Page 299 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Seth walked into the room and sat down next to Anna on the bed. She pulled her legs up and crossed them in front of herself. “Am I getting fat?”

Seth laughed. “I don’t think that’s possible Anna.” He looked at her. “If anything, you look thinner than before I left. Have you been eating?”

Anna shook her head. “Nothing sounds good.”

He frowned. “You need to eat. Especially dancing as much as you are.”

“I’ll try. I’ve been so nervous and angry... I can’t seem to bring myself to eat anything.”

Kaitlyn returned a few minutes later. “They have one in a size larger. Do you want me to get it?”

Anna looked at the dress wistfully. “It’s so pretty.”

“Anna, women’s clothing is anything but consistent and things happen. Maybe they accidentally grabbed the wrong dress to wrap or something.” She patted Anna’s knee. “Don’t worry about it. Our bodies are weird sometimes, too. I can’t fit into half of my clothes when I’m PMS-ing.”

Anna smiled at the encouragement, though she’d never had PMS. A wave of nausea flooded her body and she lay down while Kaitlyn showed her the other clothes she had bought for her.

When Anna went back to the theater that evening, she was still exhausted. She got some dinner on the way, but couldn’t bring herself to eat.

“Travis, am I getting fat?” she asked after he dragged her into his dressing room.

He undid her top. “No way. Why?” He sucked a nipple into his mouth and Anna moaned.

“I tried on a dress that should have fit today but didn’t.”

Travis stepped back and studied her. “I dunno. You look kinda... different, but definitely not fat.” He grinned. “Your breasts are bigger, though.” He caressed them gently. “I like it.”

“They’re really bigger?”

He pulled her to the couch and sat down with her on his lap. He took a nipple into his mouth and sucked on it. “Yes,” he murmured. “And I like it. Very, very much. I’m going to miss you when you leave.”

She leaned her head back and sighed. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

Anna went home that night, not looking forward to sleeping alone for the first time in a long time. She was crawling into bed when the door unlocked and opened. Thinking it was Jenna, she got up and poked her head into the hallway.

It wasn’t Jenna. “Devin?” No, not tonight . . .

“It’s your last night home, Baby. I wanted to come see you.”

She managed a strained smile, her emotions twisted and tangled so much she could hardly tell one from the other. The only thing she knew was that she couldn’t feel angry anymore, and that left her drifting from highs and lows and everything in between. Maybe whatever Devin wanted to do to her would help her forget everything for a while.

Chapter 140

Anna’s entire body ached the morning after Devin’s visit. She had slept, but it didn’t seem to have helped. Cruel lovemaking was the only way to describe what Devin had done. He didn’t hurt her in any specific way she could remember, she just knew it hurt.

She took a long, hot shower and felt a little better. Maybe she really was getting sick. She certainly felt strange. Pain usually came from sex, not from within her own body.

Anna tried not to think about her impending departure as she went about her day. Her nerves were raw, and she snapped at Travis a couple of times. Thankfully he was understanding and distracted her as best he could. He was very talented at distracting her.

As they took their final bows of the final Nutcracker performance, Anna was close to tears. She was leaving the country for the first time in her life. Alex was certainly angry at her for being so rude and disrespectful. How did they punish slaves in Germany? It couldn’t be any worse than Devin... could it?

No, Wilhelm wasn’t cruel. Neither was Alex. And Seth kept telling her she was going to enjoy her time there. He wouldn’t lie just to get her on the plane.

It’ll be okay. I just have to get through my punishment, then it’ll be okay.

I hope . . .

Seth was waiting in her dressing room. He had teased her about wanting to make sure she didn’t run away, but given her current state of mind, if he hadn’t been there, she might have seriously considered it.

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