Beyond the Contract

CHAPTER 5 They Will Regret

　　Anastasia's POV

　　"Hello?" I answer the caller. Aron turns in his seat and signals for me to put it on speaker, which I do. I already know who's on the other end, and this is probably going to be ugly if she has her way.

　　"Stacy where the f**k are you? Were you rude to Celia? She says you packed your things? You come back here immediately, you hear me? NOW!" The woman on the other end rambles.

　　"Hello Connie, nice to hear from you." I say without answering her questions or demands.

　　"WHERE ARE YOU?" She screams into the phone, and I watch as Aron and Thomas's faces turn darker by the second.

　　"Gone," I answer in a confident voice. She doesn't need to know where or why. I don't answer to her or any of them anymore.

　　"You get your fat ass back here! Nothing is done! No lunch ready, the house is in shambles, and I need you to wash everything before Friday! You know we are very busy this month with the new business deal in the making, and all the meetings my son needs to have! I need you here to do YOUR CHORES, do I make myself perfectly clear? There WILL be repercussions, Stacy! I'm warning you." I take in a deep breath, as Aron makes a move to take the phone. I shake my head at him. This is something I need to do myself.

　　"No! I will not ever go back to your hell house, nor will I ever be your personal slave anymore, Connie. I have done EVERYTHING for y'all for six years, with no complaining, but it's over! I have divorced your puny excuse of a son, and in a few minutes, it will be official. You, my dear, can go to hell!" With that I hang up the phone. I block every member of the Harlow family. I need to copy the phone's contents to a computer before I can get rid of it.

　　"What the f**k, sis?" Aron asks in an angry voice. He will not like how they have treated me, nor how I have been taking it all silently.

　　"I will explain later." I cut him off as Thomas parked the car. Both of them escort me into the building, where I have made an appointment. The lady who greets me seems nervous for some reason, and suddenly it dawns on me. Abraxas, maybe even his mother too, have called and threatened them to not accept the papers. But they are legal, so they will have too!

　　"Good morning Mrs. Harlow. How can I be of assistance today?" The woman asks with a shaking voice, not presenting herself to me as is custom. I smile and show her documents.

　　"I would like to have this filed, please," I answer politely. Her eyes darted to the document in my hand, but not in a good way. I get the feeling she should not be the one to handle this.

　　"Mrs. Harlow. If I may have the documents, I'll just take them to my office to review everything is in order."The woman answers, still not presenting herself. I quirk an eyebrow.

　　"No, you may not!" I answer, giving the documents to Thomas to hold on too. She pales considerably.

　　"I'm afraid I must insist, Mrs..." I hold up a hand.

　　"These documents are legal, and whatever Abraxas or Connie said, they are to be filed and made official. I don't care if I have to do this myself, but this is happening." I say with a scoff. Even in this matter, they are working against me. But I have one more card up my sleeve.

　　"Yes, well that might be, but the Harlow's are very influential."

　　"Get your manager," I order, while walking with the guys to the waiting chairs. "And call Gregory Jackson - tell him Anastasia needs his help," I say with a dismissive wave.

　　Aron sits besides me, putting an arm around my shoulder. I didn't realize tears were coming down my cheeks before he wiped them with a handkerchief.

　　"So, what's going on, sis?" He asks. I shake my head.

　　"Even with this they have to be evil, petty people," I whisper fiercely, my hands fisting together in anger.

　　"They treated you badly, didn't they?" I nod, looking down in shame. I know I should have gotten out years ago, but something inside me wanted to fight for this. Fight for him. But to what end? They almost broke me. Well, not me. Stacy. Now I'm Anastasia, and I will not let them bully me again!

　　It's time I take my rightful stance in society.

　　With that thought, I lift my head. A new determination in my eyes, a new fire in my heart. They didn't break me! They tried, did all they could but they didn't succeed.

　　After half an hour two men walk towards me, Aron and Thomas. When the older one notices me, he runs the last of the way.

　　"Baby girl! Is it really you? You are so thin. Are you okay?" He asks in a hurry. I laugh at his antics. We haven't seen each other in ages, and I missed him so much!

　　"They... I need the divorce documents filed, but they have threatened the people here to not help me. Why I don't know, because they all despise me." He cups my face and kisses my forehead.

　　"Leave it to me." He says with a smile. He turns to the younger man, who seems stunned at our greeting.

　　"Philip, I need your office." He says casually, while putting an arm around me. The young man nods once, before showing us to his office. Aron and Thomas follow with big smiles on their faces.

　　"What can I do to assist you, Mr. Jackson?" Philp asks, when we are all in his office with the door closed and locked. Thomas has placed himself in front of the door, so no one can come in or get out.

　　"My daughter seeks to be divorced from that scum of a Harlow, and I need you to personally handle it." My father, Gregory Jackson, says with a no nonsense attitude. He crosses his arms over his chest, staring Philip down. The young man swallows.

　　"Your daughter?" He asks while eyeing me. Dad only nods once, while gesturing for Thomas to give him the papers.

　　Philip flips through them.

　　"This says Stacy Elizabeth Reid?" He asks while looking at my father.

　　"Her synonym going into this. Those people are vultures, and they were not getting her real identity." He states with a 'just get it done' stare. Philip swallows again.

　　"And what do I tell the Harlow's? They were very persistent in their demands to not allow this." He eyes the papers again.

　　"That I said to do it and nothing more. You can't tell them she's my daughter. They will discover their mistake in due time." He smiles a wolf smiles, his eyes alight with amusement at the thought of their horror when they discover who I really am.