Dylan had a long day, he was at Prestige till seven in the night, signing papers and making sure that everything was in place. He instructed the security at the company not to allow James or his father near the company and he also disabled their key cards. He had done what he set out to do. James' arrest was still making headlines, and other parts of the world had picked up the news, too. But Dylan knew taking Prestige from James and his father wasn't enough; yes, it was a big blow, but he had to make sure that Mr Smith didn't make any backroom deal to keep James out of prison. Dylan got into his car, and his driver took him home; he hadn't talked to Anna or Emma all day except for the one text message he sent to her before the board meeting; he was sure that would be worried and for some reason, that brought a smile to his face. He didn't know how it happened, but it did; Anna was a part of his life now. The car stopped in front of the house and Dylan got down. He
The next day, Dylan and Anna dropped a very excited Emma off at school. They had talked to the school principal, the school nurse and Emma's teacher, explaining Emma's condition to them and then before they left the house they introduced Emma to her new security guard Finn whom Emma had taken a shine to, Anna thought that Emma wouldn't like the idea of a security guard but she was fine with it. Dylan assigned Marcus to Anna; seeing as Anna was already familiar with him, it would make the transition smoother. The driver dropped off Dylan first at Prestige, where he would be working out of for the week, and then the driver took Anna down to Kings Hotel. With all the travelling, Anna had never been to the office; she had been doing everything remotely, and it all went well thanks to her capable assistant, Grace. Only Grace knew what she looked and sounded like; no one else in the office knew, and Anna liked it that way. She wanted to use her first day back at work to see
Dylan was back in his office; he had made reservations at NOBU, one of the best sushi restaurants, to celebrate Anna's first official day at work. Anna had mentioned in passing that she had never been there. Everything was going well, he checked in with Luke and everything in London and the disbursement of the drugs was going well also. The board didn't say anything about him leaving; his finance people were still looking through Prestige books, so all he could do was wait until they were done. There were so many reporters camped in front of Prestige and Kings Enterprise everyone wanted to know what was going on; the only thing they had to go on were speculations. Dylan thought that Mr. Smith would give a statement, but apparently, he saw through his anger that it wouldn't be an idea. Because at that moment, Dylan was the angel that had swooped in to save his company, and everyone knew that. Dylan knew that he had to issue a statement, but he needed to have all h
Since he arrived back in the States, all James did was eat, drink and fuck. If his father thought he was useless, he was going to live up to the reputation. He got up from his bed, where Kendra lay on the other side and passed out. James put on his silk robe and walked out of the room. His house was now a prison; his father made sure that there were guards posted at every entry and exit. But he was able to sneak Kendra in because it was his house, and he knew it better than the guards, which meant that he could leave whenever he wanted; he just didn't want to, and he had no reason to. He had no job because his father had removed him as CEO, and the woman he loved was on the other side of the world, and until his court case was over, he couldn't go anywhere near her. James wobbled down to his bar and grabbed a bottle of bourbon; he didn't even bother taking a glass and pouring the drink; he drank straight from the bottle. “Hmm Hmm.” Someone cleared their throat and J
Dylan dipped out of work early, his finance guys still weren't done, and all the other projects at Kings Enterprise were moving smoothly, so there was nothing left for him to do; he freshened up in his office bathroom, and then he left. He had been looking forward to this dinner all day and the look on Anna's face when she realised where he was taking her. He drove his Aston Martin while his security followed behind him in the SUV. He parked his car in front of the hotel and asked the security to wait. He took the elevator up to the twelfth floor, and luckily, most of the staff had left. He didn't like that Anna wanted to keep her maiden name in the office, but he understood where she was coming from, but in two months, the article would be out, and everyone would know that she was his wife. He knocked on her door and walked in, she looked up from the document she was reading. “What are you doing here?” Anna asked him. “I told you I would pick you up for dinn
The next day Dylan was back at Prestige in his office, but his mind couldn't help to go to last night. He and Anna had an amazing time; after she got over her shock, the conversation flowed; she told him all about her first day of work and her run-in with the receptionists, Dylan got pissed, but Anna told him not to worry and that she would handle it and Dylan trusted that she would. After dinner, it seemed like Anna wanted to tell him something but every time he thought she was about to, she would change her mind. When they got back home, they both checked in on Emma, who was sleeping peacefully and then they went to his room. That night, the sex between them was different, the atmosphere was different, and it wasn't like other times; it was slow and sensual, and they both took their time. There was only one word for it, they didn't fuck, they made love, that was the only word for it. Did he love Anastasia? He had never loved anyone in his life, he never allowe
James walked back into his room. Kendra was still passed out, and he didn't bother waking her up to tell her he was leaving. He took off his clothes and had a quick cold shower to shock the remainder of the alcohol out of his system. He put on a pair of black sweatpants and a black shirt; he didn't want to draw attention to himself, so he topped it off with a black face cap. He stepped out of his room, looked left and right and made sure that Liam wasn't anywhere near and then he snuck out of the house. There was a secret exit by the garden that only he knew about and that's what he used. He had already ordered a ride and it was waiting for him outside. He got into the back of the car and told the driver to drive. “Where to sir?” The driver asked James. James was about to mention the name of a bar where he frequently went but he stopped himself, he realised that wouldn't be a good idea with his current situation. “Take me to a seedy bar that you know of.”
“You don't mean Dylan Knight, the owner and CEO of Kings Enterprise?” James asked her, he couldn't believe it. “Yes, that's him, do you know him?” Kate asked. “Yeah, I know him; he's the reason I've been having a bad week.” James said as he took a sip of his beer. “Really? What happened?” Kate asked James; she was now curious. “He took something that belonged to me. I tried to get it back, and it blew up in my face.” James said. “Whoa, sorry about that.” Kate said, and then she looked at James, and that was when it clicked, why he looked so familiar. “Wait a minute? I've seen you somewhere before; that's why you looked so familiar; you're the guy that's all over the news; you kidnapped a little girl.” Kate whispered harshly. “Yes, I did. But I didn't hurt her, what the news forgot to mention is that the little girl is my child.” James said. “Is she though? Or are you just trying to justify your actions?” Kate asked Jame
EPILOGUE. SEVEN MONTHS LATER. A lot had happened in the past seven months since Dylan ran to the airport to stop Anna from leaving. Now, it wasn't smooth sailing between them; they both put in the work by going to therapy and working on their relationship, and they were good now, only choosing to go to therapy twice a month. Dylan stuck to his word, and he was the best husband; the night they came back home, he told her everything about her life, from the moment he was taken away to London, he told her everything, not leaving out any detail. He had also waited on her, hand and foot, since he found out she was pregnant, not letting her do any strenuous activities; he was the perfect husband and father. In those seven months, something else also took place, the cases were tried in court and her father and Mr. Smith were both sentenced for murder and Mr. Smith was first murder and attempted murder. Her father was sentenced to thirty years and Mr. Smith was
Anna and Emma arrived at the airport about forty minutes later, they didn't have much, just two suitcases, one for Anna and one for Emma. Anna paid the driver, and she and Emma got out of the car. She held Emma's hand and used her other hand to wheel in the suitcases. They were about an hour early for their flight. They walked into the airport, and she checked in her bags, and their tickets were scanned. The attendant told her that they would announce when the flight started to board. Anna thanked her, and then she and Emma walked over to some chairs to sit down. Emma had been quiet throughout the journey, and Anna knew it was because she missed her dad; she hated that she was feeling that way; it was all her fault. She was the one that brought Dylan into their lives. “Hey, sweetie, do you want to watch some cartoons on my phone while we wait?” Anna asked Emma. “Sure, I guess.” Emma said as she shrugged. Anna put on Bluey for her and gave Emma t
After Anna was discharged, she spent two days on bed rest by order of Caroline; she didn't complain, though; it gave her enough time to think of her next plan. Just like she thought, Dylan had not come to look for her, and she didn't blame him; in the end, they weren't meant to be together; there were too many secrets and lies between them, but it still didn't change the fact that she loved him. Emma has been asking for him constantly, and Anna has had to lie that he was away on a business trip, but she knew that lie wouldn't last forever. So she had to plan, she knew one thing for sure, and that was she couldn't stay in New York, and if she was settling down in another place, it couldn't be London. So after two days of planning she decided that she and Emma would move to Australia, there was a hotel there that had been trying to poach her for months, so she called them and asked if the job was still available, they said yes and she accepted it. The job came with a
Anna blinked her eyes open and she was hit with a blinding light that she had to close her eyes and groan in pain. “Anna, are you awake?” She heard Caroline ask. She opened her eyes slowly so she could get used to the light, and when they were fully opened, she saw Caroline standing by her side. “Oh, thank God you're awake; you gave me quite a scare, Anna. I'll be right back, let me go and get the nurse.” Caroline said and then she left the hospital room. Anna was confused. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was watching the press conference with Caroline and Emma was sleeping. Emma? Where is Emma? Anna frantically sat up on her bed as he looked around the room but there was no sign of Emma. Caroline walked back into the room with a nurse. “Welcome back Mrs. Knight.” The nurse said. “Caroline, where's Emma?” Anna asked, her voice was scratchy because her throat was dry. “They have a daycare here; I didn't think that you'd wan
After Dylan saw Anna's car drive off, every atom in his body wanted to go after her but he couldn't. He had to attend the press conference and he wasn't worried because Marcus was with her. Fucking Kate, it was like she planned it or something. He had to come in through the back and go up to his office because everyone thought that he was dead and then a few minutes after he walked into his office, Kate walked in. Her eyes were red and it was clear that she had been crying. When she saw him she hugged him so tight saying that she knew he wasn't dead, Dylan asked her why she was in his office and she said she was there to beg for her life and that Dylan should spare her, she confessed that she was working with James but only to get him away from Anna and they she had nothing to do with the plane crash. Dylan wasn't shocked to hear that she was working with James; I mean, it would explain the pictures they were sent to Anna; someone had to take them. While s
“Let's go to the living room so I'll be able to keep an eye on Emma.” Anna told Caroline. “Why do you need to keep an eye on Emma? Anna, what's going on?” Caroline asked again. “I'll tell you everything, let's just go sit down.” Anna told her and then they both went into the living room and sat on the couch facing the TV and opposite where Emma was sleeping so Anna was able to keep an eye on her. “You better start explaining yourself, Anastasia George, or is it Knight now?” Caroline asked her. Anna released a huge breath and then she proceeded to tell Caroline everything. How she met Dylan at the hotel, how she got into a contract marriage with him and in exchange, he agreed to protect her from James and bring him down. How they went to London, Emma's kidnapping, and her heart condition. She told her how they slowly but surely fell in love and admitted their feelings to each other. How everything was so good and then it all went so bad, from the th
Anna ran as fast as she could, she could hear Dylan call out her name behind her but she didn't stop to look back. It was all too much, he had lied to her about everything. She got into the elevator and frantically tapped on the button for the down floor. She could see Dylan getting closer, but the doors closed just in time. She wasn't free just yet, and she knew it; she wouldn't be until she got as far away from Dylan Knight as possible. The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out; she knew Dylan wasn't far behind, probably opting to use the stairs. She ran out of the lobby. She knew she was drawing attention to herself, but she didn't care. She stepped outside, and thankfully, Marcus listened to her and the car was still parked outside the office. She ran to the car and opened the door. “Drive Marcus now.” Anna told him with urgency. “What's going on Mrs. Knight?” Marcus asked her. “Just drive Marcus.” Anna told him as she looked back at t
Anna slowly brought out the folder that had her name on it. She opened it up and on the first page was her basic information, her name, date of birth, house address, place of work, things like that and then she flipped to the second page and she saw her pictures, pictures from when she was picking Emma up from school, going to work and coming back from work. Did Dylan have her followed? She continued flipping through the pages, and she could see that this folder was like a dossier on her life; everything about her was in that file: her marriage to James and her parents. Anna didn't understand why Dylan had this. It was when she flipped to the next page that her heart dropped to her stomach. They were pictures, and she recognised the place, it was the club, and she was more sure of it because, at the top of that page, it was written in block letters: ANNA SIX YEARS AGO. She looked at the pictures, and the more she flipped through them, the memories from that night
By the time Dylan was done with his call and he went up to their bedroom, Anna was asleep. His talking to her would have to wait till tomorrow, but he had to do it before the arrests were made because once they were made public, she would surely put two and two together. Especially since Lucas informed him that she wanted to find him, something happened when she went to see her parents, that had to be the only reason why she wanted to find him urgently. But what could've happened? Could she have found out the truth? No, that couldn't be it, whatever it was, he would ask her about it tomorrow morning after he told her the truth, that's if she was still talking to him after. He took off his shirt and trousers, left only his briefs on and then he got into bed with Anna and wrapped his arms around her, even in her sleep, Anna turned around, seeking his warmth. ************ The next day, Dylan woke up expecting to have Anna by his side, but when he opened his eyes