Tom's POV
The star of the show, Mrs Stone in all her glory was about to cut the cake. I was certain some dignitaries or whatever the hell they called themselves were going to present their gifts to her personally.
I had heard it all from the button nosed man who sat close to our table. Some aristocrats from England, with the most off putting British accent in the entire universe.
Of course I didn’t tell him that. I had buttered up the old fool, praising his accent, the bald gash on his head and that ridiculous mustache that made Hitler look like a child next to him.
Who the hell even wore mustaches like that anymore? Certainly not me. I’d sooner eat dust than have that atrocious debacle on my face. The man had classified himself as a dignitary, mentioned getting a gift worth two thousand dollars for Mrs Stone and fully intends to present it to her himself.
I
Madeline's POV"It's been a while, hasn't it?"John.It really was John. I had expected that he would be at the party. But when the issue with Eve and Adam came up, I had forgotten all about him. All I had cared about was revealing the truth about them without worrying about my own secrets being revealed.I was doomed.My head throbbed when he had hit it against the wall earlier. My vision was blurry and even if it wasn't, John had dragged me into a dark secluded place. I wasn't sure where. All I knew was that I was facing the wall, hands pulled behind my back and a lot of pain in my head.I tried to speak, but my head hadn't settled down enough for me to say a word, so I settled with a whimper and tried to shake the headache off. John was here and he definitely wasn't here to exchange pleasantries. He had to be
Madeline's POVThe pictures glared back at me, my secrets about to be spilled before everyone. Secrets I had worked hard to bury. I lowered myself quickly, trying to ignore the way blood filled my head, almost blinding me.Doomed, the voice in my head chanted. If Adam got a whiff of these pictures, if he knew they existed, proof that I had access to his office, to John's office as well, I was doomed.He would definitely pursue it hotly. Granted he might not have if I hadn't come back into his life. He may have overlooked it all like he did two years ago when he broke off the engagement.But now?Now that the man wanted to break out of my claws using any means necessary, now that I had his mother in the palm of my hands, He definitely would not let this go. Adam would do everything he could to haul my ass in jail.
Adam's POV"I'm afraid I have to leave so early," The old man before me spoke, a smile on his face. He was one of the oldest partners of the Stone foundation, Gerald Oslow. Quite the hilarious man. He had made time to come for the party despite his old age and weak body.Oslow had long been a fan of my mother. According to her, when my bastard father died, Oslow had been the very first to talk her into another marriage. He had been supportive and they would most likely have suited each other. But my mother had had enough of men and was glad to be free."Thank you for coming, Mr Oslow," I greeted, holding a hand out.Right after cutting the cake, he had led me out of the hall, wanting to catch up on old times. I hadn't wanted to at first. There were too many shots running through my head at that point, I wasn't sure what I was doing.When
Tom's POV"You!"In a million years, I never would have expected that those words would be the first that Adam Stone's mother would say to me.Well at first, I did think it was me. The way she had looked up vehemently and glared right at me had been intense. Hell I had been sure she would rip my head off.Until I noticed she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Eve. And why on earth would Isabella Stone glare at my wife with such intensity? I glanced at Eve to see her face had paled and frowned. What was going on? Was she taken aback by the woman's vehement words or was it something else?"What are you doing here?!" Mrs Stone's sharp words cut through my ears and when I glanced at her, she was on her feet. I hadn't lied when I said she didn't look old.The woman literally jumped to her feet as if her legs were made of s
Madeline POVWhen I stepped out of the hallway John had dragged me into, every single fiber of my body slacked in relief. The adrenaline was gone. My heart thumped slowly as I slowly registered what had happened.What could have happened."I could have died!" I gasped, clutching my head. The dull throb was back. John had hit the damn thing on the wall too many times like the cruel bastard he was.Just what would he have done if I hadn't thought of a plan that quickly?! The jackass would have put a bullet right through my brain.My eyes snapped close as I recalled the sound of the gun clicking, the feel of that shiny smooth metal against my head.You almost died Madeline, a voice in my head said for clarity and I nodded glumly. I almost did. Right there, at the party, while people drank and hollered, I wa
Eve's POVI was terrified as hell.No, terrified had to be an understatement. There were no words to describe the terror I had felt.When Tom had insisted that he had to give Mrs Stone her gift personally, I knew I was doomed. I knew that she was definitely going to cause a scene and everything I had fought to hide would be up.It had been nothing short of a miracle that she had t noticed me at her party in the first place. But showing up before her, trying to give her a gift? I might as well be wearing neon signs all over my body calling for her attention.But Tom couldn't be reasoned with. Tom always had to get his way. If he wanted to give gifts to Mrs Stone, then he would make sure he did. If he wanted to catch her eyes and draw attention to himself, he would do so by all means.I understood, well to a
Tom's POVI walked into my study, thoughts muddling up in my head. While I had been preparing for the party that morning, I hadn't expected to get home so damned confused and irritated.Confused about Adam's mother's debacle right there in public. She may have noted it down to having poor memories, but I didn't think I believed her. The woman had been really intense and it did look like she would spew fire.And she had looked at Eve with such familiarity. But the loophole that concerned how they could have met was there to be filled. Besides, all the adjectives she used in describing Eve were words that suited a more outgoing, slutty person.Eve rarely left the house. And the idiotic woman had spent the entire party either hiding or cowering from everyone. The last thing she was, was outgoing. The woman was a hermit crab if anything. Those words definitely did not
Adam's POV"Thank you for coming, have a safe trip home,""Thank you, Stone. I had a blast!" The last of the guests to remain, slipped into his car and drove off. I watched his car speed through a curve and he was out of sight. "Can we go now?" Anabelle groaned behind me. She stood in the parking lot with me, with my mother sitting on a chair an usher had gotten her, looking rather exhausted but smiling like she had won a lottery.I remembered her smile when she saw the party. The tears of joy on her face as I pulled the unexpected and a grin tugged at my lips.Was it worth it? Absolutely! Mother deserved all of that and more. I simply wished that I could do more. I wished that I could give her way more than that.I walked towards them, giving her a smile. "Are you okay, Mother?""Okay?" Sh