TWENTY-ONE

Anya's Point of View

"Not now, Anya, not now," Marcus angrily said as I entered his office. I bowed down and bit my lip. I felt suffocated. What is happening to him? I haven't even done anything, yet he gets angry right away. It's been a week since Tiffany and I had a fight, and Marcus was in a foul mood the following day. I know he has been stressed and bombarded with the rogues' past attacks, but I am always here next to him. He can ask me for help, and I would gladly do it. Is this what Tiffany is saying? Or maybe I'm just paranoid.

"I would like to ask what food you want for later so I can tell Aunt Rosa what to cook," I told him with a smile. He looked at me for a moment but immediately returned to work with the papers and documents he's holding.

"No thanks, Anya. I will not eat here later. Leave my office," he slowly said. He's not calling me in the endearment he gave, just Anya. Why does it feel like my heart was pierced in intense pain when he calls me by my name?