Chapter 73: Brunch
William rose from the bed and looked down at the sleeping Anna. The same woman who had writhed with restless passion just hours ago now lay still and serene, her breathing soft, her expression peaceful—so much so, it was hard to believe she was the same person.
Moving quietly, he leaned in and gently brushed his hand through her hair, fingers gliding over the silken waves of her loose curls. They felt warm and soothing against his skin, like something delicate he didn’t dare disturb.
The sensation stirred something strange in him.
When he had first seen Anna again after all those years, he’d felt nothing but pity for her.
It struck him as pathetic—how a woman once so radiant, driven, and full of compassion had allowed herself to crumble into a hollow version of who she used to be, all because of her blind devotion to a man like Robert Hyde.
He had thought it a shame—how she’d lost her spark, her ambition, nearly even her life. And although it felt like a personal betrayal to see her so diminished, somehow, he still couldn’t bring himself to walk away.
Anna was hopeless, helpless—while he was someone who could offer her both hope and help. And in return, he wanted only one thing—her everything.
Even if it was just a rekindled obsession born from a decade-old infatuation, he didn’t care. He wanted to feed that fire, to stoke it back into an inferno. If he could help her reclaim all she had lost, then maybe—just maybe—he could bring back the Anna he once knew.
And that Anna, the one overflowing with love, would be his. Entirely. Irrevocably. Forever.