Reborn of the Billionaire Heiress
ANNA
The room feels warm and calm, like sunlight touching soft walls. The air is cozy, filled with quiet colors and gentle light. You can almost hear the slow heartbeat of peace in space.
There’s a faint smell of fresh paint-sweet, sharp, and new. It mixes with the scent of wood and paper, making the room feel alive with creativity. The brushes smell like color and dreams, their tips still wet, ready to touch the waiting canvas. The scent of paint lingers softly, reminding you that something beautiful is being made here.
Anna stood on a small stool, hair scattered , painting the faces of her loved ones as she listened to the radio on the table below. An apron hugging firmly against her body and slippers on the floor close by.
Her eyes held so much warmth and love.
“ The next message is from one of our avid listeners. Mrs Anna Badley” the voice from the radio spoke
Anna came down from the stool and went closer to the radio as soon as she heard her name.
“ An important family event is taking place tomorrow, so I prepared a surprise gift, but I’m not sure if I did the right thing,” the voice said out loud and went on.
“ in my parents' eyes, I’m never any good. Please, say a few encouraging words to help me pluck up my courage” the voice which belonged to a woman echoes through the tiny radio.
“ That's the message from her “ Anna bit her lips.
“ Anna!!” The voice called.
“ Perhaps, your parents aren’t good at expressing their feelings “ the female voice started.
“But I’m sure they deeply cherish you and your gift will certainly make them very happy. Whether you’re good enough or not isn’t important. The heart is what matters” as the voice spoke, Anna’s face flashes with anxiety.
She heaved and went to take a seat on the stool she was standing on earlier.
The paint still on her hand.
“ Okay!. I’m sure your heart will reach them because they are your family. Alright then, here’s me rooting for you with ‘ Symphonia Domestica’ by Richard Strauss” and with that, the voice went off.
Anna resumed painting, her eyes holding so much emotion.
“ It’s done” she smiled broadly, getting up to get a proper look.
She brought out her phone and took a picture. Just then, a young girl walked in.
“ Ann” she called, scoffing as she removed the earphones she was wearing from her ears.
“ The Grimreaper is calling,” she covered the distance between them.
“ What??” Anna asked, baffled.
“ Here” she stretched out her phone to Anna and on it read ‘ Mom’.
Anna took the phone, a bewildered expression on her face.
“ In an hour” she panicked on the phone seconds after picking it up.
“ Gosh! They keep saying they want to come over” her mother in law, Mrs Badley groaned over the phone.
“ What can I do??” Anna questioned.
“It’s okay, go ahead” Mrs Badley said to someone at the other end.
“Don’t worry about it though “ she came back to Anna.
“ Keep it simple and prepare something quick “ And with that, the call went out.
“ Mother” Anna called but there was no response.
She sighed ans looked at the screen, just then, the young girl that had given her the phone snapped it from her.
“ Sonia, what are you doing?” Anna questioned Sonia who was already walking out tiredly.
Anna turned to look at her almost at the door.
“ I’m going to a cafe. I need to look for a job” Sonia said annoyingly.
“ Havw some food before you leave” Anna half pleaded, walking behind her to the door.
“ If you could clean the living room while I look…”
“ Relax Ann. Keep it simple” Sonia cut her off.
“ Mom told you to” she added and with that walked away
Anna sighed sadly. Having no choice, she decided to do it all by herself.
She started with some cleaning around the house and some other house chores.
After that, she cooked and hurriedly had her bathe.
While cooking, she accidentally hurt her index finger and had to tie it with a piece of cloth.
*
*
“It’s just a small cut. We have no band aid” Anna said to the elderly woman, her mother in law, Mrs Badley when she finally arrived.
Mrs Badley held her face in contempt.
“ If people see that, they’ll think you cut off your finger or something” she growled with venom in her tone.
“ Hey, if you’re running short on time, have no ingredients and aren’t a good cook, you can call up some restaurants and order food” she vented angrily.
“ But you told me that your friends were coming over” Anna tried to explain herself.
“So, I wanted to cook something with my heart,” she explained sincerely, her voice breaking between sentences.
“What? With all your heart? Mrs Badley scoffed in disbelief.
*
*
Cutleries clutter over the plates. The fork could be heard hitting hard on the plates.
“Is this burned or under cooked?” One of the ladies, Mrs Badley's friend, complained bitterly, staring strangely at the plate filled with meat in front of her.
“ I’m sorry mother” Anna apologized, biting her lower lip.
“You could’ve just ordered a seafood dish and sweet and sour pork from a good restaurant” Mrs Badley fired.
“ Did you do this on purpose to humiliate me?” She trailed off even harder.
Anna gasped but no words followed.
“Your in-laws aren’t rich, so..”
“ No way!!” Anna cut her off.
“ I should’ve been more thoughtful. Here, take this and buy something” Anna brought out her purse and took her card from it, handing it to her mother in law.
“ Gosh! No, thanks” Mrs Badley refused
“Please take it or I’ll keep feeling so bad” Anna took her palm and placed the card on it, insisting.
Mrs Badley stared at her and the card and swallowed hard.
“ Well, if you insist,” she finally said, putting the money in the pocket of her coat.
“ So, you’re going to visit your family?” she asked Anna after.
“Yes. They’ll probably all be busy at the event tomorrow, so I want to have dinner with them today”
“ Then you should tell them about Samuel. Wouldn’t it be so nice? If your father could create a position for him at his company…”
“ Mother, as I’ve already told you, Samuel likes what he’s doing now, and he’s doing a good job” Anna cut her off, subtly
“ Anna, must you be so dense?” Mrs Badley asked, puzzled.
“Sorry?” Anna raised her eyebrows in confusion.
TBC
