How are you enjoying the story so far? Let me know what you think in the comment section!
“Anaya! Anaya! Look over here!”Stepping out of her car, Anaya realized that the crowd in front of her company building were actually reporters. Their flashes disturbed her eyes as she tried to pass between them to get to the building.“Tell us about your love story with Henry Fitzgerald!”“Did you get married to him for his money?” “How did you two meet?” The security guards at the entrance held the reporters back, making way for Anaya to enter the building. Her employees greeted her, every one of them regarding her with slight awe and suspicion. Henry and Anaya held a quiet court wedding yesterday with the witnesses being Henry’s family and Daisy. They both agreed that would be the best in order to save themselves from the media’s attention but it seemed their marriage news had been leaked already.She woke up this morning with her phone buzzing with notification and emails, different people congratulating her. She wondered if she would have gotten this much attention if she had
“I don’t wanna sleep now!” Ryle jumps on his bed as a protest.“But it’s bedtime already.” Anya kept her voice firm, wanting to let him know that they’re done playing for the day.After work today, she had her things dropped at Henry’s condo just as they had agreed. She still found it weird that she wasn’t going to have my space all to herself after living alone for almost five years now. Ryle had been extra excited to see her moving in and he hadn’t left her side all day long. Now, it was time to head to bed and he was being cranky.“But I hate bedtime!” Ryle pouted, crossing his arms across his chest in defiance.“I hear someone being stubborn here.” Henry came in, resting by the doorway.Anaya hadn’t seen him all day because he had a dinner appointment with one of his clients. He looked pleasantly good, even though she could see how tired he was. Moving his eyes towards her, he nodded softly as a greeting and she looked away, her stomach acting up just from the little action.“Mo
Henry was inside his car, waiting for Anaya to arrive at the location of the social event. She had texted him that she would meet him here because she would be coming straight from the office.He smiled a little when he remembered how she laughed at his bedtime story last night. She had only been in the house for two days now but Ryle has been smitten with her. And she took care of him so well it was like she had been his mother from birth. He still didn’t know why he invited her tonight. He lied–the invitation was meant for only him. But there was just something about the way she smiled at him last night that made him want to spend more time with her.Henry was uncomfortable with this–his irrational behaviour. He had to remind himself that he had married Anaya simply because of Ryle and nothing else. But he didn’t know how to cancel tonight without seeming like a jerk so he just decided to roll with it.Deep down, he knew he could never fall in love with someone else because Lauren
Anaya rested her elbow on the table, watching the people in the hall. Everyone seemed so put together that she felt out of place without Henry by her side. She loved Yara and Chen. They were both so cheerful and full of life. She also noticed how Henry had been staring at her when she was laughing. She didn’t know why but his gaze always seemed to ignite something within her.A few people turned their eyes towards her and she wished she had gone to the snack buffet with Henry. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw someone staring blatantly at her. Her heart dropped when she realized who it was. It was Thomas!And worse, he was striding towards her with determined steps. Cautiously, she searched for Henry only to see him heading towards her as well. But someone stopped him for a conversation.“Hey there, Anaya.” Thomas’s smile was eerie and she instinctively moved back, putting some distance between her and him.“What do you want, Thomas?” She gritted, keeping her voice low so she w
Henry stepped into the cafe as he went through his phone, reading the text from Alex that confirmed his package had been sent to his house. He was satisfied by what Alex had been able to gather in a matter of a few hours. After what Anaya told him yesterday, he couldn’t just sit back and let a scumbag like Thomas go.Even though she had been adamant in him not interfering, he couldn’t get it off his mind until he did something about it. He hated the way Thomas looked at Anaya last night at the party as though they were still together.If he had intervened a second later, Thomas would have had his hand on Anaya. “Henry!” He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw his sister waving at him. It wasn’t hard to find her in the crowd of customers because of her fiery red hair. He walked towards her and sat across from her.“You have absolutely ten minutes to get straight to the point, Hana.” Henry deadpanned, not wanting to beat around the bush.He knew his younger sister had called hi
“Alright, thank you very much for your time, Mr. John.” Anaya ended the fruitless call with the investor. Tossing her phone aside, she plopped on the bed face first so her scream could come out muffled.Flipping onto her back, she stared at the blank ceiling, wondering how a miracle was going to fall from the sky to save her company from dying. Maia had put her through a dozen investors but none of them seemed interested in even hearing out her pitch.She was tempted to use the Fitzgerald card on them but she knew how totally degrading that would be to her personality. She had grown her father’s company to where it was today with nothing but wits and sheer will to attain success.She wasn’t going to use someone else’s name to convince the investors who had no interest in partaking in her business. Her ringtone filled the walls of her new bedroom and she checked the caller ID to see it was Daisy calling on video call. With a sigh, she answered the call and her friend’s face showed up
Anaya knew she was in terrible trouble when Ryle broke out in loud chuckles at his father. For a minute, Henry stood by the door, not knowing what to do. Anaya felt the need to apologize so she stepped forward.“Ready or not, here I come!” Henry picked the pack of flour from the floor and raced after Ryle who took off screaming at the top of his lungs.In a matter of seconds, Henry caught Ryle and tackled him while bathing him with flour. Ryle’s giggles and Henry’s sinister laughter made Anaya smile so hard her cheeks were starting to hurt.It was almost surreal to see someone as stoic as Henry being this playful with his child. She realised he always kept this soft and gentle side of him for Ryle. That showed just how much he loved and cared for his son.“Daddy, stop!! Stop!!” Ryle laughed as Henry tickled him.“Say you’re sorry for messing up the house. Apologize now.” Henry doused more flour over Ryle’s head, the huge smile never leaving his face.“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Ryle fina
Soft lights glittered over the dark water as the yacht swayed under the night tides. Anaya stepped onto the deck, the pulse of the lively music blasting in the air. The atmosphere was electric and it was clear everyone was having a good time already.“I’ve never been to a yacht party before.” She leaned on her tiptoe for Henry to hear her voice over the loud music. “The Yus yacht parties are the best in town. Private and unhinged. Stick close to me.” Henry pulled her closer to him as more people filled into the yacht.Anaya adjusted the mask on her face–a silver piece with black curls swirling over her eyes. It was a mask themed party and Henry had prepared everything even before she had the chance to visit a boutique.She had no idea how he managed to get her perfect size but the flowing satin gown snuggled her body appropriately. She matched the silver dress with strappy heels embedded with crystal accents.Henry’s outfit was simple as well—a black dress shirt, grey pants and a pla
Henry rushed down the deck, trying to calm his racing heart. He had just almost overstepped his boundaries with Anaya and he cursed himself for trying to take advantage of the moment. He couldn’t remember the last time he had acted so irrationally but he was grateful he was able to stop himself before actually kissing her. He had to remind himself that their marriage was nothing but a contract of mutual benefits and he couldn’t breach any of their terms and conditions.Still, he found it hard to get the look on Anaya’s face, after he pulled away from her, out of his head. She looked…disappointed–almost like she had been craving for him to kiss her.Or maybe he was mistaken and his brain was just cooking up scenes to mask his guilt. He sighed under his breath. He needed a stronger liquor to drown his thoughts and possibly erase the embarrassment of his mistake. “Where’s Anaya?” Yara asked, stopping him on his way to the bar.Henry gritted his teeth, not wanting to tell Yara what just
Soft lights glittered over the dark water as the yacht swayed under the night tides. Anaya stepped onto the deck, the pulse of the lively music blasting in the air. The atmosphere was electric and it was clear everyone was having a good time already.“I’ve never been to a yacht party before.” She leaned on her tiptoe for Henry to hear her voice over the loud music. “The Yus yacht parties are the best in town. Private and unhinged. Stick close to me.” Henry pulled her closer to him as more people filled into the yacht.Anaya adjusted the mask on her face–a silver piece with black curls swirling over her eyes. It was a mask themed party and Henry had prepared everything even before she had the chance to visit a boutique.She had no idea how he managed to get her perfect size but the flowing satin gown snuggled her body appropriately. She matched the silver dress with strappy heels embedded with crystal accents.Henry’s outfit was simple as well—a black dress shirt, grey pants and a pla
Anaya knew she was in terrible trouble when Ryle broke out in loud chuckles at his father. For a minute, Henry stood by the door, not knowing what to do. Anaya felt the need to apologize so she stepped forward.“Ready or not, here I come!” Henry picked the pack of flour from the floor and raced after Ryle who took off screaming at the top of his lungs.In a matter of seconds, Henry caught Ryle and tackled him while bathing him with flour. Ryle’s giggles and Henry’s sinister laughter made Anaya smile so hard her cheeks were starting to hurt.It was almost surreal to see someone as stoic as Henry being this playful with his child. She realised he always kept this soft and gentle side of him for Ryle. That showed just how much he loved and cared for his son.“Daddy, stop!! Stop!!” Ryle laughed as Henry tickled him.“Say you’re sorry for messing up the house. Apologize now.” Henry doused more flour over Ryle’s head, the huge smile never leaving his face.“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Ryle fina
“Alright, thank you very much for your time, Mr. John.” Anaya ended the fruitless call with the investor. Tossing her phone aside, she plopped on the bed face first so her scream could come out muffled.Flipping onto her back, she stared at the blank ceiling, wondering how a miracle was going to fall from the sky to save her company from dying. Maia had put her through a dozen investors but none of them seemed interested in even hearing out her pitch.She was tempted to use the Fitzgerald card on them but she knew how totally degrading that would be to her personality. She had grown her father’s company to where it was today with nothing but wits and sheer will to attain success.She wasn’t going to use someone else’s name to convince the investors who had no interest in partaking in her business. Her ringtone filled the walls of her new bedroom and she checked the caller ID to see it was Daisy calling on video call. With a sigh, she answered the call and her friend’s face showed up
Henry stepped into the cafe as he went through his phone, reading the text from Alex that confirmed his package had been sent to his house. He was satisfied by what Alex had been able to gather in a matter of a few hours. After what Anaya told him yesterday, he couldn’t just sit back and let a scumbag like Thomas go.Even though she had been adamant in him not interfering, he couldn’t get it off his mind until he did something about it. He hated the way Thomas looked at Anaya last night at the party as though they were still together.If he had intervened a second later, Thomas would have had his hand on Anaya. “Henry!” He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw his sister waving at him. It wasn’t hard to find her in the crowd of customers because of her fiery red hair. He walked towards her and sat across from her.“You have absolutely ten minutes to get straight to the point, Hana.” Henry deadpanned, not wanting to beat around the bush.He knew his younger sister had called hi
Anaya rested her elbow on the table, watching the people in the hall. Everyone seemed so put together that she felt out of place without Henry by her side. She loved Yara and Chen. They were both so cheerful and full of life. She also noticed how Henry had been staring at her when she was laughing. She didn’t know why but his gaze always seemed to ignite something within her.A few people turned their eyes towards her and she wished she had gone to the snack buffet with Henry. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw someone staring blatantly at her. Her heart dropped when she realized who it was. It was Thomas!And worse, he was striding towards her with determined steps. Cautiously, she searched for Henry only to see him heading towards her as well. But someone stopped him for a conversation.“Hey there, Anaya.” Thomas’s smile was eerie and she instinctively moved back, putting some distance between her and him.“What do you want, Thomas?” She gritted, keeping her voice low so she w
Henry was inside his car, waiting for Anaya to arrive at the location of the social event. She had texted him that she would meet him here because she would be coming straight from the office.He smiled a little when he remembered how she laughed at his bedtime story last night. She had only been in the house for two days now but Ryle has been smitten with her. And she took care of him so well it was like she had been his mother from birth. He still didn’t know why he invited her tonight. He lied–the invitation was meant for only him. But there was just something about the way she smiled at him last night that made him want to spend more time with her.Henry was uncomfortable with this–his irrational behaviour. He had to remind himself that he had married Anaya simply because of Ryle and nothing else. But he didn’t know how to cancel tonight without seeming like a jerk so he just decided to roll with it.Deep down, he knew he could never fall in love with someone else because Lauren
“I don’t wanna sleep now!” Ryle jumps on his bed as a protest.“But it’s bedtime already.” Anya kept her voice firm, wanting to let him know that they’re done playing for the day.After work today, she had her things dropped at Henry’s condo just as they had agreed. She still found it weird that she wasn’t going to have my space all to herself after living alone for almost five years now. Ryle had been extra excited to see her moving in and he hadn’t left her side all day long. Now, it was time to head to bed and he was being cranky.“But I hate bedtime!” Ryle pouted, crossing his arms across his chest in defiance.“I hear someone being stubborn here.” Henry came in, resting by the doorway.Anaya hadn’t seen him all day because he had a dinner appointment with one of his clients. He looked pleasantly good, even though she could see how tired he was. Moving his eyes towards her, he nodded softly as a greeting and she looked away, her stomach acting up just from the little action.“Mo
“Anaya! Anaya! Look over here!”Stepping out of her car, Anaya realized that the crowd in front of her company building were actually reporters. Their flashes disturbed her eyes as she tried to pass between them to get to the building.“Tell us about your love story with Henry Fitzgerald!”“Did you get married to him for his money?” “How did you two meet?” The security guards at the entrance held the reporters back, making way for Anaya to enter the building. Her employees greeted her, every one of them regarding her with slight awe and suspicion. Henry and Anaya held a quiet court wedding yesterday with the witnesses being Henry’s family and Daisy. They both agreed that would be the best in order to save themselves from the media’s attention but it seemed their marriage news had been leaked already.She woke up this morning with her phone buzzing with notification and emails, different people congratulating her. She wondered if she would have gotten this much attention if she had