"This will be felt across worlds and days as a reality storm; and, as it plays its course, conflicting realities will fall and spin and shatter across time and existence."
-Destiny, in SANDMAN #67: "The Kindly Ones:11"
Weddings make the normal mother who would watch her little girl all grown up finally take the vow of marriage cry, and so, with that knowledge, Tiffany Merteuil's thin wrist moved as she dabbed the handkerchief to her eyes. She had grown used to it ever since her daughter's death, when those smug faced bitches at the social chair realized that Tiffany didn't have a 'supermodel daughter' anymore and therefore lost a bit of her leverage and bragging rights, actually gave her sympathetic looks and offered their time in case she needed 'to talk'.
"They look great." She commented quietly to her husband, the ever so absentminded Edward, who sat beside her with a bored look on his aging, handsome face.
Kathryn really did. Her beautiful body was clad in the purest white Vera Wang dress, her hair pulled up and the slightest rouge coloring her pale cheeks. Her face portrayed the happiness that Tiffany could clearly see wasn't in her emotion. But she was doing good… She was playing the part Tiffany had raised her to do, and despite the fact that she could very well see that Kathryn wasn't happy, she was proud of her daughter for doing that. Belinda wouldn't have done the same thing because she was the headstrong one… But… The older Merteuil shook her head slightly, her eldest was gone, but this one remained. She had grieved enough (Grieved for all the lost instances in which Belinda's achievements could no longer be bragged about), and now she was done. Kathryn was still alive, the last one to make her the envy of her shallow friends, and Tiffany smiled at the thought. She was successful, wasn't she? Her daughter was the envy of everybody else, and in turn, that made her the envy of everybody else as well. Her eyes casually landed to Sebastian, who stood beside Mathieu as the best man. She had been surprised when Kathryn mentioned that Sebastian wanted to be the best man, and now his blank expression piqued her interest. Throughout the entire ceremony, her stepson had been fidgeting with his hands almost violently, and occasionally, he would look at Kathryn, but always, always with that unreadable yet intense look.
"Do you, Kathryn, take Mathieu to be your lawfully wedded husband…"
More wringing of his fingers until they were a raw red color, but he didn't react. This time he stared longer at Kathryn, a mixture of hatred and pleading.
"I do." Her reply was solid and final. The conviction had gone down and his heart was cut with a dull knife blade. It hurt more. He hated her more. He loved her more. He wanted to strangle her and kiss her at the same time.
"If you hurt me I'll kill you."
Her green eyes peeked at him over Mathieu's shoulder, a look of challenge in those endless mysterious irises.
"…You may now kiss the bride."
"You know nothing! You don't even know me; the fact of the matter is there is someone I love. You don't even compare to her."
"Happy hunting, Sebastian."
"My triumph isn't over her… It's over you."
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."
"God help us both."
He turned away and so did she as her new husband leaned in to kiss her. Bitch.
See you at the reception, Kathryn.
---
With her hair delicately put up in a neat chignon and the diamond earrings never once outshining the seemingly happy glint in her irises, there was a forced smile on her beautiful face as the merriment continued at the Valmont estate. But Mathieu could see through it, she was worried. Sebastian was going to hurt her— again. Her stepbrother was seated calmly at the table, handsome face once again betraying no emotion whatsoever. Sebastian was done feeling. He'd done it during her wedding, and now it was gone. The die is cast. The die is cast. The die is fucking cast. It was time for everything to come together and he couldn't wait.
"Kathryn," he murmured gently, putting his hand on top of hers.
She looked up, distracted. The worry was undeniable in her eyes now, as if she were waiting for a grand scheme to unravel. Hearing Sebastian Valmont's threat to her, Mathieu knew this was likely.
What would Belinda have done? What did she do? The murmur had died down, the music was still lively, but now the people had stopped talking. In their hands, they held a thin white notebook.
That's what Belinda would have done. That was her bluff, wasn't it? And Mathieu called it. Sebastian helped her somehow. Sebastian had helped him somehow… Now Kathryn would suffer the betrayal all over again… But this time she wouldn't be alone.
Suddenly, there were little white notebooks being opened. Cruel Intentions. The Journal of Sebastian Valmont. He felt Kathryn's ice cold hand, the genuine fear written all over her face. They both looked at each other before glancing back at Valmont, who was unflinchingly smiling that half assed annoying smile of his. He quickly scanned the notebook, laughing slightly.
"Bitch." He mouthed, his red lips puckering to give her a kiss.
"No." she gasped, when she saw the words on the cover. There were tears that should never be there, the slight, happy red blush disappearing as her face returned to its white pallor. She trembled, and Mathieu felt it.
"Ohmigod…" a shocked voice, one after the other came from the disbelieving guests. Mathieu didn't have to read the notebook to know what was written there. He'd read it. He'd photocopied it. He'd released it. Now, his concern was her and only her. Belinda's threat had turned into his own idea, hurt Kathryn to scare her. Her own love for him had been what ultimately ruined her… Now Kathryn was his, now she hated Valmont. She didn't know that Annette had a copy, and why would Annette tell her? She didn't know Belinda sought to destroy her… The blame would entirely be on Sebastian and his foolish idle threat… It was complete. Perfect. Truly one of his finest… Her transition was done. Mathieu couldn't believe it, he had won. He subconsciously looked around for that trace of blond hair and gray eyes, Belinda would want to share in his victory, but then he stopped.
He had killed her. He would no longer share anything with her again, and the thought strangely made him sad.
Outraged looks were already being thrown at their table and he wrapped his arms around her to hug her, his heart almost breaking when he heard her cry on his shoulder. Her sister had been wrong to think that he could never win. He had to save her from Valmont. Hurt Kathryn to save her, it had been the only move he could make… And it pained him almost as much as it had when he'd had to kill Belinda.
"What's wrong?" he asked, elated at the feeling of her soft skin against his neck. They were going to be happy, and as soon as they left New York, she would never again be betrayed. He would never do that to her, he loved her too much.
"Sebastian ruined me. The bastard actually did it." She said in a choked, unbelieving voice, closing her eyes shut as her hug around him tightened.
She was pleading for him to take her away, rescue her as he had done her sister so many years ago… And this was a task he was all too willing to do. The confusion between her and Valmont had been decimated, ruined and was now as dead as Belinda Van Ryan.
"I can't believe I'm seeing this!" came from another angry guest, and then another insult… She seemed to flinch at every word thrown against their table, but he wouldn't leave her. Mathieu would never leave Kathryn, not like Sebastian had done. He finally stood up and yelled for someone to take those notebooks away, keeping his face furious and attaining that believable anger a husband should have when his wife was being torn apart. It had hurt her enough; she couldn't take anymore, and frankly, so couldn't he. He turned to her, fully ready to take her away from all this filth, when he drew back, confused.
The tears were gone, the color returned, and despite the fact that she looked so heartbreakingly sad and betrayed, something changed about her.
Kathryn was smiling at him.
"What-what's wrong?" he couldn't hide his confusion, had he somehow missed something? They were going away together, Kathryn had been tainted, just like Belinda said she would, but why was there still a smile on her face?
Sebastian stood up, a notebook held in his hand. His blue eyes were cold, but somehow the warmth returned when he sat down beside Kathryn and tossed the notebook on the table. "Read it."
Belinda's repeated warnings about never underestimating… Kathryn and Sebastian… Stories of their exploits in Manhattan… Masterful manipulations and lies… They were great together… An unstoppable tempest of immorality and love alike, transcending boundaries unlike any other…
Kathryn's new husband opened it, and printed clearly were the still photographs of Belinda's murder, along with other files of his illegal activities, the blackmailing, even a signed confession from Julian Merteuil's murderers…
What would Belinda do? What?
"I'll destroy you."
"What can you possibly do to hurt me? I have no weakness, my darling Belinda."
"If you kill me, I'll make sure you regret it."
She'd bluffed. Belinda had won the card game of desire and power between them, and Mathieu had lost. He fucking lost… She knew… She knew that even though he'd try to protect Kathryn, the journal would be invaluable to him once he'd regained possession of it. Belinda knew because she knew him, all those years together… She knew he wouldn't protect her reputation if it meant that it would drive Kathryn out of Sebastian's arms and into his… But he wouldn't be able to keep her around because she was the link to their bet… He had to do it himself… The blame could be put on Valmont, and he would be Saint Mathieu once again, protector of lost girls with pasts they hate. She never had any intention of destroying Kathryn because somehow, Belinda, his Lolita, knew that it would destroy him more if Kathryn left him… She'd collaborated with the two, and Mathieu suddenly remembered. She was a Merteuil, and Merteuils were never to be scorned unless you wanted to be utterly maimed. There was something about the association of a Merteuil with a Valmont, but to add another one… Another one as manipulative and vindictive as his Belinda was… It was death to those who chose to oppose them.
He saw her face even when the video had been turned on, smiling and triumphant. The thirteen year old girl Luc Pardeu had nearly molested now gone, Belinda Van Ryan was gone too, she only became that when he'd taken her in… Now she was Belinda Victoria Merteuil again, blood of Kathryn's blood, evil, cold hearted, and manipulative… No longer the famous supermodel, but back to the well bred, wealthy socialite's daughter who could cut you open and merely watch while you bled and twitched in agony. He'd raised her, grown up with her… He now understood why Kathryn had buried Belinda as a Merteuil.
You won, honey. Congratulations. You finally won.
He felt sick to his stomach, his aristocratic face turning a shade paler than before when the lights dimmed and a video started playing right beside him. In the darkness, he saw Sebastian's fingers lace through Kathryn's the hidden yet strong relation between the two now more obvious to Mathieu's eyes.
"My name is Belinda Van Ryan, and if you're watching this, it means that I have been murdered."
That smoldering, husky voice… His heart pounded and he found himself staring at her face, looking more haunting, sad and beautiful all at the same time. His palms started to sweat, but he watched, transfixed. She was his past, his fiery, gorgeous past and now there she was… Speaking to him, haunting him… He suddenly missed her so badly.
"If all goes well, you will all have in your possession, proof that not only has Mathieu De Comte murdered me, but my father as well."
"THAT'S A LIE!" Mathieu yelled, only to be quieted down by the sudden appearance of the police standing on guard at all sides.
Belinda continued talking, pink, full lips, gray eyes both scared and accepting, soft blond curls… She could have been Sebastian's sister in another lifetime. Maybe it was why she'd come through for Kathryn… Maybe she understood the two more than she ever understood him and wanted Kathryn to feel what she could never have had with Mathieu. He drove her away, he drove Belinda away and she in turn destroyed him. Every bit of a Merteuil… Funny how he'd forgotten it before when it was now the only thing that kept running through his head.
"I've known him for years, and it was only until recently that I discovered he hired an impostor to make my sister and I believe that our father was still alive in hopes of having me sent to a mental asylum so he could get Kathryn back."
She never let it slip about Kathryn and Sebastian's affair… It was ironic how they had once been the enemy and now she was turning against him, who had once been her only ally. Belinda was breaking free of him, and he really was losing his control.
"I realized this and went to confront the impostor. As you will soon see, I've also taken the liberty of videotaping that conversation as further proof. After this, Mathieu had planned to keep Kathryn's attention on him by having the impostor beat him up. He knew that my sister was slipping away and he couldn't bear it. Let me tell you something about my old friend. He hates to lose, and he would do anything not to. After that, he had the impostor killed to avoid any other complications."
"She killed him! Not me!" That she did, both Mathieu and Belinda knew it. In a fit of anger at the way he'd been too roughly manhandled she'd gone and done what would be one of her final acts of twisted love for him. They had always been protective of each other… But that was then…
Belinda seemed to hear him and paused, a mischievous smile on her tanned face. Her eyes even seemed to look into his golden brown ones, her words slow and deliberate… Almost seductive even in death. "Checkmate, baby. I'll see you in hell."
And she faded away, and then there was the video of the impostor, just as she'd said, and finally, the short scene wherein Mathieu had taken a gun out and shot her in the head. The scenes about their discussion before that had been left out… There was only the gruesome act… His final kiss for her… The impassive look in his eyes no longer made him charming in a detached sort of way.
Everybody sat in utter silence, and it was so still that you could hear the jiggling of Edward Valmont's knee in a nervous reaction at the disturbing scene of Belinda's murder. Then it broke, the pandemonium of anger and outrage, everybody started reading the notebook, page by page, attracted and fascinated by the gruesome scandal. The police started to close in on him, but Kathryn held out a hand, signaling a few minutes alone.
"I love you… How could you do this to me?" Mathieu whispered, his hand shaking as soon as Kathryn took off her wedding ring and placed it on top of the notebook. "You're my wife."
"No, I'm not. The wedding wasn't legal because that wasn't a real priest." She replied calmly, her hand never leaving Sebastian's. "I know everything. About your bet with her, about your plan to publish the book so I'd blame her or Sebastian, it was just as Belinda had speculated. You lost and you couldn't admit it… And then you killed her. That's what drove me to make up this elaborate revenge." She paused, grinning wickedly as she and her cocky stepbrother exchanged another look. "Well, that and I haven't made a truly masterful one in a while."
"But… she betrayed you, too!" Mathieu was grabbing at straws, it was clear that he didn't want Sebastian to have her either.
"She told me everything before we came here." Sebastian answered, grinning. "Kathryn and I worked it out, roughly, mind you… It was filled with a lot of fucking and fighting, but after that, I was only too happy to help."
"It was all… planned?" he asked stupidly, unwilling to believe that he'd been outmaneuvered.
"Of course. We had to make you underestimate us once again, didn't we? My sister always said that was your flaw."
"I did it for you…"
"No, Mathieu. You did it for yourself. You were willing to have my life destroyed just so you could possess me. So you know what, fuck you." A reminiscent smile reached her face and her hand caressed his cheek. "I loved you, Mathieu. But you took it too far." With one hand, she signaled for the police to come and Mathieu was taken away, his head bowed down as every guest and reporter tried to question him.
They were utterly unaware of the real scandal that sat in front of them as the stepsiblings exchanged a knowing look. There was a small smile on both their gorgeous faces as they stared at each other and Sebastian took out the engagement ring he'd purchased, placing it on her finger.
"You didn't really think Dorothy was a better fuck than me, did you?" she asked, her eyes blazing with an indignant gleam, finally able to voice out her resentment at his comment during their pseudo fight.
"Well, did you really think that stupid ass murderer was better than me?" he volleyed back, looking at her with the same crossness.
They didn't blink for a moment, and the entire world around them melted away.
"No, but I could be severely mistaken… Would you care to prove it?"
He frowned thoughtfully, "What an excellent idea."
She bit her lip, the naughty look back with more conviction. "Come on; let's leave before anybody else notices."
"And then…?" he wanted to kiss her so badly, but he held himself back. There would be plenty of time for that.
"And then, I expect you to fully fuck my brains out."
---
Annette Hargrove spotted them quickly, and even from the distance, she had to marvel at the way the two really did work together well. They were walking back to Sebastian's car, speaking in sarcastic and then intimate whispers, switching back and forth from bitching and smiling so smoothly any other normal couple couldn't have done it. Sebastian had an arm draped around her protectively, her gorgeous brunette head casually leaning against his broad shoulder in an unKathrynlike fashion. They slowed their pace when they spotted Annette leaned calmly against the pillar.
Kathryn smiled sweetly, "Come to say goodbye, Pollyanna?"
She held out a hand, noticing how Sebastian had never looked so fulfilled even when he was with her. Annette's blue eyes met his and he grinned that real grin she'd had a glimpse of when they were driving back from Mrs. Sugarman in the senior home and she was able to make him laugh. That was so long ago now, and even then she could see that he was where he should be. She was a bitch, evil, cruel, and manipulative, but she was it for Sebastian. Just Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont, that was how it was and that was how it would be from now on.
"Funny, Kathryn." She remarked wryly, looking at Sebastian. "How can you stand her? No, wait don't answer that. Where are the pills?"
Sebastian took a small bottle out of his pocket and handed it to her, his eyes never leaving hers and the smile staying on his handsome face. God, she was going to miss him so much. He was gorgeous and everything about him just made her melt, but he wasn't hers and therefore, goodbyes were in order. "See? We do keep our end of the bargain."
We. So they were a single unit now. Sebastian and Kathryn. Kathryn and Sebastian. The names interchangeable but the connotation was still the same. That they were a force to behold when they were together, and even when they weren't, they were connected… Bound by something Annette or Belinda or Mathieu could ever explain. Annette almost brushed back a single curl from his handsome face but settled for the pills instead, examining it closely and hearing Kathryn's laugh in the background.
"Don't worry, Dorothy, I'm not screwing you over. Those were the ones Belinda and I took, any trace of the drug would be gone in a day or two after you take them."
There was something else. A catch in Kathryn's normally cold voice, almost a trace of a smile… Almost a hand out in friendship…
"Now, can you fuck off so I can give Valmont a hard on? You're starting to annoy me."
…Or maybe not. Kathryn Merteuil was a complex character, and it would take her ten lifetimes to figure out what Sebastian seemed to naturally understand. Annette almost rolled her eyes and was about to leave when Sebastian grabbed her arm gently, those worry lines once again on his forehead.
"Can I talk to you?"
"You will not!" Kathryn said loudly, "Dammit, Sebastian, the people are already leaving. Someone might see us."
And again, his full attention was on her and he smiled at his glaring stepsister. "You know, jealousy sprouts from insecurity."
"Screw you." She snapped, but then he wrapped his arms around her, his red lips whispering in her ear and surprisingly enough, the frown on Kathryn's face softened slightly and she conceded. "Make it fast."
Sebastian led Annette a little farther away, their hands no longer holding but their distance close.
"So, it finally happened." She was the first to comment and he only shrugged and smiled again. Sebastian had a wonderful smile, his real one, the one he reserved only for Kathryn and sometimes, when the timing was right, he even used on Annette, but those were infrequent times… Just momentary lapses of judgment on his part.
"I suppose so." He looked down shuffling his feet, "Listen, Annette, I've never been good at this kind of crap. I mean, you can see that I've never really had a great breakup history because I left without looking back. But you, you're different. I meant what I said before, that you were special, and I did love you, I really did."
Yeah, sure. For a day or two.
"But I wasn't her." She finished for him and he finally looked at her, really looked at her without trying to apologize or lie.
"Don't tell Kathryn this because she'll kill me, but I just didn't want you to be like those other girls who I left without an explanation. I'm sorry you had to be dragged into all this, and I just want you to know that I did mean all those things I said, even if it was just for a while. The letter along with the journal, and everything else. Don't ever think otherwise, okay?"
"My whole life has been a joke. I prided myself in taking joy out of people's misery. Well, it finally backfired. I succeeded in hurting the first person I loved"
His letter. His words. The sentiment was there but the reader should never have been her in the first place, and they both knew it.
"Please give me another chance, I'm a wreck without you."
He was a wreck because Kathryn had left, not because they'd had a fight… Annette wanted to call him on his lie, but that honest, solemn look in his eyes made her see that Sebastian Valmont, famed player, asshole, and jerk, was actually trying to leave on good terms, which was something he'd never done before.
She caught her breath when she smelled that Sebastian smell, the smell of expensive aftershave and the leather from his car. His lips were soft and cool as it touched her forehead briefly, and then she was staring into his blue eyes again.
"No hard feelings." She said almost hollowly, wondering how she could get over the entire thing. It was almost too surreal, how she hated Kathryn with everything she had, and now her sworn enemy hadn't totally decimated her when she could have done far worse.
He grinned and nodded, his mischievous eyes twinkling and the smirk returning. "I'll see you around, Annette."
She remembered nodding… Remembered watching the back of his dark suit blend into the night and come back to Kathryn, who met Annette's eyes for the briefest second. Her delicate chin nodded slightly, a silent agreement to a truce… For how long, they couldn't answer it both. She was Kathryn Merteuil and she lied most of the time, but sometimes, she made a promise and she kept it. They could hear the people coming back now; the loud voices garish and almost making Annette wince. Sebastian caressed her face and kissed her, their mouths melting into the other. With a last backward glance, he too gave a small nod to Annette and then they were gone.
A/N: I did what I had to so nobody would ever figure it out. But haven't you guys noticed that there were bits of their conversation during their fight that Mai Lie didn't hear? And how Kathryn paused for a couple of minutes after Sebastian jerked his head up so she could make sure Mathieu would follow her, which he did. The next chapter explains the rest in case there are still unanswered questions. I still have two more to post, by the way, in case you were all wondering.
Keri: Silly girl. They just really fuckin work so well together, don't they? Thank you for keeping the faith. Hahaha, about the quote… I'm sorry. Lol, but thank you for thinking that I'm a 'great mind'. Mkay, I'm sorry you were late for your class because you were reading the chapter… Would you rather I wait until you finish your exams to put in the last two parts? As for Belinda, yes, she was. I actually loved writing about her. The story I'm working on… It's pretty lame since it's just a first draft. You should've read the first draft of AIE, it's radically different. Like, it's set a year after and they're still in Manchester Prep and… Well, it's lame. Seriously. I'm not doing it because I'm fishing for compliments. It's lame. Like, yuck lame. None of that deep shit. Hahaha! I'm actually writing like two fics at the moment, but mostly I've been thinking about the sequel. Yes, there will be one. And I took the liberty of putting something you might like. You'll know about it soon… and don't try to guess. Just wait and be patient. (Although I have a feeling you're gonna guess.) Hahaha
Babeekim: Yes, it's ending. Again... There will be a sequel. You're quite right, there's still so much more to be said and done. I'll do something about that soon.
Katie: I don't mind, I appreciate the thought. This story's about to end anyway, so there'll be less to review and you won't have that much of an insane life. I'm not being bitter, really, I don't want you to lose sleep over this. I'm that nice. Lol
Nicole: Yes, like I said… ... A sequel is underway. I still have two installments to post for AIE, but I'm working on the sequel right now. Belinda is one evil bitch and I love her because she's a product of my inherent bitchiness and overactive imagination.
WashedOut: Econ sucks. I have that subject too. Lol