Chapter 285
Anna’s POV:
I sat alone in my office at BlueWave Technologies, rubbing my temples to ease the throbbing pain. Exhaustion had settled deep in my bones, but there was no time to rest.
The soft knock on my door broke through my thoughts. Daniel stood there, concern etched across
“Ms. Anderson, are you feeling alright?”
his face.
I’m fine, I said, gathering my things. “Get the car ready. We need to go to EcoMarine Group. Call Emily and tell her we’ll be there for the meeting.
‘Ms. Brown already called. She’s waiting for you. The car’s ready whenever you are.”
I tried to smile at Daniel, but my lips barely curved upward. The weight on my shoulders was too heavy for preterise.
I walked past him with determined steps. No more hesitation. Everything needed to happen quickly now. After Caroline’s situation was handled, I’d be gone.
The drive to EcoMarine Group passed in a blur. Emily greeted me with a wide, toothy grin that somehow lightened my gloomy mood..
“What’s got you so happy? Share so I can feel better too!” I asked, mustering some enthusiasm.
Emily gave me a playful wink. “Check this out. Caroline’s statement is full of holes! It won’t hold up to any scrutiny. This garbage won’t help Claire at all She laughed. “With this shit statement, I just need to make a few moves, and Claire is done for, Anna!”
My smile faded instantly. Daniel shot me a worried glance. He already knew my decision, having seen that I’d only given Blake the simplest version of Caroline’s statement.
Emily noticed the shift in mood. “This is good news, right? Claire’s been interfering in your marriage for so long. I’ve always hated her. What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy?”
I silently flipped through Caroline’s statement with Emily’s notes highlighting the inconsistencies. I knew this document by heart–how Caroline had been crying while giving it, the tremor in her voice when she spoke about Claire.
“Anna, what are you thinking? You’re not planning to let Claire off the hook, are you?” Emily asked, her voice rising.
“That’s why we’re best friends,” I forced a light tone. “You can read my mind.”
Emily jumped up from her chair so fast it rolled away across the room.
“You can’t be serious! You’re not doing this for Blake, are you?” Emily’s face flushed with anger.
She pounded the desk. “We don’t let bad people get away, but we also don’t frame innocent people. Caroline might not be good, but people who do wrong should face consequences, not be protected!”
‘Anna, I don’t care what you say–I will not let Claire off!”
Calmly, I put Emily’s annotated documents into my bag and took out my own revised version of the statement from Daniel.
‘I’ve fixed the problematic parts,” I said quietly. “The police will have Caroline record a new statement using my version. Please check it for me–I’m not at my best right now and might have missed something. I want Claire completely cleared.”
Emily stared at me in shock. “You become CEO of Blue Wave Technologies and suddenly you’re abusing power? How are you any different from Blake now? I hated people like them! Anna, what happened to you?”
Every word Emily spoke pierced me like a knife. I understood everything she said, but what choice did I have?
“If Claire goes down, Blake will kill himself, I finally exploded. “What do you want me to do, Emily? Watch him jump off a building?”
1/3
Chapter 285
Daniel excused himself, leaving us alone. I envied how easily he could walk away from this mess.
“I’m going abroad,” I said after a long silence. Monica invited me to stay with her. She can help take care of me during the pregnancy, I sund some to away from all this.”
“You’re going that far?” Emily’s eyes widened. “You’re carrying Blake’s child and choosing to leave?” She gave a bitter laugh. “You’re still in love with him aren’t you? Don’t lie to yourself! If I were you, I’d stay. I’d watch him recover. Love is complicated, but I would never empty myself out and run aways:
I listened to Emily’s passionate speech with a faint smile. It felt like she was talking about someone else’s life.
‘I don’t love him anymore,” I said softly. “But I loved him for years. I don’t want anything to happen to him. That’s all. I paused. “We’re divorced. He doesn’t need me anymore.”
Blake’s POV:
Back in the car, my body trembled uncontrollably. I stared at the cuts on my arm, a fierce determination building inside me. The image of Anna standing strong before me burned in my mind.
I had to get back on my feet. I had to bring Anna back. For the first time in months, my body responded to thoughts of her–a primal awakening that reminded me I was still alive.
Ever since my father died, I increased my medication dosage. I was painfully aware that neither waking at dawn nor scrolling through Anna’s photos on my phone in the dead of night could make me capable of getting hard. Nothing could turn me back into the man I needed to be.
It was fucking frustrating. There was no way in hell I could let Anna see this side of me. When Claire suggested I check into that private hospital for some rest, I agreed without hesitation.
I couldn’t imagine going home and lying in the same bed with Anna, completely impotent. The humiliation would have been unbearable.
But right now, after so long, that familiar surge of power returned to my body. I felt desire burning in my eyes again, and for the first time in months, I was getting hard.
Claire noticed my physical reaction and crawled into my lap, deliberately rubbing against me.
‘Blakey,” she purred, “Anna is such a bitch, trying to destroy our family. Congratulations, Blakey, you’re finally divorced!”
My face froze in shock. Before I could think, my hands were around Claire’s throat, pinning her against the car door while she cried out in pretend distress.
That’s when I saw it–the way she looked at me. It wasn’t a sister’s gaze but a woman’s.
I’d always maintained a pretty liberal attitude toward relationships. So whether Claire fooled around with her male colleagues at the ballet company or got involved with old Frank Hamilton, I never interfered.
Everyone has their own life.
My role was simply that of a brother. Taking care of my sister was my responsibility, nothing more.
Thinking back to everything that had happened, was there ever a moment when Claire gave me that kind of look in front of Anna, making her completely misunderstand?
No, that’s not how it was!
I needed to explain everything to her clearly!
“Stop the car!” I shouted.
The car pulled over to the side of the road. I pushed Claire out of the vehicle and turned to the driver. “Drive! Take me to Blue Wave Technologies!