Ethan smirked at his brother. He didn’t believe a thing his brother was saying.“You mean to tell me,” he drawled. “That the little pretty redhead means nothing to you. She’s nothing?”“Exactly,” William growled, wondering how he could beat some sense into his brother. Calling Anna a little redhead? That just set him on edge and pissed him off even more. He had to fight to control himself lest he do something harsh. “That woman means nothing to me. And don’t you worry. I am going to take responsibility for my children.” He added. “There’s no need for you to blab about this, or I will make you suffer for it.”Ethan took the warning in stride. He knew how his brother could be after all.With a smirk, he boldly asked, “Does that mean then that I can have her?“Ethan! You overstep!” William stepped forward, and Ethan shut his mouth with a click. For someone who didn’t care about her, he was really pissed off when mentioning that.William glared down at his brother, knowing he couldn’t ris
Ethan was silently watching Anna and the children as she settled them into their seats from across the table. Already the twins were eating their meals paid for by him.He was pleasantly surprised that she would agree to go out for dinner even though he had sensed some hesitation over the phone. But it didn’t matter. He was going to have to convince her that he meant no harm and use this as a way to get something over William for once. Nothing else mattered but that.“Thanks,” Anna said to him and brought his mind back to reality. He smiled at her in a charming way. “For the meal. They really like it.” She remarked, trying not to look as awkward as she felt.“It’s my pleasure, Anna.” Ethan put on his patented look of innocent concern and leaned forward. “Actually I wanted to ask you a few questions. Don’t take it the wrong way.”So there was something he wanted, Anna thought, beginning to feel wary.She had made this decision to go out for dinner with him because she didn’t think it m
The next day was the weekend, and Anna was very thankful for that fact. To make things better, it was a sunny weekend, with the sun’s rays filling the house with a golden glow and warmth as she got the children ready for a day out.The workers doing her repairs had already arrived and the sounds of boots and hammers hitting wood filled the air.She’d have to find a way to distract them.“Mommy, can we go to the park?” Andrew was asking her incessantly while she gathered her phone and wallet into her bag.“I’ll think about it.” She said to him distractedly, feeling overwhelmed. She had no idea how the day was going to go but it was obvious she had to find a way to entertain her kids.Andrew kept on asking about the park and ice cream for the next few minutes as she pulled her children gently out of the house, waving in gratitude to the workers who were already in their work flow.As soon as she stepped out of the house with the children in tow, she was filled with shock when she saw a
Anna splashed her face in the restroom, feeling like she had just run a marathon.What was wrong with her?As she gazed at the mirror in the low-lit mirror, she noted just how tense her face had become. Instantly, she relaxed it, and tried to think about anything but William and his intentions.Oh, who was she kidding? She didn’t think he could have gone any lower, but now he seemed to be using deceit to get to her. Buying her and the kids meals? What had she been thinking, agreeing to this?She would have to confront him, she decided. Once she got back home, she would stop him and demand he stop acting like such a nice guy. He didn’t fool her anymore, and he wasn’t her boss so as to dictate how she would feel or be in this situation.With that thought, she left the restroom, only to bump into someone she definitely didn’t care for. She nearly would have walked off, because she didn’t care, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her around.“Hey, hey, Babe.”“Dylan.” She greeted the man wi
Dylan didn’t like the way that Anna had been seemingly dismissive of him earlier. He had hoped she would come back to him and reach out for dinner or something. But it seemed his words to her then had hurt her more than he imagined. Well, she was a single mother, so he didn’t think too much of it.But that didn’t mean she could go around dating other guys yet!Just one look at the man seated across from her had filled him with rage. How could she have scored a man that wealthy looking, and extremely handsome to boot?He addressed her calmly, keeping a smile on his face despite his tense demeanor.“Can we talk? It’s important.” He replied.Anna frowned to herself. Had she not given him enough signals she didn’t want to speak with him already?“Well, if you don’t mind, I’m at this restaurant with my children. If it’s important, you can text me later.” She dismissed him.Unbeknownst to Anna, William was hiding a pleased smirk at her behavior toward the other man.Yet the other man didn’t
Sophie stared at the picture with anger burning in her eyes.So she was the family pariah now while her damned sister had family time out with some man?!It irked her - no, it did more than that - it made her mad to the point of no return. Who the hell did this bitch think she was?!Here she was in her apartment, with a court date hanging over her head and various court officials coming to her damn door! Dad had completely stopped taking her calls and Mom only ever was in a bad mood whenever they spoke on the phone! They had made it clear that help wasn’t coming to her no matter how much she pleaded and begged. She was facing up to 20 years in prison for all her charges!And yet, here was her good-for-nothing sister, living it up with a man that looked wealthy even from afar.She decided to zoom into the man’s face, admiring those features. He looked like he worked out too!He must be rich!“Definitely big fish.” She cackled, not caring if anyone would hear her. “Oh, Annie,” she tutte
Anna was treated to her sister’s mad cackle once more as she heard the question. She gritted her teeth, feeling the unmistakable urge to throw the phone out the window or smash it in a pavement or something. Just hearing Sophie’s voice did that to her.“What do I want?” Sophie taunted her sister. “Well, Anna. What do you think I want? I want money.”Anna looked over her shoulder to check on her children once again before returning to the conversation.“How much?” She asked, cutting straight to the chase. She didn’t want her sister holding this shit over her head. And Sophie would be wrapped up in court battles soon anyway. It wasn’t going to be long before she ended up in jail.Anna didn’t hear anything for a while and she nearly thought the call had ended without her knowing.“Sophie, tell me how much? Thirty thousand dollars? Fifty?” She asked.“Thousand? For this?” Sophie sniggered then. “You can’t be that serious, sis. You want me to believe that this picture is only worth 50k? Yo
Five million dollars!Sophie snickered to herself as she sat in her apartment’s living room, gulping down the expensive wine from the bottle.That would be enough for her to pay her debts.“Who’s this?”“Are you Sophie Clandestine?” The man asked and as soon as he said that, alarm bells rang in her head.“Who the fuck’s asking?” She demanded, only for the man to step closer, and she immediately snapped at him. “Don’t fucking come closer to me! I’ll call the police!”Her yelling stopped the man, to her relief. Who was this? Was it a debt collector or something? She thought her lawyer had written them! What the fuck?“Sophie Clandestine, I was sent here under-“ The man was saying and she lost it, raising her voice to a high pitch as she cursed at the man.“—I don’t give a freaking fuck who sent you! What do you want? I’ll call the cops if you don’t say it now! What agency sent you?!”“Listen to me, miss. You have the wrong idea. I’m here for another reason.”“Well spit it out, fucko!”“