Caspian paused and let her walk first, following behind her afterward. “Good morning, Mariam,” Anna greeted as they walked into the dining, taking their places on the chairs. “Good morning, Mrs. Riordan, Mr. Riordan.”She proceeded to serve breakfast. Anna moaned in satisfaction as she took a bite of the sandwich, her head bobbing up and down in satisfaction. Once she took a taste from the mug of tea, her eyes grew wide. “OhmiGod, Mariam, where is this tea from?”Mariam lowered her head. “It’s from India. Older Mrs. Riordan sent it.”“That is great, I see.”Soon Mariam walked out of the dining room, leaving the both of them alone. Anna continued eating her sandwiches in silence, occasionally passing glances to the man who sat astride her in his usual work clothes. Halfway to the meal, she abruptly dropped her fork, her gaze on him. “A…about yesterday.”He raised a brow. “What about it?”As he raised his gaze from his food to stare at her, she found herself looking away from him.
“Happy birthday to you.” Elle blew the candles of her birthday cake after the last line of the birthday song. Clapping afterward, her eyes scanned the crowd of people in the room with her. Her friends and a few of her high schoolmates were all present, clapping at the cut of her cake. Like always, she stole the show in the hall, her dress futiling everyone’s effort to steal the show. She wore a perfect purple Disney gown that stopped right before her knees, the diamonds embroidered in it sparkled at each step she took. Her gold jewelries were as expensive as the white heels that she wore. She looked like the princess she believed herself to be.“Happy birthday, Elle,” her friends beamed, circling their seats to come hug her. “Thank you all for coming. Please sit down and enjoy the food and drinks.”“Are you going to have an after-birthday party this year?” A friend whispered into her ear.“Of course, Gina. It won’t hurt singing a happy birthday song for me the whole week right?”The
~Flashback (8 hours ago)~ Anna’s gaze fixated on the white heels before her, her eyes scanning it properly in the exact form it was brought. She placed it on her bed and looked at it from all angles. Why hadn’t she noticed the details of her past life? The heels screamed fake right at first glance. Perhaps she was too blinded by her love for Elle to notice the little detail. She didn’t know what to do with the shoes or how to change the situations surrounding it. If at all, she needed to get the letter version of the shoes to wear to Elle’s birthday eve. But she knew nothing about heels, the fake, the real, or the second grade. She needed someone who would guide her. Grabbing her phone, she decided to give her go-to person a call. Who else, if not Dali? Dali always has a solution to everything. *****An hour later, she sat astride Dali in a cafe. “I want you to help me look at these heels,” she told Dali, opening the box for Dali to see for herself.Dali held the pair in her hand
As Anna strode out the hall, she let out a sigh of relief, her hands fanning her face. She let the cool night breeze caress her face and hair as she let out the groan she’d been holding ever since she walked into Elle’s birthday party. “Goodness, I was suffocated,” she grunted. Finally, she had a breath of fresh air again. With the amount of perfume smell back in the hall, she’d been bound to get suffocated. Thinking about the event and how she ended up changing the situation, she smiled. It was a huge achievement on her part, getting to change an event that happened in her past life. She not only got to change the event, she humiliated Elle in front of her friends. Someone, tell me what bigger joy can anyone get except from seeing their enemies pained and humiliated. She’d fed on the looks on Elle’s face while acting, the facial expressions that she couldn’t hide. She saw them all, the frustration, the hatred, the pain, and the anger, she saw them all and fed in them. For goodness
Caspain raised a brow, his smile wide at her acting. Anna threw her head back and burst into laughter and as always, her laughter was contagious. Before he knew it, he was laughing with her, his eyes never leaving hers. And no, he wasn’t laughing because of her story, he was laughing because she laughed, her contagious laughter causing him to find the story funny. The way he laughed, he never laughed so hard for a long time. When had it been since he last threw his head back and laughed, worse in public where eyes were on them? But when with her, everything seemed to pale in comparison. He couldn’t care less about the eyes watching them and perhaps judging them for their loudness. All he saw was his wife, genuinely happy. He wanted the smile on her lips to last forever and as he would have it, he would make sure that her laughter never ceases. Those beautiful smiles and eyes, he would maintain them even if it cost him everything. She looked more beautiful with her head thrown back
Caspian’s eyes widened and right before the barrow could hit them, he pushed them both to the size, stabilizing her body with his. The barrow wheeled past where they stood a few seconds ago, the driver apologizing with his head down. Caspian turned to Anna, examining her body for any trace of injury. “Are you okay?”She nodded. Even with what happened a few seconds ago, her smile still stood on her lips, proud and hesitant to leave. “We’re leaving.”He held her wrist but she quickly snatched it from him. “What?”“You didn’t see what just happened? You could’ve been hurt.”“But I wasn’t? Bedside, it’s just a barrow. The worst that would have happened is a few injuries on my legs.”“Anna.”“Don’t call my name like that,” she retaliated, folding her hands under her chest, determined to not listen to him, at least not this time. She has every intention of enjoying her night and celebrating the victory she had over Elle. It was a progress, even if little. To be able to change a situation
With intertwined hands, Caspian and Anna ran out of the market, escaping the children and the other people who’d surrounded them. Once they got to a safe point, they stopped. Anna heaved rapidly, trying to catch her breath, her hands hitting her chest slowly. “Oh my,” she let out. “That was hectic. Jeez.”Her head tilted upward to look at the man who didn’t show any sign of tiredness like her. His hands were buried in his pocket, his gaze fixated on her. “Why are you staring at me like that?” She snapped. He stared at her like a mother hen waiting to scold her chicks. “You know this is your fault, right?”“My fault? How?”“Coming to the market this late and attracting the kids to us. If you hadn’t passed a hundred dollars to that child, we wouldn’t have to take off like we did just now.” “I dropped her sweets.”“And you couldn’t pay for the sweets you wanted or simply let her go?”She rolled her eyes, bringing her hand to her waist. “How can you be so cruel to a child? That was ju
“Welcome young Mrs. Riordan,” the servants greeted Anna with their heads down as she walked into the Riordan's ancestral mansion, her eyes scrutinizing the large living room for any trace of her mother-in-law. She turned to the servants. “Where is mother and grandmother?” She asked. “At the tea room, ma’am.” Nodding, she made her way to the tea room, passing through the many rooms that weren’t bedrooms until she got to the door of the tea room. The Riordans lived up to their name, having one of the biggest mansions in the country. According to rumors and articles that she read, the mansion was sold to them in an auction many many years ago and cost almost a billion dollars if not more. She pushed the door of the tea room open, peeping in with her head. Mrs Riordan’s eyes sparkled as her eyes fell on Anna, quickly standing up from the chair she’d been sitting in. “Come on in, dear.” She gestured with her hands for Anna to walk forward. Anna stepped in, walking into the waiting han