All Chapters of The Anatomy of Wanting Him: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

For eleven years, I have built my life on precision. Quietly, meticulously, and behind closed doors. A life so exacting that most people would never believe I actually live it. To them, I am Dr. Patricia Gillian Sta. Ana, the woman with M.D. and D.O. appended to her name from the most prestigious universities in Paris. They call it privilege. They whisper about generational wealth. Merde. But I would swear on my ancestors’ graves that I earned every inch of it. I gave up my adolescence to discipline, refused every shortcut, and worked relentlessly to prove to my parents that I could stand where they stand. That was how they raised me: nothing given without something returned. Every kindness earned. Every reward paid for in full. I have always hidden my harsher edges. God, I never even wanted to become like them. People who denied me the simple permission to have a gentle, ordinary childhood. Before I could ask for anything remotely resembling affection, I had to present perfect scores

Mom, if you’re reading this, I’m no longer at home. I didn’t wait for you since I knew you’d be working late. I’m safe, so please don’t worry. I’m staying with Seven at his studio apartment. I know you fired him, but I don’t want whatever we have to be severed. I’m not asking you to understand. Just… please don’t come looking for me. I’ll come back. I was driving home when Charity’s message came through. I forced myself to stay steady, to keep my hands firm on the wheel. At least she told me where she was, at least I wasn’t left in the dark, scrambling to call in favors and chase shadows just to find my own daughter. Still, anger simmered beneath the surface. She was with him. With that boy. I hadn’t stopped to think about the aftermath when I dismissed him. What he might say, what he might do to draw her into his cramped little apartment. I called Charity again and again. Each attempt went straight to a dead line. Her phone was off. Now I’m on my way to that apartment, whatever i

I was already dressed for work when I stepped back into Charity’s room. Her door stood ajar, and there she was—head bent, fingers deftly adjusting the tuning pegs of her maroon-and-white twelve-string guitar. The instrument gleamed beneath the light, its body crowded with worn stickers, each one a quiet witness to her years of playing. It was one of her favorites.Charity owns more guitars and instruments than most small studios could hold. I even had to convert an entire room just to house them all. A space that now doubles as her personal music studio. Every corner hums with her presence, every surface touched by her craft. I love how expressive she is. Not only in voice, but in everything she does.I’m proud of the person she’s becoming. I always have been. I always will be. I’ll be there for every stage she steps onto, every moment that shapes her life.My little rockstar.“Well,” I said, leaning against the doorframe as she finished strumming the chorus of a rock song—clean, seam

I returned to the parking lot after dropping Charity off at home. I still had a few matters to settle with Lieutenant Gillory, but those were already taken care of. Merde. All I wanted now was rest. What mattered, at least for the moment, was that I had handled everything.Or perhaps not everything.My left hand gripped the car door, already ajar, but I froze when I saw Severino. He stood a short distance away, watching me with the kind of look that carried unspoken words. A part of me wanted to hear him out, to understand his side. But I hadn’t forgotten what he’d done to me, nor how he had dragged my daughter into the mess.“There’s something I need you to know,” he said. He didn’t step any closer. The space between us remained wide, and I was grateful for it. Men would only touch me over my dead body.“My aunt deserves every good thing in this world after everything she’s endured,” he continued, his voice low but resolute. “I don’t regret what happened to that man. If it had been u