Chapter 116: I can’t risk not being your friend
The line went silent for a few seconds, filled only with the faint crackle of static. Then Hugo’s voice erupted again, louder and sharper, boiling with disbelief.
"What did you just say? Come again!"
Anna inhaled deeply, her pulse pounding so hard it echoed in her ears. But this time, she didn’t falter. She refused to. Her voice, though calm, carried a quiet steel.
"I said—what if I say no, Dad?" she repeated, each word deliberate and unshakable.
For years, she had been the meek one, the obedient daughter who bowed her head, swallowed her words, and molded herself to fit the image they demanded. But not anymore. Not after everything she had endured.
If he had finally discovered her secret, the one dream that gave her life meaning then so be it. She would face it head-on.
"Anna, do you even realize what you’re saying?" Hugo’s tone rose, the controlled edge of his voice barely hiding his fury. "How can you disobey your father like this?"
There it was again—that word. Disobey. As though her life was a script written by him, and she had forgotten her lines.
Anna’s hands trembled, not from fear this time, but from the surge of defiance that ran through her veins.
"I’m not disobeying you, Dad," she said slowly, her voice steady as a blade. "I’m just saying that I won’t live by your rules anymore."
Her words hung heavy in the air, and for a brief moment, even Hugo fell silent.
But her mind wasn’t still. It raced with thoughts. How did he even find out? Until yesterday, she’d been certain her secret was safe. Her mother wouldn’t have told him Anna knew that much. If she’d intended to, she would’ve done it the very day Fiona confronted her about her new project.
Then realization struck, cold and sharp.
Fiona.
Her jaw tightened, her teeth grinding as her expression darkened. Don’t tell me she actually reached out to my father.
Before the anger could settle, Hugo’s voice sliced through her thoughts again.
"Anna, this isn’t something we should discuss over the phone," he said, his tone softer now, but no less manipulative. "You should come home. We’ll talk about it properly."
She knew that voice all too well, the false calm that always came before the emotional trap. The guilt, the persuasion, the carefully chosen words to make her doubt herself. It was a familiar pattern: she’d run back, they’d talk, and she’d leave feeling smaller than before.
Not this time.
"Dad," she said firmly, "that’s not going to happen. I’ve already made up my mind and there’s no turning back."
Her thumb hovered over the screen, ready to end the call, but she paused. Something inside her, some small, long-buried part wanted the final word.
"And don’t worry," she added, her voice low but clear, "no one will ever find out that I’m your daughter."
There was silence on the other end—shocked, heavy, final.
Before Hugo could respond, Anna ended the call.
Her phone screen went black, reflecting her face steady eyes, clenched jaw, and the faintest glimmer of freedom. For the first time in her life, Anna Bennett had chosen herself.
However a certain someone wasn’t happy about it.
Hugo slammed his fist against the mahogany table, the sharp thud echoing through his study. Rage burned in his chest like wildfire. He never expected Anna—his quiet, obedient daughter to reject him outright. Yet she had. And that single act of defiance was enough to shake the foundation of control he had built around her all her life.
Anna had always been the compliant one, the perfect child Roseline had raised under his rule. She never questioned, never complained. Whatever he said, she did. She lived for family, for approval, for duty. She was the easiest to bend and the hardest to break.
Until now.
Now she had dared to stand against him.
His jaw clenched as he recalled how the truth surfaced. He wouldn’t have even discovered Anna’s secret if it hadn’t been for Frederick. The man had casually mentioned it over a phone call that Anna was part of a film project, something Roseline already knew about.
And then Frederick had added, "Fiona told Roseline, they’re working on the same production, I hear."
That was when Hugo’s blood had boiled.
"Does that mean she lied to me that day?" he muttered, fury lacing every word. "When I asked why Anna visited home?"
It had been the same day Fiona stopped by. Roseline had brushed off his questions with her usual calm smile. And now he knew his wife had hidden it from him.
The betrayal stung deeper than he cared to admit.
***
Meanwhile, in a sleek, glass-walled conference room across the city, the atmosphere shifted—dense and still.
A sharp, unexpected sound broke through the tense silence.
Chuckling.
Every head turned toward the source. At the head of the long table, Daniel—the man everyone called the Devil of Glorious International was smiling. Not smirking. Not scoffing. Smiling.
For a second, no one breathed.
"B-Boss just smiled," whispered one of the executives sitting at the far end, his eyes wide as saucers.
"Someone please pinch me," another muttered. "This can’t be real."
Daniel didn’t even notice the collective panic his expression had caused. He sat comfortably in his chair, thumb scrolling through his phone, a small, satisfied curve playing on his lips.
Those who had worked with him long enough knew—Daniel Clafford didn’t smile. He glared, ordered, or occasionally raised an eyebrow in amusement, but smile? Never.
Henry, standing to the side with his clipboard, tried to maintain composure. The corners of his mouth twitched in disbelief.
’Boss, what in the world are you doing?’ he thought, nearly sweating through his suit. ’Are you trying to destroy your terrifying reputation in one morning?’
When no one dared to speak, Henry leaned slightly forward and mumbled under his breath, "He’s just... distracted."
But the truth was far from that.
Daniel had been waiting all morning for a text. Her text.
Anna Bennett.
Last night, she hadn’t replied. He thought she would ignore him again today, too. But when he finally saw her message pop up, he couldn’t help the faint smile that tugged at his lips.
Anna: Thanks, but no thanks.
Short. Polite. Dismissive.
Daniel’s eyes lingered on the screen for a moment longer than necessary, a low chuckle escaping him. ’You’re a strange one, Anna Bennett,’ he muttered under his breath. "But I like strange."
He quickly typed a response, set the phone aside, and glanced up only to realize that everyone in the room was still staring at him like he had grown a second head.
Daniel raised a brow. "What?"
A few throats cleared. No one answered.
Then, to everyone’s absolute horror, Daniel smiled again.
"Let’s carry on with the meeting," he said smoothly, leaning back in his chair.
Henry nearly choked on his own breath while the rest of the team sat frozen, exchanging panicked glances. But Daniel simply ignored them.
***
Meanwhile, Anna stared at her phone in utter disbelief, her brows furrowed as she reread the message for the third time.
DarkKnight_07: Then I guess I’ll just have to keep working hard because I can’t risk not being your friend.
Her mouth fell open slightly. "Is he serious?" she muttered, blinking at the screen like it had personally offended her.
What kind of shameless person said things like that with such confidence?
Before she could even process the audacity, a teasing voice echoed from her side.
"Big Sis," Betty began, her tone bubbling with mischief, "I think you’ve got a new suitor apart from the ones flooding your comment section!"
Anna’s grim expression deepened instantly. "Betty..." she warned, her voice low, but the younger girl only grinned wider.
Ever since Anna’s quiet debut online, her popularity had skyrocketed. Despite never revealing her full face publicly, she had somehow amassed a growing fanbase and with it came a flood of admirers who professed their affection in her comment section daily.
But this—this was different. Because the man who just texted her was not some random admirer. He was the DarkKnight_07. The one who’d created half the chaos online just by existing.
And now, apparently, he’d decided he couldn’t risk not being her friend.
Anna pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Out of all the things I expected today... this wasn’t one of them."
After the tense call with her father earlier, she hadn’t wasted a second lingering at home. She needed distance something, anything to clear her head. The confrontation had left her shaken, even if she’d pretended otherwise.
Yes, she had stood her ground. Yes, she had defied Hugo Bennett’s control for the first time in her life. But the weight of that choice still pressed heavily against her chest.
Her parents had always been the architects of her life deciding what she should study, who she should marry, even how she should smile in public. And she had obeyed them blindly, mistaking obedience for love.
Now, for the first time, she’d torn herself free.
But freedom, she was learning, came with its own kind of fear.
How do I face him now? she wondered, staring blankly at her reflection in the phone screen. What do I even say the next time he calls?
She didn’t have an answer. So she made one up.
’Maybe... I should just avoid him for a while.’ but her internal debate was cut short when Betty poked her arm, snapping her back to the present.
"Big Sis?"
Anna blinked and turned to her. "Huh?"
"You’ve been zoning out again," Betty said, her playful grin fading into concern. "Are you okay? Is it that message?"