Author’s POVThe table remained quiet for a while. Ethan stared daggers at Julienne, just counting down the time till the breakfast was over so that he could tow her away. However, Julienne was not holding back her punches either. It seemed as if she was ready to unravel everything she knew about Ethan and Lily in front of Hannah. She shifted her gaze at Ethan, a wry smirk appearing on her lips, and started, “Ethan, which would you say is better, your time with Hannah or your almost chaotic time with Lily? You must have a favorite.”Ethan almost choked on his drink when he heard those words.“Julienne!” He yelled with a scorching look on his face.“We’re at breakfast, where are your manners?!” Julienne trembled at Ethan’s loud tone, but she did not mind, she was determined to force him to tell Hannah the truth before this whole thing came crashing down in front of them.Hannah on the other hand shifted uncomfortably, her heartbeat rising with a surge of temper. She despised Lily mor
Author’s POV“Ethan?” Hannah called, “What are you doing here?” She asked startled to see him there. Ethan walked slowly towards her, wearing a bland expression, “I’m sorry I startled you, I just came here to get some time away. Julienne has been stressing me out since the time she got here.” Ethan sighed heavily.Hannah approached with caution, a slight frown on her face. Frankly, she could attest to what Ethan was saying, Julienne was becoming a real pain in the ass and needed to go. Hannah reached her hands up, “Why don’t you just throw her out? I got to give it to you Ethan, I thought you were the most annoying person I’ve ever met, but now I’ve seen your sister and I stand corrected. I can understand why you barely talk about her. My God, she’s annoying.” Hannah blurted.“You don’t think I’ve known that?” Ethan replied, and for a brief moment, they chuckled.“I didn’t know you love to read.” Ethan started, changing the conversation. He brushed past Hannah slightly and reached ou
Author’s POVThe moment they had both dreaded the whole week had arrived. Today was the departure date for the merger party and contract signing in Vienna. Hannah and Ethan had avoided each other for the rest of the week since Hannah’s bold accusations, which Ethan found too true, and ended up feeling mocked.That morning Clint packed their necessary luggage and pulled the car over to the front entrance, waiting nervously for Ethan and Hannah.Evidence of their tension was visible enough for everybody to see, and no one dared to interfere.Hannah descended the stairs with regular pants and a shirt, looking shabby. When all the maids saw this, they feared that Ethan was going to blow over, however, as they stood around, waiting for his reaction, they were surprised. Ethan just heaved a sigh and ignored Hannah. He already had too much on his mind and did not need another reason just to pick a fight with her. For all he cared, Hannah could wear sweatpants and he wouldn’t mind.The maids
Author’s POV“Allow me to show you the inside,” Ethan said and led Hannah into the jet.After they entered the jet, Ethan gestured and the air hostesses brought a bottle of champagne.Ethan shifted his gaze to Hannah again and a smile flashed on his face. He could sense the shift in tension and the ease that was quickly settling in between them.“I know this week has been tense and difficult, but can we try to be relaxed around each other? We might just have a good time if we give it a try.” Ethan said earnestly.Hannah hesitated for a while, unsure what to say. Ethan drove a good bargain – the jet, the expensive wine. If she didn’t know better she would think that he was flirting with her. Hannah decided to temporarily ignore the rift between them, at least for the entirety of their flight. Surprisingly, the atmosphere of the jet suddenly changed. Hannah and Ethan engaged frequently in casual conversations, Hannah occasionally taking notes of certain things she liked about it.The w
Author’s POV“Liam?” Hannah called, still in shock. “What are you doing here?” She added as Liam suddenly stopped in front of her. “It’s nice to see you again Hannah, you didn’t even inform us at the nightclub that you were quitting your job,” Liam said teasingly.Hannah look flustered. She still couldn’t believe that Liam was standing in front of her. How did he even get into an exclusive event like this?‘Liam must have scored a very sweet gig here.’ She thought, looking around the place again.“I’m sorry Liam, it all just kind of happened so fast,” Hannah said and quickly added, changing the conversation, “So are you here on a job?” She asked and a wry smile appeared across Liam’s face. However, just as he was about to say something, Ethan emerged from the other end of the hallway and became instantly furious, “You!” He sneered angrily, approaching Liam.Immediately Hannah saw the stern expression on Ethan’s face she could tell something was wrong. She quickly got out of the way,
Author’s POVHannah stormed out of the room with no hesitation. Her mind was racing uncontrollably, and all she wanted was a little break to just process everything. She strode towards the balcony, overlooking the view of the river behind it. Liam stood at the corner of the hallway, watching her intently, and then summoned a smile, and slowly approached her.Hannah gasped in shock when she suddenly saw him,“Liam,” she exhaled.“What are you doing here?” Liam ignored her and just slowly approached her with a smile on his face,“Sorry, Hannah. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He paused and stared at her deeply as if trying to note something.“Why are you looking at me like that?” Hannah’s brow raised uncomfortably as she looked at him.“Does he know?” Liam asked with curiosity.Hannah shot her gaze away, confused by what Liam was asking. Seeing her perplexed expression, Liam smirked and stepped closer to the balcony, tracing his fingers along the cold metal rail.“Your husband, Ethan. I
Author’s POV“Okay, what’s this thing with you and Liam?” Hannah asked as soon as they stepped inside.“Can we not talk about it? I’m not really in the mood.” Ethan said dismissively.“We can drop it if you stop acting like a jerk around him.” She sneered.Ethan took one look at her and threw up his arms in frustration, “How do you even know that loser?”“What? Liam? He worked with me at the Nightclub.” Hannah replied.When Ethan heard this, his eyes widened in surprise. “Did you say he worked with you at the nightclub?” He repeated.“Yes, what’s the matter?” “Nothing,” Ethan gave in and went to the room, grabbed another duvet, and brought it back to the living room. “Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. You should get some rest, Hannah.” Ethan said and laid on the couch. Hannah remained frozen, staring at him for a while, and then sighed and walked away.She returned to the room and looked without checking her phone, she went back to bed.***The next morning, Ethan was awoken by th
Author’s POV“How do you know Liam?” Hannah repeated, sensing a hidden truth there. Julienne hesitated for a while, and then said, “Liam? He’s just my brother’s annoying old friend.” She replied.Hannah was not convinced but she accepted Julienne’s explanation.“What did you say Ethan was doing?” Julienne asked curiously.“He has been staring at his old friend as if he wants to drill a hole through his head, and he’s not subtle about how he feels about Liam either. I’m afraid he’s going to ruin this deal he’s trying to sign, and spend the rest of the trip making it uncomfortable for everyone, which just so happens to be only me,” Hannah complained.“Can you talk to him, get him to bury this Liam thing before the party? It’s in a couple of hours and I’ll appreciate if Ethan isn’t cranky the whole time.”Julienne remained quiet for a while, as if thinking over it, and then said “Alright. I’ll see how I can help.” But before Hannah could say anything, she quickly added, “Do you know wha
“I’m sorry, Ethan,” Lily said, her voice breaking as she spoke. “I didn’t know how much this affected you; for that, I’m truly sorry.”Ethan and Hannah stood quietly. Ethan nodded in appreciation, but the person he wanted to hear from now was Hannah. He shifted his gaze to Hannah, who still did not know what to say. She remained frozen, overwhelmed by the moment. “Hannah?” Ethan finally asked, curious to hear what she had to say. Heaving a deep sigh, Hannah stared at him and said, “I’m sorry too, Ethan, but I can’t do this.” She said and started walking away again. Confused, Ethan hastened towards her and grabbed her hand. She yanked it away forcefully and snapped, “What do you want from me, Ethan?!”“I want you to say something! Anything!” Liam met her sharp words with frustration.“So what, just because you’ve opened up about your feelings and emotions, you think that solves everything? Because you’ve said a few sad words, you think everything is supposed to be fine?”Ethan opened
At this point, Hannah could no longer hold back her curiosity and asked, “What do you mean, Ethan? What were you supposed to do?”Ethan looked at her again and heaved a deep sigh, “Before Lily left me standing at the altar, I had started to see the signs,” he paused reflectively, “I knew she didn’t love as much as I loved her, and at a time I wasn’t even sure whether it was love that I felt for her, but I couldn’t imagine why else she was with me so I just went with the flow.”“You have to understand, Hannah, I was in my thirties and had never experienced real love. Everyone I met either seemed to be after my money or some favor I could do for them, so when I met Lily, I realized she was different. She didn’t care much about who I was or what I could do, but over time, I realized that she wasn’t looking for anything too serious. But even though I knew that, I still wanted to be with her. It was the first time I found someone who wanted to be with me just for me, and I didn’t want to l
“Hannah,” Lily said softly, reaching her hand toward her.Hannah stepped back reflexively, her brows creasing in annoyance. She’d tried so hard to keep her tears from falling, but the pain had quickly become overwhelming, and she couldn’t stifle the tears that formed anymore. She shifted her gaze between Ethan and Lily, her heart hardening at seeing them. Not knowing what to say, Lily stood uncomfortably. This wasn’t how she wanted Mia to find out. She hoped she’d have the words to resolve this situation before her sister learned about it. In truth, as much as she wanted Hannah’s help dealing with Alfred Wolfe, she also wanted her relationship with her sister back.After a few moments, Hannah wiped away her tears. Her gaze suddenly became dark. “You know what, Lily? You two can have each other. I refuse to be your replacement.”Hannah turned around, intending to walk away, but before she could take a step, Ethan’s voice interjected, “You weren’t her replacement.” He said, causing Han
She’d been so immersed in her conversation with Ethan, trying to convince herself to stay away from him, that she’d forgotten entirely that Hannah had just found out about them. She drew a deep breath and sighed. This was more difficult than she imagined. She’d just mended bridges with Ethan, or so it seemed, but she could tell Hannah would not be so quick to forgive her. How could she? When it seemed like history was repeating itself, only that this time, Ethan was not only her husband, but he was not the same douchebag Michael was. Lily knew Hannah would have difficulty accepting this, but she had to try, especially with Alfred Wolfe on their backs. She needed them to be united. With that, she quickly turned around and started walking towards Hannah’s direction, “We need to find Hannah,” she said.Ethan, however, refused to move. This was not how he intended for Hannah to find out about his relationship with her sister, and he did not even know if there was anything he could say t
Lily remained frozen in place following her confession. Her heart was beating rapidly. Although a weight had finally been lifted off her chest, she still did not feel relieved, not with the silence that followed.Ethan did not say anything. He stared at her intensely, his gaze never leaving her face. In his mind, it was easier to hate Lily. It was easier to believe that she did all those things out of her own selfish desires.He’d held on to that for years, and in a way, they transitioned him into the person he was today, but now, it felt like everything he’d done because of her in the past four years was without cause. All the time, he held himself back from feeling anything for anyone else. All the time he spent looking for her just to get an explanation and then to get his revenge, it all felt utterly pointless.Staring at her now, he didn’t know what to feel. Should he feel relieved that he finally learned the truth and that the reason she left him was not to intentionally humili
Hannah froze as soon as she heard those words. She knew that Ethan had some sort of relationship with Lily, but she could never think it’d be this bad. It suddenly made sense, the letter she found, how he never talked about her. She had thought that maybe Lily had crossed him as well, but this, this was worse. If they were about to get married, that could only mean one thing. Ethan had fallen in love with her. She opened her mouth to speak but the words formed a lump in her throat and she just stared at Lily, her mind reeling with thoughts.Is this why Ethan married her? Did she remind him of Lily or was it just to get back at her? Suddenly she started to feel claustrophobic and started breathing and panting heavily.Ethan heaved a deep sigh and finally broke the silence, “Hannah, I can explain,” he said, reaching out to hold her, “Don’t touch me!” Hannah retorted shaking his hand off her.She quickly opened the car door and stepped out, walking beside the road.“Are you happy now?”
“That’s it Ethan,” Lily blurted, “I know neither of you has any reasons to trust or believe me, but believe it or not, I’ve spent the last three years finding out how shitty I’ve been to both of you,” she paused, shifting her gaze to Hannah. “When I heard that you two had gotten married, I thought I had to come back and make amends for my mistakes, but then I figured out that Michael was also in your city so I had to hide away and keep a low profile. As much as I wanted to write my mistakes, I couldn’t let him find me, so I decided to stay away.”“But even then, I couldn’t completely stay away. I knew Michael would try to reach out to you if he couldn’t get to me, and that’s why I’m here.” At this time, Ethan and Hannah stared at her in disbelief. Throughout their entire time knowing her, they’d never known Lily to be someone to think about anyone other than herself.“Hannah,” Lily said, shifting her gaze to her, “I’m truly sorry for everything I did. I’m sorry I ran away with Michae
Certainly, Ethan was not going to let her off the hook either. Ethan took a step forward and started to approach her, but before he could get close to her, Hannah stepped forward, her eyes still flashing with horror, “We need to get out of here Ethan,” she said urgently, but Ethan ignored her, still staring intensely at Lily who by this time wished the ground could open up and swallow her.“Ethan, we need to get out of here. Someone might come around soon and we'll have to explain all these,” she said shifting her gaze across the men sprawled out on the floor, still in shock over what Ethan had done.However, again Ethan ignored her, still maintaining his focus on Lily,“Can you hear me, Ethan, I said…” she started, but Ethan quickly interjected, his eyes narrowing in rage, “And you! Do not think we're through. You have a lot to explain, so you better prepare your answers.” Hannah stopped, shaken by the harshness of his voice. She knew finding out about Michael this way would be annoy
“Past? What past? What is he talking about Hannah?” Ethan asked shifting closer with a stern look.“Your husband wants to know Hannah, why don't you tell him?” Michael asked softly.“I wasn't talking to you buddy,” Ethan interjected sharply.Michael scoffed, “So what is it going to be Hannah? You want to tell him or should I?” Michael asked, but sensing her hesitation, he opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, Hannah quickly spoke up, “He's my ex-boyfriend, Ethan,” she said looking down. As soon as those words fell, Ethan's eyes widened in shock, “I'm sorry, what?” Ethan blurted, twisting his face in disdain, “Did you just say he's your ex-boyfriend?” Ethan repeated angrily. However, Mia did not answer. She remained quiet, hesitating to look at him in the face.“You're not embarrassed by me, are you Hannah?” Michael interjected again with a sly smirk on his face. His presence here only made things worse and Ethan sneered, “Hey buddy, I'm trying to have a convers