The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

The Next Day

Herman was gone. He'd actually left for Willowbrook by himself-not even Nelson or Dailey went with him.

Anastasia drove him to the airport. She watched him go through security, standing there as his figure faded into the crowd, swallowed up by the sea of travelers. It felt like losing him all over again.

She stood there for ages, lost in her thoughts, until Salma called-Emmie had choked on her milk. Anastasia snapped out of her daze and rushed home, her heart pounding.

The nanny had been careless, and Emmie ended up choking. By the time Anastasia arrived, Katelyn was already there, holding a now-okay Emmie while giving the nanny a piece of her mind and firing her on the spot.

Emmie was fine, but the poor nanny was beside herself, apologizing nonstop. "Ma'am, I'm so sorry. It was my mistake. I promise it won't happen again. Please, don't fire me. I really need this job."

Katelyn wasn't having any of it. "You let my granddaughter choke! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? What if something worse had happened? I'll give you an extra month's pay, but that's it. Pack up and go."

Blushing and flustered, the nanny gathered her things and left.

Katelyn kept muttering under her breath. "Honestly, I pay her twice the going rate and this is what I get? So careless, so irresponsible. You can't be sloppy when it comes to kids."

"Mom, I'll take her," Anastasia said, taking Emmie gently into her arms. Emmie, still so little, just looked around with wide, curious eyes, blissfully unaware of the chaos.

Salma didn't say a word-she wasn't the one paying the nanny, after all, and since this was the Salstrom family's granddaughter, Katelyn had every right to handle it as she saw fit.

Upstairs, Liana was patiently teaching Pattie English. Teaching a language is tough when the kid won't I up, and Liana was new sure how much Pattie was really learning. She did her best, but for now, it was mostly textbook stuff, not much actual conversation.

Liana heard the commotion downstairs but kept to her role. She was the tutor, not part of the family drama.

After the lesson, Pattie gestured shyly. "Ms. Liana, can I go play with my brother and sister for a bit?"

"Of course, you can have a twenty-minute break. Next up, we'll go over some classic poetry," Liana replied with a smile.

Pattie nodded and scampered downstairs.

Anastasia was sitting on the couch, playing with Emmie, when Katelyn turned to her, clearly stressed. "Why did Herman go to Willowbrook? Ana, why didn't you stop him? What if that fox Sandy lures him away again? Herman doesn't even remember how much he loved you!"

Anastasia was worried about that too, but she kept quiet.

Salma, noticing Anastasia's troubled expression, stepped in to comfort her. “Katelyn, he wouldn't. He's got three kids now—he's not going to mess things up. He's not that foolish."

She was really saying it for Anastasia's sake, hoping to ease her worries.

Katelyn still looked uneasy. "Did he say anything before he left?"

"He said he'd be back in about three days," Anastasia answered softly. "Mom, let him go. He'll come back."noveldrama

She was sure Herman would return. What she couldn't be sure of was whether his heart would ever belong to her alone again.

Willowbrook

Ever since coming back to Willowbrook, Sandy had been on edge. She was afraid Herman would come looking for payback, or that Anastasia would show up demanding answers.

But days had passed, and nothing happened.

Feeling a bit more at ease, she finally went back to work.

Sean, after being poisoned, was still in bad shape at home, barely able to get out

of bed. Ashley kept urging him to go to the hospital, but he flat-out refused.

No matter how much Ashley pressed, Sean and Sandy wouldn't say a word about what really happened in Riverdale.

Tavon Morton, after hearing about the mess in Riverdale, called Salma and learned that Sandy had hidden someone away. He was furious, As soon as he found out Sandy was at the office, he went straight to Morton Group.

He stormed into Sandy's office, letting loose "Sandy, have you lost your mind? Why would you hide your own brother-in-law? I thought that guy at Villa Floradale was Ashley's side piece, but it was Herman-and you were hiding him! Are you trying to steal your sister's man?"

It finally hit Tavon that he hadn't been cheated on after all. That was a relief, but

thinking about Sandy's scheme made his blood boil all over again.

Sandy didn't back down, meeting his glare with a calm voice. "Dad, everything did was for Morton Group. If Herman could build Elysian Technologies from nothing, he can help us turn Morton into the next Elysian. Since he started giving us advice, you've seen the profits. You can't deny it."

It sounded shameless, but Tavon couldn't argue. As much as he hated to admit it,

she had a point.