Vanessa's point of view
Anthony wasn't soaking wet so I knew the intensity of the rain has probably gone down. But he was angry and when Anthony was angry, it was best to stay out of his way."I did not know you texted me" I said in an attempt to calm him down but that seemed to infuriate him the more.Anthony's face was so close to mine I could count his lashes and man, were they beautiful."In this modern day and time, you did not know I texted you. You have a phone and you're a normal breathing person" He cursed under his breath at the end and moved farther away from me "I do not like the things you do Vanessa"That was the exact moment One night stand....need to find a better name for him...decided to comment on our situation."Wait Mary, you did not tell me your roommate was the girl on the news, I could kidnap her for major bucks"The fuck.Mary's palm hit her face in a way I hoped wouldn't cause bruises. And now Anthony was almost murderous."What did you say?" He said in such a calm way I was almost scared.He wasn't walking towards him, just stood by my side but his eyes were fixed on the man on my bed and sometimes it moved to my roommate."Thomas didn't mean anything by that, he just likes to joke" Mary defended, her legs taking her to stand in front of him.Thomas chuckled, he raised his arms up in his own fucked up way of a surrender "I'm just joking man, I'm a lonely man with a bad sense of humor. My bad" He apologized.Anthony wasn't relaxed in any way possible but now he could move his eyes from one night stand who was apparently named Thomas and fix those hazel eyes on mine."You'll be staying with me from now on" He said in a tone that left no room for argument.Excuse me, I was going to argue. Anthony Thorn wasn't going to come from his house, with few splashes of rain on his clothes and looking like a fine specimen wasn't going to come here and tell me to leave my apartment.Anthony sighed, his fingers moved upward to massage his forehead. He was tensed and stressed up but I wasn't going to give up. Anthony wouldn't make me leave my apartment."I'm not going anywhere Anthony" I told him."Then I'll move in" He countered.Thomas jumped up at that suggestion as if he was waiting for that "Then we'll all be roommates, that's so sweet" He laughed with such gusto I was starting to become more annoyed."No no no, Anthony I need you to leave" I started moving towards the door "I'm sorry you had to risk the rain to come find me, I don't even know how you found me but I'm sorry. It's almost eleven and I have work in the morning" I turned to Thomas, taking in his appearance "And Thomas, this is not your apartment. Find somewhere else"No one moved for the next five minutes. We just stared at each other wondering who was going to make the first move and when it got unbearable for Mary, she spoke up."I think it's best Thomas and I leave while you and your friend stay the night""Where would we go..." "That's a splendid idea"Thomas and Anthony started talking at the same time and stopped at the same time. The situation was awkward and I could practically cut the tension in a clean slice with a knife.Mary wore a night coat over her pyjamas while Thomas hastily put on some clothes. They carried one of Mary's small bag though and added all the things they might need, toiletries and a change of clothes. I saw Mary slip some cash into her coat, away from the scrutinizing eyes of Thomas.I felt truly sorry for them but I was so tired to even properly care.I just bolted the door shut and went to change the sheets of the bed."Let me help""I think you've helped enough for today Anthony" I snapped at him.I didn't mean to and I wanted to apologise immediately but he had withdrawn from me already, settling himself on the couch and without much of a conversation, falling asleep.I hope tomorrow is way better than today.****Anthony practically ignored me, he was on his phone for a better part of the morning until it was time for me to go to work."Where are you going to?" He asked, eyes still glued on his phone.I stared at him for sometime, wondering what he wanted this morning.Sighing, I placed my phone into my bag whilst working up the strength to deal with Anthony this morning."I'm going to work if you must know and you need to leave in the next....." I checked my wristwatch "..five minutes""You don't need to work anymore, my mom's money is enough to finance whatever lifestyle you choose to live" His eyes were still fixated on his phone and whatever he was doing there."Excuse me"A quick glance at me and back to his phone."Vanessa, my mom told everyone you're going to become my wife. I am a very important person.....""With quite an ego" I muttered under my breath."...and while I'm not in love with you, I do care about your safety" He paused so his words can sink in "You heard that guy Thomas and he's only one of them"I rolled my eyes "Stop acting like this is the first time I've had someone rich and famous in my life, my father was quite popular and I turned out fine" I said.He nodded "Your parents did not allow your faces to be shown to the outside world, no one knew about you and your siblings"So to the best of everyone's knowledge, I was an unknown girl with no money who probably wanted to suck him dry.Whoopee."So I can't work?" The tone of my voice came out weak like I had accepted defeat. "And Elizabeth will pay me monthly or what?""Those are the terms you're going to work out with her at the Thorns Mansion today"I placed my hands on my hip as I considered the situation. I was fully ready to stay away from my job and never look back but so soon, I didn't want to come off as desperate.But I needed some answers from Elizabeth too and I wanted to see my brother again. I shouldn't have abandoned my family the way I did last night."Okay, I guess I'll send a text or something" I told Anthony who gave no indication of even hearing.I changed into a white off the shoulder crop top and jeans, redid my up do into something more casual and cleaned whatever makeup might be on my face. Just dabbed on some lip gloss and I was done.All this was done in the bathroom though."How did you even find me and Why?"I asked during the drive to the Thorn Mansion.It was currently eight fifteen but Anthony assured me his mother would still be frolicking around the house, looking for who to control."Nobody knew where you went to or even saw you disappear. I figured out you were impulsive and must have gone home under the rain" He paused when he heard his phone ding signifying a message but he chose to ignore it "You weren't picking my calls neither were you replying to the text messages"Thoughts of how the Thorn family had replaced us in our brother's life and how we'll never gave him again had made me run away.I was scared.I was guilty.I knew Anthony wanted to ask questions but would I be willing to give answers.We were almost at the mansion now. The estate was at the outskirts of our beloved city, free from it's pollution and noise without lacking the charm. Dad had wanted to buy a house here when we were still together, he had the money but he never did at the end.The Thorn Mansion sat on a beautiful land, it had a gate which I felt was much more for fancy than any security. I eyed where I had stood and gotten drenched with dread.Worst night? No.I was surprised I didn't get a cold though."I'll leave you at the door, I have important things to do in the office today and I don't need my mother's issues" Anthony said. He had stopped the car and was looking at me fully for the first time today.I nodded at that, grabbing my bag from the back seat and getting ready to get out of here. I had big responsibilities and I needed to learn something about disappearing.Anthony's point of viewI wasn't able to concentrate. I hadn't been able to concentrate on anything since yesterday. Her scent lingered in the air for my sense of smell to continue dwelling on, that wonderful scent of lilies and jasmine.Her face was the only thing I could see when I closed my eyes. Before she broke my heart in the cruelest of ways.I hadn't even realize Vanessa would be a target for scrutinization from the public and a revenue for random until that dude said it in her house and I realized I had to protect her.She couldn't go back to her job which would be swarmed with reporters. She wouldn't be able to go out in the streets like a normal person anymore. She probably knew how to control the paparazzi, it was a mandatory class mom made every child she knew take. Even though, the Ives family stayed away from the spotlight, mom wanted them to learn.You never know when one might find one of them in her company.My phone screen lit up, another text from my assistant. T
Vanessa's point of viewNot having a job meant you have a lot of free time. Having a lot of free time meant you were constantly bored. Constantly bored plus money in your bank account meant you could visit your dad who was in rehab without telling anyone.Dad wasn't looking good. I mean, I knew he wasn't going to be looking his best in rehab but I hadn't expected what I was looking at. People always said I looked like my dad and I saw it too, the same skin tone, the same gray eyes, the same chestnut brown hair that even had the same bounce.But now, all I saw was an old man that looked twice his age.It also didn't help that I saw him once a year. I did everything possible to stop me from seeing him because I blamed and still blamed him for everything that happened."If it isn't my little Vanessa, seems like yesterday you were only five and running around with Vicky" He said as his own special way of greeting.The same words he used anytime he saw me."Hello Dad" I greeted him with th
Vanessa's point of viewFor two people about to get married in less than two weeks, Anthony and I definitely did not see eye to eye about a lot of things.We also don't see eye to eye.We were complete strangers who acted as if the other person did not exist. We did what was expected of us and left the other person out of it.So imagine my surprise when I saw his text on Friday evening during my catch up with Mary."Do you have plans for today?" His text read.No good evening or how are you doing, just diving straight to the point. "No" I texted back.Delivered. Read. Three dots indicating he was typing and finally his next text."Get ready then, I'll be picking you up in thirty minutes" The nerve of this man. "No" I sent back a text out of spite.I dropped my phone back on the bed and pretended not to hear the loud bird tones that indicated I had received a text. I just couldn't believe the way this guy was acting.Mary raised her eyes from her nails to my phone and finally to my
Vanessa's point of view"So it's best we don't meet at all"We stared at each other, neither willing to say anything to the other person probably because we were both short of words. I dropped down on the blanket, my hands moving furiously through the picnic basket to find whatever snack he had picked.I picked up a piece of M and M's chocolate and poured them straight into my mouth, the chocolate taste filling my taste buds.I had no intention to talk to Anthony at the moment, my mind filled with baseless annoyance about the situation. The taste of the chocolate was no longer nice and it almost felt like I was chewing paper."You can't ignore me forever""Why did you pick out this sort of date?"We said at the same time. Silence because we had shocked the other to silence. And then he spoke up, his eyebrows almost coming together to indicate that various questions flooded his mind.He hadn't changed in that aspect."Why do we have to stay away from each other until we get married?" H
Anthony's point of viewToday was one of those days where I did not want to leave the house. I just wanted to lay in bed and binge watch epic fail videos. Plus I was sleep deprived. After the bittersweet date with Vanessa and everything in between, I was unable to fall asleep when I came back from the fields because of the intrusive thoughts.Thoughts that I shouldn't have because everything that happened was and would always be Vanessa and her family's fault. I did not understand what the issue with Vanessa was. They had left their younger child with us when they travelled, at least that was what my mom said. I assumed my mother had refused to let them see Victor because of a breach of contract or something of sorts.Did Vanessa feel like she had abandoned her younger brother when they left him behind.Why did I have this sneaking suspicion that I wasn't told the full story about this particular situation.Was I just a pawn in their game?I could just lay in bed all day with all th
Anthony's point of viewDisasters were bound to happen but not to the boy I considered my baby brother.And that disaster better not cause harm to any body I considered a family member. Because I wouldn't and shouldn't be held accountable for whatever actions I took next.Which was why I was in the principal's office giving a very serious complain."..i don't care if the boys did not know they were acting carelessly, they sent that robot to attack my brother and I would not condone it" The Principal sighed sadly, he wrote some things in a piece of paper before turning back to me."Mr Thorn" He started, cleared his throat and tried again "Mr Thorn, I know you and your family is very angry. Believe me when I say, I am scared of what your mother would say when she wants to make her own complain but the boys claimed it was a malfunction they didn't detect on time....."I scoffed at that.Liars.The Principal however remained undeterred "We would provide the relevant materials Mr Ives nee
Vanessa's point of viewAt this time of the day all I wanted was a massage and a hot shower. But all I could get was the hot shower and gossip time.I told Mary everything I felt she should know and her replies were everything."Damn, you should have knock those boys head together with their wacky robot" She laughed at the situation "That would have made those rich moms come for you though"I chuckled "I'm sure Elizabeth would have handled the situation very well, she's also a rich mom" I said.Mary made a face when I called Elizabeth's name. It wasn't a name she liked because she didn't like the way Elizabeth announced the wedding to the whole country.And the fact that she didn't know what was happening at that time."Elizabeth can be cool when she wants to be, she used to be my role model""I don't know alot about you V, I don't even understand how you're getting married on Saturday which is two days from now" She raised two fingers up to drive home her point "To a man I didn't eve
Vanessa's point of viewAnthony's house turned out to be completely different from what I had expected. It was a freaking penthouse on top of the most expensive hotels in the city. And now that I thought about it, one of the most expensive and most recent chain of hotels."You don't have to act so surprised Vanessa, I told you I was going to get into hotels and suites or cars when I got older" Anthony said after he saw my stunned expression on the fact that he was staying in a penthouse.I shrugged, tried to act nonchalant "It's okay, I just didn't expect you to live in a penthouse""I have other houses, this penthouse just happened to be my favorite"Seeing the name and amount of wealth Anthony had made for himself in such a short amount of time made me think of the endless possibilities that could have happened if Dad hadn't started drugs or mom had stayed. Perhaps I would have gotten into real estate or become a designer or even ventured into the art like my dad.Instead I had to