<spanng="EN">Analise’s POV


    <spanng="EN">I slept in, but received very little sleep. Apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment. I purchased a vi for us to live in as a married couple. I had ced discrete cameras in the main living areas of the home. They covered the main entrance, the living room, the stairwell, and all the hallways upstairs. I had purchased several valuable paintings and sculptures that I wanted to protect. I tried to make the perfect home for Roger and me to live in. I shook my head at my ignorance.


    <spanng="EN">I hadn’t mentioned the cameras to Roger. I never thought it would be a problem, but it worked out for me in the long run. It took forever to assure Gwen and Emily that I would be fine. I just needed time. The thing is, I know Roger. The video that Holden sent was damning, but a good attorney could twist anything around. I knew I needed more proof of what he had done. I knew that once Roger realized who I was. He was going to ditch Sasha and insist we get married.


    <spanng="EN">That’s never going to happen, as I’ll never be able to trust him again. I logged into the surveince system after I went to my room for the night. The cameras highlighted motion, so I checked those videos. I wish I’d asked Gwen to do it for me now. But she didn’t know how, so I had to bite the bullet.


    <spanng="EN">I had trusted him because I loved him. I felt he was a trustworthy person. I was sure he wouldn’t be unfaithful. He knew I was the sole reason for his sess. For that reason alone, I never thought he would try to cut me out of ourpany. He knew that I was the glue that held it together. Roger had be emboldened by Sasha and his family, encouraging him. He was starting to believe his own lies. I’m fine with it. I know the higher he flies, the harder the fall will be.


    <spanng="EN">I had my own condo, and although I had invited him over to see it, he had never visited. His excuse, “I don’t want to see it, Elizabeth. What if I like it more than our new home, and can’t bear for you to sell it?”


    <spanng="EN">I’d personally designed every aspect of our home. But I didn’t want to live there until I was officially thedy of the house. So, I hadn’t been nning on moving in until after the wedding. We saw each other every day at work. He knew I was incredibly busy these days. We would see each other for dinner three times a week, or when we went to an event towork for thepany. Thepany was growing very quickly now. I guess that led to Roger getting even more cocky about it. He honestly thought he could kick me out of ourpany.


    <spanng="EN">Between running twopanies and nning for the wedding, I waspletely swamped. I admit I’d dropped the ball. It’s my fault for believing that he could be trusted. I learned a long time ago not to fall for sweet words or let my emotions get the best of me. After seeing the video, I know that Roger is a disgusting excuse for a human being. I went back over the videos to see when Roger brought her into our home. My heart broke all over again seeing him carry her over the threshold, nine weeks ago. She’s been living there, with him, in our home, this whole time.


    <spanng="EN">I saved video after video of them together. I felt sick seeing just how bold Roger had been. I hoped that he was just trying to save face in front of Sasha and his friends. That he hadn’t meant what he said. My heart waspletely broken knowing that he had had sex with her. His im that she was pregnant with his child could be valid. I made sure to save the videos of them having sex in the living room, on the expensive couch that I had paid a great deal of money to purchase.


    <spanng="EN">All the thoughtful preparation that I put into our home was taken by Roger and Sasha. I noticed that when I watched as his entire family came over to tour our home. They were thrilled and congratted him on buying valuable property. He never corrected them and let them believe he made the purchase and decorated it with Sasha, I was seeing just how despicable he could be. His duplicity knew no bounds. The worst part was hearing the conversation in the living room after they had toured the house. Of course, it was Joyce who started the conversation.


    <spanng="EN">“Roger, you need to marry Sasha as soon as possible. She is carrying your child. The heir to yourpany. You don’t have much time, so you need to act now. I’ve given it some thought, and I know how to deal with Elizabeth. She isn’t worthy enough to carry your child or bear our name. She’s just a lowly designer. I still don’t know why you agreed to marry her. You need to marry Sasha, she deserves the title of the mother of your child. I will figure out how to keep your wedding to Elizabeth from bing official. We also need to figure out a way to ease her out of thepany. She would do anything for you, son. Who knows, maybe she’ll agree to be your mistress and continue to work for you. But you can’t keep letting her boss you around; she’s nothing without you. You’re the boss, not Elizabeth,” Joyce had stated with assurance.


    <spanng="EN">I guess she believed everything Roger told her. I almost wished I could see her face when she found out that the woman she wanted to drive away had made all his sess possible. Just knowing how badly she would take it brought me a sense of joy. I heard his father, Scott, bring up wanting to buy some stock in thepany. Roger didn’t reply to Scott, he just smiled at him. Scott had let it drop, but I knew Scott wasn’t going to let it go. He had refused to help Roger when he was first starting out. I was the one who took that leap of faith with him. Roger was still mad at his father over theck of support. He doesn’t want his father getting dividends from ourpany. Too bad for him that it’s out of his hands now.


    <spanng="EN">I saved all of the videos in a hidden file on myptop. It was about three hours‘ worth total, but that was plenty of proof. I sent two of the videos to my phone. I’m not going to coddle Roger anymore. It’s time for him grow up. I grabbed a shower and put on somefortable clothes. When I stepped out of my room, I saw a note on my ind from Gwen. They had to leave, but promised to return tonight if I needed them.


    <spanng="EN">I sent a message to our group text telling them that, as much as I loved them for the offer, I was good, I was about to make some coffee when my phone rang, I knew it was my mother from my ringtone. I answered quickly, thinking that they were worried about me this morning.


    <spanng="EN">“Hey, Mom, I’m fine. I’m just going to take it easy today and get ready to put my ns in motion,” I told her. I didn’t want to prolong this.


    <spanng="EN">“Your father and I want you toe for lunch, honey. We wanted to talk to you,” she immediately replied.


    <spanng="EN">I looked around my kitchen. I needed to go shopping, and I wasn’t going to do that on an empty stomach. Every time that happened, my eyes were always bigger than my stomach, and things went bad before I could get to them. I was d I hadn’t made my coffee yet. I’ll just grab some on my way to their house. This might work out better for me.


    <spanng="EN">“Ok, I will be there soon,” I advised before dropping the call.


    <spanng="EN">I got in my car and made a sudden decision. I have been driving a seven–year–old car to avoid unting my wealth. No need to do that anymore. I’m going to go get my dream car this week. The lesson I learned from all of this is to stop waiting for the perfect time. I had a perfume that I adored, but it was expensive, so to save it, I only wore it on special asions. As far as I’m concerned, every day is special now. I’m not going to minimize who I am anymore.


    <spanng="EN">I got my coffee and pulled up at my parents‘ house three minutes to noon. I saw Seth’s car parked right in front of the stairs, like he owns the ce. He always does that, as it’s convenient for him, and no one calls him on it. I just walked around his car and headed up the steps. It wasn’t that big of a deal. He doesn’t think of it being an inconvenience to others. He just likes to enter and exit quickly. I know now why they called me over. They had probably called Seth about what happened, and he is outraged on my behalf.


    <spanng="EN">I didn’t bother knocking; my parents always tell us to juste in. I was taking a sip of my coffee when I heard my brother’s voice. The coffee no longer made me happy anymore at hearing him say, “Ana will just have to get over it. The invitations have already been sent out. A wedding has to be held.”


    <spanng="EN">I was turning to leave when our butler, Aubrey Colins, walked into the entryway and saw me. “Wee, Miss Analise. They’re waiting for you in the dining room.”


    <spanng="EN">I was still facing the front door, debating if I wanted to make a run for it, when I heard someone heading in my direction. I smelled Seth’s cologne right before he enveloped me in a hug. I loved my brother, but I didn’t need him trying to insert himself into this situation. I will deal with the blowback myself.


    <spanng="EN">“I know you want to leave, Ana, but we need to discuss this first,” Seth told me.


    <spanng="EN">“There is nothing left to discuss, Seth. I know what I’m about to do. I’m going to be cancelling everything this week. I know it’s toote to get my money back. But I’m having the food delivered to a homeless shelter, so it doesn’t go to waste. I already know what I’m going to do. I love that you want to help, but insisting that I still get married to Roger when he’s already married isn’t going to happen,” I replied


    <spanng="EN">“Analise, pleasee into the dining room. We do need to talk,” my father’s voice called over to us.


    <spanng="EN">“Fine, I’ll stay to listen to what you want to say, until I’ve finished my meal. You have ten minutes, Seth,” I replied as we walked to the dining room.


    <spanng="EN">I knew that Seth was the one pushing this forward. Our parents were on my side justst night. I don’t know how he managed to change their minds, but I no longer have a groom. There isn’t anyone I’m willing to marry. I won’t be forced into it, no matter what they say.


    <spanng="EN">I stepped into the dining room and saw an unexpected visitor sitting at the table across from Mom and next to Dad. I just managed to keep myself from asking what the hell he was doing here when he spoke.


    <spanng="EN">“Hello, Analise,” Holden’s deep voice rang out.