FAZER LOGINANASTASIAWe follow Matteo deeper into the mansion. His back rigid and every step calculated as if afraid one wrong step would piss the man behind him off. He stops in front of a room.“A dress has been arranged for Mrs. Blackwood. Please make yourself comfortable.” The title makes me shift uncomfortably.“That should be all, Thank you.” Dominic says. He didn't sound grateful. It sounds like Matteo is a servant boy showing him around his estate, but the man doesn’t seem to mind. He nods eagerly and disappears down the hall.“You sounded very grateful,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. The familiar smirk plays at the edge of his lips. He’s dressed in a black suit, hair styled back, jawline sharp. His eyes focus on me.“We don't have time for this,” he says.“I wouldn't be downed in red wine if you didn't decide to walk in like you owned the place”“I was busy,” he supplies, Leaning against the wall. I turn to enter the room, then stop.“if the cleaners or guests pass by and see y
ANASTASIA“He just has to show up late, dosen't he” I whisper, glancing toward the entrance—no sign of Dominic.The hall is huge, flooded with people. I feel painfully out of place, maybe because I’ve avoided them for so long. Everyone has something to say about me.Hushed whispers about me, yet loud enough for everyone to hear.The abandoned fiancée. The woman they pity, the one foolish enough to trail behind a man who doesn’t belong to her.‘She actually came?’ ‘I think she deserves it. She was too sly, thinking she could keep a man like Leonard.’Every whisper, every conversation said loud enough to hear, threatens to break me, but I can’t break—not here. I won’t give them that satisfaction.I keep my eyes trained on the entrance, part of me unready to face them, twirling the glass of wine in my hand. I glance at my watch, debating the right moment to run for it.The room suddenly goes quiet, without being told. I feel it instantly. Maybe it’s because of the years I spent waiting
ANASTASIAI stare up at the mansion in front of me, it’s huge, the building standing tall, representing power and everything the owner stands for. The air carries the faint smell of rain, old money, and fresh roses from the garden surrounding the mansion. The building reminds me of him: tall, big, and distant, the obvious lack of color around the building except for the roses at the side.Parked at the side is Dominic’s sleek black Bentley.I drag my suitcase toward the building, typing a reply to Rita’s thousands of texts.I press the doorbell, tapping my fingers impatiently at my side. No reply. I raise my hand to press it again, but the door swings open before my finger lands.Dominic stands near the doorway, except he doesn’t look like the cold, distant man in a suit I married.Standing near the doorway, fresh from the shower, the faint scent of his body wash in the air, droplets of water drip down the wet strands of his hair, down his chest, sliding lower, a towel draped around h
ANASTASIA “Ana, Ana. Come on, it’s almost nine.” I yanked the sheets over my head to muffle Maria’s persistent voice. “Jesus Christ, Maria, let me sleep,” I yelped when the blanket was torn from my body, the cold morning air of the city taking its place.“Give me back my blanket. It’s so cold,” my words were muffled against the pillow.“Someone’s here to see you …get out of bed,” maria’s voice dripped with frustration. She was this close to actually hitting me out of bed.“Tell them to leave,” I muttered, half-awake.“I raised you better than this, Ana”“You raised me not to get enough sleep?” she pulled the curtain open, I groaned once the sunlight hit my face.“To greet your guests and not keep them waiting” she supplied,“Argh, who the fuck is it?”“Ana language” she warned.“Come on, who is it?” Mr. Blackwood is here.” That one name makes me jolt out of bed, stumbling to my feet.“What?!”Maria—the househelp rolled her eyes.“He’s downstairs,” she shrugged, it's a common thin
ANASTASIA“Marry me, Miss Brooks,” Dominic says, like he’s offering me an invitation to a soap opera.I stare at the contract in front of me, as if staring hard enough would make it somehow disappear, turn into something that isn’t a marriage contract to the most condescending person on earth – Dominic Blackwood, the same man who now rules the business world, my dead father’s rival.“Why would I want to marry you?” I ask, meeting his gaze, those blue eyes too pretty, too bright for the personality behind them.“Because you need it. You need me, and the money, to stay afloat,” he supplies, leaning against his seat.This son of a bitch makes my life hell without even trying, he's the reason behind all the late nights dad couldn't come home, all the diners dad couldn't make it to, all the times he drank because he couldn't handle anything, it's because Dominic is fucking ruthless, he'll do anything to beat anyone in his way.“I can survive on my own,” I say. My hands tighten at my side.







