ANNALYN
Four hours now and I still haven't found the Steel deal contract. Then it suddenly hit me.
It was back at home and that meant going back home. I needed to get some of my stuff too.
Although some part of me dreaded going back home and facing Sophia and her mother, I knew I had to do it.
So I steeled myself and drove home.
Of course the first person I came face to face with was Sophia.
"Well, well. Look who we have here," she purred.
I held Sophia's gaze, making sure to keep my expression hard and cold.
A part of me still felt betrayed at what she did with the man who was supposed to be my fiancé, but that was all in the past now.
My step sister stood up and crossed her arms. "What the hell are you doing here?"
I snorted.
"Really? You're asking me that question when I am in my father's house? The question should be directed to you, outsider. What are you still doing here?" I snapped in response.
My step sister chuckled at my words and stepped closer.
"Oh. Someone has been taking some lessons. Finally grown some nerve, huh? Too bad your bravado will not do anything to help you," she taunted.
I rolled my eyes at her. "Get over yourself, please. You're all bark and no bite."
Sophia raised her eyebrows at my words. "Look who's talking. You are so shameless, Annalyn. I can't believe you would stoop as low as pretending to get married. Seriously? You have always acted so high and mighty, but deep down, you are just so fucking vain, sweetheart."
Her words hit me right in the chest, and it made my anger level rise defensively.
"You're just jealous because the inheritance is finally out of your reach, Sophia. And my husband is real, thank you very much. You can choose to believe it or not. I don't give a fuck."
She sneered at the mention of my husband, her sinister smile finally falling away.
"The inheritance is still very much within reach, Anna. You think you have it already, but you don't. Hell, you're finding it hard enough as it is to prove your marriage to the lawyer. You think your faux bravado is going to work on me?"
My jaw clenched at her not so subtle reminder at the lawyer's obvious absence.
She was partly right, of course. The inheritance would not be fully mine until I manage to clear things and finalise everything with the family lawyer lawyer.
And I wouldn't be able to do that if the damned man kept postponing the meeting we were supposed to have.
Something must have shown on my face because Sophia's lips tugged into a smile again.
She crossed her arms together and eyed me from head to toe.
"You know. I honestly think the whole wedding saga is just a ploy to get Warren back. Make him feel like he was missing out on something important. That is why you hid the identity of your husband, is it not? So that when Warren comes crawling back, you would be able to act like it was what you intended all along?"
Sophia shook her head at me. "That was not very creative of you, Annalyn. Because if there is one thing I know, it is the fact that Warren will not marry you. Not now, not ever."
Her words stung, not because she was right — she had been totally, absolutely wrong — but because my mind automatically strayed to thoughts of Adrian, and I was still mad at him for his coldness earlier today.
I kept my face neutral though, careful not to betray any of my raging emotions.
"You already have Warren all to yourself, Soph. I don't want him. In fact, you can go right ahead and get married to him. I'm sure that's what you want the most right now. It's alright. It's not as though you'll be able to find someone else to marry anyway," I deadpanned.
My words were sharp like the edge of a knife, and I watched as they made their mark.
Her smile fell away again, and her entire expression twisted into an unpleasantness that rivaled anything I had ever seen on her face.
She took several steps closer until she was standing right before me, her eyes narrowed with a mixture of anger and determination.
"Warren could go fuck himself for all I care, Anna. You know what I want. The inheritance rightfully belongs to me and my mother. You are nothing but an obstacle."
I snorted.
"You're a bastard to my father's lineage, Sophia. And even if you mother was legally married to my father, she has always been, and she will always be nothing but a mistress. I am my father's daughter."
"And so? Did that stop him from being lonely? He married my mother because you weren't enough for him! If you were a daughter to be proud of and someone he could trust, why would he have to add a clause asking you to get married before you can get the inheritance?"
My jaw dropped open at how blatantly rude her words were. She was wrong and she knew it. I knew it too, but that didn't stop the words and what they implied from hitting me right in the lungs like an avalanche.
Sophia went on before I could respond, dropping the final, fatal blow.
"Besides, if your mum had been a good wife when she was alive, I'm pretty sure your father would have chosen to preserve her memory forever, rather than remarrying."
A wave of rage bloomed in my chest. It took over my emotions and clouded my judgement, and before I could stop to think about what I was about to do, I raised my and slapped Sophia.
And then I did it again.
Her eyes widened in surprise. Her hand automatically found its way to her cheek, and she gaped as she held her face.
"How dare you? Have you lost your mind?" she shrieked. Her eyes blazed with anger, and she impulsively raised her hand to slap me back.
I caught the arm, stopping her from doing as much as touching my face with her fingers.
Leaning closer until our faces were almost touching, I growled at her.
"Don't you ever talk about my mother again. You are picking a fight with me, not her. You have absolutely no business talking about her at all. The next time you pull this shit, I will not hesitate to do more that hit you on the face," I spat.
We were both breathing heavily now, and Sophia was staring at me with terrible rage in her eyes.
We stayed like that for a long moment before an interruption came in form of her mother.
"Get away from my daughter, you bitch," Catherine yelled. I dropped Sophia's hand in disgust and stepped away from her.
Without saying another word, I stormed past both mother and daughter, and made my way to my room.
I grabbed a few things I needed, still boiling with rage. And as I stormed back downstairs, Catherine was waiting for me.
Her daughter seemed to have filled her in on what happened. Of course it would be a total biased version, but I didn't care.
"You'll pay for what you just did, Anna. I promise you. And nothing, not even the threat of your fake husband, will stop me from taking that inheritance away from you."
"My husband is not fake. He is very much real. If you are dying to meet him so bad, then fine. You will meet him."
Catherine folded her arms across her chest.
"Sure. Bring him over for dinner. Let us see him with our own eyes. Or else I will do everything in my power to convince the lawyer that your marriage is fake."
I was watching in silence, rage filling my insides. I turned to leave when she added.
"And that inheritance will belong to me and my daughter!"