A forbidden romance

Chapter2

Well I am..." Carl began to answer. "I'll take it from here dad." Ethan said appearing suddenly and dragging Carl away to a dark corridor. "Carl what are you doing here?" Ethan asked rubbing his forehead with two fingers. "A wedding?!" Carl screamed. "An actual f*****g wedding." He chuckled bitterly "You've not still answered my question Carl, what are you doing here?" Ethan asked again. "I don't know Ethan, I couldn't sit with my thoughts at home so I decided to come watch the love of my life frolick with another" Carl answered his words dripping with sarcasm. " Thank God I came because I'm sure you wouldn't have told me about the wedding. You knew all along." He continued. " I didn't know anything Carl, it wasn't planned. Father was just overjoyed and made the announcement in excitement." Ethan replies " What happened to having everything under control Ethan?" "What happened!" Carl screamed. "First of all could you keep your voice down." Ethan whispered looking around suspiciously. "Of course you're ashamed. I should have known better than to trust a coward like you. " Carl said. "You know what I'm done with this, This time you either choose between me or Clara. Call the wedding off." Carl said with a scoff. " You know where to find me when you've made your decision." Carl said. "Carl wait... Don't act this way please.." Ethan sighed with his hands stretched out as if to touch Carl. Sadly his pleas fell on deaf ears as Carl walked away.

Ethan punched the wall in anger, tears struggling to fall from his eyes. "Ethan! Ethan!" A female voice called out to him. Startled Ethan wipes his face and rearranged himself brandishing his best smile. "Rebecca honey, I'm right here." He calls out. " Is that you?" She asks as she walks forward. "Yes it's me." He replies. "What are you doing in such a dark corridor?" She asks giving him a hug. He plants a quick kiss on her lips and said, "I just needed some fresh air, you know how I feel around crowds." "But you spent an awfully long time down here and I just saw a man tearfully walk out. Is everything okay?" She asks " Oh about that, he's just a business partner and we were talking about how things have gone badly this few months and he may soon declare bankruptcy. The tears were because of that I'm sure." Ethan explained while trying to brush the matter off. "Oookayy." Rebecca said while eyeing him suspiciously. " Let's head back to the event we've been gone for a while." Ethan tells Rebecca.

He ushers her out of the corridor with his hand on the small of her back.

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The car door opened and a short old man dressed in all black slipped into the passenger seat. "Shut the door Jason, let's go for a drive." Victor told him as he started the ignition and drove off. The smooth hum of the engine filled the car. "Okay Jason what's the latest update?" Victor asked the old man. "Well sir it's confirmed Ethan and Carl are in a romantic relationship and I have the evidence to prove it." The man replied. "Good job. Hope the evidence is damning?" Victor asked. Jason nodded and hands the envelope over to Victor. The envelope rustled as Victor inspected the pictures. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "Your money would be wired to you this evening." Victor told him. Jason nodded and exited the car. Victor smiled to himself, his plan was ready to be set in motion.

A knock was heard on Elaine's door. She went to open it but no one was there and a brown envelope laid on her doorstep. Curiosity got the best of her and she picked up the envelope to inspect it. The envelope was filled with scandalous pictures of Ethan and Carl. Attached to them was a note that said, "Just what you needed." Signed V. A grin crept on her face as she entered her apartment and shut the door. With her back against the door, " This month's rent would be paid off. I might even be able to take a vacation once I publish these pictures on our tabloid." She said while smiling to herself.

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Ethan is startled from his sleep from a loud sound from the door. He sits up to see his father standing at the foot of his bed. Confused, he asks "Dad what's going on and what was that loud sound?" "Save the questions young man!" His dad scolds " Care to explain yourself?" He asks while flinging magazines towards him. They all had different headlines but covered the same topic and had the same picture. The first one read,"Billionaire's son is believed to be gay despite being engaged to socialite Rebecca "

Plastered on the front cover was pictures taken the night before Ethan's engagement party and the morning after.

"Well are you going to explain yourself or sit there staring at how handsome you are in those photos." Ethan's father said mockingly. "This was the same guy at the engagement party. I really need a good explanation from you Ethan." His father said. The silence from Ethan was deafening. His mind scrambled to put words together. To come up with a reasonable explanation yet nothing was feasible.

Ethan's father sighed disappointed," I do not have the time to coddle you or to coax the truth out of you. Your mother can handle that. Since you're not ready to talk, I just want to let you know that our reputation, legacy and company is at stake because of you." "I expect this scandal to be blown over by tomorrow so fix it!" Ethan's father said and stormed out of the room slamming the door with a bang.

Ethan sighed, he rubbed his face furiously and ran his hand through his head multiple times. Everything seemed to spiral out of control.