Chapter 9: Court's Comeuppance
"One of my dear sister's most deplorable characteristics is her uncanny ability to draw unsuspecting innocents into her more than sticky web, leaving them to flounder and churn until she decides the time is right to eat them."
-An excerpt from Sebastian Valmont's journal, dated 1999
Two years earlier—
It was another night of planning and while Belinda had so far humored her sister, it was at that rare night that Kathryn had been able to come up with the most interesting part of her revenge.
Retribution, perhaps, was the most integral part of their rediscovered bond. The ties that held them together had gone beyond the same blood that ran through their veins, or the same haunted look in their gorgeous, aristocratic faces. The shared hatred and the sheer determination for those who had wronged them bound them together in a fiercer way.
"Loathing them won't make them pay, Kathryn. Maybe you should just forget it and move on, you've got a better life here, especially with Ma—"
"I've dreamt of it," her sister said quietly, the hate in her pretty green eyes deepening. "The game, my game with Sebastian, its details, the sudden twist in the fucked up story when he fell in love with feelings he should have never had in the first place. I think of it, of every character in that play. When I remember it, I seem to watch myself and I'm powerless to stop it. Cecile Caldwell, Court Reynolds, Ronald Clifford, Annette Hargrove… Sebastian Valmont… In my dreams the pawns they were changed. Then they were holding knives, closing in on me. I had expected Sebastian to stop them, just as he would have done in the past, only this time, he came to me, not to protect me, but to harm me. He was holding the sharpest knife of them all, and he stabbed me in a place where my heart should have been."
What was the next emotion that the blonde experienced after hearing such a revelation for the usually ice-cold Kathryn shocked even her. Belinda believed it had been called concern, but for what? She had ostracized the idea of having a sister, and yet, here she was, empathizing with Kathryn. She never empathized. Empathizing meant having emotions, and Belinda Van Ryan had none of that. "Kathryn," she began.
"I know what to do with him." Kathryn continued, leaning against the expensive armchair of Belinda's exclusive penthouse. "When I come back."
"What?" she asked, in spite of himself. The greatest ideas usually come in anger; she waited to see if this applied to Kathryn.
"I'm going to make him betray her the way he betrayed me." The mischievous glow was back in her eyes as she took the credit card from Belinda's hand and arranged the fine white powder into neat little lines before snorting. "I'm going to make him eat his words… His supposed great love for Annette will be nothing but a mere memory once I get through with him. Sebastian will betray her, only to be betrayed himself as soon as he professes his loyalty to me… And then he'll realize that he's not the only one capable of finding a replacement."
"How do you plan on doing that, exactly?"
Kathryn smiled languidly, "You underestimate me, dear Belinda. I'm not five anymore, I don't look up to you nor hang on to your every word."
"Perhaps." Her sister answered. "But we'll soon see, little sister. You should never be too confident in your plans, for one thing. Revenge might fuck you up."
"Not me. I thrive on it."
It was probably Annette's innate belief that everybody has a good side that enabled this peculiarly close friendship with Belinda Van Ryan. At least, that's what everybody else thinks. The truth was, this strange alliance had been formed during that one fateful night that Sebastian stumbled into their townhouse at ten in the morning, reeking of alcohol and a woman's overpowering perfume that smelled like dead roses. Annette had been shocked to see her normally put together boyfriend with large, dark circles under his blue eyes, and he didn't even seem to notice her. Instead of greeting her with a slight smile the way he used to, Sebastian just mumbled something about taking a shower before class and she would've demanded a better explanation of the phone hadn't rang.
"Hello?"
"Annette? It's Belinda. I have a feeling we need to talk."
"About what?" she demanded, not at all trusting this woman. Who could blame her? Belinda was, after all, a Merteuil.
"Common interests." The model said silkily. "If you'll sort through your mail right now, I believe there's something there that might prove my point.
With shaking hands, Annette opened a large brown envelope and pulled out a single grainy picture of the two people that shouldn't even be together… Eyes closed and lips touching, bodies seeming to fit together effortlessly.
"Oh, God…" she groaned, forgetting that Belinda was still listening on the other side.
"I had a feeling he missed her." Belinda mused.
"Where can I meet you?"
---
As she waited anxiously for Kathryn's sister, Annette could hardly sit still, the image of the two plaguing her thoughts. Was this part of the revenge she somehow knew Kathryn had been planning, or was it simply Sebastian's own choosing? The latter scared Annette more, because she knew that it wasn't entirely impossible that that would occur… At the way Sebastian had been acting lately, she could only pinpoint the source at the Valmont townhouse, where his bitch stepsister was currently residing.
Five minutes later, a brand new red Porsche pulled up the curb. If seemed as if all the people in the restaurant stopped and stared as the tall, blonde beauty got out. Figures, Annette thought. Kathryn had the same effect on people.
"Did you like the photos?"
"What do you want, Belinda?"
Belinda's eyebrows arched at Annette's abrupt tone. "I imagine the same thing you do."
"I want a lot of things." She replied icily, unwilling to undergo Belinda's mind games.
Her reply caused her chills, "I want Kathryn destroyed."
"What?"
She smiled malevolently, "Did I stutter?"
"But-but… why?" Annette paused, the doubt clear in her blue eyes. "You know what, I don't believe you. Kathryn sent you here didn't she?"
"I'm not one of her insipid followers." Her gray eyes narrowed as she sneered, noticing Annette's untouched cup of coffee. "My loyalties lie to no one other than to the cause of my family's downfall."
"Forgive me if I don't trust a Merteuil."
A wicked grin spread across the face that graced this month's Vogue as she glanced at Annette. "Of course. I knew Kathryn underestimated you… She made you to be some kind, saintly woman but now I know that your last encounter with her has caused you increase your caution. You require proof?"
"If you have it."
And she leaned in, with hushed words and a knowing smile, Belinda outlined her sister's plan for Court Reynolds. "In a week or two, the senator's son will be the laughingstock of society, and quite possibly in rehab as well. If this comes true, then you'll be right in assuming that I also know what she intends for you and Sebastian. You see, in her stepbrother's absence I've been her confidante, and as she is made to believe, her fellow conspirator as well. I understand, of course, if you choose to postpone the decision making until my prediction comes true, but think about it. The Kathryn you've read about in Sebastian's journal… That's a little girl compared to the woman hatred has molded her into. In order for you to stop her, you need to know how she thinks… And that is where I can prove to be most useful."
Annette could scarcely believe what she was hearing, and Belinda's prediction about Court Reynolds sounded too twisted to be true. "It's impossible, Court would never allow—"
"And Cecile would never star in an interracial porn video, yet she's being shipped off to boarding school for troubled young girls as we speak. Who are you to say what people would and wouldn't do given the right influence?"
Annette could feel her resolve melting, "Say I agree to this…"
"Partnership." Belinda supplied.
"Alright, partnership. What then?"
"I continue playing my little sister's friend and we let her continue with her malevolent plans as she wishes. Meanwhile, I share you her dirty little secrets and you tell me her old ones. You do have a copy of Sebastian's journal, right? After she gets overconfident, as I'm sure she will, we shit on her good name. If I recall correctly, the little bitch has a nasty coke problem… I suppose rehab would be a wise decision… What other torture is there than rehab, where everyone will pity and dote upon you… Kathryn hates being pitied. She might even get a chance to 'heal' with poor little Court… And we know how much he's going to hate her… Then everyone will see that she isn't Ms. Mary Sunshine after all."
The image of Kathryn Merteuil with her haughty expression mingling among the problematic youth made Annette smile. In fact, she'd been longing to have Kathryn eliminated from their lives and Sebastian had forbidden her to publish his journal for reasons she didn't even know why. Now, here was an opportunity in the form of a cruel woman who shared Kathryn's blood and cruelty. It was almost too perfect.
"Alright."
"Wonderful." Belinda stood up, carelessly flinging a couple of hundreds on the table. "I'll be in touch."
---
Two weeks later—
Blaine Tuttle was having the fuck of his life with the handsome star college quarterback when he distinctly heard the clicking of Manolo Blahniks on his floor. Two pairs, to be exact… Belonging to two very smug beautiful women, only the other one he distrusted more than the brunette for some particular reason.
"Busy?" Kathryn smirked, her green eyes staring down the annoyed Greg McConnell who finally got the hint and hastily left before the drug dealer could even say a word.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite evil Merteuil sisters, Anorexia and Bulimia. Come here to binge and purge?"
"Shut up, Tuttle. I've already taken the liberty of calling Court to come meet me at Spyder, that club you often frequent in. Now, I need to know if those fag thugs you hired would be able to do the trick."
He placed a hand over his heart mockingly, "And here I thought you had finally fallen in love with him so much that you decided to stop your plans of revenge!"
"Bite your tongue." She hissed, glaring sideways as Belinda laughed along with Blaine.
"Hey, Blaine, got the stuff I need?" The older Merteuil asked, throwing him a grin.
He tossed a bag to her, only to be rewarded with a thicker wad of cash than usual. "Sex, money and drugs." He sighed, "What more could a man want?"
Belinda's cell phone rang and both Kathryn and Blaine watched as she coolly appraised the caller ID and went to take the call outside, speaking in hushed tones. "I don't trust that one." He commented, meeting Kathryn's gaze.
She sat down his bed, watching the doorway with a strange gleam in her eyes. "Neither do I." she answered quietly.
---
Within three hours and still no sign of Kathryn, an impatient Court Reynolds checked his cell phone for the umpteenth time. Where the fuck is she?
"Hey," a tall, buff man with a nose ring and a thick beard leered at his handsome features, causing Court to almost throw up in disgust.
"I'm not into that, man." While he wasn't looking, the bartender glanced at the dark haired woman watching from afar who gave him a nod. After slipping three blue pills into Court's drink, he saw the beautiful woman smile and vanish.
"You have pretty brown eyes." Nose Ring commented, watching closely as Court gulped down his drink.
"Fuck off." Court mumbled, his hairy arm brushing against Nose Ring's lap as he started feeling woozy. The blinking lights of the bar started to mold into fascinating colors, making him smile as he started to feel the warmth spreading across his body. Oh, fuck, where the hell was Kathryn? He felt so…
"Alright, c'mon lover boy." Nose Ring grinned evilly at him, only he seemed to possess Kathryn's voice. Was it her? Was it Kathryn? The buff man's features starting shifting and changing until his girlfriend appeared before him with a sexy smile on that damn gorgeous face of hers.
"There you are, baby." He breathed happily, righting himself to give her a kiss. Why did Kathryn's jaw feel itchy? Why did she taste like cigarettes and beer? Still, he didn't mind as a hand began to snake down his pants. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Smile pretty, Court!" Kathryn's mouth opened but a man's voice came out, but Court didn't mind. Fuck, she gave such a good head he could only smile happily at the flashing camera in front of him. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror with a… he blinked rapidly, only the dick in his mouth disappeared again. Certain it was only a cause of the drugs he and Kathryn had snorted earlier, he waved happily at his reflection, wondering why the hell he felt so good.
---
On the other side of the mirror, Kathryn was about to die. From laughter, that is. She was laughing so hard she felt like her insides would split, her emerald green eyes were filled with tears at the sight of her homophobic boyfriend giving a blowjob with a permanent goofy smile on his red, drunken face. Finally settling back comfortably against the lounge that had been set up for her, she smiled to herself. Three down, two to go… Cecile, Ronald and Court's names had been crossed out of her list… It was time to move on to bigger fish.
Her cell phone rang, causing her to jump slightly. Frowning at the unlisted number that flashed on her screen, she snapped in annoyance.
"What?"
No answer. Only a soft, calm breathing that she knew so well…
Her heart beat (assuming she had one) sped up several rates before she got a grip of herself and calmed down. She knew it was him, somehow she knew that he had been affected by what happened in the bar because he'd been purposely avoiding her since it happened.
"Well, are you going to talk or what?" she snapped, half fearing her would hang up and the silence between them would continue and half hoping he would somehow respond with one of his snarky comments. This wasn't part of the plan, she wasn't supposed to come to him until Court was taken care of… It wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to be losing control. It was too early.
She was still greeted by the silence, eerily the same one that she was left with on the day she left for Paris. Kathryn Merteuil was alone in the room, and her usually impassive face softened just a fraction, heaving a sigh of weariness that she had been feeling ever since she and Sebastian had parted ways three years ago. Still, despite the oddity of the entire situation, to be called up by someone who refuses to answer, she took solace in his presence. It was almost as if he was there with her, sharing her victory… Just like old times wherein he would watch her beautiful face brighten up at the devastation while she focused on the scene before them. Why hadn't she noticed it in the past? Sebastian would always prefer to watch her reaction as opposed to the fireworks that she'd manipulated her way into happening, as if she was eternally more fascinating than any scandal. If he were here right now, would he still stare at me or would he look at me in disgust and leave? The unvoiced question never escaped her lips, and it never would. Instead, she closed her eyes and leaned back, the cushion bringing mediocre comfort to her body that really ached to be held by the one person she swore to herself she would annihilate.
"Goodnight, Sebastian." She finally said quietly, closing her cell phone.
A/N: Aww just when you thought Belinda was cool… Hahaha, for those of you who said 'UPDATE'! Here you go!
Katie: Woah, thanks for the reviews and glad you approve. Hope you stick around, I might write more of that. Wahahaha now I really can't wait till they finally get together.
Nicole: I know! drool K/S goodnesssss hahaha, don't worry I have a feeling there's going to be a lot more pretty soon… winkwink hahaha
WashedOut: Welcome and thanks for the review. ;-)
Sam: Okay, I'm not gonna talk about BtB and urge you to update. Hahaha, oh wait I just did. Lol, still like Belinda? ;-P
J: So you're the sister! Hahaha, I see… Well, thanks very much for taking the time to read and review. Glad I enabled anonymous reviews. Tell her good luck for me, my midterms are just around the corner too. And don't worry about it, English isn't my first language too. ;-D