~ANASTASIA~

“If you're here to make fun of me, then I advise you to leave now,” I said and walked back to the couch while he remained frozen.

“I know, yes, I was wrong, and yes, I'm in big trouble, but trust me, I know how to solve my problems, okay?” I said as I picked up my bowl and started eating, the person still didn't respond, and I, not wanting to force anything, ignored him and focused on my food.

"Ana?” he finally said after a long moment.

“Just get over with it Trey, what are you going to say now? That you warned me? Well, I'm sorry for being-”

“I'm so sorry,” he said, surprising me. I turned to look at him, and he nodded his head and then came to me.

"Listen, I'm not interested in your pity.”

“I'm your brother; if I don't pity you, who will?” He asked as he sat next to me, and then he placed his arm on my back and started running it in a comforting manner, “This bastard hurt you so much. I'm sorry, sis. I really am,” he continuously said, but I didn't respond as I was still shocked. I thought he was going to make fun of me, but I didn't respond as I kept stuffing ice cream into my mouth without swallowing it. “And I promise you, William will pay for hurting you.”

“It's not his fault; I'm the one who accepted his marriage even when he told me he didn't love me.” I placed the bowl down and cleaned the tears that rolled down my cheeks.

“You shouldn't blame yourself for that bastard's crime, sis; it's not your fault he couldn't keep his dick in his pants.”

“It's not that, Trey..." I sniffed and shook my head. "I came between two people who love each other; you all warned me, but I didn't listen.” Thinking of it ached my heart as the emotions I bottled in earlier came crashing all at once. “It’s all my fault; I'm to blame," I sobbed as tears freely rolled down my cheeks. I felt so bad, "if I listened, all this would-”

"That's enough, sis!” Trey raised his voice, “Look at me.” He demanded, but I shook my head. I was embarrassed. How could I look him in the eyes after all I had done? He tried to warn me; they all tried to warn me, but I never listened. Now look at where my stubbornness got me. “I said, look at me, Anna!” I was forced to face him: “You didn't do anything wrong; you fell in love and gave yourself a chance.”

“Which didn't end well..." I sobbed.

“It doesn't matter how it ended; what's important is you realized it before it was too late,” he said, now caressing my cheek. Trey had a way of convincing people it was his gift, and here I was falling for it as I nodded my head. He was right; I didn't do anything wrong. Loving someone and hoping to be loved back isn't a crime. “Daddy will be so proud of you; now we can finally go home.”

"No," I quickly said and stood up. “Dad cannot know this; he will never forgive me.”

“What are you saying?” Trey also stood up as he faced me and said, "Dad has already forgiven you.”

"That's not true; I mean, if he did, why did he not try to find me? He hasn't spoken to me in four years, so how the hell did he forgive me?!” I yelled as I was also upset with my father; I was his daughter—his only daughter for that matter—why on earth would he disown me and take the resources from me just because I made one mistake?

“You say he forgave me, right? Then tell me one thing: with the news trending, I'm sure he saw it. Why didn't he come to look for me? Don't tell me he hasn't seen it because I'm sure you are here because you saw it too. If you, who is rarely online, saw it then...”

“This is what Mom said,” he said, running a hand into his hair. “She knew both Dad and you are stubborn, but how could she think I was the right candidate for this?” He spoke words that didn't make sense to me.

"What's going on with Dad's company? Why is William the biggest investor?” I asked, wiping my tears.

“You don't have to worry about that, sis; Santiago will be back soon; he will sort everything out.”

“Santiago? Is...is he coming with Ivy?” My voice trembled. Trey took my hands and led me back to the couch. "Answer me, Trey, is Santiago coming with Ivy? When are they coming?” I asked all at once without breathing: Santiago was my elder brother, while Trey was my twin. He behaves like this because he's a minute older than me.

Santiago lived in Sedona with his wife and son. Ivy, my daughter, also lived with them. William didn't care about her, and I also didn't want her to watch him mistreat me or experience him ignoring her, so I sent her away. She only came for holidays and sometimes weekends.

“Speaking of Ivy,” Trey pulled out his ringing phone, ignoring my question, “There is my angel; how are you?” He said as he picked up the call, the way he held the phone on his face made me realize it was a video call.

I quickly wiped my tears, as I didn't want her to suspect anything. Ivy was a little adult, so any mistake she would just notice.

"Oh, I'm with your mommy, sweetheart; do you want to speak to her?” Trey asked, and I quickly fixed my face and cleared my voice. Trey looked at me, and I nodded my head as he asked with eyes if I could speak with Ivy.

I took the phone from Trey with trembling hands. I didn't want to worry her; growing up without a mother or father was already tough for her. She always begged to return, but I kept making excuses.

“Mamma, is everything okay? I tried to call you…” She spoke so fast, but I didn't hear her last words as I was lost in my thoughts.

Ivy was William's copy; maybe it was because it was a one-time thing as her eyes, hair, and even nose were exactly William's, but in a female version, “Mamma?!” she screamed, which shook me out of my thoughts. “Is it Pappa? Did he say something to you? Are you two getting a divorce?” She asked, and my heart started racing at her question.

She might have seen the news, as Ivy was very smart; she might have searched for it online, but how was I supposed to tell her her daddy was going to have a baby with another woman?

I caught a tear that escaped my eye. I couldn't even imagine her pain. She loved her dad so much. Part of the reason I endured all those four years was because of her. Because I wanted to give her a family like others.

Is wanting the best for your daughter a crime?

~WILLIAM~

I took a swig of my drink as I impatiently stomped my feet. What the fuck was taking her long to get back at me? “Just a small task, and it's taking hours," I complained as I stood up and walked to the window, my fingers tracing my jaw.

I couldn't believe Anastasia's audacity; what made her think she could divorce me? She's the one who begged to marry me; I should be the one to sign the divorce papers first, not her.

I punched the wall, but as pain shot up my arm, I grunted in pain.

"Fuck!" I cursed as I tried to soothe the pain. I couldn't wait for her any longer, so I walked back to the table and took my phone. I dialed her number, and she picked up the first ring.

“Mr Rogers?-”

“I always ask myself how I employed such an incompetent human; I say do this, and you take hours to get it done.”

“But sir, it's over ten hotels.”

“And so? People get that done in less than ten minutes.”

“I'm sorry, sir.”

“Whatever, how many have you contacted so far?”

“Seven sir.”

“Just seven?”

"Yes, sir, but they both agreed; they won't let Mrs. Rogers spend a night in their hotel.”

“Good, make sure you call the rest; she needs to know who's in charge.”

"Understood, sir,” she said, and I ended the call. I almost sat down when I noticed a figure by the door.

“I hate when people spy on me," I said, looking at Jimena, who had her arms crossed on her chest, she was dressed provocatively—red lingerie that barely covered her figure.

“People? William, do I look like people to you?” She asked, coming toward me. I didn't respond as I focused on my computer. I was searching for the Lancaster properties; I wanted to see if she had gone to one of them, as I doubted she went back to her father as they were not on good terms.

“What is it? I'm busy," I said, not sparing her a glance.

“I don't understand. What are you busy with? I'm right here,” she let out a nervous laugh.

"Work Jimena, work.”

“Well,” her voice changed to that that always drove me crazy. "I am sure work can wait,” she whispered in my ear. I didn't notice when she got to me, as she was now seductively running her hands on my arms.

I was feeling her for a moment as my dick got hard and I closed my eyes, taking in deep breaths. Jimena licked my earlobes and ran her hands on my back. It was all good at the moment until she mentioned a name I didn't want to hear.

“Why the fuck did you have to bring her name into this?” I removed her from my body as I started fixing my clothes.

"Wait, why does her name get you so worked up now? I mean, I always mentioned her name, but it was never a problem,” Jimena sounded shocked. Yes, she always made fun of Anastasia; I mean, we always made fun of her, how she couldn't do the things she did, how she couldn't get my dick up; it was never an issue, so I was as shocked as her. “And what's shocking is that I only said she would never be able to make you feel what I make you feel, nothing insulting.”

“I don't care what you said; I'm not in the mood anymore," I said and turned my attention to my phone.

“You are joking, right? Listen, William, I hate jokes like this. Okay, Anastasia left without us lifting a finger. We should be happy, we should celebrate,” she walked to me and took my hand, then placed it on her flat belly. “And besides, we are having a baby, even more reason to celebrate.”

"Jimena, go to bed; I have a lot of work," I tiredly said as I sat down and searched for James' contact on my phone. James was my personal assistant; I needed him to go and search for Anastasia so I know where she was and how I would make her beg to return.

“Listen,” Jimena sat on my lap. She forced me to face her. "I think it's time we speed up things,” she said, and I looked at her confused. “Marry me?” She asked, and I first thought it was a joke until she brought out a ring—the same ring that belonged to my grandmother—the ring I gave Anastasia.

Looking at it reminded me of everything and made my heart race.

I grabbed the ring from her hands and quickly stood up, which caused Jimena to almost fall as I got up without warning her.

My heart twisted in pain as the past replayed in my head.