The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced Read Online Free PDF Page A

began leaving, hopelessness seized her heart.
    Matt looked at her helplessly. “I don’t know
what happened. He was coming, I swear.”
    She saw Wilhelm walking towards her and ran
to him. “He didn’t come,” she sobbed into his tuxedo jacket.
Wilhelm hugged her close.
    “Who are you?” she heard Matt ask.
    “I am Wilhelm Kunze Herzog von Hesse. I
am...ah, Anna’s guardian, you might say.”
    “Guardian? Then why didn’t you protect—”
    “Matt, please,” Jenna interrupted, and Anna
knew Jenna had told Matt about her life, too. “Wilhelm is a good
man. He does what he can for Anna.”
    “
Danke
, Jenna. And you are?”
    “Matt Bolling. I’m Ben’s roommate.”
    “Ah. Yes. Do you know where Ben is? You can
see that Anna is quite upset.”
    Matt shook his head. “No. It’s weird. He said
he’d be here. I can’t imagine what happened. I called him a couple
of times, but he didn’t answer.” He sighed. “Maybe he just needed
more time to himself.”
    Wilhelm hugged Anna closer. “I am truly
sorry,
Liebling.
”
    “I’m sure he’ll call you, Anna,” Matt said,
putting his hand on her arm. “When I see him. I’ll hit him for you,
okay?”
    Anna gave a half-hearted laugh. “Okay.”
    “
Kommen Sie
, Anna. Let us return to
the hotel.”
    Anna waved to her friends and let Wilhelm
lead her out of the ballroom. “Where’s Kurt?”
    “He…found a new friend,” Wilhelm answered,
shaking his head slightly.
    Anna was glad for Kurt. She hated the idea of
him sleeping alone because of her.
    Wilhelm took her back to the hotel, helped
her undress and tucked her into bed. Then he turned out the lights
and crawled in next to her, pulling her close.
    “Wilhelm, do you want me to…?”
    “
Nein
, Anna. You needn’t worry about
me. I am fine. It is you that I am worried about.” He kissed her
cheek. “I put your phone next to the bed. If he calls, you will
hear.”
    “Thank you, Wilhelm,” she said softly.
    *****
    Wilhelm lay in the dark room, holding the
precious girl against him. He could feel desire stirring inside
him, but that was not what she needed right now. She needed a
friend and father, something Devin had denied her. Wilhelm was more
of a man than that. He would give Anna what she needed instead of
demanding what he wanted.
    Devin had acted suspiciously at the party.
Wilhelm knew Devin to be hard-hearted, but the way he spoke to Anna
made Wilhelm suspect Devin knew more than he let on. Wilhelm
certainly would never underestimate Devin again. The Chairman would
surely do anything to get his way.
    Poor Anna. She was just caught in the middle
of all this. It wasn’t right. She deserved some happiness.
    But at the same time, the idea of Ben
breaking up with her was of some comfort to Wilhelm, even though it
broke his heart to see Anna suffering.
    He was sure Ben loved her. Wilhelm had asked
around about the young lawyer while Anna was gone and had only
heard good things about him. But Ben could never give Anna
everything she needed. She needed protecting. She needed someone
who could face Devin and win.
    Devin would eat Ben alive.
    She needed Alex, but for some reason unknown
to himself, she was furious with him. He had asked her about coming
out for the New Year and had never seen such a look on her face as
when she said she didn’t want to go. He was a little hurt until he
realized that her anger was directed toward Alex and not
himself.
    Alex hadn’t meant to hurt Anna, but it was a
good thing he’d left. Wilhelm was very proud of the effort Alex
exerted to learn the old ways. There was much more to learn to be
able to defeat Devin, but they had discovered a way for Alex to
protect Anna in the meantime. That would be taken care of when she
came to visit in a few weeks.
    If Ben broke up with her, it would be for the
best. For all of them. If he didn’t…well, they’d have to deal with
it some other way. Perhaps Wilhelm could talk to him before he went
back to Germany. He could