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145|Own Your Truth
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Beautiful Disaster 146|No Honour Among Thieves
The break had done wonders for everyone's mood; they were all much calmer when they took their seats after a quick round of drinks at the bar.A relieved smile lit up Austin's face when he glanced at Navya. She looked almost like her normal, composed self. Whatever Winston had said to her—and maybe even done with her—had obviously worked."We've heard from the Hawthornes," Nikolai said from the centre of the room as he called the meeting to order again, forcing Austin to pay attention. "They want to leave the alliance, so the only thing left to discuss is our future cooperation.""There is no future cooperation once we leave," Austin informed him, ignoring the several pairs of eyes now glued to him. "You'll all have to find another laundromat.""That's madness! Are you out of your mind?" Willem couldn't hide his outrage as he jumped to his feet and weaved through the tables. He stopped short when Austin pulled out his pistol and twirled it in his hands. Gritting his teeth, a look of d
Beautiful Disaster 147| Change Of Guard
"What did he say?" Austin asked, his voice sounding strangely shrill. "Father, what did Nikolai say?""He…" Lukas stuttered, looking utterly frightened and confused."What did he say?" Blake jumped in, shaking their father a little to get him to snap out of his terrified trance."He said he's heartbroken and can't sit and watch everyone remove him from his seat."Austin gaped at his father, pure incredulity shining brightly in his eyes, unable to understand why he'd lie so blatantly. Whatever Nikolai had said had nothing to do with heartbreak, and Austin knew this because he'd never seen his old man so…petrified.Before he could push for the truth, Willem swiftly moved things along, asking Andrei, "do we have your permission to remove your father from his seat?"Andrei nodded. "You'll get his resignation in the morning.""Then I guess all that's left is to vote the Hawthornes in," said Willem. "All those in favour, raise your hands."Everyone except Jaco, Vishal and his capos raised t
Beautiful Disaster 148|To Serve And Protect—Part 1
The sense of dread Austin had carried around since he saw the look of horror on his father's face finally melted away when he stepped into his penthouse.From the entrance hall, he had a clear view of the open-plan living area, and there, he saw something that made his heart flutter. In the blue and white glow of the TV light was Marybeth lying on the couch, strands of her long red hair draped over the armrest.His feet moved of their own accord and carried him forward, finally stopping in front of the couch, where he stood for some time, gazing at Marybeth's sleeping form.He pushed the magazines on the coffee table out of the way and sat down, listening to the peace filling his heart as he ran his hands on her arms, revelling in the smooth feel of her stardust skin on his fingertips."Žena, wake up. I'm home," he whispered as he bent over and slowly brushed her lips in a fleeting kiss.He was about to kiss her again when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arno stroll down the sta
Beautiful Disaster 149|To Serve And Protect—Part 2
Once Marybeth's breathing had returned to normal, she swiftly rolled away from Austin, turning her back to him, almost as if she couldn't wait to get away from him.He frowned at her clammy back, wondering what the hell was going on.Leaning over her, he caressed her face and asked, "žena, what's wrong?""Why would anything be wrong?" Marybeth mumbled into her pillow.Well, maybe because you can't even look at me, Austin thought. But he was smart enough to not speak his mind. They'd just made love, and the last thing he wanted was to fight with her hours before he was supposed to leave for the Blue Mountains. In fact, he'd prefer it if they could just cuddle and maybe have another go at it. So he pulled her close, pleading with her to look at him."Can you not do this, please? Can you not shut me out?""I'm not shutting you out," Marybeth murmured on his chest, her breath on his skin sending exhilarating shock waves all over his body."Then what do you call this?" Austin asked, bringi
Beautiful Disaster 150|Promises
Austin wasn't exactly surprised when he stepped into the kitchen and found his handlers at the breakfast nook with fresh mugs of coffee, speaking in hushed tones. He'd figured they wouldn't leave until they'd thrashed things out with him.They both stood up at the sound of his footsteps, with Arno asking, "кум, can we talk?"Austin waved at them to sit while he made himself a cup of coffee."Get the second team to stay on Marybeth," he told them as he sipped his coffee."You can't be serious about firing us," Arno mumbled glumly from inside his mug."What can we do to fix this? We like кума!" Benji jumped in."If you liked her, you would have put her safety first. Now because of you, my father is all over Marybeth, and it won't be long before he puts a target on her back. You can return to your old roles, and I'll get new security for my wife!""We can't just—" Arno tried to push back, but Austin quickly shot him down, demanding a status report on Jaco's movements before Iris died.Be
Beautiful Disaster 151|Trust Is Earned
Orlando was beside herself with joy when she stumbled into the kitchen with Marybeth and found Austin hard at work, getting their breakfast ready."Daddy!" she screamed gleefully as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "So it wasn't a dream! Last night when you came to my room, I thought I was dreaming!"Austin picked her up and sat her on the counter, pinching her cheek playfully, "no, Squeak, it wasn't a dream. Did you sleep well?"Orlando nodded and promptly moved on to more pressing issues, "Daddy, can we get a puppy, please? Pretty please?"Taken aback by her request, Austin frowned, "why?""To keep me company when I can't go to Neli's house."Austin glanced at Marybeth, silently pleading with her with his eyes to save him. He loved dogs, but they were too much work.Marybeth shrugged, laughing her way to the coffee machine, her message loud and clear. This was his decision, and his alone."Who'll feed it, Orly?" Austin asked."Me, of course!""And the shit? Who'
Beautiful Disaster 152|Deception
Adrenaline kicked in right about the same time Austin's shock and disbelief wore off, jump-starting his brain to life.He gathered up the papers and haphazardly slipped them back inside the folder, not in the least bothered by their exact order now.He placed the file and gun on the desk, sat down, and patiently waited.He didn't have to wait long. Piper walked in two minutes later, chirpy as ever, blissfully unaware of how precariously close she was to losing her life."We should get your results in a day or two," she announced as she shut the door behind her with the heel of Louboutins and crossed the room, stopping in her tracks when her eyes fell on the gun beside the file.The terror painted on her face said everything her lips couldn't. She opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut without uttering a word. Her jig was up, and there was nowhere for her to run to. Even if there was, Austin would have her brains splattered all over her white walls and marble floors before she c
Beautiful Disaster 153|Cooler Head
When Austin returned to Piper's posh, air-conditioned office, she still looked a little green around the gills."Austin, can we talk about this, please?""Sure, where would you like to start?" he asked, reaching for his gun and twirling it in his hands. It wasn't loaded. He'd removed the magazine before she came in, but she didn't need to know that."Iris…at first, she was furious about being forced to marry you.""I guess that gave her license to fuck my brother and one of my closest friends within what—days, weeks of fucking me?" Austin snorted.The rumours about Iris' infidelity had haunted their relationship almost from the beginning. Whispers about Orlando's paternity, too, had filled the hallways of his childhood home in Clarence Estate.But because Orlando was a baby when Iris died and didn't look like either of them at the time, he never paid much attention to the chatter. But now, as she grew older, she was starting to resemble Iris a lot more. She had no traces of him except
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