Chapter 24: Double Edged Truth
"Love is whatever you can still betray … Betrayal can only happen if you love."
-John le Carré
The Hamptons, a playground for the rich and influential, and if you were there for the Merteuil Fashion Show for a Cause (this time it was for Breast Cancer), you would agree when I say that the entire Valmont Hamptons estate was filled with extremely beautiful and/or well dressed people currently assembled, laughter ringing in the air, gossip spreading like wildfire, and some were marveling at the runway stage that had been especially designed and constructed just for the event. It was purely white, the color of propriety, filled with illuminating lights at the sides and the smoke machines situated in well placed corners silently running, giving the entire area a mesmerizing aura of class and mystery.
She really was beautiful, with her calm, confident smile and her incredible poise. Kathryn Merteuil stood on the podium and gave a brief speech about the Breast Cancer Awareness Program, looking radiant in a periwinkle sheer Versace dress that brought out the slight twinkle in her eyes. She paused for a few moments, her eyes straying to Mathieu's when she said that since Belinda wasn't going to be able to participate, she would gladly take her sister's place in the runway. Belinda would have wanted it, well, if her gray eyes were actually open, she'd more likely want to slit Mathieu's throat, but nobody else knew about that.
Yes, Mathieu thought. I want it that way, too. Take her place. Did he feel guilty for doing what he did to Belinda? Yes, an immense amount that causes him the slightest amount of pain in his unfeeling heart. But she gambled with him, and Belinda should have known that he never liked losing. As he watched Kathryn practically glide down the stage with her exquisite dress, she outshined each model by far. It wasn't that there weren't beautiful women in it; it was more of how she carried herself. It was as if she had this secret knowledge that she had the power to take over the world or destroy it as she wished, her long brown hair was set in curls, lips slightly pursed and a slight look of laughter in her mocking green eyes. A tribute to Belinda. Beautiful chestnut colored curls. Merteuil poise. Deadly beauty. Yes, she was both the same and very much different than her sister. He loved her enough to kill the only other person he'd trusted, loved and took care of all these years. Mathieu wished he could tell her that, because it was the ultimate profession of his loyalty to her.
Hands clutched the infamous journal. Gray pupils half angry, half pleading.
"You and I both know she would be happier with Valmont."
"You will never have her. Not really. You never had her, you never had Kathryn. Don't you see? The nightmares, those dreams she has, she wanted him. Always have and you're too fucking blinded by this attachment to her to see it. She's marrying you as a big final fuck you to Valmont. She doesn't love you, she owns you, but she never loved you."
He felt himself getting angry again, cursing the beautiful blonde he once cherished for inciting his doubts. What could she possibly have planned? Had her own emotions clouded her judgment that she only went to the hotel in a last effort to get him back, or was there a bigger picture? And her threats for destroying Kathryn… What of that? Should he warn her? Watch over her? Or should he look over his own shoulder in case Belinda came back? Would she?
His thoughts stopped when Kathryn came back on stage, but her beautiful eyes were focused on someone else. Mathieu felt a strange chill and somehow he knew that he didn't have to turn around to know who she was looking at. Her face no longer bore that mocking, silent laughter look it did earlier; she was wearing a different dress that exuded her beauty to magnanimous proportions, and he loved her so much he would forsake everything else that remained loyal to him. Mathieu slowly turned and found his suspicions confirmed. There, standing in the back, looking cold and harsh as always, was her stepbrother. His golden brown eyes switched back to Kathryn, the mask back on her face as if she'd realized she had been looking at Sebastian the way she should never have. He caught her eye and she glanced back, her attention diverted for now. But for how long would he suffice for her? He loathed that thought, loathed the fact that, like Valmont, she had become an obsession to him. He hated himself for killing Belinda, but he knew he would hate himself more if he lost her. And if he lost. Period. Mathieu De Comte never lost. Only two days left, if he could just keep them apart for two more days, if he could just protect Kathryn and marry her and move her back to Paris when they'd been safe. If he could just make her see through this deceit, if Mathieu could just make her feel the confusion and the pain and the betrayal everybody else had felt since the whole thing got out of control. Then she'd understand. Then she'd see that he fucking loved her and she'd forget about Sebastian Valmont, who would only hurt her. She didn't deserve him. Sebastian was cocky and arrogant, a prideful son of a bitch who should have been dealt with accordingly a long time ago, and Mathieu would have, but he knew Kathryn would never allow such a thing. And this angered him more. He hated how she hated Sebastian but Mathieu knew she would protect him all the same.
After smiling politely and being congratulated for his upcoming nuptials, the brown haired businessman went backstage, clutching a bouquet of flowers while nodding and grinning politely at the other socialites and models that giggled and pointed at him. The French Brad Pitt. Kathryn would surely laugh at the pathetic labeling. When he paused to knock on the door, he saw a quick glimpse of dark blond haired man headed his way.
The two men eyed each other like predators waiting to pounce and maim, Sebastian didn't even flinch when Mathieu glared at him.
"Guarding the future Mrs. De Comte in case I attempt to dip my wick in her royal bitchiness again?" he drawled, in front of him looking every inch of the son of a bitch he was. Mathieu didn't understand her connection to this asshole, he really didn't. How could she love someone who says such hurtful things about her like that?
Once again, he felt that desire to protect Kathryn. Whether they did have sex earlier or not, he wasn't going to let Sebastian talk trash like that. Court Reynolds had roughed him up pretty bad, the swelling in his right eye had gone down but it still presented an ugly bruise that would have marred his face if Sebastian hadn't been extraordinarily good looking. "You lost, Sebastian. I have her."
Sebastian actually laughed, "Tell me, Mathieu, is that what you tell yourself every time I'm with Kathryn? That it's okay if I fuck her because she's your wife?"
"In two days' time, you'll never have that chance again. You were her mistake, Valmont. A rather stupid one, but she's over you now."
"Sure, De Comte, if that's what you say. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
The door opened and Kathryn stepped out smiling when she saw Mathieu, but her features actually darkened when she realized who he'd been talking to.
"Sorry, Kathryn, I guess that impromptu fuck session we planned isn't going to work out now that your bulldog's here."
She glared at him, "You know, this fixation of yours isn't healthy, anymore, Sebastian. When are you going to get it through your thick arrogant head? I don't want you anymore, why would I want a lousy fuck?"
His blue eyes blazed with anger before returning to its normal state when one of the models clamped herself on his arm, ignorant of the hostility between the three. "Happy Wedding, Kathryn. May you both rot in hell." With a smug, triumphant look, he paused to kiss the giggling idiot bitch before traipsing out.
"Sure. Say hello to Satan for me, I'm sure you'll arrive there first." She called out, her face flushing with anger when Sebastian chuckled coldly and left with another one of his bimbos. "Asshole." She muttered, but Mathieu could see that she was still affected with his behavior. Two days left… That's all he needed. If they could just hate each other for two more days.
What would Belinda do? What was Belinda planning?
---
"Getting married tomorrow! Congratulations, Kathryn!"
She forced the millionth pained smile of the evening, forcing herself not to roll her eyes at the monstrosity of the party Tiffany had thrown for her now one and only daughter and her rich, handsome fiancé. There were cameras all over, the majority from the society pages and some from the local tabloids still reeling from the Belinda tragedy (How was her family coping? Well, they were throwing a party to commemorate the happier moments of the late Merteuil's life. As if they even knew if she had any happier moments aside from that one last torturing of Trevor and Annette… Tiffany: "Oh yes, my daughter had been part of that charity organization… You'd like to make a donation in her name? She would have loved that…" Kathryn knew for a fact that Belinda would never have even joined a fucking charity association. How's that for grief?), trying to get a few statements from Kathryn and her mother. The dinner had been held inside the mansion, the ballroom filled with drunk and beautiful people dancing to the classical sounds of the band, laughter and mirth rang in the air as society's rich and finest toasted to another wealthy and profitable union between one of their Upper East Side princesses.
Where was he? She wondered momentarily, forgetting to make her emerald eyes sparkle happily while she held Mathieu's hand and smiled for the nth fucking photographer of the evening. Since last night, Sebastian had gone out with the models, most of which were his former girlfriends. And Annette? She went with them, and the mere thought of Dorothy and Sebastian reuniting angered her. They came home drunk, and she could hear their voices, Sebastian and Annette's, intimate and demanding, the slight giggle, his smooth, deep articulation… She'd stopped listening right then, opting to get out of the fucking hall and leave Mathieu sleeping so she could sleep in the other side of the house… A completely Sebastian and Annette sex free area. Why the fuck did he, of all the rooms in the Valmont Hamptons mansion, have to choose the one close to hers?
"Oh, Kathryn, be a dear and dance with your stepfather, would you?" her mother asked in that syrupy tone of hers that meant she only wanted to encapsulate the whole very happy family look by making her daughter dance with her disgusting husband whose eyes would often undress her. Nevertheless, she gave an apologetic smile to Mathieu and soon, Edward's hand was on her ass and they were dancing amidst the awws and aahs of the admiring crowd. Look at her, look at Kathryn Merteuil, they'd probably say. She's only twenty one years old, but she's so beautiful and wealthy and powerful, and now she's marrying one of the richest men in the world… She must be the happiest woman alive.
Was she happy? Yes, in a way. It meant leaving New York and the hypocrisy; it meant leaving the sheltered prison that had been her life.
After the photographer had managed to take enough pictures, Tiffany spoke again.
"I'm sure the photographer would love to take pictures of you and your stepbrother dancing…" she grinned annoyingly, half glaring at Edward when she noticed he had his hand on her ass.
"Mother, do I absolutely have to?" she asked through gritted teeth.
"Yes, dear. It would look good for the press." Tiffany turned around, the jewels adorning her body giving off a glow of its own. "Sebastian, go dance with your sister."
Ah, so there he was. Even though he'd woken up with an impossibly intense hang over, twenty one year old Sebastian Valmont looked excruciatingly handsome despite the few bruises he'd sustained. Her feet hurt like hell from his stupid display of machismo of heaving every damn glass he could find in her room, but when she looked into his eyes, Kathryn saw the same hunger in them that was probably reflected in her own expression if she'd given people the chance to see.
"No." he answered, glancing at her in contempt.
"Mother, I'm sure Mathieu's probably looking for me—"
"Sebastian." Her mother's voice was unmistakably cold, "Dance with your sister."
He sighed, "Fine." He approached Kathryn with a cold hesitance that further confused her, his black suit complementing her black and red dress… the colors they wore were associated with darkness and danger… Could this be a sign of things to come? The crowd oohed and ahhed some more, Kathryn Merteuil, with the most handsome man alive as her stepbrother… Truly, she was indeed special. She had everything… But did she really?
His hands were cold and she could feel it through the sheer material of her dress, and she swallowed thickly before placing her hands at the back of his neck. Her fingers automatically started playing with his golden curls and he flinched, his blue eyes penetrating into her emerald ones.
"Sorry." She muttered, immediately feeling foolish.
"The great bitch apologizing?" he replied, his placid expression not melting at all. "Say it isn't so. Maybe getting married might do you some good."
"Oh, go crawl back to Dorothy like you did last night. Tell me Valmont, did you pray before you fucked?" She snapped, sneering at him.
He looked surprised, but even though they were having a not so civil conversation, they still danced beautifully, their steps harmonizing and movements so attuned with the other's.
"Has somebody been eavesdropping?" he asked squarely.
"Fuck you, Sebastian. I knew you were weak. I knew you'd come back to her."
He paused, staring at her and noting how she looked strong, intimidating and vulnerable under the lights and under the mask she wore. He saw through it. Most of the time he did. Was this what she wanted? For them to fight? No, not in front of all these society freaks… To them, they were siblings, perfectly well bred brother and sister that danced politely at the request of Kathryn's mother. He leaned in, nearer as he dared to, and nearer than the confinements of their legal relationship could ever let happen.
"I didn't sleep with her." He said in a low voice, his reply being drowned out by the slow, sad melody of the band.
"What?"
"I didn't sleep with her. I was drunk, horny, and stoned, but I couldn't. She got mad at me and started blubbering, but I left her."
"Why?" she regretted that he'd pulled away, but they both knew they had to watch their movements.
His blue eyes bore into hers, "Why the fuck do you think?"
The music stopped, and so did their dance. Sebastian met Kathryn's eyes and he jerked his head to the third floor, and it was clear that while the song had stopped, the conversation wouldn't. There was still too much to be said.
---
The moment Mathieu saw them dance; he knew he had to keep an eye on Kathryn. Sebastian acted like a magnet for her, the closer you got, the harder it was to pull away, so her fiancé hadn't been at all surprised to see Valmont jerk his head up in an indication to his stepsister. Kathryn paused, unsure of what to do, and finally, she disappeared into the crowd. He was in pain. Just one more day of hatred and hostility between them… Please. He followed her, noting the swish of her gorgeous dress and the bounce of her long hair.
He would have stopped it right then and there, but he himself was curious. This was what Belinda had been telling him, the connection he'd underestimated. Was it as strong as his departed friend had stated? So, he hid behind the corridor and watched, in silent torture, as the brown haired fascination of his life approached Valmont.
"What do you want?" she asked him, her voice passionless.
"Don't get married." Sebastian replied, running a hand through his hair. The impassiveness that had been on his face when he'd danced with Kathryn was gone, to be replaced by that pleading look of almost despondency.
"It's too late." Her voice was breaking, the part of the elusive temptress she played also shifting.
"No, it's not. I love you, Katie. I really do."
"Sure. You love me so much you wouldn't even trust me and you go fuck some red haired bitch after I leave you for a couple of hours." She laughed openly, "That's love, for you, isn't it, Sebastian? A mind blowing fuck, and then what? What happens if you meet another Annette? Will you still feel the same?"
"YES!" he yelled, "I will! What the fuck do I have to do to make you see that? If you marry him, you're going to end up exactly like your mother and you know it."
"Don't bring her into this." She hissed angrily.
"You don't love him. You love me."
Mathieu clenched his fists and thought of the same, red gory hole that had been in Belinda's head being transferred on Sebastian Valmont's skull. He wanted to kill Sebastian, but he held back, wondering what her response would be.
"It's beyond my con—"
And then she wasn't talking anymore, and there was a slightly scuffle as their mouths colliding in a fiercer passion than Kathryn had even been with him. There were arms and limbs and beautiful strands of dark blond and deep chestnut hair touching while their bodies pressed against each other's. God, did it fucking hurt. But before he could go and confront them, he heard Annette Hargrove's loud and obviously drunk voice echo. He watched the former innocent pretty blond haired blue eyed woman stumble, her face red and tears falling down her eyes. Here was another victim of Sebastian and Kathryn's never ending dance of denial and debauchery…
"Sebastian!" she screamed, brushing past Mathieu as if she didn't notice him.
The kissing stopped and Sebastian looked up to see his ex glaring at him with the same newfound venom that had been present in her pretty light blue eyes. Kathryn looked amused, even pausing to give a wicked smile at Annette.
"Can't you see we're in the middle of something?" she asked bitchily, unaware that her own fiancé was nearby and that his heart was breaking.
"You fucking slut." Annette ranted, holding on to the table for support. Her breath smelled of alcohol and her face beet red, "You think you've won? You think you got him back?"
The brunette glanced at her coldly, "I know I did. Didn't you just see what we were doing, you lame brained hick?"
"Really?" Annette mocked, smiling evilly. "Does he know about your little plan of revenge? Does he know that you and your fiancé had turned him into a bet?"
Sebastian's face changed, "What?" he asked in a strangled voice. "What's she talking about?"
Kathryn looked nervous, "Nothing. She's just drunk."
"Belinda told me aaaall about your little plan…" the blonde laughed out loud at her ex's confusion and Kathryn's increasing apprehension. "She was going to-"
"SHUT UP!" Kathryn screeched, about to attack Annette when he pulled her back sharply, the suspicion evident in his actions. "Sebastian, it's nothing"
"That's why she came to New York to get her twisted revenge on all of us!" Annette cried out, the sweat making her face shine. "Court, Cecile, Ronald, you, and me, Sebastian! Why the fuck did you think she seduced you at your aunt's house? Did you think she just wanted you back? Did you think she still wanted you back after all this?"
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" her voice a rage, and Sebastian's grip on her was slowly tightening.
"Promise me."
"I do."
"If you hurt me, I'll kill you."
"She wanted to make you leave me and make you pledge your undying loyalty to her just so she could reject you and marry that fiancé of hers. She hasn't left Mathieu yet, hasn't she? That's because she's still digging the hole she's going to bury you in, and you're too stupid to see it!" Annette continued ranting, refusing to back down at the way Kathryn looked like she was about to pull out a gun and have her shot.
Even from afar, Mathieu could sense it. Something fell apart at that moment. The light had gone in Sebastian's eyes and it almost hurt him to even look at Kathryn, whose beautiful face was ashen. He had never let go of her arm, and she was starting to feel numb from his tight hold.
"Is this true?"
"No!"
"Well, what about that bet you had with Mathieu? That if you got Sebastian to propose, he'd get you that castle in Bordeaux you love so much."
"Oh, God." He looked ill and Kathryn's eyes were slowly feeling with tears because they both knew that Sebastian finally understood. The bits and pieces of conversation that had puzzled him now fit together seamlessly, but it was a bitter truth he wanted to throw up and forget.
Their first night at the Rosemond Estate… How she'd been propped up against the phone, a strange victorious smile on her lips… "I believe the real estate developer handling the Bordeaux property resides near the place. Remember, I want the drapes blue."
"Kathryn, who was that?"
The seemingly odd conversation that sparked a fight between Mathieu and Kathryn… "Kathryn, I just spoke to the real estate agent about the Bordeaux chateau, you do remember it, don't you?"
"What's that?"
"Funny story, you see, Kathryn said that—"
"That I wanted it. So he's talking to the developers about the acquisition."
"Actually, Kathryn and I made a deal. I told her I would buy the chateau for her if—"
Then, there was Belinda's haunting remark. "You wouldn't be so protective of her if you knew how much she—"
Each fragment of the unfinished sentences, Mathieu's words, Belinda's single angry warning… It fit together, just like he and Kathryn did; only it was the one who shattered that connection. She lied. Kathryn fucking lied to him.
"Don't you get it? You're just a toy, Sebastian... A little toy I like to play with."
Tears were streaming freely down Kathryn's face, her large eyes brimming with the liquid from her melting masked persona while she reached out desperately to touch a shocked, bewildered, and hurt Sebastian.
"You promised me." He said, his voice shaking.
"I'm sorry. It's—"
"What? It's beyond your control, you sick, twisted bitch?" he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the entire room. He slapped away her hand when she reached out to him, "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME, KATHRYN!"
"It was just… I'm sorry…" she whispered, "I'm so sorry…"
"You played with me, after all this time, I was just a toy…" he laughed hollowly, his eyes bitter and hardened. "Well, congratulations, Kathryn. I walked into it just like you predicted. You won; you and that sick fuck of a fiancé you have deserve each other."
"Yeah, you're a toy! And you're a bitch!" Annette laughed loudly, the alcohol getting the best of her. "How does it feel, Kathryn? Now you lost him too!"
"Bitch." She said, but this time it wasn't filled with anger. Kathryn was too affected by the whole thing, the whole sordid and ugly revealing of the secrets that she didn't have the strength, for once, to feel angry at Annette.
"I'll kill you. I'll kill your fucking reputation because it's worse than a painful death." Sebastian barked, a malevolent smile replacing his own unshed tears. There was no denying it. Kathryn had indeed hurt him, and it cut through him so deep it unleashed the cruel side of Valmont, crueler than he ever thought he could possibly become. "Remember, sweetheart. I know all your fucking secrets. Have a great wedding, sis."
Mathieu almost laughed out loud and kept out of sight as Sebastian and Annette stalked off, it was better than anything he'd ever planned. Thank you, Belinda, for telling Annette Hargrove. Thank you, my love, you've helped me out. I should have kissed you as you lay twitching and bloodied, if only I had known that despite the declaration of war, your work would still get me Kathryn, then I would have been more forthcoming… I would've just shot you in the chest so I didn't have to ruin that beautiful head of yours.
A/N: This is ending. Something's starting. I won't say what story cuz I'm scared cuz it's kinda not so intense as this one or Thoughts from a Grave. I don't wanna disappoint you guys. (Awww)
WashedOut: Yikes the evil exams… Goodluck! Thanks for reviewing anyway and all hail to the art of cramming!
Nicole: Mwahahaha, I guess I like a lot of conflict, but then again, you could probably tell that by now. I am sooo sorry I forgot to include you in the A/N of the last chappie, I was in a hurry to post, but it doesn't mean that I love ya any less. Aww. That's meant in a non-homo way by the way in case that creeps you out. Lol
Keri: I'll do something better than update before the weekend comes. I'll finish this story before you don't have time to read it anymore. Haha. Sound arrogant? I think it's because I might have already finished it… Like with the epilogue and everything… I've already started working on a different fic. Something lighter, this one gave me a headache. Lol, I just wanted to torture you guys mwahahaha, Aww I feel privileged that you actually reread the entire thing, because even I don't do that anymore I'm sick of it, but then again, that's probably how it usually goes. Hahaha
Sam: Err I don't know what to say to you, but it's actually kind of nice to see that you were affected by that chapter. I watched the movie myself after writing that.
Katie: I didn't get your email. I hate you. Just kidding. I'm not that review whorish, but even though I didn't get it I know exactly what to say: THANK YOU. (Unless of course, you're mad at me for making K/S fight… Are you? Hahaha)
Annie: Yey you got surprised, too… I love it when that happens. Creepy isn't he? Hahaha, and I'm going to distort him some more…