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215|Live A Little
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2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Beautiful Disaster 216|What If
It was unbearably hot when Marybeth opened her eyes again, with bright sunlight flooding the tent. Positive she'd slept the entire day away, she gingerly reached for her phone to check the time. She smiled with relief when she saw it was just after 9:00 AM and quickly threw on her jeans and Austin's t-shirt before stepping into the blistering hot morning."Morning Sweet Pea," her father called out to her from the campfire. "Slept well?""Unbelievably so," replied Marybeth as she swatted a mosquito buzzing too close to her face."Where's Austin?" she asked, roaming her gaze through the campsite, her eyes falling on her handlers sipping coffee near the stream. She waved, and they did the same, almost blinding her with their smiles."He took Orlando fishing," said Danica, appearing beside Marybeth with a bowl of cereal. "You missed breakfast," she added, handing the bowl to her.Marybeth took it and joined her father but couldn't bring herself to eat the All-Bran flakes. She gagged a litt
Beautiful Disaster 217|Ends Here And Now
Orlando was a busy bee, helping Anna grill fish over the open flame when Marybeth and her little group finally returned to camp."Marybeth, come see what we caught," she chirped excitedly when she saw them."What did you catch, Orly?" Marybeth asked, glancing at their loot sizzling over the fire."I don't know what it's called, but we can eat it!""Impressive, Orly!" Marybeth said. "And you caught it yourself?""Grandma De Jager helped me," Orlando announced, beaming up at Marybeth."It's Grandma, Orly," Anna reminded her. "Grandma De Jager sounds so formal.""Right," said Orlando absently, her attention on their meal."Where's your father?" Marybeth asked, but Anna responded, pointing at Austin pacing up and down near a grove of trees, his cell phone glued to his ear."He's been on the phone since we came back.""With who?"Anna shrugged. "Work, I guess.""And he promised me he wouldn't work this weekend," Orlando chimed in, her rosy lips forming a perfect pout as she rummaged through
Beautiful Disaster 218|Out In The Wilderness
The walk back to their camp felt unusually long, and Marybeth knew it had everything to do with the tension simmering between them.Austin was the first to break the silence, though, asking her about Adeline and her siblings.Marybeth filled him in, giving him just enough to answer his questions."Will they be fine?" he pressed, and Marybeth sighed and closed her eyes, suppressing her anger as she pressed her lips together. The last thing she wanted to talk about was her pupil."Smith and the social worker seem to think so," she replied, opening her eyes again."You know…we could foster Adeline—" Austin began, his words trailing off at the sounds of crunching leaves, followed by twigs snapping as if someone had stepped on the dry brush.Marybeth couldn't tell which direction the sounds were coming from because of the little hills and tall trees surrounding them. But it sounded very close.She turned to see Austin holding his index finger over his lips, silently telling her to stay quie
Beautiful Disaster 219|Icarus
Austin was still pacing near the stream, trying to calm down with a cigarette, when Benji drifted over with an update, "Anna remembered something; кума got her to talk.""What did she say?" he asked, looking away from the cloud of smoke floating above his head."Blake. He's the only other person she told about the trip."Austin was struck speechless, and when he still couldn't articulate his thoughts after a moment, or two had passed, he began walking along the riverbank."How do you want to proceed?" Benji asked, falling into step with him. "If he is behind this, we need to rein him in ASAP—""He's not!" Austin cut in sharply as they paused in front of a huge boulder. "I know my brother. He doesn't have the balls to pull this shit off.""Or maybe you're underestimating him, and that's what he's banking on," Benji suggested as he sat on the rock and stared at Austin. "Think about it. Who else has an axe to grind with you?"Off the top of his head, Austin could think of several people w
Beautiful Disaster 220|The Dead Guy
Austin was the first to emerge from the bathroom, dressed in faded jeans, a black t-shirt and sneakers."Where's кума?" asked Arno as he craned his neck and looked past Austin's shoulder. "Is she okay?"Austin shook his head, growling at him, "Would you be okay if some rando tried to kill you for no fucking reason?""She wasn't the target—""It doesn't matter if she was the target or not!" Austin snapped. "Bottom line is she was there with me, and that bastard could have easily hurt her. God, Arno, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her or the baby—""Baby?" Arno stammered, scratching his head, and at that moment, Austin wanted to kick himself for getting emotional and letting the cat out of the bag. He'd planned to tell his handlers, but not this soon.Sighing, he dragged Arno away from the restrooms and beckoned Benji over, swearing both men to secrecy before confirming Marybeth was expecting."It's still early days, and I didn't want to say anything until after the fi
Beautiful Disaster 221:To The Moon
Piper was waiting for them at the penthouse when they arrived. Austin figured Arno and Benji had called her. He wasn't thrilled to see her and would have thrown her out if it wasn't for his concern for Marybeth and their baby.She took one look at them and slipped into doctor mode, asking them all kinds of questions while Austin disabled the security system and unlocked the door. Orlando chirped away and told her all about their 'accident' at the lake. Of course, Piper didn't believe a word she said, and the moment they were inside, and Anna took Orlando away to give them some privacy, she called bullshit on their story."This doesn't look like an accident to me," she said as she followed them to one of the guest rooms for their consultation."Sit," she told Marybeth, signalling to her to unbutton her shirt so she could check her out."She's pregnant," Austin blurted out. "We want to make sure the baby is okay. She took quite a fall earlier and fainted.""Oh?" said Piper, her eyes fl
Beautiful Disaster 222|Flesh Wound
"I didn't know," Piper said as soon as Austin sat down. "Honestly, I would never have imagined it was Leks. I just didn't see Iris having an affair with him. Maybe because we all know how insane he is—""Stop talking, Piper!" Austin warned her. But it was almost as if she'd slipped into a trance and couldn't hear him as she cleaned his wound. All she was concerned about, it seemed, was purging herself of all the lies and secrets. So she continued talking, despite the deadly look in his eyes."It all makes sense now why when I called Andrei later that day to tell him about your father taking the samples, he lost his shit," she continued. "I just thought he was angry with your old man for interfering. I realise now it may have been Iris and his brother he was upset with.""Can you just wrap this shit up, please?" Austin snapped, feeling sick to his stomach."I'm so sorry," Piper sniffled, her hands violently shaking as she applied an antibiotic ointment on his wound and dressed it with g
Beautiful Disaster 223|Cold Feet
Tim was out with Liliana when Austin called him and Angelo on a three-way call, but he managed to find a quiet spot to chat. Austin filled them in on the hit without getting into too many details, explaining it was the main reason for the spur-of-the-moment briefing session with The Corporation."The reason for my call," he said, getting down to business as soon as he had answered all his capos' questions. "We have to stay on course. We absolutely cannot drop the ball. Those old fools can't suspect we plan to branch out. As far as they're concerned, we are still part of the Hawthorne family."Angelo was one hundred percent on board, but Tim seemed to be having cold feet."We're doing this," he whispered on his end, sounding a little panicked for Austin's liking. "We're really doing this!""Tim! I need you to keep it together, do you hear me?" Austin growled into the phone, pinching his nose. He knew his cousin would have a harder time than Angelo. After all, Lukas raised him, and the m
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Beautiful Disaster 300|Beautiful Disaster
Rock Castle was a breath of fresh air in many ways for Austin and Marybeth. Once they'd put down their roots, they embraced their new life, immersing themselves in the community and the social scene.When they were not entertaining or attending various social events, Austin focused all his energy on growing Stardust Inc. while fulfilling his duties as a board member of De Jager Inc. and Orlando's proxy.Marybeth, too, kept herself busy with various home improvement projects, including setting up the baby's nursery. She also joined the PTA at Green Meadows Primary, championing a few fundraisers. As if she wasn't already busy enough, Lukas low-key began sending her Foundation documents to review, mostly company policies and NPO funding applications. Never mind that she'd had zero orientation since she was only supposed to start the following year.She was so busy embracing her new life as a stay-at-home mom and the Foundation's silent CEO she didn't have time to miss her old job. And tim
Beautiful Disaster 299|Loved And Wanted
Austin left Clifton Bay under a heavy cloud of complex family dynamics, his departure shrouded in controversy. But Rock Castle welcomed him with open arms. The people close to him didn't care at all about the drama and scandals he'd been embroiled in over the past few months. They were just happy to have him in the same city with them, and it didn't take long at all for Eden and Natalie to reach out to Marybeth and take her under their wing, acting as her free tour guides, pregnancy encyclopedias or sounding boards.Completely sold by their raving reviews of Dr Emily Waylon, they set up an appointment, immediately falling in love with her bedside manner on their first check-up. She was attentive, not to mention patient, answering their endless questions with a comforting calmness.Orlando and Adeline couldn't contain their joy when they broke the news about the baby that evening. Marybeth's tummy had gotten so big they could no longer hold off on telling them."Is it a boy or a girl?"
Beautiful Disaster 298|A Fresh Start
The whole time Austin scoffed down his food, he noticed Marybeth wasn't eating, absently toying with her salad. His heart shattered all over again because he knew he was responsible for her lack of appetite and dramatic weight loss."Mr Hawthorne, can we talk, please?" Elizabeth appeared beside him, stealing his attention away from his wife."Sure, let's chat inside," he replied, leading her into his study."Long time no see," he said with a smile as he sat on the edge of his desk. "You look happy and younger, too.""Traveling will do that to you," she replied, flashing a brief smile that Austin found a tad unsettling because it was so unlike her. She was always stoic."So that's what you've been up to since I left the Group?"She nodded. "The place wasn't the same without you, so I left. And that's why I'm here. I want my old job back. If you'll have me, that is.""You'll have to take a pay cut," Austin said. "I'm starting from scratch, Elizabeth, so I don't have a ton of cash flow—"
Beautiful Disaster 297|Family
Barry De Villiers was at Sea Point Police Station at 9:00 AM for Austin's release, and after completing a ton of paperwork, they were finally out of there by 11:00 AM.Austin didn't talk much on their way to Pelican Surf, lost in thought and the scenery. It was like he was seeing everything for the first time. The sun on his skin, the wind in his hair, the light glaring in his eyes…it all felt different, somehow."So, what's the first thing you'll do when you get home?" Barry asked."Hug my wife and kids until they get annoyed with me," Austin replied with the biggest smile. "Maybe eat a nice home-cooked meal...Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the takeaways you got me, but nothing beats my wife's cooking!"Barry guffawed, throwing his head back. "Okay. What else?""Mhh, I think a nice long shower is in order, too," Austin said, sniffing himself, making sure he didn't smell like something out of a garbage can."You don't stink," Barry assured him."I know," Austin chuckled. "Just ma
Beautiful Disaster 296|Bargaining Chip
Austin's altercation with another prisoner was the last straw for Marybeth, the thing that pushed her beyond her limit and sent her over the cliff.He'd asked her to hang in there for a few more days, but the thought of him getting into another fight or possibly getting killed terrified her. The stalemate with his father would only get deadlier the longer he remained in custody. Something had to be done to bring him home, and it had to be done fast. So she called Lukas, begging him to end all the madness. But, he wasn't interested in hearing her out, telling her coldly that he was too busy picking up Austin's slack—running the family and The Corporation—to worry about her fears.Marybeth's desperation got so bad that she reached out to the one person she swore she'd never ask for help. Her mom.They met at a sleepy coffee shop in Virginia after Anna and Willem's joint funeral.As usual, Vivienne was dressed to the nines, dripping head to toe in designer labels despite the sombre occasi
Beautiful Disaster 295|The Folly Of Youth
That night, Austin couldn't bring himself to eat the takeaway Barry had brought him. How could he when his heart was in pieces?A thousand kilometres away, Willem Dejager had no appetite issues. In fact, after Maryke's death and his fallout with The Corporation, his appetite had improved, and the insomnia that had plagued him for years since Iris died had miraculously vanished. If he'd known revenge would cure all his ailments, he would have joined forces with Austin much sooner.He was still furious with him for going back on his word on Maryke. But seeing Lukas so broken, now that he didn't have an heir, more than made up for Austin's betrayal.Yes, things had gotten messy over the past few weeks, but they would only get even more chaotic once he sent the ledger to the cops. He just hadn't found someone he could trust yet. His old contact at the station—the man who'd finally given him the unredacted file on his daughter—had been recently placed on administrative leave, and Willem was
Beautiful Disaster 294|Special Kind Of A Hate
Swarms of reporters were waiting outside Sea Point's police station when Austin was dragged out of Gordon and Peterson's car. They mobbed him as soon as they saw him, pushing their cameras and microphones in his face, screaming for answers. The whole thing reeked of a badly organised PR stunt, and when Gordon and Peterson made no attempt to protect Austin from the crowd, even though it was their job, he began to think one or both of them had tipped the media off. Why wouldn't they, when they had finally taken down a member of the Hawthorne crime family? Never mind that Austin didn't belong to said crime family anymore. Never mind that they didn't have evidence to back up their charges. But who needed evidence? As far as they were concerned, this was huge, and if they miraculously managed to get the charges to stick, sending him away for twenty-five to life would be a huge career move for both of them. So parading him in front of the vultures was totally in their best interest, walking
Beautiful Disaster 293|Long Arm Of The Law
"I'm fine. Vivienne was just leaving," Marybeth nodded, grateful for the interruption; she couldn't handle any more threats from her mom."Yep, I'm on my way out," Vivienne affirmed, spinning around and making her grand exit. She turned back, calling over her shoulder, "Beautiful service, by the way. But I'm not sure if Lionel was worthy of it!""You!" Marybeth shook her fist at her, ready to go after her, but Austin pulled her back by her waist, reminding her people were watching."She's not worth your energy," he said, rubbing her back to soothe her. "What did she want anyway?""To see if there's anything she could do for me," Marybeth replied, shooting daggers at Vivienne's back as she vanished into the crowd of mourners. "And to warn you.""Warn me?" Austin asked, massaging her nape. "What for?""She said to tell you to 'wake the fuck up and fix things with your father'; her words, not mine. Apparently, there's chatter.""What kind of chatter?""I don't know," Marybeth admitted. "B
Beautiful Disaster 292|A Rare Gift
Nothing good ever happens after 1:00 AM.And no one ever calls with good news after 1:00 AM.But it was her father. Marybeth couldn't ignore him. So she hit answer and braced herself for the worst."Sweet Pea," he said, sounding awfully cheerful, considering how late it was."Daddy, what's going on?""I know it's late," he said, pausing briefly before he got to the heart of his call. "And I know we planned a road trip to Still Bay in a few weeks. But is there a way we can move it forward?""Forward?" Marybeth asked, confused by the proposal."Yeah, can we go today? I suddenly have this urge to see the sunrise. And you know how beautiful Still Bay's sunrises are."Understanding what her heart refused to accept, Marybeth's mind made all the decisions for her from that moment onward."Of course, Daddy. Let me grab a few things, and I'll be there in an hour," she told him before hanging up.She shot out of bed like a lightning bolt, threw on a lightweight tracksuit and sneakers, grabbed a
