Being back in the halls of J.P. Steele was like stepping through a Time Machine. Suddenly I remembered those awful days leading up to my divorce, when David was helping me out and I was actually stupid enough to believe that he was on my side. I knew better now, and I realised that I should have seen through their charade back then. Marcus has orchestrated everything from the beginning. He knew exactly which buttons to push, and he knew that David would be the first person I would turn to for help. Rather than securing David for himself, he pretended to look helpless, and have him pretend to be helping me so he could stay close and gather as much information as he could manage. I guess it was truly a smart move to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. I thought back to the meeting we had at the coffee place across the street, and how Marcus walked in on us while I had to hide in the next booth. I should have realised back then that the odds of him showing up at that exa
MARCUSI opened my eyes slowly, the blinding lights overhead causing me to wince. There was a steady beeping sound coming from somewhere over my head that I knew would irritate me very soon, but I couldn’t turn to see what it was. My head felt like it was going to explode, my mouth was painfully dry, and when I tried to turn, pain shot up my entire body and I was frozen in place. “You’re awake.”I shifted my gaze to find Emily sitting beside me, a cold and distant look in her eyes as she regarded me like I was a stain on the bottom of her shoes. “What is this?” I asked. “What am I doing here?”“You’re in the hospital, Marcus,” she said. “You drove straight into the lobby of a building and injured six people.”I remembered it now, the screeching of the brakes, the fuzziness from all the drinking, and the pain that exploded all over me as the car slammed into the wall. “How long was I out?” I asked. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she spat. “I just told you that you’ve injured six pe
“Holy shit!” “I know,” I replied, smiling as Rachel flipped through the file incredulously. She looked like she was going to pass out, which was exactly how I’d felt when I read through the file earlier. We were now sitting in the living room, testing the brand new couches while eating Chinese takeout. The file contained a treasure trove of evidence that could bring down the entire Reynard family. I couldn’t even imagine what would happen if this ever got out. Marcus would be done for, and probably end up in prison. “So what are you going to do with this?” Rachel asked. “Are you going to give it to the media?”“Not yet,” I replied. “I mean I know how bad it would be for him, but I’m saving it until I actually need it. I know he’s not going to be happy when he finds out that I’m back, but if he tries anything stupid, I’m going to use this against him in court.”“You sick bitch,” Rachel laughed. “I love the way your foul little mind words.”It was our favourite line from Aladdin, and
At first, I thought I must be dreaming. Surely I couldn’t be doing this right now. It felt like my soul had slipped out of my body, and I was watching as I leaned forward and kissed him. But when the sensation burned through me like a hot knife, there was no denying it anymore. His lips met mine softly, and it was obvious that I’d shocked him. He seemed uncertain, like he was testing something before he suddenly deepened the kiss. There was some unspoken but undeniable tension that lingered in the air as he pulled me towards him, placing me on his lap before he pushed my lips apart with his tongue. The kiss sent warmth spiraling through me, a slow unraveling of every doubt I’d ever had. I melted into him, my hands finding their way to the back of his neck, feeling the way his pulse raced beneath my fingertips. He didn’t rush at all. Instead he took his time, moving slowly and carefully, taking his time to explore every inch of my lips. He tasted like cherry, and I wrapped my arms ar
ETHANI knew I was a gone man the moment I woke up with the goofiest smile on my face. I couldn't even brush my teeth properly, because the smile just refused to disappear. All I kept remembering was Olivia’s lips on mine, and the feel of my fingers grazing her bare skin. “Get it together, Ethan,” I whispered to my reflection. “You have an important meeting today.”Reluctantly, I finished getting ready quickly and headed for the office. I was already prepared for how stressful today was going to be, but the sooner we got this over with, the faster we could get things back on track.Alicia was there to greet me as soon as I walked into the building, and she was practically bouncing on her feet as she handed me my coffee. “Good morning, Mr Reynard,” she said. “Big day, huh?”“Indeed,” I replied. “What time is the board meeting?”“In an hour,” she replied. “Although Mr Jones arrived a short while ago. He’s already in Conference Room B, and he asked me to inform you that he’s around.”O
“Remind me again how the kiss felt,” Rachel said. “Come on,” I laughed. “I’ve told you about it a thousand times already.”“I still want to hear it again,” she said. “Now spill.”We were seated at the cafe across from the office for lunch, and she was staring at me like a wide-eyed teenager who just wanted to talk about boys and love. “Rach, are you alright?” I asked cautiously.“What do you mean?”“I mean why do you seem so invested in this?” I explained. “Normally you would be the one to tell me that this is nothing to get hung up on, and it’s just a kiss. So how come you’re so surprised and you want to keep talking about it?”For a moment, it looked like she wasn’t going to say anything. She leaned back into her seat, eyes vacant as she stared off into the distance and twirled her finger around her the rim of her coffee cup. Finally, she turned to face me and said, “I’m lonely.”Hearing her say that in such a timid voice broke my heart into a million pieces. I reached out and too
ETHANGrowing up, Marcus and I had a sort of sixth sense where we could always detect when the other person was in the building even without us seeing them. As soon as he walked into a building, I could somehow tell that he was around. And I would immediately turn in the direction he was about to walk in from. But that was a lifetime ago. Now, I didn't feel anything as I sat in the restaurant and waited for him to walk in. I was gently tapping my fingers on the table, planning what I was going to say in hopes that it would be enough to sway him. I'd gone through a thousand different possibilities of how this conversation could play out, and yet each time I wasn't so sure how well it would go. The door suddenly swung open, and I looked up to find Marcus striding towards me nonchalantly. He looked awful, it actually took me a few seconds before I realised it was him. His beard looked disheveled and unkempt, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He wore a large black hoodie, and
Convincing Rachel to come with me was a huge task after the conversation we had earlier. But when I finally managed to convince her, she just wouldn’t stop asking so many questions about the guy she was going to meet. “Is he tall?” she asked as we sat in the back of our Uber. “I don’t know.”“I hope he’s tall. Is he handsome?”“I guess we’ll find out.”“Does he have nice teeth?” “I think so.”“I just hope he’s not a buff gym bro who’s only going to talk about his latest workouts. Please tell me he’s at least smart.”“Rach, I’m as clueless as you are,” I said. “I honestly don’t know anything apart from what Ethan told me. He said they’re going to meet us at the restaurant, and that his name is Blake. That’s all I know.”“Blake,” she whispered to herself, leaning back and smiling to herself. “Nice name. He sounds like a great guy who works on Wall Street.”“We’ll see about that,” I said, readjusting my hair. For some reason, I felt extremely nervous about seeing Ethan again. Maybe it
I hated to say it, but I despised Rosa. I knew I was supposed to be nice to her, and I truly wanted to make her feel safe around us, especially if Ethan was right and her husband was an asshole. But it was so hard to put a smile on my face and continue to act like everything was fine when I could tell that she was attracted to my man. I wasn’t being paranoid. It was very obvious, and you could see it in the way she kept clinging onto him, groping his arm and laughing flirtatiously. I was forced to trail behind them like some sort of unpaid bodyguard, and every time Ethan tried to draw me into the conversation, she would immediately shut me out and bring his attention back to her. “Do you know I spent a month in Greece? It was such a beautiful country. I would lie around on the beach all day long and sunbath with only a bikini on.”“I spent a year in Russia actually. But it was so cold, and I swear my nipples could cut glass by the time I left.”“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stop thin
I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside the window. It was almost midday, from how bright the sun was and the warmth in the air. I sat up and stretched lazily, glad that we were having some sunlight at last. I really wanted to go on a hike, and I didn’t want to waste a perfect opportunity like this. Ethan was already out of bed, and I wasn’t surprised. The man never stayed in bed longer than was necessary, and I’d never gotten a chance to wake up before him. I needed to check that off my bucket list, so I could lie awake beside him and watch how handsome he looked while he slept. Almost immediately, I remembered the conversation we’d had yesterday before he’d carried me upstairs and made love to me until we both passed out from exhaustion. As soon as I remembered it, I pushed it to the back of my mind. I wasn’t going to dwell on it at all. I wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend, being happy and enjoying each other’s company instead of dwelling over something like th
For a long time after Ethan said that, I just stared at him in silence. I didn't know what to say or how to act, and my mouth was completely ajar as I desperately tried to figure out what to say. Ethan couldn't meet my gaze after that. He stood up and walked away from me, and I didn't miss the tears in his eyes. He looked like he was completely broken, like he needed someone to pull him back from the edge of the darkness. Except I didn't know if I would be able to do that. I never thought I would have to face something like this. I never thought I would sit across from my boyfriend and hear him tell me that he was a murderer. It was one of those surreal moments that hit you like a truck, and you just didn't know how to process it. What was I supposed to say? How exactly was I supposed to process something like this? Should I just brush it off and tell him that it didn't matter? Should I talk about it until we got to the root of the problem and figured a way out of this mess? Everyt
Someone up in heaven must have been praying for my bad luck, because as soon as Ethan left, the rain came down heavily once again. Every fibre of my being wanted to run after him and tell him to stay with me, but I couldn’t. That would make me seem like a lunatic. And I kept reminding myself that I trusted him, so there was no need to panic. Still, he was gone for almost two hours. I kept looking out the window and waiting for him to show up, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Across the lake, the light was still on over at Rosa’s place, which made me believe that he was still there. I kept trying to pick out his silhouette moving through the house, but that was impossible from this distance. Once I finished cooking, I made my way upstairs to the main bedroom and waited for him to return. I didn’t want to eat without him, so I decided to sit there and wait. But that was worse than torture. Since I didn’t have my phone, there was nothing to do besides worry and overthink and con
Much to Ethan's dismay, we didn't end up showering together. Even though I knew that was what he wanted, I just couldn't stand the idea of us doing that while I was exhausted and smelled like sweat. Besides, knowing him, we wouldn't just be showering. After that, I set about making lunch. There were a few spices in the pantry and some spaghetti, with some corned beef in the fridge and some cheese. While I cooked, Ethan came over and helped me with the vegetables. We'd found the audio system in the house, and Ethan linked it to his Spotify so we could listen to music while we worked. To my surprise, he was an expert in the kitchen. He showed me how to hold the knife and slice the spinach in thin strips, and he knew the exact amount of spice to use so the sauce wouldn't turn out too sweet. "Where did you learn how to do this?" I asked."I spent a summer in Italy learning how to cook," he said with a shrug. "There was this pop-up culinary school that I attended with some friends, and
The drive up to the cabin was long and exhausting. I fell asleep pretty much as soon as we left Manhattan, just as the rain started to fall and Ethan turned on some white noise on the speakers to help me sleep. I ended up dreaming of the first time my dad and I went hunting, and he taught me how to take down a deer. I woke up just as Ethan turned off the highway, and we turned onto a dirt road which was lined on either side by tall trees that formed a canopy overhead. It was late in the afternoon, and the rain was still falling. "Hi Cupcake," Ethan said as I sat up. "Welcome back to the land of the living.""How long was I asleep?" I asked, rubbing my eyes groggily. "An hour and forty five minutes," he replied. "I took seventeen pictures of you while you were asleep."I rolled my eyes and reached for my phone, before he quickly snatched it out of my hands. "Hey!" I shrieked. "What was that for?""No phones, remember?" he said. "You're stuck with me.""I just wanted to check the ti
“Toothbrush?”“Check.”“Makeup kit?”“Check.”“Fishing gear?”“Check.”“Sexy lingerie?”“Check.”“Secret gift that will definitely make you the best girlfriend ever?”“Check,” I said, waving the package in front of Rachel. We were standing by the door, waiting for Ethan to pick me up so we could head to the cabin together. Storm clouds were gathered in the sky, and it was clearly going to rain soon. I was looking forward to sleeping during the drive, because I was fully exhausted. I’d stayed up all night planning an itinerary for us, as well as checking the town below the mountain to see if there were any fun activities we could do so we wouldn’t get bored. But apart from a local book club and a flea market, there was nothing else to see or do. And that was exactly what I wanted. Having Ethan all to myself was like an early Christmas gift. Finally, I wouldn’t have to deal with that awful feeling every time he had to leave, and I felt like my world was going to implode without him. I
ETHANI know I’m an asshole. Liv doesn’t deserve this. I know it as well as I know the back of my hand. But I can’t stop myself sometimes. It’s not like I’m trying to sound like a jealous piece of shit. And it’s not like I don’t trust her. I do. I trust her with my life. I know that I would move heaven and earth for her. But every time I hear that fucking Nathaniel Holloway’s name, I just feel like punching someone Why couldn’t she see him for what he was? It was obvious that he was trying to get under my skin, and he was doing it specifically by targeting her because he knew that was the perfect way to get to me. It was just like him to try something as underhanded as this. The Holloways were like a thorn in my side. They’d always been there, lingering in the shadows and causing a mess wherever they went. I still hadn’t forgotten about the Wrexham incident seventeen years ago, which was the first thing that made our father’s illness known. Everyone told me it didn’t mean anything,
I rushed into the office, thinking there was an emergency. Nate hadn’t answered my calls, and I thought something had gone seriously wrong. Even though I didn’t want to leave Ethan, he told me that he understood that I had to leave, and he even walked me to the cab. I was panicking by then, thinking the deal was about to be called off. So imagine my surprise when I walked into the conference room and find Nate sitting at the table casually, feet up on the table like he owned the fucking building, and a few faces I recognized from the party last night sitting with him and laughing at something he’d said. What the actual fuck?Nate lifted his head and noticed that I was standing right there, and a grin spread across his face as he said, “Oh, hi, Livia. Fancy meeting you here.” “What’s going on?” I asked. “Your text made it sound like something urgent was going on.”“Sorry about that,” he said. “I just needed to make sure you would get here on time. We need this deal finalized today,