Kane thought it was only possible to dodge bullets in movies but he’d done it in real life. When the old man showed up with the gun and yelled at him, Kane had preempted his opponent’s move and dropped to the ground before he pulled the trigger.
He lunged at the man, knocking him to the ground. Hank fired another shot that went into the ceiling and Kane grabbed the rifle, trying to wrestle it from his grip.
“Get off me, you bastard!” Hank yelled at him as he continued to maintain his hold on the gun.
Kane headbutted him, destabilizing Hank for a few seconds. He finally snatched the gun from his hands and got up.
“You bastard. You broke my nose,” Hank lamented and wiped the blood from his nostril.
“Who the hell are you?” Kane asked him while aiming the rifler at its owner.
“I’m Hank. This is my cabin and you’re a trespasser.”
Kane glanced at Emilia and saw that she
Emilia’s road to recovery was a slow and painful one. After six weeks, she was moved to a regular private ward where she got around in a wheelchair.“The doctors believe that your spine injury has healed enough for you to begin physical therapy,” Kane announced to her one afternoon.“That’s good news,” she smiled.“Yes. Who knows, you might get back on your feet in time for the twin’s fourth birthday.”“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, please.”Kane placed his hand on hers and squeezed it gently. “I am not afraid to hope, Emilia.”She shrugged. “Sometimes, hope ends up in disappointment.”“Don’t say that. I believe you’ll walk again.”His phone buzzed. He checked it and got on his feet. “Sorry, my love. This is an important business call.”“You don’t need my permission to answer your phone, Kane. Go ahead and take the call but do it outside. I think I’ll take a nap,” she said and yawned.He pecked her on the cheek and hurried out of the room. Emilia got comfortable on her bed and clo
“I now pronounce you, Mr and Mrs Beaumont. You may kiss the bride,” said the minister with a wide smile.Emilia stole a glance at her new husband, wondering if he would kiss her or not. He watched her with hot hazel eyes as if he was thinking the same thing. He finally leaned forward and kissed her chastely on the cheek.“Classy!” His mother complimented him and clapped like an impressed audience.“Congratulations, darling,” her father said happily.“Congratulations, sweetheart,” said her mother. She was the happiest person in the room.Emilia smiled brightly but she was annoyed. This wasn’t how she’d pictured her wedding day to look. She’d dreamed of wearing a white ball gown and walking down the aisle with a large bouquet to join her handsome husband at the altar.Instead, she was wearing a pink skirt-suit that her mother chose and marrying a brooding stranger in the family room of his mansion. She felt like a sacrificial lamb.The Beaumonts were from old money and they were into se
“Excuse me,” said the doorman. “You must be mistaken. Mr Beaumont is not married.”“Yes, he is and I am his wife,” said Emilia firmly. “Please, let me in.”As she stepped forward, the doorman put his hand out to stop her. The security guy that came with her stepped out of the gold Bentley parked in front of the building and came to join them.“Let her in,” he said with authority. “Or you can ring up and let Mr Beaumont know that his wife is here to see him.”The doorman recognized the security man and he was stunned. “I – I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize – “Emilia pushed past him and entered the building before he could finish speaking. She went straight to the reception area and introduced herself to the attendant. The lady was stunned too.“I wasn’t aware that Mr Beaumont is now married,” she said with a nervous laugh.“Now, you are. Which apartment is he occupying?” Emilia asked crisply.She was following Lillian’s instructions perfectly. Everyone must recognize her authority and re
“I’ll be hosting the Inner-city Relief Charity Ball next month,” Elsie announced cheerfully at the breakfast table the next morning.“I think it’s the best opportunity to introduce Emilia to everyone,” she added.“That’s nice,” said Kane indifferently.“I love balls,” said Samuel with a mischievous grin.He was Lillian’s middle-aged husband who worked as a cosmetic surgeon. He had a plain face and a receding hairline.“Seriously, darling,” said Lillian with a chuckle.He giggled. “You know what I meant. Not the other balls.”Lillian laughed. Emilia cringed. Kane rolled his eyes. Elsie sighed.“Where’s Jack?” Kane asked.“Still sleeping, I’m sure,” his mother answered. “He came in very late last night.”“Nothing new,” Lillian drawled.“Mother, I want you to get Emilia an etiquette tutor,” Kane said casually.Emilia dropped her cutlery. “I beg your pardon?”“That’s a brilliant suggestion, dear,” said Elsie. “Every young woman should take lessons on poise and gracefulness before getting
“How do you feel, darling?” Her mother asked sympathetically.“What do you think?” She snapped.Her mother flinched and Emilia felt sorry instantly.“I’m sorry,” she apologized.“It’s ok. Do you remember what happened?”“I don’t want to talk about it.”There was a knock on the door. Her mother responded and a doctor stepped in.“Hi, Mrs Beaumont. I’m Doctor Roshan. How are you feeling?”“Isn’t it obvious?” She replied nastily, then bit her lip. “Sorry.”“It’s ok. I understand,” said the pretty doctor. “Where’s your husband?”“He had to be somewhere urgently, but he’ll be back,” said Lara with a bright smile.Her mother’s lie pissed her off. Why was she covering up for Kane? He was just as evil as his girlfriend and he didn’t deserve any sort of cover-up to make him look like a good person.“Oh, I see. There’s actually something I wanted to discuss with him and Mrs Beaumont.”“Please, call me Emilia,” she said impatiently. She was tired of that stupid title.“Of course, Emilia.”“What
Emilia woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. It immediately turned into a frown when he barged into the room and threw a newspaper at her.“What the hell is this?” He asked her angrily.She picked up the newspaper and looked at the front page. There was a paparazzi picture of a couple kissing. Only, it wasn’t just any couple, it was her and Chad.“Oh my god!” She gasped.“You haven’t answered my question, Emilia. What the hell is this?”“I – I don’t know. I don’t understand,” she stuttered.“Is that you in the picture or not?”“Yes, it is. But – ”“That’s enough! I don’t want to hear any lies from you. I can’t believe you would do this.”“Kane, I think I was set up. This isn’t what it looks like. Chad and I never kissed yesterday.”“Who’s he?”“My ex-boyfriend. We never had the chance to break up properly because he was filming a documentary in Africa at the time you and my father made your deal. I tried to reach him and tell him what was going on but the network connecti
“An undisclosed source has informed us that the marriage between billionaire CEO, Kane Beaumont, and former school teacher, Emilia Taylor, has allegedly hit the rocks. This comes after Emilia was caught, cheating on her husband with her ex-boyfriend, Chad Buruss. We’re told that – ““Shut up!” Chloe snapped and turned off the TV. “I can’t believe Kane and his family! Why would they make such wild claims to the press?”“We can’t blame them, you know,” said Emilia. “I was the one who got caught with her hand inside the cookie jar.”“Yeah, but you weren’t stealing the cookies, you were just counting them.”Emilia laughed. There was nothing funny about her situation, but her 17-year-old sister always had a way of finding humour even in the worst circumstances.They were in Emilia’s bedroom where she was feeling sorry for herself while Chloe tried to cheer her up. She’d skipped her classes for today to be with her big sister. She was a freshman at the fashion design academy where she had o
“I can’t get over how lovely this place is,” Emilia gushed.They were sitting by the Lake and enjoying some sandwiches that Matt had brought for them.It was her second week in Wyoming and having lunch together at Lake Vida was becoming one of their favourite pastimes.“These days, it reminds me of you,” Matt said softly.Emilia smiled and looked away. She knew Matt had developed feelings for her and it made her feel guilty.She’d led him on with her constant flirting even though she had no interest in taking their friendship any step further. It had only been a fun distraction for her.She’d eventually confided in him and told him about her situation but it didn’t discourage him one bit.“I know we’ve only known each other for two weeks but the truth is that I really like you, Emilia. I’d like it very much if you can be my girlfriend.”She chuckled. “That’s very adorable. The last time a boy asked me to be his girlfriend was way back in high school.”“But I’m not a boy, am I? I’m a m