Ana's Pov:
Lucas came to my rescue, albeit unknowingly."And speaking of permissions, father, I want Sophia to go to the same school with me."Greyson didn't even think about it. "Of course," he said and continued eating.For the umpteenth time today, my mouth hung open. I was right when I thought that Lucas's wishes were never really denied. He doesn't even request it. He just demands for something and it's as good as his. I don't think the little guy has ever heard the word 'no' before. At least, not from his father.Tylor exclaimed, "that won't be necessary. I have arranged the best family-teaching tutor for her. He came highly recommended from a friend.""Please, daddy!" Sophia turned the full force of her pleading gaze on him. "I want to make more friends in school. And I want to be with Lucas. Please daddy! Please mummy!""I don't know, sweetie..." I started, "we just got back to the states and we haven't settled in properly–""She can begin classes next month after you two have settled in, then."My tongue tied. "W- well... I guess that's settled then."Tylor disagreed, shaking his head vehemently. "But school will close very early for her class. With Ana and I going to work, there'll be nobody to take Sophia back home and take care of her.""I thought about that," Greyson replied cooly, "my chauffeur picks Lucas from school everyday. I will tell him to pick up both Sophia and Lucas and bring them back to my home. She can do her homework and have dinner with us later and she can go back home with Ana after dinner.""I think that is a splendid idea, father," Lucas said, nodding his head."What do you think, mummy?" Sophia asked, looking at me as if her life was hanging in the balance."I think it's a great idea." I won't need a babysitter for Sophia and I won't have to worry about my daughter because she will be with me most of the day. I can also save up on cost of living if we have dinner with the Williams everyday as an added bonus. This is a win."Yay! I get to go to school with Lucas!" Sophia's squealed, bouncing on her seat with excitement."All expenses will be catered for, of course," Greyson said."You don't have to–"He sent me a look that silenced me immediately. "It's an employee bonus and it's not exclusive only to you. Everyone that works for me doesn't have to pay for their kids to attend Wilmer academy."I swallowed, my throat tight. This was more than I could ever hope for. "Thank you, Mr Greyson," I said, earnestly, feeling a weight lift from my chest.I thought Greyson had cracked a smile at me but that must have been a trick of the light. He turned back to his food before I could make sure if he had really smiled at me or not.Lowkey, I had been worried about the expenses because I knew that Lucas didn't go to a regular school. He went to a school that catered for the elite. The top one percent of the country. I could never afford it on my own.Dinner went by without any hitch after that.***"It was a nice evening, Ana." Lucas said at the door as the butler helped him put on his jacket. "I enjoyed the cakes.""I'm glad you did, little guy." I chuckled, barely resisting the urge to ruffle his fluffy little head.What?! He's so freaking adorable."Bye bye, Lucas," Sophia said, hugging him. To my surprise, the little ice prince accepted the hug and even hugged her back."I have your account details when you signed the contract. The money will be be wired to you at the end of today."After the guests had gone, Tylor helped me clean up after. He was clearly unhappy as he helped me dry the plates and put them on the stack.He broke the silence after a few minutes. "You didn't have to invite them over, Ana.""I didn't. They invited themselves over."He stopped and looked at me with a frustrated expression on his face. "Can't you see what he's doing to you? You haven't even started yet and he's already pushing your boundaries, showing up at your place. Forcing you to cook dinner for him and overworking you."I gripped the washcloth tight in my hands. "He's not forcing me to do anything. And he paid me by hours, three times the rate. He paid me more than I've ever been paid before, Tylor. I don't mind the work as long as I get paid for it."He dropped the dish he had been drying and came over to me, grabbing my arms. "You don’t need to work for a rude man like that as a house maid, Ana. You don't need to overwork yourself either. You can go to my family company or you don't even have to work. I can make you and Sophia live with no worries. Just let me into your life, Ana. Just let me take care of you. Please."His deep blue eyes were bluer than I've ever seen them, brimming with honesty, but I tore myself away from him, angry and hurt."Don't you get it, Tylor?!" I yelled at him. "This is what I want. What I need! The reason my father got the better of me the last time was because I depended so much on him. I don't want to be that girl anymore. You don't need to provide anything for me. I want to provide for myself and my daughter! I don't want you to take care of me. I want to take care of myself! Is that so much to ask?!"I didn't realize how loud I'd been yelling until I stopped. Tears stung my eyes and I looked away to wipe my tears.Tylor was quiet for a few seconds. "I'm sorry," he said earnestly, his voice withdrawn and defeated. "I'm sorry, Ana... But that man–""Mummy... Daddy..." Sophia said cautiously, walking into the kitchen.I turned around to look at her, "don't worry, sweetie. Tylor and I were just having a conversation. Do you want me to take you to bed? Are you ready to sleep?" I picked her up and took her in my arms."No, mummy, your phone was ringing."I became aware of the phone vibrating in her hands and took it from her.Lucas was on the line."There will be someone made available tomorrow to pick you up at six in the morning and bring you over to my house," he said in his usual taciturn, cold voice. "Do well to be prepared before then because I would like you to have breakfast made for me at my home and lunch that I can take to school.""Of course." Ohhhh. I just wanted to pinch his cute little cheeks.He cleared his throat and said in a warmer voice. "And you can bring Sophia over. Don't worry about having to take care of her on duty. There's a toys room already being prepared for her.""I–""Yes, I'd like that!" Sophia screamed in my arms. I had even forgotten that I had lifted her up. She looked at me and pouted, her big eyes pleading desperately. "Please, mummy, take me with you! I want to go with you.""Sophia.." Tylor started, hus voice stern, but one look from Sophia, his kryptonite, shattered him. He didn't want to disappoint her. "Alright."She brightened at that.He looked directly at me, his face serious. "But I have a condition."Ana's pov:"Goodnight mummy. Goodnight daddy," Sophia said as we both kissed her forehead and tucked her in with her favorite plush toy.We always tucked her in together and played our parts at being a pseudo family. It was a game that both Sophia and Tylor loved but I worried that it would give them the wrong idea and further encourage Tylor."What's the condition?" I asked Tylor as soon as we closed the door to Sophia's room after making sure she was sleeping soundly."You have to stay away from Greyson." He said with a straight face.I rolled my eyes. "Kind of hard to do because I work for him now.""I know but–" he let out an exasperated breath and raked his hand through his hair. "If it has nothing to do with the job, keep your distance from him. Don't go close to him. Don't let him get close to you. And–""That's four conditions, Tylor." I groaned."This one's important. Hear me out," he said, walking close to me until he was a hair's breath from me. He looked into my eyes inten
Ana's pov:His home looked even more exquisite than the hotel. Shiny floors, high ceilings, expensive diamond chandeliers.Sophia squeezed my hand and clung to my side as John led us through the house. She was unusually quiet and timid but I couldn't fault her with that because I also felt intimidated by the home... As if walking on such a pristine surface was a sacrilege."Mr Greyson is working in his study." John informed us. "Do well to not disturb him unless it's very important. He hates being disturbed."I kept that in mind as we began to walk.John gave us a detailed rundown of the various parts of the house and finally, he took me to the state of the art kitchen that looked like it should belong to a world renowned chef instead of little ol' me.The counters and floors sparkled. There were high-end equipments and none of the silverware or glass set was smudged. Everything looked stainless.Gosh. Mr Greyson must be a neat freak and a perfectionist because not a single thing was
Chapter 1I woke up to a sharp throbbing in my skull and the urge to throw up.Groaning, I tried to sit up and realized that a heavy arm was pinning me to the bed.I froze in my tracks, my thoughts coming to a screeching halt, and slowly looked to my left.Sleeping peacefully beside me was the most handsome man I have ever seen; naked, beautiful and without a care in the world.The memories from last night immediately came crashing back.EIGHT HOURS EARLIER"C'mon, Ana, we won, we got the contract. We should celebrate!" my stepsister, Jenny, groaned, pushing two shots of tequila into my hands, "stop being so uptight for once in your life and have some fun."I frowned and took the shots from her, downing it immediately, just to prove a point that I could let my hair down and have some fun.She grinned wide at me and under the bright purple lights of the exclusive club, she looked almost evil.I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts.While I didn't have the best relationship with h
Ana's pov:"How could you?!" My voice cracked from hurt and anger.I didn't know what I expected from them, perhaps to look guilty at least, but they weren't even shaken by my entrance and anger."Oh, you're back," Jenny yawned, stretching out lazily on the couch. "How was your night? Rough, I assume. I could hear you all the way from my room, moaning all night long." Her spiteful face. Her wicked eyes. She wasn't even sorry.Anger and hurt exploded in my chest and all I could see was red as I matched up to her and slapped her hard across the face.She screamed loudly and her mother, my stepmother, rose from the recliner, enraged. She glared angrily at my father. "Are you not going to do anything?! She just slapped Jenny!"Once more, I was shocked by what happened next. My father raised his hand and smacked me hard on my cheek.I crumbled to the floor, pain flaring in my cheek."If you ever lay a hand on Jenny again, you'll have me to deal with!" He roared.I cradled my cheek and lo
Ana's pov:The walk to the market took longer than I expected because I caught myself occasionally thinking about the man I had slept with.The memory became more of a blur with each passing day. All my efforts to track him had proved futile. He obviously didn't want to be found.I wondered if he knew that I was pregnant... If he even cared."I'd like this one, please," I told the man, pointing at the large cheddar cheese on display. He nodded and took the cheese out of the display box, turning around to wrap it up.I looked down, digging into my purse to pay for my purchase when it happened.It only took a split second.A handkerchief came over my lungs and mouth and pressed into my face.I tried to scream as I was immediately carried away by strong arms. Panicking, I clawed at every inch of skin I could find until I felt my lungs giving out with repressed screams. At the same time I tried to protect my stomach from what may try to harm my child.My abductor dragged me away and the
Ana's pov:"Shotgun!" Sophia screamed, running to the passenger side and slipping into the car.Tylor laughed and stared at her fondly before he turned to look at me."My father will be having a field day now that you're back." Tylor complained.My eyebrows creased. "What?" He shrugged with his hands shoved in his pockets. "He has always been on my neck concerning coming back home to take over the business, you know? I held out because I wanted to wait for you to finish your education first. Now that you're back, I'm not going to hear the end of it."I hesitated.I never even knew or considered that his entire life had been on hold for me.Tylor had done so much for me, for very little in return. I could never repay him for how kind he has been to Liam, Sophia and I."No way!" A voice suddenly screamed in excitement, cutting off our conversation.I whirled around to see a very attractive young woman grinning widely at Tylor. "It can't be– Tylor? Tylor Smith? Heir of Smith enterprise?
Ana's pov:I was red faced and out of breath by the time I reached the car.Tylor was strapping Sophia to the front seat and I was surprised to find that the woman that had been hitting on Tylor left already. That was too fast."What about Emily?" I asked, looking around."Oh, I have Sophia to thank for that," he grinned, ruffling my daughter's hair.I sighed, already dreading what she could have done. She always turned devious towards women that showed the slightest bit of interest to Tylor."What did she do?" I asked, exasperated.For some reason, Tylor only grinned wider. "She made a very big speech about how lovely her "mommy and daddy" were together and it pissed Hermione off.""Her name was Emily," I growled, "and I'm guessing you encouraged her."He raised his hands in defence, "hey, she was on a roll. I did want to steal her thunder."I sighed deeply and looked at Sophia with a frustrated look but she only flashed me a proud, toothy grin, clearly pleased with what she had don
Silence ensued after his last statement.I couldn't find another job to support me on such short notice. This job will have to do, even if it's for only a short period of time until I find a better one. Hopefully, working for a literal ice statue wouldn't be so hard."Take her to complete the paperwork and give her a tour of the building," the man said to his butler.The butler –I didn't quite catch his name, so I'm just going to call him Alfred– nodded, looking pleased for whatever reason and led me out of the office. He had an aristocratic air about him, very elegant and posh, as if he had been serving royals for decades and was now like one of them.I completed signing the necessary legal documents but a clause on one of the financial documents made me pause. On the position I had been offered, it still said 'manager' not 'secretary', but that wasn't even the shocking part. I knew the price range for a managerial position for someone like me with little or no experience. However, w
Ana's pov:His home looked even more exquisite than the hotel. Shiny floors, high ceilings, expensive diamond chandeliers.Sophia squeezed my hand and clung to my side as John led us through the house. She was unusually quiet and timid but I couldn't fault her with that because I also felt intimidated by the home... As if walking on such a pristine surface was a sacrilege."Mr Greyson is working in his study." John informed us. "Do well to not disturb him unless it's very important. He hates being disturbed."I kept that in mind as we began to walk.John gave us a detailed rundown of the various parts of the house and finally, he took me to the state of the art kitchen that looked like it should belong to a world renowned chef instead of little ol' me.The counters and floors sparkled. There were high-end equipments and none of the silverware or glass set was smudged. Everything looked stainless.Gosh. Mr Greyson must be a neat freak and a perfectionist because not a single thing was
Ana's pov:"Goodnight mummy. Goodnight daddy," Sophia said as we both kissed her forehead and tucked her in with her favorite plush toy.We always tucked her in together and played our parts at being a pseudo family. It was a game that both Sophia and Tylor loved but I worried that it would give them the wrong idea and further encourage Tylor."What's the condition?" I asked Tylor as soon as we closed the door to Sophia's room after making sure she was sleeping soundly."You have to stay away from Greyson." He said with a straight face.I rolled my eyes. "Kind of hard to do because I work for him now.""I know but–" he let out an exasperated breath and raked his hand through his hair. "If it has nothing to do with the job, keep your distance from him. Don't go close to him. Don't let him get close to you. And–""That's four conditions, Tylor." I groaned."This one's important. Hear me out," he said, walking close to me until he was a hair's breath from me. He looked into my eyes inten
Ana's Pov:Lucas came to my rescue, albeit unknowingly."And speaking of permissions, father, I want Sophia to go to the same school with me."Greyson didn't even think about it. "Of course," he said and continued eating.For the umpteenth time today, my mouth hung open. I was right when I thought that Lucas's wishes were never really denied. He doesn't even request it. He just demands for something and it's as good as his. I don't think the little guy has ever heard the word 'no' before. At least, not from his father.Tylor exclaimed, "that won't be necessary. I have arranged the best family-teaching tutor for her. He came highly recommended from a friend.""Please, daddy!" Sophia turned the full force of her pleading gaze on him. "I want to make more friends in school. And I want to be with Lucas. Please daddy! Please mummy!""I don't know, sweetie..." I started, "we just got back to the states and we haven't settled in properly–""She can begin classes next month after you two have
Greyson's pov:"I'm here for dinner."Ana looked at me as if I just declared that I would go hula hooping on the moon with a narwhal.Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide like saucers.Seeing as she was a little short for words, I stepped into her apartment and looked around the tiny little foyer. I recognized my son's faux leather coat hanging on the coat hanger.The smell of food, delicious and savoury, filled the entire apartment and assaulted my nostrils.So this was why the little rascal decided to leave with her. He wanted home cooked food.Speaking of the devil, he strolled into the foyer, a slightly annoyed expression clear on his face. He looked at me calmly, his eyes conveying a message; "what are you doing here?"I gave him a look of my own; "same thing you're doing here."I turned and took off my coat, hanging it neatly on the coat hanger before it dawned on Ana that I wasn't joking when I said that I'd stay for dinner."B... But– I'm supposed to start my job tomorrow, not t
Chapter 7:"Would you like me to drive you somewhere you can get some chocolate?""No, go to your home. I want to have home-made cakes for dinner."I had a hard time saying no to regular people, so the thought of saying no to him sounded a lot harder, especially because he looked like someone that was not used to being denied.We sat in awkward silence in my car as I drove back to my apartment. I caught him looking curiously at me a few times from the rearview mirror. He would pry his lips open as if to say something to me, then shake his head, thinking better of it and remaining silent.He was probably as awkward as I was but the little ice prince hid it well with his frosty, put together appearance."What's your name, little guy?" I asked as an attempt to break the ice.He took the bait easily. "Lucas," he said, tipping his chin up an inch. "My name is Lucas.""Well, Lucas, it's nice to formally make your acquaintance. I'm Anastasia, but my people call me Ana."He only shrugged and
Silence ensued after his last statement.I couldn't find another job to support me on such short notice. This job will have to do, even if it's for only a short period of time until I find a better one. Hopefully, working for a literal ice statue wouldn't be so hard."Take her to complete the paperwork and give her a tour of the building," the man said to his butler.The butler –I didn't quite catch his name, so I'm just going to call him Alfred– nodded, looking pleased for whatever reason and led me out of the office. He had an aristocratic air about him, very elegant and posh, as if he had been serving royals for decades and was now like one of them.I completed signing the necessary legal documents but a clause on one of the financial documents made me pause. On the position I had been offered, it still said 'manager' not 'secretary', but that wasn't even the shocking part. I knew the price range for a managerial position for someone like me with little or no experience. However, w
Ana's pov:I was red faced and out of breath by the time I reached the car.Tylor was strapping Sophia to the front seat and I was surprised to find that the woman that had been hitting on Tylor left already. That was too fast."What about Emily?" I asked, looking around."Oh, I have Sophia to thank for that," he grinned, ruffling my daughter's hair.I sighed, already dreading what she could have done. She always turned devious towards women that showed the slightest bit of interest to Tylor."What did she do?" I asked, exasperated.For some reason, Tylor only grinned wider. "She made a very big speech about how lovely her "mommy and daddy" were together and it pissed Hermione off.""Her name was Emily," I growled, "and I'm guessing you encouraged her."He raised his hands in defence, "hey, she was on a roll. I did want to steal her thunder."I sighed deeply and looked at Sophia with a frustrated look but she only flashed me a proud, toothy grin, clearly pleased with what she had don
Ana's pov:"Shotgun!" Sophia screamed, running to the passenger side and slipping into the car.Tylor laughed and stared at her fondly before he turned to look at me."My father will be having a field day now that you're back." Tylor complained.My eyebrows creased. "What?" He shrugged with his hands shoved in his pockets. "He has always been on my neck concerning coming back home to take over the business, you know? I held out because I wanted to wait for you to finish your education first. Now that you're back, I'm not going to hear the end of it."I hesitated.I never even knew or considered that his entire life had been on hold for me.Tylor had done so much for me, for very little in return. I could never repay him for how kind he has been to Liam, Sophia and I."No way!" A voice suddenly screamed in excitement, cutting off our conversation.I whirled around to see a very attractive young woman grinning widely at Tylor. "It can't be– Tylor? Tylor Smith? Heir of Smith enterprise?
Ana's pov:The walk to the market took longer than I expected because I caught myself occasionally thinking about the man I had slept with.The memory became more of a blur with each passing day. All my efforts to track him had proved futile. He obviously didn't want to be found.I wondered if he knew that I was pregnant... If he even cared."I'd like this one, please," I told the man, pointing at the large cheddar cheese on display. He nodded and took the cheese out of the display box, turning around to wrap it up.I looked down, digging into my purse to pay for my purchase when it happened.It only took a split second.A handkerchief came over my lungs and mouth and pressed into my face.I tried to scream as I was immediately carried away by strong arms. Panicking, I clawed at every inch of skin I could find until I felt my lungs giving out with repressed screams. At the same time I tried to protect my stomach from what may try to harm my child.My abductor dragged me away and the