The Affair

* * * *

Epilogue

All's Well That Ends Well

Annette looked on from a distance as her fellow inmates smiled and celebrated their supposed new beginnings. Well maybe inmates wasn't the right word. The counselors preferred the term sisters or roommates but that was all crap. They explained to her when she arrived several months ago that the girls were all just like her, troubled but good girls in need of assistance. However Annette knew the truth. She was no drug addict just someone who crossed the wrong person.

It was New Years Eve and everyone was counting down to the new year even though it was only ten o'clock. One of the many rules at the clinic or home if you like was that they had a curfew but they let the girls stay up an hour later that night. Annette smiled to herself at how pathetic it all was.

Sitting in a cushioned chair away from the festivities Annette realized how different she was from all of them. They knew it too and she would sometimes hear them whisper behind her back. What's her deal? Does she actually think she's better than us? How come she never talks? Annette never really gave them the satisfaction of answering their questions. She didn't want to be any one's best friend she just wanted to serve her term and get back to her, if she indeed had one to get back to.

One of the older girls Erica was going on about how this year would be different and how lucky she was for surviving. Lucky, that was a word Annette had been considering a lot lately. As much as she hated to admit it she was lucky, things could have turned out a lot worse. The Crirchton home might be hard and unbearably lonely sometimes but it was better than prison. If she hadn't had a good lawyer or gotten a stricter judge god knows where she would of ended up. Yes things could of been a lot worse.

That's not to say Annette was forgetting about everything that happened, no way. It hadn't taken her long after she got arrested to figure out who was behind her down fall. Looking back it should have been obvious from the beginning. Gwendolyn never had anything against Annette or any reason to blackmail her and set up that drug bust. There was really only one person who could want to hurt her so bad. Kathryn Merteuil.

Annette never told anyone who that person was though. She had told her lawyer all about Gwendolyn's blackmail and he had believed her but they couldn't prove it because there was no trace of Gwen. At that point her lawyer had assured her that jail was most likely out of the question because she was a first time offender so she had kept quiet about Kathryn's involvement. She would hold on to the information until the right time.

Meanwhile Annette spent her time doing her house chores, attending the mandatory group meetings in which she never spoke and thought about the people who put her there. Yes as much as she blamed Kathryn she knew there was someone else at fault as well, Sebastian. Up until a few months ago he had promised to love her until he died but obviously that was a promise he had no intention of keeping. He couldn't even be bothered to visit her after she got arrested. Annette knew damn well that Sebastian was aware who put her there, how could he not? He just didn't care. He didn't care that Kathryn ruined her life.

Annette shook away the thought as she closed the paper back book in front of her and started for the door. She had enough partying for one night. As she approached her room she noticed a familiar face walking her way. "Dad" she beamed up at him "what are you doing here?"

Dressed in a pair of jeans and sweater James Hardgrove gave his daughter a small smile "oh I just came to wish my favorite girl a happy new year and give you this like I promised."

As he handed over a taped up brown box Annette couldn't help but notice how tired he looked. Annette's life wasn't the only one disturbed in recent months. The scandal her arrest brought about caused her father to loose his job in New York. He had to move back to Kansas where he was now at his old job as principal of the local high school. That coupled with their recent financial troubles was wearing him down but he stuck by his daughter through everything. He never once questioned her innocence.

"Thanks dad but you didn't have to come all the way down here. I'm sure Matilda must be thrilled" she said sarcastically referring to her new step mother.

"Oh I think she'll deal with it. I'm just glad I got here before you went to bed. How are you doing pumpkin?"

She smiled "I'm fine dad don't worry but curfew's in a few minutes."

"All right I should get going." He leaned over and kissed her forehead "you'll tell me if you need anything else?"

"Yes I'll call you tomorrow" she said waving good-bye.

As soon as he disappeared down the hall her smile fell and she wished to god she could go home with him even if she had to put up with Matilda. Sighing Annette went into her small room which was sparsely decorated. She had a few momentos and books but that was it. She really didn't want to get too cozy.

Annette took a seat on her bed and opened the brown box. When her father was cleaning out her dorm room at Columbia he came across a box of some old books and things and told her he would bring it to her rather than throw it out.

As her father had said there were some text books from high school, notebooks and a photo album. Tossing it on the bed an old photo came loose of her and Sebastian. She looked at it a moment almost sad before ripping it in two.

There was one more item left in the box and she was surprised to learn what it was. A familiar brown leather journal with the initials SV on the front. Opening it up she read the first page:

Journal of Sebastian Valmont,

My Journey Into Manhood

Flipping through it she could of sworn she got rid of it a while back. Guess not she thought to herself as she landed on that infamous picture of Kathryn. Looking down into the beautiful girls face Annette slowly smiled and murmured "hmmm..."

* * * * * *

Thousands of miles away Sebastian was attending a very different party. In a plush townhouse on the upper east side his friend Julian was throwing a New Years Eve party. Surrounded by a bunch of beautiful, rich, assholes Sebastian was bored out of his mind. He had been talking up a pretty blond and her fiancé who was a Ralph Lauren model until his head began to ache. It was quite possible they were the two stupidest people in Manhattan.

Quickly he left one room and headed to another which had a bar. He ordered himself a scotch and looked down at his watch for the tenth time that night. In a few minutes the count down to the new year would begin and Kathryn still hadn't arrived. "I promise I'll be there in time to kiss you" she had purred at him seductively before getting on a plane to some unknown location. All she told him was it had to do with Christian and that she would be careful.

"Having fun Valmont?" Blaine asked coming out of nowhere.

"Oodles" he muttered sarcastically as he sipped his drink.

"Kathryn hasn't showed up yet?"

"If she had do you think I would be hanging out at the bar?"

He smirked "point taken. When does her plane arrive?"

"Don't know sometime before twelve. She wasn't that specific."

Blaine looked at his watch "well don't worry if she doesn't show I'll gladly give you your first kiss of the new year."

Sebastian raised his eye brows and was going to explain to him why hell would sooner freeze over when something of the television caught his attention. "Hey turn it up" he told the bartender who quickly obeyed.

"Christian DeMille an alleged arms dealer was found dead this morning in his home in Belgium" a perky newscaster reported. "He was found by his maid with two bullets in his chest. Shortly thereafter the police arrested DeMille's girlfriend Gwendolyn Jeffries. Jeffries is a formal model from London who has been seeing DeMille for some months now. Although authorities are not releasing any details about the death or Ms. Jeffries arrest they are positive they have a strong case. We'll bring you more on this story as it develops."

As Sebastian took all this information in he was surprised. Not by Christian's death or Gwendolyn's arrest but by the fact that he wasn't in the slightest surprised by the news. Finishing his drink he nodded his head and said simply "good riddance."

"Well I take it everything went as planned then?" Blaine said casually.

Sebastian turned back to him "apparently."

Blaine's attention was then quickly diverted by a handsome guy standing a few feet away. Sighing Sebastian took a final look at his watch and muttered "fuck." It wasn't just that he hated being alone for New years but he missed Kathryn. She had been gone for several weeks and he had been looking forward to seeing her.

Suddenly the lights dimmed signaling the count down. The somewhat inebriated crowed began to laugh before yelling "five...four...three...two..."

"One" a familiar voice whispered in his ear before he felt himself being yanked backwards. Before he could protest he was slammed against a wall and a pair of warm lips met his. Sebastian didn't need to open his eyes to know who his assailant was.

They kissed long and hard before they finally broke apart. "Welcome back baby."

Kathryn smiled as she pressed her body into his. "Miss me?"

Sebastian looked over her body clad in red and black dress appreciably. It was nice but it was her green eyes and wicked grin which he missed the most. Letting his hand slide around her neck he whispered "a little" before pulling her back into a kiss.

She eagerly returned it as he closed the bedroom door giving them some privacy. When it closed Kathryn began to saunter slowly over to the bed while Sebastian followed. "So I saw the news" he said casually "you've been a busy girl."

Kathryn laid back onto the bed letting the straps of her dress fall down. "Such a tragedy" she sighed. "It's such a sad thing when love turns ugly like that."

Sebastian was very much aware that Kathryn most likely played some part in the incident between Gwedolyn and Christian but he really didn't care. He knew whatever she did, she did it for him and for them. He wasn't interested in the details. "Well I wasn't really making any plans to cry over that."

Kathryn smiled faintly "I thought as much. Anyway while I was gone I picked you up a belated Christmas gift." She took a pair of keys out of her purse and tossed them to him.

Sebastian recognized them as being for a boat of some kind. Immediately he knew who they belonged to. "Christian's yacht?"

She shrugged "he won't be needing it anymore." Titling her head back in thought she said "I'm thinking we should take a nice, long vacation."

"We could do that."

Kathryn sat up and pulled him down so he was resting on top of her. "So you got the boat and Christian six feet under, anything else?"

"I'll take the girl" he told her before they met for a fiery kiss.

* ~ The End ~ *