I Announced Our Divorce To Airport Reporters

After the housekeeper left, Annika sat alone at the dining table. Her tears splashed into her food, turning every bite salty and warm. By the time she met up with Emma Sanchez that afternoon, Emma could tell right away she'd been crying. Her face grew serious.

"What happened?" Emma asked, her voice tight with worry. "It's not worth getting worked up over someone like Lina Turner. If you're really that fed up, I'll go with you to her place and we'll rip that stupid necklace to shreds!"

Annika, her eyes still puffy, forced a smile. "It's not about her," she sniffled. "My housekeeper is leaving. She cooked the most amazing meals, and I won't get to eat like that anymore."

Emma studied Annika for a long moment. There were a million things that could make Annika cry—Xavier's favoritism toward Lina, the crap the Parker and Turner families put her through, years of bottled-up frustration. But it was this one tiny thing that finally broke her.

Emma sat down across from her. "Annika, remember that therapist I told you about? Did you ever go see them?"

Annika dodged the question. "I'm not crazy. Why would I go to a therapist?"

Emma gave her a worried look. "You don't have to be messed up to see a therapist. If something's eating at you and you don't know who to talk to, that's literally what they're there for."

"No way. Just thinking about therapists makes me feel better," Annika said stubbornly. She'd hated hospitals and doctors since she was a kid. The mere thought of a needle could cure any symptom—she honestly felt like she could suit up for a football game afterward.

Seeing Annika's walls go up, Emma let it drop. Instead, she asked, "You're going to see your dad tomorrow, right? Is Xavier coming with you?"

Annika nodded, then shook her head, finally admitting, "I'm not sure."

He always went with her before, but a couple of times he ditched her for Lina. It really got to Annika. Even though Xavier promised it wouldn't happen again, Annika wasn't so sure he'd actually follow through.

Wanting to get Annika's mind off Lina, Emma switched gears. "Why don't we go pick up some sweaters for your dad? It's getting chilly, and he's always been sensitive to the cold."

Annika agreed, and as they left the café, they bumped right into Nash Sanchez.

"Annika, fancy meeting you here," he said with a grin.

Annika was startled to see him. Recovering, she asked, "You're back?"

"Yeah, I got back last night and picked up Lina from the Parker estate," Nash said.

Annika's mind immediately went to Xavier—had he not taken Lina home yesterday? Catching her expression, Nash added, "Annika, I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

"I'm the one who asked Xavier to go with Lina to her prenatal check-up. I didn't give you a heads up, and it caused problems between you two. I'm really sorry."

His genuine apology threw Annika off a little. There were plenty of reasons she and Xavier argued, and it wasn't just about Lina's appointments. She still couldn't quite put her finger on the real issue.

After a beat, she replied, "It's fine. We fight for sport."

Nash, always the charmer, chuckled. "As long as you're not still mad at him."

"We should head out," Annika said, and with a nod from Nash, she and Emma walked on.

Emma glanced back at Nash. He was tall and lean, with a boyish face thanks to those bangs, giving him this sweet, wholesome vibe. From certain angles, he reminded her of that British actor, Tom Holland.

Turning back to Annika, Emma whispered, "I swear, Lina Turner doesn't know how lucky she is. She's got a husband like that, and she's still chasing after someone else's man."

"But Nash has nerve," Emma went on, "being her backup plan all those years and still marrying her. And now he's acting all noble about it."

Nash had known Annika and Lina since they were kids. His family wasn't as big name as the Parkers or Turners, but they still ran in the same circles, so they'd cross paths a lot growing up. He'd always had a thing for Lina, trailing after her even though she was always brushing him off, calling him a pest and doing everything to avoid him.

Emma met Annika in high school, and since they were friends, she ended up seeing Nash around a lot—always chasing after Lina just to get shut down.

Emma had once said to Lina, "Nash is actually a pretty decent guy. He's cute, he's polite. You don't have to treat him like crap."

Lina had shot back, "You don't think it's annoying having someone constantly there, someone you can't get rid of no matter what you do? Don't people have any pride? How can someone be that shameless?"

Emma could only say, "Because he likes you."

That's love for you—makes people lose all shame.

Emma and Lina were actually close once—until that fateful English class. The teacher had everyone pick an English name. Emma and Lina both went with "Cindy." Since Emma was older and taller, people started calling her "Big Cindy" and Lina "Little Cindy."

Lina kept quiet at first, but later she was ranting to everyone, "Why do I have to be Little Cindy? I'm prettier and richer. Emma is just some country bumpkin—she doesn't even deserve a name like Cindy."

Word got back to Emma, and they had a huge blowout. Annika tried to play peacemaker, telling Lina to apologize. Lina wouldn't, accusing Annika of siding with Emma, and then she ran off crying to find Bowen Flores.

In the end, Bowen dragged Lina to apologize to Emma, gifts in hand, and admitted he'd been spoiling Lina rotten.

Emma had told Annika at the time, "Lina is so freaking lucky. How does she have all these people falling over themselves to spoil her? Most people can't even find one person like that in a lifetime, and she's got two—one of them being her own brother. It's just... enviable."

Years later, Annika finally understood how heavy those words were. Yeah, it was enviable. Somewhere along the line, she realized all she could ever do was look up and envy Lina Turner.