Chapter 2 SINKING BRIDGES

Aaron stepped out of the elegance of the house and into the quiet of the garden as the dinner drew close

Aaron stepped out of the mansion and into the serene garden, allowing the evening air to course through him as if readying himself for the later hours of the night. After a year of deliberation, his grandfather was finally going to choose the new CEO. All the things Aaron had done had let up to this moment, the moment he had worked for, for more than a decade of his life.

"Let go of the company?" He heard the voice before he saw her, his older cousin who despised him with all of her being. He moved closer and faced her squarely.

As he approached her, a sly smirk spread across his lips. "Sara!" He exclaimed in a fake surprise, "Fine night, isn't it? Jealousy sure looks good on you."

Sara's eyes flashed, her jaw clenched. "I'm not in the mood for your games, Aaron."

"You're the one playing games here Sara, asking me to give what I don't have," He retorted before his lips curled in a mischievous smirk. "Are you scared you'll lose to me?"

"I know what you're doing, Aaron. I know all you want with this family is revenge. "You're using Grandfather, manipulating him with your charm and fake devotion."

Aaron smiled, "I make a fine actor, don't I?"

Sara pursed her lips, "I won't watch you take over and ruin what my family has worked for over the years."

"Your family," he repeated, his voice laced with disdain. "Did mine do any lesser?"

Sara's eyes blazed. "Your family was a disaster. Your father could not control his family and your mother's-"

"Stop!" Aaron's growl cut her off, his eyes blazing with warning.

She arched her brows in defiance. "Scared of the truth?" She asked.

A maid scurried over to their side, bowing her head before she spoke, "Mr Hades want you inside for dinner." She said and disappeared in a second.

She smiled and turned on her heels, happy she had managed to send him over the edge with her words.

She walked a distance before Aaron's voice stopped her. "Mrs. Williams?"

Sara spun back, her eyes flashing in satisfaction.

"Enjoy the dinner," Aaron said, his tone laced with sarcasm. "It might be your last in this family, as an Hades I mean."

Sara's face paled, her eyes blazing with fury as she stormed back into the mansion.

***

The estranged family of five sat around the grand dining table savouring their meal with refined elegance.

The aged Mr Hades was the first to speak, placing his cutleries down almost silently on his plate. "Good evening everyone, I called you here today to announce my final decision regarding the inheritance. Although I say it is the final decision..." He paused and stared at them all in the eyes before proceeding, "It is subject to change if any party is not worthy of the position given."

The room was enveloped in silence, the kind formed from tension and cruel anticipation. Everyone had their hopes up; Sara wanted the company, Bridget, Sara's mother wanted the company for her daughter, Luke wanted the properties, and Aaron...all Aaron wanted was for the tiniest of opportunities to present itself.

Sara's eyes narrowed and her mind raced with anticipation. This was the moment she'd been waiting for all her life.

Bridget, Sara's mother, exchanged a nervous glance with her daughter while Luke, sitting across from them, seemed indifferent to whatever was happening.

The old man cleared his throat before speaking again. "I don't want this to cause enmity between you. Know that this decision was made with everyone's capability in mind." His gaze lingered on each face before settling on Aaron.

"Luke, you'll receive the properties. Sara, you'll maintain your current position..."

Sara's eyes flashed with disappointment, her jaw clenching in disapproval.

"...and Aaron, you'll be CEO over the group."

The room erupted into murmurs.

"But," He continued and the table hushed, "You can only be assured of your position in the company if you are a settled man." He said.

"As a traditional man, I believe to be made responsible for something, you have to have shown great responsibility for another. Yes, you have shown great leadership skills in the company, and you have achiever great results, you need to know that the position of a CEO is a greater responsibility." He stopped.

"I made the same mistake with your father so I don't care if you are the most competent person for the job, you need to have a family of your own, a stable family." He wiped his mouth and stood up from his seat, "The announcement would be made official tomorrow. Have a good night everyone."

The old man had only walked a few steps when Sara let out a shrill cry, her composure shattering to dust. "No!" she cried, her voice shrill. "You can't do this to us, Grandfather."

He turned back towards his granddaughter, anger lining his wrinkled face but he did not speak, allowing Sara let out her concerns.

"You cannot do this to us Grandfather, my mum is still here, Luke is still here! You cannot give it all to Aaron! You cannot treat us like beggars!" She screamed, ignoring her mother's whisper for her to sit.

"Sara, please," Bridget whispered, tugging Sara's arm

"No mum, let me speak!" She yelled.

"You are speaking dear," Old Mr. Hades said, leaning on his waking stick for support.

"Aaron does not deserve what you are giving him. I don't know how you are so blind, too blind to see what he is playing at." She bellowed, the anger seeping into her voice.

"I can assure you that I am not yet blind Sara. I see you all and I know what you're doing. Luke spends his nights in the bar, drinking to stupor and courting trouble. Your mother keeps siphoning company funds and I know you are in on it. I am not blind Sara, you do not deserve what he has."

Aaron watched the exchange, his expression neutral. But inside, he was excited. This was exactly what he wanted - the anger, the betrayal, the exact enmity his grandfather was avoiding.

"Mr. Hades!"

"Mrs. Williams!" He yelled too, "I genuinely wish you stay in your husband's kitchen and bear him all the children he wants and leave the business for those who know business. You think you are good enough but I see nothing in you, nothing worthy of a leading position." He mouth was in a tight line, "You don't deserve any more than I am giving you."

"That's is all I am, right? That was all my mother ever was, a house decorating meant to bear children that'll only live to suit your greed."

"My greed," He sternly spoke, "...has brought me this far and I'll keep to it if that is what it takes to ensure Hades Group remains the leading group. I did not make it this far by giving in to my emotions like you. If you want anything, woke for it!"

"Have I not worked enough?" Her voice faltered

"You have yet to beat Aaron."

"Is that what you want?"

"It is what I know you cannot achieve. Let it go Sara, your position is fine, you're not going to due in poverty. All the funds you have taken is enough to last you for all of your eternity. Besides, the public love Aaron. And you, you have a reputation for being rude and I cannot let that destroy what I have built."

"What you've built in people blood and tears?"

"Build yours in blood to if that is what it would take you, but Hades is mine and I would do as I wish with it. You are dismissed." He said with an air of finality, "Let us speak in my study Aaron, there is a lot to put in place." He said, walking back in his intended direction.

As Mr. Hades walked away with Aaron accompanying him right behind, Sara's eyes burned with anger and humiliation. This wasn't over.

~~~

Hours later, Aaron sat in his car parked at the edge of a river in the middle of the night. He remained in his car for more than an hour after getting to the riverside, opting to sort out his thoughts inside rather than stroll around the bank like he would have loved to. The light from the moon beamed directly on him and the stars twinkled endlessly, but his mind was far off from the beauty before him. He had a lot to do in such little time and with his grandfather's new declaration, he was in a fix.

But in a second, his thoughts wandered from the present to fifteen years ago at the same bridge.

"What do you want to be in future, Aar?" His mother asked, passing him a cookie on the hood of the car. The night was just as it was, bright and quiet, with the moon hovering just above the bridge.

"I want to be a chef." He had answered genuinely.

A giggle escaped her lips as she turned to face him, "Why?"

"So you can have the most delicious food whenever you want." He smirked

She only smiled in reply, "In the future, I want to be happy." She whispered, "I want to own Hades Group too," She added jokingly and he gasped in mock surprise.

"Grandpa would never give it to you, he doesn't even like you." He said, smiling at her.

"He won't give it to me, but I'll take it from him." She answered, giving him a cheeky smile.

He had not been at the riverside since her death and that was a long time ago. Fifteen years later and he was on the last phase of avenging her. She didn't turn out happy like she wanted to but she still had a son who would do anything to fulfil her dreams.

He sat still for a while before his gaze lazily drifted to the bridge, his heart skipped a beat, and then more. There was a person who sat still at the edge of the rails. He could see their figure silhouetted against the moonlit sky and he very well knew they had climbed over the rail, their feet perched on the narrow ledge with nothing stopping them from falling into the dark waters of the river below.

Memories exploded in Aaron's mind as fragmented images echoes in his mind.

red

blood

too much blood

silence

His mind raced with the horrific possibilities of what could happen and his hears rang in shrill tinnitus.

"Hey!" He opened his door and yelled in their direction, hoping to get her attention but they were out of earshot and did not move.

Without hesitation, Aaron leapt from his car, the door slamming shut behind him and sprinted toward the bridge in a mad rush. "Hey!" he yelled, his voice hoarse with urgency, cutting through the night air.

The person did not flinch, did not turn or move and that spiked his anxiety. The distance between them shortened and as he drew closer, the person came into full focus – the curve of her cheek, the straight slope of her nose, the tumble of dark hair down her back and over her face.

Aaron's lungs burned and his legs ached from the distance he had run but he did not stop until he reached the bridge. His hands immediately reached out to her, wrapping around her wrist and turning her towards him and into his big embrace. With the metal rail between them, all Merida could feel were the little tremors from his body and the loud, irregular thumping of his heart.

For a moment, they stood there, locked in a silent embrace - Merida's confusion and Aaron's relief.

And then, their eyes met.

At that moment, Aaron's world narrowed to a single, burning realization.

"Merida?" He questioned in a whisper.

"Aaron?"