Mother, I am sorry

"She is the daughter of that man, Harry." Miriam tells Ana after Rene leaves taking some beauty accessories with her. "I heard from your father just now. Harry did not agree for the deal." Ana raises an eyebrow at that. "But he seemed like he likes you. So, now your dad wants you to stick to the plan and woo him some more. Yeah?"

"What?" Ana screeches standing up from the sofa. This has to be a joke!

"Mind your voice, girl." Miriam warns her. "The place is not secluded. Customers might come in any time."

"Anyway, your father will talk to you when you get home."

"He is not my father." Ana mutters. For her, he is just Brandon, even if he has married her mother.

"Then who is?" Miriam presses, a challenging tone in her voice. "The one has left you here on your own without a surname? Huh? Do not look past what all Brandon has done for you, little girl. If not for him, you would not be having this life."

"You are right. I would not be having this life, if not for him." Ana shots back, her eyes welling up with tears, not of love, respect, happiness or anything as such but of grudge, resentment and bitterness.

***

"Miss Ana, your father wants to talk to you. He is in his study." She clenches her jaws tightly. No matter how much she does not want anyone to refer him as her father, she would have to go with it because he has written himself as her guardian in the legal papers.

It would really have been great to have a father figure after her own father disowned her only if it was not Brandon. Begrudgingly and very slowly, she makes her way over to his study.

"Oh, her there, my girl!" Brandon chirps like a bird as soon as he sees Ana walking in. "Close the door, will you? She does as she is told before going to sit on the sofa across from him. "Why so far, darling? Come, sit here." And she knows what would happen next if she agrees to him, but she also knows that it is not at all healthy for her to refuse him. She is up and on his lap the next moment.

"Miriam must have told you what happened." He says while his hand busies itself on her thigh. Ana nods her head in a yes.

"I am sorry, I.."

"Um-hmm. No need to apologize. I am aware that Harry is a shrewd kind of man. Anyways, what's done is done. But the good thing is that he is impressed by you." He says feeling proud in a twisted way.

"And that is a good thing, for sure. We can still get him to sign the contract. You just have to get close to him through his daughter. He should not know that I am leading you there though." Ana merely nods even though she does not like the idea of using Rene a bit.

"Now, about how you impressed him." Brandon then goes back to being a twisted pervert with her. "Tell me how did you manage to court him this fast. Hmm?" He brings his face too close to hers up to the point where his nose grazes her cheek. His hand moves down her spine to the band of her pants. Ana gets this sudden urge to push him away but this is not the first time that he would exploit her body and like every other times, she has no power against him.

"I should definitely buy the dress that you wore to that man from Miriam, so that you would wear it for me." He continues. And, just in time as he starts sliding his hand into her pants, a loud bark resonates through the room.

Brandon groans eyeing the door to his study from where the sound has come, which is closed but the barking only grows incessant.

Feeling extremely relieved on the inside, Ana giggles.  "Oh, that must be Lucy trying to get my attention.  She knows that I am in here. It is her regular time to go for a walk. So, please excuse me?" Ana asks sweetly and, reluctantly, Brandon lets her go.

"Come back later."

Ana opens the door and finds Lucy waiting for her. She gladly kisses her on the snout and takes her leash before leading her away. On their way out, Ana seed that her mother is lounging out in the porch. There are bandages around her neck. Ana gulps and calls her out. "Mother." Her mother does listen to her but does not look her way. "I am sorry." With that said, Ana walks out of the house with Lucy.