LOGINTHE BENNETTSMeanwhile, upstairs, Ryan stepped into his bedroom.Ariana was already losing her mind.Her mascara was smeared across her cheeks.Her lipstick was smudged.Her hair, usually styled to perfection was in complete disarray.The woman who loved perfection, even with her large pregnant belly, was no longer that woman.The moment Ryan walked in, she shot off the bed.“What’s happening? What’s going to happen?” she asked.Ryan closed the door behind him, took a deep breath, and said flatly,“I can’t deal with this right now. I just want to go to sleep.”“No, tell me. Tell me what’s happening!” she demanded. “Tell me what’s going to happen to me. Tell me what’s happening to my kids. Tell me what’s happening to my unborn child!”Her voice kept rising.“We got kicked out. We have no money. Where are we going? How am I going to give birth in this condition? In this environment?”Every word came louder than the last.“I have a headache,” Ryan said. “Could you bring me Something for
THE BENNETTSMrs Bennett noticed the shift in her son instantly.“Ryan,” she said carefully, “look at me.”He didn’t.“Ryan.”Slowly, his gaze lifted.“You are not going to the wedding to ruin anything. If you go, you go as the composed ex-husband. The dignified one. The one who has moved on.... You loved her, but you know that she wasn't worth it in the end.”Ryan gave a faint, humourless laugh. “Moved on?”“Yes.”He shook his head slightly. “That’s not the story people want.”Mrs Bennett’s eyes sharpened.“No. But it’s the story that keeps you out of prison.”Silence fell again. In the distance, a drawer slammed, Lydia moving somewhere upstairs, packing what she could before the one-week deadline swallowed their lives completely.The house no longer felt like theirs. It already felt confiscated.Ryan leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.“Do you know what the worst part of all this is?” he asked quietly.Neither of his parents answered.“She didn’t even fight me at the e
THE BENNETTSMrs Bennett's voice became steady now.“If Monique is celebrating tomorrow, if she's smiling, if she looks happy and safe and protected and in love......”She didn't finish her sentence.Ryan's eyes darkened, and Mr Bennett started looking a little confused. "....Then the image of you being dangerous begins to weaken."The idea settled slowly into the room.“And you're thinking we should deal with this with media strategy?” Mr Bennett asked.“Yes,” Mrs Bennett confirmed. “We have to make our own story about what happened.”Ryan stared at the floor, then up toward his mom, then his dad. A thin smile formed on his face. Tomorrow was supposed to be Monique's perfect day, but Ryan felt like he could cause a little disruption in her celebration, soiling her little white dress.“That's perfect,” he said. “What do you suggest?”“I suggest we go to our earlier defence. Ryan, you say that you thought Monique was cheating on you.”Ryan seemed to think about it before he asked his
THE BENNETTSRyan's laughter faded into something colder.“Our lawyers let us down, they let us lose everything, mother. We have lost absolutely everything! And you think that they're going to get me out of these charges?”He shook his head.“They're just looking for someone to blame. And the person who's going to be blamed for everything… is me.”Silence filled the room.“So I have more to think about than just losing the company, losing the money and losing everything,” Ryan continued. “I am… I have to think about going to jail. Losing my freedom.”His jaw tightened.“Let's not forget about Marcus and Monique's wedding that's been plastered everywhere in my face....knowing that tomorrow they're going to get married and celebrate my demise.”His eyes darkened.“I should have known that snake was behind everything.... And he had the guts to send us invites to the wedding too.....” he ground his teeth together.“Forget about Monique for now. We have a lot more pressing matters,” his mo
THE BENNETTSThe night before March's Blackwind and Monique Moffat’s wedding should have been quiet. Instead, the Bennett house looked like the aftermath of a storm.Drawers were half-open. Papers were everywhere on the floor like fallen leaves. Suitcases sat abandoned in corners, some packed, some overturned as if whoever had started simply gave up halfway through.Silence pressed against the walls. Not peaceful silence, the suffocating kind. The one that comes after everything is lost.Ryan sat on the couch, unmoving, staring at nothing. His phone lay on the table in front of him, screen dark. It had been ringing all day, investors, reporters, unknown numbers, but now even the calls had stopped. News travelled fast. Faster than damage control. Faster than lies.The company was gone.Shut down.Seized.Frozen.The investigators had arrived that afternoon, calm, polite, devastatingly efficient. They carried folders, warrants, and the kind of quiet authority that didn’t need raised voi
MONIQUE“Yes.” I nodded firmly.“Marcus is everything I ever wanted. He puts me first. He supports me. He encourages me. He doesn’t want anything from me except love.”She studied me carefully. Then she shook her head.“I can’t believe Mr Smith let you walk into this. I thought he would stop you.”I swallowed my response.“Auntie… please come to my wedding. It would mean the world to me to have you there.”She stood up and walked out.I didn’t understand why, but the moment she left, tears began to fall. Violet came back into the room and immediately pulled me into a hug.“It’s going to be okay,” she promised. “I’ll talk to her.”Later, she showed me to the guest room where I broke down before I called Marcus and told him everything.“I wish I were there to hug you right now,” he said softly.“I wish you were here too,” I responded sniffing.“I’m sorry you have to go through this. I know it’s all because of me.”“No,” I said firmly. “It’s not because of you. You love me. You can’t fee







