Beyond the Contract

CHAPTER 4 Anastasia's Back

　　Anastasia's POV

　　I look back at the stunned couple, smiling and feeling really good about myself. A feeling I haven't had in a long while.

　　"Thank you for this, and pleasure doing business with you." I say politely, before closing the door behind me. I can hear Abraxas yelling at someone behind the door, and my guess is either he has called his mother or he is actually yelling at Charlotte. Whatever the case, I am not on the receiving end and never will be again.

　　Aron links his arm with mine.

　　"I'm so happy you are back with us, sis." He says, as he pecks a kiss to my cheek. We have always been close, as there is only one-and-a-half years between us. I'm the oldest, and my parents have never seemed disappointed in that fact. The only thing my father asked when I got older was to let Aron help manage the family business, which I have absolutely no problem doing. We make a good team - him being really good with numbers, strategic and all that jazz and I being good with people, public speaking and visions. Believe it or not, but I'm actually a really outgoing sassy kinda girl. I have just hid that part of myself for the last six years.

　　Well, no more.

　　"Thank you, Aron. It feels pretty good to be back!" I say with a sweet smile.

　　Abraxas assistant scowls at me, but stops when he discovers Aron at my side.

　　"Mrs. Harlow, if I may?" He asks in a less condescending tone than usual. Clearly, he doesn't know what to think of my escort.

　　"Yes, Dennis?" I stop at his desk, file in hand and Aron at my side. He is not happy about our sudden stop.

　　"Mr. Harlow ordered me to take the file and get it to the right person, so you didn't have to waste your 'precious' time." He almost sneers at me, reaching out his hands in anticipation for me to do as I am told - like I used to do.

　　"That is alright, Dennis. I will personally get this to where it's meant to be, and make sure it is filed the right way." I answer with a dismissive tone. He furrows his brows.

　　"But Mr. Harlow said." He starts, but stops when Aron holds up a hand.

　　"Does Mr. Harlow think of his wife as incompetent or something? She said she'll handle it!" At that statement, Aron takes my hand and leads me to the elevator. Dennis looks anything but happy about this development, but dares not to interfere with the upset man at my side.

　　At the car, I finally release the breath I was holding. This is happening. Aron sits in the passenger seat, Thomas is driving and I'm sitting in the back seat in my own thoughts. I think back to that fateful day, where I told my parents I wanted to do this for myself, and see where it brought me. They told me they would stay in the shadows, but get me out if I ever needed it. They wanted me to get this experience, but my mother was especially worried about me. She had heard the rumors about the Harlows looking for a pretend bride for this son, so he could keep a good front - I was naive and hoped for another outcome.

　　I should have run for the hills, but I stayed and got married in that black outfit as Charlotte cried the whole time, and the family soothed her. Abraxas went to her just after our 'I do's' and I didn't spend another minute as close to a sober version of him, as I did in those few fatal minutes. My hand found its way to my stomach.

　　The car drives on from the gated community and onto the road going into Pearl City. Abraxas prefers to have an office here, at home and in the city. I knew he would be in the office here today, because I overheard him saying it to his mother last night. Now, someone would ask - why does he have three offices? Because he is a paranoid bastard, whole heartedly believing someone, some day, will be so jealous of him they'll try for his life and then he can be more unpredictable. Like that is ever going to happen. I roll my eyes internally.

　　I made it a habit to always know which office he's at, because every so often some high profile person would be looking for him, and only speak to me about it because I'm his wife.

　　What the family will tell them now is not my problem, but I would like to see them try and come up with an excuse without telling them we are divorced - it's a taboo. No one in the high society here gets divorced. Both parties in a marriage might have a side piece, but they will not get a divorce - it's ridiculous. This was also the case in the Harlow household. I almost never saw the shadow of Abraxas's father in the six years I've been there, but ever so often a man - whose name I never learned, would sleep over and be there for breakfast.

　　He gave me the creeps. Always following me with his eyes, never knowing where his hands would be.

　　Eew!

　　One day Connie caught him flirting with me while I worked, and me totally ignoring him. She became so angry by the fact that he was flirting with me, she started starving me. But at the same time she asked me why I was ignoring him when he gave me the time of day, because I should be happy if ANYONE ever did that.

　　When I asked her if she would like me to flirt back next time, she hit me on the cheek for being rude. Then I apologized and said I would ignore him if it happened again, and she dragged me to a chair which she threw me on and belted me for being 'a prude' and 'thinking I'm better than everyone else'.

　　I'm shaken from my thoughts by the phone ringing.