Emily stared in shock at the woman seated before her after they had found their way to an empty looking Cafe around the corner. Alyssa looked almost unbothered, taking bites out of her cheesecake while she waited for Emily to process her shock, nervous hands and earth eyes.“I told you I was going to tell you the truth and nothing but the truth and I apologize for the theatrics I displayed while trying to talk to you, I was nervous and I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk to me”“Also I have a bit of flair for the dramatics” she added.Emily nodded even though this woman looked like someone that had never been nervous in her life. She stayed silent waiting for her to speak more even though she wasn’t sure she might be able to handle the whole truth, but she stayed still, rigid even and unable to move.“Your father, Darren was the love of my life and the only man I have ever loved and hated equally. He was everything to me. Do you remember him?” She asked and Emily shook her head“Not
“So was that why you killed him?” Emily asked the woman seated before her looking straight into her eyes, without blinking anticipating her reply and her heart beating with anxiety. But Alyssa smiled, a kind of smile that bore no emotions even though it reached her eyes.“I didn’t kill him Emily, at least not in the way you think”“Then how?” Emily pressed.“He killed himself, but I made him do it”Emily paused, the air suddenly thick “How?”“I faked my death and ran away making it look like he did it, it was classic Gone Girl all over again, almost the same thing” Alyssa explained, nostalgic look on her face that looked almost painful but still contained elements of pride in them. Emily knew the book, read it even so it wasn’t hard to picture the scenario. A woman faking her death to punish her husband for infidelity except in her mother’s case, it went exactly too far.“I wasn’t expecting him to kill himself really” Alyssa went on “I just needed enough time to leave the country so
“She’s here with me” Jackson said to his brother while Emily refreshed herself in his bathroom. He had taken her to his house up in Manhattan where he lived occasionally when he needed to clear his head or be alone. He waited for Ethan’s call, because he knew he’d call and a slow smile crept up his lips when his phone began to ring and Ethan’s name was displayed on the screen.“What do you mean she’s there with you, Jackson she’s my wife” Ethan roared into the phone.“Well where were you when your wife needed you?” Jackson asked and the pause on the line was like an adrenaline shot to his veins“What do you mean?”“Emily’s fine, she needs to rest and I’ll drop her off in the morning”“Where are you? I’m coming to get her”“Too much hassle for a woman you don’t bother to check on throughout the day”“Jackson if you don’t -“ but Jackson ended the call before Ethan could complete his sentence, just as Emily walked into the living room dressed in his tracksuit, a slight frown on her face
The Hatton Banquet dinner was coming up, it was an annual ceremony thrown every year by the Hatton family celebrating the growth and honor of all Hatton companies in America. The annual banquet dinner was mostly attended by the elites of the elite, it was a feast of royalties and there was never a stone left unturned in the preparation for this feast. The two Hatton brothers sat before their father in his grand study, dressed smartly in designer suits wih Ethan sitting upright and ready to please while Jackson slouched a bit, he was his father’s favorite and he knew it and he didn’t need to overdo.“What’s the plan for the banquet dinner” their father asked, his pristine glasses hanging lazily on his nose as he reviewed some documents before him and Ethan cut in immediately before he could finish his statement.“Invites have already been sent out to the top 1 percent and the elites, royalties and important dignitaries around the country” Ethan replied, his face expectant.“So you’re
Emily looked at Jackson, and they shared a brief staring at each other before Jackson turned his eyes back to the road, a silent sigh escaping his lips“Okay Emily, I didn’t call you out here for the sentiments, I need your help”“How exactly?” she asked, her racing heart gradually calming down as Jackson changed the topic and she was able to take a deep breath.Jackson eventually stopped by a fancy looking restaurant, the ambience and soft lights befitting a casual date. it was mostly scanty, giving them the privacy they needed and hidden away from the watchful eyes of paparazzi. He walked through the glass doors, Emily before him. The uttermost need to touch her, hold her hand but he restrained himself, pulling himself back because the last thing he needed was a scandal with his brother’s wife and he wanted to keep it that way. He didn’t want anything that would ruin his chances in organizing the Banquet dinner, so far he had a clean slate and he wanted to keep it that way.After t
Ethan walked into his house, albeit the quietness he could hear ruffling from the bedroom which meant Emily was home, a certain relief moving through him. He felt exhausted from work, from signing a thousand paperworks to the gazillion meetings with programmers and even investors that operated Hatton tech. He walked towards the bedroom unexpectedly, forgetting to knock and suddenly his eyes widened in disbelief. There, standing before him was Emily, her back turned and clad only in a lacy black slip. It happened in a split second, the shock on both their faces, the silent pause that lasted for merely a second but seemed to stretch out for eternity. Time seemed to stand still as his mind raced to comprehend the unexpected sight,and what followed next was a loud scream that nearly knocked Ethan off his feet.“Gosh, I’m sorry!” He yelled out an apology, quickly running out of the room and shutting the door. He stood for a minute, his heart pounding in his chest, his cheeks flush with a
Emily’s eyes widen, her heart sinking as she realizes her mistake. She pulls away, her cheek suddenly flush with embarrassment. She couldn’t dare to look at Ethan, his expression shifting from desire to confusion, the hurt flickering in his eyes.“I’m…I didn’t…” Emily tried to say, but words failed, they stuck in her throat unable to voice themselves, what exactly was she going to say in this situation? Why did she have to say Jackson’s name, she wasn’t even thinking about him but still his name found it’s way to slip out her mouth.“Forget it, Emily” Ethan said sadly, pulling away from her and walking out of the kitchen.“Ethan wait” she ran after him, grabbing his arm but he pulled it out of her hold, turning to face her with anger evident in his eyes.“Wait for what exactly?” He thundered but went on “Jackson really?”“It was a mistake” she said with pleading eyes but Ethan was looking anywhere but her face, he stared right above her head before he slowly looked down to her eye lev
Ethan and Emily Hatton having lunch together, Ethan and Emily Hatton at the park playing happy couple. Ethan and Emily Hatton everywhere, all over her social media feeds, gossip blogs. Anita Brown stared hatefully at her phone, scrolling through her TikTok feed, then her instagram. They were everywhere, and it infuriated her so bad she could feel the bile rise to her throat.Ethan always hated the press, he hated the paparazzi, he hated how odd and awkward he claimed to look even though he looked seemingly flawless. He hated his privacy invaded so they were hardly ever in public together. They hardly went to functions together, parties or even the red carpet but right now he had no problems showing Emily off, taking her publicly to fancy restaurants, playing happy couple when it should have been her. Ethan had totally been ignoring her, even after she had requested for one last night with him, had totally ignored her and evaded all her calls and it made her livid. She wanted him b
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