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194|Too Far
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Beautiful Disaster 195|Unforgivable
"Aren't we going with Daddy today?" Orlando asked as they made their way to Marybeth's car collecting dust in the basement parking of their apartment complex."No," Marybeth shook her head as she helped Orlando into the back seat and closed the door.She was lost in thought for a large part of their trip to Liberty Prep, her mind scattered in a thousand directions. She was deeply worried about Elijah and devastated for his mom and sisters. But her disappointment at Austin burned brighter than anything she'd ever felt.She couldn't understand his actions. Last night, he'd promised her there'd be no more secrets between them, only to blindside her with something bigger than anything they'd ever been through.Marybeth didn't know where to begin forgiving her husband or if he deserved forgiveness. What he did wasn't a mistake. It was a deliberate and well-orchestrated attack. She couldn't excuse his actions, no matter how much she loved him."Are you mad at Daddy?" Orlando asked from the b
Beautiful Disaster 196|Life Interrupted
Austin was extremely late for his 8:00 AM meeting with Nadia, and only because he insisted on following Marybeth to Sea Point to ensure she got there safe and sound. In her distraught state, he'd doubted she could get herself to work in one piece."We're almost there," said Benji in the driver's seat when Austin sighed loudly, clearly mistaking his worry for irritation. "The GPS says we're on the quickest route."Austin nodded and paged through Iris' ledger with all the transactions linking some of The Corporation's members to Dreams."What's the status on Boshoff?" he asked, skimming through the transactions containing his father's details. He'd counted five so far, dating as far back as eight years ago, when his mom was still alive and well."He's still in ICU," replied Arno. "No one besides his mom is allowed to see him.""Stay on him," Austin told him. "I want hourly status reports."Before Arno could give his affirmative, Austin's phone rang. It was Noah Boshoff. He'd been calling
Beautiful Disaster 197|In Motion
When Austin returned to the living room, Nadia was packing her stuff, informing his capos she had to meet her contacts for a scheduled money drop."I don't trust that woman!" said Tim when she'd left. "Something about her rubs me the wrong way.""Me too," Austin admitted. "But we need her and her network for now."He checked the time, glad to see he still had a few hours to prepare for his briefing with Laura and Sienna.While Tim and Angelo vetted the list of share traders Angelo's contact had sent, Austin sent a status update to his father, confirming Friar John had been eliminated.Like he knew he would, his father called as soon as he read the text, and Austin had to dig deep in his soul for the strength to remain calm while he chatted with him."That's my boy," Lukas said on his end, his voice oozing with pride. "I knew I made the right choice when I made you the leader of this family."Austin cleared his throat, cutting his father's enthusiasm short when he brought up the payment
Beautiful Disaster 198|The Worst Kind Of Grief
Dr Khan's office was surprisingly quiet when Marybeth bounded in just after 3:00 PM.Her father waved her over when he saw her, smiling broadly as he tapped the empty seat beside him.Marybeth was still highly pissed off at Austin and exhausted from fielding endless questions from Scarlett about Elijah, so she barely returned the smile as she plopped down in her seat and flicked her gaze through the room, noticing two other people were waiting to see the doctor."How's it going, Sweet Pea? Have you settled in? Is Hawthorne treating you like a queen?" Marybeth turned, smiling sadly at him, "Daddy, did you see the news this morning?""Honey, I'm so sorry—"Marybeth held up her hands to hush him up. She didn't want to hear it. "I wish you hadn't done that. I wish you never went to Austin. I get why you did it. But God, Daddy, you have no idea how messy and complicated my life has become."A hush fell over the room. The two other sick people in the waiting area looked up from the muted re
Beautiful Disaster 199|Trade-Off
Marybeth reluctantly followed the nurse to the bathroom across the hall, well aware of where they were headed. When she saw the plastic cup, she knew the time for denials was over.Ten minutes later, Dr Khan was delighted for her as he showed her the positive pregnancy test."Congratulations, Marybeth! You're going to be a mama!""Are you sure?" she asked, suddenly unsure if she should laugh, cry, or scream."Absolutely sure," Dr Khan said, pointing at the line on the test. "It's a bit faint, and I reckon it's because you're still in the early stages of your pregnancy. But I've been in this business long enough to know a positive pregnancy test when I see one.""Can we do another test?" Marybeth asked, praying the second test would refute the first."We can do blood tests," suggested Dr Khan, and Marybeth was on board.Ten minutes later, with her blood work done and Dr Khan promising to get back to her in a few days with her test results, Marybeth left the surgery, feeling numb.She'd
Beautiful Disaster 200|No Room For Error
Austin still had a few more meetings after his briefing with Sienna, but after checking the time, he figured risking Marybeth's wrath and pissing her off further wasn't worth the trouble. So he called his bankers and accounting firm and rescheduled their appointment for later that evening at his place.Next, he cancelled the rest of his meetings for the afternoon, to Elizabeth's annoyance. Huffing and puffing, she scurried into the living room, where Austin was packing his stuff, getting ready to leave."Mr Hawthorne," she began, pressing her lips together. Thankfully, she wore one of those smudge-free lipsticks; Austin would have hated to see her look like a clown."What is it, Elizabeth?" he asked, playing dumb even though he had a pretty good idea why she was frothing at the mouth."You can't do that! You can't just cancel appointments at the drop of a hat. It took us months to book time with the Germans. If we want exclusivity on this deal, this isn't how we'll get it, sir!""The
Beautiful Disaster 201|Same Everything
Austin's mood took a massive hit when they got home and found Blake in his living room, looking too comfortable, while Anna played the perfect hostess. Orlando ran straight into his arms, screaming how happy she was to see him. At that moment, struck by the uncanny resemblance between his brother and daughter, something dark and deadly stirred in Austin's heart. He crossed the room in a heartbeat and snatched Orlando away from Blake."Orly, you need to start on your homework. Your uncle and I have some business to discuss," he said, setting her down on the floor."I don't have homework, Daddy—" she argued, to Blake's delight. Sensing the animosity between Austin and his brother, Anna quickly stepped in and took Orlando's hand, leading her away from the brewing storm."You have some nerve showing up here after all the shit you've done," Austin snarled at his brother when they were alone."After all the shit I've done?" Blake snorted, rolling his eyes. "The last time I checked, you pu
Beautiful Disaster 202|Empty Victory
"Why?" Austin stammered, bewildered out of his mind. Anna crossed her legs and linked her hands as she filled him in, "Iris didn't trust Jaco. Though she loved her father, she didn't trust him either. She felt he was blinded by his nephew. Do you have a cigarette?"Austin had plenty. He reached inside his drawer, pulled out a sealed box from the carton, and threw it at her.She caught it and ripped through the plastic film, indicating with a snap of her fingers she needed a lighter too.Austin threw her a matchbox. No way he'd give her his Zippo."Anyway," Anna continued as she lit a cigarette. "Iris was worried it was only a matter of time before Willem handed everything over to Jaco. So she gave me power of attorney over her affairs.""Do you know what she was working on before she died?" Austin asked.Anna narrowed her eyes at him through the haze of smoke as she sat up straight, "Working on? What do you mean?"Austin was tempted to tell her about the journals. But it was too soon
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