A/N: Hey all hope you all like this chapter update. Katherine makes a confession that...Well, I don't think anyone could have guessed! ;)
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Within Temptation- Chapter Thirteen
"I'm taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. I'm...You know what. It's not that important." Stefan told them, watching Elijah glare at him, Damon placed his hands onto the large table that sat around 15 people when the room was full and looked up at his brother. He already knew where the conversation was going. The four of them being called in like this- the four main men of Dasells. It could only mean a few changes were happening...
"I want Klaus to take over my spot. He'll be acting as Chairman of the company until I return. Elijah, you'll be taking his spot on the committee board. " Stefan spat, not even looking over at his former best friend. They hadn't really spoken since Elena left and Stefan didn't want to. Business was business and this building with its thinning walls and gossiping crowd of workers was no place to bring up his addiction or his cheating wife. Unless it was in the comfort of his brother's presence and his alone. No else in the 10 story tall building needed to know what went on behind closed doors in the Salvatore's lives. However, there was always the media, always the press hounding them for stories, for small details into their private lives and whenever either Stefan or Damon stayed silent about what was going on. There was speculation- headlines.
"Please tell me that this has nothing to do with the latest headline with you on the cover of it." Klaus said, slipping into the conference room with a sly smile on his face, a newspaper in his hands with Stefan's face plastered across it. The headline reading "Troubled millionaire and chairman of Dasells Antiques- struggling once again."
"You've got to be kidding me! This was supposed to be kept private...This- Which one of you told the masses of media outside?" Stefan spat at them in an angered tone, hearing Klaus exhale, Elijah's eyes shifted as he cleared his throat.
"It wasn't any of us..Stefan, they know about your struggle with- you know..." Elijah said. His voice trailing off as he shifted in his seat. They hadn't talked..They- the two former best friends hadn't really had much else to say to each other than what had already been said..The damage was already done. Yet, Stefan still told him that until he was able to find his replacement that he would be keeping Elijah as part of their company- even if he hated seeing the sight of him. For the sake of the company, they had to be civil.
"Oh course they do. Look, Just...I don't know how long I'll be gone." Stefan commented. His vision became blurred, his head felt like it weighed 1000 pounds and he couldn't sit still, his head foggy and every time he'd look up, he swore he could see a darkened and sad looking pair of brown eyes. It was her- she...was haunting him. He was coming off of his high from this morning...He was using again and now, in front of his 'friends' he was crashing and burning- fast.
Stefan shook his head, pushing himself away from the table. He adjusted his suit jacket and cleared his throat, glancing up at Damon. "I'm not feeling very well. Will you excuse me?" He asked his brother, watching Damon nod as Klaus and Elijah looked over at him and he quietly excused himself from the room, stumbling out of it and towards the hallway.
He was sweating profusely, the cool sweat was dripping down his neck and as he looked around, he felt as if the building was caving in on itself or him for that matter. "I need to get out of here." Stefan muttered, walking past a stairwell and stopping for a moment. The quickest way to get out of the building undetected was through the parking garage down stairs- it was also where he had parked his car at.
Stefan yanked the door open, looking back for a moment before quickly going down the stairs. He felt sick again, his stomach churning with something he couldn't really place as he pulled open the door to the lower level of the garage. But, just as he thought he was home free and able to get to his car..He saw them- swarming towards him, camera's flashing as they shouted. "Mr. Salvatore! Is it true that you're going back into rehab? What happened to being sober?" One of the men shouted. Stefan blocked his face with his arms as he tried to push passed them.
"You all are trespassing!" He stated in an angered tone, pushing one of them out of the way, gazing up to see him stumble back, the camera still in his hands as he found his balance again and regained his camera- directed at Stefan's face.
"Stefan! Mr. Salvatore! What does your wife think about all this?" Another man shouted. Stefan stopped, swallowing the lump in his throat..His wife? Katherine? Hell, for all Stefan knew, Katherine was dead to him. But, as he watched the paparazzi back off a bit. He rubbed his face with hands and then exhaled. The next words out of his mouth were a surprise to his ears...Maybe if she knew that he was in trouble, in rehab again- She would come for him...The one person that he wanted to see again. But, knew that he shouldn't involve back into his messed up life...Elena.
Stefan fixed his suit, a saddened look on his face as he ran his hands through his hair and opened his mouth. "Don't tell them anything about our lives..They ask you a question..You deny it...They will ridicule you in every tabloid if you open your damn mouth and speak the truth!" Stefan shook his brother's words off as he coughed a bit and watched two of the guys that had been flashing their camera's and video cameras in his face just a few short minutes ago, come up to him again.
Here it goes- He was about to fuck everything up again. But, if it meant that he would stop seeing her every time he closed his eyes and instead maybe getting her to have a sit down with him so that she could explain herself more. It would be worth it. "Yes, it's true. I'm voluntarily checking myself into rehab for my ongoing drug and alcohol abuse." Stefan told them, his darkened green eyes glossed over with unshed tears..He was about to crucify himself and tarnish his 'good boy' image just by this confession. But, it was too late...The words spilling out before he could stop himself. And, in that moment, the cameras and a new set of reporters came rushing up to him. Stefan knew instantly that rehab was going to be pure hell and the road to recovery was going to be even worse if his plan didn't work..He was going to be completely screwed!
It was as if time stood still, no one moved.
Katherine glanced up from Isobel to Elena, mindlessly fixing Ethan's soft dark brown hair, his eyes glistening in the light. Elena took a step towards Katherine, trying to get a better glimpse of who the child resembled.
"Mother, can you take Ethan into the next room? Elena and I have some more talking to do. Then, maybe we can all catch up..Since, we all have missed so much time together." Katherine said, her tone laced with annoyance at Elena even standing in front of her.
"Sure. I'll go and get him changed and bathed." Isobel commented, kissing Ethan's cheeks as the little boy giggled and they left the room.
The room went dead silent. The awkwardness between the two sister's filling every corner of the large kitchen as Elena sat back down on one of the chairs in the dining room and stared up at Katherine, clearing her throat.
"Who's son is he, Katherine? Is he Stefan's?" Elena probed. She wanted to know, she needed to know because her mind was spinning. If Stefan and Katherine had a child- it would change her views on him...It would mean that she could just give up now instead of trying to go and fix what her broken hurt was yearning for...him. She wanted to fix him, to help him because she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that he was in trouble and it was only going to get worse. Because, that's what Elena did. She fixed things, she fixed people- or at least she tried to.
"This discussion is over. I'm not telling you. If the father of my child doesn't even know he exists why should I tell my 'beloved' long lost sister? It's none of your business!" Katherine hissed, taking a step towards Elena and watching her get to her feet. They stood toe to toe, eyes locked intently on one another.
"I won't tell anyone. I promise you...I just- Wait, Ethan's dad doesn't know about him?" Elena questioned. Katherine looked down at her hands, they were shaking. It was true. Ethan's dad had no idea that he even existed and it was all because of what Katherine had done. Faking her own kidnapping a few days after she found out she was carrying his child. Katherine was so scared Stefan would find out about her philandering ways. So she figured that 'disappearing' was the best way to get rid of her problems instead of face the truth.. She had cheated- Katherine Pierce-Salvatore had cheated on a man that loved her with his whole heart..A man that she thought she loved. But, over time, she discovered that she didn't..And, a baby that wasn't his would have left him even more devastated. It would have crushed him if he would have found out that his wife was sleeping around with men that weren't him, the same time that she had found out she was pregnant, let allow cheating on him with his 'best friend.'
"My son's isn't Stefan's..." Katherine's voice trailed off. Her voice was cracking as Elena watched her take a step back, running her fingers through her long curly brown hair. It was the first time ever that Katherine had confessed that to anyone. No one even knew who Ethan's father was- not even their own mother.
"After, I..um..after I left the spotlight and came here. I told our mother that I was pregnant. She promised me that we would take care of it. But, I didn't want that. I wanted to keep him. Under one condition- as long as no one found out that I was here and that I had cheated on Stefan. The whole family was so deep into the tabloids. Stories of us- lies really. Were being printed like wild fire and with Stefan's addiction...I knew he wouldn't be able to handle my confession. So, after being dropped off at Dasells and seeing Stefan. I took a cab back home, shielding my face the whole time so that the driver couldn't recognize me. I went home and threw around my clothing and staged it to look like a struggle and a brutal kidnapping. I had a friend of mine come over and track muddy boot prints around to make it look like a man took me. No one was home and we didn't have security camera's around the building at the time. So, no one really knew or saw anything. I then had the same friend stage the kidnapping with me screaming as they sped off with me in the car, somehow undetected by witnesses not wanting to come forward. The next morning, I woke up here, at Isobel's house and it was all over the news.."Wife of famed and wealthy Stefan Salvatore, kidnapped. Blood splatter found at the scene."
Her words stunned Elena. She could feel her mouth go dry, words not being able to leave her lips as she looked up at Katherine in astonishment. "You made everyone think you were dead! And it was all just because you were pregnant with someone else's child?" Elena spat out in an angered tone.
Katherine nodded. A shameful look in her eyes quickly fading as she walked past Elena and shrug her shoulders back. "Look, Elena. I needed to get out of that life and making it a big deal was the way to do it. I always wanted a big send off, anyways." Katherine told her with a sly grin.
"You think this is funny? Katherine, everyone thought you were dead! They even held a memorial service for you and a candle light vigil. No one knew where you were. Why didn't you just divorce Stefan instead of put him through hell?" Elena asked in a harsh tone, hearing Katherine let out a small chuckle.
"Because, I wanted them both. Part of me loved them both. Look, Elena. I loved Stefan way back when and I didn't want to let him go. Because, I liked the attention he gave me. But, then Elijah came into the picture and I found a way out from my crumbling relationship with Stefan. He's always been married to his work. Not me." Katherine added, watching Elena roll her eyes.
"You were using Stefan. You were putting him through hell just because you couldn't make up your damn mind? You're sick and crazy. I knew this was a bad idea, coming here!" Elena shouted, gathering her jacket and bag from the table behind her as she huffed out a breath.
"I know you think I'm evil and crazy. But, Elena...You have no idea what my life was like. Stefan doesn't want kids..I actually even thought about telling him that the baby was his..But-" Katherine began to say, trying to justify her actions and her words.
Elena snorted out a small laugh, turning back towards Katherine. " Are you fucking kidding me? You seemed to have it pretty easy. It must have been hard screwing two men and then using them both for your own gain. My god, you are a bitch. I really hope that when Stefan finds out about the illegitimate child that you thought you could have tried to pass off as his for a brief second that he realizes how insane you are!"
Elena quickly brushed past Katherine and towards the front door to the house, waving over Bonnie who had been sitting outside on the patio for a while now as the front door swung open and she heard Katherine follow her. "Wait! Elena, listen to me. You don't know the whole story..."
"Oh, I think I do, Katherine. I've heard enough. Ethan is clearly Elijah's son and you played them both! You are a sick woman and a whore!" Elena shouted, lifting her hands up in to the air in frustration as she watched Katherine close the front door behind her, taking a few steps towards Bonnie and Elena, closing the distant gap between them.
"Ethan isn't Elijah's son either...Ethan's dad is my best friend, a guy that I met a long time ago while on a business trip with Stefan. We clicked almost instantly and became fast friends over the years. I saw him a few times in the past few months and when I was having a rough patch with both Stefan and Elijah. I ended up spending some time with him... His name is Mason Lockwood and he doesn't know about Ethan. I don't want him to know that he has a son with me. It's just better this way." Katherine confessed, feeling the weight of guilt build on her shoulders as Elena looked up at her, pure confusion and bewilderment in her eyes.
"Why not? If he isn't Stefan or Elijah's kid. Then, why not tell the other guy that he has a son?" Elena asked her, searching Katherine's brown eyes that mirrored her own as Katherine swallowed the lump in her throat that was forming when she quietly added. "Because, a year ago Mason Lockwood was my best friend. But, now he's serving a life time sentence in a maximum security prison. And, I don't want him in Ethan's life because it was only supposed to be a fling..I was never even supposed to get pregnant."
A/N: Thoughts? Or are you guys like WTF just happened?! ;) If you are..No worries, the next chapter will have some back story to Katherine's confession aka flashbacks! :)
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Thanks so much for reading & until next time!