Anna stood, staring at her reflection in the mirror. It was so messy, and the red dress made her sick of Benita and Ivan. Her gaze fell on Ivan's ring on her finger. Anna took it off and placed it on the nightstand. She never thought she would do this.
"Nika," she called in a trembling but determined voice.
Nika appeared at the door of the room. "Yes, Miss Anna?"
"Pack my things. I'm leaving here."
Nika nodded in acceptance of the order. She quickly put Anna's clothes into a large suitcase.
"If you're done, immediately put my suitcases into the car. You must be ready whenever I order you to leave. We have very little time."
"Yes, Miss."
Meanwhile, Anna did not want to stand idly by. She went to the study and started collecting evidence of Ivan and Benita's affair. She organised everything and put some video clips that Benita had sent.
After that, Anna turned on her cell phone camera and recorded herself talking about all the heartache and disappointment she had felt since she first heard about everything in the creation room.
One thing she kept secret was her pregnancy. She was sure Ivan would make a fuss about it.
After compiling everything into video and photo slides, Anna left the study and returned to the room. Anna chose to sleep for one more night. Her preparations weren't done yet; there were important people she had to contact to make her plan happen.
***
Ivan came home and found Anna sleeping with a tired face. The man smoothed the hair covering Anna's face. The movement he made made Anna wake up from her sleep.
She found Ivan sitting beside her. She was trying to be ordinary, although looking at Ivan's smile nauseated her.
"Did you sleep well?" Ivan noticed the wound on Anna's forehead, apparently already in plaster.
"Yes, I slept very well."
"I apologise. I treated you harshly earlier. I want you to apologise to Benita. That's all."
Ivan turned soft. He took Anna's hand and kissed it. "Do you want to keep our relationship going?"
Anna wanted to shake her head and swear, saying all her horrible thoughts before Ivan's face, but she didn't want to mess up her plan. Finally, she nodded.
“Yes, I was wrong. I pushed Benita too much, and she got hurt. I want to apologise to you both. Do you want to?" she asked in a pleading tone.
Ivan nodded. He hugged Anna tightly. He stroked her back gently.
"I'm glad that what Benita said was true. That you will realise your mistake."
Anna held her breath. She didn't expect Ivan to act this way. How could a Don, who often dealt with the dark world like him, collapse with the words of a woman who acted like a boss or an important person who had the right to control everything in his household?
"So, what are you planning to do? Do you want to come to Benita's house? I'll drive you."
"No, I'm inviting you to a painting exhibition. It happens to be a friend of mine, she gave me the tickets. I felt bad at the last event. You must not have enjoyed the whole gallery, right?"
Ivan smiled and nodded. "You always know what I like." Ivan brought his face closer to Anna to kiss her. But Anna immediately dodged.
"I just woke up. I'm going to the bathroom." Anna avoided Ivan. She would never let him touch her again. Even when he hugged her, Anna was sick of the strong scent of female perfume. The smell of infidelity that Ivan could no longer hide
