Bought For A Baby, Kept For A Lifetime-Chapter 235: Stay Away From Him

Life and identity are centered around the memories we have. Each individual in this world wouldn’t be who they are without the memories that make them.

From a young age we build memories that shape us. Memories become the lessons that help us grow.

Anne wanted to run away from making memories because of the fear that they would lead her to hurt, but what use was fearing pain when it was hurting her, what use was fearing pain when potentially she might be hurting him too?

Last night he had hugged her but she pushed him away. Yesterday he might have lost the chance to become CEO and was most likely feeling down, he had said he wanted to tell her something but she hadn’t even bothered to listen allowing her own hurt to make her push him away and repeatedly emphasize that a line needed to be drawn in their relationship. She couldn’t offer him the comfort he needed.

Anne felt even sadder thinking about it.

As Anne rushed into his office, she stopped short when she was met with an empty office. She looked around the vast space but there was no sign of Andrew.

"Manager Thompson?" Anne heard someone call her from behind and she whirled around to find Cynthia.

"Andre...I mean director Sterling, where is he right now?" Anne hurriedly asked her.

"Director Sterling isn’t here, and I can’t tell you where he is because it’s quite confidential." Cynthia sighed regretfully as she said this.

"Please, I just need to talk to him for a minute, it won’t take long."

What would she say to him if she saw him?

There weren’t specific words in her mind yet, all she knew was that she regretted saying things that made that look of disappointment show on his face.

She pushed him away but she hadn’t wanted to do that. She wanted things to remain just as they were between them, she wanted him to stay close to her, hold her if he wanted to even if his feelings for her wouldn’t be anything special.

"I’m sorry manager Thompson, it’s not that I’m refusing to tell you, but I’m not supposed to tell anyone where director Sterling is right now and it has something to do with company changes and all that. I hope you understand, he’s in the middle of something really important right now and it might take the whole day."

Anne didn’t want to put the girl in a fix, so she nodded understandingly and backed off.

As she walked down the hallway Anne brought out her phone from her purse and entered her contact list. Her hand hovered over his number for a few seconds and she went on to call without any further hesitations.

Because she wanted to keep whatever was between them professional she rarely called him unless it was really important, she just wanted to let him know that she wanted to talk to him and she would wait until he was done with whatever work related issue he was currently engrossed in.

The line rang once, twice and her heartbeat accelerated with each ring and she was restless with anxiety. It continued to ring until she later heard a long beep.

Anne took the phone away from her ear.

Disappointment clouding her gaze as she let out a long sigh and tucked her phone back into her purse.

He was probably in a meeting, that must have been why he didn’t pick up.

Or he was too upset with her to want to talk to her right now.

The second option made Anne feel a bit dispirited. She had no choice but to put off seeing and talking to him till later tonight.

She went on to her department where preparations for the banquet took all her time and most of her thoughts.

At around six PM many were already leaving to the venue.

"Anne, the dresses are here." Ashley called for her, finally comfortable enough to start addressing her by her name like Anne had repeatedly requested.

Anne quickly moved away from the layer of files assembled on her desk and went out where the female members of the team were gathered around two clothing racks that had been pushed into the department looking at all the colorful dresses, a few picking some up and trying them out over their bodies. For most events, the company usually provided evening wear for their employees to wear to company parties but it was mostly optional, one could either choose to wear company outfits or wear their own clothes.

The employees of the team fussed over the clothes choosing what to wear.

"Anne, come take your pick. What color do you want to wear to the banquet?" Ashley called her over.

Anne stopped for a moment, glancing downwards.

’...Mrs Sterling, every piece in here was specifically bought by master for you. All these clothes, I doubt you can wear them all in a year.’

Anne remembered something Razia had said to her when they had been in her closet.

Since she married him, she hadn’t truly ever used anything she had met in that closet, she had continued to wear her own clothes because she hadn’t truly allowed herself to be his wife, because she had always thought it wouldn’t last. But what difference would opening her heart for a few months be regardless of the potential pain she might eventually face?

"I’ll be going home to change, you all can pick whatever dress you want from these." Anne said leaving the ladies to freely pick the clothes they wanted when they had initially been holding back thinking she would want to take the best pick.

Anne left the department heading for the elevator that would take her to the parking lot underground but as the elevator doors opened, Anne stiffened when she saw Clara already standing inside the elevator.

Clara was dressed in her normal work attire, a two piece Chanel suit in light pink, quite modest compared to what she had been wearing a few days prior. It was evident she was also leaving to go get ready for the banquet.

It made Anne hesitate a bit before she decided to enter the elevator keeping a steady distance from her.

"I’ll admit, you’re good. You’re really good." Clara’s voice suddenly broke the silence in the elevator, "What are your tricks, subtle manipulation? It can’t be seduction because we both know he won’t fall for it right?"

Anne turned to look at Clara and she noticed the latter was staring at her through the mirrored walls of the elevator.

"What are you talking about?" She queried slowly looking away from Clara’s profile. She was quite exhausted from all the planning for this company banquet that she didn’t have much energy to exchange words with Clara if that was what she was intending do to right now.

"We both know what or rather who I’m talking about, Andrew. You managed to crawl your way into his life through one sneaky way or another, I’m admitting to your skill, but still don’t be mistaken that you’ve defeated me."

Anne let out a sigh, "I was never competing with you Clara, you came after me even when I had no idea what you wanted."

Clara scoffed, "So you’ll stick to the fake narrative that he merely likes your innocence till the end won’t you? Come on, even if you’re deceiving him you won’t manage to deceive me, if Andrew fell for innocence and a pretty face, he would be head over heels in love with me right now. You must have used some tactic nobody has ever used on him before."

Anne felt even more exhausted just by listening to Clara talk.

"Believe whatever you want to believe, I don’t have to explain anything to you. It’s normal you’d think everyone else is like you, truly honest people don’t see schemes or plans in things others do. If it’ll make any difference I’ll request you to leave me alone, whatever Andrew thinks of you right now isn’t my fault but yours, I’m making this request just to save us both trouble because if you come at me one more time I’ll retaliate the best I can, I don’t want a war with you because whether you were genuine or not, I once thought of you as a friend."

"Fine, if you want me to back off all you have to do is stay far away from Andrew, I won’t even look at you again if you never go anywhere near him." Clara left these words with the magnanimity of someone giving their prey options to escape torture.

Anne couldn’t help but laugh softly this time. She laughed because she thought about what Clara just said.

Stay away from him? Right now she was currently legally married to him, it might not be in heart but it was on paper, she was currently carrying his child, she lived with him. There was no way what Clara wanted would be possible because even if she could stay away from him despite their circumstances, she didn’t want to.

"Sorry, but I won’t, in fact I’ll be even closer to him from now on and it might be hard for you to watch so I’ll suggest you keep your distance from him instead."

Clara’s complexion changed upon hearing what Anne said, she looked infuriated but her rage was controlled behind something that seemed to assure her on the inside.

"Fine, I gave you a chance. Yes Andrew tolerates you, but it doesn’t mean he’s yours so don’t get cocky. I’m making this promise to you and to myself, by the time the sun rises tomorrow morning, Andrew will be mine. When that happens, I’d like to see the look on your face." Clara chuckled to herself, after saying these words, the elevator stopping at this very moment and she sauntered out with her heels clanking against the floors.

Anne exited the elevator slowly, a contemplative frown on her face.

For some reason, what Clara said last unsettled her.

What did she mean by he would be hers by morning?