Chapter 5

Anyta's POV

(Three Years Later....)

So many years since I last set foot in this airport.

I tugged my suitcase past security and stepped out of the airport building. The woman in the glass doors didn’t look like the naïve girl who had left with nothing but heartbreak and a secret pregnancy. She looked different now. She was now a successful actress who had built a life for herself in Italy.

I had no heavy makeup, just a touch of color on my lips. My hair fell loose around my shoulders. I was calm, collected and graceful. At least, that’s what I told myself.

Little three-year old Theodore, the product of my marriage to Everett, was still at home in Italy. I had chosen not to bring him, because I wanted to keep him safe from the drama I knew I would encounter the moment I stepped foot again in the United States.

As I waited for my ride, I heard the whispers before I saw the faces.

“Did you see that lady?” someone murmured behind me.

“I’ve never seen such a charming woman.”

“She must be a star, right?”

I smiled to myself but I kept my eyes forward, refusing to let their stares drag me down. I wasn’t here for anyone’s approval but I was here for me.

Someone was standing next to a car and holding a plaque that read "Miss Anyta Rushmore". It was Everett's assistant, the same woman who had escorted me to the airport three years ago, as if she were shipping off a parcel. I didn't have to think long to know that it was Grandma Jo who had sent her to pick me up.

She gave me a polite nod and smiled at me. “Mrs Ashbourne. Welcome back.”

I adjusted my hand on the suitcase handle. “It’s Miss Rushmore now, isn’t it?”

She smiled again but didn't give me a reply, she only turned and motioned for me to follow her to the car.

I was driven to Hotel Veloura, a five-star hotel tucked away in Staten Island, New York. When I checked in, I let myself sink into the bed and stared through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the sights of New York.

Then I saw a white envelope caught my eye on the desk. My name was written in elegant script on it.

I reached for it and tore it open to see an invitation.

“To our honored guest, you are invited to the elite dinner party hosted at the Ashbourne mansion tonight, the fifteenth of September.”

My heart jumped to my throat as I read the words. Ashbourne mansion, the same place I had walked out of in disgrace. And now I was being invited back.

I dropped the card onto the bed, laughing softly to myself. Of course, life loves a cruel joke.

********

The Ashbourn3 mansion hadn’t changed in all the three years that I had left the country. As my driver pulled up to the entrance, I stared at the doors, watching people troop in. I could already spot a familiar face at the entrance.

"Thank you." I murmured to the driver. I adjusted the strap of my halter-neck black dress, took a calm breath and stepped out of the car.

The line of guests moved slowly toward the entrance and each person was being greeted at the door, by Everett.

Everett himself hadn't changed in three years, still had that cruel light in his eyes even with the welcoming smile on his face. I waited to feel something for him again, perhaps even regret or hope, but I felt nothing. When it came to Everett, I was dead inside. This man had left me to the worst and I would never forget that.

Finally I joined the line, waiting for my turn. Eventually, it came and I found myself staring into the eyes of the man who had treated me like trash. Still tall, still impossibly composed, the kind of man who could silence a room just by standing in it.

He was smiling at the couple in front of me. “Welcome, Mr and Mrs Banner.”

The couple returned the greeting and moved into the mansion. Everett kept the polite smile on his face as he turned to me.

"Welc..." he started to say, then his smile faded. The polite look slipped and I saw utter shock on his face.

I made sure to keep my eyes locked on him, as I smiled like the devil herself.

“Hello, Everett.”