An Old Fashioned Southern Romance Novel by Annalise Arrington Read Free Book Online Page A

on track, and focused. She got only a little rest when Annabella went off to finishing school, but that was short-lived. The girl was often homesick and couldn’t wait to get back. She came home on every holiday break, no matter how short or how much it cost her parents. Even as a child, Dominique knew it was such a waste of time and effort. She thought Annabella ought to grow up and stop acting like a spoiled brat. But, being an only child, there was no incentive for her to be anything other than selfish. So, Dominique, being the bigger person, stopped commanding her own mother’s time and focused on her studies. Now, she was headed off to college and ready to take on the world. Meanwhile, Annabella was, in her opinion, old, lonely, and husbandless. Dominique was sure that by the time she was Annabella’s age, she would be happy and have a wonderful family and career. Dominique grabbed her hobo bag and flung it across her shoulder. It was the finishing touch to her stylish outfit. Her luggage was already near the door as she waited for her dad to load them into the truck and take her to the airport. She did not expect her mother to go with them. She was sure Annabella was somewhere having a nervous breakdown that required Hattie to seek immediate medical attention. She did not want to be the one to cause the poor girl a coronary or something of the sort. She decided a long time ago that she was the red-headed step-child and that Annabella’s needs would always come first. So, she sat on top of her bags and waited for her father. She gazed out the window and wondered what kind of adventures awaited her at college.
     
     
     

Chapter Nine
    “ Annabella Olivia Devereaux! Will you please stop that incessant daydreaming and get your head out of those clouds. This is serious business. Everything is at stake here. Everything we have is on the line. Now, if we mean to win this thing, we have to work together. Are you in or are you out? If you are not with us, you are against us!”
    Annabella was not the least bit startled by Warrenton’s outburst. She was at peace and she had already resolved in her mind what was to be. She stood up ever-so sweetly and began to walk out the door.
    “And just where do you think you are going, Missy?” Warrenton’s toad of a lawyer grilled her.
    “She can have it all. I do not wish to be further subjected to his madness. I did not get myself into this mess and I do not propose to get myself out of it . She can have every last red cent I have to my name, but she shall not walk out of that courtroom with my dignity in tow. Annabella Olivia Devereaux will not be strong-armed by some two-bit floozy whose idea of catch is the likes of Warrenton Bingham Boatwright. She can have it all and she will never, ever prosper because all the money in the world can’t buy what have I have and that, sir, is class. She will have spent my family’s fortune and never gained and ounce of dignity nor self-respect. But I, on the other hand, shall always have my name. And as long as my name is Annabella Olivia Devereaux, I shall never want for anything. I can always start over. And I propose to do so right now.”
    With that, Annabella gracefully exited the meeting room. No sooner had she made her way to the hall before Warrenton’s blowfish of an attorney appeared.
    “If you can do that soliloquy in court, the jury shall surely find in our favor!” He yelled at her.
    Annabella did not hear him, nor would it have made a difference. She was fed up and her mind was made up. She was tired of being bullied by Warrenton and his cohorts. Annabella realized that as long as she was tied to Warrenton, her life would never change. She would never be able to find happiness or any semblance of it. Warrenton was always there, berating her, making her feel like she was not good enough. Who was he to tell her she had no idea how to find love? After all, he was just projecting his own failures on her. He was the one who had