The Heir's Redemption

Chapter four

Chris felt frustrated. He hadn't drunk in a while but he needed the alcohol to help calm his nerves. He needed to be high on something. He needed nerves, lots of nerves to be able to face his family again. The whole event of the evening had destabilized him.

The fact that Anna had left him just that evening and was already in the arms of another man was enough to drive anyone crazy. To make it worse, Carter had spoken to him rudely and condescendingly, yet Anna had stood there watching him, defending him, saying nothing. 

It made him annoyed to the point of voluntary stalemate. His head fell into his hands. 

What was wrong with me? He shouldn't care what Anna did with her life. She had left him, just on the verge of his breakthrough. She was his first love, but he wouldn't go pining after a woman who wasn't patient enough. A woman who didn't value the sacrifices he made for her. Especially now that there was so much at stake.

He needed to pull himself together and focus on the future, his family, and his inheritance - and to do that, he needed to forget Anna and everything they had. 

And to do that, he needed time and he was running out of it.

You're a Robinson. The world is at your feet... A voice whispered to him.

He lifted his gaze and froze. Anna was approaching. How had she found him? And what did she want anyway? To continue with the humiliation? 

He wanted to stand up and leave but he decided to stay. He didn't want to run away. 

She walked towards him and was quiet. Neither of them said a word to the other. She opened her mouth to speak, but it seemed as though the words were stuck in her throat. He looked up at her and she spoke, “I-I came here to speak to you.”

He didn't even bother to look at her."Go on."

Her voice was filled with suspicion and irritation.  

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her tone sharp. "Why did you come here? Did you follow me here? Do you even work here?"

He raised his bottle of whiskey to his lips and took a long sip. "Which question do you want me to answer first?"

"Why are you here? I thought you worked here." She replied impatiently, folding her hands on her chest. 

"Work? You're asking if I work here?" He asked bitterly.

"Answer me then? Why are you here?"

" What kind of job do you think is suitable for me here? Huh?"

"I don't know. Last time I checked... You didn't have a job."

Chris was hurt. He remembered how he was laid off from his job a few months back because he was rude to his boss. He wasn't exactly rude. He only didn't agree to lick his ass the way other workers did to gain his favor. He had too much pride to grovel at the feet of another man. Not that he was being paid much. He was being paid peanuts.

Anna's irritation was apparent as she continued, "You've always been like this, doing nothing, waiting on me to provide for you."

Chris felt frustrated. He wanted to shake some sense into her and tell her he was Robinson and he had one of the leading companies in the state.

"That's not fair, Anna," he retorted. "You know it's not that simple. I have my path, my own goals."

Anna's exasperation grew. "Your path? Your goals? All I ever saw was indecision and excuses," she shot back.

Chris's frustration was growing and he couldn't help but sneer, tired of having to defend himself. It seemed like she never believed in him. Maybe she never had.

"Anna," he said with a hint of bitterness, "You've never believed in me once, and I'm tired of explaining myself. Believe whatever you wish. What I do and where I work shouldn't be your concern anymore since we're going through our divorce process right."

Anna's brow furrowed. "It's not about belief, Chris. It's about your actions."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Actions? Are we going down this road again? What about my actions? All I've ever done is love you and believe in you and your dreams. I helped support your dreams."

Anna's voice hardened. "You're avoiding the question, Chris. Are you working here or not? You know what, Chris? Maybe you should take a step back and study how I work. Or how Carter works. Watch how smart and industrious he is. Even though his father started the company, Carter has built it up to the level it is right now. And he didn't need to have millions to achieve that."

Anger surged through him at the reminder of all the ways she was making things difficult for him, so he looked away, unmoved. “Is that why you left me? Really?” he peeked at her to gauge her expression.

Anna's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such a response. "What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice tinged with confusion.

Chris leaned forward, his tone dripping with irony. "Oh, I just thought that's what you do, right? Study and analyze people's financial worth, decide if they're worthy of your approval."

Anna was taken aback. "What does that mean?" she asked.

A bitter smile played on Chris's lips. "Isn't that why you divorced me?" he quipped. "To be with someone more successful. To be with a provider."

"I married you because I was in love with you and I believed in you. You had so many dreams, but that was all it was. Dreams! You didn't do anything to achieve your dreams!"

Chris couldn't help but laugh bitterly at her words, "You see, Anna, you changed. You grew resentment probably from what you see your colleagues getting from their marriages or because you met several wealthier men. You never really knew me, and you never bothered to understand me. You were so quick to judge and criticize. You never believed in my dreams, my aspirations. It's no wonder we couldn't make it work."

Chris continued, "We could have had something beautiful, Anna, but your lack of faith in me destroyed it piece by piece."

"That's so not true! I was patient. I wanted you to do your things, to go after your dreams. But it seemed as if you wanted me to be the man in the marriage. But I did love you!"

"Love? Did you love me? You have no idea what love is. You stopped loving me a long time ago. You claim to love me yet stood there when Carter humiliated me? You didn't do anything to stop him. All you did was just stand there and defend him!"

"Whatever Carter said wasn't my doing. You could have confronted him or better still, accepted his offer to help you. But what did you do? You expect me to fight for you? That's my whole point. You want me to be the man! How can you rely on a woman to defend you?"

She just didn't want to see beyond what she saw now and he was hurt. She believed he wasn't a real man? His company was two times bigger than Carter's. All he wanted was real true love. He didn't tell her about his family and wealth initially and she loved him that way. He thought he had found the best woman.  But she had betrayed him at a low point in his life.