Chapter 62
Anna POV
The morning sunlight felt like an accusation as I stepped onto the Brooklyn sidewalk. My feet dragged with each step toward the pharmacy three blocks from my apartment. The logical part of my brain knew Edward was right—after last night's unprotected encounter, I needed to take precautions. But the rest of me felt hollowed out by humiliation.
"Take something, Anna." His words echoed in my head, practical and detached, like he was reminding me to pick up dry cleaning. I pulled my cardigan tighter despite the warm morning, feeling exposed under the bright sky.
The pharmacy's fluorescent lighting made everything look harsh and clinical. I grabbed the morning-after pill, avoiding eye contact with the cashier, and hurried back to my apartment with the small paper bag clutched in my hand like evidence of a crime.
Back in my living space, I filled a glass with water and swallowed the pill, grimacing at the bitter taste that lingered on my tongue. I sank onto my worn sofa by the window, staring out at the slice of Brooklyn visible from my apartment. The reality of what I'd agreed to settled over me—two years as Edward's private companion in exchange for Helen's care and protection.
The sunlight cast shadows across my sketching table, highlighting the half-finished pages of my graphic novel. I'd been so close to breaking free, to building something that was truly mine. Now I was back in the same pattern—trading pieces of myself for security.
I closed my eyes, fragments of last night flashing through my mind: Matthew's invitation to the bar, the dizziness that had overtaken me, stumbling into Edward outside The Plaza, and then... the rest was a blur of hands, lips, and shame. The final clear memory was sitting across from Edward this morning, agreeing to his proposition while feeling like I was watching myself from somewhere outside my body.
The sharp ring of my phone cut through my thoughts. Matthew Quinn's name flashed on the screen. My hand trembled as anger surged through me. I almost declined the call, but some part of me needed to hear what possible excuse he could offer.
"What the hell do you want?" My voice came out cold and sharp.
"Anna, I..." His voice was low, contrite. "About last night—I'm so sorry. Things got out of control."
I laughed, a bitter sound that surprised even me. "Out of control? That's what you call drugging someone? You do realize that's attempted date rape, right? You could go to jail for that."
There was a pause, heavy with tension. "It wasn't like that. I never meant to force you into anything. I just..." He hesitated. "You know Vera and I are engaged and I'll marry her soon. I just wanted one night with the woman I actually love before I'm trapped forever."
"Love?" The word hung in the air, so absurd I nearly choked on it. "Is that what you call it? That's not love, Matthew. That's your pathetic attempt to satisfy your ego." My voice rose sharply. "You knew you couldn't openly choose me over Vera because you'd lose your precious Parker connection. So you figured you'd have me once, with no consequences, no responsibility. You could marry Vera and have your cake too."
I took a breath, my hand gripping the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white. "And now you're using 'love' to justify your disgusting behavior? Do you even hear yourself?"
Silence stretched between us.
"All these years," I continued, my voice dropping to something hollow and sad, "I thought I knew you. But I don't recognize the person who did this."
"Anna, please—"
"We're done. Don't contact me again."
"Wait!" The desperation in his voice was almost convincing. "Last night was a mistake—I was out of my mind. But there's something you should know. Vera put me up to it."
I froze, the air suddenly heavy in my lungs. "What?"
"She came to me last week. Said she could tell I had feelings for you, not her. But since the engagement couldn't be broken, she..." he swallowed audibly. "She encouraged me to 'be brave' and act on my feelings before the wedding, so I wouldn't be thinking of you after we were married."
My mind raced, trying to process this revelation.
"But I didn't expect that she had arranged for her and Rebecca to 'accidentally' walk in on us," he continued. "Only then did I realized that the plan was to ruin your reputation completely. I swear I didn't know she'd go that far—I thought it was just her weird way of giving me closure. Things got completely out of hand."
The pieces clicked into place—Vera's innocent act, her concern for Edward, her constant undermining. Had I been blind all along?
"I see," I said finally, my voice flat and cold.
"Anna, I'm truly sorry—"
I hung up, dropping the phone onto the couch beside me. My hands were shaking, not from fear but from a cold, spreading anger. Vera. Of course it was Vera. The sweet, perfect daughter who could do no wrong, who had everything I should have had, who still wanted more.
I fell back against the cushions, closing my eyes as exhaustion washed over me. Matthew's words replayed in my mind, connecting dots I hadn't seen before. If Vera had orchestrated this elaborate scheme to destroy my reputation, what else might she have been responsible for?
An uncomfortable thought surfaced: George Wilson's sudden reappearance in my life after eight years of silence. The timing was too perfect to be coincidental. Had Vera somehow found him? Encouraged him to seek me out?
"Was George your doing too?" I whispered to the empty room, my voice barely audible.
I had no proof, no way to know for sure, but the suspicion took root, adding another layer to the web closing around me. Family, love, trust—everything I thought I understood seemed to be built on quicksand. Parker family plots, Edward's demands, and me caught in the middle, always the outsider, always the pawn.
I stared at my phone, half expecting it to ring again with some new crisis or revelation. The silence felt almost as threatening as any voice could have been. I was truly alone in this—no family I could trust, no friends untainted by ulterior motives, not even the comfort of believing my past was safely behind me.
The morning light had shifted across my floor, marking the passage of time. I should have been working on my graphic novel pages, should have been doing anything productive. Instead, I sat paralyzed by the weight of everything closing in around me.
Two years of being Edward's on-call companion stretched before me like a prison sentence. Vera's schemes swirled in the background. George's threats lingered in the shadows. And somewhere in a private care facility, Helen lay unresponsive, depending on me to keep her safe.
For her sake, if nothing else, I had to keep going. Had to find some way through this maze without losing what little remained of myself.
I just wasn't sure how much more I could bear to lose.