Chapter 37: Chasing what’s mine
The next morning, Daniel left for work as usual.
Meanwhile, Anna dressed carefully for her audition, nerves chewing at her stomach despite hours of practice the night before.
’You can do it, Anna,’ she reminded herself silently, forcing her feet to move as she descended the staircase.But then her eyes caught sight of someone at the end of the hall.
Kira.
Anna stopped, her lips curling into the faintest smirk. "I hope you cleaned my room nicely," she said, her tone dripping with deliberate sweetness.
Kira’s face stiffened. The polite mask stayed, but her eyes betrayed the flash of irritation that darted through them.
Anna knew she’d struck a nerve. She didn’t care. The girl had lied to her face about Daniel’s room; a little jab was the least she deserved.
Without waiting for a reply, Anna swept out of the mansion.
Kira’s nails dug into her palms as she forced a smile until Anna’s figure disappeared from view. The moment she was gone, her polite expression shattered.
"You bitch," Kira hissed under her breath. "Mock me all you want—I’ll make you pay."
Her steps quickened, her chest heaving with restrained rage. She had been careful, subtle, clever enough to play the innocent niece, yet Anna had seen through her and humiliated her.
But what ate at her more than Anna’s mockery was something else entirely.
Daniel.
Her eyes softened briefly at the thought of him, only to darken again when she remembered. He hadn’t believed her. He had dismissed her from his room as if she were nothing but a nuisance.
’He doesn’t see her for what she truly is,’ Kira seethed. ’He doesn’t believe me. Not yet.’
Her resolve hardened. She would find proof. She would make Daniel see.
Storming upstairs, she pushed open the door to Anna’s room and froze.
The space was a deliberate mess—clothes tossed about, papers scattered, drawers half-open. It was obvious. Too obvious.
Her jaw tightened. "So that’s your game... You’re trying to humiliate me."
Kira inhaled sharply, then began picking things up with stiff movements, determined not to give Anna the satisfaction of victory.
But then her gaze snagged on something resting carelessly on the side table.
A card.
She reached for it, her brows knitting as her eyes scanned the printed name.
"Mr. Wilsmith..." she whispered. Then her eyes widened, her pulse quickening.
It wasn’t just any Wilsmith. It was the Wilsmith—the renowned director.
Her grip on the card tightened until her knuckles turned white.
"So... this is who you’ve been sneaking off to meet."
Kira’s lips curled into a slow, venomous smile.
"Well, Madam Anna Clafford... let’s see how long you can hide this from Master Daniel." she muttered and quickly shoved the card in her pocket before resuming her work.
***
Meanwhile, inside the meeting room, Daniel’s eyes appeared to be fixed on the glowing white screen at the front. Graphs and figures flickered, executives droned on, but his mind was far away.
On Anna.
The thought alone made his focus slip, and unbidden, another memory resurfaced—Wilsmith’s words.
"She questioned me. Asked why her, why now."
Daniel’s lips curved, the faintest spark of amusement glinting in his otherwise stoic eyes. That boldness... that refusal to simply accept what was handed to her... It was so like Anna. Reckless. Defiant. And yet—refreshingly genuine.
He never imagined she’d confront Wilsmith directly, but she had. And what struck him more was not her suspicion, but her eagerness. She didn’t want an easy path. She wanted to prove herself. To work for it.
That... impressed him.
It was a new piece of her he hadn’t known before, another fragment that deepened the puzzle that was Anna Clafford.
"Boss, do you like the presentation?" Henry whispered cautiously from his side.
Daniel turned his head sharply, the small smile still lingering, only for it to freeze mid-expression when he realized Henry’s eyes were on him.
He hadn’t even noticed. He had been smiling—smiling—throughout the entire presentation.
The air chilled instantly.
Henry straightened, his throat bobbing nervously. "O-Or maybe not?"
Daniel’s smile vanished, his usual impassive mask sliding back into place as if it had never cracked.
But then, suddenly, Daniel’s phone buzzed against the desk, the vibration cutting through the monotony of the meeting.
Without a second thought, he reached for it, ignoring the curious glance Henry cast from the side. Unlocking the screen, he opened the new message—
A video.
The moment he hit play, his entire body went still.
His eyes locked onto the screen, and for the first time that morning, Daniel’s sharp composure fractured. The images playing before him stole every thought from his mind, freezing him in place as if the air had been sucked out of the room.
***
Anna reached the location on time, her heart steadying with every step. Guided through the bustling corridors, she was finally led into the rehearsal room—only to halt at the sight before her.
It wasn’t just her and Wilsmith. The room buzzed with people, each clutching a script, each radiating the same hungry ambition that gnawed at her. The air was thick with tension, as though everyone was silently sizing up the competition.
But what made Anna’s pulse spike wasn’t the crowd.
It was him.
Ethan.
Seated casually in a chair, script in hand, his brows drawn in quiet focus. The fluorescent lights carved sharper edges into his already striking features, his presence magnetic enough to silence the chatter around him.
Anna’s chest tightened. His visit to Wilsmith’s office yesterday wasn’t a coincidence. He was here—auditioning, rehearsing, untouchable. And with that realization, the nervousness she had fought so hard to bury surged back with merciless force.
Her throat ran dry. She dragged her gaze away, forcing herself to inhale. She couldn’t afford to falter now—not when this moment meant everything.
"God, don’t tell me Ethan Helmsworth is actually auditioning with us," a girl whispered breathlessly nearby.
"No way. Imagine if I get selected and get to act with him! I should’ve worn something better," another replied, already fussing with her hair.
Anna rolled her eyes. Of course. Ethan had always been the kind of man who made women swoon without lifting a finger. She once wasn’t so different. But not anymore.
She pushed their silly chatter aside and lowered her eyes to the script in her hand, murmuring her lines under her breath—until a voice rang out.
"Anna?"
The name, spoken in a lilting tone dipped in fake sugar, snapped her head up.
Her lips twitched. Of course.
Fiona Garfield.
The ever-radiant beauty. The industry’s golden child. And once upon a time—a face she had trusted, called friend.
Now, the very sight of her sent Anna’s stomach twisting.
Fiona’s eyes widened in practiced surprise, her lips curving in a smile so glossy it gleamed under the lights. "Well, what a surprise," she crooned. "What are you doing here?" Each word dripped with disbelief, a thin veil over her condescension.
Anna’s pulse steadied. Her jaw tightened, her spine straightened, and her gaze locked with Fiona’s perfectly polished one.
Her lips curved into a faint, deliberate smile. "Same as you, I suppose," she said coolly. "Chasing what’s mine."