Bought For A Baby, Kept For A Lifetime-Chapter 289: Believe In Destiny

"Anne... please forgive your aunt and I." Her uncle began in a shaky voice.

As he spoke, he trembled,, looking intimidated by the guards who stood a safe distance away from Anne.

She knew Andrew had instructed them to keep her safe at all times which was why they always hovered around her whenever she stepped out of the manor, but they made sure to keep enough distance from her that they didn’t crowd around her.

"Yes Annelise, forgive your uncle and I for...for everything we might have done to you. You have always been a good girl, you never hold grudges, let bygones be bygones."

A light sneer hung on her lips.

Here they were pleading with her, the irony tasted weird because there had once been a time she was pleading with them just like this, begging for something that had belonged to her father.

The wealth they accumulated had come from her father’s hard work, Anne hadn’t even been asking for any of it back, she had only wanted them to help Kristen back then.

"Let bygones be bygones? You took away everything my father worked hard for and had me thrown out when I came to ask for help to save my brother."

Her uncle quickly spoke up putting his hands together pleadingly.

"Please...stop thinking about all the bad things we did to you. We know we were wrong and...if you, if you..." He struggled to speak but when his eyes drifted to the guards behind he quickly continued, "if you want everything back I’m ready to give it all back to you. All your father’s money, I admit, I was selfish and kept it all for myself but...take it all back Annelise, but please forgive your aunt and I for everything."

Anne didn’t know why he seemed desperate for her forgiveness. She knew Andrew must have done something but she didn’t know exactly what he had done.

That silly giant tornado, was this his own way of helping her heal from her past?

"Yes! Yes Annelise... please!" Her aunt crawled over on her knees about to grab Anne’s foot. The woman who was arrogantly living like a queen had lowered herself so much to crawling on the floor to Anne’s feet.

Anne’s eyes glistened with light traces of tears as she watched the couple pleading and begging as if their very life depended on it. With a light bitter chuckle she said,

"Stop trying to gain my sympathy, I have none to give you, and forgiveness? What is there to forgive when I have long let go of everything you did to me and Kristen. You stopped being related to us both from the moment you turned your back on us, to someone who isn’t related to me, I don’t care enough to hold grudges."

Her uncle looked up at her stunned. The girl in front of them, was no longer that girl they had underestimated and treated terribly in the past. She had grown into a woman, and the woman she had grown into...they never thought she would someday have such a powerful backing.

It was unfortunate that people didn’t have the abilities to glimpse someone else’s future, if they could, they would have seen beforehand that someday, a powerful and wealthy man like Andrew Sterling would come into her life. If they had known, they would have been good to her, really good to her, maybe then they would still be a part of her life by now.

That man...he seemed to hold Anne really dearly to have said this to them, 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

’...pray to the heavens she chooses to forgive you for your wrongdoings, otherwise I won’t spare you.’

Could they take her words as her having forgiven them?

If she didn’t...that person would ruin them leaving them without even the tiniest scraps left.

Anne didn’t see as they were both dragged away by the guards carelessly.

That evening, she was in her room when she felt the familiar broad figure embrace her from behind.

She had been staring out into space she hadn’t even realized when he returned, she was shaken out of her deep thoughts.

"What’s wrong, love?"

Hearing his voice close to her ear, his scent surrounded her, wrapping around her like a familiar shawl, everything she had been thinking about seemed to fade away and peace poured over her completely.

She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist to hug him while letting her head rest against his chest.

"You didn’t have to do that, Andrew." She muttered against his chest.

Anne had been thinking about the past and how difficult everyday had been for her living in her uncle’s home. Back then, she always tried to put herself back putting Kristen first, she didn’t care if she was hurt, as long as she could protect Kristen.

But secretly, she used to quietly wish there would be someone who would be there for her, a solace from the daily pain. Kristen had tried to stand up for her in his own way but he had been young back then, he had been her responsibility and she carried the weight alone with no one to support her. Everyday had felt lonely, everyday had felt difficult. She was constantly trampled by her cousins and forced to swallow everything down.

Right now the strong arms encircling her body felt like the solace she had always longed for.

"I told you I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you, but I also won’t let anyone who hurt you in the past go free. Anyone who has hurt you will have to answer to me, I don’t care how long it’s been."

Anne was rendered speechless, she quietly glanced up at him with tear filled eyes.

He let out a long sigh, wiped her silently dropping tears and bent down to pick her up, carrying her to the sofa where he sat with her in his arms.

She was curled against his chest and he quietly stroked her back.

Anne closed her eyes laying in the most peaceful moment she had ever had. She only felt like this in his arms, like she had absolutely nothing to worry about, like everything that hurt her would fade away and cease to exist.

Well, with him giving her aunt and uncle a scare, it did somewhat make her feel vindicated from the past.

"You were always meant to be mine, Annelise." He said very softly and she raised her head propping her chin on his chest.

"I thought you didn’t believe in destiny." She joked despite her voice sounding a bit hoarse because she’d cried a little.

"I believe in the destiny that brought you to me." He replied, making her chuckle.

"Do you know, I’ve always wanted to be like this with you since the very day we got married." He added, his voice deeply reminiscent.

When Anne thought back to that day, she felt quite surprised to hear that he wanted to be close to her since then.

If one were to ask the her of back then, she would have said he didn’t care a bit about her and she would find it hard to believe he would love her.

"On that night, I wanted to hold you, to hug you more and ask you to stay with me." He said in reminiscence while tenderly caressing her face.

"Then why didn’t you?" She asked.

"I didn’t know how to face it." He stated with a strain to his voice, "I didn’t know how to admit to myself that I was falling so madly in love with you. I knew that I wanted you close, that I couldn’t stand it if you started to avoid me, it always felt like I couldn’t breathe, like there’s something suffocating me right here..." He pointed to his heart and her gaze softened as she looked from his chest up into his eyes.

"I never knew one could be happy just by having someone this close. I felt content for the first time when I hugged you to sleep. I should have known right from then that I would never let you go, that I could never think about the rest of my life if you weren’t mine. I loved you madly and I kept it to myself, I love you even more now and I want you to know that."