Anna remained quiet till he drove home. She didn't have a good relationship with her mother due to matters that happened several years ago. When her older brother was still alive.
Now that she thought about it after seeing Gigi's true colors, they had wronged their mother. Anthony had written about it in the letter he left for her.
The one she had been stupid enough to stomp to Fary with and caught him and Gigi in the act. Anna felt like one of those silly TV lead actresses who approached a villain with evidence of their actions without having a back up plan.
If only she has listened to what Anthony wrote in that letter.
She leaned her head against the window and stared at the silent street of the neighborhood they were now in. Of course he lived at one of the high class estates.
The one with random fancy miniatures that cost thousands of dollars. Heavy duty security and homes that simply having money couldn't buy. Houses here are bought with status, connection, power. And a certain act of classy intelligence that exudes from the man sitting next to her.
If her mother visited her, does that mean the woman was no longer mad at her? But then, Mrs Harbinger hadn't been mad at her daughter and son. Her last look was one of disappointment.
Sullivan had parked the car by now and she didn't even know when they drove into his compound.
"Sorry, I was deep in thought." She said but he didn't make any move to leave the car and sat there with her in silence. His steady breathing, a contrast to her deeper one.
The man was regal in everything and he definitely had his whole life put together unlike her. Why couldn't she be like Sullivan? Unbothered by the rest of the world and just existing whichever way she wanted?
Although one thing brought her satisfaction. The look on Gigi's face seeing it was Sullivan she was with. For once since she woke, Anna was feeling wiser. Now, she could be rest assured she can strut around in public without Gigi attempting to kill her again.
Having Sullivan as her backer was better than having the police stand guard twenty four seven. She knew what he could do and the extent to which his influence ran. Afterall, he hadn't gone to jail for killing those three back then.
But why did Sullivan kiss her back? If the man had such a strong aversion to women like the media says—like he shows—why would he follow her unscripted lies and even be perfect at it?
Her stomach warmed at the recollection of the kiss. The way his tongue glided into her mouth smoothly and explored every inch, the press of his palm against her lower back, dangerously close to the ridge of her ass.
His body heat melting her where she stood and her frozen hands on his lapels. God, she was falling into the Sullivan charm despite knowing what he was capable of and she had been the one to start it.
But Anna knew if she thought deeply about it, she could probably tell why Sullivan had returned that kiss. Why he had complied. Why he didn't kill her that night. That one incident back then.
The one she couldn't avoid when she had found herself stuck in the same room with him.
Anna is pulled from her thoughts when he speaks. His gentle tone, sounding even lower than usual. "Can I ask you something?"
All her liquid excitement turned cold immediately. What would she say if he asked about the kiss? But she still nodded even though she refused to meet his eyes.
"Why are you not on good terms with your mother Anna?"
She hadn't expected that that would be his question. Was he not taking their kiss with the seriousness to which she took it? Perhaps it was a frequent thing for him. To be randomly kissed by women. Especially poor as fuck women who wants to make their ex-husband jealous.
The man is breathtaking and despite his horrific reputation, she wouldn't be surprised if women still threw or forced themselves on him. Is she now one of those women? The ones that used him for his face?
Anna felt a cringe crawl into her skin and she rubbed her hand together before replying. "Errrr…" does she really have to answer this? It wasn't that she wanted to hide it from him. Actually, she didn't mind telling him things. "..she did something. We.. my late brother and I thought that she did something horrible but she didn't." Her voice was small when she spoke again. "She was heavily framed for it and I feel horrible now that I know."
"Everybody makes mistakes." He tried to placate her feelings.
"Not you." She teased, finally looking at him.
His gaze on her was soft under the small light of the car, making her feel warm and squirmy for no reason. "I have made bigger mistakes Annabelle. I just learn to live with it."
When she remained quiet after, he alighted from the car and she did the same, watching as he grabbed all the items they had bought, not letting her hold any.
It was easy to gain her trust and Fary had slipped into her life that way. But Sullivan was different, he was a man she wasn't friendly with. One she spoke ill off behind his back—twice he had caught her—and refused to be in the same room with yet he had been the first person she thought of when she got into trouble.
That spoke volumes to her. Subconsciously, she trusted Sullivan because he was real. He was real about his behavior, way of life and he spoke harsh truth. He was also a good judge of character seeing as he never liked her husband from the start and had once commented on her poor choice.
Anna followed him into the house, surprised to see the minimalist design of it despite that fancy and elaborate architecture. Thankfully, everything in here isn't black like she feared but cool color tones. The living room had two couches, a TV and some adornments. It wasn't plenty but she could tell that everything in it cost a fortune.
He turned, and she followed, watching as he placed the items in the pantry. "You should get some rest. You will get used to the layout of the house soon."
"Okay."
After he was done, he told her. "Come, I will show you to your room."
To her room, in Sullivan's house. If word got out, she would be dragged on the internet by his psychopathic and wide fan base.
He took a flight of stairs and she followed, walking until he turned into a hallway and stopped at a black double door. He pointed to the one adjacent and said. "That is my room. Should you need anything, you can always ask."
"Okay."
He opened the door and they stepped in. Minimalist design again but she didn't mind. Unlike her previous lifestyle where she collects anything and everything expensive just to prove a show of class to fake friends, this was better.
He dropped the small bag they brought from the hospital at the footboard bench and turned to her. "You can change the designs when you want, I will have my interior designer come over."
She quickly shook her head. "No, it's fine. I like this."
There were three doors in the room and she wondered where the third one led to but Sullivan beat her to it.
He pointed to it. "It leads to the library. Like I said, you will get used to the lay out soon. Would you like anything to eat?"
She shook her head. She wasn't hungry anyways.
"Good night Annabelle." He gave her one last glance hoping to decipher what the little crease between her brows was before turning towards the door.
Anna stopped him, her hand quick to hold onto his pinky again. A flash of their previous interaction weighing heavily on the moment as she felt him turn stiff. "Why are you being so kind to me, Vice Chairman Sullivan?"
Sullivan stared at her hand on his, the stark difference of their skin tone making him smile faintly. He met her gaze, his eyes hooded by the dim lighting of the room and making them appear darker than usual.
"Do you really want to know?"