Desires Die Hard novel (Anya and Evan)

Chapter 19 "You're mistaken, Mr. Welton.” Anya forced down the waves of humiliation and unease that she felt in the face of Evan's blunt words and straightened her back. “It was an accident. I didn't do it on purpose.” Evan scoffed. An accident? He didn't believe a single word she had just said. His eyes darkened. His voice was husky and edged with a hint of intimidation. “Ms. MacMillan, I hope you remember what I told you. I don’t enjoy repeating myself.” What was he talking about? Anya would be so happy if she didn't have to see him again. She was trying to stay away from the man. She wouldn't try and make her life difficult by appearing before the devil himself time and again. She treasured her life and her job. Anya bit her lips. She didn't want to have to explain herself again. Evan wasn’t going to change his opinions of her. There was no point in her trying to salvage her reputation. He wasn't going to believe a single word she said. She took a deep breath. She was going to do her job. Her voice shook slightly as she tried to inject a dose of sincerity in it. “Mr. Welton, Jake told me to deliver you our plans for the latter half of the year. I've done exactly that. Can I go now?” Evan felt an urge to keep Anya in his office. He probably thought she had set him up. After a year had passed, she had somehow found a job in his building. She must have something planned. Perhaps this was simply another one of her tricks. She was trying to reel him in by feigning disinterest. "You can go after I am done reading the proposal,” Evan said before withdrawing his eyes from Anya. He grabbed the file he had flung onto his desk moments ago and started reading it carefully. Anya stood quietly in front of Evan's desk, pain gradually swelling in her breasts. She had to get that milk out of her breasts. If she didn't do it right now, her breasts were going to explode. Anya struggled under the agonizing pain of her swelling breasts. It was akin to having two huge boulders hanging from her neck. She dug her nails into her palms. Tiny red crescents appeared on her skin while tiny spikes of pain hit her. The pain was a distraction from the agonizing swelling of her breasts. But it was a short-lived distraction. The swelling in her breasts grew. Beads of cold sweat began to appear on Anya's forehead as the agony took its toll on her. She dared not excuse herself and rush back to her desk. All she could do was bear the pain in silence. By the end Evan was done with the proposal, Anya's forehead was damp with cold sweat. Her eyes were rimmed with redness. Her nails had sunk deep into her palm and drawn blood. “Is this what you call a proposal?” Evan flipped the file shut and looked

1. up. That was when he realized something was wrong with Anya. Her forehead glistened with perspiration. Her eyes were red. She looked like a victim of bullying who was suffering in silence. Evan frowned immediately. He eyed the wet patches on her blouse before finally speaking in a frosty voice. “Ms. MacMillan, look at you right now. What are you trying to say? That I'm the bully here?” Anya bit her lips and glared at the man. She wanted to tell him “yes’. Yes, he was. In fact, she had been the victim all along. Since that night one year ago, she had been victimized for no good reason. And he had bitten her 1/2 head off for it. Then repeatedly accused her for setting him up. He was convinced that her turning up in his office had been another one of her ploys to seduce him. As punishment, he told her to stand there and wait while he reads through the proposal. Anya wished she could scream at the man and tell him how much she had suffered. But she couldn't. She wasn't allowed that. Not when she still had Sydney and her stepmother to deal with, she didn't want to deal with another enemy. She didn’t want to add on to her problems. She simply choked back her sufferings and shoved everything into a box. She spoke in a quiet voice devoid of anger. “Of course not, Mr. Welton. You're mistaken.” After a moment, Anya took a deep breath and continued. “Mr. Welton, it appears that you have some comments about the plan that we've prepared. If you'd let me have them, I will pass them on to my managing director.” Evan eyed Anya. Without any warning, he rose to his feet.