Family Pressure Chapter 8 Holden's POV Ana looked lovely . Her hair was twisted up on top of her head , and she wore no makeup , but she still looked great . Her leggings hugged her body . I could see how slim her legs were from across the room . Ana has lost a significant amount of weight over the last few years . The moment she saw me , it looked like she had sucked on a lemon . She immediately took the chair that Seth had been sitting in , next to her mother . As anticipated , she didn't respond to my greeting . Seth sent her a look before coming around the table to sit next to me . It was better for me that she took his seat . I now had a full view of her . I wouldn't have been able to look at her without making it obvious if she were sitting next to me . " Ana , I know you have some sort of issue with Holden . But it's very rude not to reply to a greeting ," Alicia stated . Her no - nonsense tone told Ana what she expected . I watched Ana press her lips together before looking at me and saying , " Well , hello , Holden . Good to see your again . How long are you staying this time ? " Only she spoke in a totally fake bubbly voice . We could all tell that it was the total opposite of what she wanted to say , but it made me smile . I was going to enjoy messing with her . I couldn't wait for them to tell her the good news . I had deliberately parked in their garage . I knew that if she saw my car , she would have just driven away . I was glad when Colins outed her . Seth and her father made her enter the dining room , I know that she was about to leave after hearing his outburst about having to get married . It made me smile to see what a little wildcat she had become . I know for a fact that if she had known I was here , she would have left without them even knowing that she was here . Seeing me smiling at her set her off . I knew I couldn't miss the opportunity to keep messing with her . Her parents had already decided her fate , along with Seth . Unfortunately for my little wildcat , she was going to have to accept the arranged married , whether she wanted to or not . " What the hell are you smiling at ? " Ana asked . She was pissed . " Analise Elizabeth Caldwell ," her mother gasped out . " Ana , " Seth growled out at the disrespect that she was showing me. " It's fine . I hadn't realized what a little wildcat Analise has become . I shouldn't have set her off ," I replied . Her father looked at me like I had grown another head . " Holden , maybe today isn't the day to push Ana too far , " he suggested . He was right , it wasn't the best idea that I've ever had , but it was worth it . At least she was talking to me now . That's much better than the radio silence that she had been giving me previously . We all knew that she could clearly hold a grudge . But I have spent years trying to get back into her good graces . This has been the most reactive she has ever been towards me , so I know this is the route that I need to take from now on . I have to admit that I think it's going to be fun . I recall hearing that there's a thin line < Family Presture between love and hate . Make no mistake about it , Analise hates me right now . I'm going to see what I can do to change that back into the love she once had for me . The dishes were uncovered , and everyone started to eat . I couldn't help taking another quick glance at her . Ana has always been a beautiful girl , regardless of her size . However , seeing her today , I was taken aback . I haven't seen her in years . Correction , I hadn't been able to get a good look at her in years . She would show up , but upon seeing me , she would manage to slip away and leave . She didn't care about offending my mother , or hers . I'm going to get the reason why she decided to cut me out of her life soon . Whatever I had done to upset her , I would make it right . Ana had piled her long brown hair on top of her head into some kind of a bun . She hadn't dressed up to come eat with her family , but I am sure she was still mourning the end of her relationship . Her face was much slimmer than it had been . I was stunned by her appearance and even more by what it was doing to me . Her full lips kept calling to me . I was having dirty thoughts about having them wrapped around my c ** k , and had to stop myself . I don't know where that thought had come from , but that didn't slow the sudden tightness in my pants . I shifted uncomfortably , trying to adjust . Her gorgeous eyes , caramel colored with some flecks of blue - gray in them , held visible contempt for me when I caught her eye again . That helped my hard - on deflate pretty quickly . She hated me , but I still didn't have any idea of what I could've done to make her so angry . Analise was no longer the same young woman she had been . She was three years younger than Seth and me . She just turned twenty - seven a few months ago and had blossomed into a confident woman . One who was now a stunner , without even trying . I hate the fact that Roger has had the pleasure of putting his hands on her . They've been together for five years now , building up their business , and have been engaged for the last nine months . I'm surprise by my sudden interest and possessiveness over Ana . I have done what I wanted to for the last decade . I've had relationships before , but I felt better knowing Ana didn't want to go forward with the arranged marriage . I have no idea why the thought of losing her suddenly scares me so much . I clenched my fists under the table at the thought of Roger touching her . She was supposed to be mine . She was before , and she will be again . I'm willing to do anything to get her to love me . I miss how she never hid her emotions from me . She was thrilled that we would one day get married . I tried to take another discreet glance at Ana . She caught me , as she was already looking at me when I looked . " Why do you keep looking at me , Holden ? You know what I look like , " she stated coldly . She was calmer when she spoke this time , but it wasn't because she was trying to be respectful . She just didn't like upsetting her parents . I cleared my throat and said , " You've been avoiding me for a long time , Ana . I'm sorry for whatever I did . You've grown into a stunning woman . I just can't understand why Roger would let you go . He has to be an **** t to choose her over you , " I replied . There's no way she can be offended by my comment . I was very careful with what I said , yet I was very , very wrong about that assumption . " I was pretty back then , too , Holden . But it wouldn't be the first time ," she mumbled . What the hell was that supposed to mean ? Had someone done this to her before ? Why didn't Seth and I know about that happening ? We would have straightened them out . The air in the room felt much colder now . 2/4 Family Pressur " You have five minutes, Seth . I would stop wasting time , just say what you want to say . I wasn't bluffing when I said I was going to leave after lunch . As I'm sure you're all aware , I have a lot to do this week , and I need to get a jump on it , " Ana said . " How do you know that I'm the one who wanted to speak to you ? " Seth huffed out . He felt bad for her , but he also didn't want to be the bad guy . He was fine with leaving that to me . " Because I saw Mom and Dad last night , Seth. Dad even helped me come up with a plan of attack . Now , all of a sudden , I get an invitation to lunch , and blindsided , " Ana said . " Of course you're involved . Stop insulting my intelligence . You've inserted yourself into my embarrassing situation . So , what exactly do you want to say ? That I make bad choices in men ? Wait , let me guess , you want to beat up Roger to defend my honor ? You feel terrible about how I was treated ? Or do you all of a sudden want to protect me ? Which one is it , Seth ? Because I already have a plan in place . My list of tasks to complete continues to grow . A list I'll start implementing tomorrow . So please , stop wasting my time , and just spit it out . " " I do feel bad for you , Ana . You're my little sister , how could I not care how you're treated ? " Seth asked , his face showing the same confusion as mine . " Why start now ? " Ana persisted . " Ana , I've always cared about you . I did everything I could to make sure you would be safe without me . We even asked Tiffany to look out for you in her senior year . I've always had your back , Seth refuted . What he said was true . We had both asked Tiffany to keep an eye out for Ana . Tiffany was starting her senior year when Ana started her junior year . Tiffany was pretty popular and well - liked . We both felt that she would ensure Ana's safety without us in school . We both watched Ana as her lips pressed together . It was clear that she was really trying to bite back whatever response she was going to make . We were horrified to see her eyes start to fill with tears . Seeing them , Seth immediately jumped up and ran over to Ana . " Ana , what's wrong ? I'm sorry . I wasn't trying to upset you , but you've changed so much since I left for college . I tried to be there for you since the moment you were born . I wanted to be the person you could depend on . A brother you could trust to keep you safe . Even when I went to college , I still made sure to check in and ensure that you were happy and safe while I was away . Dad and I both did , which is why you had security with you in your last two years of high school . " I'm not going to talk about that today , Seth . What is so important that I had to be ambushed at lunch ? " Ana asked . Her voice wavered slightly as she tried to keep from crying . She was almost as cold to him as she was to me now . " Ana , the invitations have already been sent out . Our friends , investors , and clients have all been invited . You know there's nothing we can do to stop this . We can't back out of it now . A wedding has to take place . Holden has agreed to go through with the arranged marriage to you . It would help you and our family to save face , " Seth replied . We a all watched as Ana's face paled , and she looked to her father for confirmation . His jaw was set . I could tell he hated to do this , but at his slow nod , Ana cried out , " No ! Please , Dad , don't make me do this . " Her pleading tone made me feel terrible . I was trying to help her . Why was she so against it ?