Kathryn gasped in shock, and Sophie's eyes widened. Her hand automatically found its way to her cheek, her mouth dropping open.
"How dare you? Have you lost your mind?" she shrieked. Her eyes blazed with anger, and she impulsively raised her hand to slap Anna back.
Anna caught the arm, stopping her from doing as much as touching her face with her fingers.
Leaning closer until their faces were almost touching, she growled at her.
"Don't you ever talk about my mother again. You are picking a fight with me, not her. You have absolutely no business talking about her at all. The next time you pull this shit, I will not hesitate to do more than hit you on the face," she spat.
Kathryn rushed between them and pushed Anna away. She charged at her and raised her hand to slap her too, but Anna caught her hand and dropped it in disgust.
"How dare you touch my daughter, you bitch," Kathryn yelled.
"You'll pay for what you just did, Anna. I promise you. And nothing, not even the threat of your fake husband, will stop me from taking that company away from you," Sophie threatened.
Anna ignored them both as she stepped back, wheeling her luggage to the door when Kathryn's voice stopped her again.
"If you are honest about this marriage charade you're pulling, then bring that so-called husband of yours here. Let's see him." Anna turned to them, and Sophie nodded vehemently.
"Yes, we have to see him!"
Her right cheek was still red from the impact of the slap.
"We'd like to meet him. That way, we'll know if this is real indeed or not, and you can have the company if you want."
Anna smiled within herself.
Kathryn would never let go so easily. There was more to this request.
"Thank you, but I don't regard any of you as my family, so I have no reason to introduce my husband to you or anyone else. The fact remains that I am married and I have—"
"See?!" Sophie burst into laughter. "I told you it was all a lie. A façade. She doesn't have a husband."
Kathryn smiled, trying so hard to control herself from laughing too. "Prove us wrong, Anna, and come with him. Dinner tomorrow at 7 p.m.?"
Rage was building slowly in Anna's chest, so she turned back and stepped out.
"If you don't come here tomorrow with him, you will never meet Kevin, and you know what that means."
"What?!"
Kevin was the family lawyer. Kathryn had mentioned his absence earlier, and now she was bringing it up again, proving that Anna's suspicion about her having a hand in Kevin's absence was right.
Shit.
Kathryn nodded with pride.
Kevin had suddenly rescheduled their meeting, claiming to be too busy, but Anna knew instantly that Kathryn must have been the one who made him reschedule.
She obviously had some tricks up her sleeves.
Anna wanted to play her games too, so she said with a smile, "If you want to meet Aidan, so be it."
"Sure. Bring him over for dinner. Let us see him with our own eyes. Or else we will conclude that your marriage is fake and the lawyer will think the same, and I'm sure you know what that means."
Anna didn't wait for her to speak further as she was already walking out with her luggage, but Kathryn shouted after her:
"It means that company will belong to me and my daughter!"
She heaved a deep sigh of relief as soon as she was out of the gate. Fortunately, the cab driver was still waiting, and she smiled at him in gratitude.
"Thank you."
He smiled back and nodded. He helped her put her luggage into the trunk and drove off, her gaze lingering on the house she had always known as home, until now.
Remembering she hadn't given the driver the address to Aidan's place, she opened the text and stretched forward to show him.
"Apartment 4B, 132 Willow Creek Drive, Brooksville." He read out, and she nodded.
The ride took about twenty minutes, and they arrived downtown. She sat up immediately, glancing around the neighborhood, which was absolutely different from where she was coming.
She looked down at her wristwatch. It was almost 8 p.m.
She wasn't sure if Aidan would be back from work yet, and she contemplated calling him to be sure they were in the right place.
"Is this the right place?" she asked the driver, still looking around.
He nodded. "The one and only Willow Creek is here, ma'am."
Finally, the cab halted, and the driver stepped out before she did. He pulled out her luggage from the trunk and pointed to an apartment building.
"4B should be on the first floor. Do you want me to help you up?"
She smiled at his kindness. "Oh, no. Thank you. I'll just take the elevator."
"Elevator?" he demanded with his eyes popping out. She nodded, and he laughed. "There is no elevator here, ma'am. You have to take the stairs."
Realization dawned on her, and her mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"What? I have to take the stairs?" He nodded intermittently, sympathy flickering across his expression.
She turned back to stare at the old building. It looked good on the outside, and it made her wonder how the inside would be if a building like this didn't have an elevator.
"Should I help you?" the driver's voice jerked her out of her reverie.
"No, no, no!" she chanted with embarrassment. "Don't worry. I'll have my husband take care of it."
His eyes widened again. "You're married?" She nodded. "Congratulations."
She could see the questions rivaling in his eyes, so she paid him and waved him off, pushing her luggage along with her as she made her way to the entrance door, weariness dragging at her steps.
Today had been a long day, and right now, all she needed was to eat something. Her stomach had been growling all day because she hadn't taken anything except the coffee that was drugged that morning. She also needed a hot bath, which she doubted she'd get in a place like this, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep it all off.
She didn't realize where she was going until she bumped into a hard wall.
Strong arms caught her before she could fall down, and her heart pounded with fear as she glanced up to see it wasn't a wall, but the chest of the man who smelled of after-shave.
She looked away from the hard chest to his face, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw it was Aidan.
His face was so close she could smell the after-shave on him. And his hands were wrapped around her waist so tightly. He was wearing a clean white shirt and a T-shirt with a face cap.
It took her a moment to realize she needed to step away. When she tried to move away abruptly, she lost her balance again, but this time, she quickly grabbed Aidan's shirt, making him twirl around with her as gravity pulled her down, until they both landed on the floor with a soft thud.
The world blurred, her eyes tightly shut due to the panic, and then the fall was suddenly over.
For a moment, neither of them moved. She remained still with her eyes closed and her grip on his shirt still tight.
Until she felt the softness of something wet, and the tangling of their limbs.
Her eyes fluttered open suddenly to meet Aidan's, and it suddenly dawned on her, as she glanced down at her lips.
Aidan's lips were locked with hers.