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98|Below His Station
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Beautiful Disaster 99|If Moses
Marybeth's first stop after leaving Rise was a fancy boutique on the third floor, and after spending almost an hour browsing through their collection of cocktail dresses, she eventually settled on two, adding a pair of shoes and some accessories.Next, she stopped at the hair salon on the second floor, her heart bleeding when she saw the bill after her quick wash and trim. She could have done the same job, maybe even better, at no cost. Annoyed with herself for spending money that wasn't hers, she headed back to the hotel, thanking Andrei's men when they dropped her off at the entrance.When she walked into their suite, the silence was a little more than unsettling, so she turned on the TV and left it on a true crime channel. While she half-heartedly followed a family's quest for answers over their beloved daughter's disappearance, she video-called Scarlett."Oh good, you finally remember you have a best friend!""Quit being dramatic, or I won't take you on a tour of the place!" she t
Beautiful Disaster 100|Playing With Fire
Leeuwkop, home to Noah Boshoff and 3600 other inmates, was located an hour away from Rock Union. The prison was one of the very few maximum security facilities in the country, with the pleasure of hosting some of the most hardened criminals.Despite the heightened security measures, once in a while, some brazen inmates would attempt daring prison breaks with varying success. The most recent grand escape was three months ago when two prisoners pulled a Houdini from the courtyard after making a hole through the fence. The pair was still at large, even though Rawlings had vowed to throw all his resources and more of the taxpayers' money into their recapture.After jumping through a thousand hoops and security checkpoints, Austin was finally led to the visitors' area.He sat at one of the few unoccupied tables and waited for Noah to make an appearance.Since it was a Saturday, the place was as busy as a fish market, and minutes into sitting down, Austin wanted to bolt. The din of voices i
Beautiful Disaster 101|To Her Grave—Part 1
When Marybeth looked up from the journal, her vision was slightly blurry from staring at the pages too long, and her body was stiff from sitting in the same position for over two hours.Bewildered by all the deep, dark secrets the book held, she snapped it shut, wishing she could unsee everything.There wasn't anything about Andrei, but there were several entries detailing Iris' sordid love affairs, with Blake being one of the many men she'd had entanglements with.The woman didn't have a loyal bone in her body and was unfaithful almost from the very beginning—The sound of the door beeping open pulled Marybeth out of her thoughts. She placed the journal on the table and sprung to her feet when Austin stepped into the living area a moment later."What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised and thrilled all at once. She didn't expect to see him until much later."I thought we were meeting at the venue?" she continued as she yawned in her hand."I couldn't wait to see you," Austin re
Beautiful Disaster 102|To Her Grave—Part 2
"Let's go." Austin took her hand and tried to drag her along, but Marybeth stood rooted to the spot, refusing to move even an inch until they reached an agreement.Sighing loudly, he paused mid-step when he noticed she wasn't following along. Turning around to look at her, he asked, "What is it? What's going on?""Is that it? Are we not going to discuss Willem?""I need time to think about it, Beth," he replied and pulled her along, ending their discussion.Halfway to the venue, Austin reached for her hand and squeezed it, stunning her with his question."What did you find in the journal?""I—Eh—Nothing," she stammered and quickly averted her gaze.He gently lifted her chin with his index finger, forcing her to look at him. "Beth, what did you find?""Seriously—""What did you find?" he demanded again, his tone harsher than before.But Marybeth held firm, shaking her head. "It's nothing!""It is something!" he rumbled at her, startling her with his sudden anger.The mood in the car tu
Beautiful Disaster 103|Indigo—Part 1
If Marybeth had been paying attention, she would have noticed all the glitz and glamour all around them from the moment they stepped into The Leonardo. But she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. She was more concerned with the man standing beside her, whose world she'd just cracked wide open with her revelations."You can stop worrying about me, žena. I'm not about to go on a murderous rampage," Austin said when he caught her looking at him for the millionth time since they'd stepped into the elevator."That's a relief!" Marybeth smiled, glad to see that despite receiving the worst news of his life just minutes ago, he still had his sense of humour."Anyway, have you been here before?" she asked. Her eyes were now glued to the display panel, watching the floor numbers change at blinding speed as the elevator crept up."A few times," Austin replied and went on to explain that somewhere in this ritzy skyscraper, there was a five-star hotel, a rooftop chill lounge with 360 view
Beautiful Disaster 104|Indigo—Part 2
"That's my girl!" Colleen laughed as they watched her partner and friend stop at one of the display cases."What's the deal with them? Are they into each other?" asked Marybeth."No. They hate each other," Natalie replied. "And well, Holly is into Holly.""That's not fair!" Colleen came to the ballerina's defence again. "Holly is just misunderstood.""Misunderstood my ass. She's rude and self-entitled. If I were Andrei, I'd run far away from her! Remember Eden's art exhibition a few weeks ago? Holly asked if I was wearing a sales-rack dress! Who does that? Who says shit like that?" Natalie brought up ancient history, and it wasn't long before she and Colleen were arguing over the youngest Anderson child.Austin appeared beside Marybeth and whisked her off, leaving Colleen and Natalie to their bickering."Thank you, you may have extended my lifespan by another five years!" she said. "I thought I'd lose my mind with those two.""Why? Don't you like them?""I do," she admitted as she gra
Beautiful Disaster 105|Chasing Ghosts—Part 1
Austin had every intention of taking Tim's call, but once he stepped onto the balcony, he couldn't bring himself to pick up. So he stood there awhile, thinking about Marybeth's revelations, the beauty of the sun sinking low on the horizon lost to him.He'd tried the whole afternoon to keep it together for her sake, but now that he was alone, he could finally confront the intense emotions swirling in his heart.Was he surprised to learn about Iris' infidelity? Not really. After all, for years, there'd been rumours about her. But now that those said rumours had been confirmed, he'd be the first to admit he was bitterly hurt and somewhat enraged. Maybe because when they got engaged, he'd poured all his energy into making their relationship work and never thought of straying, not even once. He was a fool for believing she would do the same.When his phone rang again, Austin knew he couldn't keep ignoring his capo. So he reluctantly answered, "This had better be a life and death situation!
Beautiful Disaster 106|Chasing Ghosts—Part 2
"You knew?" Austin scoffed, his anger sparking to life again."Come on," Andrei held up his hands and stepped back from him. "Don't do this.""Answer me!" Austin growled. "You knew Iris was cheating on me?""Everyone knew!" Andrei said, a sudden edge to his voice. "Everyone knew she wasn't faithful to you. You knew as well, but chose to turn a blind eye!""I didn't know!" Austin shouted, feeling his self-control slip away. "I know there were rumours, but I didn't want to believe them. I wanted to trust her.""A girl like Iris?" It was Andrei's turn to snort derisively."What's that supposed to mean?" Austin rounded on him and crossed the balcony at blinding speed."I'm not getting into this with you!" Andrei held up his hands again, withdrawing from the fight.They both leaned over the balcony railing and watched cars speed up and down Maude Street and vanish in the labyrinth of tarred roads and glass towers."Do you know who it was?" Austin asked. "Was it you?""Are you out of your m
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