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230|Blood Means Nothing
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Beautiful Disaster 231|Meal Ticket
They spent a blissful few hours at the beach, soaking up the sun while Orlando collected sea shells and built sandcastles.For Marybeth, those few hours were as perfect as life would ever get, and everything was as it should be.She didn't have to think about her father's illness, her ex fighting for his life in some undisclosed hospital somewhere in the Bay, or Iris being an informant and very likely getting killed for it.She didn't have to worry about the upcoming ball and possibly having an unwanted family reunion with a mother she hadn't seen in twenty years.With the sun rays dancing on her skin, the gleeful sounds of children splashing in the water, and the smell of hotdogs wafting in the air, it was so easy for Marybeth to fall under the idyllic spell of the breathtaking sea and forget the dark, ugly world of the Hawthornes.But, like all good things, their time at the beach had to come to an end, and they soon found themselves heading back home, where she and Austin spent the
Beautiful Disaster 232|Blue Star
Marybeth looked up from her plate, surprised she'd spoken her thoughts out loud when she found four pairs of eyes staring at her."What did you say?" Blake pressed, leaning forward in his seat as he glared at her."Back the hell up," Austin snarled, squaring off with him.Marybeth had taken just about all she could of the madness. She pushed her plate away and dumped the napkin on the table before jumping to her feet, preparing to leave.Looking Blake dead in the eye, she murmured, "You are a disgusting human being, and you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to profit off of a little girl.""Wait a minute!" Blake yelled as he pushed out of his chair. "Listen here—""No. I've listened to your shit long enough. Now it's your turn to listen to me," Marybeth said firmly. "After everything Austin has done for you…after going through all the trouble of keeping the shit about your sex tape quiet, this is how you repay his kindness? What is wrong with you?""She knows about the sex tape?
Beautiful Disaster 233|Not Even Once
"I can pack my own bags, you know, žena," he said, watching her pull some underwear and socks from the drawers."I'm aware of that, but you've had a long day," Marybeth smiled warmly at him. "Anyway, things are so much clearer now.""With?""Iris and Aero," she replied. "Anna told me the Ivanovs were planning to buy Blue Core.""Blue Star," Austin corrected her with a hint of a smile."You knew about that?"Austin nodded. "It was an open secret.""So maybe that's why she became an informant? Maybe Blue Star was into some shady shit—""Beth," Austin said softly as he stood up and crossed the room. He took her hands in his and continued, "We've talked about this. You are off the case.""No, Austin, you talked and didn't give me a chance to decide if I want to be off the case.""I'm sorry, I didn't realise this was up for discussion!""A lot of things in a marriage are usually up for discussion!" Marybeth countered, holding his gaze."What do you want from me, Beth?" he asked, blowing out
Beautiful Disaster 234|Deadlock
Despite promising Marybeth to shut down the nonsense at Crush real quick and be back in the Bay in no time, three days in, Austin was still in Rock Castle.The negotiations with his staff had reached a deadlock, and the mood in the corner boardroom on the top floor of Blaine Inc, the law firm catering to the country's top one percent, was slowly deteriorating.Austin had spent his entire Monday at Crush, listening to everyone gripe about promises of a salary increase made by Gabe, the previous owner. Austin knew they'd been duped, but out of the goodness of his heart, he'd made them an offer. Six per cent. Nothing more, nothing less. But the greedy bastards had pushed back, insisting his offer wasn't worth the paper it was typed on; Gabe had promised them more.On Tuesday, Austin contacted his legal team and instructed them to make the entire mess go away.But by Wednesday evening, they were still nowhere close to a resolution.Austin was tired of sounding like a broken record, and his
Beautiful Disaster 235|The Client List
Elizabeth retired to her room as soon as they reached the hotel, assuring Austin she'd order room service and he didn't have to worry about her eating alone.Glad his PA didn't need his company for the night, Austin headed to his suite, took a quick shower, and changed into chinos and a lightweight sweater before heading to Skyline, the rooftop restaurant where he met Seth and Kieran the last time he was in Rock Castle.Levi was running fifteen minutes late, giving Austin time to catch up on work with his capos."How far are you with the journo?" asked Tim. "Did you have a chance to meet with her?""When? You know damn well I've been holed up in negotiations for the last three days!""I take it your guys and gals are playing hardball?" said Angelo."To their own detriment," Austin replied. "I'm prepared to take this to CCMA. Anyway, is Nadia fitting well with the team?""As well as can be expected," replied Angelo. "But I reckon it's strange for all of us. I mean, we've never had a fem
Beautiful Disaster 236|Hoes Over Bros
Over a thousand kilometres away, Marybeth, like her husband, wasn't having the time of her life; their separation had taken its toll on her.Between her morning sickness, worrying about her father's health, and finalising report cards before the end of the third term on Friday, she was a hot mess of note. Thank heavens she had Anna to help her with Orlando.Monday, the day Austin flew out to Rock Castle, began like any other. But, when half of Marybeth's class still hadn't shown up for their first lesson, she resigned herself to the fact that they weren't coming. Now that they were approaching the end of the school term, it wasn't unusual for her pupils to start their break a week earlier. What she didn't know, though, was if Adeline had joined the rebellious gang willingly or if Carol had kept her home.Just the thought of Carol Scheepers made Marybeth's blood boil. Other than Austin, she hadn't told anyone about the wretched woman's crude attempt at extortion. Thank heavens she'd sto
Beautiful Disaster 237|Itchy Hands
The rest of Marybeth's Monday plodded on, and by the time the final bell rang, she couldn't wait to get out of there.Scarlett was already waiting for her in the parking lot, and Marybeth ran to Mirko and Henry's car and told them to follow them."кума," Mirko said sternly, his thick eyebrows furrowed in a concerned frown. "кум gave us strict instructions to not let you out of our sight.""You are not letting me out of your sight, Mirko," Marybeth maintained. "You'll be following behind us. What can possibly go wrong?""A lot," replied Henry, surprising Marybeth because he was a man of few words, leaving almost all communication between them to Mirko."Your friend can ride with you and Mirko, and I'll drive her car to your place," Henry suggested.Ever so precious about her car, Scarlett loathed the suggestion. But she quickly agreed when Marybeth's handlers made it clear that their offer was the only one on the table."Fine," she said, begrudgingly handing over her car keys.Exactly f
Beautiful Disaster 238|Baby Soprano
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Scarlet scooted out of her chair and ran to Marybeth's side. Taking her hands, she asked, "Do you mind running that past me again? What new baby? Do you mean?"Before Marybeth could confirm or deny her suspicions, Scarlett was already losing her mind with joy, drawing Marybeth into a happy dance as she twirled her around the room."Are you for real?" she asked, pausing mid-step. "I'm going to be an aunt? For real? For real?""I wasn't supposed to say anything," Marybeth said. "Austin's worried about too many people knowing. So Scar, please, keep this yourself.""I'm not 'too many people', you know!" Scarlett huffed, her hurt seeping through her words."Scar, you know what I mean.""Marybeth, I'm your best friend. You would have been the first to know if I was pregnant.""Do you think I wanted to keep this from you? Scar, look around you. Look at my life. I have bodyguards and have to be ferried everywhere. I didn't understand any of it at first. But having been thro
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