“Welcome back, ma’am, welcome back, sir.”Anna stared at the middle-aged woman who bowed at them in front of the penthouse, her eyes scanning the woman from her head down to her slippers. “Wh…who?”“Oh, I’m sorry for not introducing myself. I’m Marian, the housekeeper.”Anna nodded. “Ahh, nice meeting you then.”“The pleasure is mine. Please come in, I’ll help you with your suitcases,” grabbing their suitcases from them, she spoke. Anna and Caspian made their way into the penthouse, eyes tired and red from their flight. Like two enemies, they walked to the hallway and parted ways to their rooms without saying a word to each other. Well, it wasn’t Anna’s fault. Caspian had refused to say a word to her ever since they started the rude. He stood her up and kept his distance like she was some kind of disease and throughout the ride, she was by herself, keeping herself busy. “Home, sweet home.” Anna slumped on the bed. Has Caspian’s home really become like a real home to her? Well, she
‘Is he avoiding me?’ Anna thought. She’d woken up early for work but when she got out, she learned from Marian that Caspian had left even earlier for work. He doesn’t usually leave so early so that only meant one thing. Caspian was avoiding her. Ever since they had pizza back at the beach house, he’d been avoiding her, not going the same way she came, always waiting for her to get out of sight before he did whatever he wanted to. She did nothing, why was he avoiding her? “Bastard.” She groaned. Here she was trying to work in her office space and yet again, the thought of him filled her entire being. She could only think about him and not the pile of workloads on her table. Luckily the Coopers’ film Production company has been going well even in her absence. If he wanted to play the silent treatment game with her, he should have asked first. Maybe she would have told him that she was best in the game and he would eventually get tired of it but she never would. And maybe she would hav
A home is where you're loved, where your family are ~ Caspian RiordanRia rolled her eyes as she stood up from the chair, grabbed her bag, and turned to walk out of the office. She stopped just as she got to Dali, turning her head to the side and glaring at her.“What?” Dali passed her a questioning look. “Don’t look at me like that. I'm not the cause of your life issues.”“Trust me, your life has more issues than mine. Lowlife reporter.”“At least better than you who leeches of her father’s money. Why don’t you just start gugugaga like a fucking baby.”Ria clenched her fist, resisting the urge to walk over to the girl and give her a piece of her palm. “Cry me a river. I see how jealous you are that you’ll never have a taste of my life.”“Ohmigod,” Dali exclaimed dramatically, closing her mouth with her palms. “Trust me, Ria, I’d rather die than live a life like yours. Disgusting.”Anna’s palm finally collided with her table, silencing the two women before her. “Enough! No mention
“Jason? Elle?” Anna’s lips trembled as she watched her husband and his mistress, her very own sister scramble to grab their bathrobes, trying to hide their nakedness as their eyes fell on her “How could you two?”She wanted to believe that she was imagining things, that it was her mind playing games with her but the look on their faces crashed the truth of the situation over her. Elle’s fingers hurriedly tied the robe around her body and smothered her disheveled hair. “An…Anna,” she called, her eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry.”“Sorry?”“Sister, please.”“Fucking say something.” Anna’s rage took over. She needed someone to tell her it was a prank. She needed someone to tell her anything, just anything even if it was a lie. It was her baby shower/gender reveal party and she’d come in search of her husband only to hear them speak about their ploy against her in the bathroom. Elle stepped forward, wiping the fake tears from her cheeks. “Since you already found out, we’ll tell the
Anna stared at him as he hurriedly took steps to slip the 10-carat diamond ring into her finger. Just as it slipped an inch, she flicked her ring finger causing the ring to fall on the floor, rolling until it got out of sight. “Anna! That was expensive.”“Anna!”The gasps of the guests filled the hall, their hands closing around their mouths in shock at the turn of events. “Oops! I guess it’s too cheap for my finger. Maybe my finger deserves something more. I deserve more than a mere 10-carat diamond ring.”“Annalise Cooper.” Anna turned to the owner of the voice behind her. Her stepmother stormed angrily towards her. “What has suddenly gotten over you? You were so excited about this and insisted on getting married to him. Do not disgrace our family,” Gritting her teeth, Sylvia warned. “Mother, but I no longer feel excited. What should I do?”“You think you’re worth more than a 10-carat diamond ring? Go with the plan and stop complicating things.”Anna flipped her brunette hair ba
You know me, I love bringing great business proposals that benefit both parties.” Anna took slow, deliberate steps toward Caspian trying to sound confident. “This proposal, Mr. Riordan, will benefit us both, you especially, considering your passion for your company.” “What are you scheming now, Anna?” “Scheming? You downgrade me too much. You and I know I'm quite good at business proposals.” “Whatever that is going on in this mind of yours,” he tapped on her forehead with the tip of his index finger. “Get rid of it. Your groom is waiting. I'm uninterested.” “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you don’t grab it, someone else will. Marry me instead of Elle, and I'll make your company rise to the brim fully.” A heavy silence followed after her words, her nails tapping together as she waited for his response. She cocked her head to the side, trying to read his expression but as always, he remained stoic and unreadable. A deep chuckle finally rumbled in his chest, bre
“Come on in,” With a glint of amusement dancing in his eyes Caspian made way for Anna as he opened the door of the room. “Surprised? Now you know I have a room in your family’s hotel.”Shuddering, she took steps into the large hotel room, her fingers intertwined together and her heartbeat increased. The room was spacious, more spacious unlike the other rooms in the hotel which she had been in. She flinched as he closed the door behind him, her legs instinctively pushing her to run. ‘Goodness, Anna. What were you thinking walking into the Lion’s den?’ She thought, her muscles tensed. If there was anyone she couldn’t trust in the world, it was Caspian. He was overly unpredictable.“Back to business. I don't have all day here. We should get started.”“Huh, Mr Riordan.” she laughed awkwardly. “Do we have to do this? I mean, we can postpone it, right?” What happened to the confident Anna that she was, downstairs?His eyes narrowed. “Strip.” Anna’s hands instinctively wrapped around her b
“Sister, we were just talking about you.” Elle stood up from her chair and strode toward Anna. “I tried to convince them that it wasn’t your fault.”“You did?” Anna’s brows raised. “Anna Cooper!” Mr. Cooper rounded the table, gliding across the room, his scorching gaze piercing her soul. “What nonsense did you do at the party yesterday? How dare you try to ruin our family’s image?”“Father…”“I don’t want to hear any excuses. You’ll fix your mess.” His voice raised. “Go back to Jason, grovel at his feet if you must but make it right. You brought this upon yourself and you’ll fix it.”“Father, I’m no longer interested. I’d appreciate it if you understood that. You can go ahead and marry him if you want.”Rolling her eyes, she took steps, heading to the stairs that led to her room but before she could take more than a few steps, Sylvia blocked her path, her red hair tied in a tight bun as she glared at her. Before Anna could say a word, Sylvia’s palm cracked against her cheek, reverber