Bought For A Baby, Kept For A Lifetime-Chapter 215: What She Wants

The memory of the man she had met outside the hospital the previous day suddenly surged back to her.

That was right, he had introduced himself as Nathan Foxx.

Anne had almost even completely forgotten about the man because the meeting held no significance to her whatsoever, but why was Andrew asking about him?

"Yes, but I’ve only met him once. Is something wrong?" She replied honestly then asked the curious question in her mind.

"And that one time you met him, was that yesterday?" He asked instead and for some reason, Anne suddenly had the feeling that the hint of displeasure she had caught in the sound of his voice a few seconds ago seemed to have somewhat dissipated.

"Yes, it was yesterday. He wanted me to model for his company brand, but I already rejected their offer the first time." She explained to fully let him know why she had met the man since he seemed curious about it, but something about the way Andrew uttered the man’s name made it very evident that he didn’t like the man.

And immediately her words fell, his eyes quickly lost all traces of the silent gaze of displeasure. His smile seemed less cold and his eyes warmed up further as he continued to caress her hair as if she were a child and there was something strangely comforting about that subtle touch.

"He was pestering you about that right?"

She nodded quietly.

"You should stay away from him, he’s bad news. Will you be able to do that?"

Anne didn’t feel to ask any questions as she had no intentions of having anything to do with the man or his company, so she nodded again and he gave her a rare gentle smile as if to silently praise her but then went on to ask something that countered the look in his eyes.

"But why did you reject the modelling offer? Working with a cosmetic brand will certify your spot in the modelling industry, you’ll be the face of a popular beauty brand. Don’t you want to be a model?"

"I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it before. I only played the part of a stand in model but I’m not a professional. Also, I know Sapphire Beauty is a rival to SE and to work with Sapphire Beauty it would make me feel like a traitor, I wouldn’t like that feeling that’s why I rejected their offer."

His eyes gleamed with a mysterious light, something that made it apparent that he was pleased with her answer.

He drew a strand of her hair in his fingertips, toying with the silky waves as he asked,

"But what do you really want, do you want to be a model?"

"I don’t know, I do know that I’ve always wanted to be successful in whatever it is I do, but..." She trailed off, her eyes looking distant.

"But what?"

But she had long since forgotten what her dreams were when she began to give up her life for her brother. She had to be both his mother and father, had to make sure he was well fed, well clothed, and well taken care of, her own desires had long since fled her mind.

Growing up she had been the kind of girl to have multiple dreams.

She wanted to be a business woman, a wealthy female entrepreneur but other days she wanted to be an artist, and fuel her creative heart.

She changed dreams faster than one changed shoes but her mom used to tell her it was fine to dream big, it was fine to want it all because she could have it all.

Her Mom used to make her believe that she could get whatever she set her mind to, but not until she lost them, she was plunged into a world of reality where dreams cost an arm and a leg and staying in university alone was like an insurmountable block itself, a mountain of debts over debts over more debts.

In the end she’d had to work, and her dreams slowly slipped away.

She didn’t hate that she had to take care of Kristen, he was her whole life and she was so proud to have him. She remembered how relentlessly he used to work on his tech gadgets aiming to become successful someday and give his sister everything she had ever wanted.

She was working to give him a comfortable life and he was working to pay her back.

They were a family of two living in a warm supportive bubble of their own and no matter the kind of challenges life threw their way, they overcame it together.

Anne felt like sharing this part of her past with Andrew would only bore him out, so she shook her head with a convincing smile and said,

"Nothing."

Andrew’s brows drew closer in a tight frown. He gazed down at her, seeing an invisible wall she had put up between them and something in his heart tightened.

He knew that type of wall all too well, he had spent his whole life putting up an exact same type of wall against other people, not letting them see a deeper part inside of him. Hers was more subtle than his, where his wall used to be frightening and aggressive and heartlessly pushing people away hers was quiet, one that made her recede into herself and in this moment he knew she had traumas she wouldn’t like to share.

He suddenly felt at a loss, he didn’t want to push her into opening up to him, he did want to push her into anything at all when he wasn’t fully certain yet what her feelings might be for him. For the first time he wanted to be gentle and patient with someone, slowly peel off her layers until she warmed up to him completely and trusted him enough to talk to him about anything.

Instead of probing and asking what she was keeping to herself, he gently looked into her eyes saying,

"If there’s something you want, you can tell me about it, okay?" He waited for her to answer but his words seemed to have caught her off guard for a bit.

Was it that surprising that he was well willing to give her absolutely anything her heart desired?

After looking at him with a mixture of confusion and shock for a while she answered, "I don’t really want anything."

He didn’t expect to feel disappointed that she didn’t immediately make a request from him.

He wanted to give her something, anything at all but it would be even better to give her something she wanted, it would make him feel accomplished if he knew he had given her something she truly wanted.

"Then is there anything you want to achieve that you don’t have yet? Keep in mind you’re married to one of the most powerful men in this city, whatever you want, it’s yours, all you have to do is say it?"

Anne felt her mouth fall open for a second?

Was she dreaming, or was Andrew Sterling really the one talking to her like this? He wasn’t possessed or anything right?

Possession could explain why he seemed to like kissing her a lot lately and taking her to bed but possession wasn’t possible and if ghosts even existed they would be too afraid to possess someone like him.

What was this then...the legendary clarity after sex or was he trying to compensate her for spending a night with her.

To her it was payment enough that she had laid with him in the same bed, he evidently had no idea what her feelings for him were and it was better off that way, at least she wouldn’t risk getting her heart ripped out of her chest if he would tell her that she was nothing more than a body he was taking pleasure out of.

"Have you thought of something?" He asked suddenly breaking off her thoughts and she realized he had been watching her keenly the whole time keeping an eye on how her mind seemed to be distant on thought.

Anne shook her head quietly.

"Think of something and let me know."

She nodded again and silence filled the air.

She didn’t intend to think of anything or make a request from him, he was evidently just saying it because they just spent a night together, she didn’t want any physical gifts as payment for her body because to her she didn’t just give her body to him, she gave her heart.

"I... should get back to my room now." She suddenly broke the silence, moving even before the words were fully out of her mouth. She looked around and found her towel...well, his towel lying on the ground next to her and she picked it up, wrapping it around her body.

His hand immediately reached out to grab her wrist the moment she moved.

"It’s still really early, you don’t have to leave yet."

The smallest voice in her head telling her he might actually want her to stay made her heart flutter in delight but the louder voice countered it. It was unlikely he wanted her to stay.

When she moved her wrist he let her go sensing the movement being her wanting to extricate her hand from his grip and he didn’t forcefully hold her.

"It’s morning already, the staff might see me leaving your room."

"And that fucking matters because...?" His question came out hard and aggressive and her silence made him realize he might have raised his voice a little. He sighed and looked away, "All right, you can go back to your room."

She hadn’t even left yet, and he was already feeling empty. Just a moment ago she was right beside him and he felt like he still hadn’t had enough of having her next to him, but he let her go so she wouldn’t feel pressured or force to stay.

When she stood up to leave he noticed her seem to sway on her feet and his gaze instantly snapped back to her.

"What’s wrong?"

She shook her head quietly indicating nothing was wrong but something inside him was already nagging as he kept his eyes on her.

She only took two steps more before suddenly stopping again, grabbing her head in her hands. He was on his feet instantly without caring about the fact that his whole body was bare.

"Are you sure you’re fine?" He asked and his question hadn’t finished settling yet when her body went weak and she was falling.

His heart dropped down to the floor and he quickly reached out to grab her before she would hit the floor.

"Annelise!" He yelled her name in panic, his heart suddenly thundering against his chest as he stared down at her pale unconscious face.