Chapter 1 The prologue

Twenty-two-year-old Anastasia hovered on the edge of the roof with her knees drawn tightly to her chest and cradling them with her desperate arms. Her smudged mascara tears rolled down her cheeks as she gazed at the city lights glittering against the dark sky. She felt like the wind was trying to sooth her anguish as it whispered through her long, wavy brown hair as sad thoughts rushed through her like a train.

"How did it come to this? It took me so many years to find my way through the painful emotions that seemed to drown me daily. I don't know how much more I can take!"

She shut her eyes tightly, her heart heavy with despair and completely overwhelmed by the cascade of memories that started surging through her mind, each leading her to this moment.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Anastasia's life had once been a tapestry of calm and joy, stitched together by her close-knit family: her father, Wyatt Goodwin; her mother, Helena, and her younger brothers, Sean and Matt. They frequently went on family outings to the Busse Woods Dam, hosted lively barbecues with close friends, and took holidays to new and exciting places. Unlike many families that went to the same vacation destination every summer, the Goodwins were motivated by a shared passion of adventure-to visit as many places as possible and see the world.

Wyatt Goodwin was a tall, charming guy with a dominating appearance and widely regarded as one of Chicago's best lawyers. His reputation was built on hard effort and a roster of high-profile customers, including corporations and celebrities, which had significantly contributed to his firm's success and eventually made him a partner. Despite his achievements and the luxury lifestyles of his partners-whose homes resembled mansions in the Chicago suburbs, complete with beach houses and yachts-Wyatt chose a more modest lifestyle. He dedicated his savings to family trips and saving for his children's university education.

Helena was a beautiful girl of whom was slightly shorter than Wyatt - she had captivated him at first sight in high school. He recalled her warm smile as she confidently walked past, her white cotton sweater and skinny jeans accentuated by a pearl headband nestled in her medium-length, dark brown wavy hair. He would always tell his children, "It was like an angel had just graced me with her presence." Helena thought Wyatt was merely an arrogant jock looking to flaunt a pretty girl so she made his attempts to court her futile until one day she finally agreed to a date with him. One date became many, and their fondness of each other, turned into the deepest love. Helena often compared Wyatt to a younger Alec Baldwin, her favorite heartthrob of the 80s, due to his striking good looks and the similarity of their last names.

One day, everything changed when Helena started getting sick, and hospital visits became routine. Their parents didn't explain her illness, leaving Anastasia and her brothers confused about why their lives were suddenly disrupted. Their mother was often bedridden for days, even weeks. Wyatt and Helena had to break the news that she had cancer and because it had been detected late, the treatments were aggressive but there was still hope.

Anastasia was 16 years old when her mother died after a difficult year of undergoing various therapies. The entire family was by her side in those dying moments, bringing a sad finish to a hopeless battle. Everything changed after that.

Her brothers began rebelling, frequently getting in problems at school. Wyatt, crushed from losing the love of his life and battling to keep the family together, was about to break down-until he met Mrs. Beth Thompson.

Beth was initially a client at Wyatt's law firm, going through a divorce from her first husband. After the divorce was finalized, Wyatt and Beth began dating and eventually married a year later.

Beth didn't come into the family alone. She brought her 12-year-old daughter, Britney Thompson. Britney was tall and pretty, with long, wavy blonde hair and sparkling green eyes, just like her mother. She wore a pretty pink A-line dress up to her knees and wore a flower clip in her hair making her look so innocent and sweet.

She walked into the house with her cerise pink suitcase, and when 13-year-old Sean and 15-year-old Matt laid their sparkling blue eyes on her, they lit up as if a princess had entered their home. Anastasia, however, wasn't thrilled about the change or her brothers' fascination with Britney. She rolled her eyes at her brothers 'sparkling new toy' - a reaction that caused Britney and Beth to glance at each other in silent communication.

From that moment, Beth became the classic wicked stepmother, Britney, the wicked stepsister determined to make themselves at home, change their whole lives and make Anastasia's life rather difficult. Beth and Britney treated her like their personal servant making her do tedious things like wash and iron their clothes, clean their bathrooms, and even made her scrub the entire kitchen floor with a toothbrush every second day.

Her brothers were lucky; Beth always treated them well, as if they were her own sons. Britney was thrilled to be the center of their attention. Beth and Britney acted sweet and kind whenever Wyatt and the boys were around, so they had no idea about the mistreatment.

Britney tormented Anastasia with awful pranks: cutting off chunks of her hair, super-gluing her school bag shut, putting vinegar in her mouthwash, and throwing her clothes in mud when it rained.

Then one unfortunate day, Britney crossed the line forcing Anastasia's hand and decided she could no longer stay silent. The minute her father got home and walked through the front door, she marched up to him.

"They...they...THEY ARE EVIL!" she yelled. Everyone, including Beth and Britney, looked at Anastasia nonchalantly as she stood in front of her father, who had barely closed the door behind him. Wyatt was stunned; he had never seen his daughter so angry.

"Anastasia, what is this about?" Wyatt asked, puzzled.

"Them!" she cried, pointing at her stepmother and stepsister.

"Do not point at your mother! You are being rude!" Wyatt scolded.

"SHE IS NOT MY MOTHER! My real mother would never treat me like dirt and wouldn't let anyone else do so either," she shrieked. Despite her best efforts, a tear slipped down her cheek at the mention of her mother.

Not only did she miss her mother, but since her death two years ago, Anastasia's life had been in shambles, only getting worse when Wyatt remarried. She had tried to keep quiet about Beth's and Britney's ill-treatment, not wanting to burden her father after he had found happiness again. But this time, she couldn't let Britney get away with what she had done that day.

"Calm down, Ana. Breathe and then tell me what happened," Wyatt said, trying to stay calm since his daughter had never yelled at him like this before and she hadn't cried in two years.

"She...she...has ruined my life."

"Who?"

Anastasia twisted her head, scowled, and pointed at Britney, who gave her a tiny grin. "Her! The wicked young brat you and Beth brought into our home!"

"Don't speak of Britney like that!" Beth yelled, springing from the couch.

"Hold on, Beth, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's all calm down and talk about what happened," Wyatt said, putting his suitcase down on the mantle and raising his hand to stop Beth from saying anything further until he received an explanation. "Anastasia, what happened that you insulted your sister just now and why are you crying?"

Anastasia shot her head in her father's direction with an incredulous look, saying in a mocking tone, "She is NOT my sister!"

"She is your stepsister nonetheless, so can we get down to what happened, please?" Wyatt sighed.

Anastasia took a deep breath and prepared to speak, knowing that doing so would make the situation more genuine. "She...she...," Anastasia struggled to speak as tears streamed over her cheeks. "She stole my phone, messaged Bastian, pretending to be me, broke up with him, and now he's in a coma!"

Anastasia's father's eyes widened with terror. "Bastian is in a coma?!"

"Yes!" Anastasia wailed.