Everything was set, she was ready to leave. She stared at the way she styled her hair and smiled proudly at herself. She had done a great work today, and her makeup wasn’t so bad too, was it? She did so well and beautiful as well. But something was off, her eyes were still red with anger and she knew Nate would have to realize that the moment he set his eyes on her. And she didn’t want to give him any reason to think she wasn’t well and to bother him, she had to look like the perfect Anna she was to him. The lady he had fallen in love with.
She decided to call Maya on Skype, she would tell her what else was off with her even though she knew Nate was Maya’s least favorite human. But she loved her, and she would do almost everything to make sure she was happy. She called her and placed the phone on her nightstand as she took a few steps backwards, to give Maya the ability to have a better look of her whole body. “Hey, girl!” Maya waved at her with a wide smile and she realized how beautiful Maya was, she had always done that.
“Maya, you need to figure out what’s wrong with me, will you do that? The outfit, my hairstyle, my jewelries, everything.” She took a 360 turn to give Maya the perfect view and when she heard the exciting claps of her best friend, she pouted her lips. “Don’t praise me yet, point out what’s wrong with me first.” She whined and Maya chuckled at how she sounded.
“You know you look as perfect as you’ve always looked, Anna. Nothing is wrong with you, and even though I don’t like Nate, I’m sure he’d fall in love with you over and over again. And your dress? It will make him drool in there, so beautiful.” She grinned and palmed her face while she giggled as though a teenager in love. “But come a little closer, something is wrong with your face, not the makeup though. Have you cried?”
Self-consciously, Anna moved closer to the camera as she began to shake her head. “No, what would I cry for when I know I’m going to spend my whole day with Nate today? It was that guy…” she made an angry face and Maya’s eyes dilated as though a saucer.
“Don’t tell me you have another encounter with the balls resetting guy?! Did he try to harm you like yesterday? Have you called the police on him?” When Anna was silent for barely a second, Maya became aggressive, “Anna, tell me everything. Did he hurt you?”
She lifted the sleeve of her short gown and showed her the mark he left on her arm, “Look here, he left this mark on my arm. I’ll tell you the whole story when I’m back, because if we talk about this I’ll sadden my mood and I wouldn’t be so happy when I meet Nate, Maya.” She made a sad yet begging face that would be able to tell Maya that she really didn’t want to talk about it and Maya begrudgingly nodded her head at her.
“Alright, but you have to promise me one thing.” She nodded her head as she carefully pulled back the sleeve of her gown and she looked back at the camera with a wide grin, she was so excited to meet Nate. “You will make sure to take care of yourself, Anna, okay? And if he tries to harm you…”
“I’ll make sure to call the police on him, Maya, I promise. Or better, I’ll make sure to reset those balls that I’m certain he has never used them for anything good. Deal?” They both laughed at what she had said, and they spoke for a few minutes after Maya had confirmed to her that everything about her looked as perfect as she should and about the color of her eyes, she should think of some happy moment and before she arrived at the office, she would be so excited and happy that it would gleam in her eyes.
She called Mark and told him that she would be coming down so they would leave, and with one final stare at herself in the mirror, she flashed a beautiful smile and walked out of the suite, making sure to lock her door because she didn’t know what that mentally retarded Jack will do, the lengths he would go at harming her. She took the elevator, and the moment the receptionist saw her, she called her name and ran up to her.
“Anna, are you alright?” She was scrutinizing her with her gaze and Anna warmly smiled at her as she tapped her arm softly.
“Of course, I’m alright, Emily. Thank you for checking up on me, I shouldn’t have made that call to worry you this much.”
Emily quickly shook her head, “It was no bother at all, trust me. Please take care and make sure you call whenever there is any displease, okay?” Anna chuckled and nodded her head.
“I promise, Emily. Bye.” She briskly waved at her as she left the lobby and she saw Mark patiently waiting for her beside the limo. The moment he saw her walking toward him with that wide smile of hers, he grinned and bowed when she came closer as he opened the door for her.
“Good morning, Mark.” It looked like what Maya had advised her to do was working wonders to do. All she could thought of was Nate and the amazing moments they had spent together. How happy he would be to see her. And consciously, her hand went over to her necklace as she blushed, it was the necklace he gave her on her 20th birthday. He had told her how much he loved her that day and as she recalled everything that had happened that day, it was among the happiest days they had ever lived with Nate. And today, she couldn’t wait to see him.
❦
Jack draped back the curtain after the limo had drove out of the hotel premises and he hissed. He had to make this girl regret what she had done to him and he was sure if he didn’t get her senses back into her, she would always make sure he had done one thing or the other to him whenever they met. Which he was sure they would likely meet again because they were in the same hotel and their rooms were opposite each other’s.
His ring tone brought him out of his reverie of how to make her regret what she had done to him and he almost began to regret switching his phone on when his sister’s name appeared on his screen and he smiled. “Willa,” he called out, she was the only person in this whole world that had never gotten on his nerves. He meant, she did, obviously like every other sibling out there, but never as hard as his Mother and the worse; his Father did every blessed day.
“Jackyyy” She drawled, and he exasperatedly closed his eyes. Did he just say that she was the only one that has never gotten on his nerve? He had taken that out, she did. She was among the most annoying humans alive. This woman.
“You’re back at it again, Willa. I thought the last time we met you’ve promised not to ever call me that, didn’t you?” He knew she was grinning, of course she was. Nothing gave her joy like knowing she had annoyed him did. “And if you don’t stop grinning I’ll be forced to smack those annoying lips of yours.”
“Oh, do you remember how my lips look like? Ahh, it seems like you’re only faking it when you say you hate everyone in our family, aren’t you?” She giggled and he cursed the mind that put him into picking her calls.
“Willa, did you call me for this or there’s something important? Because if you’re just going to annoy the hell out of me, I’d rather sleep, really.”
“My baby brother is all serious. It seems I should quickly tell you the reason for this call even though I’ve missed you so much to just call and hear how you’re doing.” When he muttered ‘Willa’ through gritted teeth, she knew so well not to rile him worse than he was. “Okay, Mom is worried, she asked me to call you.”
“What’s with her again? She doesn’t have the driver that will take her to a shopping mall? Or is it the latest designer bag she’s been wanting to buy that’s out of stock, which among her unnecessary unending list of worries.”
She sighed, “That’s not it, Jack. They fought with Dad again and he has left home, and it’s all because of you, again.” He had to sit down, and he grimaced his face, he didn’t know what was wrong with his parents about him. He knew his Mother was trying so hard to support him, and his Dad? He didn’t know at which category he would have to put that man anymore.
“What is it, this time?” He asked, he might act as if he didn’t care about his Mother, but she was the woman he loved with all his soul and he had never wanted her to be hurt. She was a weak woman, and even though she tried all her might not to get worried about things that didn’t matter, whatever happened between her and his Father touched her deeply. She might’ve been crying all night, he knew.
“He said that you haven’t been picking his call for over a week now, and he has called your agency and they told him you’re stuck in Florida. Baseless excuses like he used to, to make sure he hurts her, and she has a reason to pursue you out of being a pilot.”
He sighed and massaged the distance between his eyes. What was with his parents and always fighting over him just because he had chosen what he had always loved as a child and he denied working in his Father’s company? He didn’t know what was wrong with that man, honestly. “Willa, how is she doing now?” So that was the reason he hadn’t seen her tons of missed calls and messages when he switched on his phone? She must have been so sad then.
“He has never left home because they fought, Jack. This is the first time, and she dreads that he’s going to file for a divorce. I hate the fact that she loves him so much.”
“I do that too, that’s why it’s never easy when the other party loves so hard. I’ll call her, I’ll call him as well. But stay with her today, take her out, shop with her, I’m sure she’ll feel much better, right?” He smiled, as he could imagine the look she would have on her face in the shopping malls, that even though sad and grieving, she would have this pleased look that could easily tell how excited she was.
She chuckled, “I’ll do that. Already making a buying list, that will make her busy for the time being. Come back as soon as you can so they will settle everything, okay?”
He chuckled and nodded his head as though she could see him, even though the laughter was just an act to make the weird atmosphere less awkward and painful than it was. “I hate it when you sound so serious. Don’t buy me anything, please.” It wouldn’t work, it had never worked.
“You know we must buy you a lot of things. What about that Ben10 throw pillow I bought for you last three weeks? Do you still use it?” She had to throw her head back and laughed at the way he groaned, and she knew she had reminded him of something he wanted to so bad to forget.
“You know I would have strangled you if you were beside me, right? Buy me anything ridiculous and I’ll make sure I come to your house and make a total mess.”
“Like the baby you’ve always been, you’re welcome to do that.”
“Willa, I hate you. Goodbye, please, you’re making things hard on me here.”
She giggled, “I love you more, I’ll tell Mom that you extend your love, aye?” He ended the call because arguing with Willa was the baseless thing he had ever gotten to do in his life, because it always didn’t work. It was after he ended the call that he thought he should’ve asked her what he would do that will severely hurt a lady, she knew all the mischievous ways to hurt someone which he had never thought to learn before.
What was her name again? Yes, Anna Brayden.