The Return of The Betrayed Heiress

Inquiries and New Faces

Chapter Four

Anastasia POV

“Where were you?” Daniel asked as he entered the apartment. I was currently in my robe applying my toner for the night as I got ready for bed. I stared at him through the mirror but remained quiet as I massaged the liquid onto my skin.

“Anastasia, can you not be so difficult right now?” he said raking his hands through his hair, he had taken off his jacket leaving his dress shirt and pants.

“I was out,” I replied vaguely. “And you are very funny Daniel, I’m not the one that never returned home until now-” I turned to face him.

“My mother wanted me to come around for dinner,” he explained quietly.

“And you didn’t think to inform your wife that you were going to have dinner with your mother? That's great Daniel- it's really great.” A small laugh left my lips as i walked out of the bathroom. I rearranged my hair into a messy bun as I walked out of the room to the kitchen.

“You’ve still not answered my question Anastasia, where have you been? I learnt that you stepped out later in the evening, who did you go see?”

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and a glass cup, Daniel’s gaze followed me as I cut lime into the cup and then the water.

“Josiah was in town, and he wanted to see me before he left tomorrow,” I replied without looking up at him. Josiah was my cousin and he wasn’t quite fond of Daniel and Daniel reciprocated the feelings.

“Oh, how is he?” He asked, his voice was closer than before.

“He’s good,” I replied and Daniel’s calm footsteps drew closer until he was directly behind me.

“You should’ve told me that he was in town, you should’ve at least texted that you were going to see him. I was worried.” He muttered and wrapped his hands around my waist pulling me into him. I was still upset that he could blame me for the same thing he did but it was Daniel, I am sure he was just worried.

“I did send you messages. You didn’t reply and I called but it went straight to voice mail.” I turned my head to the side as he began to kiss my neck. His cologne was tainted, it had a wash of his strong scent but there was also something underlying- it probably belonged to his mother. It was pear and a bit of citrus.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just thought- I was just upset.” He replied into my skin. It was only a matter of time before the glass of water was knocked out and Daniel placed me on the cold counter.

His lips descended on mine, mixing my clear minty mouth with the sweetness of wine he drank. His strong hand gripped my thighs tightly and squeezed, I gasped out at the pain that spurred from his grip.

“Come on now Ana, I know that wasn’t painful,” he muttered as his lips pulled away from mine. Just as I was about to tell him how I felt, his phone rang and our eyes darted to the device next to me. It was an unknown number but from the way Daniel pulled away abruptly from me, it was clear that he knew who it was.

“I’m sure you can ignore it-” I said pulling at his collar but he didn’t budge and pulled away from me.

“I can’t,” he said and walked away leaving me to myself. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath before retiring upstairs. My phone buzzed on the bedside and as I saw the heading, I realized it was an email from Rachael, it was a rescheduling of the meeting. I sighed and rubbed the sides of my head, as I remembered I had not taken my glass of water, I returned back to the kitchen moving quietly.

“...no you don’t get it. I just can’t make it work like that- it’s not-” I heard Daniel’s faint voice as he spoke to the phone. It was hard to ignore even after grabbing the bottle of water.

“She’s a difficult person, and if i make any big purchase or transfer, she would know,” he replied firmly.

“She’s my wife and I’m accountable to the company, she would know. It was her father’s company and his people, there’s no way they’ll not say anything to her.” My brows scrunched up in confusion.

Who was he speaking to?

“I do want to do this but it's hard to surprise Anastasia especially when she’s inquisitive.” He added softly. Was he planning something for me? Who was he ever talking to? My frown only deepened, my birthday was three months away and our wedding anniversary was not until November.

“It is, I want this as much as you do.” And leaned on the wall with his back to me.

Maybe Daniel was planning a surprise for me, it would be a bummer if I heard what it was before having to see it. With a small smile, I walked back up to the room as quietly as I came and knowing that Daniel was thinking about me, it made it easier for me to fall asleep but it didn’t get rid of that small heaviness in my chest.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

The fundraiser was today and I didn’t go into the office today, Daniel on the other hand had been so busy that he wasn’t picking up his calls after he left for the office. Today was a really important day for me, it was something my dad would’ve wanted me to do. The fundraiser was for his friend and he would’ve loved it if I represented him. It wasn’t much of an option especially when the head of Celeste Foundation wanted me to give the opening speech.

Daniel didn’t fancy the idea of me going on stage without him but after I explained what this would do for the company he said nothing. As I stepped out of the car and walked towards the spa while typing to Josiah, I noticed a figure in front of me.

It was the man from Mr. Graham’s office.

“It's you!”