Seeing her torturers after so long stirred up memories Anastasia wished she could forget. Memories of being beneath them, treated as nothing more than a disposable toy, stripped of any autonomy, freedom, or voice.


    But now, standing before them with a new identity and a newfound strength, in a situation that was worlds apart from where she had been just months ago, Anastasia couldn’t help but hum softly to herself. It was a quiet acknowledgment of how far she hade—and how far she intended to go.


    Xander and Samantha greeted the guests, or rather, the guests went to greet them. They were the stars of the event. Even though she hadn’t seen the main couple for this anniversary.


    Samantha suddenly felt a gaze on her. She’d thought it was just some greedy old man who wanted to get his hands on her, but the look was too intense to ignore.


    She scanned around the area and identally made eye contact with a woman she hadn’t seen before. She had hazel eyes, wearing a female business suit that fitted her body naturally well.


    This was the first time Samantha was seeing such a person, however, she had no idea why the person was looking at her so intently.


    As if the woman had read Samantha’s mind, she gave her a gentle smile that only spiked Samantha’s curiosity. However, she didn’t bother to interrogate because this was an important event, and only important people got invitations to it.


    Samantha ignored her to face other people.


    Anastasia had no idea what had just happened.


    For a second, she was ring into Samantha’s bare back—wishing she could just stab her and watch her die right there—when the green eyed woman had suddenly turned and made eye contact with her. Her brain had frozen, with no idea of what to do in the situation.


    It was the first time she was meeting Samantha since her knew identity, and she feared she would be figured out sooner than intended. However, Samantha didn’t do anything which only meant she didn’t suspect anything. Anastasia didn’t want to take any chances which was why she’d worn contact lense to conceal her real eye color.


    "That was close," she mumbled to herself.


    As if the eye contact she’d shared with Samantha hadn’t been enough, she saw Michelle walking through the entrance door in a ck gown with open slits at the bottom.


    Anastasia’s heart raced as she watched Michelle approach, her mind silently praying that she wouldn’t be recognized. She and Michelle had grown up together, and the thought of fooling her felt far more difficult than deceiving Samantha. As much as she hoped for the best, doubts crept in, making her question if this risky n was truly a good idea.


    Samantha’s expression instantly turned sour when she saw Michelle.


    Earlier, she hadn’t wanted Michelle toe along since she wasn’t supposed to know such business. However, Michelle had offered to get some clients by attracting them with her beauty which only made Samantha gag in disgust.


    Since that trick had actually worked in the past when Michelle was still new, Xander didn’t decline the idea.


    That action of his pricked her heart for a second, but she breathed in to get past the pain.


    "Look at all these people," Michelle started, standing by Samantha’s side with hands crossed around her chest. "I bet I can make them all do business with us in half an hour. You wanna bet?"


    "I’m not here topete with you, so just do whatever you’vee here to do," said Samantha. Without looking at Michelle, she could already see the grin stretching on thetter’s lips.


    "You’ve be boringtely. You don’t even pick fights with me anymore like you used to. What suddenly happened? You finally realized I’ve won?" Michelle asked, nudging Samantha a little on the shoulder, nodding at Xander’s direction. "Do you remember when Anastasia died and you told me Xander would get me sold? What now? Are you jealous that I’m still here and that I’ve won his heart instead?"


    Samantha took a deep breath, reminding herself not to be pushed into doing something she might regretter. She’d always wanted to strangle Michelle and throw her body in the dump for always talking to her however she liked.


    "I’m not jealous that you won his heart or whatever, but don’t be too proud of yourself, Michelle. I’ve known Xander longer than you have, so if you think you’ve won in your imaginary contest with me, then you need to snap back to reality."


    Michelle only chuckled, sighing at the end. "You’re right. I should think of anything I want to. Just like I’ve won his heart, I’ll also rece your position soon in this business."


    "Don’t get too ahead of yourself," Samantha said with a chuckle before excusing herself while Michelle red at her back.


    Unbeknownst to them, Anastasia had been watching their interaction all from the beginning.


    Just like she’d guessed when she’d been back at the house, those two had feelings for Xander and she was going to make use of that feeling to her own benefit.