Details to
remember:
1) Theresa never had little Ethan, but she did marry Julian. They’re friends.
2) Whitney and
Disclaimer: I don’t own the
characters of Passions. They belong to NBC or anyone that is affiliated with
them.
Chapter 3 –
Giving Up
Fox Crane sat
at a table in a bar filled with men. Cigarette smoke from all around filled the
place and there were drunken people milling about. Glancing at his cards, Fox
gave a confident grin and placed his chips in front of him. He was pretty
certain that he would win this poker round. The man, Smitty
as everyone called him, across from him smirked. “Eat my dust, Crane,” he
sneered as he threw his hand down. Fox looked at the man’s pile of cards and
felt a smirk of his own forming on his face. Placing his own hand on the table,
he grinned. “Eat my dust, Smitty.” And with that he
proceeded to collect all his winnings.
Sighing with
content, Fox stood up and bid everyone goodbye before heading over to the bar
and placing his order for a new drink. This place was boring. There was no one
around that was interesting enough to talk to, nor were their any women
attractive enough for him to want to nail. ‘That’s what happens when no one
gives you a challenge,’ Fox thought. ‘Guess I’m on my own for now.’ The
bartender placed his drink in front of him and promptly left, leaving him to
his thoughts. He picked up his drink and took a sip while glancing around the
area. There was laughter and over in a corner, he could hear a fight breaking
out. Normally, Fox would join in on the crowd and chatting
it up with flirtatious women, but today, everything just seemed boring. Giving
the room one last glance, Fox turned his attention back to his drink and found
a newspaper that someone had left on the stool next to his. Shrugging inwardly,
he reached for it, the headline immediately catching his eye.
Former Crane Heir Weds Hotchkiss
Former Ethan Crane, now known as Ethan
Winthrop, will soon be wed to high school sweetheart socialite Gwen Hotchkiss,
this week. Mr. Winthrop was formerly engaged to one Miss Theresa
Lopez-Fitzgerald earlier this year. Due to some unfortunate circumstances
(mainly Miss Lopez-Fitzgerald’s fault), the engagement had been called off.
Please turn to page 4 for more details.
Fox snorted as
he flipped to the fourth page of the newspaper. Feeling his interest starting
to fade away, he quickly skimmed the rest of the article. The newspaper listed
the details of the wedding, the food, and the guests and Ethan’s history with
Theresa… blah blah blah… he
rolled his eyes. He didn’t understand why Ethan was so special…
The picture of
Ethan and Gwen caught his eye and he rolled his eyes once more. They looked
every bit of the happy couple, Gwen smiling her fake smile, and Ethan… he
quickly reached into his pocket and began doodling on Ethan’s face, adding on a
moustache and a beard. He smiled with satisfaction when he was finished.
Much better.
In the corner
of the newspaper, there was a photograph of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. For a
moment, Fox admired his new stepmother. Theresa had a gorgeous smile and
beautiful brown eyes. She was certainly prettier than all of Julian’s wife and
other flings. He shook his head; Ethan gave up this gorgeous woman for someone
like Gwen? What an idiot. Theresa was absolutely beautiful.
A smirk came
to his face and he placed the newspaper back where he found it.
Maybe it was
time to head back to Harmony and stir up some trouble.
He had no
doubts that it was going to be a lot of fun.
xxx
The sun was
hidden by grey clouds that morning when Theresa woke up. Although she normally
preferred the beautiful sunshine, the weather that morning matched Theresa’s
mood. She dreaded waking up each day because each day meant they were a day
closer to Ethan and Gwen’s wedding. And Theresa was so not looking
forward to that.
She was trying
her hardest to get over Ethan, but damn it, it wasn’t easy!
Heading down
the stairs and into the kitchen, she was surprised to see Julian up and about.
Over the last few weeks, they had come to an understanding, and surprisingly
they had become somewhat friends. At any rate, they were planning on getting an
annulment and Julian was letting her live at the mansion for as long as she
wanted. She headed over to the stove, pulling out a box of pancake mix as
Julian began cleaning up his own breakfast.
“Sleep well
last night, Theresa?”
“Somewhat,”
she answered, giving Julian a small smile. “Thanks for asking, though. How about you?”
Julian gave a
slight shrug. “Same as always. Well, I best be off.
Got lots to do day, I’ll see you later, Theresa. Have a good day.”
“Thank you
Julian, hope you have a good day too. Bye!”
Julian left
and for a few minutes, Theresa sat at the kitchen table by herself eating her
pancakes. Finishing up, she dumped her plates into the sink and proceeded to
head upstairs. Passing by Ethan and Gwen’s room, she caught a glimpse of the
couple. They looked so happy. Theresa sighed. Maybe it’s best that they’re
getting married. This thought surprised Theresa beyond all words, but she
would refuse to become a person that would break someone’s marriage vows. She
needed to move on. But it was still hard. Feelings of love didn’t disappear
with a snap of the fingers. Theresa vowed that she would try her hardest to get
over Ethan and move on with her life. It was much easier said than done.
As she headed
back to her room, she had no idea that her life would soon be turned upside
down and inside out.