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255|Fireworks—Part 1
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2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Beautiful Disaster Fireworks—Part 2
They spent the rest of their afternoon locked up in their suite, avoiding the worst of humanity. Marybeth was doing most of the avoiding while Austin immersed himself in his work. By the time 5:00 PM rolled around, Marybeth was a hot mess, anxious out of her wits about meeting the Hawthornes' business associates. If she wasn't pregnant, she would have finished an entire bottle of whiskey to still her nerves. But since she was expecting, she had to settle for sparkling water instead. "How do I look?" she asked Austin for the hundredth time. And for the hundredth time, he told her she looked like a dream come true. "Are you sure?" she said, picking up a small figurine from a side table beside the fireplace. They were in the Old Cellar, waiting to receive their guests, and she couldn't sit still to save her life. The place used to be a barn but had since been converted into an event venue perfect for parties and conferences. "Relax," Austin said, taking the figurine from her. He pl
Beautiful Disaster 257|Family Reunion—Part 1
"Get me out of here," Marybeth whispered in a panicked voice. Her bewilderment was enough to prompt Austin into action. He grabbed her hand and forced his way through the crowd, leading her to a veranda overlooking the vineyards rolling in the distance."Žena," Austin said, holding her face in his hands. "You need to breathe. Just breathe, sweet Beth. Just breathe."Grateful to have him as her anchor during what was undoubtedly one of her most ungrounded moments, Marybeth closed her eyes at his almost hypnotic voice coaxing her out of her meltdown. She tried to empty her mind of all thought and ignore the dreadful sense of impending doom. But she couldn't just power through it or block it out. After all, she had just come face to face with her worst nightmare."I don't understand," she said, her eyes shooting wide open, the look of incredulity on her face as clear as day.Austin drew her closer. The hard planes of his manly body and his comforting scent were a much-needed distraction w
Beautiful Disaster 258|Family Reunion—Part 2
Vivienne took a long time to respond, and just when Marybeth began to think they'd spend the entire night on the veranda eyeballing each other in silence, she finally spoke, stating simply, "I had to see you.""Why?""Why not?" Vivienne threw the question back at her and, in a classic manipulator move, pulled out her victim card, smiling coyly, "I must confess, I was so disappointed when my name was removed from the guest list. But, it helps to know people. Nikolai Ivanov—I'm sure you've met him, seeing how close he is with the Hawthornes.""I have," said Marybeth, choosing to keep her feelings about Nikolai vague. She liked Andrei and could almost see herself growing closer to him if he and Austin ever fixed their relationship. He was a decent human being, making it even harder for her to understand how he was even remotely related to Nikolai. But then again, Austin was a decent human being, and his father was worse than scum—"—He needed a plus one," Vivienne continued, breaking thro
Beautiful Disaster 259|Family Reunion—Part 3
"You know about that?" Vivienne whispered, unable to look her in the eye."That you pimp out young women to all your so-called business associates?" Marybeth asked."It's not like that!" said Vivienne defensively. "In any case, how do you even know about Dreams? Did you hire someone to look into me?"Marybeth scoffed, amazed at how out of touch her mother was with reality, "Please, you think too highly of yourself!""If you didn't hire someone, then how the hell do you know about Dreams?" Vivienne asked, the cogs in her brain turning slowly. "Unless…unless…Oh my God! Austin told you?"The moment Austin's name came up, Marybeth knew she'd done and fucked up. The last thing she wanted was to place him firmly on Vivienne's radar. But in her desperate desire to hurt her and get even with her, she'd given in to her emotions and revealed way more than she should have."He told you, didn't he?" Vivienne pressed. "It has to be him. After all, he's used a few of my escorts in the past!""It doe
Beautiful Disaster 260|Her Dirty Little Secret
Marybeth had every intention of returning inside and finding Austin, but after her heart-to-heart with her mom, she couldn't bring herself to head to the reception room, where the crowd had doubled since she was there.She quickly found an exit, breathing a sigh of relief when she stumbled into the hotel's famed garden. She'd read about it on their website and had seen raving reviews on social media. Sometimes, the fantasy influencers wanted to portray was far from reality, so she was pleasantly surprised to see that all the internet stars weren't wrong about the garden. With a wide variety of flowers and vegetables, it really was a little paradise, a small piece of heaven on earth.For a little while, Marybeth strolled through the maze, stopping occasionally to smell the flowers or touch their petals. But there was only so much aimless wandering she could. Eventually, she found a wrought iron bench and sat down, loosening the straps of her stiletto sandals.She pulled out the pair of
Beautiful Disaster 261|Black Roses Aren't Natural
Austin found Willem by chance on the main terrace, smoking.When he left Marybeth, a smoke break wasn't part of his plans, and now that he'd stopped for a cigarette, he wondered if he'd made a mistake. Willem looked like a man with a lot on his mind. And as experience had taught him, men like Willem, who carried the world on their shoulders, were hard to ignore."You've been avoiding me," Willem said, watching him retrieve a flat, stainless steel box from his breast pocket."Not avoiding you," replied Austin as he opened the container and took out a cigarette, irritated with himself for forgetting his lighter in his suite."May I?" he said, nodding at Willem's bright yellow Bic beside his sherry glass on the patio table. Without waiting for the man's response, he snatched it up and lit his cigarette, the herbaceous, woody aroma of Marloboros floating in the air a second later.He didn't speak for a bit, revelling in the balmy evening air and the wonderfully tantalising numbness caressi
Beautiful Disaster 262|The Walls And Eyes Have Ears
While Austin was mulling over his plans for Jaco, Marybeth was tearing up the dance floor with her father to Tina Turner's Steel Claw while she surreptitiously watched her mom speak with a bunch of suits.Her parents had gone out of their way to avoid each other, which was awfully odd to her, considering they'd seen each other a bunch of times over the last couple of years. Why they were acting like complete strangers was baffling to her. But then again, if Vivienne didn't want her associates to know of her existence, there was no way she'd be comfortable with them knowing about her ex—"Are you okay, Sweet Pea?" Lionel asked as he took her hands, and they began swaying to Lady In Red. Before Marybeth could assure him she was right as rain, Lukas cut in, teasing Lionel about hogging all of her time."She's all yours," said Lionel with a smile, pushing her into her father-in-law's arms."He doesn't look too well," said Lukas. "I hear his liver's troubling him.""He'll be fine soon," sai
Beautiful Disaster 263|Fatal Mistake
Austin headed straight to Suite 108, home to Sebastian Sloane for the weekend, after his chat with Willem.He knocked once on the door, and Rick, one of the men assigned to look after Sloane, answered promptly."Boss, he's refusing to eat.""Where is he?" Austin asked, stepping inside the air-conditioned living area."In the bathroom, taking a leak or dump," said Daniel, Rick's partner.Austin thanked the men for their service and relieved them of their duties, informing them he'd take over from here. Tim had trained them well, and they knew better than to question their superiors. So they grabbed their stuff—jackets, car keys and wallets—and saw themselves out.While Sloane did his business in the bathroom, Austin removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, sat in the chair at the dining table with his gun drawn, and waited.Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. After a few seconds, Sloane flushed the toilet and left the bathroom."Who the hell are you?" he asked, clearly horrified
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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
