A/N: Hey, for those who had read the first version of Chapter 11 (within an hour from posting) last time, you may want to reread it again. I've made some minor changes to the first half of C11 to give you a hint of Anders Mitchell. Thanks to shipperofthings once again, for your feedback on how to improve my writing. Well, change is difficult... especially when I'm used to a certain way, but I'm trying! Hopefully I would be able to deliver a better story for all you readers!
Also, I'd like to highlight the fact that the previous chapter was one of the most 'well-received' one! Thank you all for the reviews! I was absolutely exhilarated to see all the reviews and follows coming in! Please, keep doing so!
After saying that, well... now I do know that most of you are secret angst-lovers. So, on with more angst?! HAHAHA. Enjoy, or maybe not ._.
Disclaiming everything. I own nothing.
Chapter 12: The Deal with Anders Mitchell
Dawn didn't come soon enough. Chloe could hardly sleep a wink and stared at the plain white ceiling throughout the night as if something, or a certain somebody was there. Through the night, tears had dried and the overwhelm of emotions had died down gradually. Throwing her hands onto her face in frustration, she got out of the bed and the first thing she did? Peeped through the curtains and roamed her eyes around the streets below, and only to her irrepressible disappointment to find no one there. Yeah, as if she would still be there… So much for always being there… Wait, what exactly were you expecting, Chloe Mitchell?
Sighing in resignation, Chloe left the room and caught a glimpse of low light coming from the dining area. She went towards the lit area and saw Aubrey sitting at the dining table staring into blank space and mindlessly stirring her cup of coffee. In that instant, realization and a sense of guilt hit Chloe.
She walked towards her friend who still hadn't noticed her and hugged her gently from the side before situating herself on the chair right next to Aubrey's. Caught off guard, Aubrey jerked a little in her seat and turned to face Chloe, "Hey Chlo… couldn't sleep? Any coffee or tea for you? I'll go make you one…"
Before she could get up from her seat, Chloe tightened her hold and said, "No Bree… Stay. I-I wanna say sorry to you…"
"Sor- What for?" Aubrey looked at her puzzled.
"I'm sorry, Bree. I was so caught up with my own emotions… I… I kinda neglected you. Sorry I wasn't there for you… I know you're hurting too. No less than me… But you were there for me, consoling me… and I didn't give you any support when you needed it. Sorry… I was such a shitty best friend…" Chloe said looking down, playing with her fingers while guilt was slowly eating her up.
Aubrey could see that Chloe was reproaching herself so she placed her hand over her friend's, "Chloe… There's nothing to apologize for. I'm alright. You don't have to worry about me."
"Bree…" Chloe looked into her eyes, knowing that Aubrey was definitely, not even remotely alright, "Talk to me…"
Sighing dejectedly, Aubrey slowly let out, "I think I really like her… I… I don't know what to do now…"
Understanding Aubrey's predicament, Chloe gave a weak smile and tapped lightly on her hands, "You know, follow your heart… Whatever happened between Beca and me is all on ourselves… Don't let us affect your relationship. Stacie's good for you, I haven't seen you happier than this…"
"But Chlo. She knew about it. H-how do you expect me to be with someone who hurt my best friend? I-I can't. I can't do this to you…" Aubrey replied in a defeated voice.
"I… Bree, I really want you to be happy… I can't live with the fact that you're giving up your happiness for me. You deserve happiness too. I can see it in your eyes whenever you're with Stacie…" Chloe tried mustering all she could to encourage her friend.
Sure, Stacie was more or less involved in the whole deal, but Chloe was not an unreasonable person. She couldn't make her friend, her best friend no less, sacrifice what could be her lifelong happiness for her own sake.
"I don't know…" Aubrey's shoulders sunk.
"Don't fret about it for now… I guess, it's not the perfect time to mull over it. Hmmm… for now, how about providing me with all the hugs I need?" Chloe tried to joke but was unable to conceal the blues on her face.
"That I can do." Aubrey lightly chuckled though she saw through Chloe's pretence.
After a long while of comfortable silence, Chloe spoke up, "Bree…Can you accompany back home later? I think… I think it's time to tell my parents. I don't want them to be the last to know… like when I got married…"
"Of course. You don't have to ask…" Aubrey nodded her head and gave a reassuring smile.
"I can do this." Chloe took in a deep breath and exited Aubrey's car.
"Wait a minute Chloe! Isn't that Beca's car?" Aubrey stopped her and pointed to the familiar champagne Maserati Quattroporte that Chloe had grown used to and love through the past months.
"Uh yeah… What is she doing he- wait. That's Daniel's car." Chloe directed Aubrey's sight to the conservative black Audi R8 beside Beca's ride before coming to realization, "Shit. Let's go in Bree. Hurry!"
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING."
Everyone's head snapped towards the entrance when the door flung opened with a redhead's voice booming through the hall area. It was as though everything came to a still silence as Chloe narrowed her eyes at the scene in front of her.
An uncharacteristically fiery Ben was pulling Beca by the collar of the shirt in the middle of the hall with Kate looking all frantic trying to pull Ben back. Charles, Daniel, Steph and Stacie were all sitting with their heads down, as if too helpless and ashamed to look on to the scene unfolding in front of them. Sitting across the Mitchells were a pair of aged yet fit looking redheaded couple, Ron and his wife, Ada.
Ron and Ada were usually eloquent and loved to engage in lively conversations with guests, especially Ron who could go on nonstop when he was with his friends. Yet now, they were unusually silent and had a tinge of hurt evident in their eyes. Ada even looked as though she was just done tearing and Ron was sympathetically patting on her back in an attempt to soothe his wife.
Shit, too late. Chloe thought.
Spotting Chloe, Ben released Beca and immediately walked up to his daughter and engulfed her in a tight hug, "Sweetheart… Why didn't you tell us anything… W-we could have been there for you and protected you…" Ben let out in a heart wrenching tone, "I'm so sorry… Daddy is so sorry… Daddy failed… Sor-"
"Daddy… I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm sorry that you had to find out like this…" Chloe forced a brave front, unable to withstand the sight of her father putting the blame on himself.
"Chlo…" The voice that she loved hearing everyday called out timidly.
Chloe pulled back from Ben's hug and stared coldly at Beca, "What are you doing here. Please just go. I don't wanna see you right now." She said, trying her best not to let her voice crack.
"You heard her. Leave Beca, she doesn't want to see you." Ben added on harshly and got a tug and a glare from Kate signaling for him to shut his mouth and stay out of the couple's business.
Desperately, Beca went towards Chloe and tried holding her hands only to get swept off instantly, "Chlo, love please."
"No, you don't get to call me that anymore. I was nothing but a pawn to you. "
"Please hear me out… I-I'll leave after this… Please just give me the chance to explain… I can't, I just can't live with you hating me forever… Please…" Beca's voice cracked towards the end and tried her best to finish her plea, "I want to explain to you in person. I don't want you to find out from someone else again… Just one chance, Chlo."
Every single person in the hall, well, except for a furious and protective father, was silently sending pleading looks to Chloe's directions. Just one chance, I can do this. Taking in a deep breath, Chloe responded in a definitive tone, "One word of lie and you're out."
Grateful for the chance, Beca quickly nodded her head successively, "Thank you Chlo… For giving me this ch-"
"Quit the game and just go straight to the point." Ben interrupted apprehensively and Kate hissed at him once again for his unnecessary interference. Ben huffed a puff of breath in frustration but decided to keep his piece anyway, though reluctantly.
All or nothing. Only honesty. Beca reminded herself before beginning, "Uhm… So, Anders is my brother, two years younger than me and he lives with my mu- my birth mother, in Chicago." She stumbled on the word 'mother', something that was out of her vocabulary way too long ago and looked at Daniel nervously, unsure of whether she should dig her father's scar in the open. Unexpectedly, Daniel gave her an assuring nod, silently sending his support.
"He left with her when I was five, after the divorce… Things were pretty ugly then so we've never really been in touch until three years back when my mu-, Brenda, started Mitchell's Corp. in Chicago, you know where some of our major operations are based… The thing is, when she left, she had with her 40% of the shareholdings of Mitchell's Corp., because well… the company was developed with heavy funding from Brenda's parents. So now that the division in Chicago is doing extremely well and developing at a booming rate, Anders became more and more aggressive in his business handlings. He wanted a say in our New York's operations too…" Beca explained her family's backstory.
Yeah. There it was. Anders Mitchell was one power hungry young businessman who would not baffled his eyelids to get his way at all cost. Family ties? Sorry. That was one big thing that Brenda Adams had failed to teach him (one out of the many other desirable human qualities), being quite a heartless woman herself. Ever since the divorce, the Mitchells were literally denied all attempts to get in touch with the little Anders. Eventually, life had to go on and the Mitchells in New York had took it in their stride that Anders would never get back to them and Beca was pretty much treated as the only child in the family.
Things were going perfectly fine, until one fine day three years ago, Anders Mitchell reappeared in their lives unannounced. He stood in Beca's office demanding to start a division in Chicago and to have parts of the major operations shifted there. He got what he wanted ultimately, with relative ease one would say, probably due to the fact that the Mitchells wanted one last attempt to reconnect with the "long-lost" family member. Yet, the eager beaver wanted nothing to do with the kinship. Profits and title, and probably his mother were the only things that mattered to him.
He was literally a spoilt brat and it was of no surprise actually, when he flew to New York last year, standing in Beca's office once again, demanding to have a say in New York's headquarters too. This time, however, Beca was not so ready to give in to his request. New York's headquarters has been after all, the sweat and blood of Daniel and her. Giving it up just like that made absolutely no sense, even if the person wanting it was well, her 'brother' in name.
Up till then, Chloe had kept her silence, trying her best to focus and taking in the entire load of information. Preparing herself for what was the big revelation, she took a deep breath before Beca continued.
"… I didn't want him to take away the business we had so conscientiously built here. We made a deal in the end, whoever is able to expand the business by a fold first, gets 15% of shareholdings from the other party. The 15% literally meant the ultimate control of the entire Mitchell's Corp. … so I had no choice but to work my best on keeping it… " Beca trailed off and looked down entirely ashamed of herself.
"So when the chance came, you decided that marrying me and investing in the Beale's could expand your business." Chloe stared straight into Beca's head and concluded the explanation for her in a stone cold voice.
Awkward silence filled the entire room and a moment later, Chloe started shaking her head and laughed mockingly at herself, "And here I thought I was the one who married you because I desperately needed help. Who would have known that the joke's on myself in the end…" Tears escaped her eyes uncontrollably although she tried to reel in her emotions, not wanting to break down in front of everyone.
Beca looked up instantly and the sadness and pain she saw in Chloe's eyes tore her heart into little fragments. How stupid can you get, Beca Mitchell? Just how idiotic can you be to screw up the one best thing in your life? Her tears mirrored Chloe's and slowly rolled down her cheeks. She took a step closer to Chloe and held Chloe's hands in hers. She felt Chloe trying to draw back her hands but she held on tighter to it until Chloe stopped her gentle struggles.
"Chlo, love… I know… my intentions were downright jerk moves. But I-I swear, a week after marrying you, it just didn't sit right with me. Even though there wasn't anything between us then, I felt like I had to protect you… I wanted to be the one to chase all your troubles away… I wanted to give you the world… I wanted to be with you.. I wanted to be your significant one… I knew I was falling for you. I didn't want to hurt you in any way…" She let out in between little sobs.
"The moment I realized all these, I called Anders immediately to tell him the deal's off. I told him that I would fight him in my own way, without involving you… So when I invested in Beale's, please believe me, I had zero intentions of taking anything away from you… The reason why we still had to claim a part of your shareholdings was so that we could answer to the board of directors, by using it as collateral, the usual business dealings, you know it… Not to seize your company… Please believe me. I wanted to end this unsettling feeling so… the moment you asked to buy it back, Stacie and I acted on it immediately… I really didn't know how Anders caught wind of it then and turned up… Baby, please believe me…" Beca finished explaining through her tears.
Hearing Beca's explanation, everyone in the room shook their heads and gave conceding sighs while Chloe, well, she didn't say anything but her silent sobs gradually turned into soft whimpers till she started sniffling and shaking. Beca pulled her wife into a tight embrace and laid Chloe's head on her chest.
For once that day, Chloe did not resist Beca's advances. Unable to handle the overwhelm of emotions any longer, she let out her broken hearted cries in Beca's embrace, an embrace that she had been missing the entire night. She fisted her right hand and pounded it relentlessly against Beca's chest.
"I hate you… I hate you… How could you… I hate you… hate you…hate you…" Chloe mumbled repeatedly while continuing her fist pounding.
Beca couldn't feel the pain in the chest, well, what's these physical pain as compared to the amount of pain she had inflicted on her beloved. She let Chloe beat her chest continuously, only to hold on to her tighter and tighter.
"I'm sorry… I love you. I love you. I love you. I'm sorry… I love you… I love you." She poured all her emotions into these words that she whispered into Chloe's ear, in a futile attempt to ease the pain in Chloe's heart.
The onlookers looked at the broken couple and felt their hearts twitching with them. Even Ben Beale sat down and held his face in his hands, not knowing what to feel at the moment. They all do, however, hoped that the couple would be able to seal this episode and move on from this and hopefully, become stronger together.
When the cries, words and poudings died down gradually, Beca lifted Chloe's chin and they gazed into each other's eyes as if trying to see through the other's soul. Beca wiped the tear streaks on Chloe's face with her thumb and leaned in to place a soft kiss on Chloe's forehead, her teary and puffy eyes, her nose, her cheeks and finally on her lips. Chloe returned the kiss and gone were the problems and world around them. They were trying to pour everything they had into it, kissing as if it was their last.
Minutes later, the couple slowly broke apart and leaned their foreheads against each other.
"I love you. Please believe me… I love you." Beca said first in a delicate tone, her final attempt to beg for Chloe's forgiveness.
"I believe you… I love you too." Chloe replied softly, and tried to convey her love to Beca through her eyes.
Before Beca could say a word, Chloe spoke up first. No one could believe the words that came tumbling from Chloe's mouth next.
Hearing Chloe, everyone in the room snapped their heads towards Chloe, jaws agape and Beca's hands on Chloe slowly slid down following the pull of gravity.
A/N: What do you all think Chloe said?! More angst? Or not?! I don't know too... :p And for readers who are are asking how many more chapters this story's gonna have, honestly, I've no answer for it now. May be soon? May be a while longer? I can't say for sure cos I post updates right after I complete a chapter. So yeah, my story bank is kinda empty now... We'll see how far it goes :)
