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
The sun began to set on the elegant estate, the Hatton estate in Beverly Hills where Ethan and Emily where enjoying a brief vacation away from the hassles of New York City. The radiant beams danced upon the crystal clear waters of the magnificent swimming pool. Ethan and Emily Hatton stayed nestled in each others arms amidst meticulously manicured gardens, the pool seemed like shimmering oasis made exclusively for their indulgence.Ethan gazed at Emily, a twinkle in his eyes that mirrored the sparkling water. The atmosphere felt injected with a mix of anticipation and affection, their hearts beating in sync with the gentle lapping of the water.“I really don’t want to go back to New York, I’m enjoying every single moment here with you Emily” Ethan said pulling Emily bikini clad body closer to him in a tighter embrace, her skin damp from the water but he relished in it.“Let’s not go back” she indulged him “If wishes were horses Emily” he said “I’ve been away from the company for too
It was Emily’s last day in Los Angeles and Emily knew she couldn’t leave without seeing her mother at least. Their last meeting was disastrous and Emily had spent every waking minute thinking about it. She had hovered over the woman’s number everyday, tempted to call, to apologize, to reconnect with the woman that disappeared most of her childhood but she just couldn’t. The revelations swarming above her, reminding her of the childhood she lost, the memories she could no longer recall. Her heart pounding beneath her chest, stealing the words from her mouth each time she hit the call button and she had to end the call immediately. One time she let it ring till she picked.“Hello!” She heard her voice, low pitched and concerned and her voice hitched, unable to speak “Emily, talk to me” she heard her say again and she ended the call immediately. Her mother didn’t call back, and she was grateful for that, like she understood. She needed time.But now, she was in Los Angeles, she knew sh
Boy loses GirlEmily flipped through the well worn pages of the book, it had some words underlined, and some commentary written under some lines. She flipped for a while and decided to return the book when a white envelope fell out from the book onto her feet.Emily stooped down to pick the time-worn envelope, the paper yellowed and brittled with age. The script on the front was unfamiliar, a looping masculine hand that whispered a past life, but it had her name scribbled in front.Emily, in calligraphy. Her hand trembled at the sight.Emily carefully unfolded the envelope to reveal a picture and a carefully folded paper. She stared at a picture, trying to make sense of it. They were three people in the picture. Herself, her mother and a familiar face she assumed to be her father. She knew because her grandmother had his pictures framed all over the store, but still it felt strange seeing her younger self standing next thing to him, holding an elephant teddy bear while her father had
The solemn weight of the world seemed to rest on Emily’s shoulder as she slowly turned the key in the door, nothing could’ve truly prepared her for the gravity of what she’d just learned. The truth about her fathers, her mothers lies contrasting, the dull ache at the back of her head, it all felt too much.As the door swung open, Emily took in the unfamiliar scent of the house, a scent that was now a bittersweet comfort in this house that was now quite her home, like a home away from home. She blinked away the tears that threatened to spill, burning her eyes with the gravity of the truth. She wished she could unsee the letter’s cruel script and unknow the truth about it.Emily’s heart ached fiercely, each throb a reminder of the discovered scars etched upon her childhood memories. The room was dim, lit only by muted glow of city lights which seeped through the sheer drapes, that was when she noticed Ethan seated on the dove-gray chaise lounge deeply engrossed in a book.Ethan looked
The flight back to New York in the Hatton private jet was silent, the couples sat silently in the plane, the weight of Emily’s confession hanging over both their heads as they struggled to make sense of the situation.“So what now? Anita is your sister, what are you going to do?” Ethan asked, sipping red wine from a glass, his sunglasses on as he peered over Emily who equally hid her swollen eyes from crying with dark glasses.“I’m not going to do anything, what’s there to do?” She asked him back.“You don’t want to meet him?” He asked and Emily shook her head.“I don’t think so, I don’t know him”“I guess that’s the whole point of meeting him Emily, to know him” he said, stretching out a hand to hold hers and she took it gratefully“But whenever you’re ready babe” he added and Emily nodded.They stayed silent for a while before Ethan spoke again “Any plans when we land back to New York because I have to branch the company”“Alright then, I have to go for dress fittings anyways for t
New York City, an emblem of old money and new money wealth alike was alive with the murmurs of crème de la crème of society, each attired in their sartorial best for the Hatton family's annual philanthropic banquet.Chandeliers dripped from the ceiling like cascades of radiant stars, warm light glinting off the diamond brooches and cufflinks that punctuated the evening wear of the guests. The round tables draped in rich burgundy cloth stood as islands amongst the sea of mingling attendees, adorned with ornate centerpieces overflowing white roses and orchids, their fragrance lending the air a heady, intoxicating quality.The crescendo of a live string quartet underscored the evening, the nuanced notes serenading the well-heeled as they nodded through the hum of conversation and the labyrinth of social niceties. Laughter rose the melody, a chorus of joy polished by years of grace and poise, much like the vintage wine pouring freely into cut-glass goblets.Bu yet, Anita Brown navigated t
“What just…. What just happened?” Emily said in panic sprinting towards the door. Her breath came in short spurts as she tried the doorknob again, the metal unyielding beneath her shaking. The gentle click of the lock that had sealed then in moments ago now thundered in her ears like an omen.“It’s locked,” she murmured, the realisation setting her heart adrift on waves of panic.Jackson quickly rushed to her side, eyes narrowing as he gripped the door knob firmly. His steady composure slipping like sand through fingers as he too found it unresponsive.“What...?” He shook the knob harder, the finality of their situation dawning on him. “This can't be happening.”“Fuck!” He yelled in frustration, running his hands through his hair.Emily backed away from the door and running to her purse in search of her phone and her chest tightened at the realisation that her phone was missing“My phone…. I could swear….” She thought harder trying to remember when last she had her phone “Maybe Ethan
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