The Heiress Impostor

CHAPTER 4: This is unavoidable

Ethan quickly slammed on the brakes, his heart racing fast. Ethan was absent minded that he lost focus behind the wheel.

Ethan raised his head and saw that he had collided with another car. He took a moment to collect himself, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm his fast racing pulse. Thankfully, it was just a minor collision.

He got out of his car and headed towards the front. He gazed at the car that collided with his, it was a beat-up sedan and it had a minor scratch on its bumper. “Oh, man, this is disastrous” Ethan muttered to himself disappointed, “this is the very last thing I need right now.” he took a quick glance at his wrist watch, it was 3:57 pm. He's not sure if he has enough time but he wouldn't want to waste any time here at all.

The driver of the other car, a middle aged man with a frowsy beard and a generally unkempt appearance, walked towards Ethan with a warp and fury expression of anger. “Holy cow! For Pete's sake what the heck was that for? Are you trying to toast my car?” he exclaimed loudly.

Ethan sighed. He was running out of empty for this. “look, I’m sorry, okay?” he said sincerely, trying to keep his voice level. “I was distracted…. I didn’t see you. I apologize”

“for real man? You're distracted?” the man snorted. “Yeah right, distracted by your fancy phone probably iznt?,. You rich folks think you own the road.”

“Hey,” Ethan said, “it was a minor accident, okay? And it was not intentional. I’ll be happy to pay for the damages, it's not a problem.” He said hoping the man would be satisfied.

“oh really? Pay for the damages? I'm afraid, that ain’t gonna cut dude,” the man said in a squeaky high pitched voice with his arms crossed “You nearly caused a serious accident and I could have been hurt. This is gonna cost you dude.”

Ethan was running out of patience but still kept a calm face. “Hey Mr. I said I’m sorry,” he repeated. “Do you want anything else?”

“What I want yeah? I want what I deserve,” the man shot back. “ Okay buddy, I'll tell you what I want….. I want you to learn to drive, Big wig!”

At that moment, a vehicle stopped behind them.

Two uniformed officials stepped out of the vehicle, they were traffic police officers. "Alright, what's going on here?"

One asked with an authoritative voice.

The frowsy bearded man immediately changed his tone. “Officer, this man here just collided with my car! He was distracted while driving and that's a punishable crime, but he's trying to bribe me but I told him I'm not a corrupt citizen!”

The officials looked at the frowsy bearded man who didn't stop for a breath as he talked. They decided to ignore him and one of them took a careful look at the two cars, while the other turned to Ethan. “Sir, please can I take a look at your driver’s license and registration?”

Ethan cooperated, he opened his car and handed the documents to the officer who in turn took a glance at it and returned it with a nod. The official then turned to the other driver. “May I take a look at your documents as well sir?”

The frowsy bearded man hesitated for a few seconds, then he reluctantly brought out his documents from his car. The official took a careful look at them, then his colleague walked closer to them. After he kar walked over to the two cars and inspected the scratch carefully.

“Sir,” the official who has been inspecting the cars said to the frowsy bearded man, “After carefully inspecting the accident scene, it showed that you drifted into the wrong lane when this occurred. The scratch to your vehicle is also a slight one. It appears that you were the one at fault in this accident.”

The man grumbled with disappointment on his face. “But this man wasn’t paying attention, it could have been avoided if he was paying attention!”

“Well, that could be true,” the official said, “but it shows that you were the one who passed the centerline and I'm afraid we will have to issue you a citation for that”

The man’s jaw dropped. He knew his jig was up. The official turned to Ethan almost immediately. “Sir, I sincerely apologize for the Inopportune situation. It appears this wasn't your fault and sometimes, this is unavoidable.”

“Thank you very much for your timely intervention sir,” Ethan said, thankful that the situation was resolved by the officers. He was still disturbed that he had spent unnecessary time here, but he was relieved that it didn't get any worse.

“You’re free to go now sir. Have a wonderful day ahead.” the officer replied. Ethan gave a nod and returned back into his car. He was caught off guard by the drama he’d just encountered. It added more to the stress he was under. He ignited the engine and pulled back into traffic, his mind still racing fast in his heart, but at least this minor accident hadn't cost him too much time. He needed to get to the Belvedere as fast as he can. He needed to find Thrina.

*The journey to the Belvedere Residence seemed like a forever journey. Ethan gripped the steering wheel firmly, his knuckles were pale, his mind a swirling with conflicting emotions. Hope and doubt clashed with his heart, he felt a growing sense of discomfort within him as he finally pulled into the Belvedere sophisticated parking garage, the luxurious, top-tier cars are a testament to the Elegance and wealth privilege that dwelled within its walls.*

Ethan, found a parking spot and pulled over beside a BMW 7 and stepped out of his car, a dark, expensive sedan, the cool evening breeze was a stark difference to the heat coming from the pavement.

*The Belvedere's Residence Reception area was even more awe-inspiring at a close range. spacious with polished limestone floors, A luxurious staircase swirls elegantly towards the top floors, and masterpiece sculpture enhanced the walls. Ethan makes his way towards the reception desk, where a young woman with a beautifully coiffed hairstyle and a sleekly styled uniform sat behind the counter.