The Bound Between Us

Chapter 5
When Anastasia got back home, Salma was already in snoozeville, so Anastasia tiptoed around, not wanting to wake her up.
That night, Anastasia had a nasty case of insomnia. She couldn’t catch a wink of sleep until the crack of dawn
Despite hitting the sack super late, her body clock was as reliable as an alarm clock, always waking her up at 7 am sharp. She
got up early, whipped up breakfast for her mom, and hit the road because she had to drop her car off at the repair shop. She
needed it for her stall in the evening.
After dropping off the car, Anastasia remembered she needed to stock up goods from the market, but with her car in the shop,
she had to call her bestie for a ride.
Once the call was done, Anastasia hung out on the side of the road, waiting. About half an hour later, a flashy red BMW pulled
up next to Anastasia. It was her bestie Monica waving at her, “Anastasia, hop in.”
Anastasia hopped in, buckled up, and Monica, knowing where Anastasia had to go, drove straight to the market.
In the car, Monica went, Your old bucket of bolts needed replacing ages ago. Why are you still fixing it? Listen to me, get a new
one.”
Anastasia laughed and replied, “A new car needs a wad of cash” She added, “No biggie, it’ll still do after a little fix–up.”
They’d been besties since high school, a friendship that had been going strong for more than a decade.
Monica ran a beauty shop, business was booming, and she was living the good life. Over the years, Anastasia had relied on
Monica quite a bit and was immensely grateful for it.
Monica said, “Anastasia, why are you busting your ass off? It’s a waste of your talents to be running a stall at the Night Market.
You used to be the top dog in our class. If it wasn’t for that incident, you could have...”
Monica suddenly realized she was about to speak carelessly, she quickly glanced at Anastasia’s reaction and laughed to change
the topic. “You’re still young, and you’re turning down guys I introduce to you. Are you planning on staying single forever? It’s
been years, haven’t you moved on from Cason?! heard he’s back in town, running a law firm, and he’s still single. If you can’t let
go of him, I can help you win him over.”

Hearing Cason’s name gave Anastasia mixed feelings; old memories instantly flooded her mind, but they quickly faded into a
blur. Seemed like time really did make you forget some things.
Anastasia shook her head and replied, “Monica, I appreciate you looking out for me, but it’s fine. I’ve moved on.”
Monica continued, “If you’ve moved on, why haven’t you got a boyfriend? I heard from your mom that she’s introduced you to
quite a few boys, and you’ve turned them all down...”
Monica was on a roll, and Anastasia had to gently cut her off. “Monica, I’m married.”
Monica came to a halt and looked at Anastasia in surprise. “What did you just say? You’re married? You don’t even have a
boyfriend. Who did you marry? Is it one of those guys your mom found for you on a dating site?”
Anastasia couldn’t help but laugh at Monica’s reaction, and then she said, “Yes, I’m married. Not to a random guy, but to a man
my mother found for me on a dating site. We’re legally wed.”
“Are you kidding me?” Monica slammed on the brakes and pulled over. This was big news, and she needed all the details.
Monica took Anastasia to a nearby drink shop, looking like she was ready to interrogate her. “Spill the beans, and don’t keep
anything from me. Tell me what’s going on. Who’s the guy?”
Anastasia gave a helpless laugh and said, “His name is Herman. He works for Elysian Technologies. He’s a local, 30 this year,
an orphan...” She gave a brief rundown of what she knew about him.
Seeing Anastasia speaking with such certainty and detail, Monica had no choice but to believe her. “Herman?” Monica felt like
she’d heard that name somewhere, it seemed familiar.
Monica’s family was just an average one, with no contact with people in high society. They weren’t in the same circle as Herman,
who was the CEO of Elysian Technologies, and kept a low profile, never giving interviews or appearing on TV.
Monica felt the name was familiar but didn’t give it much thought.
Anastasia said, “Yeah, I’ll introduce him to you when we have a chance.”
“I definitely want to meet him. He married my best friend. I have to meet him,” Monica said.

Monica then asked, “Now, the most important thing, does he have a house? How much is his income? Will he give his salary to
you after marriage? When will you guys have a wedding?”
Monica fired off a bunch of questions, all very practical and realistic ones.
Anastasia shook her head. “I didn’t ask about his income. He doesn’t have a house, but he has a car. I have my own income, so
I can fend for myself, don’t need him to give me money. As for the wedding, it’s just a ceremony, no need for that, we’ll just be
living together. Besides, we’ve agreed that we’ll split our living expenses, go dutch.”
Monica was shocked. “Anastasia, are you out of your mind? You’re asking for nothing, you just up and got married, without even
a house. You’ll be even more hard–pressed in the future. Have you thought about your kids education? How can you not have a
house? How much can a car be worth? And you’re even going dutch. Even if you are able split the bills now, what will happen
when you have kids? Can you really draw a line between your interests that clearly?”