Chapter 5

Anastasia's POV 

 My eyes open slowly and my head throbs so hard I can't think straight. My thoughts are scattered and clouded. 

 I blink rapidly, realising I am not at home, not in my room. Where am I? 

 Jolting upright, the blanket slips off my body and my eyes widen in shock. I am naked. 

 “What the fuck happened here?” I murmur to myself as I get out of bed. 

 The last thing I remember is the contract— sealing the contract deal with Blake Pierce. A cold shiver runs down my spine as my eyes dart around the unfamiliar room. A hotel room. 

 I gasp heavily, tears pooling in the corner of my eyes as my body trembles. What the fuck am I doing here? 

 Everything that happens after I get Blake to sign the contract becomes blurry to me but the hickeys on my body, the bloodstain on the white bedsheet—they all point out one thing. I’ve just lost my virginity to a stranger. I shake my head frantically as my tears flow freely down my cheeks. 

 I am married and there is no way I can explain to Liam or my parents what had just happened. Rushing out to the washroom, I clean myself up, but then, I begin hearing voices from the room. 

 “Take the pictures, Marian. I finally have a reason to divorce her.” Liam’s cold voice reaches my ears. 

 “And we can finally get married, baby! I wonder where the fool is right now.” Marian says and my fist clenches by my sides. She is with him. 

 “Where else? She has been taken by two thugs after being drugged, she will be on her way to the hospital now.” 

 My brain freezes and my stomach drops with something heavy as my mind struggles to process what my ears have just heard. I’ve not just been raped by a man but two thugs? And how does Liam and Marian know about them? My heart constricts against my chest and I find it hard to breathe. 

 “I made sure the drug was so strong she wouldn’t remember anything about last night.” 

 Marian’s words cut through me, twisting like a blade in my stomach. What happened to me last night was their plan. They’d both drugged me and made thugs sleep with me to get rid of me. Tears gather in my eyes, the weight of their words and actions pressing against my chest. 

 Is this the kind of divorce Liam had promised me? 

 My inside flares with anger, my nails digging into my palms. How can they be so cruel? How could they do this just to get rid of me when I was more than ready for a divorce? 

 I resist the urge to get out of the washroom and strangle them to death. I wait until I begin hearing their footsteps fading away. When I’m sure they have gone, I walk out of the washroom and pick up my dress, my heart bleeding like an open wound. 

 ***

 “How dare you still step your feet into this house?” Liam roars as soon as I walk into the living room. 

 He is sitting with Marian’s head placed on his lap on the couch. He can’t even wait for us to get divorced before bringing home his mistress? 

 “Bastard!” I curse under my breath. 

 He pretends to be upset, as though he is not aware of what has happened. 

 “I didn’t know you were such a whore, Anastasia.” Marian rises to her feet and takes deliberate steps towards me. “You were asked to meet with a client to seal a contract deal, but you went to a hotel and slept with some men. Did you do this because of money? Are you so cheap that you had to sell your body and pride to some useless men for some little change?” 

 Her words hit me like a slap and my blood boils in fury. 

 I snap my head up to meet her gaze, my eyes blazing. “You have no right to say those words to me, bitch! Do you think I’m not aware of your schemes with that bastard to get rid of me?” My tone wavers as I point a finger towards Liam. 

 My body trembles with barely contained rage. A flicker of surprise passes over Marian’s features as if she hadn’t expected me to know of their secret. 

 “What are you talking about, you slut?” Liam seethes, dashing towards me with a paper in his hand. “You still have the guts to talk after sleeping around with other men? Are you so shameless you didn't know where to turn to when you needed someone to satisfy your sexual needs?” 

 “Sign these divorce papers! There is no way I’m keeping a slut as a wife.” Liam says, irritation flashing in his eyes. 

 I yank off the papers from him and pull a pen out of my bag. My eyes scan the back of the papers and my breath catches in my throat. How the hell does this bastard know about my secret company? 

 “You are taking over my company?” I look into his eyes with my eyes burning with rage. 

 A smirk tugs at his lips and he nods. “As compensation.” 

 My chest tightens in pain. “This isn’t possible.” I snap. “If anyone should be compensated, it should be me. You were the one who set me up.” My voice rises despite myself, and my fingers curl into fists when Liam lets out a cold laugh. 

 “Will you rather let me leak this out to the public?” He smirks and my stomach shivers with fear. 

 The bastard is threatening me, knowing that if this ever gets out, I will face public humiliation. I have no evidence and even my parents aren’t in support of me. 

 Without another word, I scribble my name on the lower side of the paper despite knowing that everything I own has been taken from me. No home, No parents, No husband. Tears flow down my cheeks as I walk out of Liam’s house with an empty heart.