Chapter 80
Anna’s POV:
As we argued, I somehow started taking it all to heart.
Looking back at our four years together, I realized that Claire’s shadow had been in every single moment I spent with Blake.
Before, I had always been conscious of my position, deliberately keeping my composure, never competing, never trying to steal his
attention.
Four years of marriage had given me a beautiful home and designer clothes, but not my husband’s heart.
His eyes would light up when her name appeared on his screen, while my calls were met with impatience. It’s just dinner, Anna. We can reschedule. Claire needs me,” he’d say whenever she interrupted our plans.
But now, despite finally fighting for what I wanted, despite abandoning my dignity and actively competing for his attention, his heart still wasn’t with me.
The crushing defeat felt worse than when I had silently accepted my place.
It was pretty devastating to realize that Blake only sneaked to my side, only slept with me during those brief moments when Claire didn’t want his attention.
I was almost embarrassed to admit these thoughts–I’d be too ashamed to tell anyone else.
I rubbed my forehead with one hand, my voice genuinely sad without having to fake it.
“Blake,” I said, my voice betraying the hurt I’d been bottling up. “My parents are gone. I have no one but you.” I tried to hold back tears. “I’m grateful you accepted my apology, that you forgave my past mistakes. But whenever Claire and I disagree, you never take my side. How am I supposed to establish any respect in this family? She’ll never see me as someone worthy of her regard.”
I painted myself as the vulnerable one, hoping to elicit some sympathy from Blake and make him think deeply about my situation.
If he stood by my side, it would definitely work to my advantage.
But with Blake, I just couldn’t shift his perspective. His blue eyes were set in determination as he stubbornly replied, “Claire’s a good girl. I’ll talk to her, but spending extra time with her is necessary. Let’s not bring up the past again.”
His dismissive tone made my stomach clench. Always defending her, always making excuses. I wondered if he even heard what I was
saying anymore.
“I used to treat her like my own sister,” I pressed on, ignoring his dismissal. “Just because I don’t bring certain things up doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. You might think she’s innocent, but she didn’t stop her ballet friend from attacking me. That’s a fact. She
and Kate have been scheming against me.”
“I’ve seen enough high–society dramas to know how this plays out. The favored sister–in–law always trumps the powerless wife. I have no allies in this family; I’m worse off than those fictional characters. How am I supposed to have any authority over Claire?”
Blake shifted in his seat, his jaw tightening in that familiar way that told me his patience was running thin.
“Claire is a good girl,” he said firmly, as if repeating it would make it true. “I’ll make sure she behaves, but spending more time with her is reasonable. We’re not going to rehash the past.”
He suddenly moved toward me with the grace and purpose of a predator, flipping me onto my back and pinning me to the lounge
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Chapter 80
chair. His blue eyes locked with mine, intense and uncompromising, is body pressing against mine with deliberate force.
‘Let me make something clear, he said, his voice dropping an octave When Blake Wright takes a wife, divorce isn’t an option. If you take our marriage seriously I’ll treat you well. Stop watching those TV shows–they’re making you irrational.
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