"You chose that number because you know I can’t pay it. I can't even get it if I sell my company." She said, and Desmond responded by saying, "I thought you said you could pay me anything I mentioned. Pay me, and I will leave you alone."
"So twenty billion dollars is worth me, then?" she asked, and Desmond chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "No, I didn't mean that. I thought you would be able to give me any amount I mentioned. I don't know you are so poor that you can't afford twenty billion dollars. Now, since you can't afford what I said, then use the available option, which is the most important thing I need." He said, and Anabel’s stomach twisted. She knew what he was about to say. And sure enough, he said it. "I want you. I want you back in my life."
"So I was right," she muttered. "You saved my father to win me back. You are admitting it now." She said, and Desmond shrugged. "You know it's not true, but if I did, is it a crime?"
"I will advise you to stop dreaming about us being together again. It won't happen. It's not possible."
"It will. You can only delay it, which I'm trying to prevent. I loved you, Anabel. I know I was wrong. But you were also wrong by lying to me, by hiding your real identity. Maybe you never trusted me."
"I hide my identity to know if you loved me for who I am," she countered. "And two years later, I realized you didn’t."
"That’s not true. In those two years, we cared for each other. We loved each other. I did what I did out of pressure. To please my family. I was poisoned by their words... the lies, the accusations that you were barren." His voice dropped lower. "I was never that way."
"I don’t care anymore," she replied. "Nothing will bring us back together again. Saving my father won’t change my mind."
"You can say whatever you want, Anabel," he murmured, "but our children need their father. You can't deny them that."
"I’m not planning to deny them a father," she countered. "They already have one. A better one. A father that will take good care of them. A father that will be there when they need him most."
"I hope you are not talking about Sylvester. Because he doesn't have any of those attributes." Desmond said, and Anabel smirked lightly, tilting her head. "Of course I am referring to him. Sylvester will make a perfect father to my twins. He's not like other people who could abandon their children for a new woman."
"I don't know why, but something is telling me that you just want to make me jealous. Why are you pretending?" Desmond asked, and she raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Pretending about what?"
"You can't tell me you trust Sylvester." Desmond stated. "Yes, you don’t trust him. You are yet to verify things about him. You know you are not sure about him. So why say something you don’t fully believe?" Desmond asked, and Anabel felt something twist in her chest, but she quickly buried it.
Desmond was not wrong. She was still yet to figure things out about Sylvester, still trying to understand certain things that didn’t sit right with her. She knew all these, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Desmond. Instead, she forced a cool smile and shook her head. "Whether I trust him or not is none of your business."
"I’ve warned you about him. Don't say I didn't." He said, and Anabel scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You warned me? And why exactly should I listen to you?"
"Because I know what kind of man Sylvester is. And he’s not the man you think he is. Take my advice seriously. Take it seriously." Desmond replied, and Anabel let out a short laugh and shook her head. "I will never listen to the advice of someone who divorced me for another woman."