Zeke frowned slightly. He stared at her, digging through his mory. But nothing ca up, he couldn’t rember ever seeing this woman before.
Still, he didn’t want to seem rude. She was Claire’s doctor, after all. So instead of asking who she was, he stayed quiet.
Anastasia saw the hesitation in his eyes and seed to understand.
"Ah... you’re Adam’s sister?" he said, the pieces finally clicking into place. "Sorry, I didn’t realize. I saw your last na was Campbell."
Anastasia gave a small nod. "Yeah, makes sense. I’m married now, so I use my husband’s na."
Zeke nodded in understanding. "Right. How’s Adam? I haven’t seen him in a long ti."
Anastasia blinked, a little surprised by the question, then gave a small smile. "He doesn’t live in the States anymore. He moved to Canada with his wife."
Zeke nodded slowly. Adam had been his college friend, sa major, but they’d never been that close. Just acquaintances. As for Anastasia... he barely rembered her. She had been a year or two below them. A quiet underclassman, not soone he’d ever talked to directly.
After a few more words and polite small talk, Zeke, Cassidy, and Claire said their goodbyes.
Anastasia walked them to the door of her room, offering one last smile before they disappeared into the hallway.
The mont they were out of sight, her expression changed. She turned back toward her desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out her phone.
She sat down, staring at the door for a mont before tapping a number.
The call rang three tis before soone picked up.
"Why are you calling ?" ca a woman’s voice, lazy and clearly uninterested.
Still looking at the door, Anastasia replied calmly, "Guess who I just saw at my clinic?"
"Your patient?" the woman said dryly.
"Wrong. Try again."
A sigh ca from the other end. "I don’t have ti for gas, Anastasia."
Anastasia chuckled under her breath, unfazed. "Okay, okay. I’ll tell you. I saw your prince charming."
"What the fuck. I’m hanging up—"
"Wait, wait. Don’t." There was a pause before she added, "You’ll regret it if you do. I said I saw Ezekiel."
Suddenly, the woman on the other end fell silent. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she said, "You saw Zeke."
Anastasia smiled, clearly pleased by the reaction. "Yeah. I told you I saw your prince charming. And you won’t believe what I’m about to say. Turns out Ezekiel is—"
But the woman cut her off. "What was he doing there? Your clinic’s only for kids." She paused, and when she spoke again, her voice turned cold. "Wait... was he with that kid? And that bitch?" The way she said that bitch was sharp, bitter and biting.
Anastasia blinked, caught off guard.
"So... you already knew he has a kid?"
The call ended abruptly.
The woman had hung up.
Anastasia let out a sharp sigh and pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at the now-black screen with a shake of her head.
"Seriously?" she muttered under her breath, clicking her tongue in annoyance.
She tossed the phone back on the desk and leaned back in her chair.
Yes, she had just called one of her closest friends from college. A friend who, ever since their university days, had been hopelessly, perhaps foolishly obsessed with Ezekiel Salvador.
And Anastasia knew all too well, her friend was far from ordinary. Abigail Lorenzo. The na alone used to send ripples through their college campus.
She was the daughter of a billionaire hotel magnate, heir to an international chain of luxury resorts. With that kind of money, Abigail could make most problems disappear, and often did. Especially when it ca to her obsession. Ezekiel Salvador.
Back in college, Abigail had been completely infatuated with him. Unhealthy didn’t even begin to describe it. She never confessed, of course. She knew Zeke didn’t like girls like her. Her looks were average, her body just okay, and she lacked the effortless charm that always seed to orbit Zeke’s world. But that didn’t stop her.
If any girl dared get too close to Zeke, rumors would spread, assignnts would disappear, reputations would quietly be ruined. No one could ever trace it back to Abigail. But Anastasia knew.
Abigail even begged her parents to arrange a marriage with Zeke. But the Salvador family refused. Despite Abigail’s wealth, the Lorenzos were still considered "lesser" in the Salvador family’s eyes.
And when she found out Zeke got married? She lost control. Even tried to end her life.
A cold worry crept in. Had she made a mistake telling her about Zeke? Did she go too far? But Anastasia shakes her head. Abigail was married now. Maybe she had finally let go of Zeke.
But that reaction earlier, it left a trace of doubt.
A tight knot of worry twisted in her chest. She had only ant to gossip. Not start a fire.
Sothing didn’t feel right. Because sohow, Abigail knew about Zeke’s child and his ex-wife. And Anastasia was starting to fear that she might’ve triggered sothing she couldn’t take back.
anwhile, inside a grand mansion that looked more like a palace than a ho, the sharp crash of breaking glass echoed through one of its lavish rooms.
A beautiful woman stood in the center, Abigail, her chest rising and falling with barely-contained emotion. A crystal wine glass lay shattered on the floor, dark red liquid seeping across the marble like spilled blood.
Monts later, a man with an average face and fra rushed in, eyes wide with worry. "What’s going on, darling? Are you okay?"
Abigail didn’t et his gaze. "I dropped it by accident," she said coolly.
Relieved, the man gently pulled her into an embrace. "It’s alright," he murmured, before calling out for a servant to clean up the ss.
He turned back to her, his voice full of adoration. He cupped her cheek softly, brushing his thumb along her smooth skin. "My wife is so beautiful," he whispered, awestruck.
What he didn’t know, what he would never suspect was that the flawless face he admired...
was the result of years of surgeries.
Abigail leaned against his chest, her voice low and teasing. "Did you do what I asked?"
Her husband nodded, clearly eager to please.
A slow smile spread across her face. She lifted her head and gave him a kiss, light at first. But he deepened it almost imdiately, hungry for more, pouring all his passion into that single mont.
He didn’t notice the way Abigail’s eyes stayed open through it all. Cold and calculating.
***
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