Chapter 371
As dinner time approached, Anastasia emerged from her room freshly showered and dressed, descending the stairs with Harrison at her side.
Marcus was already waiting in the dining room. The moment she stepped in, she felt his gaze fix on her-intense, almost distracted. Something about him seemed… off.
Anastasia hesitated, alert. “Marcus, are you alright?”
He opened his mouth, words on the tip of his tongue, but glanced at Harrison and swallowed them back. It’s nothing.”
The truth was, Marcus had spent the afternoon online, digging into that photograph…
But since he insisted he was fine, Anastasia let it go.
Meanwhile, across town at the Sterling household, chaos reigned.
“Penelope was on her knees, begging! What more do you want? She’s your daughter too-how can you be so heartless?” Nora’s voice cracked with anger and desperation.
Gabriel’s reply was ice-cold. “And you think kneeling fixes everything? Didn’t you hear Anastasia say she won’t forgive her? I don’t care what Penelope does-she needs to earn their forgiveness, that’s all that matters to me!”
The fight between Nora and Gabriel echoed through the grand house. On the sofa, Penelope sat clutching her swollen cheek, her face ashen as she listened to the father who’d once doted on her speak in that frigid tone.
She understood, in that moment she was finished. Gabriel was ready to cast her aside without hesitation.
Was this really the end? Was she supposed to accept her fate so easily?
Just as despair threatened to swallow her whole, her phone buzzed with a message.
[Benson Brennan: Penelope, I’m back. Coming to pick me up?]
Penelope’s grip tightened around her phone. A flicker of hope lit up her eyes.
No, it wasn’t over yet. She still had one card left to play.
Back at Rosewood Manor, Anastasia had just finished her meal when her phone rang. It was Juliet.
“Anastasia! My brother’s back!”
“What?” Anastasia was caught off guard.
“My brother-he finished filming and finally came home!” Juliet’s voice was a mix
of excitement and nerves. “I’m heading to the airport to meet him. Do you want to come with me?”
Juliet hesitated, remembering how much Anastasia had changed-how she’d become more like the cousin she remembered from childhood. Surely her brother wouldn’t dislike her now… would he?
Anastasia unconsciously tightened her grip on her phone, her lips parted, but the word “yes” just wouldn’t come out.
She knew exactly how much Benson resented her. Of everyone in her grandfather’s family, he’d always been the most hostile. He probably didn’t want to see her. Read complete versıon only at
She took a steadying breath. “Not today,” she said quietly.
She wanted to mend things with her family, truly. But now wasn’t the right time. She hadn’t proved herself yet; to them, she was still that ungrateful, useless girl who always sided with Nora and Penelope. They’d never accept her as she was.
If she forced herself into their lives now, she’d only end up hurting herself. “Oh, alright Juliet sounded disappointed.
After that call, Anastasia’s mood took a downturn. She threw herself into other tasks, determined to keep busy and hide her feelings from Harrison, not wanting to give him anything to worry about.
But later that night, her phone rang again—this time from an unknown number.
A man’s voice, cool and clear, echoed in her ear. It had been so long, yet she recognized it instantly. He rattled off an address, then barked, “Come. Now.”
Before she could reply, the call ended.
Anastasia stood frozen, the phone still pressed to her ear long after the line went dead. Even though it had been a lifetime since she’d last seen him, she’d never forget that voice.
Benson. Her cousin was back.