Ethan Hatton stood frozen at the pathway to the luxurious garden. His heart pounded in his chest as he heard Jackson tell Emily to leave him, his mind racing to process the scene unfolding before him. He didn’t love Emily per se, but still there was a certain ache in his chest watching Jackson trying to seduce his fiancé . Was he doing this on purpose to hurt him? Jackson was exactly the kind of guy to have any girl he wanted. Ginger hair, a chiseled jaw and piercing almond eyes and a complete daredevil at heart, why did it have to be Emily of all the girls in New York City, it had be Emily, his fiancée.“Leave him” he heard him say, a certain longing to his voice that Ethan had never witnessed before. The shock of the betrayal sent a surge of adrenaline coursing through Ethan’s veins. He felt a mix of anger, hurt, and a sudden overwhelming sense of protectiveness against Emily. “You son of a bitch!” Ethan exclaimed as Emily turned to leave, his gaze focused on Jackson, who bore a su
The sun set glow spread all over the city, it was warm and golden. Emily Walker sat on the balcony of her luxurious hotel suite, lost in a sea of memories. How had her life changed so much in the span of a few days, from living in that tiny hellhole apartment to staying a luxurious hotel wearing expensive white bathrobes, and drinking expensive bottles of champagne while overlooking the city view. Ethan had booked the hotel for her until after the wedding, which was happening in a week’s time and he was taking care of everything. The only thing she physically had to be present for towards the wedding preparations was for her dress fittings, she didn’t have to lift a finger or worry about anything.News about the wedding had spread like wildfire throughout the city, it was on every magazine, social media blogs and mostly everyone was talking about it. It was a big shock once when a small group of paparazzi had followed her to the hotel asking her questions about how she met Ethan and
The lavish chapel stood as a testament to the extravagant tastes of the Hatton family. Its marble floors gleamed under the soft glow of crystal chandeliers. Elaborate floral arrangements adorned every corner, emanating fragrances that mingled with the anticipation in the air. The chapel was massive, and designer clad guests trooped in one by one filling the polished wooden chairs. Carefully selected elite guests, whispering among themselves with their eyes darting around the room in search of intrigue.At the center of attention stood the bride as she trailed the middle of the chapel, a vision of elegance in her ivory lace gown. Her cascading veil, delicately embellished with pearls, framed her radiant face, and her eyes held a glimmer of both uncertainty and determination. Even though her thoughts swirled with a mix of trepidation and suppressed longing for a genuine connection, deep down she knew her role. There was no love here, even though somehow she yearned for more. Emily wa
Jackson Hatton knew he wasn’t invited to the wedding, but he had planned to crash it anyway even though he knew that somehow it’d hurt him to see Emily in a wedding dress, getting married to his brother when he met her first, kissed her first. There was a burning jealousy in his chest that he couldn’t control, he couldn’t quench and he could only let it burn till it consumed him. He was dressed in a dark coloured suit, seated restlessly in his sleek black corvette parked in the wedding reception venue while running nervous hands through his ginger coloured hair. He had a bottle in his hand that he sipped from continuously in large gulps and he could feel the liquor running through his veins, invading his brain and compromising his thoughts but it was nothing he couldn’t handle, not when there was something bigger in his mind. Why did he care so much? He had no idea why but he knew it was because she was out of reach, he couldn’t have her and it made him want her more.He dipped his h
“Wait what!” Emily sprang up immediately despite the throbbing pain in her head. Her eyes widening as she looked between both brothers “What do you mean kidnap, who’s Anita?”“Ethan’s bitter ex, the one he was initially supposed to marry but ditched him, and you need to lie down Emily” Jackson said and Emily’s lips formed an ‘o’ shape as she recalled the tall, high maintenance looking girl that walked in on them when Ethan was about to propose, and totally ignoring Jackson’s last statement. There was no way she was going to lie down now, especially after what she’s just heard.“I don’t believe that” Ethan said to Jackson, suddenly moving over to Emily in a protective manner as if to shield her from the affection Jackson was unconsciously throwing her way.“I saw her chauffeur, he drove the car Emily was in, what do you mean you don’t believe that?” Jackson argued, frustration visibly showing his head and Emily interjected.“Jackson….” she wanted to say but Ethan pushed her lightly ou
Emily stood confused, phone still in hand and panic wires going off in her brains as she recalled the one sided conversation she just encountered. Her hand vibrates as she stared at her phone, the blankness of it screaming back at her. She knew if she called back the line would be disconnected but she tried anyways, and dial tone rang back in her ears the three times she tried. She felt frantic, curious and tired. The sudden theatrics of her life amazed her and suddenly she missed the simplicity, the quietness.“Are you okay?” Ethan walked past her into the house, noticing a worried look on her face and she forced a smile walking further into the house alongside with Ethan. She wasn’t sure she could tell him about the strange phone calls she’d been getting, she didn’t think she could trust him yet especially when he couldn’t protect her against his ex girlfriend, so she forced a smile instead.“It’s been a long day” she said and he looked at her now, really looked her and cupping her
A week later , it was time for the meeting with the board of directors and investors for Hatton Tech startup. The past week was supposed to be Ethan’s honeymoon with Emily but they had spent it doing everything but that. While Ethan had thrown himself into creating pitches for securing the business contracts, Emily had spent hers shopping for herself and new pieces for the penthouse,also trying waiting or trying to figure out the strange person that kept calling claiming to be her mother.Although they had been a few delicate moments, between herself and Ethan it was still hard to figure the chemistry because Ethan was the hardest person to read. He was both hot and cold, sweet but distant at the same time and now she understood just a little bit, why he had been unable to get someone to marry him. He had just one thing on his mind and that was the business.“Big contract today?” She asked him while she sipped her coffee, flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine she picked at
Emily Hatton stared at her phone, rereading the text countless times over trying to make sense of it, but it wasn’t forthcoming. She had a memory, a memory bursting to set free but her brain wouldn’t let it, something had happened to her causing that part of her memory to be locked. Her head had began to hurt and she massaged her temples with her fingers, the text messages still going over in her head and the confusion plagued her. Should she trust her and go or was this a very thoughtless prank. But also, she felt overwhelmed by curiousity. What happened to her parents and why did her mother abandon her and run away? These are the questions she had asked her whole life and no one had been able to give her the answers she needed and now they were being offered to her on a platter of gold, why does she have to refuse it and in that moment of hesitation, Emily made up her mind. She was going to go and confront her past.Later that evening, Emily sat at the penthouse dressed beautifully
Immediately, Emily made her way to Hatton Tech and went straight to Jackson’s face, she barely knocked before she pushed the door open and coming face to face with Jackson and her heart stopped, almost forgetting how much impact he had on her. She saw the look of shock on his face, she didn’t think she’d be seeing him for a while, not after he had brutally ended things with her.“Emily” he called and she walked into his office, straight to his table and she slammed the pen recorder before him, ignoring the rapid pounding of her heart.Jackson looked from the recorder to her fatigued face, confusion clouded his eyes and he hoped for more words from her but Emily didn’t say a word instead she clicked play and fast forwarding the recording to the particular part she wanted him to hear.“Did you plan Jackson’s kidnap and also try to kill my baby?”“Jackson knew – ”At that point, she clicked it shut and looked into his eyes now, the pain doubling in her chest from what she perceived to be
Emily stood outside the door to Ethan’s pent house while she rang the doorbell twice. It was impossible to explain how she felt but a seething anger was very much at the top of the list. She was very sure of how bedraggled she looked, her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail while she still had on the clothes from the previous days, her eyes had dark circles and she was very much tired but there was one thing she understood, Ethan was indeed the enemy and Ethan was the only reason why she would never be happy.Her head raged with thoughts that felt strange to her, evil thoughts that came from the anger that festered within and she needed to let it out, whichever way possible.Soon enough, the door sprung open and she came face to face with indeed Ethan’s handsome face. He was dressed casually in sweat pants and a t shirt, his hair ruffled like he had just rolled out of bed and his eyes roaming her as he took her in.“If you’re here to ask for forgiveness, you’re a few months too lat
Emily’s world was shattered, her eyes were swollen shut from crying all night from Jackson stomping on her heart in the least way that she expected. Her hands went up to necklace dangling freely on her chest and she wanted nothing more than to throw it off as far as possible but she held unto it, remembering Jackson’s words to her No matter what happens between us, you’re always going to have my heart – and truly she always wanted to have his heart.Her frail fingers tightened around the pendant as she felt the tears fall freely from her eyes, the pain radiating all over again. Her mind went over the times they spent together, the way he held her stare and captivating her with his charming eyes. His daring kisses in public – at the red carpet and every single place to let every one know that he was in love with her and she relished in the thoughts while she sat in her mother’s hospital room as the woman laid unconscious on the bed. Emily held unto her mother’s hands, cold and clammy
Later that night, Jackson stood in front of the Hatton family home as he watched Ethan drive into the building. He stood still, his face void of any emotion whatsoever as he waited for Ethan to highlight his car and walk up to him. He could smell the cockiness from where he stood, and the dirty smirk that was plastered on Ethan’s face as he made his way over to Jackson.“Hello brother” he greeted with a simple wave “How about we go inside for a drink?”“I don’t think that’ll be necessary” Jackson responded, his expression hard and stoic which was just a front for the deep sadness that festered within him.“Fine” Ethan shrugged in response “I didn’t plan on staying that long anyways, so what’s it going to be brother?”Jackson remained silent as he fought to say the next words but Ethan was impatient “Which is it going to be?”“You can have Emily, I don’t want her. She’s your wife after all but I’m going to keep my inheritance. Father chose me for a reason and I’m going to respect his d
Billionaire Heir Jackson Hatton accused of sexual assaultThe walls began to cave in and Jackson’s world began to spin as he read the headline repeatedly till the words began to dance before him.“Shit! Shit!” he cursed underneath drawing Anita’s attention to him and she gave him a look“What’s wrong?” she asked but Jackson sprang up immediately and walked out of the emergency room, immediately he called Ethan and he picked on first ring.“Let’s talk” he said into the receiver “Meet me at the house in a few hours” and he ended the call immediately.**Meanwhile Emily still felt shattered while she sat next to her mother who still laid unconscious and had IV’s running through her vein with the automatic beeping of the heart monitor interrupting Emily’s thoughts but she held her mother’s hands tightly until the doctor walked in.“You must be Emily” he said as Emily stood up to shake his hands “Mr. Brown explained – ”“Is she going to be alright” Emily cut in immediately and the somber l
The silence stood awkward between the brothers for a few seconds, neither willing to speak first but Ethan still had that cocky smile plastered on his face while Jackson couldn’t believe his ears.“What are you on about now Ethan?” Jackson broke the silence first, his demeanor was calm but he was seething inside“You heard me brother, I killed the story and now you owe me. So you have two options, give back everything you’ve taken from me, my wife inclusive or you face the consequences and maybe subsequently a judge for sexual assault, it’s your choice really because at the end of the day everything comes back to me”“You’re insane Ethan” Jackson scoffed.“Right” Ethan said “So what’s it going to be?”“I’m not doing either of that, so you can go to hell”Ethan laughed this time but he wasn’t done “Fine, you’re stubborn but I’ll give you a better offer. You pick between your inheritance and my wife”“Get out of my office Ethan, don’t you have better things to do?” Jackson pointed at t
A few days of strained silence with his brothers and the media blowing up about their fallout over their inheritance with Jackson seeing stringent of information about him on the internet that even though didn’t seem true, had some element of truth in them from his past life. He sat in his office at Hatton Tech that morning scrolling through his media feed, he didn’t want to look at it but yet his phone stayed transfixed to his hands. The different girls, the lies with the element of truth in them –Jackson Hatton is an ultimate abuser – Jennifer HenzOne time at the club, he tried to run his hands up my skirt – MiaJackson took me to a hotel one time and he never called me back – LeahHe’s such an asshole, tried to sleep with me and then my best friend – he did though - MerylI would have never pegged Jackson Hatton to be an abuser but it all makes sense – he groped me at the club – Jane.Jackson stared at his phone wide – eyed, his eyes sweeping through every comment on every post w
Ethan stormed out of the room with his eyes wide with rage and anger that his body couldn’t control. He ignored the frantic call of his mother as he stormed outside. The walls closed in and his heart pounded fast, he couldn’t believe his ears; his father had betrayed him, played him the long game and ended up giving everything to Jackson; his favorite son.He tried recalling Mr. Stanwill’s words even though he never wanted to remember those words but they were stuck in his brain, etched on the walls and unwilling to let go.“ – and to Ethan Hatton my first son, I leave you in charge of Hatton Tech and finally to Jackson Hatton, I leave you in charge of all Hatton Enterprises globally”Globally? In charge of all Hatton Enterprises globally?If Ethan calculated properly this meant Jackson was in fact in charge of him. How outrageous? How insulting? He kicked at the ceramic statue angrily, smashing it further with his foot and even more when he realized that it was his father’s favorite
Jackson stood pensive with his eyes on the ground as the casket lowered to the ground, his eyes weren’t clouded like the dark clouds above but his mood felt just as grey. The silent murmurs, the sad faces that looked like they were staring at him, questioning him or worse still judging him. He looked over at Ethan and those red eyes weren’t deceiving anybody, father wasn’t Ethan favorite person. Father wasn’t his favourite person either, but he was in fact was one of his father’s favorite people and yet there was nothing he could do for him at that moment, not while he was being led six feet under. Jackson wasn’t sure how he felt, he wasn’t exactly broken or sad but he knew there was war ahead and when he glanced at Ethan again, they shared a look that mirrored his thoughts exactly.“You okay?” Emily slid up to him while everyone exchanged pleasantries or condolences, he wasn’t exactly familiar with what was going on because he had managed to escape everyone who looked like they wante