THE CONDITION

ANNA

My hands tremble as I stare at the phone, the weight of what I’m about to do crushing down on me. I’ve gone over this in my mind a thousand times, and yet, it feels impossible. How do I destroy

Damine’s chances of getting access to his properties with a single phone call?

I’ve spent the entire day pacing back and forth in my room, my thoughts a tangled mess. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m trapped, suffocating under the weight of something that was never supposed to happen. This wedding, this whole idea of Mr. Williams's last wish was about obligation, about fulfilling expectations that weren’t even ours to begin with.

My heart races as I think about what I’m about to do. It’s not that I haven’t seen this coming—I’ve known for a while that things between Damien and me were off, that we were never meant to be.

I take a deep breath and reach for my phone, my hand trembling slightly as I scroll to Mr Luis’s name. Just seeing his name there, so familiar, I press the call butto