<spanng="EN">Analise’s POV


    <spanng="EN">“I don’t need congrattions, Tiffany. If memory serves, you’re still chasing my brother around trying to get his attention. Maybe you should take your own advice and stop stalking him. I happen to know he can’t stand you. Lucky for him, there’s no way you could force him to marry you. I know that makes both Seth and me very happy. You can stop pretending to be a good person, Tiffany. No one else is here. I know a fake bitch when I see one,” I replied coldly, stepping forward to leave. They stood just inside the doorway, holding the door open, but refusing to move.


    <spanng="EN">“How disgusting, Ana, going from man to man like that. Everyone should know what a shameful whore you are after this. How will you ever show your face again? You’re about to be totally humiliated by the Cooks,” Gretchen said. Her voice was much lower than Tiffany’s. She knew better than to let anyone besides Tiffany know her true colors.


    <spanng="EN">“I can show my face just fine, as we all know who the actual whores are in here. By the way, how’s that been working out for you? You two make an art form out of sleeping around, yet call me the whore. Well, thankfully, I don’t care what you two think of me. Your opinions don’t matter. You two are just desperate bullies who want what they can’t have. I’ve distanced myself for a decade, yet neither of you managed to catch the men you wanted so badly. Unlike you two, I don’t need a man in my life to make me feel important. I also don’t have to depend on my parents to support me. I can do that all by myself. But I really don’t me you for bleeding your parents dry. The only talent you two have is on your backs. Now, move out of my way, and let me out,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">“Oh, no, you’re not leaving. When will we get another chance like this? You cost us jobs at Fashion Forward, Ana. I don’t know why Gwen even listened to you, but I’ve been wanting to talk to you about it for quite a while now. You can’t go around ruining other people’s lives just because you feel like it,” Gretchen said with a smile that didn’t meet her eyes.


    <spanng="EN">Great, just what I wanted to deal with tonight. I didn’t need this, not until after I have the Cook family sorted.”


    <spanng="EN">I’ve seen your resume, Gretchen. An influencer is hardly what I would call you. You barely had five thousand followers at the time. The followers you do have are all men liking your scantily d body; it’s really just a thirst trap. You do know that acting important and being important are two totally different things. I didn’t want either of you trying to represent anything for Fashion Forward. We didn’t need to be embroiled in whatever scandal you two ended up in. I won’t tell you again. You two need to let me out of here. I can assure you that this is going to end badly,” I replied.


    <spanng="EN">Tiffany shoved me into the wall behind me. I grunted in pain, as it hurt, and I also wanted the assault noted. I thought she was smart enough to keep her hands off of me. I guess I was wrong. Despite my words, she still thinks that I’m the same pitiful girl I used to be. She’s made a huge mistake tonight. She’s going to realize that very soon. I’m positive she wants to threaten me, and I hope she does. I need her to say what she wants to say so very badly. She’s jealous of me; she can’t stand it. It’s been like this since we were children. It’s never been my fault, but Tiffany has always med me.


    <spanng="EN">“You’ve always thought you were so much better than us, but you’re not, Ana. You will never be anything more than a scared, pitiful bitch. You’re not worthy enough to marry my brother. You weren’t then, and you aren’t now. I see you’ve finally grown a backbone, but you’re still the same pathetic girl deep down inside. Don’t even think of marrying Holden. He’s going to marry Gretchen. Don’t forget what he said about you back then. I know you remember it clearly. He doesn’t like you. He’s just trying to keep the peace between our families. He could never be interested in someone like you,” Tiffany said.


    <spanng="EN">She mmed me against the wall again, before leaning forward to where our heads were almost touching. She lifted my chin with her fingers, gripping tightly. She forced me to look at her. I could tell I was going to have bruises on my face from how tightly she was holding me in ce.


    <spanng="EN">Gretchen was nervous and said, “Tiff, you know there are cameras here at Holden’s restaurant. Don’t hurt her. Even if she talks, who’s going to believe her? She has no proof of what happened at all. We never left marks on her that anyone could see. It will still be her word against ours, and I’m sure your family will believe us. You’re their daughter, why wouldn’t they?”


    <spanng="EN">“I don’t care what my mother wants, Ana. I will never allow you to marry Holden. Just marry that pitiful Roger guy, and move on. Our mothers will remain friends, and you’ll keep my name off your lips. You’ve yed the victim for long enough; what’s a couple more years? You’ve got my mother involved now. She was so worried about what happened to you that she’s never let it go. She brought it up just this morning. Just keep your mouth shut, Ana. You know the truth would break our families apart, so you had better be smart about what you do next. If you think what happened before was bad, just wait and see what we do to you next,” Tiffany said, before mming my head back into the wall as hard as she could.


    <spanng="EN">“Tiffany, what are you thinking. She’s hurt. How are you going to exin this? She came in fine, and we were the only ones who came in here after her. It’s all on camera. What are we going to do?” Gretchen asked.


    <spanng="EN">“I’m going to go into Holden’s office and delete it all now. He won’t know it was us. Plus, she said she was leaving. She won’t talk, or I’ll have one of my friends help us out, just like I did in high school. Ana’s smart, she knows better than to mess with me, don’t you, Ana? Keep your damn mouth shut, or I’ll hurt you again. If Seth finds out about this, and it keeps him from marrying me. I swear I’ll kill you, bitch,” Tiffany said before pressing her heel into the back of my hand on the floor.


    <spanng="EN">I saw stars, but I was too dizzy to get off the floor. They both left the bathroomughing. I can only me myself, as Charlie was right. I should have known thating back wouldn’t go smoothly. It’s been ten years, and those two are still as vicious as ever. If Seth or Holden intended to marry either of them, they would have by now. That’s not on me. They just wanted someone else to me, as they couldn’t ept that they weren’t wanted by the men they desired. They need to ept it as fact and move on. They didn’t have a chance with either one of them.


    <spanng="EN">I closed my eyes, but that didn’t help; I was even more dizzy. I put my hand on the back of my head and stilled as I felt something wet. I looked and saw a great deal of blood on my hand. Great, well, at least their consistent. Only leaving marks where no one can see them. I tried to stand again, but I couldn’t. Dizziness was overtaking me.


    <spanng="EN">I pulled my phone out and stopped the recording. I had added a recording button to my wallpaper background when I knew Roger had returned to the country. The recording feature can be started with just a touch. It kept the other party clueless that they were being recorded, which helped me a great deal in this case. I called the top number to have theme and get me.


    <spanng="EN">I heard footsteps in the hallway, and finally someone pushed the door open. They immediately took action, checking my eyes and looking for injuries. When they found the open wound on the back of my head, I couldn’t hold in the quick inhale of breath; it hurt.


    <spanng="EN">“Please take me to the hospital, but don’t let anyone see me,” I told them before I passed out.


    <spanng="EN">I woke up with a headache. I knew I was in the hospital before I opened my eyes, as I could smell the disinfectant. I heard the rustle of motion before the blinds were closed, which helped a lot. When I opened my eyes again, I saw Emily and Gwen in my room with me.


    <spanng="EN">“Water,” I asked. My throat was really dry. Gwen held the cup for me while I drank from the straw.


    <spanng="EN">“Thanks, what time is it?” I asked.


    <spanng="EN">“Three p.m., Charlie called mest night and told us what happened. He stayed with you for the first five hours, and then Drew took the next five. We arrived at eight so they could get some rest. Charlie said, and I quote, Do not let anyone know where Ana is, until we return. I know something is up, as your parents, Seth, and Holden have been blowing my phone up for hours. So what happened?” Gwen asked.


    <spanng="EN">“Tiffany mmed my head into a wall a couple of times before stepping on my hand. She thinks it’s over with. But I’m not going to let it go this time. Emily, can you go to my office and get myptop? I need to recover the footage she deleted. Once I get it, I’m going to call the police. After that, Charlie and Drew should be here, and we can let my family know that I’m in the hospital.”


    <spanng="EN">“You’re going to call the police?” Emily asked. I could tell that she was not expecting me to do that.


    <spanng="EN">“I am. Is my phone here?” I asked them. I need to make sure that I save my recording. It will help my case even more.


    <spanng="EN">“It’s right here,” Gwen said, handing it over.


    <spanng="EN">I pressed y and listened to make sure that it was still intact. Thankfully, it was all there. That, plus the video from the restaurant, should be enough evidence to have her arrested. Gwen and Emily were shocked. Tiffany has always prided herself on being sodylike. They just haven’t even seen the real Tiffany. The one who isn’t ady. The one who has others do her dirty work for her.


    <spanng="EN">“Do you need anything else? PJ’s? Or a nightgown? Never mind, I’ll figure it out. I will be back in less than thirty minutes,” Emily told me.


    <spanng="EN">“We will stand behind you. I’m so sorry it happened. I can’t believe that Tiffany was willing to do this to you. What in the hell was she thinking? Has she lost her mind?” Gwen asked.


    <spanng="EN">“I had finally agreed to talk to my family about what happened. Tiffany was scared and couldn’t allow that to happen. She just doesn’t realize that her actionsst night proved her guilt. I have proof of everything. Once I’m able to get the video back, people will know who she really is,” I answered.