make orange juice.“I wish I could, but I can't. Next time, okay?” I said, and after she nodded, I gave her another kiss on her forehead before finally leaving.Outside, I found Matt waiting for me, and after greeting him, I got in and told him we would be going straight to the company.“We will go to court later,” I said, and he nodded before closing the door and shortly joining me.Harriot's hearing was today; there wasn't much evi
I was a little slow, so when I reached there, I found Hudson trying to help Megan, as she seemed to be bleeding, but she wasn't on the floor like I expected; she was standing, and what's more, telling Hudson she was okay.“It's just a minor wound; don't worry.” “If we don't stop the bleeding, it might cause you to lose a lot of blood, and it's on the forehead; any mistake might cause an infection which can later spread to the eye,” Hudson said, making me turn to Vivi, who was standing next to the snooker table.Her facial expression was mild like nothing was wrong; my eyes then traveled to her hands, and there I found that they were shaky. I didn't need to guess, as I then knew what had happened; she was the one who hit Megan.“Vivi!” I quickly rushed to her and tried to take her in my arms, but she refused.“Ana, oh, should I say, sister?” she said with sarcasm. I turned to Hudson, who spoke:“She hit Mom; I don't know with what, but she needs a doctor; please call the doctor.” He s
Vivi abruptly ended the call, and knowing Vivi well, I knew there was going to be trouble. She was someone who never took betrayal, so turning to Trey, I spoke:“You did not kill Dad; it was his time to go, and it just so happened you were the one with him, but he is gone now. Drinking, gambling, or even getting into fights won’t bring him back; it will just bring more problems. Santiago is not well; you know how death reminds him of Susanna. Everything is on Gianna now, which is not fair. Get treated and get back on your feet; help Santiago like he had helped us.” I said it in one breath, and I don’t know if he was listening, but he was quiet.“I’m leaving now; the doctor will come and treat you. Once you’re good, I want you to go back to the mansion and take it from there. I can’t do it; I’ll be going into labor soon.” Standing up, I walked toward the door and was met with Nicole, Hudson, and a man, who by his dressing code I recognized was a doctor. “He’s ready for you. Hudson; we
I didn't know where to even start, but as Nicole said, if I didn't show up, Trey might die, and I knew how stubborn Trey was, so telling Hudson who was waiting for me to explain, I turned to leave, but he, of course, stood in my way.“You've just regained your consciousness, you need rest.”“That same consciousness won't let me rest, knowing my brother is about to die.”“I'll take care of it, take a bath, have dinner, and relax, Trey will be fine, I'll—”“I'd rather go there. I hadn't seen him in a while. I need to speak to him,” I insisted, and Hudson, seeing I wasn't giving in, had no choice but to allow me to go with him.Everything moved so fast that, before I knew it, we were in the car. Matt drove us to Williams' home.“Vivi, can I call you back?” I said as I picked up my ringing phone.“I can't wait, Ana, I need you.”“Alright, what happened?” I said, rubbing my forehead.“It's Harriot. He doesn't want to leave prison, he thinks he deserves it. He said he would be pleading guil
I wish I could say Carmen had an explanation for this, but she didn't. Instead, she looked down, avoiding me, and that was enough to give me an answer… I really couldn't deal with this right now, and just as I was about to say my goodbye because with how this turned out, she didn't deserve to be here, she had to leave even if I had to kick her out myself, well, that's when someone knocked, and I asked them to come in.“It’s your phone, Mrs. Frost.” It was the servant who took my handbag earlier; I had forgotten that my phone was in the bag, so looking at Carmen one last time, I walked out, taking my phone from the servant.“Santiago?”“Hi, Ana. Are you with Hudson? Is… it true?”“W-what's true? Can you calm down?”“He… Susanna…”“Yes, what about her?”“Her death… it wasn't natural; someone caused it.”“What?!” Okay, what was this?“Hudson just called.”“Hudson? But how…?” I stopped myself as I thought for a second, how did Hudson know about Susanna? “How does Hudson know about Susanna