It had been almost a week since Liam was admitted to St Clare's. Elena made it a point to see Liam every day, even though it wasn't easy for her. Watching Liam lying on that bed, almost lifeless and breathing through a mask, shattered her. Every day, she sat and hoped for a miracle. She watched his eyelids closely, desperately yearning to see them move, but they didn't. She cried more often. When she looked into the mirror, she didn't recognize what she saw. Her makeup artists tried all they could to keep her face in good condition, but Elena never had the time and patience to sit through an hour of facials.When Jennifer visited her one sunny afternoon, she commented on Elena's looks quite bluntly. "You are going to go all red and ugly if you keep up with these tears of yours," she said, not bothering to hide her sneer.And Chelsea, during a forced video call with Elena, said, "Woohoo, girl, what is this I see on your face? Huh?"But Elena didn't care about any of this. Her dreams w
Ethan Hemsworth tried to appear happy during the inauguration. It was indeed a big party; the gates had been thrown wide open, and anyone could come in. But there was tight security, both at the gate and everywhere else. The DJ was still giving out jams. And most of the girls, drunk from the excess wine, danced wildly among the scattered chairs in the large hall.The five truckloads of wine, which Ethan's mother had forced him to order, had long arrived. And the guards and maidservants spent almost an hour unloading these delicate monsters into the six wine cubicles in the mansion. All the old wines were removed and given out to the guards and maidservants, who really didn't need them. Yet, after this, there were still four trucks untouched. And even after the ceremony, it still remained the same.Ethan was standing outside the hall, trying to calm his head away from the bustle. He had met and shaken hands of congratulations with thousands of people, old
His first thought when he saw her in that cab was that Elena had "other businesses" she was attending to. If not, why would she pretend she was going to see Liam, and end up in a cab, arriving much later? She must have something up her sleeves. And if he wasn't so busy with work, he was going to find out. Gratefully, as the convoy began its journey back to the mansion, he had her attention now. Full blown attention."You found him?" she asked. Her eyes were rounded with a frenzied interest. "How's that possible?"He smirked, deciding to ride the waves of her vulnerability. "How is it possible, you ask? Now, can I ask a question?""Sure.""What is EliteCorp known for? Just two keywords."She thought for just a second. "I'd say robotics and extraterrestrial technology."Ethan had to mumble "wow" within himself. He didn't imagine she'd use such a high sounding word. "Yes, you are right," he continued, taking his time to cement in what he had in mind. "Look. I love my brother. A lot. Du
She sat still, staring dead into the detective's eyes. "Go on with your questions, sir."He scoffed, and pulled out a cigarette. "Hope you don't mind," he said to no one in particular, and went on to light it."You must have met Mr Packwood before, Elena," he began in the assertive style, "tell us how you met him.""I never said I met Mr Packwood. I saw him for the first time when he came here to threaten Liam.""There are no mistakes about that?""Certainly none.""What did he threaten Liam about?" He asked this question half-heartedly, as though the answer really didn't matter to him."It was about his granddaughter." She stopped here, having remembered that Lola had died while on the phone call with her. Panic rose in her, and she prayed the detective didn't notice this. He did."Go on," he said, leaning forward. "Be liberal with detail, please. It is essential."She glanced at Ethan, and found him looking very interested. She had no friends here. "Lola was Liam's ex. So..." She
"Where are you, man?" Fred, Ethan's friend, shouted into the phone."Um, tidying stuff up," Ethan said. "I'm moving to my new office on Monday.""Yes! That's the real reason I called you. I'm sorry I missed your party, but I'm back now, and you know what that means."More booze, girls and music all night. It was going to be fun, all right, but Ethan had a huge mountain before him to move first. The parties and girls could wait for all he cared."You're home alone, bro?" Fred asked.It was noon on Sunday and Elena had just left the house, probably to be with Liam again. The pathetic angel. His parents had gone out too, to wherever they had; he didn't care. This was one of the moments he cherished; when he was home alone."More or less," he said. "Any development?""You stay right there; I'm bringing to you the biggest surprise of your life."He rolled his eyes. "What surprise? Are you bringing Anna Wilson?" His highschool crush. He had lost her contact — well, never had it, she was tha
His fingers were amazing on her shoulder and her upper back. She felt herself melting on him. He was half sitting on Liam's high bed, in a position that made her lean in more, squashing her ass on his groin, though she didn't want to. But her body was weak.They spoke about random things, to keep the awkwardness away."You have great hair," he mumbled."My mom says so, too," she blubbered, and then realized the crap she said.He grabbed a chunk of her neck between his fingers and pulled. It was slightly painful. But left a calming residue.She felt a hardening pressed on her ass, and she knew if she did not stop this now, she might not anymore."Thank you," she abruptly said, pulling away. "I needed that." She tried a grateful smile.But both of them knew there had been a spark of lust between them. And Elena had quenched it, or so she thought. She saw Charlie with a different eye now. If they could allow this small moment of intimacy to exist between them, then the future — six freak
"Are you Elena Hemsworth?" Mr Simeon, the bank manager asked. He had just gone over the note the security had given him. A wide middle-aged man with a beardless jaw. Elena nodded. "Yes.""Okay. Please leave us," he said to stern security, who seemed to want to stay around, so as to throw her in jail if it called for that. But he left."Are you aware, ma, that a case of fraud has been accredited to your account?" Simeon asked.She made a face of puzzlement. "I don't know why or how that happens. I've been calling you on phone, which you severally declined."He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his table. His eyes were dead serious. "Mrs Liam," he began, "you've been one of our favorite customers in this bank. I don't understand why you'd reduce yourself into doing such a thing as this."Anger broke out of Elena. "What the hell are you talking about, Mr Simeon? Tell me what it is that happened, and stop this acting. It helps nothing."He then leaned back on his chair, shaking his
The weeks that followed the embarrassing incident at the bank manager's office, Ethan went wild. The fear of what Elena could do, the anger of the shame he had incurred before his mother, the dread that she was about to destroy him, drove him to do extreme things. To exert his dominance."How did it go?" His mother had cornered him when he arrived from the bank that day."We're still working on it," he said, brushing past her to his room. His head twirled. Fred had postponed his visit, and Ethan knew Fred was only angry that Ethan said he wasn't home."Answer my question with detail, boy," his mother said, a stern look on her face. How would he tell her he had failed in this small task? It would be so devastating. The taint of it would remain unerasable. She would always bring it up in their future discussions. Even worse, she'd tell his father, too. And some of the uncles."This is who we are going to give the position of the CEO?" she would say. "He trembles at the feet of a mere l