"What about this bruise on my cheek. It looks like a slap mark." She said in confusion.
Now he didn't know how to answer her. She clearly doesn't remember what happened and he doesn't know what happened. But he was sure that the mark was from a slap. But he can't let her know that, without knowing her state of mind.
What a troublesome situation it was! The girl in front of him is the main trouble!
"Oh, my god! Don't tell me your evil ex secretary slapped me and I fell down, losing my consciousness and breaking some bones?" She exclaimed dramatically, making him confused.
"My evil ex secretary?! Where did she come from in this conversation?" He asked in astonishment.
"Well, you can't blame me for thinking that she was responsible for this. She seemed pretty obsessed with you and the title of being your secretary." Anastasia said with a roll of her eyes.
"But it was your first day of office!" Selena exclaimed in confusion."Ye...ah! I know! But… but his secretary was gone in the middle of the month, right? And it's my duty to accompany him in all his business trips like a responsible secretary. Shouldn't I? You tell me what you would have done if your boss would have called you at the middle of night for a business trip?" Anastasia asked her in a hurried tone, a small try of keeping Selena's head off of the 'sudden business trip'.Selena called her just after she and Darius finished having breakfast. They have been talking for almost half an hour and their conversation didn't move from her sudden business trip even for a second. Selena was doubtful of this. But more likely she was worried for Anastasia. Anastasia has never stayed away from her and she gets nightmares almost every night nowadays. So, she was worried of what's going to happen if she gets one in this one week.
"What happened? Why did you call me here so urgently?" Darius asked with a frown as soon as he entered the room.Noah was talking with someone on the phone and so he kept quiet and waited for him to finish the call. He walked toward the table and leaned back on it and heard Noah's conversation. Noah seemed tensed and frustrated for some reason which indicates that whatever happened is something very serious. So, he mentally prepared himself for the worst."What do you mean by you don't have any idea?! Are you kidding me, huh? Leave the job if you are so incapable of doing this! Get that?!" Noah shouted at the person over the phone. He waited for a moment to let the opposite person say something which seemed to frustrate him even more as his eyes turned almost black in anger as he gritted his teeth. "You even dare to say that?! I will make sure you lose your job, you idiot! I was informed about it two days later! Two goddamn days later! N
"What are you doing?" Darius asked, coming into the kitchen."What do you think people do in the kitchen, Mr Henderson?" Anastasia asked and gave him a small side look which said 'duh'."I know what people do in the kitchen, Miss Samuel. But asked, what are YOU doing?" He asked with a small roll of her eyes."I am making food, Mr Henderson." She replied curtly and concentrated back in flipping the pancake which she was making.Darius walked toward the kitchen where she was and turned off the gas making her protest immediately."Hey! Why did you do that? The pancake isn't fully cooked yet." She said in a complaining tone and frowned at him.He ignored her complaint with another roll of his eyes and pulled her toward him by her fine arms. Her eyes widened as he did that and she looked at him with shock but kept her mouth sealed, waiting for him to say som
"What's the status? Did you find anything?" Darius asked over the phone.He was in his office while Anastasia was in the suite, working on the files he had given her. She is better now. Her last set of bandages will be taken off tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be the seventh day of her stay there. After that she is going to return to stay with Selena.And it's been seven days and he still didn't manage to find out the culprits. He was frustrated about that would be an understatement. He wanted to get his hold on that person who did this to her, make him pay, just like he promised to himself.He and Noah got to know that Richard wasn't between all these. So, it must be someone else. Either it's someone from that colony who played a prank beyond limit or someone from the past who wanted to shut her big mouth."Sir, we found something." His personal detective answered which immediately calmed him
"Hmmm! It smells so good! What did you cook?" Darius asked after getting into the dining room."Well, I cooked whatever I felt like cooking and my instincts are saying that you are going to love it." Anastasia said while getting into the dining room with a pot in her hand which she placed on the dining table and smiled at him."Is it?" He asked and was going to open one of the lids to check what she cooked but she stopped him."NO!" She shrieked out loudly, making him jump."Gosh! What happened?" He asked with a small frown."It's a surprise. You are going to see it after you freshen up and we sit down for lunch." She said in a stern tone, making him roll his eyes at her."What's the point though?" He asked."I don't know what's the point but you are going to do whatever I am telling you to do and that's final. Now g
"So, the food was tasty, I guess?" Anastasia asked in a teasing tone after they were done having lunch.Darius looked at her blankly after hearing her but didn't say anything. As if he was lost in a deep thought and didn't know how to voice it out. His face had lines of shock which Anastasia noticed and she got tensed about his behaviour. She kept her hand over his. He jerked off after feeling her touch and looked at her with widened eyes."Darius? Are you okay?" She asked slowly while giving him a worried look."I am not." He said in a defeated tone and looked away from her. He closed his eyes and opened them."Darius, what happened? Was something wrong with the food? Was it too spicy? Are you allergic to something? Did I put too much salt in some food? Tell me, what's wrong?! I am sorry." She exclaimed in one breath while looking at him frantically, waiting for an answer.
IN THE AFTERNOON"So, it's the last day of your business trip?" Selena asked over the phone."Yes. I will be back tomorrow morning." Anastasia replied with a lot of excitement as she walked around the kitchen to clear things up on the dining table."That's so awesome! Come back soon! I miss you so much!" Selena replied in a sad tone. Hearing that Anastasia became sad too. She stopped whatever she was doing and sat on the kitchen slab."I miss you too, Lena. I will be back tomorrow even before you are up from sleep and as it's Sunday tomorrow, we are going to spend together doing all the fun things that our heart desires." She said, quickly cheering up which cheered up Selena too."Do you promise? Won't you be tired?" Selena asked."No, I won't be tired because you are going to be my energy recharger and I promise, we will spend the day together." Anastasia sa
"So, did you like the food?" Darius asked as they walked outside the restaurant with their hands in hands. There is a small garden outside the restaurant where they had their dinner. The dinner was fun. They talked a lot. Mostly, Anastasia talked and Darius listened to her with a lot of attention. She shared her favourite memories. All of the memories were of recent years, of her college life. Not a single word about her childhood. Anastasia also got to know a little bit about him. Like he has an older sister who is a psychiatrist. Also a little information about his businesses, how many businesses he has and all. He shared a little bit about his friendship with Noah which Anastasia enjoyed a lot, because Darius and Noah have a lot of funny experiences together. She also got to know that he is an orphan. His parents died in a tragic accident when he was just a little baby. She felt really bad hearing that. Her eyes almost tea
He looked at her in shock. He wasn't expecting her to forgive him nor did he expect her to be so blank. Her posture wasn't welcoming at all and he didn't want to fulfill his next set of plans after that. "Th... thank you so much, Anastasia for forgiving me." He stammered while looking down in shame, not knowing what to do or say anymore. "Do you want to say anything else?" She asked in the same monotonous tone which was like some invisible slap for him. He got up from his previous position to stand straight and looked at her with a soft look. He couldn't take her dead look anymore. It was suffocating him and he wanted to leave the place as fast as he could. "Thank you for forgiving me and sorry once again for ruining your special day once again." He said that in a small voice before hurriedly turning around to leave the place. Anastasia was
"Now, it's time for the main event for the day!" The host said on the mic in a cheerful tone and the whole audience in the ballroom shouted a cheer. "Today we have witnessed such an incredible fashion show in the history of fashion. All the dresses were remarkably beautiful, gorgeous and eye stunning which is going to create havoc in the fashion world. Now it's time to get introduced to the creator of the havoc!" The host said and took a mysterious break before announcing the name on the mic. "Let's welcome, the very talented and beautiful and gorgeous, ANASTASIA SAMUEL!" The host announced and the audience shouted loudly once again and the loud sound of claps made the building almost move. From the backstage, Anastasia took a deep breath to calm her raging nerves down. Today is the big day of her life. Today she is going to fulfill her dreams of being a successful fashion designer. Today she is g
A FEW HOURS LATER "Ahh… my heart! It hurts!" Anastasia groaned out loudly as she slowly started to come back to consciousness. She clutched her head tightly with one hand and used the other hand to sit up. Underneath her hand was soft material, meaning she was on bed. She sat up completely and leaned back, at the head board. She finally opens her eyes slowly and looks around in confusion. Her sight was still a little bit fuzzy. She closed her eyes before opening them again and this time was seeing clearer. She looked around the room in confusion as it looked really familiar to her. She looked with more concentration and soon realised where she was. She had mixed feelings about this. She was happy, excited and confused as well. So, without thinking, she hurriedly tried to get down from the bed and that's when she realised what a foolish step it was as her head suddenly spinne
THREE MONTHS LATER "Miss Anastasia, you have to get that thing out of your mind! It's not doing any good to you. You have been through all these previously and you know how worse this can get! You have to keep believing in yourself!" The woman whom Anastasia has been seeing from the past three months said in a tired tone. At that moment, Anastasia thought that it was time to change the therapist. Yes, the woman in front of her was her therapist and she was lying down on the couch present in the room which has become too familiar to her. The therapist has now started to irritate her. She is literally forcing her to believe something which is really hard for her. How can she believe it?! She wasn't stupid or sick now to hallucinate something which she didn't do, was she? No! She has changed and is over that phrase of her life. Now she remembers everything, every happenings of her li
"You are going to regret raising that hand of yours at me." Anastasia threatened in a hard tone while looking at Richard with a glare. Her face was bloody as the father and daughter duo removed all their frustration on her pretty face while she couldn't do anything other than being tied to that chair. So frustrating! If only her hands were untied! She would have showed them the real meaning of torture. They were torturing her because she denied signing the property papers. She knew that at that moment, the more she delayed the longer she lived until someone came to save her. She would die but will never sign those papers. "Oh, yeah? Who is going to make us regret? Your dead body?" Melissa asked and landed another punch on her gut and she coughed blood. But she still managed to smile to irritate Melissa and Richard.
"You are what?!" Everyone except Darius and Colton shouted in disbelief as they looked at the new person in shock."I am Anastasia's uncle." The man said with a proud look on his face as he said that.The man was in his late thirties and was a fine looking man. He has muscles and a strong aura. He was carrying a confident posture. Oddly enough, his facial features matched Anastasia a lot."Unbelievable! She… she is an orphan. She has lost everyone in a tragic accident. How can you be her uncle?" Selena asked in shock."You are right. We both lost our every closed one in the preplanned murder. Be she got saved because she was a lucky charm and I got saved maybe because I was her favourite person in the house." He said and let out a light chuckle after remembering some past memories.Even in that situation, Diana and Selena couldn't help but cru
"So, what was I saying?" Richard asked."Something about my past." She reminded him and he smirked."Right. So, are you excited to know about your past?" He asked with a smirk. She didn't say anything, just kept quiet. But that seemed to anger the psychopath as he landed another slap on her cheeks. She gritted her teeth as she could test blood inside her mouth. That bastard just busted her lips! "Answer me when I ask something. You seem to forget all your manners in this three years, huh?" He shouted at her face.She wanted to shout at him in the face and say that she has changed. She wanted to let him know that she wasn't the meek Anastasia whom he used to torment anymore. She has changed and changed for the better. She is now capable of fighting for herself. She is now capable of protecting herself.But she can't say that. It's going to ruin everything for her. It's going to ruin everything that
"You all must have a lot of questions, right? About how I know her? How am I connected to her? Why am I reacting like this? How do I know that man? So many questions, right?" Selena asked in a small tone while looking at distance with a blank look.Everyone just exchanged worried looks but didn't interfere in her talk. She let out a humourless laugh after a few seconds, confusing everyone more than necessary."You all will be shocked to know that I don't know her recently, three years ago, five years ago or ten years ago. I have known her since she was five and we were six." She said with a sad smile as tears kept rolling down her eyes without any break. She didn't even try to wipe them and let them fall freely."We?" Noah asked in a low tone while looking at her with a small frown. She looked at him with a smile of agony and he felt like it was a stab at his stomach."Me and my identical twin sist
"Anastasia… got kidnapped." He said in a breathless tone and there was a pin drop silent for a second before Selena lost the strength on her legs and was going to fall down.Luckily Noah was close to her and was quick to hold her by her waist before she could drop on the ground and hurt herself."Selena! Be strong! Please! Be strong!" Noah said while taking her in his arms and made her sit down on the couch. She let out a small humourless chuckle, her face was blank, void of any emotions."I… I… must have heard him wrong, right? Anastasia is fine, right? She is… sleeping in the suite. Why did you leave her alone there?! Do you know that she gets nightmares?! She is going to be so scared! I have to go to her! If she has a nightmare, only I can handle her. Oh god! How stupid you are to leave her there alone! Noah, can you please take me to her. I have to be with her." Selena kept blabbering while not giving anyone any chan