Anne didn't even try to defend herself when for the first time in her life, a pair of handcuffs was tightly fastened on her wrists. He had won.It was mere fantasy to think she could possibly win against him. As she was escorted into the police vehicle she'd somehow missed earlier, she half expected her sons to turn around and notice her. They could at least wonder why their mother was being treated like a common criminal, but they didn't. Instead they kept smiling up at Asher and eating up every word that came out of his mouth. He was right. He could tell them anything and they'd quickly forget about her if he wanted. But from what she'd seen he wouldn't even need to tell them anything. As she fought back tears, she tried to remind herself it wasn't their fault. They were only children after all and probably just thought she was somewhere else. They rarely saw their father, so it was always a big deal whenever they did. At least she'd done something right, she thought as the ca
As she held the check in her shaky hands, the urge to rip it apart like she'd once done before returned to her strongly. Once again, he thought he could fix everything with money. The tears were still in her eyes as she kept holding the offending paper, the reality of it settling in her. He really expected her to take the money in exchange for her kids. And she was considering it. Another paper fell out from the envelope and she opened it. It was a handwritten note addressed to her. Let's just make things easier. Asher. It was so impersonal, like he was laying her off from a business deal they'd both agreed to. A bile rose in her throat once again and she swallowed it. There were so many things she could do with that money. The possibilities were endless. But none of it would ever be worth it if she didn't have her children there to enjoy it with her. Resting her head on the steering wheel, she tried but failed to still her pounding heart. ***"The house is totally worth it.
"I'm sorry," Anne whispered, hugging her best friend. "Shh. Shh. Don't beat yourself up. I just needed a lens to see the relationship was already over and you just happened to help me with that. I know you don't really like him so we're cool." "Never let a guy come between us," Anne repeated, smiling sadly. Lola shook her head. "I honestly can't believe how quickly we all broke that pact. Although Gabby is taking hers too far." Anne shrugged. She didn't really want to talk about Gabby now or ever. "I was surprised when I heard it. I even tried to convince her to stop what she was doing but she blocked me on all social media. I never knew she had that side to her. It all made sense why she wanted you to break up with Asher then. But I don't understand why he'd just fall into her trap like that. What did she tell him to make him not want to fight for you?""She probably didn't have to say anything," Anne said, leading her friend to the bench in the kitchen where they both sat down
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
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
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
"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.
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