Equals: War And Love

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Ana felt light-headed as she walked down the stairs, her ankle that was damaged years ago hurt like hell because she had hit it against the coffee table the previous night while she was rummaging in the dark for the remote of the air conditioner.

“What the hell!?”

She jumped, clutching her heart when she heard the foreign voice – she lived alone in the apartment since her husband was in France on a project. She looked over to find that it was none other than her husband, and co-resident of the apartment.

And then she realized that she was still walking around in her underwear.

“Oops?” She shrugged. She wondered what the dude’s problem was. It was not like she was completely naked and he had seen her in bikinis before so it was not like he was seeing something he had not seen before. But then on further inspection of the look on his face, Ana realized that it was not the case and then she let out a deep exhausted breath. “The air conditioner in our room stopped working?” She spoke.

Adam’s forehead furrowed as he tried to absorb the justification, she had just given him.

“You could have just used the guest room.” He said, his jaws still set.

Ana let out a nervous laugh. “About that…”

“What?”

“I don’t think the guest room is exactly livable right now.” She scratched the top of her messy hair.

Adam raised a brow but quickly made his way to the guestroom which was right by the stairs. Opening it, it didn’t take him a moment to take a look at the place and close.

“What did you do to this place?” He asked her, his eyes wide and still not believing the devil’s den he had just seen.

Ana pouted, placing her hands on her hips. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to run a successful YouTube channel?”

“What does that have to do with the condition of our guest room?” He asked, his eyes subconsciously lowering to the voluptuous body of his wife.

“It has everything to do with the condition of the room.” She shrugged. “I am constantly filming so I have to keep the rest of the apartment clean. The guest room is like my hangout spot where I do whatever I want.” She said as she made her way into the room and then came out a few moments later wearing a black satin robe. “If we lived in a house, I would have built a treehouse for myself to do this sort of thing.” She smiled at her husband and then asked after a moment, “You want coffee?”

Adam just looked at the twenty two year old dumbfounded, wondering what he had done to be married to this crazy b***h. She was always up to something and no one ever stopped her, himself included. They all just let her do as she pleased and he liked to think it was the very reason they were married. Though he knew that she was a victim in all of this just as much as he was.

“I would like a mug of black coffee. No sugar-“ He said and was cut off before he could continue.

“No cream. Just three shots of expresso?” She quirked a brow at him.

He nodded, staring at his wife dumbfounded.

“Yeah, I know. It is one thing the both of us have in common.” She shrugged and walked into the kitchen while he took the stairs to their bedroom and true to her words, he was hit with the humid atmosphere as soon as he opened the door. The air conditioner really wasn’t working.

He sighed before taking out his phone, texting his secretary to ask her why the maintenance was not done properly when he was not around. He tossed his phone on the bed before walking into the closet which led to the bathroom. He needed a bath. Bad. Some sleep too, but that had to wait until he went and talked to the shareholders about their new venture in France. He was exhausted but if he was to keep the head of the empire, he had worked so hard to build, high then he needed to compromise on his own well being to make sure that everything was done perfectly.

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Ana danced around the kitchen as she plated the sandwiches she had made. It was almost eleven in the morning so it could be called a brunch. She placed the food items on the dining table and then Adam’s coffee and her green juice before fishing out her phone from her robe pocket, clicking a few photos she wanted to post on social media.

She typed 'Guess who finally remembered he has a wife back home..." and posted the story of the breakfast.

Adam climbed down the stairs wearing a new set of dark grey suit, fastening his Rolex onto his rest.

"Your breakfast is served." Ana said dramatically as she bowed, holding the edge of her robe as she did.

Adam rolled his eyes at his wife's childishness but he was impressed to see the healthy breakfast that was laid down on the dining table. He had to admit that it was a definitely an upgrade from when he used to live alone.

"Thanks." He nodded at her and took a seat while she too sat down opposite to him.

He took a sip of the coffee that she had prepared for him and it was safe to say that he thought he had finally learnt what the elixir of life would taste like - it was that good.

He couldn't help but moan out as he downed the warm liquid. "This is good!" He voiced, looking wide eyed at his wife. He had always thought that she was the spoilt brat of a younger daughter of the billionaire couple, Valerie and Jack. But turned out she brewed the best coffee he had ever tasted.

"You should try my sandwich then." Ana smiled happily. Not everyone could appreciate the bitter coffee she was obsessed with. She was glad that someone in her life appreciated it as much as she did, even if that certain somebody was going to be around only for a short while.

"Yeah." Adam was now excited to try out the green sandwich that sat in front of him, cut into triangles and the bread toasted just right. The appearance of it reminded him of how his late mother used to cook for.

"You are not a fan of veggies?" Ana asked, her eyebrows knitted, when she saw that Adam was not making any move to try out the delicious dish she had invented the recipe to.

"I am." He looked up at her with a small smile, a smile that made her heart skip a beat, before taking the sandwich in his hand as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. He took a small and tender bite out of it, closing his eyes and chewing slowly as the flavors erupted in his mouth. It was complete different from the sandwich his mother used to make for him when he was a child. This sandwich tasted exotic and way too delicious - any kid would eat it if they were served all the vegetables as this sandwich. That's how good it was.

But Adam's mother's sandwich was special. Maybe because it was stuffed more with love than nutrients. Maybe because it was the taste he wanted to taste one last time. Maybe it was because he wanted to feel the ruffling of his hair and the warm hand on his as it helped his hand guide the food to his mouth.

He missed his mother too much.

He finally opened his eyes to stare at his wife but found her busy on her phone again. He had a small smile on his face - Ana was always busy with herself and her phone. He was almost certain that the breakfast was more for social media than for the exhausted husband who had come home, and his assumption was proven right when he saw the notification of him being mentioned in a story.

But that was fine. After all, their marriage was not real. It was just a contract that they both had signed to stop things from getting out of hand.

And it was true that he had gained more from this contract marriage than she had. He thought how good she was to help him out when she was as much a victim in all of this.

He had a small smile on his face as he continued eating his food, glancing once in a while at his wife who was busy tapping away on her phone, her own food getting cold.

"When are you meeting Iva?" The question caught the businessman off-guard. He slightly choked on his coffee and coughed into his fist before looking at her.

Ana was giving him an apathetic look. "You are meeting her, right?" She asked. "I know you said no other relations until this is over-" She gestured to both of them and then continued. "-But she told me it's the seventh anniversary of your relationship in two days. You need to do something nice for her."

Adam stared at the woman who was so hard to understand. She was asking her husband to go see her sister and spend time with her and celebrate their relationship.

"Didn't we break up three months ago?" Adam asked nonchalantly.

Ana narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't hurt my sister, Mr. Lewis."

"I won't." He said earnestly. "But I will stay loyal to you as long as this marriage lasts."

Ana stared at him, and he back at her.

She didn't know what to say so she said the only thing she managed to voice in situations like this.

"Whatever."

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3 months earlier...

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"Roses are red

Violets are blue

At the end of the day

My love for you is true"

Ana scrunched up her face at her sister as she read out the little note that she was placing on the box of new shoes she had brought for her boyfriend, Adam Lewis.

"That is so cringey that I am dying of second hand embarrassment here." Ana pointed at her face, a revolting look in place.

Iva let out an exasperated sigh and glared at her sister.

"What do you know about relationships?" She flipped her hair. "Men love it when their women are cute."

"Everyone likes it when people are cute. But there is a very thin line between cute and cringey." Ana shrugged before turning back to her phone.

Iva was so offended at her younger sister's words that she grabbed the throw pillow sitting on the nearby couch and yeeted it at her, the pillow hitting Ana right in the face.

"What the hell woman!" Ana shrieked at her elder sister.

"You suck!" Iva huffed before walking out the door.

"And you suck d***s!" She yelled back. She knew that she would be dead meat if her parents were home but they weren't so she was safe.

The twenty two year old was chilling in her room at her family house. She was over there for Easter celebration and she was going back to her apartment which was across town on Sunday morning.

Ana didn't have a full time job. She was a vlogger and famous because of the gold medal she had won at the Winter Youth Olympics when she was sixteen. She was the best figure skater of her age but she could not do it anymore because an accident had did more damage to her ankle than surgeries could fix.

She would have won more and more medals if the accident had not happened, but it had and it had ended her career as a figure skater.

But Ana did not give up on her fitness. She was a fitness guru with a degree in nutrition and dietetics, and she made pretty good money with her YouTube channel, official website and social media. Not that she really had to make much money - her parents were multibillionaires and all of the money was for their daughter, Iva and Ana, after all.

Iva walked right back in after just a few moments, a maid walking in after her with a pile of clothes.

"Help me choose the outfit I will be wearing when I go to receive him at the airport." She said as she directed the maid to drop the clothes on the couch.

Ana sighed as she sat up. She knew that her elder sister was the kind who could be shooed off that easily so the easiest thing to do was to just let her have her way. But Ana raised her brow when she saw the collection of outfits that she had brought in.

"Dude, you are going to the airport to see him, not some star-studded ball with the theme of Disney princesses or anything." Ana looked at the all the sparkling outfits that had infiltered her couch. She waved at the maid to dismiss her from her room and she was quick to leave.

"Please, you wear casuals all the time but this is the kind of clothes that I wear out in public and you cannot judge me for it." Iva pouted.

Ana rolled her eyes. She loved her elder sister, very very very much. But that did not blind her from the fact that her sister was indeed a bit too excessive, needy and could be downright annoying at times.

"Then you should go ask Mom because I have no idea what I am even looking at." Ana shrugged before hopping off the bed. She decided that her brain will be damaged if she was to stay for this nonsense any longer and hence she decided that she was going to go out with her best friend Bianca.

She texted her saying that she will meet her at their favorite restaurant in a while and was replied with a thumbs up.

Iva pouted angrily at her sister and then decided to just call her mother over to her sister's room and then choose the dress.

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"Rich people problems." Bianca shook her head, laughing. "Should I wear Gucci or Chanel to go pick up my multibillionaire of a boyfriend who will be wearing Armani and Rolex."

Ana burst out laughing as she stirred her glass of milkshake. "I know right. I mean, I love Iva but the amount of effort she puts into this dude just downright refuses to admit their relationship in public is just too depressing."

"I know." Bianca was just glad that her best friend was not the kind of person who got offended at s**t. She was one to see the truth and accept it for what it was and that was what she liked about Ana Hill. "She comes off as way too desperate."

"I just wish that Iva would just see that her so called boyfriend is just not worth it!" Ana pouted the more she thought about it. Iva was a bit annoying but how Mr. Adam Lewis dealt with their relationship was even more annoying.

Bianca and Ana had a theory that the business tycoon was dating Iva only so that he could get into the good books of her father, Jack Hill. He was a very prominent business figure in their city and dating Iva had won Adam several favors that no other business man could.

"She is blindly in love darling. Blindly in love." Bianca said dramatically. The two best friends stared at each other and burst out laughing. These two were born to be each other's best friends and no one could say otherwise.

"I am thinking we should go clubbing tonight." Ana said. "As stuck up as that Adam Lewis is, I have to admit that his new club is the best thing that has happened to the night business of our city."

Bianca nodded. She too agreed with it. It really was an awesome place and the best friends could loosen up and chill in there.

"Yep, I need to get laid." She mumbled out with her mouth full of the sushi she was eating.

Ana grinned at her and sat back in her chair, responding to a few messages on her social media handle. She replied to DMs from time to time to create the image of a down to earth, humble person for herself. It wasn't exactly true but it helped in the long run and she was not ashamed of the tricks and hacks she used to be everyone's favorite social media personality.

The waiter approached the two with a tray of cookies and pastries.

"We didn't order any of this." Bianca said.

"Those gentlemen over there ordered it for you." He pointed at two men who were watching them, raising their glasses when they had the two girls' attention.

Ana discretely rolled her eyes as she looked over at Bianca.

"They won't be that interested in me when they realize I am dirt poor and a f****d up mess of a person." Bianca said bitterly.

"We don't want it." Ana turned to the waiter, a stern look on her face. "And next time, ask the customers if they want it from someone else before serving them what someone else had ordered."

The waiter was nervous. He knew Ana Hill, anyone with social media did. And he did not want to get on her bad side.

He quickly mumbled an apology and left with the tray towards the customers who had ordered the food for them.

"Doesn't matter where they come from, men will always be irritating." Ana sighed as she took another sip of her milkshake. She liked the pastry that she had seen on the tray and had decided to get a slice for herself when she was done with her cheese burger.

"That's why I play for the other team darling." Bianca winked at her best friend who just gave her a crazy grin.

"You think you are all that just because you have a couple of followers on social media huh?" One of the men from the other table banged on their table.

"What are you doing? Do you wanna get us killed?" The other guy pulled him back but he just shrugged him off and continued glaring at the women.

Ana kept mum because she knew that this kind of drama was not going to do her good. She knew that her best friend was more than capable of dealing with it.

"Actually, it's a couple of million followers." Bianca stood up, smirking at him. "But that doesn't mean she has to deal with a couple of scum bags that come her way."

"You-"

"I am so sorry, Ms. Hill!" The manager of the restaurant sprang into action before there could be any more verbal scuffle. "We will have him removed immediately."

"No, let him stay." Ana smiled sweetly as she stood up. "I guess this restaurant isn't our favorite place to hang out anymore."

With that said, the duo walked out, leaving behind a manager cursing his luck.

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3 months earlier...

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"Roses are red

Violets are blue

At the end of the day

My love for you is true"

Ana scrunched up her face at her sister as she read out the little note that she was placing on the box of new shoes she had brought for her boyfriend, Adam Lewis.

"That is so cringey that I am dying of second hand embarrassment here." Ana pointed at her face, a revolting look in place.

Iva let out an exasperated sigh and glared at her sister.

"What do you know about relationships?" She flipped her hair. "Men love it when their women are cute."

"Everyone likes it when people are cute. But there is a very thin line between cute and cringey." Ana shrugged before turning back to her phone.

Iva was so offended at her younger sister's words that she grabbed the throw pillow sitting on the nearby couch and yeeted it at her, the pillow hitting Ana right in the face.

"What the hell woman!" Ana shrieked at her elder sister.

"You suck!" Iva huffed before walking out the door.

"And you suck d***s!" She yelled back. She knew that she would be dead meat if her parents were home but they weren't so she was safe.

The twenty two year old was chilling in her room at her family house. She was over there for Easter celebration and she was going back to her apartment which was across town on Sunday morning.

Ana didn't have a full time job. She was a vlogger and famous because of the gold medal she had won at the Winter Youth Olympics when she was sixteen. She was the best figure skater of her age but she could not do it anymore because an accident had did more damage to her ankle than surgeries could fix.

She would have won more and more medals if the accident had not happened, but it had and it had ended her career as a figure skater.

But Ana did not give up on her fitness. She was a fitness guru with a degree in nutrition and dietetics, and she made pretty good money with her YouTube channel, official website and social media. Not that she really had to make much money - her parents were multibillionaires and all of the money was for their daughter, Iva and Ana, after all.

Iva walked right back in after just a few moments, a maid walking in after her with a pile of clothes.

"Help me choose the outfit I will be wearing when I go to receive him at the airport." She said as she directed the maid to drop the clothes on the couch.

Ana sighed as she sat up. She knew that her elder sister was the kind who could be shooed off that easily so the easiest thing to do was to just let her have her way. But Ana raised her brow when she saw the collection of outfits that she had brought in.

"Dude, you are going to the airport to see him, not some star-studded ball with the theme of Disney princesses or anything." Ana looked at the all the sparkling outfits that had infiltered her couch. She waved at the maid to dismiss her from her room and she was quick to leave.

"Please, you wear casuals all the time but this is the kind of clothes that I wear out in public and you cannot judge me for it." Iva pouted.

Ana rolled her eyes. She loved her elder sister, very very very much. But that did not blind her from the fact that her sister was indeed a bit too excessive, needy and could be downright annoying at times.

"Then you should go ask Mom because I have no idea what I am even looking at." Ana shrugged before hopping off the bed. She decided that her brain will be damaged if she was to stay for this nonsense any longer and hence she decided that she was going to go out with her best friend Bianca.

She texted her saying that she will meet her at their favorite restaurant in a while and was replied with a thumbs up.

Iva pouted angrily at her sister and then decided to just call her mother over to her sister's room and then choose the dress.

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.

"Rich people problems." Bianca shook her head, laughing. "Should I wear Gucci or Chanel to go pick up my multibillionaire of a boyfriend who will be wearing Armani and Rolex."

Ana burst out laughing as she stirred her glass of milkshake. "I know right. I mean, I love Iva but the amount of effort she puts into this dude just downright refuses to admit their relationship in public is just too depressing."

"I know." Bianca was just glad that her best friend was not the kind of person who got offended at s**t. She was one to see the truth and accept it for what it was and that was what she liked about Ana Hill. "She comes off as way too desperate."

"I just wish that Iva would just see that her so called boyfriend is just not worth it!" Ana pouted the more she thought about it. Iva was a bit annoying but how Mr. Adam Lewis dealt with their relationship was even more annoying.

Bianca and Ana had a theory that the business tycoon was dating Iva only so that he could get into the good books of her father, Jack Hill. He was a very prominent business figure in their city and dating Iva had won Adam several favors that no other business man could.

"She is blindly in love darling. Blindly in love." Bianca said dramatically. The two best friends stared at each other and burst out laughing. These two were born to be each other's best friends and no one could say otherwise.

"I am thinking we should go clubbing tonight." Ana said. "As stuck up as that Adam Lewis is, I have to admit that his new club is the best thing that has happened to the night business of our city."

Bianca nodded. She too agreed with it. It really was an awesome place and the best friends could loosen up and chill in there.

"Yep, I need to get laid." She mumbled out with her mouth full of the sushi she was eating.

Ana grinned at her and sat back in her chair, responding to a few messages on her social media handle. She replied to DMs from time to time to create the image of a down to earth, humble person for herself. It wasn't exactly true but it helped in the long run and she was not ashamed of the tricks and hacks she used to be everyone's favorite social media personality.

The waiter approached the two with a tray of cookies and pastries.

"We didn't order any of this." Bianca said.

"Those gentlemen over there ordered it for you." He pointed at two men who were watching them, raising their glasses when they had the two girls' attention.

Ana discretely rolled her eyes as she looked over at Bianca.

"They won't be that interested in me when they realize I am dirt poor and a f****d up mess of a person." Bianca said bitterly.

"We don't want it." Ana turned to the waiter, a stern look on her face. "And next time, ask the customers if they want it from someone else before serving them what someone else had ordered."

The waiter was nervous. He knew Ana Hill, anyone with social media did. And he did not want to get on her bad side.

He quickly mumbled an apology and left with the tray towards the customers who had ordered the food for them.

"Doesn't matter where they come from, men will always be irritating." Ana sighed as she took another sip of her milkshake. She liked the pastry that she had seen on the tray and had decided to get a slice for herself when she was done with her cheese burger.

"That's why I play for the other team darling." Bianca winked at her best friend who just gave her a crazy grin.

"You think you are all that just because you have a couple of followers on social media huh?" One of the men from the other table banged on their table.

"What are you doing? Do you wanna get us killed?" The other guy pulled him back but he just shrugged him off and continued glaring at the women.

Ana kept mum because she knew that this kind of drama was not going to do her good. She knew that her best friend was more than capable of dealing with it.

"Actually, it's a couple of million followers." Bianca stood up, smirking at him. "But that doesn't mean she has to deal with a couple of scum bags that come her way."

"You-"

"I am so sorry, Ms. Hill!" The manager of the restaurant sprang into action before there could be any more verbal scuffle. "We will have him removed immediately."

"No, let him stay." Ana smiled sweetly as she stood up. "I guess this restaurant isn't our favorite place to hang out anymore."

With that said, the duo walked out, leaving behind a manager cursing his luck.

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