“I need to talk to Howard about a few details. Has he arrived yet?” Annalise asked Tara the moment she entered the conference room. “No. I tried calling him as you suggested but my call went straight to the voice mail,” Tara replied, stopping her friend from pacing nervously the room. “Listen, from what I saw, the presentation is perfect. But if you need me for anything, I’m right outside the door. Okay, sweetie?” Annalise nodded and took a deep breath. Her nerves were wound tight, but she meticulously went again over every little detail of her presentation. Her little team worked day and night to create something unique to present to Lance. She was extremely proud of every single one of them, but she was a little worried about Howard. The past few days, she found him a bit distant and quite distracted. Trying not to focus on the negative things, Annalise took a look around and smiled slightly. The two displays in the room were running over and over little clip

Friday evening, Jeremy called Annalise and let her know he would stay at their mother’s house for the entire weekend. This was a really unique occasion, so Annalise decided to do the same, happy to spend some quality time with her brother. Well, the weekend has been difficult since Saturday. If the lunch had been quite okay, giving her hope for two wonderful days, the dinner crashed every single shred of hope left in her. Her mother started an apparently harmless conversation, praising her two sons, as she usually did, and pointing out once again, if ever was necessary, Annalise’s personal… lacks: too much work, no free time, no man in her life, no marriage plans. And since all this wasn’t enough, Martha even brought up the fact that Annalise ruined on purpose her romantic relationship with John by choosing her career over love and security. And she did it out of spite. Thank God John wasn’t there… After the verbal punches

Annalise laid her head on her desk and tried to ignore the painful ache that had developed around her temples. Elaine told her to go home, but she couldn’t… not yet… She knew what she had to do, and it will hurt far more than those damn pictures. Still, she hadn’t worked this hard to rebuild her reputation and her career to have it go down the drain over her affair with Lance. Yes, she was in love with him, that was so very clear in her head, but he wasn’t responding the same way. For him, what was going on between them was just enjoyable sex and nothing more. They were great between the sheets, but out of his hotel bed, in front of the cruel reality, their relationship was doomed. Annalise sighed and covered her face with her hands. “You can’t escape your past, Anna,” she whispered. “It will hunt you forever.” She turned off her cell phone and spent the rest of the day locked in her office. She only spoke to Tara to tell her she was not acc

After a while, they started talking like they never did before. Martha pampered her endlessly, preparing her favorite food: French fries and chocolate ice cream. Her mother’s expression showed complete disapproval, but Annalise told her it was her comfort food. By the time evening rolled around, her brothers arrived and made it a point to shower her with lots of hugs and endless cuddling, as her father recommended. Martha retired to her room, leaving her children sitting on the couch together, watching ‘Roman Holiday’ and eating popcorn. Everything was so wonderful… For the first time, since the disaster that had hit her, Annalise was feeling a little bit better… and a little bit optimistic. Once the movie ended, Annalise wiped her eyes and tried to stop the sniffling. She knew her brothers hated it when she cried. Jeremy especially. He kept Annalise’s head on his shoulder. “Anna, if you feel like talking, we’re here for you. But if not, w

That day, the silence inside the house was soul-crashing. Lost in her thoughts, Annalise didn’t even realize that her coffee cup was empty. She put it in the kitchen sink and decided to go on the back porch and get some fresh air. Her father bought the house right after the wedding and renovated it all by himself. It was perched near a cliff, though it was situated a good distance from the drop-off. As a child, after reading about mudslides, she’d been convinced that they’d fall into the ocean. Her brothers had told her it was far more likely they’d fall off in an earthquake. Annalise shook her head at the memory of how they liked to torment her. It was peaceful here, and not for the first time during the last few days, she wondered why she’d been so anxious to move away. “Sometimes, a nice, calm, honest talk is the key to solving so many misunderstandings…” Annalise said, sitting on the rocking chair. “Look at Mom and me… We are finally starting to create