PEOPLE started to greet her as she walked inside the familiar building of Steinfield Company. She was called to visit today to sit with the board of directors in an emergency meeting that would be held fifteen minutes from now.Michelle smiled thinly, returning the greetings of the employee who recognized her. She walked slowly, every step was careful as her growing belly was heavier than a couple of weeks past. Sometimes she felt that a large ball was inside her.“Jacob will be there in the meeting. Will it be fine with you?” Megan asked, who went with her to accompany her since her best friend worried about her well-being so much.She nodded her head. Ethan’s brother didn’t bother her in any way. Michelle thought that it was her pregnancy cravings and high emotions that took control of her mind the last few months. The closeness between her and Jacob was unbeatable. She was drawn by him in a strange way, but after passing the first semester of her pregnancy, that weird feeling faded
TEARS rolled down her cheeks as she stormed out of the conference room.She hardly processed everything she heard in her mind. She could not accept any of it. How could she agree to sell her husband’s pride and hard-earned company? Ethan worked hard to make his business one of the top-tiered companies in the country. Now, they wanted to sell it because of the mountainous debt it incurred.“Mich!” Megan followed her as she walked to the elevator area. She kept pushing the ground button in frustration. She sobbed, thinking that everyone in the company had turned their backs on Ethan. Just because they believed he was dead.“Let’s get out of here. I can’t stay here anymore.” She palmed her face, and then looked at Megan. “Have you seen those faces in the conference room? They all want to sell my husband’s company!”Megan’s expression softened. Her best friend did not know what to say as just like her, the woman had no idea about running a business but Michelle just needed to release her
THE DOWNFALL of Steinfield Company became a hot topic of the media for over a week. Reporters had been chasing Michelle to make a statement regarding the situation her husband’s company was facing but she never provided a single word about it.Silence had been her solace in that dark times. She thought that it was the best defense to protect the name of her family. The less she talked, the lesser she could make a mistake.Jacob tried to convince her to sign a paper that would initiate the change of ownership of the company, but that paper remained untouched on the side table of her bed.Was it wrong to feel mad at Ethan’s brother?It was the question that lingered in her mind ever since this fiasco blew up. Not that she was trying to judge Jacob’s character, but she could not help but think that the man was doing it on purpose.Did she have poor judgment?Did she really know him well?Or Ethan was right when he felt that his brother was his great nemesis?Selena and Edward visited her
“WHAT ON EARTH . . .” Ellaine started to say but stopped herself.Her eyes winced at the immense amount of anger building inside her chest as she watched the television. It was airing the sudden collapse of Ethan’s company.With her fists clenching, she took a deep breath trying to control her emotions as anytime she’d start screaming in frustration due to the madness she was feeling inside.Jasper was leaning on the door frame watching her reaction intently. A ghost of a smile could be seen on his tiny red lips as the whole fiasco entertained him.“Do you know about this?” she asked the man, her voice almost like a whisper to ensure she would not wake Ethan who was sleeping in his bedroom.“Even if I knew, I wouldn’t give a damn,” Jasper said, “It’s not my company after all.”“Isn’t this part of his doing?” Ellaine couldn’t help but be suspicious of the boss. “I think he is doing this to get revenge!”“Why would he do that, anyway?”Ellaine smiled bitterly. “Probably because he is je
“IF YOU think you could dump us this way, then you’re wrong…”Ellaine was quick to hop inside a cab. She would never allow Jacob to abandon them on the streets like rats. She had done more than enough to help him just to be treated in such a manner.It was unacceptable to her.Jacob Steinfield was a devil she thought she could rely on from the very start but the man was revealing his true colors now.It was still vivid in her mind.The man knew how much she loved his brother so much. He had seen it when she was still working for Steinfield Company. The mistake that led her to get fired from the company had become an opportunity for Jacob to hone her to be part of his plan.Until that day had finally come. That very day when Jacob came up with a great plan and asked her to become his accomplice, and in return, she would get what she wanted—Ethan. He had everything under his sleeves. It was easy for him to fake her papers and make Ethan and Michelle believe that she was one of the most
THE MOMENT Ellaine had stepped foot on Jacob’s mansion, and saw the man walking downstairs, she immediately stormed in his direction. Met him halfway and slapped him real hard on his face.Her sudden action made the man tilt his head. Seconds later, he laughed, and licked the corner of his lips that turned red because of her slap before he stared at her again.“What do you think you are doing, Jacob?!” Ellaine yelled at him angrily, her chest going up and down because of the intense emotions enveloping her chest.“Do I really have to spell it out for you?”The man raised an eyebrow, eyeing her with nothing but utter disgust like she was some kind of a pest he would not even want to stare at. That thought angered her more.“You can’t abandon us just like that, Jacob,” she said through her gritted teeth. “I didn’t take part in your plan just to be treated this way in the end. Do you want me to fuck you up? I can go ahead and show myself up to Michelle and tell her every—”“Ellaine, Ella
ETHAN tried to conceal the overwhelming sense of suspicion and curiosity he had been feeling the entire time. He thought that Ellaine had gotten more agitated since that night when she went out without letting him know where she went.The people in the apartment acted as if there was no problem; but his other senses could feel that there was something wrong even if his eyes could not see it.Ellaine and Jasper were both strange in so many ways.A flash of confusion would always consume him whenever he thought about what Jasper told him that night when he was drunk, like how everyone's minds were messed up. He knew there was a deeper meaning behind Jasper’s confusing statement, and he wanted to know what it was.That afternoon, Ethan stayed in his room, hearing Ellaine release her frustration as she spoke to someone over the phone. The woman would often scream and curse someone and start saying things that he could not decipher. Jasper, on the other hand, went back to his usual snobbis
SHE BIT down on her tongue as she looked at the official receipts that were handed to her by Ethan’s personal secretary. All the debts were paid using the share Ethan allotted for her. Michelle still pondered whether it was a good idea to use that money without her husband’s consent. However, the fiasco her family was in was getting bigger every single day, leaving her no other choice but to do it anyway.Putting the receipts down on the table, she focused her attention on Marsha. They were on the couch, sitting, and she grabbed the comb to fix Marsha’s long hair.“Mommy, why am I seeing Daddy’s picture on the news?” Marsha pointed her little finger to the smart TV, on which news about Ethan’s company was being reported.The reporter was publicly announcing that Steinfield Company would no longer operate as the wife of the CEO chose not to sell it to Jacob Steinfield. Michelle had decided that way, mainly because she wanted to save the company building. Once Ethan came back, they coul