CHAPTER 97: AFTERMATH

Chapter 97 – Aftermath

Federal City

Amanda trying to grapple with her new life. How hard was it for someone to work for years, but it only took seconds to dismantle everything?

Since the scandal, everything had been going wrong. After the investors pulled out of the company, that was when she knew the company even had a loan debt.

Amanda had been cornered. Everything she had was taken away as she held her phone trembling.

She couldn’t go down like this. So with every bit of money remaining in her account, she surfed through online.

Only the Internet got her answers.

Then Amanda contacted a photographer, a paparazzi she was able to make acquaintance with. The paparazzi she got was a drunk, lowlife, but she didn’t mind, as long as he could get the job done.

She couldn’t be the only one to go down. "Get pictures of Aaron Knight and his secret life. Find them. Snap everything—the kids, the closeness, the smiles. The world needs to know who Aaron really is," she had requested.

So if the world saw Aaron was behind the cheated-on husband image, that too would shatter his facade he built and that would bring him down also.

She grinned widely, and couldn’t wait to see how this played out.

Then as she paced her room, clipping her thumbnail, waiting for the man, her cracked phone clutched in her hand.

What was taking him long?

Has he been caught?

No, that couldn’t be possible, right? And it shouldn’t be traced back to her, right?

Well, she didn’t have anything to lose.

Then the vibration on her phone made her jolt as she anxiously opened her message and saw a photo dump.

She jumped excitedly, a triumphant yet happy smile stretched on her face for the first time in weeks. Finally, she threw her hand in the air.

And without waiting, she forwarded it. She didn’t care how much she had to spend to destroy Aaron.

Aaron didn’t blink an eyelash before he broke the marriage and left her for a laughing stock. He didn’t think twice. So why should she?

And Amanda didn’t even know what she saw in Aaron—was it the idea of his cold aloof personality? Aaron was horrible, yet even after everything she still fell for that awful man.

But that didn’t mean she was happy with his flourishing when she was done.

They should all go down together.

"I’ve received the pictures, but this is dangerous."

Amanda cackled at the man’s response, then typed furiously, "It’s dangerous, yes, but it’ll bring you much money to pay for your gambling debt," she sent, and her phone chimed again.

"I don’t want to be part of this, but fuck it! I don’t have a choice."

She smiled sweetly, then responded, "Good, so do the job."

"Aye ma’am, if this blows up, trust me, you get your percentage."

And that was all she needed. She didn’t even need the percentage yet; she just wanted everything to explode. There should be carnage.

Amanda clutched her stomach protectively, rubbing her small protruding stomach. "Mama will do her best," she mumbled.

Aaron won’t be the only one that would go down, even his girl would go down with him. He couldn’t escape the gossip and scrutiny.

Amanda had a happy smile on her face as she snuggled into her single creaking bed. She couldn’t wait till the next day.

.

New City

Everything was peaceful, so sweet, intimate when they slept last night. She had shouted, screamed at the top of her voice, begging Aaron for more, yet pushing him away from the intensity.

Aaron was like an untamed beast, a starved animal as he devoured her, claiming, branding her till she was babbling nonsense, till she couldn’t even feel herself.

All her body was trembling from insane pleasure that she thought she couldn’t calm down.

Now she groaned, her body aching so much that she couldn’t feel her legs figuratively and literally.

Katherine, with great difficulty, tried to stand up but was frail before she sat on the bed, her back resting on the headboard.

That man! She cursed, looking at her chest to see bite marks, hickeys decorated her skin like art pieces.

The door opened, and Katherine raised her head to see Aaron walking with a tray in his hands, and she gulped not because of the action but because of how shirtless he was. He was only in his grey sweatpants. And her own claim designed his exposed chest, and she felt her cheeks redden.

And felt jolted in her lower part. This couldn’t be! She couldn’t possibly be aroused from just seeing her claim on Aaron, right?

But damn, she did.

She gave him a weak smile, and Aaron returned it with a wide grin. His always perfect hair had fallen on his face, making him look younger, and his face glowed differently.

"Baby, if you keep looking at me like this, I won’t be able to keep to myself," he said in a husky voice, his lips on her forehead affectionately.

And Katherine’s eyes fell on his tented pants and looked away.

Aaron chuckled, grabbing her jaw to make her stare at him, "But we won’t want that, right? Because you’re so sore," he said, his lips hovering on hers, but before he could take his prize, his phone rang.

And he nearly wanted to curse out from the interruption. Glowered at his phone annoyingly before shooting Katherine a smile.

"We’ll continue later," he said, then pecked her lips.

He turned, grabbed his phone to see a call from Raymond, and he seethed, swiping to the green. "Raymond, you better give me a fucking reason not to kill you the next time I see you from—"

Katherine smiled, shaking her head as she took a bite from the breakfast Aaron had prepared for her.

"Calm down, boss," Raymond responded in a grim voice, and immediately Aaron’s expression turned serious.

"What happened?" he asked, then shot Katherine a small smile before walking out of the room.

"I won’t like to disturb your perfect reunion with our goddess, but—"

"Go straight to the point, Raymond."

"Well, the pictures of goddess and little royalty have blown the Internet overnight."

"What?!" Aaron roared but calmed, not wanting to alert Katherine, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"My company has been trying to take it down, but the pictures have already exploded on the Internet. The damage has been done, but we’ll get it wrapped as soon as possible."

"Fuck!" Aaron cursed, raking his hands on his hair. God bless the motherfucker who pulled off this string and endangered his precious family. "Everything needs to be unwrapped before Katherine sees it."

"Okay, boss?"

"What should I not see?" Katherine’s weak voice came in and made him hang up before swiftly turning to her to see her leaning against the door, in his shirt which stopped at her mid-thigh yet swallowed her frame and yet did nothing to hide her alluring body.

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath, rubbing his nose. "Nothing much—"

He wasn’t able to finish his statement, then she raised her brow up, challenging him to finish the words, "Are you hiding something from me?"

"Baby—"

"Don’t baby me if you are hiding something from me."

"Well," God, he rubbed his face. He too hasn’t seen the pictures that were released. "Raymond just told me that, well—" he gulped, looking at Katherine, gauging her expression.

"Well?" she prompted him to continue as her hands were wrapped around her chest while tapping her finger.

"Some paparazzi uploaded the pictures of us together, and the Internet has blown up since last night."

Katherine released a shaky breath, her strong facade earlier crumbled immediately, as she gripped her arms. "I hope my kids aren’t shown?" she asked softly, her voice shaky and frightened.

And Aaron wanted to curse whoever did this, bringing distress to her freshly beautiful fucked face.

He took a step to her and grabbed her in his arm, hurled her up to the room, sat at the edge of the bed, yet cocooning her in his arms gently.

"I don’t know yet," he responded unsurely. "Raymond just told me as I said earlier."

Aaron unlocked his phone, and the first message that he saw was from his mother. "What the blasphemy is that on the Internet?

"Don’t you dare be with that bitch or else I will—"

He didn’t finish his statement before going to the interview, and to God be the witness, photos exploded on the Internet.

Unfiltered pictures of him and his family without his permission. Someone breached his privacy.

Damn!

In one picture, was the picture of him with the kids a few days ago in the café when they were planning on coming together.

Another captured Katherine’s beautiful face, her head back with laughter as her emerald eyes sparkled.

God damn, the picture was great, but this person splattered the sweet private moment to the eyes of people.

He had forgotten that Katherine was in his arms, staring as she trembled tremendously.

God! He grabbed her tightly.

"I’ll make it down and investigate till the last link," he mumbled in her hair, reassuring her as his eyes blazed with a promise of fury.