Annelise's POV “Mrs Harrington!" The nurse called my name and I stood up.I've been waiting here for up to twenty minutes now. It's really a bad idea to come to the hospital in the afternoon.It's safe to call the doctor that I've been seeing my personal doctor now because I kept ending up being in her office.“It's a pleasure seeing you again, Mrs Harrington." She said as soon as I got in. I smiled as I walked towards her."Same here, doc.”"What can I help you with today?” She asked, keeping aside the papers before her.“I've been feeling really tired, too tired these days. And I slept for more than twelve hours yesterday. This is different from morning sickness and I know it." I said in a serious tone.She looked at me, her full attention was on me. She fished out a notepad and a pen then wrote down something on it.“Okay, have you been doing things that are so strenuous recently?" She asked."Not really,” I replied after thinking for a while."Well then, I'll just check your bloo
Annelise's POV I eventually twisted the car's lock and it gave way for me, I jumped out of the car immediately after that without looking back at him.Rex was standing outside the car, looking around the parking lot as though he was searching for a potential threat.I wanted to ignore him but I just had to give him a piece of my mind. He stood upright when he saw me stop before him.“Don't you ever try what you just did with me again. If your boss wanted to talk to me that much, he's more than capable of approaching me himself.” I told him with gritted teeth.“I'm sorry for dragging you here that way, i just thought that would be the only way you'd come with me.” He apologized.That's really true, I wouldn't have answered him for anything if he had gone through the normal process, but that didn't give him the right to drag me that way."Maybe you should have just left me alone then.” I walked away from him, seething in anger. I walked over to the cab I was going to enter before I wa
Annelise's POV“You know, you really need to learn to be friendly with someone who wants to help you out." Ken said.Help me out with what? It's not like my father would prefer for someone to talk to him over giving him the money he wants."What do you want, Ken?” I asked, ignoring what he said earlier."Oh, now you want to talk to me?" He chuckled dryly.I looked at him with half annoyance and amusement. Bold of him to think he's that relevant for me to want to talk with him.“Are you going to talk?” He obviously wasn't liking the tone I was using to talk to him and my demeanor but that was none of my business."Yes, if you stop acting that way." He answered.Oh, he doesn't know what's really going on, doesn't he read signs?!I looked at him up and down then turned around to leave him standing there when his next words stopped me."I spoke to your father and he told me where your mother is being treated.”I swiveled around so fast that my eyes were dizzy at first when I faced him.“W
Annelise's POV My heart practically deflated, my hopes dashed away suddenly. My throat died up instantly as every spittle in my mouth dried up too.“What?" Ken was the one who asked, i couldn't bring myself to say anything.“Yes, she was signed out earlier this morning." She replied to him and looked down at her phone again.My father. I should have known that he wasn't just going to fall for what Ken gave him that way. His request and Ken's obliging was just so fishy.This is going to get more tough now as he'd think we're only playing with him and he'd get only more angry.I was abruptly made to break out of the reverie by someone snapping their hand on something before me.“Can you step aside please, there are other people behind you.” The nurse snapped, gesturing at us to move sideways.“Do not talk to her that way, b*tch!" Ken yelled at her. I was also frozen at the velocity of his voice, even his choice of words.He gently guided me away from the lobby while still glaring at th
Annelise's POV “Thanks for today and for helping with my father." I said to Ken as he stopped the car outside Esther's apartment.“It's nothing. Are you going to be fine?" He asked me.“Yes, bye." I opened the car and stepped out. “I mean, with your father. I can still help you out with him if you need my help some other time, all you need to do is send me a text message." He said, also coming out of his car. “You've done more than enough already, I'm sure I'll find a way around it.” I gave a fake smile, hoping he'd understand that i don't want to drag him into this anymore."If you insist. I guess I'll see you around later." He waved me off.I waved at him too and dragged my tired body towards Esther's apartment. I didn't hear him drive away till I got into the apartment building fully.I climbed the stairs with a little bit of difficulty then opened the door with the spare key Esther gave me days ago.Esther was sprawled out on the couch before the television that was showing one
Annelise's POV I haven’t told her about Ken knowing about it yet, how did she know about that?“Ken told me. He bumped into me at work today, said his friend, Thomas works there too.” She explained after seeing the confused look on my face.My mouth formed an 'oh' and realization dawned up on me as that could be when she told him where he could find me."I understand now. But he threatened to tell Ethan that I was sneaking around their company if I didn't tell him what I was looking for there.” I said.Esther sighed, the anger on her face and in her tone almost completely gone.“I think he mentioned that. But did you meet up with him today again?" She asked, diverting to the real topic at hand.“Yes, he kind of found out the hospital my mother was being held at and-" I was interrupted by a yell from her.“Has he taken you there?! Did you see her? Oh my gosh! I'm so happy for you." She was smiling out of excitement and had jumped up on me.I cleared my throat awkwardly after a while o
Annelise's POV I couldn't just sit there while we waited for the response so I started pacing the room slowly. I was feeling awfully tired and i knew I needed to sleep.But there's just almost no way I could sleep when i know I might be close to getting my mother again. That investigator is really efficient and i just hope this one is yet another of his successful works.“Didn't you say you were told to rest more in the hospital?" Esther asked me, she lifted up her head from the phone for the first time since the last time.“Yes, I'm not doing anything strenuous now.” I continued pacing."Yeah, walking around isn't stressful work." She retorted."What did he say, is there an update again?” I asked her instead."He's still on it. He said the system kept getting flagged down as though there was another one corrupting it." She replied.What does that even mean? It's not possible that my father knows that we were trying to get her location, right? He can't have a private investigator eit
Ethan's POV “Did she block my number or what?" I growled out angrily.Rex looked up from his phone, we've both been trying to dial Annelise consecutively now and it's all to no avail.It was ringing on Rex's end but wasn't connecting on my own end at all. She wasn't picking Rex's own either.“It seems so.” Rex mumbled, only adding to my anger.I've been calling her since yesterday evening. The text I sent wasn't delivered, yet Rex's own has been viewed.I still don't know the basis of her anger since she left the house weeks ago but it's really getting out of hand now.My grandmother has been on my neck since then, she always wants to talk to her. And for some stupid reason, I have barely slept since she left.“Let’s go to the company. I'm sure she'll return your calls or something, she's probably busy.” I told him.At this point, I might be forced to show up at her friend's house even though that's the last thing I know she'd want from me.But this charade has gone on for long alrea
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Five: AnneliseOne Month LaterMy life had finally returned to how it was in the beginning before everything started, but now it felt more peaceful. I remembered the discussion I had with my mom when I asked about my real father, and she finally told me the truth.My biological dad had passed away, and she had remarried to avoid bringing disgrace to her family. She hadn’t told me because she thought everything was fine. I sat on the kitchen counter, enjoying kiwi and peanut butter. I hummed excitedly, swinging my legs gently. It was the most delicious thing I’d eaten.“Want some?” I offered Ethan, who looked at it with disgust.“No, I’m good.” Suddenly, tears welled up in my eyes. Ethan’s widened in panic.“I was just kidding. Of course, I want to eat it, but I’m worried it’s not enough for you,” he said hastily.I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you sure? Or do you just not want any?”“Of course, I’m sure,” he replied, his face breaking into an uncharac
Ethan's POV Lucas had called me urgently this morning, informing me to be at the company. He didn’t elaborate much, and I was left wondering what was happening.I stood in the elevator, which was taking me to the top floor. I don’t know why, but I felt something was about to change. The soft chime of the elevator door sounded, and as it stopped, the door slid open. I stepped out and walked down the hallway into the conference room.Opening the door, I was greeted by the eyes of the board of directors, including Amanda’s. What was she doing here? I saw Lucas come forward to meet me.“What is happening?” I gritted out.“I don’t know either. Madam Amanda called me this morning, telling me we should be present at this sudden conference meeting she had called.” I nodded at him and walked to the front where an empty seat, clearly meant for me, awaited. I sat down.“Most of us know why we are all here, and we have all heard about the scandal. Now, I want to transfer all my shares to Ethan,
Annelise's POV I caressed my bulging stomach gently, with love shining in my eyes. Suddenly, I felt a soft kick against my belly and giggled at the sensation. I could feel my baby's feet pressed against me.Pulling up my top, I exposed my stomach and smiled at the tiny feet. "Naughty baby," I scolded gently. I heard chuckling behind me and turned to see Ethan staring at me with love and admiration in his eyes. I blushed at the sight—it was overwhelming.“Why are you chuckling?” I asked.“It’s beautiful seeing you scold our little one with such love,” he answered, sitting beside me. His gaze shifted to my stomach.He placed his large, cold hand on my belly. As if recognizing it was his father’s touch, our baby kicked hard, causing me to flinch. I shot Ethan a glare. He chuckled sheepishly before sighing. I sensed immediately that something was wrong.“What’s wrong?” I asked, taking his hand in mine.“Amanda has been calling me. I haven’t picked up because honestly, I have nothing to s
Annelise's POV “What are you saying, Annelise?” Ethan asked me.“I'm saying that it was the sex we had that night that made me pregnant. I was confused at first because I didn't remember what really happened that night.”“You're saying that the sex that night led to this pregnancy?” he asked, with a shocked expression on his face.“Yes, Ethan,” I replied, assessing his face to gauge his reaction. He had been happy before at the idea of us having a baby, even though he initially thought it might not be his.The confused look on his face quickly turned into happiness, which was contagious, and I smiled brightly too.He hugged me tightly and showered my face with kisses.“Thank you so much for this beautiful gift, Annelise,” he said."You're welcome. Now give me my food; I'm famished,” I commanded him with a strict look on my face.“Right away, your majesty,” he said as he opened up the plate himself. He started feeding me, and I happily ate the food.I finished everything on the plate
Annelise's POV I jumped on Ethan the moment I saw him at the entrance. His arms were waiting for me already, though my big stomach didn't let me hug him as much as I wanted to.“I missed you so much. When did you get back? Why didn't you tell me that you were coming?” I bombarded him with questions as tears streamed down my face out of happiness."I don't have my phone, remember?” He chuckled close to my ear."Yes, but still,” I trailed off, hugging him even more. I had to break the hug when someone cleared their throat behind us—it was Lucas and Rex.“Welcome back, man,” Lucas said as he patted Ethan on the back.“Thanks, and I appreciate you for helping out with everything,” Ethan replied, and they did that weird men hug.“You don't even know if I helped her out with it or not,” Lucas chuckled.“I know you'd always turn up for things like this. I don't need to hear it before I do; you're a real one,” Ethan said to Lucas."You're always welcome,” Ethan replied, and Rex greeted him t
Annelise's POV It's Monday now, and I have everything I need for revealing the truth ready. I was assisted by both Lucas and Esther, and I just want the DMZ meeting to be over so I'll have Ethan back.It's time for the event to start, and I didn't bother to disguise to enter the building even though paparazzi were outside in abundance.It's just a plus that I decided to come with both Max and Lucas, and since they're both registered in the company, they were allowed to go through the backdoor.It's afternoon at the moment, and I have anxiety churning in my stomach. I kept reminding myself that I was doing this for Ethan, and I didn't need to think about the crowd that I'd face.“I'll be there with you in that conference room so you'll have a familiar face with you. You don't need to be scared of anyone; just do your thing and let the media do the rest,” Lucas said before we got out of the car.“Thank you so much for everything you've done, Lucas. I really appreciate you, and I'm sure
Ethan's POV Annelise and I woke up to news about me flying around. It's the same thing that Ken has been using to threaten me before. It was the cuss word from my mouth that woke up Annelise.Though it's still afternoon, we both slept off hours after coming back from the hospital as we didn't sleep overnight normally.She sat up on the bed almost immediately after I cussed out loud, with her eyes still partly closed. She used her hand to wipe her eyes as though she was trying to wipe the sleep away.“What happened?" she asked as her eyes came clear.“Uh, it's… nothing. You can go back to sleep. I'm going to take care of it now.” I rushed out of bed, and she rushed behind me too.“Ethan, did anything happen with anyone? That didn't look like nothing back there at all,” she said behind me, successfully following me into the bathroom.I sighed out loud. "It's Ken. He released the news about me hitting someone, and it's everywhere on the internet now," I rushed out the words to her.“He
Ken's POV I've been reeling with joy since I was announced as the new highest shareholder of the company, automatically making me the owner of some sort.I honestly expected more from Ethan in terms of competition for the contract and all, but he seemed to be focused on another thing other than anything concerning the company these days, and that worked in my mercy.It could be because he's now separated from his wife, but I didn't care. All that matters now is that I'm way higher than him in rank, and he's below me.I've been trying all my life to achieve that, but he always manages to be one step ahead of me each time I try to surpass him.He was married to someone I like, and he's known by more businessmen and people as the one with the brains for business, while I'm the trophy grandson.I wonder how he feels right now with his most prized possession not with him anymore; he's probably about to commit suicide.A cruel smile came up on my face at the last thing I thought; dying is
Annelise's POV I was able to get to the hospital in no time, signed the final documents for the transfer, and it was all processed quickly.It wasn't that stressful because my father had already signed me on as one of her guardians, so it wasn't hard for me to arrange her move to another facility.All that's left is the actual moving, which is scheduled for tomorrow. I was told it couldn't be done today as all the paperwork needs to go through the final stages to reach the desired hospital.When I was done at the hospital and had spent some time with my mother, I went to the car dealership as I had told Ethan. I've been keeping him updated on everything that's been happening.He was replying to the messages up until the last one I sent, which I took as him ignoring it because of the argument we had about it last night.I went there and made inquiries on some of the budget-friendly cars they had. I ended up with a nice car that had some great features and was within my price range.Th