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41|Confrontation—Part 2
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Beautiful Disaster 42|Biggest Regrets—Part 1
Austin had every intention of returning to Hawthorne Towers and working through the security footage Tim sent earlier just to distract himself.But the more kilometres Arno and Benji put between him and Marybeth, the bigger the knot in his chest grew, and the lump of discomfort in his tummy hardened.He leaned back in his seat, thinking if he willed himself hard enough, he'd stop reliving his fight with Marybeth. But, it was easier said than done. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw were the tearful accusations in hers.He'd done a lot of incomprehensible shit in his life, lost more than most, and experienced the worst of heartbreaks, too. But he'd never felt as gutted as when Marybeth looked at him like he was the devil incarnate, the worst of society.He didn't regret his life or the choices he'd had to make. Hell, he wouldn't even apologise for the crimes he'd committed or the people he'd murdered in cold blood, because, quite frankly, they all had it coming. Marybeth might n
Beautiful Disaster 43|Biggest Regrets—Part 2
If the penny hadn't dropped for Ricardo about the world of trouble he was in, it finally did when Austin lifted the lid of one of the trays, revealing an array of knives.He moved on to the second platter, pulled out the bottle of Hennessy and poured a shot.The last tray held various finger foods. He placed the snacks platter and the shot of Hennessy in front of Ricardo."What is this, sir?""Your last supper," Austin replied as he resumed his seat and stared at the bastard. "Please, go ahead and eat.""I don't understand. Why is this my last supper? I thought you called me here to join the family. The recruiters—""Join the family?" Austin scoffed. "That is the most absurd shit I've ever heard. You abuse children, Ricardo. You even beat up your wife too. And as if that wasn't nasty enough, you had the nerve to hold a knife to my wife's throat and call her an uppity bitch!""Whoa? What? Let's talk about this," Ricardo stammered, trying to ease out of his chair, but Arno and Benji's h
Beautiful Disaster 44|Pandora's Box
The file was still on the bed, exactly where Marybeth had left it when she returned to the bedroom after her shower. She glanced at it as she towelled off, reassuring herself nothing good would ever come out of opening Pandora's box.She pulled out a fresh set of pyjamas from one of her suitcases, still lying at the foot of the bed where Austin had left them last night. He'd made space for her stuff in the walk-in closet, but after their scathing confrontation, she was mentally and physically exhausted. She couldn't bring herself to unpack, and if she didn't have to help Orlando with her homework, she would have skipped supper and gone straight to bed to lick her wounds.Just a mere thought of the little girl spurred Marybeth to action. They still had supper to prepare and a ton of other stuff to do before bedtime. So she quickly threw on her sleep clothes and ratty bedroom slippers, ready to get her night going. But Amos' file was too big a temptation. She reached for it, fresh horro
Beautiful Disaster 45|Between Right And Wrong
"Let's take a photo of the pizza and send it to Daddy just to make him jealous," Orlando suggested before they could dig in."Okay, let's do that!" Marybeth laughed as she snapped several photos of their meal from every angle and sent them off. Austin read the text and sent a string of heart emojis. She showed them to Orlando. "I don't think your daddy's jealous.""He is!" Orlando insisted.Sure enough, Marybeth's phone pinged again with another message from Austin. 'Žena, the pizza looks divine. Did you make it from scratch? Wish I was there to enjoy it with you guys. I'm working late, don't wait up for me.''I wasn't planning to,' Marybeth typed back, wondering what other illegal shit her husband was up to tonight. But since she had no control over any of it, she pushed all thoughts of Austin out of her mind and focused her energy on Orlando.By the time they were done with their meal, she knew all about the cliques at Liberty Prep, who had a crush on who, and who was given afternoo
Beautiful Disaster 46|Pulled Rank
True to her word, Liliana was at Austin's front door in under an hour. When Marybeth checked the surveillance TV screen on the wall beside the security keypad and saw Zukiswa beside her, she breathed a huge sigh of relief, glad that the other half of the 'we' Liliana had mentioned in her text wasn't Hadley. After the hot mess of a day she'd had, there was no way she could have handled the other woman's snooty attitude."We brought wine and chocolates," Liliana announced as soon as Marybeth let them in."And clothes," added Zukiswa, waving several elegant-looking garment bags in her hands. "I get the wine and chocolates. Not sure about the clothes, though. Are you guys staying the night or what? Have you cleared it with Austin first?" Marybeth asked as she closed the door and followed them into the kitchen, where Liliana was already pulling out wine glasses from the cupboards. "Seriously, ladies, what's with the bags?" she asked again, joining Zukiswa at the breakfast island. "For
Beautiful Disaster 47|Human Mind
"Why don't the De Jagers have a relationship with Orlando?" she asked again. "They resent her," Zukiswa blurted out, blowing Marybeth's mind with her utterances. Why anyone would resent a child, let alone one as loving and pure as Orlando, was unfathomable to her.Zukiswa must have noticed her shock; she quickly clarified her comment, "I mean, not resent per se. She just reminds them of everything they've lost." "She's a child," Marybeth whispered. "She's their grandchild and a huge part of Iris.""But she's also a part of Austin. It's not a secret that the De Jagers hate him. If it wasn't for old man Hawthorne's bullheaded persistence that the two tie the knot, the De Jagers firmly believe their daughter would still be alive today," Liliana said.Zukiswa picked up the threads of their conversation, painting a rather disturbing picture for Marybeth the longer she spoke. "They never got over losing Iris, and four years on, they still blame Austin for her death. They even told the Haw
Beautiful Disaster 48|Human Heart
Marybeth had told Austin she wasn't planning to wait up for him, but sometime after midnight, when the front door beeped open, she was still wide awake, tossing and turning, thinking about everything she'd learned from Liliana and Zukiswa.She heard Austin's footsteps as he trod up the stairs, stopping in Orlando's room before he circled back down the hall.A minute passed, maybe two, and still no sign of the man. So she kicked off the covers and padded out of the room.She found him rummaging through the linen cupboard, the dim light in the hallway casting his shadow on the walls."What's going on?" she asked, leaning on the door frame.Austin turned and smiled, "what are you doing up?"She ignored him, pointing at the pillow and blanket in his hands, "what's with that?""Oh, this?" he shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I thought I should spend the night in one of the guest rooms, you know, to give you space—""Why?" Marybeth frowned at him, wondering what bullshit games he was playing.
Beautiful Disaster 49|No Good Deed
People always say things will look better in the morning.It wasn't true.Not in Marybeth's case, at least.Despite falling asleep in each other's arms, the tension between her and Austin the following morning was almost palpable as they tried to get on with their routine. Suddenly, his massive kitchen wasn't big enough for the both of them. Everywhere she turned, he was practically on top of her, taking up space.So after whipping up a bowl of oats for Orlando and making sure she was comfortable at the breakfast island, Marybeth escaped to the balcony with a steaming cup of black coffee. The biting morning breeze chilled her to the bone, and she brought her cardigan closer as she gazed at the darkening sky. If the heavy clouds weren't a bad omen for her first state of the city address, she didn't know what was.She was still sipping her coffee, lost in thought, as she stared at the gloomy clouds when Austin came to find her."Beth?"She turned, arching her brow at him. "What is it, A
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