I didn't know he'd act that way, I wouldn't have brought him in…" Gabby trailed behind Anne, trying to apologize."Leave me the fuck alone. You were well aware of what you were doing." She knew her anger should not have been directed at her best friend, but when the tears threatened to give out, she knew she had to let out the emotions somehow, on someone. "What's happening?" Lola asked, reading the tension when they both got into the baking room. "Trevor came and…" "I don't want to talk about it." Anne cut her off. "There aren't a lot of people out there anymore. I think I can manage well on my own, you can all go home." "If there's something wrong you know you can always…" Jake began, coming closer."For god's sake I just want to be alone!" She screamed, shocking everyone within and outside the room into silence. One by one, everyone began to leave, no one wanting to get on her bad side. Everyone except Jake, who wouldn't budge. She left him, deciding it was best as long as he
When Anne had agreed to the trip to Disneyland, she probably hadn't been thinking straight. It was the middle of the day and California was hours away. She didn't know how it was going to go, but seeing Asher happily talking to her kids gave her such reassurance that she could take a break from obsessing over everything, since he was there. "Mommy, is uncle Ash our daddy?" Anne heard Danny ask and she felt her blood run cold. She'd suspected bringing the boys with their real father, with neither of them knowing it would probably be awkward, but she hadn't expected it to happen this early. Asher however did not look the least bit affected. His eyes were straight ahead, but his bulging cheeks belied the fact he was trying to hold in his laugh. "No silly!" Damien replied before she could say anything. "It's uncle Trevor." Anne mentally gave herself a facepalm. She'd assumed wrongly that Damien would somehow come to the rescue. "Could you tell me more about this uncle Trevor?" Asher
By seven in the evening, Anne had gone on just about every single ride there was to explore. Her excitement knew no bounds as she felt freer than she'd ever been in years. Asher was more than happy to see her in this position, especially as he was responsible for it. Of course he gave himself the credit. "I better go check on the boys." She announced and Asher frowned. "I'll call my bodyguard. He's still keeping watch over them." He said, bringing out his phone. Anne pouted. "If I didn't know better, I'd assume you were purposely trying to keep me away from my sons, with you." He smirked. "Well then, I guess you don't know better, because that's exactly what I've been doing." He said and groaned when she punched him in the chest. The phone call confirmed that his most trusted bodyguard still had his eyes on the boys who'd gone on to the next ride on his watch. He let him speak to Anne, who had to hear the voice of her children before she could relax. "Now can we go watch the pa
Asher didn't know which creeped him out more; the fact that Anne actually had a boyfriend or the fact that her supposed boyfriend who the twins had referred to as their father had just kidnapped the children. "What do you mean he's your boyfriend?" Asher asked, trying to keep the venom out of his voice. "I mean he was, or that's what I thought. We've been having problems and we never officially broke up," she said, looking like she was on the verge of tears. "but he's never done anything like this before." Asher walked forward, deciding to go further instead of standing to listen to the crap she would say next. He couldn't believe she'd let him do things to her, touch her all those times when she still had a boyfriend, but he couldn't believe even more how much it hurt him. The address bore the same name as the street they were on so they just had to find the number. Whomever this Trevor was, he was clever. Frederick had been his bodyguard for years and even though the man was get
Anne's heart beat in her chest, the implication of Asher's accusation hitting her hard. She held her children closer as she felt her body crumbling under his deadly stare which held promises that this time, weren't palatable. "This is all Trevor…" she said, more to herself than to him. She couldn't believe he really thought she had anything to do with this. For god's sake her children had just been kidnapped. What kind of sick mother would do that?"You seriously believe I did this?" She asked, getting angrier. "Put my children in danger at what cost?" "You just wanted the money." He whispered. "What freaking money?" She said, getting up. Her children whimpered beneath her, fearing the sudden change in the atmosphere. "You offered me a whopping twenty million dollars the first day we met and I'm pretty sure you would have doubled it. But I rejected it. When are you going to get it into your thick skull that I don't want your money or your pity!""I…""You know what?" She said, holdi
One would have thought that after having her name in the news more than once, Anne would have become used to it but she wasn't. It still scared and shocked her each time. She looked at the picture in the article and noticed how perfectly edited it was. Sure they had kissed, but the environment hadn't been as bright and romantic as it appeared in the picture. "So?" Lola asked, leading her to a seat. "Tell us. Or me. Jake doesn't seem interested." Sure enough, Jake was washing dishes and appeared to be in a league of his own, completely ignoring them. She didn't understand why he was acting distant. Sure she knew he probably liked her at some point, but he'd been the one to convince her to go out with Asher in the first place. "I think you broke his heart babe." Lola whispered so loudly, both Jake and probably even the customers outside could hear. "Someone's in love." "Just stop it." Anne said."Well say something or I'm gonna keep searching for things to say." Anne sighed, unsure
"Asher!" Anne screamed, falling to the ground like she was the one who'd just been hit. The shock of it all was too great. He didn't stop there. While the men he'd come in with stood by and watched, Asher kept hitting the guard who'd wronged Anne. "Stop it!" She groaned. "It's not his fault. He was only following the orders you confused him with." Lola held her back, pondering on the fact that Anne was seriously pleading on behalf of the man she had wanted to kill a few minutes ago.Asher finally stopped, breathing hard and taking off his jacket. "Take him in." The men quickly did as he asked, while the second guard scurried away, thankful for the fact everyone seemed to have forgotten about him. He'd remained at the front of the twins' class, while the first guard had gone to meet Asher. Asher walked over to Anne who was barely standing and stretched his almost bloodied knuckles towards her. "Don't touch me!" She flinched. "First you accuse me wrongly, then you try to forceful
"Oh," he said, looking unsure of himself. "You're sure?" She sucked in a breath. "I am.""Alright, then," he said, smoothening his shirt and moving backwards. She watched him leave and began wondering if truly, she'd made the right decision. He got into the car without even one last glance in her direction and signaled his men to zoom off. As she walked over to Lola's car, it felt like she was seeing him for the last time. "Why did he go, mom?" Damien asked. "He said he would come get us." "Well he isn't coming." She said gruffly. "Please drive, Lola." Lola gave her a look, but simply did as she was told. "Where are we going exactly? The bakery or your home?" "The bakery I guess." She said, thinking. "I've left the bakery in the hands of Jake at the slightest inconsistencies in my life and I hate to see it become a habit." "I would do the same if I were you. Don't beat yourself up." ***As Asher was driven back home in his car, he felt like the biggest fool there was. He w
Six months later "Stop shuffling Danny. Don't you want to look good in the Christmas photo?" Anne warns, trying to keep smiling and also tell her kids what to do at the same time. It's Christmas eve and they're taking a family photo but the kids for some reason can't stay at a spot for more than a minute. "You heard your mother," Asher says in a deeper, sharper voice and the boys stay still as the cameraman once again takes the shot. "Aha. This is perfect!" he exclaims, urging them to remain in the same spot. After a few minutes, the photoshoot is finally over and they collectively breathe a sigh of relief. The pictures look so clean and beautiful on camera, even the boys look delighted. "I'll send the photos immediately after I'm done editing them," he says. "You have a beautiful family," he adds before leaving and Anne mouths 'thank you', with a blush. As they all sit down to have dinner, all in their pajamas, the word 'family' keeps ringing in Anne's ears. Even after six mon
"Trevor?" Anne repeated, not sure she'd heard right. But when she saw Trevor walk up to them with a determined look on his face, she knew he really had something to say. At the far end of the room, Lola and Asher's sisters kept gaping with open mouths. They were obviously just as unaware as she was. No wonder he'd shown up randomly and seemed to know about the wedding even when no one else did. When he reached up to them, he smiled and shook Asher's hand like they were old time friends. "A lot of you don't know, but Mr Ingram is now a very good friend of mine," Trevor began, addressing the crowd. "I have just started a small company in Chicago and it's very successful, all thanks to him." He gave Anne a slight nod of acknowledgement before he brought out a small flashdrive. "Some months ago, I met up with an old friend, Jason in Chicago. Unknown to me, he'd traced me there because he needed a favor from me. The favor was to burn down Anne's home with all of them in it." The cro
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jason asked, taking a step backwards. Asher smirked, turning to Gabby who looked like she was about to explode in tears. "You tell me," he shrugged. "You're the one who's desperate for this wedding to hold and I wonder why. You're in love with Gabby, she's carrying your child, yet you want us to be married. Why is that?" The congregation watched with keen interest as the drama unfolded before them. This was not what they'd expected but it was much better. Anne couldn't say anything. So this marriage was a sham from the start. It was comforting but strange. There were more questions than answers and she hated being in the center of attention but not knowing what would come next. "Asher," Gabby whispered in a weak voice. "Why are you doing this at our wedding? The baby in my belly belongs to you and you know this." "Will you just shut it already?" Asher said, rolling his eyes and turning to face her. It was evident he was sick of pretending
Halfway through the makeover, Anne already felt her spirits returning. The old man was in another room and Lola had joined in to help select the perfect dress that would turn heads, according to her. Within an hour she looked even more breathtaking than she'd looked at the ball a few weeks ago. Her jewelry matched her skin tone perfectly, her gown hugged her curves and flattered her glossy skin which glowed from the expensive ointment Yvette rubbed on her. Heads would definitely turn. "We should open a beauty salon," Lola gasped, shaking her head like she couldn't believe what they'd just created. "And Anne will be our model." "I second that," Yvonne said, honestly. "You really think so?" Yvette said, trying to mask her pride. "You look absolutely gorgeous.""Asher's definitely going to rethink everything when he sees you." Danny and Damien came in with Trevor who was wheeling in the old man when he heard a lot of noise. "You make me regret losing you." They laughed.The kid
Lola and Trevor agreed to wait in the car for her while she went in, simply because Yvette's voice had sounded very frantic on the phone and they didn't want her mincing words because of them. When she entered the house, she suddenly felt on edge. Breathing in again and again, she went up the staircase to the room Yvette assured her she'd be, and tried to remove the memory of her fighting and humiliating herself on that very staircase. She heard their voices before she reached the room so they were easy to spot. They? She'd only hoped to see Yvette. When she heard the throaty male voice come out from the room, accompanied by Yvonne's voice, her expression turned sour. This had not been part of the plan. She wanted no business with the horrible man who was Asher's father. Sometimes she wondered why God had taken her grandmother and not him. "Anne!" Yvonne called, just when she decided to go back down the stairs. "oh thank God you're here. Please come in. Asher's about to make th
"You need to go there," Lola said, trailing after her."And wreck their wedding?" Anne asked, trying to mask the anger and betrayal in her voice. "Of course. You're always letting things go. You want him and if he gets married to her, that's gonna be the end. Even if you don't do this for your own happiness, do it for your sons. She's a slimy bitch and that's how their relationship is gonna be forever. If he continues to take custody of them, they'll have to grow up with her. Forever." "Where else do you think I'm going?" She asked getting into her car. "I knew you had it in you, girl." Lola said, getting into the passenger side of the car beside her. As they zoomed off, Trevor gave them the directions to the wedding arena while Lola hyped her up. She didn't know what she would do when she got there, but it would all be worth it. As long as the anger in her remained, there wasn't going to be a wedding. "Wait!" Lola suddenly screamed, making Anne screech the car to an abrupt halt.
Her newfound admiration for Asher died down the moment he bade her goodbye, revved his car and started to leave with the kids. Perhaps she'd been wrong to assume that after the culprit responsible for her grandmother's demise had been found and him taking her out, the least he could do was let her have her children back, at least for some time. "I don't really think you're in the right frame of mind to have the children hovering all over you. I don't want you to lose it," he'd said before giving her an apologetic look and driving off. Now she was in her new house, telling everything to Lola after finally finding her voice. "Did you just say Jake was arrested?" Lola asked in disbelief. "For arson?" "I'm just as surprised as you are.""Hmm. I knew he was wicked but not a murderer. Are you sure the detective was right?" "They've been trailing him for a while now and even got his confession on tape." "Hmm. I suppose I'm lucky for everything that happened. Imagine we were still datin
Fear engulfed her body, making her mind run places as she searched for her sons. They were nowhere to be found. Oh God. Why did she have to turn her face away to listen to what Asher had to say. "Damien, Danny!" Asher screamed their names and she followed suit, suddenly remembering it was a possibility.Where had they gone? She had to be positive, she told herself, and realistic. No one could have possibly kidnapped them right under her nose without them screaming or yelling for help. They'd either left to find some other more interesting place not so far from there or worse, like the last time, they'd seen someone they knew and followed them."Danny, Damien!" She called, desperation entering her voice. "Mommy!" She heard from not so far away. She turned immediately to the sound of her sons' voice. "Oh, God," she breathed in relief as she ran to where the boys were. Asher was still on the other side of the field looking for the boys but she called him over, signaling to him th
Having the kids all to himself had not been anything like he'd expected. There were several things he never thought he would experience. He was only used to seeing them once in a while, usually when they happened to be on their best behavior because they were just excited to see him and tried to please him, but when the excitement wore off within a few days of them spending day and night with him, everything changed. Just at breakfast the other day, they'd asked for their mom and when Gabby told them she wouldn't be joining them soon, they began to complain about how the crusts of the bread hadn't been cut off like their mom always did. Danny made a fuss and threw the contents of his side of the table away and Damien soon followed suit. When he tried to get them to stop, they only spat at him and threw tantrums.. He wished that was the end but it wasn't. They complained about the most random things and threw a tantrum anytime anyone corrected them. The most unbearable part of it was