#tna sofia

Anna’s eyes fluttered open as the warm Italian sun woke her, shining on her face through her bedroom window of the large villa. She checked the time on her phone, noticing she had texts from Jenny and Sam as she stretched her arms above her head and rolled out of bed, instantly being met with a soul crushing wave of sadness.

Tonight was the night of Sam and Sofia’s rehearsal dinner. The wedding was here and Anna felt physically ill at the thought of it. It was the very day she had been dreading since the moment she first learnt that Sam was engaged. And yet, its upcoming date was all down to her. She had been the one to pressure Sam about his trip to Italy, telling him he was just running away from his problems. It had been her accusations that had brought this trip upon herself and the boys. Ergo, she had been the one to facilitate the wedding even happening so soon. If she had just kept her nose out of Sam’s business and let him come to Italy for his work trip, she and the boys would still be home at the penthouse in New York. Blissfully naive.

Anna couldn’t stop the overwhelming sense of self-loathing crushing through her like a freight train. Nor did she want to. She had brought all of this on herself. She knew from the very beginning that she had no business becoming involved with her boss anyway, but that aside, she knew he was engaged within days of taking the job. She could have saved his heart and her own from the inevitable shattering if she had just done her job and kept herself to herself. Robin was right at the picnic, and deep down, she always knew it. In another life, maybe, but in this life... she would always be the one left broken hearted.

She stood from the bed and walked over to the full length mirror, her petite body bare from her late night rendezvous with Sam. Her eyes immediately fell on her bruises still lingering from her accident. Darkness covering her chest and ribs, still sore to touch, alongside fading bruises indented from a recent escapade with Sam. As she looked between them, it was difficult to decipher which set brought more pain with them. Quickly pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she showered and dressed for the day, having been asked to keep Mickey and Mason happily entertained for the majority of the day whilst Sam and Sofia dealt with last minute preparations.

She was in the dining room with the boys, Sofia’s villa’s maid having made them breakfast. It was nice to just relax with them, sometimes allowing herself the luxury of feeling like she was on holiday with her family. Caring for the boys never had felt like the job, Anna felt a real connection with them. After she finished, she took her dishes into the kitchen to wash up, freezing when she felt a pair of large hands settle on her hips and their owner’s warm breath on the back of her neck. “Good morning, beautiful.”

She took a deep breath and turned in his arms, faking a smile before she truly got lost in his enchanting eyes as he leaned down to kiss her. “Morning” she sighed as his lips left hers far too soon.

“Mmm. What’s your plans for today?”

“Not much, I thought we’d just go to the beach again since it’s nearby. I don’t want to risk going anyway too far in case we end up being late for the weddi-“ she faltered as she had to say the words. “For tonight.”

Sam frowned as he saw a break in her facade. “Annie...”

“It’s fine.” She lied with a tight smile as she quickly moved from his embrace to the other side of the kitchen. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

Sam watched as Anna tried to compose herself from even the mention of the wedding rehearsal. He’d tried to talk to her about it many times, wondering if she still meant what she said on the flight from New York. I get that you can’t leave Sofia... so I’m not asking you to. He would never dream of asking that of her, but she offered.

 I don’t want better. I want you. Can you give me that? He could give his name and merge his company to Sofia, but Anna would always own his body and soul. Yes, he could give her that.

 We’ll just... go with the flow, do what feels good. And boy, had they. Sam had taken Anna on more occasions than they could count over the last few weeks. He had never felt such passion and desire for someone else like this ever before, but it was more than that. Anna challenged him. She excited him. She blew his mind. She was a force of nature and he loved that about her. She was everything he needed in his life, feeling like he had another chance at life after lying dormant for five years. He cleared his throat and spoke delicately.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course.” Her hands held a slight tremble to them as she made their coffees, betraying the cool tone her voice was managing. She prayed that he would leave it alone.

“Sweetheart... you don’t seem alright. Tell me what’s going on.”

She snapped her head over her shoulder as she looked at him in utter disbelief. She spoke quietly and calmly, knowing the boys were in the next room. “I’m sorry, Sam, but are you a fucking idiot?”

Sam’s swallowed thickly, confused and frightened by the vast turn in Anna’s otherwise warm voice and demeanour. “Wh-what?”

“Did you seriously just ask your mistress if she’s alright the day before your wedding?” Sam opened his mouth to presumably utter a heartfelt yet empty apology for being a thoughtless ass but was stopped short as Anna raised her hand to him, “Sam, I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”

He immediately crossed the room to her in a few quick strides, holding her face gently as he bent down and gazed into her warm brown eyes. “Hey, hey. What’s gotten into you?”

She closed her eyes as she exhaled a shaky breath. When they opened again, she was pure fire. Blazing in her eyes and coursing through her veins. “You. That’s the fucking problem.” Her eyes narrowed as she tore his hands from her jaw. “When I agreed to come on this trip, I was still living on empty notions of you getting us out of this situation! Do you remember what you told me at the High Line? That you’d find us a clean way out of this mess. You promised. I was so high off of your affection and blinded by my goddamn libido that I foolishly believed every word you said! Then reality set in on the flight here. You waited until I was trapped in a 9 hour flight for a trip with no return date to drop the bomb you were waiting on. That, in no uncertain terms, you would be going ahead with the wedding, cornering me whilst in fucking post orgasmic bliss! I hate to break it to you Sam, but me hanging around as your mistress for years is not a clean break. Was it your plan all along to do it here, in Italy? Are you on some sort of power trip that you want to see the face of the girl’s heart you’re breaking as you stand at the end of the aisle, waiting to marry someone else?”

“Christ, Anna, no! Do you really think so little of me and how I feel for you? You know I don’t want to see your face out in the crowd! I want it to be you walking down the aisle to me in the white dress. I want it to be you I get to call my wife for the rest of our lives. I want you and only you.” Sam tested the waters by cupping Anna’s neck, his thumb coming up to graze her cheek. When she didn’t pull away, he encircled her in his arms, bending to drop a kiss into her hair. “You know why I need to do this, Annie. It’s for the boys l-”

Anna face twisted into rage once more as she placed her hands on Sam’s chest, forcing him to get out her way as she stepped by him and began pacing. “Enough with the legacy shit! I thought we already established your legacy for them isn’t worth all of this! It took me screaming at you to get you to give them one day of your undivided attention, what’s it gonna take for you to realise nothing is worth the sacrifices you’re making? Do you really want this life for them? Do you really want the boys to shoulder this burden when they’re working for you in thirty years? Neglecting their own families and lives because of your expectations?”

Sam fumbled as her words took effect. “Of course, I don’t. I...” He sighed deeply, massaging his temples.

“Do you want to miss the rest of their childhood once you become CEO? You barely seem them as it is now, that’s only going to get worse once your title’s official. You need to take a step back and ask yourself if this is all worth it, Sam. Unless, it is...” Anna eyes widened as she looked away, her mind taking a new stance.

“What are you talking about?” Sam looked at her, confused by the look on her face.

She shook her head before meeting his eyes. “God, I am such an idiot. It is worth it, isn’t it? You want to marry Sofia, don’t you? Oh my god, oh my god, what the fuck is wrong with me? I have been trying to work out for the life of me why you would be going through with this. You hate the constant business work, your real love is the science which you’d no longer get to be doing, you said it yourself the other night that you don’t even know how long you’ve been neglecting the boys. But now... now it all makes sense. You want to marry Sofia.” Reality hit as she snapped her gaze up to him. “Have you been sleeping with her this whole time too? Did our relationship mean anything to you?

“No, Anna! I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. You’ve got this all wrong. Of course it meant something! It does. Anna, I would never do that to you. I lo-”

“Anna, Mickey and I finished our waffles! Is it time to go to the beach?” Mason sing songed from the kitchen doorway, Sam facing him with Anna turned away.

Anna kept her face away from him, lifting a hand to wipe the tears that had betrayed her by falling. “Yeah, baby. Go get your sandals on and meet me at the front door.”

“Ok!” He grinned. He was about to leave before noticing the look on Sam’s face. “Is everything okay, Dad?”

“Yeah, kiddo.” He smiled. “Just, uh... making arrangements for the dinner tonight.”

“Ugh, do we still need to go to that?"

“Yes, you do.” He chuckled as Mason rolled his eyes and groaned. “Now go and get ready for your day with Anna.” He shot a double thumbs up before leaving to retrieve his brother. He watched as Anna composed herself and turned around, presumably heading for the door. "Anna, wait."

"Save it," she spat through gritted teeth, not even sparing him a glance.

——————————

That evening, Anna helped Mickey and Mason get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Sam and Sofia had went ahead themselves, preparing to welcome their guests at the venue and Anna would travel with the twins and Carter.

"Mickey, your tie is crooked. Mason, you missed a button. Come on, boys, we're gonna be late."

"You never cared when we were late before" was all Anna heard as the boys flew off on a tangent talking amongst themselves, Anna taking deep breaths to brace herself for her impending gloom. She began imagining the look on Sam’s face tomorrow as Sofia entered the church, if would be truly faking the happy look on his face, or he had in fact been faking it to her for months. “Anna? Anna!"

"Sorry, what were you saying, buddy?"

"I said we have a surprise for you!" Mason grinned before rushing to open their closet, pulling out a designer garment bag.

"Yeah, Carter helped us pick out a dress for tonight!"

"Carter picked this out?"

"Well, he helped us convince some fancy stylist to pick it out for you. She said it'd help you steal the spotlight!" Anna smiled at the two precious faces smiling up at her. Even though stealing the spotlight was the last thing she wanted, she would never deny the dress after the bother the two of them had went to with Carter.

Mason held the bag up to her. "We wanted you to feel extra pretty after your accident. I picked the colour though! Try it on!"

She felt her tears well up as she thanked them and went to her room to try the dress on. Red and gold, just like she knew the theme was for the evening after helping Sofia make the plans. It fit perfectly, and on any other occasion she'd have been buzzing with excitement to see the look on Sam's face as she walked in wearing this. Now, she just felt nothing. She wasn't even sad anymore, she had once again pushed all emotions to the back of her mind. Being numb was better than feeling the debilitating pain of loving Sam Dalton.

——————————

Anna, Carter and the boys arrived at the extravagant venue a little while later, the room dressed in red and gold as she expected. Anna may not like Sofia, but she could admit she had good taste. Class may be a step too far, but she had taste.

Just beyond the entryway, Sam and Sofia stood welcoming their partygoers. Sam’s eye lit up as he saw Anna walking towards him. No matter what she wore, he thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. But tonight, she completely took his breath away.

As they approached, Sofia pulled Anna into a tight hug. “There’s my little bestie!”

“Bestie?” Anna stared with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course! You are my maid of honour, and best friends do things for each other. Personal favours, keeping secrets, things like that, hmm?” She smiled brightly but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Relax Sofia, I haven’t told him and I don’t plan to.” Anna was still reeling from the revelation that Sofia was in fact also embarking on her own affair. She had no idea who with, and she didn’t want to know. Sofia had threatened Sam and the boys with the biggest scandal they’d ever see if Anna uttered a word about it, so she kept her mouth shut. Yes, it would probably give Sam an escape, but he shouldn’t need that. He should be able to take matters into his own hands and see what was best for him, what was best for the boys.

After the somehow inconspicuous whispers with Sofia went unnoticed, she stepped up to Sam. He leaned down to kiss her cheek, lingering for longer than was most likely appropriate. Before he leaned back, he whispered “You look absolutely stunning, Annie. The most beautiful woman in the room tonight.”

Anna kept her composure, not falling victim to Sam’s smooth talking as she normally would. Not tonight. “Thank you. If only that was enough,” she sighed as she walked on without looking back.

Hours later, with the rehearsal dinner in full swing, Anna felt she was doing her best to put on a brave face. She'd given a heart warming toast as Sofia's maid of honour, albeit swallowing back bile as she did so. She'd spent her night dancing with the boys, trying to make their night as enjoyable as possible. She glanced at her phone, noting the time and possible exit plan for her. Once the boys were all tired out from the dancing, all they had done was nag at her to take them back to the villa. She was trying her best to keep them there and happy, knowing it would mean a lot to Sam to have the boys there for the festivities, but she was reaching the end of her tether. She made eyes with Carter across the dance floor and he walked over to meet her, confirming her hopes and saying it was time for the boys to go home. She turned to the boys and giggled at the look of sheer excitement radiating from them. Carter said he'd take the boys to the car and she headed over to tell Sam they were on their way.

"Hey," she found Sam at the elegant bar, nursing a glass of bourbon. "Carter said it was time to take the boys home, so..."

"I know, I just told him to go take them. They're on their way."

"What?! And I’m just to stay here watching you from the far corner like some sad little puppy?"

"Of course not" he frowned. "I had hoped for you to stay on without the boys for the chance to meet some new people. We both know you don't want to be a nanny forever. You have a lot of potential, Annie, and there are some very important figures in both science and business here." Sam caught a glance of something over Anna's shoulder, smiling widely as he faced her again. "But before we do that, more of my family just arrived."

He took her arm, placing it in the crook of his elbow before leading her through the room. "Great, more family members I can piss off for being a woman with an opinion!" Anna rolled her eyes.

Sam smirked at her sass. "Trust me, my mom's family are nothing like the Russos, or the Daltons, for that matter."

Anna glanced down at her watch, noticing the late hour. "They've only just arrived?" She looked up at Sam with furrowed brows.

"Their flight got delayed. Think they headed straight here from the airport. My mom's originally from Providence, not New York like my dad, so they were on a different flight than his side." They reached a man just as Sam's mother was walking away. "Uncle Alan!"

The older gentleman turned around and grinned immediately, Anna feeling like she already knew the man, something so familiar about him. "Sammy!" he smiled before pulling him into a warm hug. "Jeez, you gotta lay off the gym, son. You boys are making me look bad in my old age!" He joked as Sam chuckled, Anna smiling at the two of them, noticing the down to earth nature of the man and it reflected back from Sam.

"Where is he?" Sam beamed, Anna curious as to who he was talking about.

"Just getting our drinks at the bar. You know that one, first thing he needs after a nine hour flight is a stiff drink." Sam chuckled along, nodding his head in agreement. "Goodness, pardon my manners! And who's this? The lucky lady?"

Anna blushed as Sam smiled sadly, waving Alan’s apologies off. "No, that's my fault. And... no. I'll introduce you to her later. This is actually the boy's nanny, Anna."

"Your mom was just telling me about her!" He turned to Anna before taking her hands in his own. "Vivian couldn't stop raving about you, says no one's ever taken care of those young troublemakers quite so well." He chuckled with a good natured wink thrown in Sam's direction, Anna joining in. "What's your name, sweetheart? Anna...?"

"Val-"

"Sorry, Dad, they don't stock your usual here, but I assume this will suffice.

Anna felt her body raise in goosebumps as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She'd know that deep baritone anywhere. She momentarily attempted to prepare herself as she came face to face with the ocean blues that had ripped her heart to shreds a year ago, closing her eyes before opening them to a shocked gasp.