Adam thought for a while. He wanted her to end up coming back to him. He could give her time to think right there in the mansion. At least she would know that it was within her reach. But she wouldn't accept that. That's why he wouldn't give up looking for her. But he would only do it for another three months. If he didn't find her, he would understand that her father had taken her away. And one day he would look for her.
"Okay." Adam agreed. "If you find her, let me know and after three years I'll come and get her."
"Three years? Is there anything you're going to do in all that time?"
"No. But she will. Put her in school. Here... near me, she won't be able to study, because... I can't get away from her." He said and turned off his cell phone. There was nothing more to be done. He wouldn't look for her anymore. He would wait for Henry to take her out of the country, and let her have time to mature. Then he would look for her, and she would never see the sunlight again. She would either be locked in the cellar, chained up, or dead underground. Either way, he would know that she would forever be his alone.
....
Cinderella's Dream
Anna looked at herself in the large mirror in her closet from various angles. She wanted everything to be perfect that night. The make-up that the woman had done for her at the salon highlighted the color of her eyes. She looked at herself and felt like she was seeing a different person. That person in the mirror was a beautiful woman, well dressed, with class, experience and determination. Perhaps there was kindness in her heart, but it didn't show in her seductive gaze. And she still felt sixteen and insecure. But then she remembered her promise to Sarah, and knew that the one in the mirror was herself. She would come back for revenge. And on that day Sarah would regret having ever met her family, regret having allowed them to live. It would have been better to have killed her and thrown her body into the ocean.
She could see now that those cold eyes were really hers. She could remember the joy with which she had humiliated everyone who had refused her a job. She never thought to ask her father if he approved of her attitude. He never said anything for or against it. He just watched. She sensed that he expected something from her, and she wanted to know what it was so that she wouldn't disappoint him. But he wouldn't say. He was very private about everything. But she could see that behind that reserve lay great wisdom and determination. He wanted to know what she was capable of. And she would find out, the hard way.
Anna also wanted to know what Henry's relationship was with Jenna, the only person she missed apart from Genevieve, but Henry held back every time she asked, until she decided not to broach the subject.
The cook knocked on her door and she went to answer it.
"Mr. Maxwell has just arrived." She said in a conspiratorial tone.
Anna knew she was acting like this, because as soon as she had arrived from the salon, she had taken ingredients and made typical Scottish dishes, and told her that no one was to know. At dinner time, she was to bring all the hot dishes to the table. She also said that she should be notified when her boss arrived. And he was there. She wrung her hands nervously. She had to be firm. She needed to show Maxwell that he was facing a woman who knew what she wanted and who had many choices, and that she chose her, even though she had many other options.
Because she loved him.
...
Anna herself took care of all the details, and monitored the maid while she set the dinner table and put the dishes in their proper places. She wanted everything there to make them remember that dinner for posterity. Once everything was ready, she went to her room to shower and put on her new clothes. She invited Beth to join them for dinner that evening.
The woman who had done her makeup had made sure it was waterproof, but Anna had to do some touch-ups as soon as she got out of the shower.
She picked up the silk dress she had bought the day before and put it on, enjoying the feel of the silk on her skin. Little did she know that she would soon be wearing only fine, expensive clothes. She didn't have that ambition yet.
She looked at the cook and gave her a friendly smile. She knew she should never mistreat a cook if she didn't want to eat food with spit or even worse, like food made with toilet water. He knew that Sarah did these things when she was cleaning a house, and they humiliated her for being just a servant. He heard her talking about it at the table, while she laughed and ate with the werewolves.
"Well done, Matilda." Anna praised in her own language. "Now, call everyone to dinner, please. I'll go after everyone's taken their places. Will you let me know? Please?"
"Yes." She said, smiling back, and went out into the corridor. Anna took a deep breath and stepped back in front of the mirror. She had planned that dinner down to the smallest detail, but she hadn't thought that she might lose her nanny after that night. She didn't know if she would be able to live under the same roof with the man she loved, knowing that she would never have him. Anna arrogantly thought that the Cinderella dream belonged to her and no one else. And everything that was hers, she would never let go into someone else's hands, if that wasn't her wish. Her destiny was to live the Cinderella story. And she would fabricate reasons so that Maxwell would always believe that he had to conquer her. That she wasn't entirely his. At the time, she believed that she loved him so much that she would never leave him. But fate had moments of decision in store for her, and she hadn't expected them.
The cook returned and told her that everyone was already at the table. Anna asked her to serve the dishes she had made. She was anxious to know if they would approve. She, at least, still hadn't got used to the food that was popular in that country, but she liked the dishes she made.