Page 146 of The Life of Anna, Tenth Anniversary Edition, Act 2

Alex sat on his rooftop terrace, staring blankly out over the treetops of Central Park. He’d been sitting for hours, vaguely aware of the sun’s long passage overhead. It had finally begun its descent into the western sky when Aaron called. He told Alex that he had shared Alex’s story with Anna and explained why Alex had stayed hidden. It hadn’t gone very well.

He’d been hoping she’d call, or come to see him, but as the sun disappeared behind the tall buildings of the city, hope died in his heart. He’d considered going over and knocking on her door, but Aaron had said to give her time to get used to the idea that he was alive. So he sat on his rooftop terrace, watching the trees sway in the wind and the sun cross the sky.

A flash of light next to him made him grimace. He didn’t look. “Hello, Sebastian.” Ever since his friend had given Alex the Immortal essence, he’d been able to sense Sebatian’s—and any other nearby Immortal’s—presence. He could also sense Anna, if she was close enough. Her apartment was too far away for him to feel her now, but if she walked by his building, as she did fairly regularly, he knew it.

The tall Immortal settled himself on the wooden chair across from Alex. “Have you talked to her?”

“You know?” Alex hadn’t spoken to Sebastian since he’d returned from the job in Chicago.

“I do. She’s quite upset. I can feel it.”

Alex ran his hand through his freshly cut hair. It felt strange after years of long hair, but he thought it might help Anna accept him if he looked more like himself. He slid his hand over his cheek where she’d slapped him—it was sensitive after shaving off his beard. “She hit me.”

Sebastian’s eyebrows rose high on his face and amusement lit his eyes. “Really?”

“I’ve never seen her so angry.” Alex grimaced. “I guess I’ve missed a lot of things with her.” He looked at Sebastian. “She’s so... hard, so stubborn. Not at all like the girl I married.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Alex stared at the floor. “I don’t know. I’m glad she’s become her own person. But it’s sad to see her sweetness diminished.”

“She’s still sweet, Alex. But she’s hurt and confused. Did your father tell you she blatantly disobeyed him?”

“She did what?”

“He gave her an order and she willfully did the opposite. She found out what happens when a slave disobeys her Master.”

Alex growled. “Don’t call her that.”

“I didn’t mean it disrespectfully, Alex.”

Alex frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “What happened?”

“Extreme pain in her head.”

“No, I mean, why did she do it?”

“Wilhelm didn’t tell you?”

Alex shook his head.

“He and Kurt visited her on the way to Connor’s funeral—well, Chris’, at that point. She didn’t come out right away to see them, and when she finally did, it was obvious that she’d been in bed with her ex-boyfriend.”

Alex flinched. He thought they hadn’t slept together.

“She was very... stubborn. She and Kurt fought. Loudly. She was ready to storm out of the room and your father told her to stop and she didn’t.”

Alex sighed. Could anything go right with her? No wonder she was ignoring his father and brother.

“He forbade her from being with Hugo again. She cares for Hugo a great deal, and he for her. Wilhelm was trying to keep them apart so she would accept you when you went to her. She was very compliant when he left.”

“And somewhere between then and now, she’s become angry again,” Alex muttered. He needed to have words with his father. He and Kurt were supposed to take care of Anna, not drive her to anger. Maybe if Kurt had been kinder to Anna, this Hugo thing wouldn’t have happened.

“You’re right,” Sebastian said, reading his mind, and Alex looked up in confusion. “If Kurt had handled things better, she would have accepted your presence easier.” He raised his eyebrows. “But did you really want her sleeping with your brother?”

Alex frowned. “Better than Hugo.”

“You’re the one who forbade it.”

Alex blew out a breath and shook his head. “That didn’t give him the right to be unkind. I should pummel him again.”

“It won’t do any good. What’s done is done. You must decide what to do from here.”

Alex stood and walked to the side of the terrace to look down the street at Anna’s apartment building. “She has feelings for Hugo?”

“Yes.”

He closed his eyes. Of course she’d had relationships since he’d been gone. Peter and Kurt included. Could she ever love him again? Would she want to be with him once she didn’t have to? Or would she just stay with him because she had to? “I wish I could torture Devin to death.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Perhaps once the bond is broken.”

“Will it really dissolve on its own?”

“I believe so. If the final ritual is not performed, there is nothing to reinforce the first ritual, which is the entire purpose of the second ritual. She should be freed from both of you.”

“But not our marriage?”

“Marriage bonds you for life, Alex. Nothing can destroy that.”

“What if she doesn’t want me?”

“You will have to work hard to make her want you again. You two can’t be separated. Kurt could divorce Gretchen because he wasn’t an Elder-Son. You and Anna were married and bonded by the Elders. Only death destroys that bond.” He gave him a sad smile. “It’s why she could never get over you. If you had really died, she would have been able to.”

There was comfort in Sebastian’s words. It gave him hope. “But I don’t want her resenting me.”

“Maybe you should set her free and trust that she’ll come back to you.”

“But I can’t, can I?”

“Technically, no, but you can give her the freedom to choose you. Have your father lift his restrictions, or override them yourself.”

“I can do that?”

“You shouldn’t, but yes, you can. With her.”

Alex nodded. “ If you love something, set it free ...”

Anna’s phone rang that evening and she ignored it. It was Wilhelm. Again. She didn’t want to talk to him. What else would he forbid her from doing?

Her phone rang again. This time it was Aaron. “Hi.” He was out with Cameron.

“Wilhelm’s trying to get ahold of you.”

“I know.”

“He says he needs to talk to you.”

She sighed. “Is he ordering me?”

“No. He said he wouldn’t command you, but asked you to please call him.”

He wouldn’t command her? “Really?”

“Yes. Please call him. He sounds concerned.”

Anna sighed. “Alright.” Perversely, she was more inclined to call him knowing he hadn’t commanded it.

She stared at her phone for a long minute before tapping on Wilhelm’s picture on the screen.

“Hello, Liebling ,” Wilhelm answered in a gentle voice. “Thank you for calling me.”

He didn’t sound angry. Was it a trick? She’d never thought Wilhelm capable of trickery before, but her father-in-law had clearly learned how to be sneaky and deceptive. “Hello, Wilhelm.”

There was a pause before he spoke. “Anna, I know I have been... distant and hard on you these last few months. I am very sorry about that. Now that you know that Alex is back, I do not have to hide anything from you anymore. The last few months have been very, very busy and I am so sorry I pushed you aside.”

Anna didn’t respond. She didn’t know what Alex’s return had to do with his pushing her aside. He had hidden Alex’s return from her too, and it hurt.

“Anna, I am lifting any commands I have given you since you arrived in New York.”

Her mouth dropped open. “What?”

“When you arrived, you were told you were free and then I removed your freedoms without explaining why. That was unfair of me. Obviously, you are no longer engaged to Kurt, but I—?” He hesitated. “I remove the ban on you being with Hugo as well.”

Alex had returned—her husband had returned—and Wilhelm was telling her it was okay for her to be with Hugo?

“Alex will respect your wishes about whether or not people learn that he is your husband. He will not demand you return to him.”

Anna didn’t know what to say.

“I only ask that you give him a chance to win you back. That is not a command.”

“He’s leaving again . . .”

“For jobs given to him by myself, Tom, and Vlad. There is no trap. They are simple jobs, and, if you want, he can remain in contact with you while he is gone. Aside from a handful of us, no one knows he is alive.”

“Anyone who sees him will know he’s related to Kurt.”

“If you want him to remain out of sight, he will. Though it will be difficult for him to take you out if he does.”

“Take me out?”

“How else do you court a woman?”

“Oh.”

“Is it alright if he asks you out on a date?”

“I—?” Alex wanted to ask her out? He wouldn’t demand her return? He would even hide that they were married if she wanted him to. She could go out with Hugo, too. “Y-yes, I suppose so.”

“ Gut .”

“What if I decide I don’t want to be with him?”

Wilhelm didn’t answer right away and Anna bit her lip, her stomach doing somersaults. “Then I will permit a divorce,” he said softly.

Anna inhaled deeply. He really meant what he was saying. She really was free. Free to choose whether or not she wanted to be with Alex. Tears came to her eyes at the thought of not being with him, but she didn’t want to think about that now. “Thank you, Wilhelm,” she whispered. Freedom .

“I love you, Liebling . I want you to be happy.”

Anna’s lower lip trembled. “I love you, too, Wilhelm.”

Anna stared at the engagement ring she held in her hand. The one that Kurt had given her. She no longer had to wear it. She was no longer engaged. Yes, she was married, but only technically. If she didn’t want to stay with Alex, she didn’t have to. The thought was both heart-freeing and sad.

Now what did she do?