In a open relationship

Chapter 24

later that day I decide to go back home prepared for whatever is coming my way .

I drove around the whole day trying to run away from the mess I created.

I was planning on going to a country where no one could find me but my conscious wouldn't let me so I turned the car around .

one thing I discovered about myself is that I am not a coward because if I was I would've runaway a longtime ago.

I park my car in front of the house just in case I find my bags right behind the door .

slowly I make my way toward the entrance, I am surprised our gates are not flogged with all sorts of reporters , from where I am standing I can hear Sarah shouting at the top of her lungs and I am certain Ethan is with her .

taking a huge breath in though my heart is pounding extremely loudly I open the door .

my eyes instanly lock with Sarah's who is standing in front of Ethan and shouting at him , the moment she sees me her rage goes from 180 to 360 , she rushes toward me with her clenched fists as she closes in on me I can hear the cold wind of her anger , she lifts her hand to slap me- I close my eyes ready to take the hit .

10 seconds later I slowly open my eyes to find Ethan's back looking at me , his hand in the air blocking Sarah's .

" Ethan let go of my hand " she says through her gritted teeth .

" calm down " he says softly .

she yanks her hand out of Ethan's grip ," why should I ?, did you see that interview? , I am a victim of rape?, now when your colleagues see me they will see that woman who has been raped by thousands of men and has been to asylums , how will I ever be able to show my face in front of them ? , what she did was to make sure that I permanently remain your mistress our relationship will forever be behind closed doors, can't you see what she is doing ?" she starts crying ," how can you stand in front of me and defend someone who just ruined my reputation like that ?... I hate you lowlife" she looks at me with utter disgust "and you too Ethan " we watch her as she runs to her bedroom .

He turns to me " I'll be right back" and runs after her .

I slowly let myself down on the couch , questioning myself , why is Ethan not the one flinching at me ? , I wasn't expecting Sarah to be more upset than Ethan , not only that Ethan responded to me in such a gentle tone ' I'll be right back ' in my mind I think he meant I shouldn't leave for my room before he has had a word with me.

in my panicking state I think about texting Austin to ask him what his views are but I realise my phone is still on flight mode and if I were to turn it off I might regret it heavily , I end up shoving it back into my blazer .

about an hour later Ethan comes back down , he was still wearing his suit when he went upstairs but now he has changed into his pyjamas and he doesn't change into his pyjamas before bathing , I wondered what was taking him so long , every second he did not emerge my anxiety level increased higher and higher .

he locks eyes with me and nothing about his expression shows any sign of anger just exhaustion .

he sits on the couch opposite me ,not looking at me straight in the eye or I am the one not looking at him I am not quite sure .

" where have you been " he asks in a concerned or rather shy tone .

" I uhh ..." , I don't know what to say , either he is going to come at me for not coming to work or for going to the morning show without his knowledge or consent .

" around " .

" oh " his eyes swing sideways .

he clears his throat , " uh , I just wanted to say , thank you " .

" what ?" my eyes widen , forehead creased in confusion.

" yes thank you , I brought you this " he takes out a pile of papers , I hesitanly take them from his hand , as I read the papers my head starts spinning , I must be still sleeping in my car , I say to my self .

" why is my name written on the CFO position ?" .

he smiles , "that's because its all yours , I remember how you'd always talk about how you wanted to be the CFO of your dad's company since accounting is in your blood ... I had my lawyers draw up the papers if the salary is not up to your liking please don't hesitate to let me know " he stands up to make his leave .

" why are you doing this ?" ....." aren't you supposed to be mad at me ?" I ask .

he looks taken aback, " mad at you for what ? , saving my life? " he sits back down .

" look Lauren , I know I haven't been the best person to live with and I feel awful about it , its just that when it comes to Sarah I .... tend to switch after what you did I wanted nothing more than to make you suffer for the horrible person  you are, I mean the horrible person I thought you were , you knew how much I loved her but you didn't think twice to betray me , anyways no need to dig into the past ... I just want to thank you for what you did , you saved my life big time and I can't think of a better way to thank you than this ..... you will have to continue being my secretary for at least 2 weeks until I find your replacement " he brushes his hands on his tighs , " and don't worry about Sarah , she'll come around eventually , if it weren't for you I wouldn't be standing here .... And uh sorry for thinking you had ulterior motives when none of what happend was your fault , I hope that slowly but surely we can forget everything and become friends again , although things can't go back to the way they were but we can still try right? " he shrugs , " goodnight Lauren , I'll see you tomorrow morning " .

he flashes a confident grin at me seeing how nervous and confused I am he doesn't wait for me to wish him goodnight as well and heads back to his room .