Lahat ng Kabanata ng Beautiful Disaster: Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

When Elijah left work for the day, the weather had taken a turn for the worst, with the Bay seeing the heaviest rains since the start of Spring.The run from the entrance of Sea Point's police station to his car was quick, but by the time he slipped behind the wheel, he was drenched to the bone.He unzipped his K-Way jacket and pulled out a file, relieved to see it wasn't soaked like he'd feared. He dumped it on the dashboard and gazed at it in wonder, feeling pretty chuffed with himself.As fulfilling as his days were on the Special Task Force, Elijah still missed the adrenaline rush of solving a good old whodunit case. As a result, he couldn't wait to get home and get his hands dirty. But first, he had to stop at his mom's place. He always stopped at his mom's place on Wednesdays. After all, it was the only day of the week that the youngest two Boshoff children were occupied.Dreading the drive to The Flats, Elijah fired up the car and was about to pull out of the parking lot when, f

Virginia had a bit of everything—small-town charm, natural beauty and vibrant culture. The stunning national parks and several historical landmarks were stuff tourist dreams were made of. As idyllic as the place was, Austin could never see himself living here. But if he had married Iris, this would have very likely been his second home because of her close relationship with her parents.The thought made Austin shudder a little, and it didn't escape Tim's notice riding in the front with him."Are you feeling cold?" he asked, arching his brows. "Should we turn off the air-con?""Nah," Austin replied. "Just thinking about something, that's all!""What?""How this would have been my life if I'd married Iris."Sitting in the back seat and fixated on his texts since they landed at the heliport almost an hour ago, Angelo finally looked up from his phone and asked, "Do you regret it?""Regret what?""Losing her?""Why would I regret losing someone who cheated on me?"His question made his capo

"кум," Friar John stammered as he moved away from the table.He quickly bowed at Austin, gesturing at his accomplices to do the same."Please don't!" Austin waved them off as he dumped his bag on the concrete floor, pulled one of the metal chairs away from the table and sat down. "Don't insult me by pretending to respect me, John!""кум, it's not what you think," Friar John said, running quickly to Austin's side, but Angelo stopped him as he pointed his gun at his chest."Back the fuck up!" he growled, cocking his pistol when Friar John attempted to take another step forward."Listen, this is all a huge misunderstanding," said Friar John, holding out his hands pleadingly."A misunderstanding, you say?" Austin murmured, tapping his index finger on his cheek while he ran his gaze through the room. His eyes lit up when they fell on three familiar faces—Nadia and her two youngest sons. The oldest, Josef, was nowhere to be found. Austin could only assume he was still out of commission after

They all dispersed and returned to the barn after the Van Staden boys had finished burying Friar John. Austin, though, hung back at the burial site for a few minutes, staring morosely at the consigliere's grave, his heart splintering into a million little pieces when he realised the man would never have a headstone or even a homemade cross to mark his final resting place.Austin knew he was going to die someday. Maybe even sooner than he'd prefer. After all, nothing was as certain as death. But when it was his time, he hoped he'd have something a little fancier than an unmarked grave, and he prayed Marybeth would visit him from time to time and place flowers on his grave.The mere thought of his wife filled Austin with a yearning so intense he didn't realise he'd pulled out his phone and called her until he heard her groggy greeting, "Hello?""Were you sleeping?" he asked, stuffing his free hand in his pocket as he gazed at the crescent moon looming bright and proud in the night sky."

"Thank God! Thank you, Jesus! You finally know the truth!" Anna was the first to unravel as she rushed from her seat and threw herself at Austin's feet, begging for mercy, to her husband's horror and disapproval."Anna! What the hell are you doing? Get up right this minute!" Willem bellowed at her, but she rounded on him with something Austin could only describe as resentment burning in her eyes."I warned you nothing stays hidden forever! We should have told him from the start when my baby asked for our help! If we'd listened to her, she'd be here today!" Anna ranted at Willem, tears trickling down her cheeks and vanishing into the creases of her wrinkly neck."We agreed—" Willem tried to split the blame evenly between them, but it was clear Anna was exhausted. Not just from the lies but also from the weight of their secret and all the guilt-tripping he'd put her through."I didn't agree to anything! It was you and Lukas!" she screamed, not holding back as she took her husband down me