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
~ANONYMOUS~I took off my coat and gave it to the guard waiting by the door before I stepped in. I went straight to where everyone was, and reaching there, I found that they were seated, already discussing ideas, so I walked to the head seat and joined them.I remained silent as I listened to their ideas, but none were impressive, so I asked them to keep quiet.“How far are we with the girl?”“She's ready to step into the world,” one of them answered.“And she knows what we want?”“She wants the same.”“But you know only one can get it right?”“Yes, we use her; after she gets what we want, we take it from her.”“By holding something against her while she's still on our side.”“And do you have anything?”“Not yet, but we will soon. If we don't find any, we will create our own.”“Good, an update on Ms. Lancaster?”“Still in Los Angeles, she hasn't fallen for Mr. Frost, but her love for Mr. Rogers is dying.”“Why do you say so?”“She doesn't look at him the same way, and with the way she
~HUDSON~After hearing Williams' voice, Anastasia ended the call which left me feeling uncertain as I ran a hand through my hair.I didn't want to overthink it, Anastasia admitted to not wanting William to know of the baby so it was alright, if William was there she was going to tell him the baby was mine and she would do anything to get away from him, she was Anastasia, she wouldn't cheat on me even if the man was who she loved.“Shit.” I cursed under my breath and then dialed a contact.“Mr. Frost?”“I asked the reporter not to publish anything without my permission; I was going to ask Anastasia for permission first.”“I understand, but you know how untrusted reporters are; a little gossip like that looks like clicks and paid pages; they can't just take your word for it,” Juliette said, and she was right; I shouldn't have mentioned that in my interview, but the interview was a few weeks ago. Why did they wait until now?“It doesn't matter; I know that the reporter wouldn't mention a
~ANASTASIA~I still couldn't believe William was here on his knees begging for my forgiveness. I felt disgusted and, at the same time, confused that I almost left when he held me back by my leg, begging that I hear him out.“William?”“Please, Ana, please.”“The baby is not yours,” I said, looking away from him as he was still on his knees, he looked like he meant it, and I didn't want to pity him. “It's Hudsons’.”“W-what?” I slowly looked back at him and saw a smile on his lips; William never smiled, so I was shocked. “There is really a baby,” he sounded unsure, he then raised his hand and almost touched my belly, but I quickly moved away.“I'm saying it's not your baby. Why are you here, William?” I asked, looking to the other side as I calmed myself.“I know it's mine; you can't get pregnant; your marriage is not even a month old, and besides, you can't let any man touch you; you—”“You think I still love you?” I slowly turned and faced him; the smile had now widened. “News flash:
~HUDSON~I won't lie. I was impressed; I never thought Maddison was this cunning, but for her to think I would give in because she threatened to take me to jail? I mean, sure, she said she was going to lie that I forced her to sign the contract, and the public would obviously believe her, but I was a man. With what I've gone through, prison didn't scare me, not even a bit.“Leave.” I said, and she looked shocked like she expected me to shiver hearing prison, “Now. Before I change my mind.” I said in a warning tone, and she said I was making a mistake.“You have seventy-two hours to decide; this is only because you're too handsome, and I want you in our child's life. Don't take it for granted.” She said before she turned and left, I waited for her to close the door before I yelled; I didn't want her to think her little threats were getting to me.But shit, Mom and Maddison were now working together. What if they tried to harm Anastasia or Ivy? I knew what my mom was capable of, and for
~ANASTASIA~Last time I saw William was two years ago, yes, two years at a family dinner when Trey proposed to Nicole. From there we've only spoken through phone calls.Life has been chill and peaceful for a while now, and there has been no single drama; it almost felt like a dream — like I was dead and had gone to heaven.Okay, who do I start with, Vivi? Yes, Vivi and Harriot worked it out, and as we speak they are in Africa on a tour. Hudson and I were there last year after the tragedy, and let's just say it filled my cup as I managed to forget and found myself again.Carmen was back in Seattle, doing just fine; we speak at least once a day. Santiago, well, I don't know how it happened, but he was now with Julliete, yes, Julliete. I didn't know he had a thing for her, but well, they were together, and I must be honest, she was much better than Gianna.The day I was in the hospital, I told him about Alexander being his father. I mean, Gianna mentioned he chose me over her, so I felt
…It's been a few months since the whole drama; Hudson was the hero; he saved my babies, and I was grateful but not happy if I'm being truthful.Everything fell back into place, well for everyone, as they were all trying to move on; Mom and the priest got together.It turned out he never wanted to be a priest in the first place, that he was forced.Well, Nicole was with Trey, he still hasn't forgiven me. He always said that, and I didn't honestly want his forgiveness; I was just happy he was making my sister happy, even when I failed his sister.Life was – well, I had air in my lungs; that's all I can say now.I focused on my company and my children, of course.I got up very early and got to work. I didn't even have breaks; I always returned home late, sometimes even slept there. I would just take an hour to go and spend time with my children before heading back to either my lonely home or to the company – I've been resting in my penthouse lately.I was driving from Ana's home; it was
The beeping sound of machines forced me out of unconsciousness. Now the pain wasn't much, and I knew I was treated.I didn't really lose consciousness earlier; I was still very much aware of everything. I just didn't have the energy to respond, but after what I've heard, I was in a good mood. Ana was worried for me; she even almost went into the operating room with me. She still cared about me. She still loved me. I knew it!I don't even know why I doubted myself for a second. Man, she loved me; she can't just wake up and unlove me after all the sacrifices. I didn't even want to talk about Jimena at this point; even hearing her name irritated me. She broke my marriage. She broke my family.I felt someone caress my hand, and I knew those soft hands well. It was Ana. I will never forget how soft her hands felt. Yes, years back I pretended like I didn't care, but deep down I loved it.I felt my lips stretch into a smile as I opened my eyes. Of course, I was going to pretend to be in pain
~WILLIAM~Hudson had succeeded in keeping Ana from me, but I didn't give up. While I was searching for our babies, I also took lessons. I had to be better for her.If I wanted her back, then I had to make sure I was worthy of her. The past months have been a regret — I realized my mistakes.She was an amazing woman, the mother of my children; she deserved the world. I was a fool for chasing Jimena while she was giving me her whole. Fuck! The mistakes we make.It pained my heart to see that I was losing her. The way Hudson treated her – god, I was tired, slowly dying inside.Today was the Opulence, and I came here to support her.I was sitting in the crowd, next to celebrities, she tried to make conversation but my mind was on Ana.I was not sure if this was her revenge, but I was done. I couldn't do it anymore. She won; she won. I… fell for her.I told her I would never love her, but I was wrong because right now she was all I could think of, and they say love is like a drug, and I c
“I'm going to end this once and for all; you'll die, we’ll cry about you, and I'll replace you,” she said before forcefully dragging the woman who was earlier lying on the couch, whom I've now learned was Karen.She then forcefully removed the sack from her head and then sat her up. I saw she also had tape on her mouth but was conscious as she was shaking her head, eyes full of tears.Gianna, just like her anger, was aroused by looking at her, started slapping her, so hard, and the ‘twark’ slap sounds echoed in the room. I think she gave her like twenty slaps before she landed about two kicks and then massaged her hand.“You said I would not achieve anything; look at you now, bitch, at my mercy!” She snarled, now making me scared, as the Gia I knew wasn't like this.No wonder Vivi never liked her; it's like she knew she was this evil. Well, Vivi always asked me to stay away from her, but I never listened.“You know I was going to kill the both of you with my bare hands, but time…” She
I silently listened as Gianna narrated everything, from how she killed Susanna to seducing my brother and then drugging me and William. Yep, that was my weakness: hot men. I was young back then; I was an heiress with zero problems, so I thought I could be with only the hottest. Well, she took that as my weakness, and you know the result.“You were my ticket to wealth, and the fact that you are that woman's daughter made me want you to suffer even more. Oh, I almost forgot, Trey.” She outlined her chin and smirked before she told me Trey was like that because of her.“I'm the one who made him addicted to drugs and gambling. I started small, offering him comfort. Of course, I had to use your situation. Each time William made you look like a fool, he would beat himself about it, saying he was failing his mother…” She laughed before she told me how she first gave it to him in his coffee and then later took him to a casino in pretense to relieve stress.Now I don't remember clearly, but th
I've been asking Gianna what her motive was, but she didn't respond; she asked me to shut up, so I did as she threatened to give me more slaps.I silently watched, still not able to feel my heart; I don't know how I was alive at this point.Then after a moment, the man came back with a tray and two glasses, one of juice and another of water.“Give it to her!” Okay, I don't know why she had to scream everything; the Gianna I knew was soft. Was this perhaps her clone?The man forced the glass into my mouth, but I refused to take it. What if it was poisoned?“Take it, Ana, or I'll ask my partner to kill one of your babies; we only need one anyway.” I quickly opened my mouth and took the water. “You should have juice; we are celebrating your funeral. I'll have alcohol, of course.” She walked to the dresser, and I watched as she poured herself a drink.After pouring it into a short glass, she took it and then let out a moan before describing the taste and then saying the brand's name and a
Just like Gianna had ordered, they started kicking me in my stomach so hard that I now fell on the floor with the chair since they used a rope to trap me on it.I couldn't take the pain anymore and I started whimpering.“Good, now give her the scar.” I heard her say, and I don't know what scar she was talking about, but when I felt them push the rope on my stomach, I realized what they were trying to do.“N-no, please, no.” I hated scars!“Yes, yes, please.” Gianna mocked, “You thought you could just leave a scar on me and go free? No, bitch, you messed with the wrong girl.”I felt someone tear the dress using the knife, and I felt the blade on my skin. Okay, the way they hesitated showed me they really didn't want to do it, so I started pleading with them, but they were not listening. The blade went into my flesh with every move sending electricity through my veins, and just as I thought it was going into my stomach, Gianna raised her voice, stopping them.“Sit her up; I think she's
I would lie if I said my heart was beating faster than normal because I wasn't feeling it. It's like it had just stopped. The fact that I was still breathing and standing alive was what made me know it was still there.I could hear Gianna's voice from a distance. I didn't realize my assistant was now holding the phone for me. Of course, she asked others to give us the room.“You have three seconds to respond, or I'm dumping them in the sea. Do you know they are still alive? The doctor even said they are very healthy and that they have strong genes. I guess a Roger does that, right?” She chuckled, sounding so evil that if I didn't know her voice well, I would believe she wasn't Gianna.“Please don't… Don't hurt my babies.”“I won't if you bring yourself here. I know you know how this works. I will send you the address. No police, guards, or those maniac demons fighting for you, deal?”“Yes, yes, deal.” I quickly said, before the call cut; it only took a second for a notification to com