Page 22 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

It was a fifteen-minute walk from her apartment to the studio. Not bad on a nice night. Thankfully, it was a nice night.

As she came around the corner, she saw someone standing near the studio door. She squinted. “Aaron?”

“Anna! I’ve been worried about you!” He pulled her close and hugged her hard. “I’ve been calling you and waiting out here for you every night this week.”

“I must have forgotten to turn my phone back on.” She’d turned it off after they’d left the restaurant and hadn’t thought about it since.

“I even went by your apartment today, but no one answered.”

“How do you know where my apartment is?” She’d just moved in yesterday. “I didn’t hear anyone knock and I was there all day.”

“I . . . someone told me . . .”

“Someone?”

Aaron gave her a strange look. “Yes. Someone.”

Anna drew her brows together. Who would have told him where she lived? No one knew besides Devin and Ian. “I didn’t hear you knock.”

“You’re in apartment 760, right? In SoMo?”

Anna shook her head. “I was, but I don’t live there anymore. Devin moved me closer to here.”

“You only lived there a few weeks.”

“He didn’t want to keep paying that amount of rent.” She shrugged. “I have a little studio on O’Farrell. It’s fine.”

“Fine?” Aaron looked outraged. “Anna, you’re a frickin’ Duchess. You shouldn’t be living in a shitty studio apartment. You should at least be in a decent apartment. I can help?—‍”

“I’m fine,” Anna snapped. “And I’m not a duchess. Not anymore. Alex is dead. Wilhelm and his family are forbidden to come here. I’m alone. The only thing I need to do is keep Devin happy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to class.” She pushed him aside and walked into the building.

“You’re not alone, Anna,” Aaron called after her as she walked away, but he didn’t follow her.

Yeah, right.

She huffed as she walked into the studio and sat down on the floor to change shoes. It was better if she just kept to herself. My only purpose in life is to please Devin.

Within a few weeks, Anna had proven herself strong enough to start back on pointe. Isaak had her work with the summer students for a few weeks before placing her in the corps. She knew many of the girls and a few of the guys, but she kept to herself. Jenna had recently been promoted to soloist so she wasn’t in classes with her.

Anna managed to avoid her former friends for about a week before they finally found her. Aaron was the first, catching her coming out of the studio after class on the second Tuesday.

“Anna! I’m so glad you’re with the company again!” He hugged her.

She pushed him aside and hurried away.

A few of the corps dancers mumbled as she walked past. The other day, she’d heard a few of them talking in the bathroom about her, saying she was a cold, icy bitch. They thought because she’d been a principal before, Anna was too good for the corps. This, of course, was untrue, because she didn’t want to be dancing at all. Anywhere. It didn’t matter what part of the company she was in. She danced to the best of her abilities because if she didn’t, Devin would punish her. She didn’t care what they thought about her.

Or so she told herself.

“What a bitch,” one girl muttered.

Aaron said something, but Anna didn’t wait around to listen. She heard him behind her and she ducked into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she poked her head out and sighed in relief when he was nowhere in sight.

When she returned to the studio for the morning rehearsals of Petrushka, a couple of the girls smiled at her and tried to strike up a conversation. Anna turned and walked away without a word.

Unfortunately, Aaron caught her at lunch and held her arm to make her go with him. Fine, I’ll just make him regret taking me. She refused to admit to herself that she was lonely.

Aaron took her to the deli down the street and tried to buy her lunch.

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