"She's sustained a considerable head injury," one of the doctors reported after what felt like an eternity after Emily was brought to the hospital . His voice was thick, his beard covered face remained passive as if unmoved by the weight of his profession's battles—hopeful yet grounded. Jackson felt shattered while Ethan looked on passive, his face bearing no emotion."It's too soon to tell, but there is a possibility she might experience some memory loss." The doctor went onThe news settled like a shroud over the brothers, Jackson and Ethan, who stood together in the sterile hallway, their earlier animosity supplanted by shared concern.“What’s the possibility that she might not experience any memories loss” Jackson piped in, his face smeared with concern. The first two buttons of his shirt unbuttoned as he ran a nervous hand through his hair.“We can’t tell until she wakes up, we still have to run some test on her because it looks like something like this has happened before so it
“Nooo, God noooo” Anita’s richly jeweled hands trembled slightly as she held the letter. The crispy paper felt delicate in her hands like she should just rip it up, but yet it felt heavy. The ink was bright and sharp, unable to lose focus to her blurry eyes, she had barely skimmed through the contents but she had gotten the gist already and she couldn’t believe her eyes.She skimmed through the letter again, hoping she had read wrongly but the words remained the same, the consequences of her snooping playing in her face. She should’ve minded her business, gone shopping or whatever it was that kept her busy when her anxiety skyrocketed. It was all Emily’s fault, always happening to be a damsel in distress causing the brothers to rally around her and be at her every beck and call while she got nothing, but a stupid letter slapping reality onto her face. Snooping through her father’s study was something she always did as a teenager, it was mostly out of boredom which later morphed into
“Emily, how you feeling?” Ethan asked, his heart tucked unto his sleeve as he approached her with hope shimmered in his eyes. She looked at him, a flicker of recognition in her eyes and she took the hand he held out to her.“A little confused” she said to him “What happened?”“You don’t remember?” Jackson said this time walking forward and she looked at him, her confusion doubling. She looked from Ethan to the weird guy speaking to her before she pointed at him, consumed by her curiousity, she asked“Who are you?”The air stilledJackson paused, a storm collecting within the lines of his chiseled face.“What!” He said in shock, dividing his pained expression between Ethan and the doctor who was studying Emily now“It’s Jackson” Ethan said and Emily shook her head painfully “I don’t remember, I don’t remember much. It’s like that part of my memory is blocked”Jackson rushed towards her now, the strangeness of her expression sending daggers through his chest, he picked her hands “what
*Some college years ago*It was late fall in Brown University and the evening bustled with the thrum of anticipation as the annual Fall Fest gathered momentum. The university grounds became a patchwork of vibrant sights as chapters shifted from late summer narratives to tales wrapped in crisp parchment of fall. Laughter danced on the cool breeze that weaved between red-brick buildings and cast amber leaves in whimsical pirouettes to the ground.A senior year Ethan and a sophomore Jackson found themselves in the heart of this revelry, standing outside the ivy-laced entrance of the old Assembly Hall, now ablaze with strings of fairy lights and pulsing with the beat of music that spilled out onto the steps. Underneath the glow, their sibling resemblance was more pronounced—their shared grin, the same skyward tilt to their chins. But still that undercurrent rivalry that always kept them just a fraction apart brewed in their midst—a silent battle of charm and wit, forged deeper by their mu
Jackson Hatton stepped through the wrought-iron gates of the cemetery, the solemn rows of headstones standing like silent custodians of the past. He moved with purpose, yet each step felt heavy, like he was walking against a relentless tide, a bouquet of flowers at his hands, red roses. She loved roses.The skies above him were a dim canvas, the clouds interwoven so tightly that the sun's efforts to puncture through were in vain, almost mimicking his mood. The sadness that had enveloped him these past few days were hard to penetrate through.It’d been three years since Amelia Sinclair died, three years since he’d lost his best friend. Time had ruthlessly marched on, but the wound in Jackson’s heart had resisted the urge to heal. He wandered amidst the graves until he found hers—a marker that bore her name like a whisper from lips long silenced.“Amelia Sinclair” he said loudly, he had almost forgotten what her name sounded like, the name that once danced on his lips, drawing laughter
“Jackson?” Emily repeated, willing a memory but nothing was forthcoming“Ethan’s my brother” Jackson added and Emily only stared although the shock was evident on her face.“Oh” she said, so simple in fact and looking him over dressed impeccably in a suit. “I mean it should be obvious, but then again it’s not”“I totally get what you mean” Jackson said. “Do you want to take a walk?” He asked her, she was about to respond when she looked him over again.“Aren’t you going somewhere, you’re all dressed up” she said “Oh yea, work but it doesn’t matter. I mean, I have the largest shares, I practically own the company I don’t have to be there all the time” She nodded with a smile, falling in step with Jackson “That’s great, you can stay with me then. It’s been boring these past few days since I left the hospital”“Why so?”“Ethan always has to be at work and it’s exhausting to do anything else” she said, pausing for a while and turning to face Jackson almost immediately “If Ethan’s your b
Emily’s heart went thundering behind her chest, hair tucked behind her ears and a slow blush creeping unto her cheeks but safely hidden behind the large sunglasses she wore, and a scarf around her face as she slid into the passenger seat of Jackson’s car.Jackson had a puzzled look on his face as he studied and she read it immediately“Word on the street is that I’m famous” she answered to his unspoken question “So where are we going?” she strapped her seat belt in place.“Wherever you want to” he said to her “What do you feel like doing?”Emily thought for a moment, purposely causing the wheels to spiral in her head, what did she want to do? No one has ever really asked her that before, her heart melted, she felt seen and by this man she wasn’t really sure how she was involved with him. She had tried so hard to fill his face now with the gaps in her memories but it didn’t fit, it didn’t feel real and Ethan being distant wasn’t helping at all. He had left that morning without even wor
Ethan Hatton felt conflicted, for some reasons he couldn’t fathom why he felt that way but lately memories of Amelia Sinclair have been clouding his head, the trip to Cancun that fateful summer had somehow been the beginning of some sort of ill-fate but he preferred to ignore, push it to the back of his mind and never remember it again, but recent happenings had made it all surface again.Amelia Sinclair.Ethan sat at the counter of an empty bar in Florida while on a business trip, the business was over and he could take the next flight back to New York that evening if he wanted to but he didn’t feel like it, more like he was avoiding home, avoiding Emily and avoiding New York altogether. He couldn’t look Emily in the eyes since the accident, he wondered if it was guilt or some sort of indifference he had festered over time, a nature of his that was bound to rear its ugly head over time. Was he really beginning to fall in love with her or did he just not want Jackson to have her. The
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