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28|Could Love You—Part 2
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Beautiful Disaster 29|First Real Test
Orlando was her usual chatty self on the drive to Liberty Prep, harping on about everything under the sun, from her sleepover at Neli's the other night to Marybeth moving in with them.The planned grocery shopping trip, the same one Austin had invited himself to, was the morning's hot topic, garnering a lot of questions and commentary from Benji and Arno in the front."Everything okay, Boss?" Arno asked as they turned into Oakley Avenue, home to Orlando's private school."I'm fine!" Austin grunted. But he wasn't. Not after some strange man had called his wife to arrange a coffee date."You look like someone pissed in your cereal," Benji said as he pulled into a free parking spot."See you later, Daddy!" Orlando jumped out as soon as the car stopped and kissed him goodbye, before scampering off hand in hand with Neli.Austin checked the time on his Apple watch, grumbling under his breath when he saw he still had forty-five minutes to go before the parent-teacher conference."So?" Benji
Beautiful Disaster 30|By The Balls
An irritable Austin walked into his doctor's office almost an hour later. He would have gotten there much sooner, but all the traffic lights in the Central Business District were out. Rolling blackouts were back, and so was everyone's road rage."I was surprised to see you on my appointment list today, Hawthorne," said Dr Claudia Young as she pointed at one of the velvet scallop chairs reserved for her patients.Austin dutifully sat down, grumbling, "Nice to see you too, Claudia."He'd known her all his life, so there was no need for formalities and honorifics. She may be a doctor now and deserved all the respect that went with the title. To him, though, she would always be bratty, annoying Claudia, the little girl with pigtails who used to follow him, Blake and Tim, around when they were kids.Eric Young, Claudia's father, was the Hawthornes' primary physician for over three decades. Several years ago, following a heartbreaking diagnosis of early onset dementia, he was forced to hang
Beautiful Disaster 31|Polaris
The air-conditioned lobby, kitted out in all the fancy trappings one would expect of a luxury lifestyle brand as influential as the Hawthorne Group, was a welcome relief from the stifling heat outside. After a quick chat with Stanley, the security guard on the day shift, Austin took a private elevator strictly reserved for upper management, praying he wouldn't run into Blake. It was very likely that he would, though; after all, they shared the top floor.While Austin looked after Hawthorne Group, the mother body of all their lifestyle brands, Blake headed up the Hawthorne Foundation, responsible for their charity work.Austin never meddled in the Foundation's affairs, but that didn't stop Blake from constantly poking his head in the Group's. His incessant demands to be included in everything the Group did, forced Austin to hand over Gold Rush to him, a decision he was seriously starting to regret in the face of the gambling crew debacle.He hadn't even sat down when his office door bu
Beautiful Disaster 32|The Golden-Haired Boy
As soon as Principal Smith adjourned the weekly status update meeting, Marybeth shot out of the staff room, dashed to her car and sped down the road for her midday rendezvous with her ex.She struggled to find a free parking spot, finally squeezing her Picanto between a Sea Point Metro Police Golf 7 GTI and a shiny BMW M3, when a sedan pulled away and took a left turn, disappearing from view.She grabbed her purse and phone, locked her doors, and walked across the road to Jimmy's.The place was more a fish and chips joint than a coffee shop. But it was a firm favourite with nurses, teachers and cops alike, since it was conveniently located in the middle of the inner city triangle bordered by Sea Point Primary, the police station and the public hospital.The familiar aroma of reheated cooking oil, deep-fried hake and slap chips greeted Marybeth as soon as she strolled through the doors.She scanned the place, her eyes lighting up when golden-haired boy Elijah Boshoff raised his hand an
Beautiful Disaster 33|The Trigger Happy Serb
Angry silence followed Marybeth's outburst, and they both looked at the condiment bottles and the salt and pepper shakers on the table until Elijah spoke. "That was low, Beth—""Only one man has the right to call me Beth," she said quietly. "And it's certainly not you, Elijah!""Still, that was low. I was young.""You were nineteen. Your moral compass was well in place. You knew I don't handle betrayal and rejection well. You knew me, Eli. You knew about my mother. And yet you turned around and did the same thing she did. You chose someone else over me. You walked away from me. After I was open with you. After I allowed myself to be open to you. So don't sit there and tell me about evil and moral compasses. I know Austin. He never pretended to be anything he wasn't. And I'd take his honesty, as terrifying as he is, over the bullshit you fed me for years, any day!""I'm sorry." Elijah reached for her hand, but she snatched it away."Unless I broke some kind of law by marrying Austin, I
Beautiful Disaster 34|Sunshine And Some Light Breeze
Marybeth shifted her car into drive and cruised the few blocks back to work on autopilot.She came out of her trance when Scarlett banged on her window, startling the daylights out of her as she waved a bakery box in the air."Look what we got you!" her bestie announced when Marybeth rolled down her window."What?""It's a red velvet cake. Not your favourite, I know. But it's still cake. Okeke's gone to SaveRite to pick up snacks and cool drinks. It's not much, but it's the best we could do without the school governing body getting a hernia, you know, for using school funds and all."Marybeth gaped at her, utterly puzzled by the last sixty seconds. "It's not my birthday. My birthday is in December.""I know that, Dummy!" Scarlett rolled her eyes. "It's for your bridal shower slash wedding celebration. Smith felt horrible for missing your nuptials—""Whoa! You told her?" Marybeth glared at her, biting back a string of expletives. "Scar, you promised! Nobody was supposed to know about t
Beautiful Disaster 35|Start Of Something Deliciously Dysfunctional
Marybeth sat there awhile, thinking up a plan. The social workers were taking too damn long, and the notes she'd left Adeline's mom had done nothing but anger the woman and put the child in harm's way.Maybe if she dropped by Sea Point Flats this afternoon and tried to reason with Mrs Scheepers by showing her how gifted Adeline was, she'd come around and agree that her home wasn't the right place for the little girl."Or maybe she'll call the cops on you for harassment," Marybeth muttered. But she'd risk the cops. As a caregiver, she couldn't sit by and watch a child slip through the cracks. She'd never forgive herself if she didn't do everything in her power to help Adeline.Her phone buzzed in her hand, postponing her dilemma.It was Austin. And he was the last person she wanted to speak to. But she couldn't ignore his call, not when it might concern Orlando."Žena," he said when she finally brought herself to hit the answer button. "I miss you."Marybeth closed her eyes, breathing
Beautiful Disaster 36|Dark Horse
"Right! Lunch is over, guys. Let's settle down!" Marybeth said sternly as she walked into her class, hoping to send her kids scampering to their seats.They didn't budge.The flowers were too great an attraction, and when she finally paused in front of her desk, she could see why they were all mesmerised. The bouquet was so massive, she wondered how she'd carry it to her car.She absently took one of the roses and smelled it, a pang of regret stabbing her heart.She could get used to this. Receiving flowers for no reason.She would have gotten used to it. If Austin wasn't who he was—"Ma'am has a boyfriend!" screeched one of her kids, zapping her back to the room.Marybeth couldn't see who it was, but from the sounds of the jolly voice, she figured it was Sisonke, a firm favourite among his classmates because of his constant stream of jokes and endless pranks.It didn't take long for the rest of the group to join him, singing the K-I-S-S-I-N-G rhyme in a surprisingly harmonious tempo.
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