Mom had now removed the lollipop from her mouth, smiling as she whispered I was doing the right thing; well, the smile faded when she heard me mention the name.
“I'm giving you ten minutes; if you don't get here, I will release the photos,” I said, and without waiting for his response, I ended the call and sent him my address.“What was that?”“What was what?”“Don’t play smart with me; I asked you to call William, not that little doctor.”“I’m not getting a divorce, Mom; I have another plan,” I said as I sat down on the bed after pushing the stretcher from my sight, I asked for a comfortable bed, and they provided it; that’s how much power William held in this State, and I was not willing to let that go.“Harriot will do nothing, or what do you think? We can survive on a thousand every week?”“You should get a job, Mom; stop depending on me for your survival.”“I’m retired; I worked on grooming you to be the best.”“Yeah, sure, at deceiving man.”~VIVIENNE~Ever since Harriot and I had that argument about him wanting a surrogate, things have been crazy. Yes, I was the problem, but why did he think I would be comfortable with having another woman carry my child—our baby?He made it worse when he told me his parents were asking for grandchildren, in as much as I wanted a child. I knew it wouldn't receive the same love as Hudson’s children because, to Mom, Harriot was a man after her wealth, so for him to say his family wanted an heir and suggested that we find a surrogate hurt me. After all, what if Mom decides to disregard the child—it was already bad that he would be the father but another woman carrying it would be something else.I was so upset with him that I left that night and went to Mom. I knew she was not the best person, and usually, I would go to Hudson, but he was married now, and with what Ana was going through, I knew she needed him more than me. That's why I risked going back to Mom.I wasn
~ANASTASIA~ I was still waiting for William to answer my questions—why he took my daughter to the hospital, why she was injected, and why he didn't tell me. Because clearly if Ivy hadn't mentioned it, he could have kept it from me. He asked me to sit and then told me it was just stress-related, that it wasn't actually a needle, that Ivy was just exaggerating. Well, I knew my daughter well, and if she said a needle, then it was a needle, but I didn't have the time to argue with him since he said he took her just for a regular checkup and that taking her there after five days is just for a checkup. I let it go but made a mental note to go to the hospital and speak to the doctor because something in me told me he was hiding something and I had to find out. Ivy returned just in time, saying she was tired of looking at the wall. I didn't ask her to look at the wall; I just told her to go to the bedroom. I didn't punish h
WASHINGTON, SEATTLE 2022~ANASTASIA~Most stories open up in pleasant settings, but mine started in a prison cell. Never did I imagine I’d end up here, especially for the man I loved. God, life is unpredictable!I was staring at the dirty ceiling, watching the spiders scurry around. How had I ended up here? Then I heard a voice, snapping me back to reality.“Mrs. Rogers?” A guard's voice snapped me back to reality. “You're going home,” she said as she unlocked the cell. A smile tugged at my li-ps. Finally, I was going home—my husband was here for me. I had feared he’d forgotten about me.A few months ago, he had begged me to take the blame for hitting someone while speeding. “You’re just a housewife; it won’t affect you,” he’d said. He promised to pick me up when I got out.As we walked to the reception, my heart sank. The man waiting for me wasn’t my husband. My bail had been paid by someone else. “Of course, it’s not him,” I muttered under my breath.The officer asked if something
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 will have my lawyer start with the process,” He brushed his fingers across his mouth, 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 now?” I whispered, trying to understand, “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 temples; he always did that and always complained about how unhappy he was, but I knew marriage wasn’t easy; I knew he wasn’t himself, so I stepped closer and tried to touch his hands, but he flinched away.“What the fck? W
My head spun as I stumbled back to the bed, clutching my chest against the stabbing pain.“I did you a favor packing your bags. I could’ve just thrown your things everywhere,” Jimena sneered, her words slicing through the silence. I ignored her, desperately trying to steady my breath.“You… you can’t be pregnant. William won’t accept it.”“Are you calling me a liar?” she snapped. I held her gaze, refusing to show how much she was hurting me. I was William’s wife. She was just his mistress. It didn’t matter if he loved her—by law and to the world, I was Mrs. Rogers.“Yes,” I said firmly, rising from the bed. “You’ve always wanted my husband. I’m sure you made this up.”“No, Anastasia,” she said, stepping closer with a wicked smile. “Liam has always loved me. You’re the one who tricked him. You came between us—”“It doesn’t matter,” I cut her off. Her expression faltered. “I’m his wife, and that’s all that counts.”“He’s going to divorce you,” she said in a confident voice. “He loves me
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 threatening me with my father's company?
~ANASTASIA~I slapped my forehead, which caught Scott’s attention as he turned to me with a curious look.“Is-”“Drive.” I cut him.“Ms. Anastasia-”“I'm not Ms. Anastasia!” I clarified, though I was choked up as I said this., “I mean, I guess now—agh, just drive, please.” I was choked up as I said this...It was hard to face the truth that I was not married to William anymore.Scott nodded his head and then started the car. I took a deep breath as I tried to calm myself.I rested my head on the seat and closed my eyes, as I knew it would calm me because I needed to be as calm as possible. I scratched my arms as they were a little itchy—I hadn't had a proper bath in days.Even with my eyes closed, I didn't miss it when the car came to a stop, I quickly opened my eyes, and without waiting for Scott, I assisted myself out of the car.“My apologies Ms Ana-Rogers…” I bumped into him as he was about to open the door for me.“Just give me my bag.” I sniffed, and Scott without wasting time ru
~ANASTASIA~ “If you're here to make fun of me, then I advise you to leave now, brother” 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
~ANASTASIA~ I was still waiting for William to answer my questions—why he took my daughter to the hospital, why she was injected, and why he didn't tell me. Because clearly if Ivy hadn't mentioned it, he could have kept it from me. He asked me to sit and then told me it was just stress-related, that it wasn't actually a needle, that Ivy was just exaggerating. Well, I knew my daughter well, and if she said a needle, then it was a needle, but I didn't have the time to argue with him since he said he took her just for a regular checkup and that taking her there after five days is just for a checkup. I let it go but made a mental note to go to the hospital and speak to the doctor because something in me told me he was hiding something and I had to find out. Ivy returned just in time, saying she was tired of looking at the wall. I didn't ask her to look at the wall; I just told her to go to the bedroom. I didn't punish h
~VIVIENNE~Ever since Harriot and I had that argument about him wanting a surrogate, things have been crazy. Yes, I was the problem, but why did he think I would be comfortable with having another woman carry my child—our baby?He made it worse when he told me his parents were asking for grandchildren, in as much as I wanted a child. I knew it wouldn't receive the same love as Hudson’s children because, to Mom, Harriot was a man after her wealth, so for him to say his family wanted an heir and suggested that we find a surrogate hurt me. After all, what if Mom decides to disregard the child—it was already bad that he would be the father but another woman carrying it would be something else.I was so upset with him that I left that night and went to Mom. I knew she was not the best person, and usually, I would go to Hudson, but he was married now, and with what Ana was going through, I knew she needed him more than me. That's why I risked going back to Mom.I wasn
Mom had now removed the lollipop from her mouth, smiling as she whispered I was doing the right thing; well, the smile faded when she heard me mention the name.“I'm giving you ten minutes; if you don't get here, I will release the photos,” I said, and without waiting for his response, I ended the call and sent him my address.“What was that?”“What was what?”“Don’t play smart with me; I asked you to call William, not that little doctor.”“I’m not getting a divorce, Mom; I have another plan,” I said as I sat down on the bed after pushing the stretcher from my sight, I asked for a comfortable bed, and they provided it; that’s how much power William held in this State, and I was not willing to let that go.“Harriot will do nothing, or what do you think? We can survive on a thousand every week?”“You should get a job, Mom; stop depending on me for your survival.”“I’m retired; I worked on grooming you to be the best.”“Yeah, sure, at deceiving man.”
~JIMENA~I was pacing around in the stupid hospital gown; gosh, I was a celebrity. If any of my fans saw me like this, I would kiss bye-bye to my career because not only did the gown make me look crazy, but my tangled hair went extra as I looked like a psychic patient.I still couldn't believe that lady. I mean, what made her think I would work with her to break Hudson and Anastasia up? I'm not stupid; I knew if that happened, then William would go running to her. She told me she planned to kill Anastasia, but I was not a monster; I couldn't kill anyone. Sure, I mentioned doing anything to get Ana out of my way, but murder was not one of them.I asked her to leave, and she left her contact number with me, telling me to call if I changed my mind, and that I would play a big role in the plan.“If only the stupid doctor had diagnosed me with cancer as I asked.” I said out loud before I turned to Mom, who was seated on the chair sucking a lollipop, unbothered, “You won't be sucking that l
I was honestly confused; yes, I loved William, but not enough to be with him. Even now that he was confessing to loving me, it didn't change the fact that I wanted nothing to do with him. The fact that he cheated on me multiple times, that he treated me like trash, that he sent me to jail and didn't give a shit about my whereabouts.So clearing my throat, I thanked him for telling me.He mentioned Julliete telling him I also looked drugged. Yes, it was four years ago, but I still remember someone whispering in my ear that the handsome man wanted to speak to me. The man was William, and since I had seen him on Gianna's phone and was the reason I went there, I just saw it as destiny as I walked up to him.It happened so fast that I was walking with him to a hotel room, and the next morning we woke up naked—trending on social media. Well, that's when his grandfather suggested the marriage thing, and since I wanted to piss Dad off, I accepted that even when he later changed
I wish I could say I didn't want to talk to William, that I had nothing to say to him, but I had a lot; I wanted to set it straight that the kiss was a mistake and call him out for mentioning it to Hudson—making sure he understood that we were never going to get back together and that his little plan failed as Hudson understood it was a mistake.Nodding my head, I turned to Ivy and asked her to get me my phone in the bedroom even though I knew I left the phone in the kitchen—I wanted to buy us some time.Ivy listened as she walked in and headed to my bedroom. I walked in while William followed me behind. I mean, this was like his home too, so I didn't need to invite him in.“Before you start, I want to make it clear to you that the kiss was a mistake. I didn't mean to kiss you back and trust me, your confession meant nothing.” I said, and he nodded his head, “I asked you to keep it between us; why did you mention it to Hudson?”“I told him before you asked me to keep
~ANASTASIA~I was in the kitchen making a sandwich as I spoke with Carmen on the phone.She was telling me about her daughter; she was just as beautiful as in the photos. She went to see her but didn't dare to approach her and tell her the truth, but she was positive she told me she was going to see her again today, and this time she was going to tell her the truth.Carmen then, after I asked about the family—especially Dad—asked if I told Hudson about the kiss. I explained to her that William already told him about it, and he started behaving so weird—acting like I cheated on him.Well, I regret telling Carmen that as she gave me a lecture about how I owed Hudson the explanation, how everything I had to do I had to think of how it was going to affect Hudson first; according to her, I'm supposed to consult with him first as he was now my husband.I didn't want to argue, so I just kept agreeing.“And I think you should give that young man a chance; he loves you, he found my daughter be
~JIMENA~“I can walk on my own,” I said, pushing the nurse who tried to help me; I just couldn't stand the thought of doing all this for nothing.“I'm sorry, Mrs. Rogers, I'm just doing my job.”“I didn't ask for this.”“I know Mr. Rogers insisted; he wants to make sure you won’t harm yourself or the baby.”“Harm myself? Do I look crazy to you?”“No, Mrs.”“Just… give me a moment alone, please; I want to put my thoughts together,” I said and faked tears, as I knew crying always worked.“Alright, Mrs.,” she said and moved a distance from me. She had brought me outside for fresh air. I couldn't believe William traveled back to LA, leaving me in this condition, not even a text knowing I was carrying his child—it was not the truth, but he didn't know that.I ran my hands into my hair as I tried to think of what to do; the plan I had involved him being here, but now that he disappointed me by not showing up God, I have to think fast before I lose
I couldn't believe what James had just told me, “Alright, try to see if you can get the audio of the footage; I want to hear what was spoken.” I instructed, and he agreed; ending the call, I turned to my daughter, who was having a conversation with Juliette.“So?” Juliette asked, and I cleared my throat before I thanked her and told her she could just go, as I will be with Ivy. “That's okay, take care, okay?”“Thank you, Juliette.” I thanked her again as she bid Ivy goodbye, and after she left, Ivy asked for ice cream, but it was late, so I told her she could have that tomorrow.“Alright, Daddy, can we call Mommy now?”“Yes, of course, but we should get to our room first,” I said, and she agreed; as she stood up, I also stood, and holding her hand, we walked back to the room.Inside, I got my phone and called Anastasia; it was shocking that she hadn't tried to call to ask if we had landed or if Ivy was okay. I mean, the Ana I knew would have taken advantage of th