Chapter 3 Two

Anne sighed as she closed the bakery, desperately hoping she hadn't just closed it forever. She felt exhausted, mentally and physically. Her last order had been testing but she'd put in her all.

Her chest felt heavy as she went home, thoughts of having to depend on her grandmother once again, weighing her down.

After losing her both parents within months of each other, Anne's monthly visits to her grandmother's had become permanent. She blamed herself for their deaths. Her father had died not long after she gave him news she was pregnant and her mother had grown thin each day after, wasting away so badly that when she died it was like she'd already been dead. She'd just had her babies and with no support from anyone else, she'd felt so alone in the world. She'd spent each day staring out the window, neither eating nor feeding her babies until her grandmother forced her to. She thought of her life each day, her hatred for the Ingram family growing and growing, constantly blaming him for everything.

It took her over a year to come out of her shell again. When she saw how much her twins needed her, she knew she had to step up. The bakery had been her grandmother's and it had blossomed at the beginning, but when the old woman fell ill and the responsibility fell solely on Anne, the bakery began falling apart.

She knocked on the door of the home they all shared and waited. Two little boys sprang out and at once were all over her. Her babies. They were the light of her day.

"Mum! Grandma didn't let us do anything fun..."

"Why don't you let us come with you mum..."

It was like this everyday. She truly wished she could take her boys everywhere with her. Her grandmother was old and the stress of maintaining two five year old boys was definitely hassling for her, even though she never complained.

"Boys. Won't you let your mother rest?" Her grandmother scolded. She limped into the room with a soup spoon in her hand. "How did it go with the inspectors, hun?"

Anne sighed. She didn't want her to worry but she deserved to know the truth. She bent till she was face to face with her boys who were on either side of her, squeezing her hands.

"Sweeties, why don't you go in and wait for mummy. I'll be right with you okay?" She implored them.

"That's what you always say!" Damien, the older twin screamed and dashed up the stairs.

"Damien." She called, but she only heard his light footsteps upstairs.

Daniel, her younger twin stared at her with big deep blue eyes, still holding her hand. She felt like she was staring at Asher and she shut her eyes.

"Please Danny, you have to understand. Mummy has a lot on her mind and..."

"You never want to be with us anymore, mummy." He murmured accusatorily, pulling his hand from hers and following his brother.

Anne watched him go and felt like a terrible parent. She hated the fact that her sensitive sons thought she didn't care for them. The bakery took almost her entire day everyday and yet there was literally nothing to show for it. She was extremely low on cash, with loans she really needed to take care of. It would probably have been better if she hadn't had the job at all but was there for her kids.

"You know you can tell me all about it." Her grandmother said, holding her close, and she let herself cry.

***

The good news came at night and Anne flipped. She'd just received an order, despite her negative reviews. The client probably hadn't checked them yet. The order was specific; the exact replica of the cake she'd prepared a few days ago, but in cupcake form. The client must have surely been at Jake's brother's party.

As early as six in the morning, she was dressed for work. She kissed her sleeping sons goodbye, leaving them with promises they couldn't hear.

At the bakery, she got straight to work. This was a recipe she knew like the palm of her hand, so making it was a no brainer, however, she regretted having asked Jake to take the day off. Jake usually handled the deliveries with his truck as she couldn't afford to pay the delivery fees each time.

This meant she would have to deliver it herself and she was not looking forward to it.

She drove to the address she was given and marveled at the sight. The house was gigantic. No wonder whomever it was had readily offered double the price to have it delivered directly to him.

The gatekeeper easily let her into the building immediately he saw the small parcel she was holding. Her fingers lightly brushed the perfectly trimmed hedges as he'd mind went over the place, feeling fear. The last time she'd been at a mansion, bad things had happened. Her heart began to pound but she calmed herself down. This was nothing like the last time.

She took her phone out and dialed his number.

"Come into the house. The front door is not difficult to spot." His deep voice said on the other end and she suddenly felt chilly.

"But..." she began, feeling uneasy. Coming into the compound was one thing but going into the house... anything could happen.

"I know you're skeptical but I can't walk right now. I'll give you a tip for your trouble. How does a thousand dollars sound?"

Her eyes popped as she imagined all the things a thousand dollars could do for her. It was suspicious, but it didn't change the fact that she desperately needed money, and if some guy in a mansion who probably spent more than that amount everyday was her way to get that money, she would take it.

She convinced herself nothing would happen. Her grandmother had access to every order that came so that meant she also had his address in case anything happened to her.

"Okay." She said, walking in and feeling like she's just signed a deal with the devil.

****

When Anne agreed to his odd request of coming into the house, Asher released the breath he didn't know he had been holding. She must have been really struggling just as Jake had said, since tiny change like a thousand dollars had silenced her skepticism immediately. He'd been willing to say more, but he didn't want her to become suspicious.

He was happy he'd decided to work from home that day as he was afraid she wouldn't have come herself if she knew she would be delivering to the CEO of Ingram Corporations.

He had wanted to get more information about her from Jake, but the guy was a blabbermouth. He didn't want her wondering who wanted to know so much about her.

For some reason, he felt uneasy when he heard his iron door open, then footsteps. His body was on edge. She was actually coming.

He noticed all her changes in emotion; recognition, confusion and then anger. The cake parcel fell out of her hands, her face contorted in anger. He'd expected a negative reaction, but not this quickly.

"You!" She said, seething, pointing at him.

He crossed his arms, looking at ease, despite the extreme storm going on inside him.

He didn't know what he had expected to happen, but this wasn't it.