CHAPTER 7

ANNALYN 

I pressed down on the doorbell, and the door silently swung open. 

The family butler smiled at me and bowed in greeting. I nodded at him, handed over my jacket, and made my way inside the house. 

The bodyguard, Aidan had asked me to go with, immediately walked in behind me, and his silent presence made me feel a lot more reassured. 

Sophia and her mother were already waiting for me. I did not say a word as I stood before them, and all we did for several long moments was stare into each others eyes. 

"Is that your husband, Annalyn?" Sophia asked, her words delivered in a taunting voice. 

"That's my bodyguard, Sophia. You think I am stupid enough to come here on my own? Without any protection? No, thank you," I deadpanned.

Sophia snorted but said nothing else. 

"What excuse have you come up with this time, Annalyn?" Kathryn finally asked, breaking the silence that stretched between us when no man walked in behind me announcing himself as my husband.

I shook my head slightly and started to walk towards the dining room. The table was set, and the scent of delicious food wafted into my nose. 

I took my seat and crossed my legs. I could feel the anger and disdain rolling out of my step mother's body at my obvious disregard for her, and it made me smile. 

Sophia stormed over and stood before the chair opposite to mine. 

"Keeping mute is not going to help you, Annalyn. Mother and I are already aware of the fake husband plot. All we asked for today was to have dinner together! And yet here you are, alone!"

I held her gaze and let my lips curl into a secretive smile. 

"Why not have a seat, Sophia? My husband will be here very soon," I stated simply. 

There was no point in arguing with either of them. All they wanted was to pick a fight with me, and that would be meaningless on my side.

Sophia trembled with rage and was about to say something else when her mother interrupted her. 

"Don't say anything else, Soph. Have a seat and keep quiet. We will wait for her so-called husband, and hell will be let loose if he doesn't show up."

There was a calculated expression on Kathryn's face as she said those words, but I didn't let myself get shaken. 

I had nothing to be worried about.

Adrian had sent me a text while I was driving here, telling me to go ahead. He had some emergency to deal with at work— police men were always busy, after all — and he would meet me here as soon as he was done. 

A weird, stuffy silence stretched above and between us. Kathryn folded her arms over her chest as she stared at me, her gaze cold and hard. 

My own expression remained unreadable and expressionless. I did not let any of what I was feeling show on my face. 

Sophia, on the other hand, was shaking slightly. It was obvious in the shaking of her lips and in the furious set of her eyes that she had something to say. 

But because her mother had asked her to keep quiet, she had to swallow those words which was obviously making her mad. 

The minutes ticked by, and the silence became more tense. I could see the telltale signs of Kathryn losing her patience. 

And sure enough, after several more minutes dragged by, she spoke, her voice filled with a slight edge.

"This is pointless. Annalyn doesn't have a husband. Let's just eat and get this over with," she announced. 

I shrugged. 

"You guys go ahead and eat. I will not touch a single drop of food or drink unless my husband gets here," I retorted. 

Sophia chuckled darkly. 

"Why? Scared of being poisoned?"

I held her gaze and let her see how cold they were before I responded. 

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I don't want anything, thank you."

Sophia made a noise that sounded like a grunt and was about to speak when my bodyguard took a stop forward.

He didn't say a word. He didn't have to. His mere presence and that action already conveyed his message. 

It was a warning to Sophia to stop trying to force me to eat. 

She shrugged and helped herself to a plate of eggs and I watched her eat. After she took a few spoonfuls, she spoke again.

"You know, this bodyguard of yours could pass for your husband," she teased. 

The words made Kathryn smile a little bit, and her cold expression fell away, morphing into a mocking one. 

Great. 

Now I was about to be mocked. 

"You give Annalyn too much credit, my darling daughter. You see, Anna has very bad taste in men. Even this bodyguard will be a vast improvement to any man that walks in here — if her marriage is true like she said," Kathryn taunted.

Unable to help my reaction, my body stiffened as anger boiled in my blood. 

Sophia sniggered at her mother cruel words, and Kathryn's lips tugged into a wider smile.

"Do not body shame my husband! You've not even seen him!" I quipped. 

"Yeah. Right. Bet he is a beggar she picked on the street. Or a cripple. She does have a thing for pitiful people," Sophia said to her mother.

The both of them were clearly having fun at my expense, and it made me want to jam their heads into the platters of food before them.

"You people are awfully pathetic," I snapped in an attempt to stop them from massacring my absence husband. 

"Says the woman with a fake husband," my step sister snapped in return.

I was about to shut her up with a very scorching remark when she suddenly gasped. The gasp was loud, and it halted the conversation.

I felt the presence of someone behind me, but before I could look to see who it was, Sophia shot to her feet in surprise.

Even Kathryn's jaw had dropped open, and I felt a wave of confusion.

Then my step sister spoke. 

"Alex? Alexander Klein. What…why…what are you doing here?" she sputtered. 

For some weird reason, her entire face had turned red.

Turning to see who was making her react like a fish taken out of water, my confusion deepened when I saw that it was Adrian, my husband. 

I stood up and turned back to look at Sophie.

"Alex? What do you mean by Alex? Do you know who he is?" I asked, the confusion I was feeling evident in my voice. 

My husband stood there and said nothing, and Sophia turned to tug on her mother's arm instead of answering my question.

"Mother, are you seeing who I am seeing? I am not hallucinating, right?" she asked, but Kathryn was too gobsmacked to respond.

Sophia turned back to me desperately.

"You don't know Alexander Klein, the multimillionaire I used to tell you I have a crush on? He is one of the most influential men in the entire country. Hell, what am I saying? Alexander is known worldwide," she announced, and the redness in her face deepened. 

"I can't believe Alexander Klein is standing in my house!" she squealed. 

I turned back to face Adrian, lost as hell. He must have seen the expression on my face because he stepped forward and casually draped his arm over my shoulders.

Ignoring my squealing step sister, my husband smiled gently at me and spoke. 

"How was your day, my darling wife? I apologise for coming late."

Sophia gasped. "What? Alex is your husband?!"