Bought For A Baby, Kept For A Lifetime-Chapter 109: Wedding Rings

She had a very bad dream, in that dream she was cold, so cold her body had felt frozen.

Afterwards Andrew Sterling appeared and she remembered holding him, he had been as warm as the comfort of a fireplace in blazing winter.

The dream became disoriented after that, the last thing she could remember about that dream was something warm pressed against her lips breathing air into her as a rumbling low voice said,

"Breathe, please breathe."

Everything had gone dark after that and she opened her eyes swiftly.

The feeling of intense cold was gone now. She was encased in such thick and warm layers that made her want to snuggle further into that warmth but her eyes settled on the unfamiliar surroundings.

Clean creamy white ceilings with gold accents adorned with intricate moldings that seemed to dance across the surface came into view and she realized the bed she was lying upon felt like soft clouds, the sheets covering her felt so smooth and ethereal.

A beautiful crystal chandelier majestically cast a kaleidoscope of light across the space.

The walls of the room were filled with opulent decor and artwork that looked like it belonged in the museum. And instantly, her foggy memories began to clear up and she realized she’d been in this room before.

Why was she in this room?

Anne instantly sat up with a swiftness that made her head pound momentarily, as she braced her palm against her head to lessen the pain, she suddenly heard footsteps that led her to look up swiftly.

A maid walked in holding a tray of food, the aroma already wafting into Anne’s nose making her stomach clench in a small hunger pang.

The maid had an air of professionalism, nodding respectfully at Anne before dropping the breakfast tray on the bedside table.

"Your breakfast madam." She said then stepped back to wait at the side.

Anne was first awashed with disbelief.

Did that giant tornado actually bring her here, to his house, to his own room?

Anne looked over at the maid to ask, "Where is Mr Sterling?"

"Master Andrew isn’t here right now, but I am to see to all your needs."

Hesitantly, Anne reached for the food on instinct, lately she tended to get hungry faster and needed to eat more food than normal to feel full. It was as if her body was beginning to need more than it used to.

Anne ate first because the hunger pangs were becoming unbearable, after which she asked to see Andrew but was told by the maid that he wouldn’t be home for a while.

She was left alone by the maid who took the breakfast tray away and Anne wondered if Andrew Sterling actually trusted her enough to keep her in his own personal space alone.

The memories of last night were still a bit foggy to her, especially after the part where she’d lost consciousness.

Recalling what she’d been through in that cold room, Anne’s eyes frosted. She looked down at her fingers that were marred with cuts and bruises which had been covered up with band aids and let out a sigh.

Anne stepped out of the bed feeling sore all over her body like someone who’d run a marathon the previous day and it’s exhaustion was weighing her down. She only realized she was in a strange set of clothes when she got down from the bed.

Last night, she’d lost consciousness when Andrew had arrived, if she was here in his room it obviously meant he brought her here and would that also mean that he helped her change out of her clothes?

A look of panic surged onto her face and Anne instantly gasped in exclamation.

No, probably not just helped her change her clothes but had actually changed her clothes...

The thought was too hard to digest that Anne subconsciously shielded her body with her arms.

What was she thinking? Would Andrew Sterling lower himself to do that for an employee?

A maid had been sent to her this morning so obviously he didn’t change her clothes himself but probably asked the maid to do it.

Thinking this, she sighed in relief. This thought was much more easier to digest.

The maid was a woman, nothing wrong with her changing her clothes at all.

Anne could only relax when she had this thought.

The moment she stepped her feet on the floor however, she winced, painful tingles spread through the bottom of her feet which only reduced when she forcefully pressed them to the ground.

She stood up and walked a bit unsteadily across the room feeling uncomfortable at being here.

She wanted to go home, but obviously she couldn’t leave yet until she met the person who brought her here to at least thank him for his help.

Last night if she recalled correctly, there had been a point when Andrew yelled at her.

’Where the hell have you been? I’ve been looking all over for...’

Somehow recalling that made something warm tug her chest.

He’d been looking for her.

Even with her knowing he was probably searching for her for reasons that had to do with work she still felt appreciative.

She had thought no one cared, but the person who came for her was the very last person she had expected.

It made a strange smile appear on her face.

He truly was like a porcupine, hard and thorny on the outside but somewhat soft on the inside.

However, little did she expect to suddenly come face to face with something astonishing.

Anne stopped in her tracks when she saw something familiar hung up on the wall, she stiffened for a long time before slowly turing to look straight at it.

It was a large framed picture hung on the wall. Like a valuable artwork.

The woman in the picture was one she couldn’t be unfamiliar with.

The face, the hair, the clothes...

It was the main photograph they’d taken on that day on the shoot.

The woman in that picture hung on Andrew Sterling’s wall, was her!

Why did he have her picture on his wall?

...

Elder Sterling read through a sheet of paper with an unhidden pleasant satisfaction on his face.

"Is this really what the doctor gave my grandson last night?" The older man couldn’t hide his excitement as he queried the young butler in front of him.

"Yes master. As per your instructions I followed the doctor and managed to acquire a copy." The butler explained, taken aback when the older man suddenly burst out in laughter.

"This is good, really good news."

The young butler who had no idea what the papers contained looked on curiously, he’d only just followed instructions and secretly taken a copy of those papers from the doctor, he couldn’t help but wonder what was written there but it was not his place to want to find out.

"Is there anything else you need me to do master?" The butler asked.

"Yes. Call our jewelers, I want two rings made. Tell him I want custom designs, a perfect set of wedding rings."

Hearing that, the butler was stunned.

"Wedding rings? Is someone getting married master?" The butler couldn’t help but ask.

The older man seemed to be in a very good mood as he answered naturally, "Someone is indeed getting married, but only if I negotiate well enough."

The butler couldn’t understand what the older man was talking about.

There was going to be a wedding and a negotiation? What did those two things have to do with each other, he wondered but he could never dare to ask.

.....

Anne remained in the giant tornado’s bedroom for hours but he never showed up.

The maid came back at some point with supplies for her to clean herself and freshen up.

Anne still couldn’t believe Andrew was actually comfortable leaving her in his room to sleep on his bed and even use his bathroom.

When she glimpsed the sun setting that evening, she wondered why he hadn’t returned yet, feeling slightly disappointed about it. Nevertheless she continued to wait, but seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, and the hours slipped by until she fell asleep on the couch but he hadn’t returned yet.

.....

Sterling Enterprises resumed work that Monday morning, after the event there was so much enthusiasm in the company. Some sharing pictures on the company forum from the event, others sharing juicy encounters and story threads about their experience mingling with aristocracy.

The thread that received the most reads and shared however was the one about an employee who gained a Cinderella moment. That particular thread caused quite a buzz that made it gain a place at the very top of the entire forum, pinned for anyone who logged on to see.

Many raved about her beauty, a normally plain employee who seemed to have transformed into a princess. It was at this point that someone released a picture of the newest billboard in High square, that spot which had only ever held the country’s top models actually had the picture of this employee of their company.

Speculations arose and the billboard was tied to the incident with Valeria which had been surging around the internet.

[If you ask me she looks a whole lot better than Valeria for that ad, she might just be a PR employee but she’s gorgeous, in fact she passes for a top model.]

[I agree with the comment above, she fits perfectly for that spot. But then something about her seems fishy to me. What ordinary employee suddenly gets to replace a model in a shoot? She’s not the only beautiful girl in our company, anyone could have taken that spot but why her? Also, our company allowed us to choose outfits from the design department, but why was she wearing an exclusive gown like that to the event? I know that dress, it was the showstopper piece from the Janelle Morelli fashion show, that piece was not for sale.]

[Was that truly the Janelle Morelli showstopper piece? That dress is a legend. It has been in high demand ever since it was shown on the runway but the brand insists it wasn’t for sale. I even saw a post where Keisha Dane was rejected when she insisted on buying that dress to wear to a red carpet event.]

[Keisha Dane? Last year’s winner of two golden globe awards? If a celebrity like Keisha couldn’t get her hands on that dress, how did a mere salary worker manage to get it? It must cost millions.]

The commenter who started the whole topic about the dress replied at this moment.

[That’s exactly what I’m wondering too. With that gorgeous face and a figure that can make men look twice, the whole thing looks like a sugar daddy, powerful backer situation. She’s beautiful so she must have someone pulling the ropes for her. That whole thing about Valeria might have even been a big lie to push her up to popularity, there definitely is someone behind the scenes who wants to make her popular. It makes her disgusting if you ask me, selling your body for fame.]

[OMG! You’re right! To think I was beginning to idolize her.]

[Wait guys, these are just speculations, we can’t just accuse her of using her body for fame without any proof.]

[Isn’t that beautiful Janelle Morelli dress already proof? Even if she combined two years salary she wouldn’t be able to afford that dress, it wasn’t even on sale. Someone who can get an exclusive brand like Janelle Morelli to sell that piece must be very powerful, how else could she be in contact with a powerful person if she isn’t a kept woman?]

[Her beauty is so dazzling, enough to even make the Sterling sons line up for her. I’ve never seen all three of the Sterling sons want the same woman before, if they came to find out she was a kept woman, I wonder how furious they’ll be.]

In a special office inside the PR department, someone was currently reading through these threads with a smile on their face.

Without taking actions, other people would fight their battle. That was this person’s most favorite thing in the world.

A little bit of petty gossip could do a whole lot of damage.

And to this person, once someone became their enemy she would never give them a moment’s rest until she broke them in pieces and watched them disappear from her life leaving no trace of their existence.