My Cold Billionaire Husband

Chapter 1

Anna ran as fast as she could. Her breath was growing shallow by the minute. She had no idea how long she had been running. Had it been an hour or two, all she knew was that she had to keep running. Her feet were starting to hurt, really bad from all the running, but she couldn't stop at the moment.

It was only a matter of time till her aunt found out that she was gone. The last thing she wanted was her aunt's men on her trail; she barely made it out of there. She had no idea where she was. It was practically in the middle of nowhere. All she could see around were trees. She had been seeing those for quite a while now.

Hailey told her that she would find a road leading to the city if she took this route. Anna took the route, but she still hadn't found the road Hailey had told her about. She ceased her running.. She was out of breath, panting. Anna couldn't anymore, her feet were hurting more now.

Anna stopped for a while to catch her breath, as she felt the shortness of it. She looked around for where she could rest a bit. She saw a tree log. She walked over to the tree log and sat down. Anna looked down at her blistered feet, which were covered with bruises now.

Anna knew she needed to get it treated soon. She tried taking out the little twigs in her foot, but she groaned because of the pain. Anna was so thirsty, her throat was dry. She looked around once again. Why did Aunt bring her to such a place? It was practically in the middle of nowhere.

She hadn't seen a single house around. She wouldn't have escaped if it wasn't for Hailey, who let her out of her locked room. Anna remembered the first time her aunt brought her to her house. Her parents had just passed away, and she was still grieving. She was just twelve years old.

"Don't worry dear, I promise to take good care of you." Her aunt assured her at the beginning. She appeared nice at first, but Anna started to notice changes in her aunt's behavior towards her after a few weeks. Anna couldn't make friends as her aunt homeschooled her and didn't let her out of the house..

She tried to sneak out once, but her aunt's men caught her. She was punished severely for that and had to sleep in the cold basement for days, with little to eat. She remembers crying herself to sleep most times. Thinking about that time brought tears to Anna's eyes.

She thought things would change when I started college, but it only got worse. They monitored her even more than before. Her aunt always had people watching her every move, so she was scared of socializing. A few weeks ago, her aunt brought her here. "Why are we here Aunt" Anna asked, but she went ignored by her aunt like always.

The only person she could barely talk to was Hailey, her cousin. She was the one who brought Anna books to read when I was bored. Books became Anna's only companion. Hailey was very kind to her when her mom was out. She was the total opposite of her mother.

"Where am I for God's sake?" Anna muttered to herself. Her voice was hoarse when it came out. It was going to be dark soon. She was sure this wood wasn't safe at all. There could be snakes, or even bears, for all she knew. The thought of that alone made her stomach turn. She closed her eyes and opened it again, trying to encourage herself.

She dragged herself up after a few minutes and continued walking. She couldn't run anymore, as she was exhausted. Her legs were getting weaker, but she ignored it. It was dark already. Anna could barely see anything in the woods she was in and she walked slower to avoid tripping.

She was cold, hungry, and tired. She hugged herself, trying to keep herself warm. As best as she could, she was shivering already. She didn't know how long she could keep walking. She was so exhausted, but thankfully she was far from that wretched place.

She stopped for a bit to rest. She felt dizzy and closed her eyes for a few seconds, and fell asleep. Anna woke up when she heard voices from afar. She gasped

"Oh no, they caught me!" She exclaimed. She had no idea where the energy came from. She began to run as fast as she could, her heart palpitating with fear.

The voices were getting closer; it would only take a couple of minutes till they found her. She looked back, fear etched on her face. She looked ahead, scrutinizing her eyes as if it was dark. She saw what looked like a road, and after a few seconds "I finally found it".

She said, relief washing over her, like a bucket of cold water. She could stop a car passing by and ask for help. Maybe they could help her call the police. That was her only way out now at the moment, or they would drag her back there. Anna ran as fast as she could towards the road.

She stood in the middle of the road panicking, as she knew they would be here in a couple of minutes. She waited for a single car to pass, but no car seemed to be approaching. "please.. please.. please.. please" she muttered, with her eyes closed. She was so tired, and she couldn't run anymore.

She looked around for a place to hide if they finally reached there. Anna saw a bush near a tree, nearby she hurried towards it and hid in it. It helped a bit that it was dark. Anna sat there, looking towards the road hoping that a single car would pass., "please "Just one, please..".

As she was muttering, she saw a light shining from afar. Was it what she was thinking, that was a car? This was her chance. She couldn't lose it. She gathered the last ounce of strength she had remaining in her. Anna stood up and walked towards the road, waiting for the car to come closer to where she was.

She closed her eyes and made one of the craziest decisions she had ever made. With her heart thumping faster than ever, Anna sprinted forward to the front of the car. Her heart was racing, almost pumping out of her chest. The car came to a screeching halt, thankfully, before it ran over her.

Anna fell to the ground out of fear and exhaustion, her eyes closed short, and she was trembling. A man came out quickly from the car wide-eyed. He was shocked because of what had just happened. "Are you okay, ma'am?" he asked, walking forward, bit by bit, with a hunched look on his face.

"What's wrong Lucas?". A deep, cold voice came from the back seat of the car. "Sir, it looks like she jumped in front of the car on purpose". Lucas said, with a slightly shaken voice, confused by how she could do something like that. Did she want to die so badly?

The door of the car opened, and someone walked out of the car. A deep frown formed on his face when he saw her laying on the ground. Anna opened her eyes a little. She was exhausted and stricken with fear. She knew her aunt's men were almost there. The man had a grave on his face.

"This is the last thing I need right now. Is she still breathing?" He asked his secretary. Lucas moved forward to check if she was still breathing, still a little panicked. "She is, sir. I think she just passed out of shock, sir." He said, looking at his boss' face for an expression.

Devon walked towards where the girl was laying, she looked pale. She opened her eyes a little. She. What was trying to say to him? He raised his eyebrow with a deep frown. What was she saying? He squatted down, trying to hear what she was saying. "Plea.. please help me ".

She pleaded, exhaustion etched on her face. She was asking for his help. Was that the reason she jumped in front of his car? He wondered, at her curiously.

Margaret became red with anger, when her men came back without Anna.

"Go and look for her right now. Don't come back till you find her, you fool!". She roared at them in rage, clenching her aching forehead.

Her plan was almost complete, but that little brat had to spoil everything at the last moment.

She looked at the lock on the door. Magaret found that the lock on the door was not broken.. Someone let her out, and she knew exactly who it was. She sighed. How could her child be against her? She was getting a throbbing headache from stressing herself.

"Hailey! Hailey, get down here right this instant!". She called down her daughter, infuriated.

Hailey walked down the stairs slowly, almost whimpering. She had a frightened look on her face. She knew her mother had figured out she was the one who let Anna out. This was bad. Anna couldn't have gotten far already. They would catch up to her if they took the cars.

"Yes, Mom," Hailey said in almost a whisper. Margaret placed her hand on her aching forehead. The pain in her head was getting worse.

"Did you let Anna out of her room?". Magaret asked in a menacing voice, scaring Hailey the more. Hailey looked down, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm asking you a question, Hailey. Look at me when I'm talking to you!". Margaret yelled out angrily. "But mom, it's unfair to Anna. Having her locked up, like she is some criminal when she di...". Before Hailey could talk any further, a smack was heard in the room. "Don't you ever speak to me that way!" Margaret was red with anger.

Hailey held her face,as tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't believe her mom had slapped her. Margaret realized immediately what she had done and tried to rectify her mistake.

"Darl... darling I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I was just really angry". She said, trying to pacify Hailey. "You know everything I have done so far is for you, and I know one day you are going to understand why I'm doing this." She added.

Margaret stepped forward, trying to touch her daughter, but Hailey bolted out of the room, whimpering. She darted to her bedroom. Sitting on her bed; she pondered about Anna's well-being.. She hoped she was okay. Hailey hoped she found someone to help her out there before her mom's men caught up to her...

Anna opened her eyes slowly. Where was she? Did she get away safely, or did they take her back? She wondered, stretching and yawning. She opened her eyes fully and looked around an unfamiliar room. The room was spacious, but with only a bed and an enormous wardrobe.

Prior to losing consciousness, she tried to remember what had occurred.. She remembered the car. She recalled running towards the front of the car, like a crazy person..

Anna sighed when the whole memory came back to her. It was hard for her to believe that she did that..

"I must be going crazy," she muttered to herself.

Her mind wandered back to the person who she asked for help. She couldn't remember his face clearly. Once more, she scanned her surroundings. Was this his house?. She got out of bed and sauntered toward the edge of the window. Her legs were still hurting a bit, but it was treated already.

Anna gazed at the white bandages used to wrap her leg, she wondered when she was treated.

She looked outside the window and the ray of sunlight hit her pale skin. It was morning already, and she saw some people working in the garden of the house, but they didn't seem to notice her.

She needed to find him. She wanted to ask him for help.

Her aunt was probably searching everywhere for her. Maybe she could stay here for a while, till she found a solution to her problem. She was still shocked by what she overheard her aunt saying.

Her aunt wanted her dead. Her expression turned grave, thinking about it.

Anna always thought her aunt hated her for another reason, but now she knew fully why her aunt hated her. She wanted all the properties for herself, now that she was over twenty-one.

The only person she had, her only remaining family betrayed her. She was all alone now. Anna shook her head so she wouldn't cry, it wasn't the time for her to. She walked to the bedroom door and unlocked it.

Anna peeped outside the bedroom door curiously. Her head bulged through the opened door and she looked left and right, hoping to find someone. But no one was in the hallway.

She came out from the room, waltzing towards the left wing of the hallway. How was she going to find him? She sighed. She had no idea where he was and she could already tell that the house was huge.

She finally got to a flight of stairs, and some seconds later, a delicious aroma hit her nose. Her stomach growled out of hunger. She remembered that she didn't eat all through yesterday, as she was busy trying to escape.

Anna placed her hand on her tummy, trying to stop it from making any more embarrassing sounds.

She followed the aroma downstairs to a dining room close of the stairs,

"Wow," Anna couldn't help but gaze in awe, when she saw the different delicacies served on the table. Fried eggs with bacon, fresh toast, and mashed potatoes with freshly squeezed orange juice, Were placed on the magnificent table. She swallowed, her mouth-watering.

It had been a while since she ate something like this. All her aunt gave her to eat were almost spoiled leftovers. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, when she recalled what she went through all these years. She held back the tears before they fell.

No one was in the dining room when she walked in. She walked around, looking for anyone, until she came across what looked like the kitchen.

"Hi", Anna said nervously, trying to get The People in the kitchen's attention. They stopped what they were doing and their gaze fixed on Anna.

"You are finally awake, Miss," one of them said excitedly, with a warm smile on her face.

"Joy, go and call John to tell him that she is awake ". A woman ordered one of the girls gazing at her. The girl named Joy left the kitchen quickly.

"Miss you can wait at the table for John, he will be there in a minute". The lady said to her, smiling.

She smiled back awkwardly at the amiable lady, who seemed strangely excited that she was awake. Anna returned to the table where all the delicacies were, and her stomach growled even more. She was getting hungrier by the second.

She got tired of standing, so she sat down.

Anna looked at the spacious room with elegant decorations. Her eyes scrutinized the entire room. She was tempted to eat, but she didn't want to give a bad first impression when she met him. A minute later, a man that looked to be in his fifties walked into the room with the girl named Joy.

That was probably the John she thought, gazing at him. He walked up to her, with no expression etched on his face.

"How are you doing, miss?, You gave us quite the scare, when you slept for so long".

Anna smiled nervously, trying to read his face more, but it was still giving no expression.

"I'm sorry about that, please what time is it right now?" she asked curiously.

"It's noon on the dot", he answered.

Her eyes turned slightly wide when she heard the man. She was asleep for over almost a day, she couldn't blame herself as she went through a strenuous activity, trying to escape.

What time was she brought there then?Who brought her? Anna had a lot of questions to ask the man, but she only asked one.

"Who brought me here?". She enquired, more.

"It was Sir Devon'' the man responded.

"Sir Devon?" Anna looked at him quizzically. He was probably the boss, she thought.

"He is out at the moment", John added, so she wouldn't be confused.

She mouthed the word "oh", feeling a little disappointed at hearing that.

"Do you know when he will be back, Sir?" Anna needed to see him as soon as possible, to know the next step to take

"In the evening miss, you can help yourself and wait till he gets back".

John gestured towards the table filled with delicious food. Anna followed his gaze to the mouth-watering food. She couldn't decline as her stomach protested even more.

"Thank you," she smiled awkwardly at him as she started eating.

. John left her alone to eat so she would feel more comfortable, which Anna was thankful for. Anna tried every single food on the table, appreciating the wonderful taste as the food melted in her mouth.

The food was more delicious than she imagined it to be, and when she was done, her stomach was filled up to the brim.

Anna got up and walked back to the room, she woke up in.

On her way back, she noticed the interior of the house was magnificent. The paintings on the wall looked expensive and exquisite.

The furniture alone would cost a fortune. There were no pictures on the wall, strangely. She was sure that this Devon was no ordinary man, his house was magnificent.

Anna sat down on her bed, brooding on how she would ask her savior for help. She couldn't think of what to say.

She groaned in frustration, after going over different words in her head. At least she made it out of there safely, she was thankful for that.

Anna wondered what her savior was doing out there in the woods. It didn't matter to her, honestly. What mattered was that he came at the right time to save her. Which she was grateful for.

She looked forward to meeting him.....

Anna came out of her room after a few hours.

She was beyond bored, waiting, with nothing to do. Her goal was to take a look at the garden..

She had been looking at it through her window for over an hour and she loved the flower arrangement. The flowers looked really beautiful, with different colors.

As she walked towards the stairs leading to the living room, she noticed a room with the door ajar.

Anna stopped in her tracks, She didn't see it earlier. She looked left and right to see if anyone was coming. The hallway was empty. Curiosity got the better of her and she pushed the door and walked in.

The room was a little dusty, which made Anna cough out a bit. She was sure no one had been in there for weeks or maybe months.

She walked in further and found what looked like an enormous portrait. There was a family of three in the picture. The parents sat down, while the boy, who looked to be their son, stood with a bright smile on his face.

The man and the boy shared a striking resemblance, their face features were almost identical. They had the same intriguing sky blue eyes.

Were they the owner of the house? Anna wondered, curiously. She looked around more and found more portraits and a photo album. There were a lot of the child's pictures. He looked to be around seven to eight years old. Was she saved by his father?

The pictures looked old, so she assumed she was saved by either the son, who would probably be grown up now, or his father.

After snooping around for a few more minutes, Anna decided it was time to leave before someone caught her.

She dropped the photo album in her hand, putting it back as natural as possible to avoid suspicion.

As Anna turned to leave, she saw a man gazing at her with a grim look on his face and her heart stopped in shock.

Devon sat in his Spacious Office, with a laptop and different files on his enormous mahogany table. To his left was a towering bookshelf filled with files and an elegant antique collection.

The white ceiling was high and at his back was a glass window showing the busy streets of the city. An exquisite and impressive painting was on his left which went along with the colour of the wall.

Devon sighed, regretting what he did. He had no intention of going over there last night, but George, his cousin, kept insisting he take a look at the cabin.

He had a bad feeling about it from the moment they were on the road. Now he had to deal with her. A light knock on the door interrupted Devon's thoughts, and his secretary, Lucas, walked in.

"Did you find out about her?" He enquired from Lucas in an icy voice.

"Yes, sir, I was just about to report to you," Lucas answered nervously. He handed the file in his hand over to his boss. Devon gazed at it for some seconds before he opened the file to see the contents inside.

The first thing he saw was her name, Anna Wilson. Her parents were late, but he knew who they were. He had no idea they had a daughter. Their company was a reputable one in the city.

Her aunt was her guardian at the moment. Devon wondered why she was there.

"Was there a report about her being kidnapped?" he asked, thinking of that as the only plausible reason."

"No sir, there was nothing like that". Then why or what was she running from?

"You may leave", he said, dropping the file on the table. Lucas left the office quickly. He was curious, too. He almost had a heart attack when she jumped in front of the car, out of nowhere.

He thought he had killed someone and almost freaked out.

"She must be a crazy person," Lucas muttered to himself as he walked to his seat.

Lucas was even more surprised when his boss carried her home. The Devon he knew would have never done that. He would have sued her for doing that.

He wondered what caused her to act that way. His boss wasn't saying anything, which made him more curious...

After snooping around for a few more minutes, Anna decided it was time to leave before someone saw her. She dropped the photo album in her hand, putting it back as naturally as possible to avoid suspicion.

As Anna turned to walk out, she saw a man staring at her, and her heart stopped.

It was John, the butler, she was caught red-handed snooping.

"You can't be in here, miss," He started. Anna held her chest. He scared the hell out of her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know" she apologized, feeling nervous

Lucas smiled slightly at her, and Anna returned the smile. "I just came to let you know lunch is ready," he said, his eyes on the photo album behind her.

Anna followed his gaze and knew immediately she shouldn't have snooped around there.

She finally gave a terrible impression of herself. Worry lines formed on her forehead. She hoped. John wouldn't tell his boss about this, she could be sent away for all she knew.

John left the room first, followed by Anna, who wanted to slap herself for her curious behavior. She had always been that way since she was a child...

As she expected, they served more delicious meals at the magnificent table. The aroma alone made her stomach growl.

Anna knew it was going to be more delicious, as the aroma was tantalizing. She found out the amiable woman from before was the cook.

She looked at John, who scared the hell out of her earlier. He still had the same expression on, as when she first met him...

After lunch, Anna needed to speak with Hailey, her cousin. But she wasn't sure it was safe now. For all she knew, her aunt may be with her.

She looked at the clock on the bedside table and sighed. It was almost 5 pm. She was sure it would be a few more hours before 'Devon' came back.

She came out of the room after thirty minutes and went down the stairs hurriedly. Anna needed to speak with Devon as soon as possible. She was afraid of being caught by her aunt.

It would mean death for her if she went back there. Anna wasn't planning on dying anytime soon. She had to get her parent's property back; . It they worked hard for it.

She couldn't let her aunt steal it from her, it was their legacy they had left.

Anna finally found John after searching around for him. He was standing close to the dining room and the kitchen.

"Excuse me Sir", she called out to him, trying to get his attention. John turned around, from what he was doing, to see who it was. "What can I help you with? '', he asked and Anna stood with a smile on her face.

"I'm sorry for bordering you, but. You please, I need to know when your boss will be back. I'm really in a hurry"

"As I told you the other time, miss, he won't be back till late in the night," John tried to explain to her. But this only made Anna more anxious.

That wasn't what she hoped to hear, she needed to speak to him "Just let me know when he gets back"

John nodded, and Anna turned away, heading back to her room.

Devon sat in his car with his eyes closed and his back rested. He was waiting for Lucas, his secretary, to bring an important file from the office.

The day had been long. It was almost midnight.

A few minutes later, his phone rang, causing him to open his eyes to see who it was.

It was George, his cousin. He sighed deeply, allowing the phone to ring for some seconds more before he answered. Before he could utter a word, he heard George's excited voice, which annoyed him most o the time.

"Do you like the cabin?" George inquired.

"I knew you would. My dad wouldn't leave me alone; he wants to know what you think of it," he added, waiting for Devon's response.

Devon couldn't tell him what had happened. He." didn't even get to the house before a crazy girl jumped in front of his car. So he had no choice but to lie.

"It's okay, tell uncle I'm grateful for it". He responded.

"Tell him yourself over dinner tomorrow. He wants you to have dinner at the house".

Devon sighed. He knew the reason his uncle wanted him to come over. "if I'm free," Devon said, giving an excuse.

"You know that doesn't work on him even, just say yes," George persuaded.

"Okay, sure," Devon finally agreed, before he hung up the phone.

He glanced at his watch to see that Lucas had been gone for almost thirty minutes. He wondered what was taking him so long.

Lucas hurried to the car, almost tripping when he came out of the elevator. He couldn't find the file anywhere.

He later found it on the printer. He dropped it there when he was sorting out some files earlier in the day.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, sir," He apologized to Devon, gazing at him through the rearview mirror.

"Just drive," Came Devon's dry reply.

Lucas felt relief wash over him. Thankfully, his boss didn't look mad. If he had been mad, he would have driven off, leaving him behind. He started the car and drove away into the night...

Anna got tired of waiting for Devon to get back. She didn't even realize when she fell asleep. When John came to let her know that Devon was back, she was fast asleep.

It did not surprise Devon when he heard that. It was already past midnight when he got back to the house. He sat down near the fireplace in his study, with a drink in his hand, thinking.

He just might have a solution to his problems. It. He lay in the girl's hand, Anna Wilson. He just needed to use the right opportunity and one presented itself free. He poured himself another glass of whiskey.