Chapter 44

Michael.

She looked at me with puppy-dog eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry, Michael, but that’s my call. I wish you the best with your investigation.”

Her words cut deeper than she could ever know, she was the only one I trusted enough to help get through this tough time but instead, she chose him.  She gave my shoulder a soft and friendly fleeting touch before storming off walking straight into Ethan’s sleek and glossy Porsche like that could make me feel less worse.

Ethan was waiting in the driver's seat with a perfect smile on his face, the one that said he had already won her, but he was wrong, he could only impress her but not for long, she was either mine or for no one.

And just like that, they drove off.

I swallowed hard as the realization hit me, she had chosen a man she’d barely known for weeks over me. As if that weren’t enough, she didn’t even care enough to hear me out.  Still, I knew  I would always stand by her and always defend her name even when people like  Adam threatened to drag it through the mud.

I clenched my jaw so hard I thought it might crack, anger simmering underneath my skin. She didn’t even promise to reach out, didn’t even bother to look back.

She was in such a hurry to run back to her so-called  Prince Charming, the same man who beat me to a pulp and who wouldn’t hesitate to do the same if he annoyed her.

Yet part of me wants to believe that she knows what she is doing, she has a reason for choosing him and not me.

After all, he was a doctor with a stable job while I brought nothing but chaos to her. Or maybe I was just an entertainment, a distraction that excited her, the thoughts made my lips quiver, that I might be nothing compared to Ethan and his shiny car.

I ran my hand through my hair in confusion trying to think of the next thing to do, when I caught Adam staring from a distance, always watching like a hawk watching its prey. He had this smug and judgmental look on his face, like he was pleased with how things had played out.

On a normal day, I would have walked up to him and told him a piece of my mind but I ignored him, I had bigger things to deal with than his pettiness or his obsession with pulling Betty down.

As for Betty, if she wants to be with Ethan, that’s fine, she is old enough to know what’s best for her, I have my own problems to figure out all by myself, and I need to clear my name or my father would make my life a living hell.

I strode briskly to the park where my Range Rover was but Paparazzi were everywhere, their stupid cameras flashing like lightning and their voices yelling my name.

“Hey, Michael! How does it feel ruining  your  father's wedding?” One of them asked, but I ignored.

“Michael, people say you  are spoiled and unworthy to be CEO of Bolton Enterprise, is that true?” Another chanted.

Journalists would say anything to get words out of my mouth but I wasn’t going to fall for any of it.  I refused to give them one more thing to talk about.

News spread fast, and it was already everywhere. Maybe it was time I stopped going to school altogether.

While I struggled to walk to my car they kept following me, asking me stupid questions.

“Michael, did you really try to assault Heather?”

“Michael, what do you have to say about the picture making the rounds on the internet?”

I managed to shove through them my head down to the door wishing for once I had the superpower of being invisible.

I was used to it, I came from a powerful family, and the paparazzi had always been a part of my life, especially when the company had a breakthrough, but this time it was different. Worse.  Because even my own family was against me.

“Hey, fellas! Guess what? Eat my ass!” Link shrieked as he marched towards the paparazzi then out of nowhere he pulled out a hose spraying water on them sending them scurrying away like stray dogs caught in the rain, this sight forced a smile on my lips.

Matty and Noah joined before they all strode towards me, grins plastered across their faces as if they had just done the coolest thing.

“We heard the news man. You okay?” Noah asked, turning off the hose before throwing it away.

I nod. “I am fine because I didn’t do any of that.”

They all grinned in unison like idiots exchanging funny glances.

“Well, even if you did, bro, you’re forgiven,” Matty chirped. “I mean, have you seen Heather’s body? Damn, she is the definition of slim and sexy.”

I rolled my eyes trying to keep my blood from boiling,

“Stop it guys!” I yelled at them so fast that they all stopped laughing.  “I would never assault my father's wife on his wedding night! Yes, I hate her guts but she is not my type.”

The guys nodded, raising their hands like they understood me.

“Chill man, we were just joking, you need to relax and not let this get to you!”Matty advised.

I shook my head, my anger tripling. “How can I relax when my father is threatening to disown me? How can I relax when the press are calling me names? This is much more serious than you think!l

They all had stern looks quickly after that realizing I was in a deep hot mess.

“How do you get out of this?” Link asked.

“I’m trying to make my father see that I’m not the villain here. His wife is. But the CCTV footage from that night was deleted. And no one even knows where the room is except me and my dad, crazy right?”

“Wow!” they all exclaimed in unison.

“That’s crazy, Mike. You think your pops is behind this?”Matty asked.

I paused thinking hard before uttering any word. I didn’t really know my father, I knew he was ruthless, cold, and manipulative, but he had no reason to frame me just to protect Heather! He should even be disgusted at the fact that she came onto me. She wasn’t even family. She was nothing but his sexy toy.

I’m thinking maybe Heather found out about the CCTV room and decided to clear her tracks using my father's login details.

“I don’t think so,” I mumbled under my breath. “He is anything but blind to Heather's deception. Why would he protect Heather like this? It doesn’t just make sense!l

Link leaned close, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I have a tech-savvy friend. She can hack into anything, we just need to password-break into the CCTV system.  And that’s all. She can even retrieve the videos and we would find out the truth!”

My eyes widened in surprise, and for the first time that day I felt something other than frustration; relief.

“Thanks man, I really appreciate all of you,” I muttered, and sent him the password. Then we dispersed and went our separate ways.

By the time I got home, I kept thinking about whether my father was truly behind this, especially when my card declined at the coffee store. At first, I thought it was a glitch but it wasn’t. When I checked the balance, it was empty, my card was blocked by my father.

Rage burned in my blood like acid.

How could he do this?

I stormed into the house and went straight to the master's bedroom. I didn’t knock, I just barged in.

And there he was, tangled up with Heather, kissing her so hard like they were starving for each other, the sight made my stomach turn, it was a disgusting sight to behold.

“Dad, why the hell did you block my cards?” I yelled.

They pulled apart. My father didn’t even look ashamed, he just adjusted his shirt while Heather looked up at me with anger flashing in her eyes.

“Until you figure out how to make the scandal go away and clear the family name.” He retorted.

I was stunned, taken aback by his words, how did he expect me to survive?

He continued, “For now you can look for a job, let’s see how easy life is.”

I couldn’t take it any longer. I had to spill, “ and why did you delete the footage?”

Heather looked shocked and nervous.

“You are insane Michael, I didn’t delete anything, you are just paranoid!” he clapped back but I wasn’t buying his lies.

“But the login is yours, how can you not possibly know….”

“Stop it, if you don’t stop fooling yourself Michael, I’ll make you lose everything!” He threatened.

I nodded and stormed out of the room. Immediately my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from the link.

“Hi, we managed to retrieve the video footage from that night, and you were right, Heather forced herself on you but guess what we found? We saw someone walking into the CCTV footage room, I’ll send you a picture of her.”

The message came in almost immediately and Lo and behold, it was a picture of Claire. The very same Claire who claimed to be pregnant with my baby.