The Life of Anastasia Williams

Chapter 1

I do not own The Vampire Diaries

On an ordinary day, with the sun shining and the joyful sounds of children filling the neighborhood park, the world seemed blissfully unaware of the tragedy unfolding in a seemingly average house just down the street. You wouldn't even look twice at it so no one did when the life of an innocent soul left the world leaving her young daughter behind, alone with the abusive animal she once called her lover.

Anastasia Williams had run the small distance from where she had hastily parked her car to what had once been her home with her heart in her throat. She didn't know why he had done what he did, God, if only she had been earlier then her baby wouldn't be with him now, alone. She had never been so scared in her life as she ran faster, the fear for her child fuelling her body to go forward despite how tired she was after her long day. If she hadn't had her late shift, she thought to herself shaking her head, tears burning at the back of her eyes, but what could she have done, the life of a kid had been in her hands, she couldn't just leave until the child was stable. 

She was the best at her job and the child had been in critical condition so they had asked her help, or they could very well have lost the child and she didn't want anyone to feel the loss of a child the way she had. She had to step in despite how terrified she was of the upcoming argument with her boyfriend and after 2 long hours she'd successfully managed to save the boy. 

She felt beyond happy when the child's parents expressed their gratitude to her but when they moved to embrace her in a gesture of thanks, a deep-seated fear within her erupted, causing her to flinch away involuntarily. She swallowed as she looked into their concerned expressions before she quickly fled from the room and threw herself in the car.

Leaning her head against the steering wheel, she fought to regain control over her emotions, taking deep breaths to steady herself. She drove to Lilliana's nursery and found the teacher, who was normally there with her baby whenever she had a late shift, but she couldn't see her daughter anywhere. Her heart dropped in her throat though when the teacher said that her husband had arrived and had taken her instead, clearly not knowing that the man wasn't her husband, they hadn't married and they never would.

As soon as the words came out the teacher's mouth, she ran as if the hounds of hell were chasing her right back to her car and began to drive as fast as she could. She knew that she'd be charged tickets for speeding and running a red light, twice, but her child's safety was worth the extra money as well as the extra beating but she was used to it, her child wasn't and she never would be. She'd protected her every day since she was born as she refused to lose another child because of him. 

She wouldn't even be with him if he hadn't threatened her, and what was more chilling than his menacing words was the undeniable reality that his threats were far from empty. The first time she dared to consider leaving him,  he'd leveraged her affection for her friends and the remnants of care she held for her absent father over her head to threaten her into compliance, possessing a disturbingly comprehensive knowledge of their existence – their addresses, financial details, daily routines, and every intimate facet of their lives. The extent of his information was a testament to the dangerous network of favors he held in his grasp, leaving Anastasia paralyzed with fear.

Forced to comply with his demands, she found herself imprisoned in a facade of affection that churned her stomach with revulsion. Every false smile, every counterfeit touch, and every feigned kiss in public was a painful reminder of the shackles that bound her.

Bitterness and loathing festered within her, a stark contrast to the façade of harmony they presented to the world. Deep down, she seethed with resentment for the man who held her captive, despising the artifice she was forced to embody. Though the urge to break free surged within her, the cruel reality was that she had no means of escape, not without endangering everyone she cared about.