***DON'T FORGET TO ADD THE STORY TO YOUR LIBRARY, #Comment #Like #SUPPORT #SherahHawke #EthanFarwell Feel free to check my other stories here: Hey, Stranger! Goodbye My Love & Alpha's Last Chance
After the toast, the emcee announced with cheer that the bar was now open and the after-party would last until midnight. The live band picked up their tempo, strings humming over gentle percussion. Slowly, guests rose from their tables, drifting toward the dance floor, glasses in hand, the energy warming with music and wine.But in one corner of the grand hall, something colder stirred.Allan’s eyes hadn’t left Nathan Kingsley since he arrived.While the clueless Nathan was seated beside Analise and Oliver, laughing with effortless charm, his posture relaxed as though he had not a care in the world. To Allan, each chuckle was a knife twisting deeper — how could the man responsible for Joan's death laugh like that? Smile like nothing ever happened?Fueled by grief and unspoken rage, Allan stood.He crossed the hall in long, deliberate strides, his eyes locked on Nathan’s back. At another table, Silas tried to corner Ethan in conversation about expansion plans under the Farwell brand, w
After a few eventful days of relentless maneuvering, the stage was set.Ethan, moving quietly but deliberately, had been working behind the scenes—strategizing, watching, planting subtle traps in hopes of exposing the culprits buried within the shadows of his life. Every meeting he scheduled, every phone call he made was a thread in a larger web no one else could yet see.On the other side, Nathan and Fallon moved just as methodically, their steps calculated to override and misdirect. They anticipated Ethan’s every angle, cloaking their tracks with charm and precision. Fallon, ever the illusionist, remained poised and unreadable, while Nathan stayed close to power, burying truth beneath layers of wit and diplomacy.Rebecca, meanwhile, teetered on the edge. Her composed exterior was thinning by the hour, haunted by the resurgence of memories she tried so hard to repress. She knew the noose was tightening—if not around her neck, then certainly around her secrets. And still, she dared no
The late afternoon sun spilled softly through the French windows, casting golden hues across the pristine white room. Racks of designer gowns lined one side, and silk shoes sat in neat rows like delicate soldiers awaiting duty. Yet despite the glamour and luxury, a quiet melancholy clung to Sophia like mist.She stood before the full-length mirror, a faint crease between her brows, her reflection looking more like a mannequin than a bride.Fallon entered behind her, arms full of velvet-lined boxes from the last boutique they’d visited. “Still not satisfied?” she asked gently.Sophia sighed. “They’re all beautiful, just… nothing feels right. None of the necklaces speaks to me.”Fallon paused, her eyes briefly flickering with something unreadable. Then, as if remembering something too precious to remain hidden, she walked over to her bag and pulled out a small, leather-wrapped case. With careful fingers, she opened it, revealing a striking necklace.An ornate sapphire centerpiece glinte
Nathan’s shoulders trembled slightly, the weight of his own words pressing harder than expected.“You know I’m not like this, right?” he said, his voice low and jagged, like it had been scraped across broken glass. “I’m the chill one. The one who laughed at chaos, who let things slide... but you—” his eyes locked with Fallon’s, “you and this twisted world left me no choice but to become this. I don’t even like what I’m turning into.”Fallon’s eyes softened with a sadness that didn’t dare rise to the surface. She reached out, gently brushing her hand against his sleeve. “I know, Nathan. I know.”Her voice was fragile, obedient. Like someone who had learned the cost of resistance.“That’s why I’ll follow your lead. No more nostalgia, no more... emotional impulsiveness.” She swallowed the tremor in her throat. “I’ll be docile, exactly how you need me to be. I won’t be a burden to you again.”Nathan lowered his head, his breath catching. “I just want this to end.”The words came out raw,
In a dimly lit room of Farwell Manor, the flickering firelight cast long shadows across the antique furnishings. Madam Farwell sat motionless behind her desk, her eyes fixed coldly on the cream envelope lying before her like a curse.The seal had already been broken just enough to confirm what she feared.~An invitation.~~Ethan Farwell and Sophia Hawke's rehearsal dinner and wedding day~A slow, contemptuous scoff escaped her lips.She rose with the heavy elegance of old aristocracy, her black silk gown whispering against the hardwood floor as she approached the fireplace. Without hesitation, she tossed the invitation into the flames. The paper curled like a dying flower, its edges blackening before disintegrating entirely.She didn’t blink. She didn't flinch.Her eyes, hollow and sharp, reflected the dancing embers as a memory rose from the ashes.A tragic memory from four years ago.Sherah. Her blood. Her granddaughter in every way that mattered.Found mutilated, chopped, burned be
Sophia screamed in glee. She twirled in front of the mirror, laughing, her silk robe brushing against her thighs as she admired herself. The scar across her forehead didn’t seem so ugly today. Her heart pounded from the thrill of Ethan’s call.“I’m getting married… I’m finally getting married,” she whispered to her reflection.Then—A blood-curdling holler erupted.Rebecca’s voice pierced through the walls, “SOPHIA?!”In a split second, thundering footsteps pounded down the hallway.Silas and Rebecca burst into Sophia’s room, panic overtaking their expressions.“What happened?! Is everything okay, dear?” Silas demanded, his face flushed.Rebecca reached out to her daughter in alarm, arms wide, her voice shaking. “Are you hurt?! What was that scream?!”Sophia turned toward them, her face lit up like a thousand suns. “Everything is more than fine,” she beamed. "Ethan wants to get married. Right away. Next week!”A beat of stunned silence.Then—Rebecca gasped, hand flying to her mouth. “
With renewed determination, Fallon checked out of the hotel and hurriedly booked a flight back to New York.Oblivious that her movements are both monitored by Nathan, who has her in the tracker while Ethan has Brooke’s men following her movements. The moment Ethan receives the news that Fallon is returning to New York. He called Brooke. “You can now stop following her. She already got my message,” Ethan says with certainty.Despite his annoyance at Fallon's behavior, the urge to meet her is still there. But he needs to set his foot down. In his head, Fallon is overstepping and disrespecting Sherah’s memory, oblivious that the same woman he is trying to push away was his own wife. Meanwhile, at the Kingsley Residence.A cab was parked outside the house, and Fallon, only carrying a small bag, hastily entered the gate.“I needed to tell Nathan everything that had happened so he could help rectify things before it got out of hand. Luckily, Ethan had a different idea about me,” she sa
IN ST. JOSEPH ORPHANAGE – MOTHER SUPERIOR 'S OFFICE…Fallon stood in the warm light filtering through the stained-glass window, her eyes red, throat tight. The weight of her past pressed heavily on her chest. The story the Mother Superior told her is more than enough fuel to ignite the memory that had been buried in her mind. And it triggered not just the loneliness inside her but also a decades-old fury she never knew she was holding.Hatred is too strong; it could burn a whole city.The Mother Superior reached out and cupped Fallon’s trembling hands with her own. Jolting Fallon back to the present. “Don’t worry, child. Your secret is safe with me,” she said, assuringly.Fallon swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper.“You’re as kind as the day I met you… When I thought the world had forgotten me.”A small, bittersweet smile tugged at the corners of the Mother Superior’s lips.“The world may forget, Sherah, but some of us remember.”Fallon wiped her tears, then left, wi
Ethan stared blankly at his phone, Fallon’s contact information glowing on the screen.He typed, deleted, retyped, then deleted again.“What the hell am I even supposed to say?” he muttered under his breath. ~Hi, I’ve been stalking my fiancée’s shopping trips just to run into you accidentally? That won’t sound creepy at all.~ He thought to himself mockingly. Across from him, Madam Farwell, still flipping through her planner, finally closed it with a quiet snap. She watched her grandson with careful eyes.“Is something wrong?” she asked gently. “You came here unannounced, asked for Fallon’s number… and now that I’ve given it to you, you look more troubled than ever.”Ethan shook his head, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing, Grandma.”He leaned over and kissed her forehead, then glanced at his phone like it had just buzzed with urgency. “Actually, I forgot I'd got a meeting with some new investors. I should go.”Before she could reply, he was out the door.CONCURRENTLY, in Farwell Group – C