Claiming The Lost Heiress

Chapter Three

The phone rang twice before Anthony picked up.

“Hey Anthony, it’s me… Can we talk right now?” Hazel asked, her smooth voice soft, yet edged with exhaustion. Her boyfriend was the last person she could always turn to. He adored and cherished her, making her feel like a princess. At least that's what Hazel thought. She rubbed her sore wrist as she sat by the tiny window in the hallway, the golden hour casting long shadows on the wooden floor.

“Uh, gimme a sec, Hazel,” Anthony replied hurriedly, his voice slightly muffled. Then the line went silent.

He had muted her.

“Wait, what?” Hazel blinked, confused. Her brows knitted slightly. Muted? Why?

On the other side of town—in a high-rise apartment overlooking the city—a woman with flowing chestnut-brown hair lay curled against Anthony's chest. She traced the edge of his collarbone with her freshly black painted nails, her lips brushing lightly over his skin, peppering small kisses over his chest.

“What the hell does that b***h want now?” she asked, her tone silky and venomous.

Anthony smirked, not bothering to hide it. “Play nice, Daphne,” he murmured. “Your sister still thinks we’re boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Daphne scoffed with a bitter laugh. “Oh please… She deserves whatever comes to her. Always playing victim. She’s nothing but an attention-seeking w***e with no life. She should be grateful I haven't told my mother that she's f*****g around with some guy…” she smirked and planted a wet kiss on Anthony's lips.

“We've never slept together Daphne, so we're not f*****g around. She's way too upright and boring for me, you know that.”

“Uh-huh…I mean, obviously. I'm the better sister.” Anthony cups her face and goes in for a deep kiss.

Of course she was, he thought. Daphne has everything, looks, body, great in bed, and she always made sure she gave him whatever he wanted, especially money. He couldn't say Hazel was bad looking. In fact, if he was being honest, he'd go for Hazel a million times over Daphne. Hazel was a f*****g goddess, he groaned as he grinded Daphne, images of Hazel in his mind.

Too bad she had to be an illegitimate stepsister, and a maid.

Back on the other line, Hazel could hear faint static… muffled voices. He probably forgot she was muted. Maybe he's busy and forgot to get back to the call?

She ended the call, then immediately dialed again.

“Are you still there, Anthony?” she asked, trying not to let the unease creep into her voice.

Anthony, who had picked up, stared at Daphne, who was now crawling her fingers down his thigh. Her touch was slow, possessive, and calculated. He drew in a sharp breath.

Hazel was wide-eyed at the sound, but as usual, never judging or rushing into conclusions.

“Hey, um—Hazel, baby—I’m gonna have to call you back, okay?” he said, his voice tight. Strained.

“Wait, but Anthony—” Hazel’s voice cracked.

But the line went dead.

He had already hung up.

“He hung up on me…” she whispered to herself. What could he possibly be doing that he couldn't even give so much of an explanation?

She heard muffles upstairs. Lucy was on a phone call, something about preparations for Daphne's birthday party later that night. Hazel knew she'd be trotting back downstairs any minute from now so she set back to work, back on her knees–mopping and scrubbing.

All the while, thoughts of Anthony ran through her mind. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was up with him, and that things were going to go terribly wrong. But she didn't want to be a hurricane to her own life, so she tried to think positively. She never pursued Anthony to date her, he saw her at the mall and fell in love with her at first sight.

He always hung around that same mall, waiting for whenever she'll come to get groceries. Hazel was flattered. She was abashed. It was the first time any handsome guy had ever taken interest in her, especially someone like Anthony, with his tousled brown hair, and that dimpled smile that totally melted her heart. And when he had asked to be her boyfriend, she said yes. He understood that she couldn't meet up with him often. He was fine as long as he got to even see her and hold her soft delicate hands.

Well, until Daphne saw them both once at a small cafe and decided to make Hazel's life miserable by taking away the one person she thought she could love. Of course Hazel doesn't know what Daphne's been up to. Daphne loves to play slowly but dangerously.

Back at Anthony's apartment, he turned to Daphne with an unreadable expression. “Are you happy now, my love?”

Daphne leaned in, biting his bottom lip slightly before whispering, “I’ll be happy… if you promise to do one thing for me at my birthday party tonight.”

She brushed her lips up to his ear and whispered something so softly, even the city couldn’t eavesdrop.

His brows raised at her words, then a slow grin curled over his face.

“You’re insane,” he said, laughing under his breath.

“And you love it,” she whispered back, pulling him into a deep, searing kiss.

Oh, this is going to be her best party yet!