“Act aloof, be nonchalant” the words kept ringing in Amelia’s head when Ethan lay limp atop of her breathless while she tried to catch her own breath. The room was quiet and they both stayed still, listening to each other’s heartbeat, but filling the quietness with their heavy breaths.“You okay?” Ethan spoke first, glancing at her and swiping a loose strand of hair out of her face and she nodded at him“Sure” she said but she couldn’t look him in the eye, much more hold his stare but Ethan didn’t say anything after, but the words hung loosely at the tip of her tongue and she couldn’t help it when the words flew out.“So no strings attached yea?”Ethan paused, holding her stare now while her heart pounded loudly beneath her chest.“What?” Ethan asked, there was a certain hurt to his words and look that was unreadable to Amelia because she was new to the post-sex dynamic.“I mean, nothing serious yea?” she said again and Ethan pulled away from her and jumping into his clothes, he looke
“So what happened after that, what happened to her?” Emily looked on curiously at Ethan, more invested than she should be, but Ethan looked unwilling to say anymore. Since the incident, he had refused to think about it, much more talk about it. It was hard to stay in touch with his feelings, a moment where he felt the most the vulnerable but it backfired, everything backfired in his face and it was his fault, he had made the wrong choices.“Ethan” Emily called while he stayed silent, staring intensely at the floor and then he looked back at her with glassy eyes, tear filled but he was more than willing to not let them drop.“I really loved her you know” he said “She was refreshing, aloof and I thought she felt the same but when she told me the no strings attached stuff after we had sex, I felt devastated because I really did care for her and then Anita came into my room filling my head with all sorts of things about Amelia, and I believed her when I shouldn’t have”“Things like what?”
Emily stirred, she felt the warmth of the bed enveloping her and slowly, the haze of the sleep lifted and she suddenly became aware of the arms wrapped around her. It was Ethan, of course it was Ethan. She remembered everything fully, the sensuous kiss, his hands cupping delicate spots of her skin and her cheeks reddened at the thought of it all. She carefully extricated herself from Ethan’s embrace, trying not to wake him. She needed time to think, to sort through the jumble of emotions that swirled within her. She slipped out of the bed, wrapping herself in a silk robe, and she made her way to the kitchen.As she brewed a pot of coffee, it was impossible to shake the guilt that gnawed at her. She couldn’t deny her love for Jackson but yet, here she was tangled up with Ethan, the attraction and equally the denial were undeniable. She brought the coffee to her lips and she let it burn her tongue to completely wake herself from the ethereal dream she had found herself these past few mo
Just right before Blair could reach Emily, Jackson held Blair the same time Ethan flew flung a protective hand in front of Emily, both men protecting her at the same time and Blair noticed it and scoffed.“Right!” she gave a dry laugh “I forgot” her eyes roaming all three of them before sitting down back on her chair, her face moist with the water Emily threw on her and Jackson offered her a napkin, she took in hastily, damping her face dry while shooting daggers at Emily through her eyes.“Are you okay?” Ethan asked Emily and she nodded, offering him a grateful glance her mind still reeling with how quick it took her to lose her temper and that didn’t particularly happen often. Instead, she pushed her chair back and looked at Ethan.“Let’s go home, my appetite is ruined” she didn’t bother waiting for a response back and she pushed her chair back and left the table, it wasn’t a hard decision for Ethan to make when he immediately followed suit.“Emily!” he called, walking briskly after
“So tell me again why you’re getting married again, or better still renewing your vows when you just got married” Cheryl asked her Emily while they sat together in her dressing room getting ready for yet another wedding. Emily looked at her old friend, surprised to see her wearing a cute buzz cut instead of her usual bright dyed hair colors. It’d been a while she had seen Cheryl, more like since her last wedding but Cheryl had been touring round the country since then but she had to make sure she was back for the second wedding.“We’re getting married this time for real” Emily said, amused at her friend’s unbelievable expression.“As opposed to the fake one you did the first time or what? I haven’t even had one wedding but you’re having two and what? In the span of 6 months?”“Come on Cheryl” Emily laughed, staring at her reflection in the full – length mirror before her, her dress was white and flowing in inches on the pristine floor, almost as elegant as her first wedding dress but
Emily dashed past Anita’s mocking expression with everyone staring at her, as she ran out the church, Ethan running behind her, yelling her name.“Emily! Emily! Wait goddammit!” he yelled continuously until he managed to catch up with her after she had run a good distance.“Emily!” he grabbed her hands and turning her around to face him, but they were tears in her eyes and she panted heavily. Big fat ugly tears that ran her mascara down her cheeks, staining her face.“You liar!” she yelled, pushing him with her hands “You bloody liar Ethan!”“I don’t know what she’s talking about” Ethan pleaded as he tried to grab hold of her hands but she was relentless refusing to be touched by him“You slept with her, didn’t you?” she asked, looking him straight in the eyes and daring him to lie to her but Ethan suddenly went silent“You did, didn’t you?”“Yes he did!” a voice sounded, and it was Anita as she marched up to them, in a white silk gown and Emily scoffed.“You stupid bitch!!” Emily scr
When Emily woke up the next morning, her heavy eyes fluttering open in the unfamiliar hotel room she had staggered into the previous night after she had pulled away from Jackson, her chest heavy and her mind with the thoughts running to and fro but she only one agenda plaguing her mind, the moment she sat up on the fluffy bed.Revenge.She had refused to pick up her phone, having to resist the urge to fling it at the wall but she managed to restrict herself. Her phone buzzed again beside, Ethan’s name springing on the screen but she ignored it, walking towards the window that overlooked the city’s view as she poured herself a glass of wine; red sparkling and sour, she winced but she allowed herself to enjoy even though it burned through her throat in an unusual way.Anita was pregnant for Ethan’s baby, Anita her half sister that she never acknowledged and Ethan her contract marriage husband that she was going to marry for real.Maybe it was time, maybe it was time she met her father.
“This is your sister Anita” Mr. Brown said just as the shock registered on Anita’s face“She knows” Emily said immediately “She has always known”"How? How have you always known" Mr. Brown asked but Anita wasn't paying attention to him.Angry, Anita charged towards Emily and grabbing her by her arm “What the hell do you think you’re doing”“You’re pregnant for Ethan’s baby, my husband”“You don’t even love him” Anita cried out“It doesn’t matter” Emily said “You crossed the line and you don’t expect me to just sit and watch you do that, you underestimate me a lot”“You’re pregnant?” Mr. Brown voiced out but Anita only spared him a brief glance “Stay out of this dad” she said turning back to Emily and moving a step closer to her in a threatening manner“So what are you going to do about it now? I’m pregnant with your husband’s baby and so what?”Emily stared back, feeling her anger totally engulf her when Anita’s phone started ringing out loudly when she looked at her phone, she smiled
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