Chapter Eleven. All the previous giddiness Ethan had been feeling left him immediately after his dad made the announcement he just did. What his dad had just indirectly said was that the weight of the company now rested on their shoulders. Whether they were going to make it out of this unscathed like his father had promised the rest of the employees was now up to them. Ethan found himself shrinking at the weight of this responsibility. Damien was just a mess as much as Ethan was at the moment, the only difference was that Ethan managed to compose himself well while Damien on the other hand was already freaking out. Sweat beads were forming on his forehead and he couldn't stop his hands from shaking, he quickly hid his hands inside his pocket to hide the obvious shaking of his hands. "Do you want us to come up with different pitches or do we all work together on a single pitch?" Lucy had turned to Mr. Robinson and asked him.Lucy wasn't phased by the news Mr Robinson had just spru
Present day. I stood up to get another round of coffee for everyone, to say it has been a long night was quite an understatement, it had been my longest night yet in a long time. I couldn't believe what my ears had just heard, Ethan had been through a lot, a whole lot to be honest. I didn't know what betrayal felt like but I knew betrayal from the people you held closest was the worst and it would hurt more than any other betrayal and they would leave the deepest scars. "Turns out, it was Damien that had intentionally planted Lucy in Ethan's life." Liam continued after I passed him another cup of coffee."He knew exactly the type of girl that would be capable of catching Ethan's attention and that Ethan would be attracted to her, so he took his time prepping her for the role, and judging from the outcome, she played her role quite well," Liam explained further to me. "But all for what?" I asked angrily.I was furious and all I wanted to do was meet this so-called Damien friend of
Chapter ThirteenTwo weeks!!That was how long I had been on my own, by myself in this gigantic and eerily quiet house. Two whole weeks, since I last heard, saw, or spoke to Ethan. At first, I thought he just needed time to be alone and blow off some steam, I knew how bothered he would feel about me coming into his private space.I had invaded his home at first, not by my own choice anyways, we had to remember that I was still a victim in all of this, but I had invaded his home nonetheless and now, I was invading his very personal space, his room.After the third day of complete silence from him, I knew he wasn't just blowing off steam again, this was becoming more serious and we had to do something about it, I became increasingly worried when I heard he hadn't been to work all those times as well. "I then had to call his parents as I didn't even have his contact, funny right?" I was his wife, yet I didn't even have his contact, not to talk of getting in touch with him.Anyways, af
I couldn't shake off that irking feeling at the back of my neck after I had left the lobby, something about what she had said was bugging me.I tried to imagine what else she could do to harm both Ethan and I and also the company at large and loads of different scenarios popped up in my head, none of which were favorable. I was still relaxed though, because I don't think she had filmed anything while we were in the lobby. That was one of the things I loved about this building, your privacy and security were granted. One couldn't film or snap pictures in here, they had their camera which they had installed and placed in strategic places and although I was sure the camera downstairs had captured Ethan constituting his nonsense, I was confident about the fact that those videos were not going to make it to the internet.Why, you ask? It's just simple, no one wanted to double cross the likes of Ethan and his family and if anyone dared to, they would face consequences beyond their imagina
THE STORY CONTINUES IN ETHAN'S POVWhat had I done? I hadn't meant to hurt her but when I heard snippets of her conversation last night, I just lost it and I was immediately reminded of the night that Lucy and Damien had done what they did. I had been so out of it last night, it was the loud crash that resonated through the house that got people's attention and that's why they had rushed upstairs.The building security always kept spare keys to every apartment, so they would be able to have to assess the apartment in case there was an emergency. That was how they had been able to enter the apartment last night and rescue Kate. They had called the ambulance which had taken her to the hospital, I was not allowed to go with them as I was still pretty drunk, so the paramedics had told me to stay back and only come when I was sober enough. I didn't know how I was able to remember all of that, but somehow I did. Although parts of my memories from last night were still very foggy because
"What the fuck are you smirking about?" He asked and straddled me on the floor, delivering punch after punch in my face. Although he packed quite a powerful punch, I was still very much stronger than him. I could have easily thrown his weight off me and tackled him back to the ground because his movements were sloppy and his eyes were unfocused, he was just punching blindly.Despite all I noticed, I decided not to take a defensive approach. I just laid there and continued to allow him to release his anger, he was livid and he needed to expel his anger and I would gladly be his object of releasing his pent-up frustration. It was only fair since I had been the source of his anger in the first place. And a little part of me felt like putting myself through this harsh ordeal would be enough to pay for how badly I had treated Kate all along. But I knew no matter the level of pain and suffering I inflicted upon myself, it wouldn't be enough, the only thing I could do was hope that she wo
I should have known that Jake was a coward, I didn't know why I had felt so threatened by him in the first place. Although I didn't show it, the comment he made the last time we had spoken, really got to me. He had not just threatened to come after me alone, he had threatened my entire family and our entire business as well. I had been so fear-stricken, though I tried not to show it, Liam always saw through everything. He noticed how pale and out of it I had gotten after my conversation with Jake so we had our little conversation as well. "So what was that all about?" He asked me that night after we all got back from the hospital.He and Emily had offered to keep me company, pending the time that Kate would wake up and be back in the house. We had just finished eating dinner and Emily had retired to bed. She was now seven months gone and her due date was fast approaching, not to mention she had also undergone a huge deal of stress throughout the day and stress like that was not go
"What do you say we do Mr Miller? Do we air the contents of this flash drive for the whole world to see or you have changed your mind about airing it?" Thomas asked one last time. "My mind is made up already, and there's no changing it. Play the video Mr. Ryan and let the whole world see Ethan Robinson for the monster he truly is." He urged the whole crew. Thomas complied with his wishes and we saw as he signaled to one of the crew members and they came and took the drive from him. "The video is ready to be played and although we don't know what to expect, I urge everyone to be ready to view the contents of these folders as it may not be pleasing to everyone." Thomas directed the crew to play the video with a nod of his head. The TV screen changed from the studio setting and was replaced by a new image and I was surprised to see that it had been the living room where Kate's accident had happened. I thought I could trust the security back at the apartment complex, it was obvious t
Four Years LaterI sat nervously in the chair that was set up on the stage, and although I had this huge smile plastered on my face, no one could tell that I was nervous, well there was one person who could anyway, and he was seated in the front row with our two-year-old son, Aiden. I looked up at him and he smiled at me and mouthed the words "Breathe." Just like that, the thickness that had lodged itself in my chest dissipated and I felt like I could breathe again. "Thank you." I mouthed back to him and he smiled and went back to cuddling our baby in his arms.So allow me to bring you up to speed on everything that has happened in the last four years. After Dad was arrested, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to jail of course and just like Ethan had predicted, he had been sentenced to life imprisonment, without an option of parole of course. It was after that that I was finally given the company. I had presented the copy of the transfer of ownership Mum had done before she die
It had been a week since the ball incident, and what that meant was that it had been one whole week of chaos and complete madness to say the least. What Lucy had told us and warned us about, that the press was going to go insane was absolutely true, the press had gone insane that night and it was only because Ethan and Liam had taken the initiative to hire more security men beforehand, that was how we had been able to get everything under control, things would have gotten more insane if it wasn't for that.Dad had been arrested and taken into custody that night, Stephanie had also fainted from shock, following the revelation we made that night. Overall, it was a very dramatic and unforgettable night, and things had only just started. An investigation was immediately launched following the arrest of dad and it was in this process that more of his crimes were brought to light and it was in this process that I myself heard of his numerous other crimes. Not only had he committed murder,
"Hello, lovely people." I heard someone greet me from behind me and immediately knew who it was. Emily hugged me from behind and I patted her arms lightly, chuckling at her manner of greeting. After I exchanged pleasantries with both her and Liam, they took their seats, our table was for five people and four were already in attendance, we were expecting just one more person. "Where is Aurora?" I asked her."She's with her grandparents." She answered me and I knew by grandparents, she meant Ethan's mum and dad. "So a little birdie told me this is no ordinary ball." Emily leaned closer to me and whispered in my ears after a while. I gave her a knowing smile as I already figured out where she got the information or from whom she got it, but I wasn't angry or anything like that. Emily was one of my trusted allies and we were in this together. "Well, that little birdie was right," I whispered back to her. "So what are we doing tonight? What is tonight all about?" She asked me, literal
"Oh yes, I'm sorry ma'am." She apologized before saying something to the Bluetooth device that was connected to her, "They said it is Mr. Miller, ma'am, your father, he just stepped on the red carpet."A feeling of fear and shock descended on me at first but I just told myself that I wasn't the same person I was last year before I left, I was bolder and more confident now, and I could now stand up to my oppressors and I wouldn't let anyone or anything, bring me down again, I could do this and I was going to do this. "Do you want us to head in first?" Ethan bent down to my level and whispered in my ears, but when I looked up, I looked at him and shook my head."No we can stay, it'd be nice to get an interview with him at least," I told Ethan and he knew what I was doing, I was already putting the plan into execution and he nodded his head to show me that he was in full support of what I was doing.Besides, like I said earlier, I knew the games these reporters played and I had been pla
Ethan helped me out of the car and the moment the reporters spotted us they swarmed us like a bunch of bees, luckily for us, Ethan had planned and he had arranged security beforehand. So immediately they swarmed us, the security details around us formed a wall and we were protected from them, "Should we just head in or do you want to grant some interviews?" Ethan asked me, talking loudly over all the noise and camera flashes. Although we had several bulky men who had formed a barrier around us, Ethan still ensured I was protected, he had draped his hand over my shoulder and brought me closer so that my face couldn't be seen by the rest of the public, he was taking my safety very seriously and I was touched by that. "It's fine, I'll grant some interviews," I yelled back to him over all the noise as well."Are you sure? These people are like a bunch of hungry lions right now and they won't go easy on you, are you sure you want to do this? You know you don't have to?" He asked me agai
When I did that Ethan groaned out and doubled over, I was scared because his groan sounded like a painful one, I immediately crouched down to his level and I was rubbing soothing circles on his back, "What's wrong babe?" I asked him and he looked up at me before saying, "You." I was confused, and I knew my facial expression must have changed from worried to confused, as Ethan read my face and explained to himself, "that thing you're doing to me is making me feel all sorts of things." He told me. "What thing?" I asked him again, not at all understanding what he was saying. "This thing." He demonstrated and I smiled. "What about this thing?" I asked again and repeated the same action and he groaned out."Stop biting your lips." He told me and I looked up at him through my lashes, and quietly asked, "Or else what?" I asked and this time, he jumped into action, he brought his hands to my lips and released them from the hold of my teeth.I rolled my eyes at his words and pushed him out
Ethan and I had enjoyed a complete two weeks of total bliss, now it was time to go back into the limelight, and by limelight, I meant, now it was time to reveal our whole truth to the world and as expected, Dad would never see it coming. We realized there was some truth to what Lucy had told us the last time she was here, things were going to get very crazy from now henceforth and Ethan and I needed all the alone time we could get and the only way we could get it was right now, no time was enough but we made the most out of our time together and now, we were ready. The news that I was back in New York or that Ethan and I were back together, the news hadn't gotten to the press or the public yet, I knew that because had it meant the press had heard about it, they would have been lining up at the entrance of the apartment since the day we got back, but we had enjoyed total peace in the past two weeks.Everything Ethan and I did, we did it indoors as we couldn't go out, going out would
"It's a hidden talent of mine," I responded and smiled at him."It's not going to be easy but just like you said, our relationship hasn't gone past the point of no repair, and all we just have to do is sit down and have this conversation, they're still my parents and I still love them, it's going to be hard but they're worth it." He said I smiled up at him, looking at him with a proud smile on my face."I'm happy to hear you say that," I told him and I leaned up and placed a quick kiss on his lips, smiling at him when I pulled back, that would not be enough for Ethan because he suddenly leaned down to my level and captured my lips in an intense kiss of his own, the rest of our night was spent I'm pure bliss needless to say. We were woken up by the sound of the buzzing on the front door and it continued to buzz like that for a while. I was surprised that I was the one that heard it. Ethan was still fast asleep and it didn't even seem like he was going to get up anytime soon. I tapped
When we got outside, Ethan went around the car, opened the door and helped me into the passenger's seat. I thought he was telling me that he wanted to be alone and that the driver should take me home and I was all but ready to jump out of the car. But I was happy when Ethan came to the driver's seat and opened the door, "Out!" He told the driver that was perched in the driver's seat and wanted to drive us home. The young man took one look at Ethan's face and he could tell that Ethan wasn't in a mood to be messed around with and immediately, he scurried out of the car. Ethan then came in and in the process of fastening his seat belt, the front door slammed closed and when we looked up, we saw that it was no other person than his mum, and it seemed like she was coming here. Ethan had immediately forgotten about the seatbelt he wanted to fasten and he reached for the ignition keys, he started the car and it roared to life, his mum had almost reached us, except that she wasn't fast enou