Chapter 4: A home

The car dropped Daniel off at his mansion. He had not been home here in three years since he got married. His parents used to live here with him and with the addition of Anya, he just stopped coming home. Only when his parents moved back to their home did he start going there to visit them. The house was as he remembered it. The butler saw him enter and immediately welcomed him, visibly shocked that he was there. “Get lunch ready. So don't worry about putting anything out for Anya, she will be late, it seems,” Daniel ordered as he was going up the stairs. He could guess that before Anya found her way back home, it would be deep in the night. “The madam is coming back too?” The butler asked and Daniel paused. Something about the way he said it did not sit right with him. “Why are you shocked, doesn’t she come back regularly?” Daniel asked. “Madam has not been back in about three years,” the butler said and Daniel paused. She never came home? Where has she lived for three years? He frowned deeply. She was a college drop out. She had no skills. Out there alone with her mother who used to be an Escort. Daniel frowned at this thought. No matter what, she was still his wife. The thought that she had been living out there, probably shaming him made his blood boil. He picked up his phone to search for her number. After searching for a while, he realized that he had not saved her number in his phone. Growing, he sent a message to his secretary to forward her number to him. After a while, he got her number and dialed it. On the other side of town, Anya had just gotten home. She did not live in an ideal part of town, but was lucky to have never faced much issues here. From her experience, it was relatively safe. The most extreme danger she had found herself in was being abducted because of her own husband. When Anya recalled this, she trembled and hurried towards her house faster even though it was still day time. She opened the door to her small apartment and entered before shutting it. Her phone suddenly started ringing. When she took it out and saw the number on the screen, she could not help being shocked. Daniel? He had never called her before. “Mr. Shaw?” Anaya asked in shock. “Where are you?” Daniel asked. Anaya was even more shocked. It was really him, and not his secretary. “At home,” Anya answered. “What home? I have been told, you have not been at the mansion for three years. So, what home?” Daniel seemed to say through his teeth. “Is there a problem?” Anya asked in confusion. Why did he call her suddenly in anger? “I don’t care what unspeakable things you have been doing out there all this time. I want to remind you that you are still my wife. Do not do anything that will shame my family and my company!” he warned. His cold words slammed into her making it hard for Anya to breathe. Her nails dug into her palm as anger filled her. “Mr Shaw, Since neither you or your family welcome me, I have stayed away. I don’t understand, what is the problem?” Anya asked and Daniel could not find the words. She was right. What was the problem? She had stayed away from him just as he liked, why was he angry? Hearing no response from the other end, Anya continued. “Mr. Shaw, I believe I have brought up the divorce. I will communicate with my lawyer to hasten the process. I can see that we are from two different worlds and I sincerely apologize for not considering this and getting married. I will have my lawyer contact you soon,” Anya said coldly and ended the call. She looked down at her hands for a good five minutes, and for the first time in a long time, she took off her wedding ring. In his mansion, Daniel looked at the phone in his hands. He realized he was more agitated than he was angry. He could no longer understand his own temper. At that moment, his phone rang again. He picked it. It was his father. “Your grandfather has passed on,” His father said, “You should come home.” Daniel stilled on the stairs and took a deep breath. In the days that passed, Anya had not heard anything from Daniel and even though this was normal, she was still hurt. She went about three days until she received a call. Anya froze with the phone to her ear. It was the Shaw family butler and he had news for her. She felt her body weaken, yet her bones turned to stone, refusing to let her go. Her only support, the only person who liked her in the Shaw family is gone. “Ma’am, Miss Anya,” the voice on the other side of the phone called her back to earth. “Yes, I am here.” Anya's voice barely sounded from her throat. “When did this happen?” she asked, and the Butler on the other side paused for a second. “One week ago, the letters are just going out,” he said, “Miss Anya, it is just that they were waiting for your husband to inform you,” the Butler said. “He knew? Everyone knows?” she asked. Anya could not believe this. “Yes, Ma’am,” he answered after a pause. Hearing this, Anya felt like laughing, but tears were already rolling down her cheeks. Sure, the one who died was her husband’s grandfather, but they were as close as grandfather and granddaughter. Yet, she was only informed of his death one week after he had passed away. “You are the one who is telling me, aren’t you? They didn’t ask you to, right? Uncle Reggie, won’t you get in trouble for telling me?” she asked. She did not need anyone to tell her that Uncle Reggie, the Shaw family Butler was the one who decided to call her. He was grandfather’s butler. He was the only in that family who knew how close she and grandfather were. “I just thought you would want to see him one last time. He would have wanted to see you one last time,” she heard him say and dropped to her knees. “Thank you,” she said in between sobs, before the phone dropped to the floor. She cried on and off for a good hour, curled up into a ball in the living room. Anya cried herself to sleep, only to wake up and cry again. She moved around the house in a daze. Sometimes to get herself water, sometimes to sit on the balcony, sometimes breaking into low sobs suddenly. The next day, Anya had no choice but to get up. She was not going to miss grandfather’s funeral. She got up, washed, dressed and put on some dark shades. She took a taxi to the old mansion; it was an old chateau. It was where Old Master Shaw had once lived. Anya had come here so many times to see grandfather, she could not believe this would be the last time. She walked to the small chapel on the property and entered the venue inconspicuously. In the distance, Anya could see Daniel and the rest of the Shaw family seated in the front row of the Chapel. She did not dare to go. Since her wedding, the entire Shaw Family was clear on their attitude towards her. In their eyes, she was nobody. Anya felt blessed when they most times acted as though she was not there, the few times they met, only responding to her greeting with a nod. She felt it was better than the scathing remarks some would leave when they saw her. Anya was also a very prideful person, so she decided to stay away from them. Anya took a seat at the back, and listened to the sermons. “Grandfather was quite the catholic,” Anya muttered to herself. She had heard a maid say that the rest of the family were not so religious, so Anya was glad they had a catholic priest bury him. Soon, the family paid their last respects around the coffin, then the guests went one by one. She stood in line and waited her turn. The closer she approached the coffin, the more Anya’s hands shook. Anya had thought she had cried it out of her system, but when she saw him lying peacefully, her eyes watered behind her large sunglasses. She placed a flower for him and left with the guests.