Too Late for Regret

I Did Her a Favor

Chapter 4

Holden’s POV

I knew Ana saw the video, but she didn't reply. I wasn’t going to push her. We've been friends since she was old enough to follow Seth and me around. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I knew she was serious about avoiding me. The bad part was that my parents and hers knew something was going on, but they stayed out of it. They could have smoothed this over, but they refused.

I had once asked my mother if she knew why Ana refused to acknowledge me anymore. When Ana saw me coming, she went the other way, or if she had to speak, she gave one-word replies before finding a reason to get away. There had to be a reason for it, but for the life of me, I don’t know what happened. I like Ana; she was like a younger sister to me. I would never intentionally hurt her.

“Why are you asking me, Holden? Don’t you know it yourself? Ana adored you; now she can’t bear to look at you. What did you do? Because I know the problem didn’t occur on her end. I won’t let you tear our friendship with the Caldwells apart over this. So you need to figure it out and fix it,” my mother, Naomi, had told me that every time I asked her about the issue between us.

I was stunned by her words. Mom was the one who had suggested the arranged marriage. My mother and Alicia, Ana’s mother, met in college. They became fast friends and were pregnant with Seth and me as soon as they graduated from college. I thought it was a small issue. I believed she was just having a temper tantrum. But anytime I tried to broach the subject with Ana, she lied to my face.

“I don’t have a problem with you, Holden. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ana always replied. I knew she was lying, but I thought whatever it was, she would get over it quickly. I knew she liked me. She was initially happy with the arranged marriage. I thought she would get over whatever issue was between us, but I was wrong.

Seth knew something was up, but he left it alone. As far as our families were concerned. It was between Ana and me, and they were not going to intervene. I knew now that whatever it was, it was serious to her. I was surprised to discover she still had me blocked. I had to ask to borrow my assistant’s phone to send her the video. I waited for half an hour after the read receipt, and finally gave up. Deleting the video and text from Kevin's phone.

I still had her social media accounts and w******p. That was how I would tell her 'happy birthday' each year, but she never replied. I honestly thought she would be happy that I saved her from that jerk. He was planning to ruin her. We might not be on good terms at the moment, but I still care about her. They had been vicious with their words. They didn’t try to be quiet about who they were humiliating. It seemed that the more disrespectful they were about Ana, the happier the woman with Roger became.

I was furious. I knew who Roger was; Seth kept me updated. Her family didn’t like him and knew he was using her. They allowed Ana to make her own decisions, but they didn't like him for Ana. After I arrived at my penthouse, with no reply to the video or message. I decided to send it to Seth. He wouldn’t sit back and let Ana be bullied. I told myself it was for her own good.

I knew how much Ana did to get Roger’s company to where it was now. He didn’t deserve it, and Seth didn’t like him at all. Seth still hinted that I should try to sweet-talk Ana into discussing our arranged marriage. He still thought it could happen. I knew in my heart that whatever happened, it was serious enough to have hurt her pretty badly. Even if she still refuses to discuss it, I’m not going to let her go through with the wedding. Ana was a class act; it's no wonder my mother really wanted her to be my wife.

I grabbed a drink and poured myself three fingers of whiskey. I needed liquid courage to do this. I’m sure it’s going to piss Ana off even more, but Seth and I won’t stand by and allow her to be humiliated like this. That witch sitting with Roger had smiled at me and batted her eyes when I passed them to leave. I had to scoff. This was the woman Roger chose over Ana? She was going to lead him to ruin, and he was happy about it. He was wrapped around her finger and couldn't see her for who she was, but that was going to be his problem.

I would protect Ana, but Roger has sealed his own fate. Seth will make sure that Roger gets exactly what’s coming to him. I finally picked up my phone to send the text.

Holden [Hey, I’m back in town. I ran into Ana’s fiancé. I sent the video to Ana, but she hasn’t replied yet. So I’m sending it to you. We need to make sure that she isn’t taken advantage of.]

Seth [Glad you're back, man. What did he do? I swear, if he hurts her, I'll ruin his company quicker than he can ask why.]

Holden [We need to help her. I guess she’s still holding a grudge. I had to send the message through Kevin’s phone. She still has me blocked. I know she’s seen it, and believe me, it’s bad. But she hasn’t replied. I just need to make sure she doesn’t go forward with the wedding.]

Seth [Just send it. I will deal with him. I was planning on going to Mom and Dad’s tomorrow anyway. I will discuss our next steps after I watch the video. How long are you going to be here this time?]

Holden [Here to stay. I have the right people in place. I will only need to go back as needed now.]

Seth [Great. Let’s have dinner and catch up this week. I haven’t seen you for a while. We can discuss what we plan to do at that time.]

Holden [Great idea, see you then. Ana doesn’t deserve what he is planning to do to her. I know she cares for him; she has to in order to be willing to do all this to help him succeed. He deserves everything that's coming to him. I’m sending the video now. I recorded it myself, but don’t run off to deal with him. We need to do this the right way.]

Ten minutes later, my phone rings, and it is a very angry Seth. “What the hell, Holden? Why didn’t you punch that jerk in the mouth for the horrible things he said? If it had happened to Tiffany, I would have dealt with whoever it was right then. If I were to do it for your sister, you should have done it for mine despite your issues,” Seth’s voice boomed through the phone.

“Clam down, Seth. Ana loves him, and she already hates me. Why would I do something to push her further away? I’m trying to help her. I know how your father is; he would prefer to ruin Roger, which will bring him much more pain than punching him in the face. We can punch him later; first, we need to make sure Ana doesn’t marry him. She's the most important factor here,” I replied.

I was already on my second drink. It was how I was dealing with the guilt tonight. I had wanted to go punch that entitled jerk. He had no reason to act so high and mighty. He was never worthy of Ana. She lifted him up to where he was. Now that she knows what he’s done, she shouldn’t let him get away with it. How dare he try to replace Ana with that woman? I could tell from a distance that she wasn’t worth a hair on Ana’s head. No matter what his new wife thinks.

“You're right. Sorry, Holden. I watched the video twice. Seeing what he was planning made me furious. How dare he try to make my sister a mistress? Clearly, he doesn’t know who she is yet, but even if she were broke, it's disgusting behavior. We need to deal with him. I will talk to her. You told me months ago that you were finally willing to settle down. Is that still the case? I only trust Ana to you. I know that you would treat her well, and that is what I want for her. Plus, the wedding is just a few weeks away. I don’t want Ana to be utterly humiliated in front of the whole city when this falls apart. I need to find her a quality groom, and I need to do it fast. That way it looks like he was the one who was dumped, not her,” Seth replied.

“Seth, she won’t even speak to me. How in the world do you think she would be willing to marry me? I know our parents would be thrilled about it, but nothing I have done up to this point has worked. She's still mad at me, I doubt she will just accept me all of a sudden,” I replied.

“That’s not what I asked. I asked if you were willing to marry Ana? Are you?” Seth responded.

“Let me think about it tonight. I will have an answer for you in the morning, Seth. I wanted to settle down and have children. We’re thirty now, it’s time to give our parents what they want. I just don’t know if Ana is willing to marry me. You might have to find someone else,” I suggested.

“Ana loved you, Holden. I’m sure she just got her feelings hurt, but she will get over it. Her wedding might not be the talk of the town right now, but because of who we are, all of high society will be there. As much as I’m sure Ana is upset with you, she won’t want to be humiliated like this, and neither will our parents. We will have to move forward to contain this and get ahead of the narrative. As long as we can cover up what happened, that would be for the best. I’m going to discuss this in the morning with Mom and Dad. They already love you like a son, so this should work out well for everyone. She loved you once; she can learn to love you again. You just need to put some work into it,” Seth replied.

“Alright, if Ana is willing to marry me, I’m in,” I answered.

Seth was happy to hear my response, and we ended the call quickly. Seth was very protective of Ana. We graduated from high school in her freshman year. My younger sister Tiffany told us that she would keep an eye out for Ana. It made both of us breathe a little easier knowing that Ana was safe. Years later, we found out differently, as Ana started to gain weight.

We found out that Tiffany’s best friend, Gretchen, had been Ana's biggest bully. Tiffany still swears she hadn’t known about it. She had never seen Gretchen do anything in front of her. Seth and I were both disappointed that Ana had been bullied. It came out when Gretchen tried to get a job at Ana’s company. She was furious when she was denied the position she wanted, at Ana's request.