Chapter 2; Playing Mrs. Brooke

Anastasia's POV

I watched Serena cling to Tristan with an easy smile, her gaze never leaving mine, and I wouldn't lie, l, I felt intimidated by her presence. She was the same woman whose disappearance had nearly driven Tristan mad with anxiety five years ago.

She was the reason I became Cinderella, because everyone believed I would never have married my prince charming if she hadn't vanished. Deep down, I believed that too. But now she was back... did that mean it was finally time for me to leave the castle and return the prince to his rightful princess?

“It's been such a long time, Anastasia... or should I call you Mrs Brooke now?” she asked with another pleasant smile. But beneath that smile, I could hear the mockery dripping from every word.

That was the thing about Serena. She wasn't the innocent, fragile woman everyone believed her to be. At least, I knew better because I had always been on the receiving end of her schemes. Growing up, everyone believed I bullied her, and since I never had any proof to expose her lies, that accusation became my permanent stigma. Serena had always been a frighteningly cunning woman.

“Yes, and—” I began, only to be interrupted by the sudden appearance of a little boy who came running towards Tristan with a bright grin.

“Daddy!”

The cheerful cry echoed through the room.

Tristan effortlessly scooped the little boy into his arms, gently patting his head, and yet another shock hit me.

Daddy? My vision blurred hearing that, my body seated backward, but I only managed control myself.

This child...Could he be Tristan's son with Serena?

Had they been having an affair behind my back all these years?

The thought struck me so violently that my chest tightened, but I immediately dismissed it. There would have been no reason for Tristan to sneak around behind my back. If he wanted another woman, he could have simply asked me for a divorce. He never needed to explain anything to me.

“I told you not to call him that. You're going to give people the wrong impression,” Serena said with a soft laugh as she pinched the little boy's nose before turning to me. “Don't mind my son's little antics.”

She smiled so warmly that anyone else would have mistaken it for kindness.

I didn't.

I watched the three of them standing together, Serena smiling, Tristan holding the little boy, and the child clinging happily to him.

They looked...Perfect. Like a real family.

Even though Tristan hadn't confirmed whether the boy was his, my mind had already pieced everything together.

The sight squeezed my heart until it became difficult to breathe. Standing there, I suddenly felt like the outsider. Like I was intruding on someone else's happiness.

I was so consumed by those thoughts that I didn't even realise Tristan had been calling my name.

“Anastasia!”

His voice snapped me back to reality. I blinked before finally looking at him.

“Yes... what is it?” I asked, my breathing uneven.

He gave me a look that silently asked me to follow him somewhere private. Without another word, I walked towards the kitchen. I needed the distance anyway.

Serena's mere presence was suffocating me. This was far too much to process in a single day. My husband's first love, the woman who had disappeared years ago had suddenly returned...With a child.

I doubted any woman in my position would still be thinking rationally.

“Serena is back.” He said, with a hint of smile and relief, and I just nodded.

“I should've told you about Serena before bringing her here,” Tristan said once we were alone. “But we're dealing with... a bit of a situation.”

I looked at him quietly. It was strange watching the always composed, articulate Tristan Brooke struggle to find the right words.

“Are you two back together?” I asked before I could stop myself. “...Is that boy yours?”

The moment the questions left my mouth, I bit my lip hard. I had crossed a line.

“You know we don't have that kind of relationship, but—”

“Don't tell me.”

I interrupted him almost immediately.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude into your personal affairs.” My fingers instinctively wiped the nervous sweat from my forehead. I was only his contractual wife. I had no right to question his private life.

I repeated those words over and over inside my head, desperately trying to bury the bitterness threatening to consume me.

“Since you've brought guests home, I should act like a proper hostess and make them comfortable,” I said quietly before turning away. Walking away felt like the only way to preserve what little sanity I had left.

“And prepare the second master bedroom too,” Tristan added from behind me. “They'll be staying here for a while.”

His words hit me like a bucket of ice-cold water. For a brief second, I couldn't even breathe. I couldn't believe Tristan could be this brazen.

He was actually bringing another woman into the house.

Into our home...While I was still living here. Was he trying to force me into asking for a divorce?

“Okay,” I replied softly.

He left the kitchen moments later. The instant he disappeared, all the strength left my body. I leaned heavily against the kitchen counter, struggling to catch my breath as the weight of everything that had happened crushed me from every direction.

I wanted to scream. To cry. To shatter every plate in the kitchen. But hiding my emotions had become second nature after five years of being Tristan Brooke's wife.

“Is Tristan here?”

Serena's voice drifted into the kitchen.

I slowly turned around and found her walking towards me with that same smug smile.

From the expression on her face, I knew she wasn't looking for Tristan. She was looking for me. She had come to start a war.

“No,” I answered calmly. “He stepped out.”

“How does it feel... playing Mrs Brooke?” Serena asked as she stopped directly in front of me.

I let out a slow breath. So she had finally taken off her mask now that Tristan wasn't around.

“Tired of pretending to be the innocent girl?” I asked quietly as I placed the teacup in my hand onto the counter. “But don't you think I should be the one asking questions? Why are you back after so many years?”

My voice remained calm. My heart wasn't. I wanted to grab her shoulders and shake the answers out of her. I wanted to ask why she had returned now.

Why she couldn't have stayed gone? Why she had chosen to come back and destroy the fragile little world I had spent five years protecting.

But I refused to stoop that low.

“No,” Serena replied coldly. “I don't think you're in any position to ask questions, Anastasia. If I were you, I'd spend my time protecting whatever little dignity you'll have left after Tristan divorces you.”

My teeth clenched so tightly that my jaw hurt.

“Divorce me?” I repeated. “And how are you so sure that'll happen?”

“Why are you getting so worked up?” she asked with a mocking smile. “You know you would've never been here if I hadn't left. I'm only back to put everything where it belongs.”

Her words made my heart tremble.

“If anyone should leave, it's you,” I shot back. “You're the one barging into my marriage.”

“Marriage?” Serena laughed softly. “You actually call this a marriage?”

She tilted her head.

“Should I show you just how fragile your marriage really is?”

Before I could understand what she meant, Serena suddenly grabbed the teacup from the counter and smashed it against the wall.

The sharp crash echoed through the kitchen. I froze wondering what crazy thing she was doing, those were expensive wares.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, she picked up one of the broken shards and dragged it across her palm.

“Ahhh!”

She screamed in agony, clutching her bleeding hand. I stood rooted to the spot, completely horrified by what I had just witnessed.

My mind went blank. Then Tristan's furious voice thundered through the kitchen.

“Anastasia Brooke!” I turned sharply. He was already kneeling beside Serena, holding her injured hand. His eyes burned with fury as they locked onto mine.

“What have you done?”

Me? What...had I done?