Anastasia stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror in her room. She was all dressed up, ready to head to the city hall to retrieve her marriage certificate.
She stepped out of the mansion's gate to hail a cab that would take her to the city hall. Despite being the first daughter of the Harrison family, she had never been given a car of her own.
It was a daily frustration that she had to take a cab wherever she went, a reminder of how little regard her family had for her independence.
All of a sudden, Anastasia saw a car make a stop right where she stood.
"Hi, Ana. Are you also heading to the city hall? Want me to give you a ride?" Michelle, her younger sister asked her, sizing her up and down with a disgusted look as if she was a pest.
Anastasia was aware Michelle wasn't in fact 'offering' her a ride. She was mocking her since she didn't have a car of her own.
Their relationship had always been an unpleasant one. With Michelle being the favored daughter of the Harrison family, she always got what she wanted.
Even when Anastasia wanted it too, she would be forced to give it up for Michelle. It was the duties of the eldest daughter, they said.
"No, thanks," Anastasia responded.
"Whatever," Michelle snorted before she zoomed off, leaving a cloud of dust behind that made Anastasia cough.
In no time, Anastasia was able to find a cab.
Reaching the city hall, Anastasia found Michelle standing in front of a staff; it was the same staff that called Anastasia to come retrieve her marriage certificate.
It turned out they had registered to the same staff.
Anastasia wanted to turn back and leave to avoid another encounter with Michelle. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side.
The staff recognized Anastasia and quickly called her.
"Mrs. Wallace, I have your marriage certificate with me. Please come and get it," said the staff.
Instantly, Michelle turned back with a grin on her face when she saw Anastasia.
"Ana, come and take your marriage certificate," she urged her.
Anastasia read between the lines. She was mocking her for marrying the black sheep while she was married to the CEO of the Wallace enterprise.
Anastasia revealed a small smile that didn't reach her eyes, took the marriage certificate from the staff, and turned, about to leave, but Michelle stopped her.
"Come on, I want to see it. I want to see the useless man you will start calling your husband for the rest of your life," she urged, her eyes filled with mockery and her tone hushed, so that the staff wouldn't hear her.
"We can see it later," Anastasia replied, about to walk out but Michelle grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"Don't make me repeat myself," she threatened with a glare.
In a blink of an eye, Michelle's expression was back to normal, as if she hadn't just threatened Ana.
"Anastasia." Ana heard someone call her. She turned back to find Richard marching towards them.
When they had come to register, he had made it clear to her that he wasn't coming along with her to get the certificates.
'What is he doing here?' She wondered.
"Hi Michelle," he greeted her, while Michelle tried to hide the disgust in her face as she stared at him. She couldn't be any more glad that she was married to Xavier.
Turning to Anastasia, he suggested, "Let's go home and celebrate by having a little fun tonight." He winked at Anastasia with a sly grin on his lips as he chewed a piece of gum. He placed his hand on her waist, making her flinch.
Anastasia ignored him, pretending she didn't hear him speak. She gulped down her saliva, inhaled then exhaled, hoping it would calm her nerves.
"I'm talking to you," Richard nearly yelled at her when she gave him nothing but silence.
"You are hurting me," she managed to mumble, her eyes lowering, unable to make eye contact with him. His grip on her waist had tightened.
"Oh, so you can hear me? I thought you went deaf for a second," said Richard, licking his lips lustfully as he sized her up.
Tears pooled in Anastasia's eyes while her hands clenched on the envelope, the paper that clearly stated she was finally married to Richard, who was the black sheep of the Wallace family.
While her younger sister, Michelle was to marry her first son, Xavier, whom she had only seen once when he and his grandma came to their mansion to finalize a few things with her family.
She knew her whole world had shattered and there was no point in revival. She could have ran away, far away from these people, but she couldn't. Her father had already threatened her that if she did, he would demolish the NGO she owned.
The NGO was a place filled with happy children, a place she worked hard to build with her savings. The center had been spearheaded by her cousin who lived in constant fear of Anastasia's father. So, for the children's happiness, she had to sacrifice her freedom.
Michelle scoffed when she saw Anastasia tearing up.
"Richard, I've been asking Ana to show me the certificate, but she doesn't want to show me. But now that you are here, don't you want to see how handsome you look in it?" She asked him with a bright smile.
"I want to see how I look in the picture, not that I would be surprised by my looks since I've always been handsome. Show it to me, baby," Richard urged her.
'Fool,' Michelle thought to herself.
Anastasia didn't want to delay and make things harder for her. Her hands trembled as she ripped open the envelope that contained the marriage certificate. She could feel the weight of their gazes on her as she spread it open, her breath catching in her throat.
Her eyes fell on the photo attached and the certificate slipped from her grasp, fluttering on the floor. Her heart pounded wildly, her chest tight with a mix of disbelief and fear.
'That's not Richard, that's Xavier.'
Please check out—Fangs & Fur: A Forbidden Union :3
Michelle frowned when she saw Anastasia drop the certificate. She picked it up, her eyes widening in disbelief when she saw the photo attached. She looked at Anastasia, shock mirrored in their expressions.
"This is Xavier? How come you have Xavier's picture in your certificate?" Michelle questioned, glaring at Anastasia who was still frozen in shock as if she had a hand in it. Her voice attracted the attention of the people at the city hall.
Michelle didn't waste any time and quickly tore open her certificate. "What the—" she nearly cursed when she saw Richard's picture attached alongside hers on the certificate. "I'm married to Richard? What sort of a mistake is this?" She questioned no one in particular.
Richard was also baffled by the mix-up, but he didn't see it as a big deal. As long as he was married to one of them, he was okay with it.
Ruffling his hair, he said, "You two can go ahead and figure out how this happened. I have to meet up with my friends and have a drink." After that, he went his own way.
Michelle couldn't help but glare at his back.
Anastasia heard what Michelle said, and couldn't help but be even more shocked. The whole mix-up was completely unexpected.
Anastasia was internally hoping for a miracle from the heavens, but she never expected their spouses to be exchanged. She found herself married to Xavier, while Michelle was now married to Richard.
"What is this?!" Michelle's outburst brought her back from her thoughts as she compared the two certificates in her hands, as if her eyes were deceiving her.
Michelle gritted her teeth in anger. She went to the staff and showed her the certificates.
"What sort of joke is this? The man I came here with earlier was Xavier Wallace, and you got me married to Richard Wallace?!" She barked, veins popping on her neck out of frustration.
At first, the staff was wondering what Michelle could be whispering to Anastasia. But seeing the mix-up, she felt a cold sweat run down her back.
"You need to fix this!" Michelle ordered, her anger palpable. She had been daydreaming about how her wedding night with Xavier was going to feel like. But now that she wasn't married to Xavier as she'd expected, she felt a sudden urge to kill.
The staff nodded vehemently, rushing from her seat to find out what could have caused the mix-up.
Michelle turned to Anastasia. "I'm sure you are happy about this. You bribed the staff to swap the IDs, right? I know your ways, Anastasia. Mum and Dad are going to hear about this, and I will make sure they beat the truth out of you," she threatened, her teeth gnashing together while her fists clenched on the certificates.
Michelle had never imagined getting married to Richard, Xavier's younger brother. He never took his life seriously and never set a goal for himself. The only reason he seemed important was because he came from the Wallace family. She didn't want to be married to such a person. She deemed it to be an abomination.
"What are you saying, Michelle? How could I have bribed the staff? We came here at different hours to register, and there are many staff here as well," said Anastasia, hoping Michelle would believe her.
The staff came back, sweat already glistening on her forehead.
"I'm s-sorry, Mrs. Wallace. There w-was a fault with our system and it ended up swapping y-your IDs," the staff stuttered, afraid of her own life especially since Xavier Wallace was involved. She was internally hoping she wouldn't lose her job.
"Shut up! This is a city hall for crying out loud and you are telling me there was a fault with your system? Don't tell me lies. She," Michelle pointed at Anastasia. "She bribed you, didn't she?"
The staff glanced between Michelle and Anastasia, confused by Michelle's words. All she could do was shake her head. "No ma'am—"
The staff didn't get the chance to complete her sentence when Michelle stormed out of the city hall, dragging Anastasia along with her.
"Get in the car," she ordered when they reached outside. "We are going home and you are going to explain to Mom and Dad how this mistake happened," Michelle added, getting into the car.
Anastasia had no choice but to get into the car.
Michelle drove the car, heading to the Harrison mansion while calling Ana names now and then.
The latter kept quiet, awaiting her doom as soon as they got out of the car since Michelle had already texted their parents about the mix-up.
"You'd better confess now, else Dad is only going to beat you up to a pulp," she threatened nonstop.
They finally arrived at the mansion. Michelle stepped down from the car and dragged Anastasia inside.
Reaching the living room, Michelle pulled Anastasia with so much force that the latter fell on the ground—wincing in pain.
"So, you were so greedy to have what your sister wanted that you went to the extent of bribing the staff members at the city hall to have your photo exchanged with Michelle's, huh?" Amelia questioned, the intensity of her glare scaring the skeletons out of Anastasia. "I'm talking to you, can't you speak?" She demanded.
"What else can she say, mum? She has been caught red-handed so she has nothing to say," said Michelle.
"You are going to get a divorce from Xavier," their father, Robert declared, his expression also holding the same amount of disdain as the other two as he glared down at her.
Anastasia got up from the ground, and gulped down her saliva before she replied, "I don't want to divorce Xavier." She had no idea where that confidence came from, but she hoped it stayed longer.
With gritted teeth, Robert threatened, "In that case, I will lock you up. No food and water until you agree to divorce him."
Michelle grinned when she heard her father.
Robert dragged Anastasia even though she tried to stop him by pleading, but he didn't halt for a second. When they got to her room, he threw her in and locked it.
"Dad, please." Anastasia's voice could be heard from inside, but they all ignored her.
All of a sudden, Robert got a phone call. He picked up the call without looking at the caller, anger still evident in his expression.
"Who is it?" He demanded.
When he got the news over the phone, his expression went from surprised to sudden rage which made him grip his phone tightly in his hand.
"Who was that?" Amelia asked when she saw her husband's expression.
"It was the lawyer. He said the doctor attending to mother and father just contacted him, saying that both of them were dead. He also said that they had transferred all their properties to Anastasia," Robert forced the words out of his mouth.
Please check out—Fangs & Fur: A Forbidden Union :3