She knew that the only thing that stopped Maya from asking her about the whole story even though she was there with them at the airport was solely because about Charles and the looks she was flashing her was enough to let Anna know that she wouldn't let everything slide, she had to know even the slightest of things. She smiled and turned to Charles that was seated beside her as he read through a wedding magazine. Anna leaned on and rested her head on his shoulder, and they stared at the magazine together.
“Isn’t this setting beautiful? Don’t you think that our wedding setting should look like this? But maybe by that time people have outgrown it, right? Then something similar to this.” She was glad that he wasn’t staring at her face as he spoke, he would’ve seen the way she looked so pale and how his words had left her gob smacked. Her, Anna Brayden, someone was finally talking to her about a wedding. Even though she knew it wouldn’t be now, maybe not even this year or the next two years to come, but hiring the words alone was pleasing to her ears and she didn’t know when she nodded her head, trying as hard as she could to pull her tears back into her mind.
“Yes, it’s beautiful. And you’ll look so handsome in your tuxedo as you stare up at me walking down the aisle with Mom by my side. She’ll be the one to walk me down, you know?” She smiled sadly and he kissed her head in a way of showing her that he understood her pain of losing a mother.
“So long as you're the bride, my bride, I wouldn’t have a problem with who’s going to walk you down the aisle. In fact, I'd be so carried away with how beautiful you are to notice who was beside you, and I'm certain your Dad will be so happy if she walked you down.” She was silent, just feeling the thumping beating of her heart as it raced at the words being uttered to her. It was only now that she realized Nate had never spoken directly to her about his plans for marriage. It was always, ‘Whenever I get married...’ ‘I want my first child to be...’ ‘I wish to have a wife that’s...’ She understood the difference now, and she felt as slowly Nate’s hatred was filling her heart.
She clung onto Charles arms and closed her eyes because he kept on pointing at things for her on the magazine, which they should do. The color shade that would look beautiful on her, the ring he had seen, the bridal gown, everything. And she knew if she kept on replying him, nothing could stop her from asking him to get married to her as soon as possible and that would be as embarrassing as hell.
She really fell asleep afterward. And after they had landed, she felt a soft tap on her shoulder and as she squinted her eyes, Charles was staring back at her with the most beautiful form of smile. “Anna Brayden should be back, the CEO and sassy part of her, I mean.” She was about to speak when he added, “The bossy and poise Anna, not this emotional freak.”
She chuckled and nodded her head; Charles knew her a lot. They walked out of the plane together and he was holding their luggage. It felt good to be back home, so peaceful and she had this homey feeling filling every nook and cranny of her soul. She turned to smile at him as she collected his jacket despite his protest. On arrival, she saw a head that looked like Mom’s, but she knew Mom would never come to the airport to get her because she was either sleeping, having her shopping sprees or just so busy with one thing or the other that if Anna would be asked, wasn’t more important than the daughter she claimed to love with all her life.
But then, she was right, it was Mom. Because the moment they spotted them, Mom walked toward her in fast strides and she engulfed her into a hug, “You have no idea how much I've missed you, my baby. How have you been?” She kissed her forehead and Anna chuckled before she nodded her head.
“I'm alright, Mom. Maya makes sure I wasn’t bored, and Charles was there whenever I needed him.” She examined her face and spoke again, “You look tired, Mom.”
Oh, how she wished she hadn't voiced that out, because this woman was already making a dramatic face as it was. “How wouldn’t I look tired? It’s because I’m tired, going to that company for two weeks straight was the hardest thing I’ve ever got to do in my life and the board of directors weren’t easy to deal with, I had to bring back to old serious and bossy Daphne because I was able to defeat them. You’re doing a very good job, my darling.” She hugged her again, and this time that simple gesture spoke of her affection for the only child she was able to give birth to.
Anna smiled, patted her back before she broke their hug, “You did well too, Mom. Let’s go home already, I'm famished.” They started walking silently as Mom nagged endlessly about how tiring working in that company was even though Anna was certain she had never gone there early, she had to sleep to her satisfaction but nevertheless, she listened to her attentively and nodded her head when possible.
They arrived home safely, and Anna felt as the feeling of homecoming wafted through her nostrils. Spain was home, but California was the only home she had ever known in her life. She ran up to her room because no matter how much she was going to deny that she did, she knew she missed her room. She giggled before she slumped on the bed and screamed happily. “I'm glad I'm back home. Hey, did y’all miss me?” She turned to her bunch of huge teddy bears and laughed at herself later for being so childish to be speaking to her teddies.
❦
He sat down beside her and took a hold of her hands, he hated it when she was like this. He hated it the most when she cried. “I told you, I hate it whenever you cry, Willa. This is forcing me to speak to Victor, and you made me promise that is wouldn’t, right?” She was crying bitterly but she still managed to nod her head at him.
“I don’t want him to think that I've told everything to my family after I promised him that I wouldn’t. But he's not willing to change, Jack. I don’t know what to do and this...” She placed her hand on her bump and he clenched his eyes shut because he didn’t want her to be a pathetic mother and he'd do everything in his power not to make that happen. He will certainly make Victor regret the way he treated his on and only sister. “He doesn’t sleep at home anymore, I don’t know what to do with my life anymore, Jack.” She was crying terribly as she held Jack’s arms and he pulled her closer to his body. He hated this feeling, the feeling of knowing that someone you loved as much as he loved Willa was in so much pain but there was nothing he could do about it.
“Have you spoken to him about it? Willa, can you please stop crying this hard, it hurts me to know that I can’t do anything to lessen your pain, please.” He was at the verge of breaking down himself. He didn’t know why the only two most important women in his life had this much power on him that even if he wanted to, he could not stop himself whenever they were sad.
She lifted her wet face and stared at his, “I love him, Jack, I've always told you that I do, didn’t I? But he denied that. He said that I was only married to him because I know that if I object to what my Dad says, it will be over for all of us. What do you think I should do? He even threatened to leave me if I keep on complaining to him about his habits, I'm drained.” Jack was only staring at her while she spoke, and he had never felt this anger in his life.
“He outwardly denied the fact that you loved him?” He asked to make sure and she nodded her head, wiping her tears with her thumb but more gushed down. He knew she was sad, but he wanted to know that all these emotions were also because she was pregnant, because if the rate at which she cried symbolized the pain she was feeling in her heart, then nothing could stop him from killing Victor with his own hands.
“He said that, and I begged him to believe that I loved him, Jack, but he still didn’t believe me.” Jack pulled her to his body because he realized that the more she spoke, the more everything rushed back to her mind and the more it pained her.
“Okay, it’s fine. Let’s talk about this some other day, okay? You’re exhausted now, what do you want to do now? Do you want me to take you home for a while?” He asked, and she stared at him as though she were a baby before she nodded her head.
“Will Mom know that I'm sad if I go like this?” She asked, pulling her body away from him as she began to stare at her reflection through the console mirror she had in her living room. “Will someone think that I'm ugly?” She turned to ask him and this time, he couldn’t stop himself from bursting into a pits of laughter.
“What’s wrong with women? Do you all enjoy staring at how your faces turns out when you’re done crying? Mom always does that too that sometimes I can’t believe she’s really sad.” She had gone to the console and pulled out a power she had kept in one of its drawers, trying as much as she could to hide the dark circles beneath her eyes.
“You won’t understand it. Just pray the woman you’re going to marry is emotionally strong, but if she’s a lachrymose like me and Mom, then it’s a game over for you, you’ll end up apologizing and wiping her tears every blessed day because little things make us cry.” He didn’t know why the moment she said that his mind wandered to Anna and he lost a beat in his heart. He couldn’t say he had totally forgotten about her because since when he came back he had been planning the best way to avenge on her, but then thinking of her from this aspect was far from his mind until Willa made mention of it and she’s the only he knew that cried a lot.
But she wasn’t going to be his wife, was she?
He lightly shook his head before he moved to the console and helped her in moving her brunette hair away from her eyes, “But y’all are so strong.” It was more of a fact stated than a statement and she stared at him through the mirror with indecision in her eyes.
“Are you sure?” She asked, and it felt as though he was staring through Anna’s eyes. What the hell was wrong with him?
“I'm sure, Willa. You’re going to come out of this stronger, god’s willing. Now, let’s go and take you to your Mama, you can cry on her shoulder for as much as you want, okay?” She threw her head back and laughed to the point that despite the way his heart was getting busted with Anna’s thought, it felt lightened at the laughter and smile on Willa’s lips. “You’re more beautiful when you laugh.” He entwined their fingers and guided them outside to where he had parked his car.
“And you're more handsome when you don’t.” She giggled mischievously at the expression on his face and he reminded himself that being all soft and loving toward Willa only brought irritation. He knocked her on the crown of her head and went to sit on the passenger’s seat.
“I was thinking of taking you to Bora Bora someday to get your mind off things, a full paid trip, but it seems like you’re okay with being sad in California.” The scream she let out of her chest as she began to apologize to him for being a ‘bad younger sister’ was what forced him to let down his windows and he put the music on a higher volume.