Stay (Love In Montana Book 5)

“What? Are you out of your mind? Why the f*ck are you going to LA?” He yelled when Madame Slovene called him to her room. 

“Please go inside. Aunt Vida will explain everything to you. Mom is also here, she’s with dad,” said Anastasia. 

“Are you crazy? She’ll kill him this time. Why did you let her be with dad?” He yelled at Anastasia. 

“No, she won’t, she’s in the last stage of cancer, Anson. Go to aunt Vida. She will explain everything to you,” said Anastasia. After giving Freya a look, Anson stormed inside to Madame Slovene's room. Anastasia turned to a disturbed Freya. 

“Don’t mind my brother. He’s just worried about me leaving home,” she told her. “Let’s get on with the packing,” said Anastasia, leading Freya to her room. They got down to work, arranging everything into suitcases. Anson stormed into her room and sat down on the bed, and stared at Freya all the more, making her nervous. 

“Anson? What happened? What did aunt Vida tell you?” asked Anastasia as she packed up. 

Anson gave her a tired look. “I’ll tell you when there aren’t any outsiders in your room,” he said, giving the poor Freya a look of hatred. Anastasia sighed at his impossible behavior. Freya jumped up to her feet.

“I can come back later,” she said, giving Anastasia an awkward and embarrassed look. 

“No need, I’ll come back later,” growled Anson, storming out of her room. Anastasia was puzzled by her brother’s behavior. What was suddenly wrong with him? She saw Freya looking at her guiltily.

“It’s okay. Let’s get on with this work. I’ll talk to him later,” she said, and they resumed with the packing. She could hear Anson’s voice as he argued with everyone in the living room. She wanted to go and find out what was bothering him so much but with Freya packing her things, she couldn’t budge. 

Her mom walked inside to see the progress. She was looking pale and tired. “Aunt Bianca, you should lie down and rest,” said Freya. Her mom smiled at Freya fondly. 

“Yes dear. I will lie down here, I think,” said her mom as she lay down on Anastasia’s bed. 

“Mom, I’ll make a quick lunch if you’re here overseeing the packing,” said Anastasia. Her mom nodded.

“I’ll have poached egg and buttered toast and fruits,” said her mom, tiredly. 

“I’ll make that for you, mom,” said Anastasia, rushing to the kitchen. She found her brother and dad busy talking in the living room. “What happened to you two?” she asked with concern.

“Mom asked dad to go to LA with her and he has agreed,” said Anson, flailing his arms helplessly.

“What can I do, Anson? She’s terminally ill. I want her to be happy in the last few months that she has with her,” said her dad. 

“I’m sure that she’s lying to get your sympathy,” said Anson. 

“No, Anson. She had lost her hair to chemotherapy. We’ve seen it,” said Anastasia, going to the kitchen. Her dad walked away to look for his wife.,

“So you are fine with going to LA?” asked Anson. Anastasia nodded as she made lunch. 

“Aunt Vida isn’t well and doesn’t have much time to train anyone else to take over the business empire,” she told him. Anson sighed hearing her words. 

“She wants you too to come to LA and take over the business,” said Anastasia. Anson didn’t reply at all but just helped her with the cooking. After a while Freya peered in and was taken aback to see Anson in the kitchen with Anastasia.

“Umm, Anastasia, I’ve completed the packing. Do you need help with lunch?” she asked, avoiding the glare from Anson. 

“No, leave us alone,” he growled, making Freya startled and nervous. 

“Actually, yes, can you poach an egg for mom?” she asked eagerly. Freya smiled, totally ignoring Anson.

“Yes, leave aunt Bianca’s lunch on me. I’m used to making food for her,” said Freya as Anson scoffed.

“Don’t you know basic work ethics? You don’t call your employer that,” he pointed out. 

“She insisted that I call her aunt Bianca,” said an offended Freya.

“So are you a maid?” asked Anson making Anastasia glare at him.

“Anson, go back to your restaurant if you’re going to be so grumpy,” said Anastasia.

“No, cooking doesn’t make you a maid. With both of them unwell, I do what I can to help them,” said Freya, her face looking little pale and hurt. Anson scoffed and strode out of the kitchen. 

“Don’t mind him. He’s just upset that dad and I are leaving,” said Anastasia.

“Mr. Farrell isn’t leaving now. He'll come later after the doctor gives him the permission to travel,” said Freya. 

“Who told you that?” asked Anastasia.

“Aunt Bianca,” said Freya with a smile. Lunch was made and they served it all on the table and summoned everyone. Anson grumpily sat and ate while glaring at Freya who wanted to escape but couldn’t since their dad asked her to join them for lunch. She sat nibbling at her salad while Anson pinned her with an angry stare all the time. 

“Good to see you dieting. You need it,” he leaned in to whisper into her ear, before excusing himself and leaving the table to receive a phone call. Freya was very quiet after that and stayed as far away from Anson as possible. It was decided that her dad would go later. Anastasia hugged her dad and helped Anson load her luggage to aunt Vida’s car. 

“Call me when you reach there. I’ll take dad next month,” said a grumpy Anson. Anastasia nodded and hugged him as well. 

“Take care, bro. I would love it if you too moved to LA with us,” said Anastasia. Anson hugged her back.

“You know that’s not possible. My restaurant is here,” said Anson. 

“You’ll do better in LA,” said Anastasia. Anson shook his head and Anastasia didn’t prod him further. Freya came out with the last suitcase and handed it to the chauffeur to load. Anson again glared at her but she ignored him and went to get his mom. 

Anson too went inside after her but Anastasia stayed back to talk to her dad who had come out to see them off. 

“Take care, dad. You could have come along with me. I’ll be worried about you,” said Anastasia. 

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll come down as soon as I get permission from my doctor,” assured her dad. Her mom and aunt Vida came out with Freya, followed by a scowling Anson. 

It was time to bid goodbye to her childhood home forever. She climbed into the car after the others and waving at her brother and dad, she tried to swallow the tears back. Memories of her time spent in the city made her upset and she just sat staring out of the window to calm herself. She was helping her mom, her family. It was her dying wish and she couldn’t deny her that. She would message Ryder in a few days, once she settled down in LA. It had been a fortnight since she had talked to Ryder over phone. He had graduated from college and had joined his family business full time. The calls and messages had become less frequent since he was always dead tired. 

They reached the airport and flew to LA in aunt Vida’s private jet. Her mom slept throughout the way while Freya worked with aunt Vida. Anastasia also sat with them, observing everything that they were doing. “Here, you can go through this file, Anastasia. You’ll find all information about the company here, our products, our branches, our clients and their reviews about us,” said aunt Vida, handing her own laptop to Anastasia. 

The whole time Anastasia sat reading and her eyes widened seeing how vast and successful the business actually was. How would she be able to handle it all by herself? She just wished Anson would help her. They reached in an hour and then after a fifteen minutes drive, they reached the huge, majestic and palatial mansion where Vida Slovene lived. Anastasia’s mouth hung open as she had never seen the place before. But more so since she had never seen a house grander than this. She tried to grasp the idea that this would be her home from now onwards.

“Welcome to Waverley Palace,” said Madame Slovene. “It’s named after my mom’s maiden name,” she explained with a warm smile. “Do you like your future home, Anastasia?” she asked eagerly. 

“Yes, it’s majestic, aunt Vida,” said Anastasia. The place gave her a happy vibe and she loved it immediately. But what stunned her more was that she could envisage her wedding happening on the large and sprawling lawns. She could picture her kids running all around the place with their furry friends! It surprised her and she blinked those thoughts away and rushed after her mom and aunt Vida.

“I’ll enroll you into FIDM here once you get a transfer,” said aunt Vida. Anastasia’s eyes widened hearing about the prestigious college of fashion. They went inside and Anastasia noted that despite the opulence, the place had a cozy feel to it. She could spend the rest of her life here with Ryder! But would he agree?