Chapter 21
ANNA‘ S POV
As I sat across the table from Mr. Xin, the important client I had been anxiously preparing to meet, my mind was a million. miles away. The events of the previous night with Nate had left me emotionally drained, and even though I was trying so hard, I couldn’t seem to shake the heavy weight on my heart.
I had forced myself to sleep, but even in my dreams, the memories of our heated argument played on again and again.
Truthfully, I had fallen head over heels for Nate, and the thought of him being caught in the middle of this mess I had created
with Caden tore me apart. I wasn’t even sure if Nate loved me back, but the way he had shown me more genuine affection in a few short months than Caden had in our entire five–year marriage told me that his feelings were real.
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But Nate had already left for work this morning before we could even attempt to talk things through. I hated that he was somehow caught in the middle of this mess, through no fault of his own.
Suddenly, Mr. Xin’s voice broke through my scattered thoughts. “Ms. Anna, are you alright? I’ve been talking for the past five minutes, and you seem rather distracted.”
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as I stammered an apology. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Xin. I, uh, I seem to have a lot on my mind at the moment. Please, continue, I’m listening.”
The older gentleman studied me with a concerned gaze. “This deal is an important one, and I would hate for your personal life to interfere with our business
relationship. If you need a moment, please, don’t hesitate to take it. I understand that running a business can be quite demanding.”
“I understand, and I assure you, it won’t
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happen again,” I replied, forcing a smile. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I need to use the restroom.”
As I made my way to the ladies‘ room, I mentally scolded myself to focus before I jeopardized this important deal.
When I got relieved and came out of the bathroom stall to wash my hands on the sink, I found the last person on earth I wanted to see. Jessica.
She was standing before the mirror, reapplying her lipstick.
I froze, my eyes widening in surprise. “Jessica? What are you doing here?”
Her gaze snapped to mine and she shrugged nonchalantly. “Anna? I should have known it was you. I’m meeting with a client here, not that it’s any of your business.”
I scoffed, the anger I had suppressed for so long hitting the top. “Oh, really? And since when do you have any clients? Last I
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checked, you were content to fully Caden like a lost puppy.”
Her expression grew dark, and she took a step towards me, looking like she was ready to claw my eyes out with those sharp. nails of hers.
“Don’t you dare talk to me about Caden. You’re the one who ruined my life. You always had to be the perfect one, didn’t you? The one who got everything handed to her on a silver platter.”
I huffed. “Don’t you dare try to turn this
around on me. You were the one who
stabbed me in the back, who betrayed my trust. And now, you have the nerve to act
like the victim?”
“You decided to expose my actual baby daddy. What were you trying to gain by sending Caden that video?” she hissed.
I felt my temper flaring at this point. “That’s rich, coming from you. You tried to steal my ex–husband with a baby that
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wasn’t even his! That‘ s low even for you.”
“At first I thought it was actually his baby!”
“That doesn’t change anything. You still slept with Caden a lot of times, didn’t you?”
“You were always the golden girl, Anna. Everything just fell into your lap, while I had to fight for every scrap of happiness. It wasn’t fair! It even took a long ass time of poverty before I discovered I had a wealthy biological family. After suffering for years. And then I had an abusive boyfriend yet you landed yourself a hot billionaire CEO”
I shook my head in disbelief. “It’s not my fault you were a bitter, jealous person, Jessica. I loved you like a sister, and you betrayed that trust.”
“I was your best friend. I was there for
you
every step of the way. But no, you just had to swoop in and take everything from me. Stop trying to act like the best person
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around all the freaking time for once in your life!”
It was no use standing there talking to the only friend I had that stabbed me in the back.
I sighed deeply. “Look, I don‘ t even have time to waste on your useless talks. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a client waiting.”
As I turned to leave, Jessica’s hand shot out, grasping a fistful of my hair. “Not so fast, honey. You don’t get to just walk away from this. You ruined my life, and I won’t let you get away with it.”
With a violent tug, she yanked me backwards, the sudden movement causing me to lose my balance. She pushed me hard and I felt myself hurtling towards the sink. My belly slammed against the hard porcelain sink, and then the world went black as my head collided with the floor.
The last thing I remember was the sharp pain that ran through my body, and the
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