When the maids set the crystal goblets down, they made a soft clink sound that was hard to hear over the roaring fire. The dining room was hauntingly quiet as dangerous glares were fired from both sides of the table.With Maria sitting beside him, Mr. Forbes fiddled with his napkin at the left side of the table, his eyes moving back and forth between the shiny silverware and his son's dark figure across from him.Maxwell's face looked like a storm stuck between two granite hills. His dimmed eyes were narrowed and his jaw was clenched. Annabel sat next to him with her back straight as a board, a bright smile on her face to try and ease up the tension in the room.A feast that was yet to be devoured was left on the table as a silent gift to the growing tension. Under the light of the chandelier, a roasted chicken that smelled like rosemary and wine shone like gold.The full chicken looked crispy and scrumptious, showcasing the cooking skills of the ladies. A circle of roasted veggies,
The silence in the car was awkward as both of them would not stop looking the other way. After the drama at dinner, Mr. Blackwood didn’t even know what to say to Anna, he felt a little bit of embarrassment for starting an argument only to get schooled by his father, after losing the first round of verbal confrontation.To break the silence, he began. “So… What about Jennifer? I haven’t heard of her in a while.Anna hummed with a little smile, reluctance to answer on her face. “You are not the only one having Daddy issues,” she couldn’t resist making fun of him.MB frowned as he turned to her. “What does that mean?”“Well, Jennifer returned home to sort things out with her father. They are also not on good terms, fathers! I am sure you must understand that. After all...”“Do you have something to say to me, Ann?” Mr. Blackwood interrupted.Anna laughed. “Okay, I am sorry, let’s not talk about your father.”“Good, I appreciate it.” He replied with a straight face.“Just out of curiosity
** Anna’s POV **There was a knock on the office door and I let out a sigh, who could it be now? I had resumed work three days after the incident with Mr. Wilson. The company staff seemed pleased with his dismissal and has openly expressed their approval of my decision to fire him.The attack was still an inside thing because I didn’t want to ruin his reputation, just the top staff knew what really happened that led to his dismissal.“Come in,” I muttered after the second knock.The door was pushed open and a delivery man walked in. I immediately recognized him, he was the same guy that had delivered the car to me when I got employed by Mr. Blackwood.“Hi Ma’am, nice to see you again.” He said with a small smile as he strolled in.I returned a warm smile of my own. “Hey… is there a delivery for me?” I asked as my eyes scanned the content of the box in his hand.“Yes, these are for you.” he replied and then he brought out a flower vase and an envelope.I groaned. “Did Mr. Blackwood se
“Hey…” Mr. Blackwood finally found his voice. “Are you really here?” he asked to be sure, a little chuckle escaping his lips.Anna smiled and then she extended her hands to him. Why don’t you tell me?” she replied softly, feeling for him.Mr. Blackwood took her hand, her skin smooth and clear like milk. “Welcome, I was starting to think you would really leave me hanging.”“Well I couldn’t afford to have you get drunk, I promised your mom that I will take care of you,” she joked and MB laughed softly.“Please have a seat.” He ushered as he pulled a seat out for her.Anna blushed, she loved this side of him, made her regret all of the stupid decisions that had made her unable to accept his proposal. As she sat down, her eyes traveled around the club, things were different in here today.The quietness, the decorations, it was like he had shut down the entire club for her sake tonight and turned it into a big romantic date. The candles, the flowers, the white table spread, the fruits, eac
“Ann, What do you mean? What are you talking about?’ Mr. Blackwood asked in confusion. He was still trying to get a hang of what she was saying? How does he fit into any of this?“Don’t pretend with me, you did this, didn’t you? You set my house on fire!” she blatantly accused.Mr. Blackwood was shocked and completely lost. “What? Why would you even think that?” he queried, the surprise written all over his place, he had not seen this coming.“Because it is obvious, you invite me out for dinner and coincidentally my house is on fire, no electric malfunctions, no lit fires inside but a raging fire suddenly breaks out at my apartment while I am away. Admit you did this in your desperation to have me come back to you.” She fired at him.“Anna, that is a very foolish thing to think, let alone say it out loud. I would never do something like that, is this really what you think of me?” Maxwell uttered the disappointment very audibly in his tone.“Don’t try to gaslight me, we both know you w
** Anna’s POV **Showing up at the office today might have been a big mistake, thanks to last night, I could barely concentrate the whole day. Aside from the swollen eyes from crying and lack of sleep, I was having a headache and regretting most of the things I had said last night.Now to worsen my problem, the phone was endlessly ringing. It was Mr. Blackwood on the line, he had been calling me for the past two hours but I didn’t want to answer. I have no idea what to say to him after everything that happened between us last night.I wasn’t in a good place last night but I should not have said the things I said to Maxwell. Even if there is a chance that I was right with the accusations, I still think I overstepped but I wouldn’t bring myself to admit it before him.Mr. Blackwood was right, this pregnancy is doing stupid things to me, but how do I explain to him without letting the cat out of the bag? Like every other time I have faced a problem, my first instinct is to run from it.A
** Omniscient Narrator **Anna took a few steps closer to Jimmy, the tears pooling in her eyes. “Tell me it is not true, Jimmy. You didn’t do it, did you?” She begged for reassurance, she was just finding it difficult to believe that the man she had willingly shared her bed with for so many months would try to take everything away from her; a man she loved with everything in her.Jimmy scoffed as he looked up at her. “That is your problem Anna, you are always having so much faith in humanity, always trusting blindly, always trying to be the bigger person, the saint, seeing the light in everyone, but you are not just being naïve, you are being a very big fool.” He spat at her.Annabel couldn’t believe that he said those words to her, she shook her head in regret. How she wished she never met this guy, let alone share her whole life with him.“Maybe I was wrong about you all along, you are not different from the rest of them out there, you are just a thug and opportunist, and you are
After spending hours at the office, Mr. Blackwood drove Anna back to his house. This time around, it was her idea. She had pleaded to stay with him for a few days because Jenny was leaving town again tonight and she didn’t want to stay in Jenny’s house alone.Arriving at the multimillion dollar mansion, Anna couldn’t help but notice that everywhere was more quiet than usual, although it was night already but not even the chirping of crickets could be heard.“Where is everyone?” she asked in a whisper as she looked out the car window.“Oh, I gave them a break earlier today, except the cleaners, they would be away for a whole week.” He responded.“Oh,” she mouthed. “What about your mother?” she asked in a cracked voice.“Mom… The last time you were here, perhaps you remember her promising to return to Mr. Forbes,” he said, carefully evading the word father.“Ah, that is true.” Anna smiled as she thought back to that iconic dinner with OG Forbes, not something you forget in a hurry.Max