with love from Eve Best x (Writober 2023)

Day 10 - Anna x Reader [tears]

PAIRING: Anna x Reader

WORD COUNT: 1,270

WARNINGS: angst, manipulation, relationship trauma

A/N: Requested by Serpentessian on Wattpad! First angsty prompt, and of course, it's for this sweet woman. She deserves all the hugs... I hope y'all enjoy it!

Prompt ideas credit: ribbontales on Tumblr.

Prompts can be found in the "A/N interruption" chapter

I'm doing all prompts based on requests! Comment an Eve character x Reader or ship (Silrah, Rhaenys/Corlys, Rosaline/Jacob) and one of the words from the Tumblr links to read a chapter of your choosing! Happy Writober! :)

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Anna ❤️
Can you meet me in the park by my office in ten minutes?

The second you got her text, you shot to your feet and rushed for the door of your apartment. Getting this kind of text from Anna was a 50/50 shot at good news or bad news. Actually, knowing her, it was more of a 40/60. Or a 30/70. 

So when you reached the park, you had no idea what to expect. After a few attempts of sweeping the area with your gaze, you came to the conclusion that she wasn't there yet. Or else you would have been able to see her.

A couple of minutes later, glancing between Anna's text on your phone and the surrounding passerby, you figured she'd be here any second.

It only took you a few seconds to spot her. Her honey-golden hair made her easy to spot as she hurried into the part and looked around. When Anna's eyes met yours, you immediately noticed their shine and the redness riming them. She was crying. Or, at least, she had been. And she was about to again.

"Anna?!" you exclaimed and rushed toward her.

She ran to you as fast as she could in her heels, and a second later, she slammed into you and burst into tears. Your arms reflexively wrapped around her and held her close.

It broke your heart to see her like this. All you wanted to do was fix it, but you didn't know how. You weren't sure what else you could do at this point other than just hold her. So that was exactly what you did. You cradled Anna's body as best you could and let her cry into your shirt, the sound of each sob tearing a rift in your heart.

"Anna," you murmured, stroking her hair to soothe her. "Darling, it's alright."

She only continued crying. It must've been something bad that happened. You'd never seen her fully break down like this before. The thought only enraged you further.

It took Anna a few more minutes of crying before she composed herself. You two weren't the only ones in the park, but anyone who stared at the woman in your arms got blasted by a dagger-like glare from you.

Finally, she inhaled shakily and looked up at you. "I'm sorry," Anna whispered.

You pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "What in the world do you have to be sorry for?" you asked gently. "You've done nothing wrong."

"You might retract that statement once I tell you what's happened," she whispered. "And asking you to come out all this way-"

You silenced her with a soft kiss before she could continue. When you broke away, you tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled at her gently. "I highly doubt that, Anna," you assured her. A few steps away from you was a bench, and you carefully guided her over to sit. "Now, do you want to tell me what happened? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Anna took a slow deep breath. "I do. I want to tell you," she answered. Still, she didn't start speaking right away. Instead, she stared down at her hands and the tissue clenched in them that you hadn't noticed before.

It bothered you how badly she was trembling, so you scooped up her hands in your own, took the tissues from her to throw them away in the trash can beside you, and brought her hands to your lips to kiss them. She blushed, and you lowered both of your hands down into your lap as your thumbs stroked gently over the skin you'd just kissed.

"Take your time," you urged her. "I'm not going to rush you."

Anna nodded. "I know I've told you about Harry," she began slowly.

You tried not to cut a sharp glare into the ground at the mention of her ex-husband's name. "Yes," you answered as calmly as you could.

"Well... about two years ago, there was another man." Her shoulders dropped slightly, and her eyes dimmed. It was as if, for a moment, the natural, hopeful light in them went out. "Nikhail Julian. He was a prison governor I worked very closely with."

"Oh?" you prompted gently. You gently squeezed her hands since you were still holding them, and she offered a weak smile.

"He and I... we grew close. We had..." Anna shivered slightly. "Eventually, we had a relationship. We saw each other every day. And he- I... We shared a bed together once."

She looked over at you as if your face would turn red and you'd start yelling at her, but instead, you reached up and cupped her cheek.

"I'm not judging you for sleeping with someone, Anna," you reassured her. "If you were in a relationship, that's natural."

Anna relaxed almost immediately, a small smile edging itself onto her face and countering her tears. But what she said next left you shell-shocked.

"Well, I certainly had feelings for him. But he never loved me. He told me as much."

She began telling you everything. How Nikhail had tricked her into falling in love with him so they could get close. How he lured her and Daisy to his house, essentially kidnapping them and holding them hostage for the sake of her husband -- that little detail only made you hate Harry more.

"The way he spoke to me when he revealed himself..." Anna's voice broke around the end of her sentence. "I can't stop thinking about it. I'm sure I'm going mad."

"You're not," you promised her. "May I give you a hug?"

She stared at you for a moment before nodding her approval. You didn't hesitate to wrap your arms lovingly around her and hold her close. Immediately, she did the same.

"Anna," you whispered as she clung to you. You could feel her still trembling, and your hands ran up and down her back gently. "I love you. I want to keep anything like that from ever happening to you again. Alright?"

She nodded in reply. Not saying anything was a bit of a sign, but as her body began to twitch slightly within the embrace, you were sure she'd started crying again.

"I love you too," Anna whispered back and tightened her hold on you. Like she thought once the words were in the air, you'd disappear. Your heart broke terribly for her. "I didn't mean to break down like this. But there was a case today at work..."

"You don't have to tell me," you interrupted her. "I understand. I always will. And I'll always be here for you."

Anna sobbed quietly. You simply held her, tearing up yourself, until she composed herself to speak again. "Every time I allowed myself to hope or wish or dream, the world has snatched it from my grasp." She drew back to look into your eyes. Whatever she found as she searched them, it helped her relax. "You're the first thing I couldn't truly bear to lose."

You felt a tear slide down your cheek as you leaned in to kiss her.

For a while, you stayed in the park, holding each other and whispering comforting words. Once your eyes were dry, you brought Anna home. She protested, of course, and insisted that she had to go back to work. But you called her office for her and explained the situation to her boss.

You took care of your lovely partner the rest of the night, showering her with all the kisses and praise she could handle. By the time you were both curling into bed, Anna knew without a doubt that she loved you more than anything.

All it had taken was a lifetime of heartbreak to find the one who could finally give her real hope.