Morgan 's loud outburst caused an abrupt hush to fall over the room, turning all eyes towards her. Even Ethan and Hayle paused their conversation to look her way. Realizing she had drawn unwanted attention, Morgan 's face flushed with embarrassment. She quickly softened her tone, forcing a smile. "I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. Are you alright, sir?"The old gardener, stooped low, continued to gather the fallen roses, murmuring apologies under his breath. Morgan ’s attempt to save face came off as insincere, and noticed the shift in the crowd’s demeanor. The moment had already passed, and Morgan ’s forced politeness did little to reverse the damage.When Morgan ’s eyes fell on Hayle standing next to Ethan , her confusion turned to disbelief. "What is she doing here?" she muttered under her breath. Ethan ’s brow furrowed at the sight of Morgan ’s unexpected presence. quietly observed Ethan ’s reaction, realizing that he hadn’t anticipated Morgan ’s arrival. It was c
Ethan 's expression remained composed, but Hayle could tell he already suspected the land's true potential. He had likely figured out its future value but chose to let Frederick have it as a gesture of goodwill. That was just like Ethan —always strategic, even in his generosity. Hayle shrugged off the conversation. "I just gave him a compliment. You're overthinking it," she said, dismissing the topic with a casual tone. Ethan 's brow furrowed as he considered her words. He realized he was probably reading too much into it; how could Hayle possibly have the foresight to predict the land's value? He decided to drop it. "You're probably right," he murmured, then turned his attention back to Morgan , leading her away to mingle with other guests. As they walked off, Morgan briefly glanced back at Hayle, her expression carefully neutral, but Hayle caught the hint of a smug smile hidden in her eyes. Hayle finished her glass of champagne, the bubbles doing little to lift her spirits. To
Vardy drove with mounting irritation to the dilapidated building, cursing under his breath. The structure loomed ahead, a forsaken relic of the past. "How did Devon think it was a good idea to use a place like this?" Vardy muttered, his frustration clear.The building's exterior was cloaked in shadows, the only light coming from a waning moon that barely pierced the thick darkness. Vardy pulled up to the crumbling entrance, the tires crunching over gravel. The night was eerily silent except for the occasional distant howl of wind.Alex yanked Devon out of the car with little regard for his comfort. Devon staggered and nearly fell but managed to stay on his feet. Vardy, his patience worn thin, gave Devon a rough kick. "Start talking. Where is she?"Devon, wincing from the pain, gasped, "Ms. Summers is hidden somewhere inside this building. We were planning to use her to blackmail Ethan for a hefty ransom. The original plan was to blow up the building once we had the money. That way,
HARLEY POV I sat quietly in the study, the hum of the air conditioner doing little to alleviate the tension in the room. ethan 's office was impeccably arranged, with bookshelves lined with leather-bound volumes and a large mahogany desk dominating the space. The heavy silence was interrupted only by the occasional ringing of Ethan 's phone. ’s gaze shifted from the ornate clock on the wall to Ethan ’s phone, which had been persistently buzzing on the desk.Ethan , who had been engrossed in paperwork, finally picked up the phone, only to hang up moments later. His face was a mask of composure, but could sense the undercurrent of frustration. Before Haylee could ask any questions, the door to the study burst open, and Hailey strode in, her expression stern.“If you can’t give me grandchildren as soon as possible, then don’t blame me for taking an extreme route,” Hailey's voice was sharp, each word laced with frustration.Ethan remained silent, his gaze fixed on the paperwork in f
hayle's pov As soon as I popped my eyes open, the sight that welcomed me was that of Ethan 'sHis arms yanked at mine right one time to prevent me from falling harshly against the floor. I jerked his arms off mine before tending to my feet. My eyes can end all through my body, right from head to toe, worried sick that he may have done something to me in my sleep.“Relax; I only got here three minutes ago or so. What's with the weird look? Aren't you happy that I've come to keep your company?” He asked with that same annoying tone that strokes his ego each time he spikes.“What do you want, Ethan ? You could have at least woken me.” I added the frown in my face, and the displeasure was evident in my tone. I may have made a resolution to myself about laying low until the time came and I could handle things myself, yet that had not meant I could tone the irritation I felt for him.“Get dressed; we have a meeting to go to. You and I, after all, would be in charge of some things if we wer
HAYLE 'S POV.“I don't want this one, maybe the pink.” I added in, the attendant nodded slowly and reached it towards me. I wriggled into it before making my way towards the full-length mirror, which stood elegantly in the corner of the dressing room. Kevin remained, his back against the chair. His eyes following the ribery not of the move that I made, a sheepish smile on his face.Every bit of his actions bothered me.I had hoped he would be bored by now, so I spent the entire afternoon buying clothes and doing my hair. Nails, purses show, and now I'm shopping for jackets.What on earth would I bloody need jackets for? It was summer already; I didn't need any heavy clothing of any sort, but of course I needed to tell him in the smartest way possible.He was more obsessed than I was; how could he keep his eyes peeled on me all along? Not for once had he taken his eyes off me. And it ruined my life majorly. I really wanted some chance to make an escape, knowing this was meant to be t
HAYLE'S POV.I rose to my feet as soon as the door pushed open. I had been worried all day, pacing back and forth in the room waiting for him to come around.“What's the matter? The hotel attendant claimed you had something important to say.” He added in hastily, his eyes scanning every inch of my body, almost like he believed I had been hurt, I wouldn't blame him. I made the urgency in my tone known to the attendant, and I'm certain he threatened them well not to have me hurt or escape.‘Ethan , I have just one favor to ask of you; remember that wish you promised to grant me days ago! I'm ready; I know what I'd like to ask for.” I added in hastily; I didn't have the time to think of my pride or any bit of ego ghost I could probably have anymore."Well, see who suddenly became greedy? Here I was thinking an expensive phone would do the trick; why should I give you any favors? Last I recalled, "You didn't want my help,“ he teased jokingly. Being the psycho that he was, I knew for a fa
Hayle's pov“I'll be out in a moment,” I complained to both men; they exchanged glances before nodding slowly.“You have just thirty minutes to head in and come out; any little disturbance we will have to report to Sir ethan , and I'm sure you don't want that happening,” the fire security guard had asked. I modded with an aschoff before picking up my pace. I knew he was a whole lot of hard work, but one thing I couldn't believe was he was actually sending two hefty men to guard me like I was some prized possession of his.I rolled my eyes from frustration; things weren't looking so good, and it still didn't seem like he was ready to have any of my problems tended to.The entire thing was beginning to stress me out; after only thirty minutes, I hoped she hadn't turned up dead by now.“Please, I'm here to see an old woman with gray hair, Scottish-looking, Mary by name,“ I asked the nurses at the reception; they exchanged glances with me and then nodded slowly.“Are you her guardian?” t
The heavy downpour of tears didn't stop as they streaked continuously over her cheeks. Pain and guilt arched at her heart. It was not her fault everything got down to a method like that, but she could not control her emotions at the moment. She acted out on impulse, as one could say, but that was not the only thing that bothered.She had a crush on Alex, and she was not sure why he was no longer running after her. It would be stupid for her to make mistakes as such or think about things like that; it was not really necessary on her end.Footsteps approached Hayle from the bushes behind; she got so tensed up that she had wandered far away from the Family ground. The only reason she had done so was because she didn't want anyone else from the Family to come along and make fun of her.“You look like a mess; what's wrong? Damsel in distress, ''Faedra'' asked. Still glancing towards her with a single intent, although it did die her good, made her happy to the pit of her belly seeing how we
The heavy downpour of tears didn't stop as they streaked continuously over her cheeks. Pain and guilt arched at her heart. It was not her fault everything got down to a method like that, but she could not control her emotions at the moment. She acted out on impulse, as one could say, but that was not the only thing that bothered.She had a crush on Alex, and she was not sure why he was no longer running after her. It would be stupid for her to make mistakes as such or think about things like that; it was not really necessary on her end.Footsteps approached Hayle from the bushes behind; she got so tensed up that she had wandered far away from the Family ground. The only reason she had done so was because she didn't want anyone else from the Family to come along and make fun of her.“You look like a mess; what's wrong? Damsel in distress, ''Faedra'' asked. Still glancing towards her with a single intent, although it did die her good, made her happy to the pit of her belly seeing how we
Hayle stared out into the night; maybe for a couple of hours, she had her mind lifted off certain burdens, all thanks to Juliet who had accompanied her.She glanced down at her side with a smile on her lipsJuliet was fast asleep; unlike her, she couldn't get herself a good night's rest.If anything, it bore her more than enough. She was restless and maybe angry, but for all she knew, there were other things she needed to bring together.Weak and tired, she needed a little bit of peace and quiet. It felt like much was done or could be done; all she needed was her mind set free.She slipped out of the room, slowly heading towards the balcony, but then remembered that she had previously passed out there and slept in the cold till the next day. Goosebumps. swarmed into her, she freed herself up to the conclusion that was not by any means the route for her.She stood in her tracks, her head tilted a bit while she pondered hard about what to do. With a single thought lit up on her mind s
None of Alex's words made any sense to Hayle; how could her womb vanish into thin air? Why was he looking so serious? Was that meant to be a prank for her? Womb don't just get off one's body."Is this the part where I laugh?” Hayle asked curiously, flashing her bright set of teeth towards Alex, who was taken aback by her attitude. Sure as hell, she had her way, but he had his as well, and he was way more determined than anything else to handle the situation as best as he could, but she was not going to help anyone at all.“I'm sorry,” she whispered under low tones and tried standing on her feet. The first thing she felt was a throbbing headache and an insane urge to retch.“This isn't funny anymore, Alex. What's going on?” She asked again, seemingly confused as her vision was a little blurry.“Here, I'll help.'' Alex added in as he made his way towards her swiftly, running his fingers across her eyes and slowly pushing up in place before helping her back in bed."Hayle, this is a jo
HayleHayle parted her slowly and glanced through her environment. Things seemed different for a moment, and the first thing that stuck with her was the vague emptiness that she felt, followed by quite a migraine that took place in her mind. What exactly was wrong? Why had she felt like something important was missing from her?.She glanced around, and the surroundings seemed familiar; it wasn't her room. But it looked oddly close. The first memory that shook her mind was collapsing by the balcony, cold and lonely, scared for her life, worried that no one would find her as people hardly entered or passed through there.She heard the creaking of a door, and the first thing she had done was close her eyes shut, firmly and tight, yet she found it really strange; she could not have picked up the footsteps approaching until she shut her eyes closed.“What's wrong with me?” She questioned herself yet said nothing. “I can tell you are awake; why bother pretending?” Alex asked as he leaned c
Hayle.The cold wind blew harshly against my skin. I circled up my toes and tilted my head a bit.It was odd; why did it look so familiar? Emerging from the room, the scent that filled my nostrils, I stretched my legs slowly and raised my head with a louder yawn.My eyes moved over to the balcony, and it made me really bothered. Why was I in a situation like this? It made me sick to my stomach as I realized I was no longer taken.“awake?” his voice covered around me, I tilted my head, In the direction the words came, as I shook slowly yet carefully, panic shocking at my sides,“Why am I here?” I asked, the words easing off my throat bitterly. I felt an uneasiness within me, and I pushed myself slowly towards the end of the bed.“Stop; you need to remain in bed; you aren't fully healed yet.” He complained even when I barely felt anything different within me.“some joke?” I asked, my gaze on his while he rolled his eyes in response.“What exactly is your deal? Why did you come up with
Hayle’s POV.A knock settled on my door, sending jolts down my spine as I glanced up. I dragged my feet in the direction it came from; it seemed more like what could be done by Sandra. I dragged my feet reluctantly towards the don't and pushed it open, but to my surprise, it was Ethan.“Good morning, still asleep?” he asked. I shook my head, a faint smile against my lips. I could not really tell him much. It was probably not the best thing expected of me, especially given the fact that I had spent all my night thinking about Alex.“No, you didn't wake me; I had been a little tired from the journey; sleep didn't come easily.” I responded to his questions, although he seemed a little tense and worried.“May I come in then?” he asked, and I nodded, pushing the door wider apart for him to walk in.“I'm sorry, my manners are a little terrible. What's wrong? You don't look so good.” I asked on the spot, fighting hard to have my senses all intact.“Do you like it here, Hayle? Do you like be
AlexI rolled around in bed, my mind coupled up with her thoughts, I found it hard to sleep,My eyes darted over to the huge wall clock in the centre of the room, the seconds ticking slowly, that sound suddenly became louder for me to bear, sounded nothing better than torture.I sat up before putting on my shirt. It was seventeen minutes past three in the morning. It's been more than two hours since I retired to bed, fussing about and turning to no avail.“stop acting like it isn't your fault, why do you always have to make decisions that I'll take the pain for?” my asked, ranging unnecessarily, I sighed before blocking him off the mind link when he had put up with a fight…he was right, I've been imposing my decision on him lately.Apparently, there seemed like nothing else I could do better. I sucked in air and stood on my feet deciding to go for a light walk. It could help me, or maybe not, either way, I knHaley’eded the help within myself outside the walls of my room.I felt a t
Hayle's I slowly opened my eyes, the room looked fuzzy and unclear. I blinked a few times to clear my vision, and then I saw someone moving around, but their features were all blurry. It reminded me of Alex, but I couldn't be sure.I felt a mix of emotions - confusion, and a bit of fear. Was it really him? I tried to sit up to get a better look, but it was hard. Every movement felt heavy and slow.I strained my eyes, hoping to see more clearly, eager to know if it was really him or just my imagination playing tricks on me when suddenly he drew closer and spoke up.“I really need to know why you chose to have yourself killed today,” Alex spoke, his words coming off more like an exclamation than a statement. He had intervened and disrupted Adams' plan to take me out while fighting me in the training field. I was so dumb to recognize that that had been his plan all along.How stupid of me. I cussed inwardly. I thought about what happened, and a heavy feeling settled in my chest. I r