The house felt suffocated but the idea of him living in the Paige’s family house was more than suffocating for Ethan. He couldn’t move freely in the house without the servants taking down at him. He felt more like a slave in his own house.
But it was comforting with the contract he had signed. Ethan knew it was just a year, and it was only a matter of time before it lapsed. He didn’t understand why Cassandra had orchestrated the marriage anyway. All he knew was that he was picked out of many men who were in the company. Ethan was given a post in the organization just to make him look good. Everyone knows that the list meant nothing as Ethan would just sit down ideally without doing anything. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. He has had a long day, and he needed all the rest. The door to his room opened gently. He looked at the time and looked back at Cassandra, who was putting on a beautiful velvet gown. He watched her as she took off her clothes. His eyes darted towards the wall clock right in front of her. He still didn’t know where she was coming from, and the thought of asking her scared him. He watched her as she walked into the bathroom to have a shower. She was back in no time. Ethan watched as she landed on the bed beside him. “You do know the time is far gone.” Ethan said slowly, trying to sound gentle. “What did you say?” Cassandra asked with anger. “Did you just talk back to me?” she lashed out at Ethan. “It seems you are forgetting your place.” Ethan sat upright. “I think we need to make the rules again.” He said, looking for the light switch. The light went on, slowly illuminating the darkness around them. “What do you mean we need to remake the rules? Are you saying you want to lord over me? Don’t forget this marriage is just a sham! Cassandra said, raising her voice at him, “You should be grateful! You were wallowing in debt until I helped you, and here you are telling me what time I should come and go in my own house.” Cassandra said with a smirk on her face. “I am just saying.” Ethan was about to finish his words when Cassandra got her pillow and walked out of the room without looking back. He lay back on the bed without saying a word with the thought of what his punishment might be tomorrow. [EARLY THE NEXT MORNING] The chirping sound of the bird and a text message from Ethan’s phone woke him up. It was a sunny Saturday morning. The family was supposed to go golfing. Ethan had never understood the need for him to always go golfing with them. He remembered when he was alone, he would use that time to go to the orphanage and help out with one or two things that needed his attention, but ever since he got married to Cassandra, he had been at Paige’s beck and call. All he had to do was carry their golf pack up and down. He walked lazily to the bathroom and cleaned his face before waking to the calendar to have it ticked. Ethan has taken it as a habit to tick every blessed day he spends in Paige’s big mansion. Today was the 3rd of January. He ticked it with a sigh. Another day of humiliation and talking down on His phone rang continually. Ethan wondered who was calling him so early. He walked fast and grabbed his phone, but then the words he heard sent electric jolts down his body. “Am I speaking to Mr. Ethan?” The voice said gently. “Yes, you are speaking to him.” Ethan replied anxiously. “I am calling to remind you that your electricity bill is now overdue. Please pay up before we take any legal actions. This will be the last time we are going to be calling you. Have a good day.” The call ended even before Ethan could say anything. “Why is all of this happening? Didn’t she take care of it?” He said slowly, looking at the strange number that called him. Before he could drop his phone, another call came right in. “Hello, is that Mr. Ethan?” The voice asked again. Ethan cut the call off before any complaint. He knew what was going on. He took his undies and walked out of his room toward the main mansion. As he approached, he could hear the faint laughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paige. They all turned back and stared at him. “Don't you know what today is?” Cassandra asked with a frown. “Can we talk?” Ethan said, looking at her. “Talk? You want to talk to me after you disregarded me.” Cassandra looked at him. “Disregard? Did you just say disregard? I only told you that the time you came in was not…” Cassandra stopped him before he could alter anything else. “Was it not?” Ethan froze at the manner in which Cassandra was talking to him in the presence of her parents. “My bills?” Ethan stopped. “Is that why you are here, or are you here to apologize?” Cassandra stood up from her seat. The tension was high as everyone stared at Ethan. He looked like the odd man out, not sure why he had to apologize to Cassandra. “Are you going to do it or not?” Cassandra asked, staring at him. “To hell with his apologies. I won’t have a man who looks down on my daughter marry her.” “I heard William Hargrove is back in town.” Tiffany Paige said, looking at Cassandra, who was still fuming with anger. Funnily, her angry face was laced by a smile. “Really? He didn’t call me.” Her smile was later replaced by a frown. Ethan looked at both Cassandra and her parents, not sure what was going on. “Why don’t we talk about your marriage with me?” Frank Paige looked at Ethan. “It is high time we rid ourselves of this nuisance.”Related Chapters
VOWS OF VENGEANCE The Weight Of Pretense
Ethan looked at Cassandra, and his face went pale. “Slow down, Father.” She said, staring at Ethan. She could see that he was scared. “Can we have a moment to ourselves?” Cassandra looked at her father and then at her mother. “Sure. But don’t forget we have an appointment. Don’t keep us waiting.” Tiffany looked at her daughter before they walked away. Ethan couldn’t hold it anymore. He was like a time bomb waiting to blow up. “What was that?” He looked at Cassandra. “This wasn’t part of the contract, was it?” “Can you keep your voice down?” Cassandra looked at his face. It was evident that she was scared. “Keep my voice down? Did you even listen to yourself? What happened to my bills? Don’t tell me you cut me off simply because I voiced my opinion last night.” Cassandra looked at her feet like some spoiled brat. “Oh my god!. I can’t believe you would do this to me.” Ethan said he was getting fed up already. “It is bad that you and your family humiliate me whenever you feel lik
VOWS OF VENGEANCE Shattered foundation
Everything happened so fast. Both lay on the bed, breathing heavily. Ethan looked beside him to see that Cassandra was fast asleep. He gently got up with a white bedspread around him and walked into the bathroom to have his bath. He looked at her once and again before he drifted into a long sleep. [THE NEXT DAY] The loud noise of Cassandra woke him up. “What did you do to me?” She asked with anger. Ethan yawned; he felt so tired, but the lash he received on his back sent an electric jolt to his brain. He opened his eyes in a hurry. “What is it, Cassandra?” Ethan looked at her. “Are you seriously asking me that?” Cassandra said, fuming in anger. She opened the bedspread again and saw she was naked. “Did we?” She looked at him anxiously.“Are you asking if we had sex?” Ethan asked, not sure of what to tell her. “You know what I mean, Ethan, and don't you play dumb with me!” “You got home yesterday and you were drunk. You asked for this,“ Ethan said immediately trying to defend hims
VOWS OF VENGEANCE A Stranger's proposition
The beeping sound of the machine was the first thing Ethan heard as his eyes fluttered open. The blinding white light of the hospital room made him squint, and a dull pain throbbed through his body. He tried to move, but his limbs felt like lead.A nurse leaned over him, her expression a mix of relief and caution. "You're awake," she said softly. "You’ve been unconscious for two days.""Two... days?" Ethan croaked, his throat dry as sandpaper. He winced as he attempted to sit up, only to feel a sharp pain shoot through his ribs. "What happened?""You were hit by a car," the nurse explained, adjusting the IV line in his arm. "The driver brought you here. You’re lucky to be alive."Ethan's memory was hazy. He vaguely recalled the rain, the blinding headlights, and the sensation of his body hitting the pavement. "Who brought me in?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.The nurse hesitated. "She’s still here, waiting outside. Do you want me to call her in?"Ethan nodded weakly, uns
VOWS OF VENGEANCE Tangled Webs
Meanwhile, back at Paige's family, they were all glad. “It's a good thing you got rid of him.” Tiffany said with a wide grin. “Why now?” Cassandra’s father asked, staring at her in the face. “I got what I wanted. I see no reason why I should keep him around.” Cassandra said with a smirk etched on her face. “And what is that?” Frank Paige asked. Cassandra was about to talk when her phone rang. “Is that Williams?” Tiffany asked. Cassandra nodded, getting out of her sofa chair. She walked briskly into the other room, where her parents could hear her giggle with laughter. “Mom, what do you think about planning the biggest wedding in town?” Cassandra asked, staring at her mother. “Did he pop the question? Did he ask you out?” Tiffany looked at her. “Yes, Williams would like to marry me, but of course I need to divorce Ethan.” “Why didn't you think of getting him a divorce letter before you decided to end things with him?” Frank looked at her. “Because the marriage was a scam. I see no
VOWS OF VENGEANCE Betrayal and Alliances
“Fine. I will do it,” Ethan said after thinking about it. “That is the spirit,” Miranda said with a wide grin. “Don't worry; I have you. All I need you to do is just make his world crumble. I need him to regret ever double-crossing me,” Miranda said with a wide grin. “ Like I said earlier, what is in it for me?” Ethan asked again. “ What do you want? I know you have been badly hurt. Is it revenge you seek? Or perhaps, money,wealth?” Miranda stared at his face. “ I want both.” Ethan replied sharply. “ Fine, you can have all of it as long as you help me take them down.” She looked at him as she drank the whiskey in front of her. “ Don't you think you need to share your last with me. I told you mine.” Miranda looked at Ethan's face. “ Well, I was wallowing in debt.” Ethan said gently and paused. “ I could start with that, pay off everything. Just a phone call and all of them are sorted out.” “ I don't think there is a need for that anymore. She made sure I didn't have a home to retur
VOWS OF VENGEANCE The Ultimate Betrayal
A day was picked for Cassandra and William’s wedding. It was the talk of the town with many in anticipation about it. “ Are you ready?” Miranda asked, looking at Ethan in the face. “ I don’t know why but I feel a little bit anxious.” Ethan replied. “ You are not tied to the Paige anymore. You are with me now.” Miranda Said with a smile on his face. “ What do you have on Williams Hargrove?” Ethan looked at her. “ Why don’t we make this more interesting?” Miranda said sharply. “ Interesting? How?” “ Why don’t we get married?” Miranda asked, looking at him. “ Married? Why would you want to marry a man with nothing? Look at me.” Ethan said pitifully “ I don’t think I am ready to get married again. Not after what happened to me the last time.” “ I am not, Cassandra and I will never do anything to hurt you.” She said slowly. Before Ethan could move away any further, She planted a kiss on Ethan’s lips. Miranda’s bold move left Ethan stunned, his mind racing with conflicting emotions
VOWS OF VENGEANCE A Taste Of Medicine
Miranda's ears rang at the impact, but she maintained her cool, with her eyes shining in anger as she comforted herself not to go out of character yet. “You slapped me.” She uttered in disbelief. Cassandra nodded, looking grave. “And I will slap you again for being the worst person I could ever imagine. You had that piece of trash in your hands all along, yet you rallied around me, pretending to forget about it and never mentioning a word. How do you think that makes me feel, huh? Do you think that I am happy with the things that I am hearing? Of course not!” Cassandra thundered. Miranda put her hands down and kept on staring at Ethan who sauntered towards the front of the hall with a small smirk on his face. He loved the fact that he shocked them to the bone and they had no words.Cassandra recovered from the shock first before speaking. “Ethan, you have the guts to show up on my wedding day intending to disrupt the process? How dare you!” “No, how dare you have the right to smac
VOWS OF VENGEANCE Two Faced Ex
Miranda and Ethan laughed to the heart's content immediately after they entered the car. Who would have imagined that Cassandra was going to react that way? "I have never seen her this angry in my life. Not even when she wanted me gone out of her life." Ethan commented as a driver turned on the ignition. Miranda couldn't help her laughter from bubbling out of her lips. "I'm sure that you wouldn't be able to believe her eyes but that's part of the package. I have always wanted to see her suffer." Ethan didn't know how to feel about that. He and Miranda had not finally come to a conclusion about what they were about to do to these guys. "Why do you hate your friend so much?" He inquired just to understand the road map of this revenge scheme. Miranda shrugged carelessly but he didn't believe that. "Let's just say that Williams and I have a score to settle and I need to emerge as a winner." She replied earnestly. Nothing disturbed Ethan because he also had a singular goal but
Latest Chapter
Desperate Measures (III)
Without wasting any more time, Jenna jumped left, her head almost connecting with one of the furniture in the house but she refused to get killed by a woman who was just jealous out of her mind. It was after she ran that she realized that the gun was fake and now the tables had turned because she had reached into her cabinet and also brought out her gun, shocking Miranda who was completely clueless. This was quite annoying because now she had to really think about what to do now that she had the upper hand. "I bet you are a bit worried for your life aren't you? This is exactly how I feel when you try to pester me just because you think that I am in a relationship with your husband." She responded, Miranda's heart suddenly skyrocketed because now she was in the face of danger. Ethan's warning resounded in her brain as she wondered why she ever took such a wrong decision and now she was going to be left to deal with the consequences that came with it. "I don't know what you're doi
Desperate measures. (II)
Jenna raised her hands in surrender and took further steps backward, hoping that she was able to salvage the situation before this woman went out of hand. Nothing was going to prepare her for coming in contact with a psychopath who thought that she was normal. This was one of the reasons she had run away from the vicinity, and now Miranda still haunted her down. It would have been easier to believe if it was Cassandra, but this time around, she had Miranda to contend with. "I think you are about to make a huge mistake with your actions. This has not gotten to that stage yet so why are you trying to kill me?" Miranda shrugged calmly pretending like she had no idea of what the lady was saying. "I asked you to let Ethan be, but you refused the first time and called him to save you instead. Maybe this time, when I get you out for good, I will have his full attention." She spoke. Jenna's heart rate skyrocketed at the information. What the lady didn't understand was that they were not
Desperate measures
Jenna kind of realized how important this was going to be to everyone who cared to hear about the news but decided to keep her mouth shut because there was absolutely no reason for her to panic about something that had no basis.The only reason why she would be a little bit mad at Miranda was the fact that Ethan had not played his role well. As brilliant as he was as a businessman he was not really a great spouse.The lady in front of her was experiencing a huge shock that she didn't quite blame her for; instead, she focused on what was right."I can tell you that I understand your dilemma but I would be a huge liar for saying that. The only thing I'm going to allude to is that maybe you should work on your issues with him instead of coming to dump it all on me. How about that?" She inquired stylishly.That was going to cause a lot of issues, and she would rather just skip it, but the fact that she had a lot of people lounging around waiting for her to fall into a trap had her very ca
Tacky Solutions
Miranda watched her company go down in flames on national TV while she tried to rein in her thoughts. This was no doubt done by someone who wanted to actively bring her down and they were not even hiding their intentions. She didn't want to believe that Williams would stoop so low just to get back at her for turning him down. The only problem now is that she didn't have proof of him coming close to the building. How did she publish a statement against his character when she could be sued for defamation? Ethan had been her only source of consolation but that didn't mean that she didn't still feel like something was wrong deep down that she needed to deal with. She had let herself down and everything that she had worked for for so long. "I received the call from Williams a few minutes ago and told him that he would not want to see anyone. This is something that I guess I'm right about." Ethan said refusing to pity her one bit.He was not in the business of feeling guilty when there w
Stop search
Togetherness had to be a huge word especially when it came to discussing a few matters. Miranda was totally out of her wit, especially with the fact that Ethan had refused to speak to her for the first few days trying to understand what next could be done to help matters. She knew that he was planning something but just didn't know how big it was and relying on hearsay information didn't sit well with her. He had avoided every press conference that was brought up simply because he didn't want to say something and also do another behind her back. She tried to reach out to Jenna who had been incommunicado and she figured out that Jenna was only trying to do this to spite her. There was absolutely no reason why she shouldn't pick up the call after speaking to Ethan. She wasn't a fool to think that they were not in talking terms and she was the one just being paranoid. She decided to visit Jenna. Jenna had something to say about Ethan's sudden silence. If she had her way she would ha
Backhanded Breakup
Ethan peered into his computer watching carefully as Jenna highlighted every Williams move from almost four years ago. "This is interesting to know, especially now that he has tried to hand over the properties to me. I need to be aware of his next moves so that I do not remain in the dark." He whispered appreciatively but still wondering how she was able to pick up all of this without even wasting much time. He had every right to be a bit mad at Williams for investing all of Miranda's shares in the underworld because now that he was sole custodian, he was going to have the feds coming after him. This was the one of the reasons he couldn't trust that man for anything in the world but decided to give him the benefit of doubt but here it was, "I was thinking that you confronted him but I do not know how that is going to play out. Anyway I would also love for you to be aware of his schemes. That way you will be mindful of your next moves and he wouldn't be able to have anything on you
Holes in the Plan
"I am willing to hand over a fifty percent share of my companies assets to my ex-wife as a form of settlement." Miranda's eyes widened immediately she read the news. She had never expected that she would come to a stage where she would have so much control over her previous wealth without having to go to court and contest for anything instead it would be dumped on her laps. She picked up her phone immediately and reached out to Ethan, who was already expecting her call but decided to pretend like he had absolutely no idea of what was happening. "I just read on the news that Williams was willing to part ways with something that he would die on a hill for. Tell me that all of this was executed by you." She said excitedly, rubbing her palms together and holding a breath. Ethan merely laughed over the phone, almost seeing her expressions at everything that was going. "I promise to you that I was going to get your company back and now that you have it what do you have in mind to do wi
Deal With The Devil
Williams snapped at his secretary immediately he realized that she was good for nothing and couldn't even bring him every bit of information that he deserved. It was supposed to be a thing where everyone was able to express themselves fully and without any restrictions but here he had to wait and pretend like everything was going on fine when in fact he was under pressure to prove and fulfill that he was better than Ethan. The insane amount of pressure he had been feeling this past few days had made him suddenly turn into an alcoholic. It was even bad that everyone had been speaking ill of him on the media and had not bothered to listen to his side of the story which even though he tried to contest he would not win because of how much they hated his guts.Cassandra's divorce papers had miraculously made its way online and now he had to deal with the shame of losing his marriage just a few months later. It wasn't even up to a year and his life was already in shambles according to th
Renumeration
Ethan had managed to scale out of the restaurant without anyone finding out even Martin because he finally knew that someone was trying as much as possible to get rid of him and this was the best way to handle the sweet situation without bringing up drama to himself. He stopped just a few minutes away from what he could get and decided to move on with his life. Misha had been crying in his ears and he decided to take a step further that would help her be on course instead of wasting hard time trying to figure out something that was going to put her in the bad books of her bosses. He had also figured out that maybe she wasn't the only one working for Finn and that was why he was able to figure out that they were out together. This made him a little bit suspicious and decided to take more into his own hands by providing shelter for the poor lady and not allowing her to go through any issues. Misha had told him that she was going to be a target now that she had successfully scaled t