“Stay away from my son,” Rose suddenly just said, not giving me a chance to say what I wanted to. I was trying to understand where she was coming from because it sounded really off.“What do you mean I should stay away from your son? What does your son, and I, have to do with each other?“Your kids are starting to bully my son again in school, and he has reported them to me a number of times,” Rose shot back, stepping closer. “Tell them also to stay away from my precious boy.”“No,” I hissed. “You stay away from my kids. Your son is bad-mannered and has no respect, so whatever is happening in school has nothing to do with my kids.”She was shocked, as she probably didn't expect I was actually going to talk back to her just as she did to me. She scoffed, “You think you can threaten me? You? Little Helen?”I smiled and crossed my hands against my chest. “You were the one that started all of this, not me.” I shot back, my voice rising with anger. “You literally are here, in my home, mi
“Who is it?” I asked softly, hearing someone at my door. It was a repitition of loud knocks one after the other, as though the person really wanted to have the door broken down. I was in the kitchen, just about to finish up some coffee, but the knocking pulled me away.It didn’t sound like Rita. If it was her, she would have called or just knocked gently and waited for me to open up the door for her. No, this was different—persistent, almost aggressive. I set down my mug and walked slowly to the door. I was gentle as I slowly peeped through the peephole in case it was going to be someone that wanted to hurt me.I peeked through the peephole. And there I finally saw the person—Rose. What the hell?How did she find my house? Why would she come to my house if it's not trouble she is definitely looking for?I opened the door just a little."Who is it?" I asked again, as if I didn't already know who was the intruder. She stepped inside without waiting for my permission. Such audacity. S
“I can't believe this, Dan. My own mom just canceled the film project. She really cut off every connection with the film crew”Dan sits across from me, face drawn. "She did. I just got off the phone with the board director. The decision still stands, man," he says quietly."No choice?" I say, voice shaking. I pace across the room, unable to stay still."She said she couldn't trust Helen with it. Not anymore," Dan shrugs, running a hand through his hair."Not trust Helen? What did Helen ever do to her?" I stop pacing and stare at Dan, anger burning in my chest."I don't know. Maybe your mom thinks Helen's influence on you went too far," Dan says."Helen's influence?" I sit back down hard, fists clenching on the armrest. "Her heart is in the right place, Dan. Why would Mom not see that?"Dan sighs, tired. "She said Helen messed up the last time you both met. We're talking millions here, Ashton. Mother lost patience."I can't help it. I slam my fist on the table. "Millions? You think I w
“Hey… don’t break down my door!” Rita shouted from inside as I kept banging like I wanted to pull it down. It wasn't my fault though, I was just so frustrated.I was breathing fast, my chest rising and falling. My knuckles and limbs were hurting from how hard I was knocking. But I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything right now.What is it?” She asked the moment she saw my face, she became instantly worried that my face looked all squeezed and angryI didn’t answer her. I just walked in angrily, almost pushing her aside with my shoulder.“Hey! I’m not the enemy here, okay?” she snapped, closing the door behind me. “What the hell happened?”I went straight to the couch. I dropped my bag with force and then fell on the seat, still shaking with anger.Rita walked over slowly and stood in front of me, crossing her arms. “Okay. Talk to me. What’s going on, Helen? You look like you’re about to explode.”I looked up at her, eyes burning. “Rita, that woman… Ashton’s mom… she’s crazy!”“Wh
I was shocked and frustrated. I couldn’t understand what was really going on. My mind was spinning, all these words, all these feelings crashing into me like a storm. I remained standing there, frozen, staring at Ashton. His eyes looked lost, like he didn’t know what to say or do. He looked just as confused as I felt. I knew he was probably regretting having Dan in this meeting with him.‘What does Dan really mean?’ I kept asking myself.Then suddenly, Ashton stood up and walked up to me. His steps were gentle and really looked calculated, as though he was thinking of what he would say to me once he got to where I was."Helen, I can explain," he said, reaching out to hold my hand.I quickly threw his hand away. I was so pissed that if it were possible, I would have given him a dirty slap for how Dan literally embarrassed me some moments back."Didn’t I tell you I want an answer?" I shot back at him with anger in my voice.He looked hurt, but he nodded."Okay," I started again. "One m
I looked around the room. Everyone was way pissed and frustrated. The air was heavy. I knew the news about the funding pause was bad, but I didn’t expect Helen to lose her temper like that. She was so angry, so raw. I saw her face filled up with different shades of emotion. This was the first time I saw her challenge me or even Dan.When she said, “Why would a company that has been behind us all this time suddenly cut the deal?” I was surprised. I could see the shock on Dan’s face also. He looked like he wanted to yell back but was holding it in. I signaled him with my expression to maintain his cool. I kept quiet. I didn’t want to make things worse, but I knew I had to say something. I looked at her and then at the others. I needed to take hold of the situation and make sure everyone was calm and not heated up.“Helen,” I called out softly but firmly, “calm down. We need to stay professional.”But she didn’t listen. She just kept talking, raising her voice.“All I want,” She said
"Why the hell are you driving so slow?" Didn’t I tell you that I was really late?" I yelled at the driver, my voice going over the roof of the car due to how loud it was. We barely dodged hitting the car in front of us as my driver sped down the busy street. I hated it when I was late for an appointment."Ma’am, please, I’m trying to get you there as fast as I can," he pleaded, gently gripping the wheel. His hands trembled as he tried to remain steady on the road."Stop talking! Just drive! I'm not concerned about your excuses," I snapped, slapping my hand against the car seat. I woke up this morning to a strange message—something about an urgent meeting at the filming set location. I didn’t see it early enough, so that explains the rush now.And this traffic? It was just crazy. Cars everywhere, honking, people rushing everywhere. I hated this city. Seattle is a nightmare, I hissed under my breath. If not for the fact that I had work to do here, I would have never wanted to come bac
“Mom, what the hell was that?” I hissed as soon as I stepped into her living room.She didn’t even flinch. She just sat there on the couch like she was expecting me.I had driven straight from my place to hers. No stops. No calls. I needed to see her face-to-face. I needed to talk to her — now. But I remembered what Dan said. “Stay calm. Don’t shout. Be smart.” So I tried to remain rational. I walked straight to the freezer, pulled out a cold bottle of water, opened it, and took a deep breath as I sat across from her.She looked at me. Her eyes didn’t blink. Not once. Her face was blank, unreadable. Like she already knew what this was about.“Mom,” I started again, calmer now. “I need to talk to you.”She folded her arms. “Then talk, Ashton. What is it now?”“I know what you did. The meeting, the contract changes, the funding decision... You didn’t even tell me. You just did it behind my back.”She smiled — that small, evil-looking smile she always had when she thought she was smart
“Dan,” I called out, trying to sit well. I was already so uncomfortable with the chair I was on, but I just had to manage the discomfort. “We really have to be smart about this. You know how influential my mom is. She gets whatever she wants, no matter what. I mean, she’s the kind of woman who can turn a simple company meeting into something she controls completely.”“Yeah,” Dan replied, nodding in approval. “I know exactly what you mean. Your mom, she’s powerful. She’s used to getting her way. No one can stop her when she sets her mind to something.”“Do you think I don’t know that?” I snapped, standing up from my chair. “If she succeeds this time, there’s no way me and Helen will come back together.”“Because, think about it — if she takes over the funding, the project, and the whole company, Helen won’t have any reason to stay, since the contract she came to Seattle for will now be over. She’ll leave Seattle, and that’ll be the end of us. There will be nothing left for her here. A