They called me and told me that I have actually been cooperating with Marlin all the time. You have been lying to me to scupper my probe.’Leo looked so sure of himself, ‘You are out of your mind,’ James said surprised. ‘That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of.’“And if you don’t tell the truth then I will make sure that everyone will know the truth.”Leo’s face went pale, and he came to the realization that he had been caught in his tracks, thus; standing being fully exposed. “Okay, okay you caught me. But, yes Marlin promised me good money to mislead you in this direction But it was not to turn out like this.”Seth’s eyes narrowed. “Why Leo, Leo why did you betray me?”Leo looked defeated. “I wanted the money and I thought I can work for them and the family at the same time, I did not know Marlin would be so vicious.”Seth looked deep in thought, and he considered that it is possible that Marlin will have a massive surprise attack for him. There were times when he felt that
Seth became so scared and his heart was beating so hard he could hardly control his face. “What kind of documents?”Marlin chuckled softly. “Oh, oh, these and some more petty papers such as the financial reports and the internal memoranda The kind of papers that can seal the fate of a man, particularly when they fall into the wrong hands and your esteemed company is crumbling on a very weak and vulnerable pillar I must add, Seth.”Naturally, Seth’s mind started working in efforts of solving the puzzle. “You’re bluffing.”“Am I?” Marlin’s eyes sparkled chewing on his words and savoring the triumph they communicated to him. “You better think about that, Seth I have been planning all this for the past months I have everything that I need to destroy you including those documents the moment media gets its hands on these documents there won’t be any chance for you to get back.”Seth’s jaw tightened. “You came about it because you wanted to show me that you won’t get away with this.”Marlin’
Marlin laughed looking so confident. “Oh no it doesn’t, Seth. Do you believe that your love is enough to protect her from the ones that I have raised? She will soon find out that no matter how broken it gets there’s always one person holding it all together and that will be me. ”Beads of sweat, forming on Seth’s brow, his hands were fisted at his sides, staring at marlin.“You’re crazy Marlin! Phoebe is much stronger than you think she saw right through you! She knows who you are and she will never be fooled by your lies or tricks!”Marlin's sneer widened. “Oh you haven’t won Seth, the game is far from over. While you’ve been focusing on Leo, he was a pawn. And now, you wouldn’t be prepared for the real plan.”Seth clamped down on his jaw hiding the fear that wanted to break through inside of him. “You obviously do not know me, Marlin; I will not allow you to bring down everything for which I work, and am definitely not going to let you take Phoebe.”Marlin laughed quietly, “And there
Phoebe looked intently at him with her eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over any moment. ”I am so confused,” she said in hushed tones, she now held his hand tightly. "I feel so lost."Aidan moved closer towards her, and proceeded to say: ‘You must learn to stop running, Phoebe, you should stop pushing the people who care for you away’ True, Seth is by no means a saint, but he never stopped loving you and if you go away from him now, then there will be no one left for the rest of your life to bear the blame’.Slowly, the impact of what Aidan said reached Phoebe’s heart, and she cry quietly as she close her eyes. The war inside her heart was still going strong but at this moment she could not argue that Seth still had a part of her soul.“You have to apologize to him, ” Aidan suggested softly. “You should tell him how you feel. Do not let this develop to a halt because of fear. If there is a possibility that both of you can make it work, then you should give it another tr
Phoebe’s tears flowed freely now, each one a reminder of her own failings. “I know,” she admitted, her voice thick with emotion. “I was a coward. I didn’t want to fight them. I didn’t want to upset them. I thought if I just ignored it, it would go away. But it didn’t, Seth. And I see that now. I should have defended you. I should have been stronger.”Seth let out a dry laugh, though there was no humor in it. “Yeah, you should have. I stood by you through everything, every judgment, every insult, every time they tried to push me away. I stood by you, thinking you were worth it. But you never stood by me.”The truth of his words struck Phoebe like a physical blow, and she felt her legs buckle slightly. She caught herself, breathing deeply, trying to steady the overwhelming guilt that surged through her.“I know,” she whispered again, her voice barely audible. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I don’t deserve another chance.”Seth’s face softened slightly, though the pain remained. “And
Phoebe emerged outside and really felt the brunt of all that had happened come right on top of her. A cool breeze of wind blew on her face and wiped the emerging tears. She stood there shaking, unable to control herself after hearing the flood of Seth’s words that came to her. He’s picked another woman. Emma. It was over.As she stood right there just thinking of how everything turned out bad, she heard the door to the room open again.‘Wait Phoebe' Seth said so softly, it was barely audible.Phoebe stopped, unable to face him,but could not resist the urge to look back. Finally, she stood still for several minutes before slowly turning around, hugging herself, for the cold. Seth was standing with his hand on the doorframe, his expression a distorted puzzle of all sorts of feelings. Putting a hand through his hair he sighed and said, “I don’t know if I did.” “I wanted to believe that I am not harming anybody… but now that you are going away heartbroken it almost seems… like I hurt you.
Seth looked at her, startled by what she just said. The animosity between them grew and for the first time since the conversation started, Phoebe felt like she was regaining some measure of agency. She had always been passive waiting for Seth to decide for her, to choose for her. But now it was her turn.“I deserve better than to be a second choice for you Seth,” phoebe said with her voice calm even though she was boiling inside. “I deserve a person who doesn’t have to think twice if he or she wants me around.”Seth drew in a breath and stepped back as if she had thrown a punch between them. He opened his mouth to say something but no words were formed in his throat. All of a sudden, Phoebe was able to read the conflict in his face: the guilt, the confusion, the pain. But she knew that this was not only about him any longer.“But Emma might be the safe choice,” Phoebe continued, her tone less aggressive. “But you are not sure about her either You are holding both of us and waiting for
Seth slowly rose from the chair and began to walk around the room as his mind was churning with a whirl of feelings. He had loved Phoebe once, he had loved her with all his heart and soul and mind. But now? He did not know what emotions he had for her at the moment. Was it love, or was it just the lingering of the previous pain that had not been healed yet?The way Emma treated him was far different from the way Phoebe ever did; she had been kind, polite and caring to him. She never looked at him from the angle of how he was raised or the amount of money he had. She loved him with all his shortcomings and imperfections. Spending time with Emma was like starting a new chapter in one’s life, a way of establishing a healthy relationship.But despite all that, Phoebe still had the power over him and this was evident when he went to her house. This was like a man who no matter how hard he tries to progress, he is always pulled back by the past. Worse still, he had no idea how to go about i