Too close brother

Drenched in wine

At the funeral of Morris Holloway, reporters outnumbered the family as they all want to get the candy and find out who is going to be the next owner of Holloway empire.

Jennifer Holloway stood tall in front with Jace behind her, her wail could be heard but her eyes was dry.

Jace, on the other hand, had a dark gloomy countenance that seemed to be for driving reporters away from himself.

All Holloway executives and important associates stood behind, while right behind them, Katrina hid herself, afraid to attract the slightest attention. She tried not to get pushed away by the reporters who were trying to get good pictures.

When the rites was done, the party that was planned by Jennifer followed after. It was more like a calculated gathering. The real purpose was to secure loyalty of the executives and shareholders.

Jennifer worked the room carefully, trying to win their support for her son. But at the same time, she had other plans.

Katrina who had tried to escape the party was stopped by Lawyer Callan who insisted that she stayed for a while before leaving.

She crossed her arms against her body, looking lost in the crowd until Jennifer finally got to her.

Without a word, she grabbed a glass of red wine and poured it over her head leaving her gasp in shock and the others exclaiming louder.

Jace who had been looking gloomy since the party started was instantly stirred up, he moved closer to find out what just happened.

When he saw Katrina with wine poured over her face, his hands tightened quickly, his face darkened, feeling perturbed.

“You are just like your shameless mother.” she accursed. “After stealing what belongs to my son, you still have the gut to show your face” she spat angrily.

The reporters wasted no time in taking shots of the scene. Lawyer Callan who knew already what Jennifer might be up to stepped in to stop her.

“I advised that you stop this, Jennifer. This is against Mr. Holloway’s will” he said, reminding her of the clause.

But Jennifer was determined to expose Katrina ’s identity to the public so she pushed him away.

“Don’t try to silent me. You are the one who gave my home to my husband’s mistress” she yelled, letting her tears fall and her mascara dripped down with it.

More flashes came from the reporters. Everyone’s attention turned to her.

Jennifer continued, facing Katrina directly. “You should pay for what your mother did” she lashed, losing the last of her temper as she grabbed another drink to throw on her.

In that moment, Jace rushed forward to stop her, grabbing her hand. “Stop, Mum. You’re drunk” his voice cut through the air, low, sharp and so firm that Jennifer stopped and turned to him.

“My lovely son.” she said, giving a small, unsteady laugh. “I was just trying to fight for you...”

Jace stopped her. “No you’re not” he gritted.

There was a disgruntled look on Jennifer’s face but her mission wasn’t done yet. She wanted to rile everyone up against Katrina and force her to hand over the mansion.

She looked back at everyone who were waiting in anticipation, ready to see what would happen next. Not wanting to disappoint them, she snatch her hand away from his grip.

“I need to do this” she said and grabbed Katrina by the jaw, ready to force the drink down her throat.

But Jace grabbed the glass and smashed it on the floor, causing more ruckus as people gasped, feeling stupefied.

“For heavens sake, stop this madness!” he yelled, his eyes glaring, causing Jennifer to be startled.

He did not wait for her to harass Katrina again and dragged her hand, as she had been standing all these while like a statue, unable to move.

Jennifer watched in utter dismay as he walked away with Katrina , her eyes blazing red, she clenched her fists, her nails piercing her palm.

…

Katrina did not recover from her shock until they got to the parking lot and Jace let go of her hand.

“Why were you standing there like a fool?” he yelled at her, feeling too upset. “Why on earth did you keep letting people trample upon you like a fool?” he scolded harsher.

But Katrina did not move, her head was bowed down, like she didn’t dare to raise them up. However, her hands clutched onto her dress, trembling as she gripped tighter at his words.

Jace let out hard breathes as he tried to stop himself from being angry at her but he was just too upset that he couldn’t contain it.

“You should have walked away or speak to defend yourself” he let out, his voice, a little low than before, but still harsh.

Katrina ’s jaw clenched but she finally looked up. “Because she’s hurting. Because you’re hurting” she let out sluggishly in a trembling voice that threatens to break.

The stern countenance drown on Jace’s face as he heard her voice. His brows draw tight, as he stared at her, stunned.

“What?” he asked.

Her tears trembled as she looked straight at him. “Because you lost someone so important to you, and your Mum lost someone that she loved” she stated, All the hurt she had forced down for so long finally torn its way to the surface.

And Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, right there, she looked heartbreakingly fragile.

The pain hit Jace’s heart like an arrow shot by his own hands. His face squeezed in fury against himself.

“Because I feel guilty that my Mum hurt you and I…” her voice cracked, unable to hold her tears any longer.

She let her head fall again, her body drenched, looking do disgruntled. Jace ‘s jaw clenched as he stand and stare at her.

“You’re a fool” he muttered into the air.

…

After the exit, Jennifer pressed her lips together, struggling to continue her act. Someone from the audience came to her, putting his hands carefully on her shoulders to comfort her.

She pulled into his arms and let him lead her away from there, making sure the reporters got a good shot of her distressed face before walking away to an enclosed room.

When the door closes behind them, Jennifer did not hesitate to clean her musky face.

“Ugh. My face looks like a disaster” she grunt, her expression switched to irritation.

She grabbed a tissue on the table to clear up. The man who was standing behind her, Adam Pollock, one of the top executives in Holloway’s empire and Morris Holloway’s best friend.

He moved closer to her, and placed his hands intimately on her shoulders. “You acted very well today. I have arranged a reporter to have the pictures from today sent out” he informed.

“The girl’s face would be on everyone’s screen by tomorrow morning” he affirmed and Jennifer smiled pleased.

She lean forward and plant a kiss on his lips. “Soon, the mansion would be mine” she grinned in satisfaction.

Adam nodded with a smile. “Yes, it will.”