The sound of a knock made Mr. Simone raised his head to see Nina standing outside of his study door, and he gave her a small smile, mumbling, “What is it, Nina?” Calmly, she walked into the room, and then closed the door behind her, saying softly, “Do you have a minute to talk?” “Sure,” Mr. Simone replied, moving his laptop out of his way so he could focus on her. Although she and her father had had great issues since her mother died and he remarried, Nina was hoping that this time, just once he would be a supportive father. “Remember when I was about to leave for my scholarship, what I asked of you?” Nina questioned, sitting in front of her father, crossing one leg over the other and resting her elbow on her knee. The dumbfounded look on her father's face made Nina sigh in frustration, knowing that he might not have even cared to listen back then when she was talking to him. “You promised me that the spot was going to be filled up by a temporary employee and that I can have the
The quietness in the guest room had Ethan uneasy, even though he was finally sleeping on a softer and more comfortable bed. After twisting and turning for a while, he couldn't sleep anymore so he decided to leave the bed and go outside to get some fresh air and also get his stuff from the worker's quarter. “You fat lazy pig!! Can't you do any damn thing properly!” Madam Rider's voice echoed into Ethan's ears as he came downstairs. The moment he stepped into the hallway, he saw her standing behind Bobby as he struggled to hang up a large framed portrait of her and her five children on the wall. These portraits had always been in the family gallery room, and they had been placed there by professionals because of the size and weight of each piece. “Higher, you fat junkie!” Clara screamed, causing Bobby already tired hands to tremble under the weight of such a huge glass frame. Anger rose in Ethan like fire as he watched Bobby struggle to keep the portrait above where Clara wanted
Nibbling on her nails, Nina watched her laptop screen as the website loaded, making her heartbeat, wanting to stay positive, but after the constant rejections, she couldn't. “You need to chill, Nina,” Her best friend, Kim, said, taking another bite of her sandwich. “It’s only been like a few companies who have replied. It's not like all the-” “Nineteen companies, Kim. It's been only a couple of days, and I have been receiving rejection letters one after the other, Every other day.” Nina mumbled, grabbing another napkin and blowing her nose into it. “It’s like I am cursed.” “Come on, Nina. Be positive. Who knows, this one might-” “Dear Miss Simone, we regret to inform you that the position that you applyed...” The trembling in Nina's voice made Kim's sandwich freeze to her lips, and she whispered as she rested the sandwich on the bed, “Oh Nina, come here.” Crawling towards her friend, Nina buried her face in the crook of Kim's neck as she sobbed. “Shhh, Nina. You're okay. This is
Staring at the garment bag hanging on the rack, Ethan studied it for a while, and then he unzipped it, taking out the only suit that he had to his name and dusting it off.Then he took the pants and blazer from the garment bag, deciding to go with his black dress shirt, and wore them. Once he was done, he wore his shoes that were polished and then stepped in front of the mirror to wear his tie.Suddenly, a knock on his room door broke him out of his thoughts, but before he could react, the door opened, and in came his father who was wearing a very expensive blue suit.Halting in his steps, Mr. Rider immediately frowned, his eyes blazing with rage as he stared at Ethan's suit and asked, “What is that rag?!”“What rag?” Ethan frowned back at him, wearing his tie.“The shit on you.”“You mean, my suit?”Speechless in anger, Mr. Rider looked at him like he was insane and said, “Yes, your goddamn suit! Haven’t you worn that rag on many occasions?!”“Yes, and it is still in good shape for
Taking the glass of water off the tray, Nina smiled at Esther and said, “Thank you.”A soft breath escaped her lips as she slowly sipped the drink, enjoying how warm and comforting it was.With an uneasy expression, Kim leaned onto the railing next to Nina, looking at the view and gazing up at the night sky above, waiting patiently.A couple of minutes later, Nina rested her head gently on Kim's shoulder and whispered, “I got a headache.”Her vision was slowly getting blurry and she couldn't focus on anything. Her body was tense as she started to feel a bit warm inside, the cold air made her shudder slightly.Finally, Kim looked down at her with furrowed eyebrows and asked, “What’s wrong with you, Nina?”Even though she tried to answer no sound came out and instead, she closed her eyes tight and sighed softly, her teeth gritting together.“Do you want me to find a guest room for you to rest in? You look awful.” Kim whispered.Nina wanted to say that she was feeling weird in her body a
The group waiting outside for Ethan to open the door only seemed to get bigger the more aggressively Mr. Rider beat on the door. “You bastard, open this damn door right now, Ethan!” Mr. Rider's voice blasted through the door.Ignoring his father's screams and the whisperings from the guests that only seemed to be getting louder, Ethan give Nina a small smile and said, “If you want to use the rumors that we are having sex to break up your engagement, then I don't need to take advantage of your body for that to happen...”As Nina was about to argue with his logic, Ethan place his index finger on her lips and said, “Listen,”The whispers had long since become loud, arrogant statements, and Nina heard a lady echo out her opinion, “Does this child have any sense? She cheated on Charles with a servant boy… What kind of stupid woman does that?”“I can’t believe he is having an affair with her too, knowing that the Walkers are her soon-to-be in-laws.” Another lady said loudly.As the reali
The morning light met Ethan standing at the window, watching the sunrise in the east, his mind running over the conversation he eavesdropped on last night between the two men. Then when he heard the mattress move, he stretched his tired muscles and yawned before turning to the bed to see Nina wearing his black shirt with his pair of sweatpants that were both huge on her. “Good morning,” She whispered, looking over at the couch he slept on and feeling a sense of guilt for taking his bed. “Morning,” Ethan said, noticing the discomfort on her face, and thinking that now that the drugs were out of her system, she was regretting last night's event. “Are you regretting what you did for me last night?” Nina asked, rubbing her arm anxiously as she avoided his gaze. “No,” Ethan instantly responded. There was an awkward brief silence between them, with her still staring intently at his body until she asked, “Are you sure?” “Very sure.” Ethan replied. “Oh… Okay.” “How about you?” “No, I
As rage roamed in him, Mr. Simone slapped his hand on the table, his face red with rage, and shouted atEthan and his daughter, “He’s a scumbag!! That man is worthless!! A total waste of his family name-”“Wow! It’s a good thing that you are not the one marrying him then.” Nina snorted, trying to keep calm and act cool even though her heart raced rapidly at his aggressiveness. “Because I am. And Ethan and I don’t need your blessings!”The way Mr. Simone's eyes bulged out of his head with anger and his jaw dropped in horror caused her satisfaction to rise higher than ever, making her happy at being able to put him in his place, but still, it didn’t erase the fear that was beginning to build in her when she remembered that Ethan was getting dragged into her family mess.Like he could tell what she feared, Mr. Simone looked over at Ethan, his eyes narrowed dangerously, and then yelled at him, “You want to marry my daughter?!”“Yes, Mr. Simone,” Ethan said, trying to be respectful, even th