Chapter 2 Ayna's final decision

I didn't answer. I walked away, past Brian, past the woman, past the security guards who bowed their heads, afraid to look at me. Until I was out the main door, stepping on the white gravel that Brian and I had chosen together. The gravel now felt sharp, piercing the soles of my feet.

The night wind stung my skin. Luna shivered in my arms. I got into the car, the car Brian had given me for our fifth anniversary.

"Hey, you forgot, this car is still in my name, right? Get out of this car!" Brian yelled at me. I took a deep breath. I got out without a word.

In the rearview mirror, I saw Brian and the woman standing in front of the door. They looked happy. Brian's arm was around the woman's waist, stroking her belly. That sight, the heat burned the back of my neck.

Everything I had, everything I gave up for Brian, had to be returned now. Not just the company, but my name. My identity. Alyssa Ayna Anastasya. The woman Brian discarded would return and destroy everything he owned... I promise, Brian. I promise.

"Mommy's lying, huh...?" Luna's voice was soft, barely audible through her sobs.

"No, darling. Mommy's not lying..." My jaw tightened, trying desperately to contain the wave of anger burning in my chest. I stepped forward looking for a ride-sharing car to pick me up, but it hadn't arrived yet.

The world suddenly went dark. Not just because it was late at night, but because my whole world had just collapsed, swallowed by Brian's lies. Luna was still sobbing fearfully, burying her face in my embrace. The air felt suffocating, filled with the scent of tears and despair.

"Where are we going, Mom...?" Keisha looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, staring at me with a look that melted my heart. An innocent gaze that knew nothing, a gaze that only reminded me how I had failed to protect her from the cruelty of the adult world.

I couldn't answer. My mouth was numb. Where are we going? Our home had just been taken away. Brian, that scumbag, so easily kicked us out, throwing away all my sacrifices over the past eight years like trash. Eight years! For eight years, I fought tooth and nail to build his rotten empire, making him the Brian Cellius he is today, the admired young tycoon. Everything from scratch, from his empty hands, from my brilliant mind that was almost dormant because of blind love.

I hugged my daughter tightly, standing at the bus stop. The street was deserted, only illuminated by the dim city lights in the distance. Luna looked up, her eyes no longer crying, but full of questions. Fear.

"Mom... why are we just standing here?"

"It's okay, sweetie." My hand reached out, gently stroking her hair. It was cold. "Mommy just... wants to think for a moment."

Think about what, Ayna? Think about your stupidity? Think about how crazy you were to give up everything for a trash man like Brian? The title Alyssa Anastasya, the sole heiress of Anastasya Group, had become just a bedtime story. All that was left now was Ayna, a single mother with no direction, no home, with a scared child.

Eight years ago, I met Brian. He was nobody, just a young man full of ambition but without capital. I, who was still Alyssa then, was still at the top of the world. But love, love is both blind and foolish. I fell in love, so deeply that I was willing to leave everything behind because my father did not approve of my love for him. I consciously became Ayna, giving a small portion of the assets in my name because I left all the main assets, my brain, my business network, even my identity for him. For my crazy dream for him to become a business king, so that he would eventually be on par with my family's Anastasya, so that he wouldn't feel inferior when I told him the truth that I was the heiress of Anastasya Group. Stupid, right? Yes, very stupid.

I told everyone I was just an ordinary housewife. That Brian was a genius, a visionary, who built his company from scratch. I was willing to be in his shadow. Willing to be ridiculed by my family for "lowering my standards" just for a man who had nothing. Willing to be suspected by that cunning stepmother who thought I no longer had any ambition for Anastasya Group.

Brian said, "I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children." I kept silent that I was Anastasya. I admitted that I was just an ordinary woman who had fallen in love with him. My uncle came as my guardian and didn't say anything, even though my name was clearly Alyssa Ayna Anastasya.

I looked at Luna, who had closed her eyes, perhaps fallen asleep from crying so much. Her lips were still slightly pursed in annoyance. My gaze softened. No, I couldn't fall apart. For Luna, for her future.

I couldn't go back to a friend's house. I couldn't. They all knew Brian. It would become gossip, fodder for conversation. I didn't want Luna to hear anything. I didn't want her to know how broken her mother was right now.

Home. The only place left in this world, the only address that still had a blood tie with me. Father's house. Anastasya. The door was always open because Father kept asking when I would come home and realize my foolishness.

I swallowed. It was difficult. Going back there didn't mean going back to heaven. That would be like returning to a lion's den, to another battlefield. Mami Lani was there, my stepmother, who had never been willing to see me happy, let alone have wealth. She would definitely be happy to see me ruined.

But, what do I care about her now? After Brian stabbed me from the front, I'm no longer afraid of being stabbed from anywhere.

"Brian Cellius, who do you think you are? You think you can just discard Alyssa Anastasya? You think you can take all my hard work and say it's your own sweat? I won't let you!"

My breath was ragged. My heart pounded, pumping adrenaline throughout my body. I wiped Luna's face.

"Mommy promises, darling," I whispered, the tears I had held back so fiercely finally escaped, flowing hot down my cheeks. "Mommy promises, you won't lack anything. Never."

I picked up my phone. My fingers trembled. The contact "Papa" was displayed on the screen. Honestly, I was scared. Scared Papa would be disappointed. Scared Papa would say, "Mommy told you so, didn't she? You were too stupid." But I had no choice. This was no longer about ego or pride. This was about Luna.

I pressed the call button. The phone rang. Each ring was one step away from the past, one step towards a new hell. I knew this would be difficult. More difficult than anything I had ever imagined. But I was ready. I had to be ready.

"Hello, Pa..." My voice was hoarse, but there was determination in it, sharp as a knife. "It's Ayna. I... I want to come home."

There was silence on the other end. A chilling silence that made my breath catch. I knew Papa's reaction would be mixed. But at least, he didn't hang up immediately. And that was enough. I gripped the phone.

"Share your location, I'll have Mr. Sam pick you up!" That one sentence almost made me sob. I had shared my location. It didn't take long before I was sitting in the car with Luna and my duffel bag in the back seat of my father's luxurious car.