Breaking the Broken

Two

The Second Merteuil

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Hatred is active, and envy passive dislike

There is but one step from envy to hate

Goethe

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Merteuil was a name to be respected, no matter how many failures are in the family. Those people are to be overlooked until redeemed, or disowned if they couldn't cut it. The cost of living like this was high, but the rewards were endlessly satisfying. If you could cover your ass well enough, you could have anything you want.

Those were lessons that all the girls learned at young ages. While boys could run wild so long as they had cute dimples, girls must be prim, proper, polite, pretty, and prudent. There were plenty of other words with P's that described what a young girl in high society must be like, but those five were drilled into the heads of a Merteuil from birth. Prudence, or discreetness, was something that all of them had been particularly gifted at, especially Kathryn. But in the end, she got caught, and off she went.

Cassidy was determined not to make the same mistake.

Beautiful, brown haired, brown eyed Cassidy. She was the new pride and joy of the Merteuil family, and couldn't be happier. Sure, she felt bad about dear Kathryn being outed, but that really wasn't her problem. The family had had to flee to the west coast to escape the student body president's scandal, and though it royally pissed off Cassidy that she had had to leave her cushy townhouse and her mindless minions, she was secretly thrilled. New location, new guys, new start where nobody knew Kathryn and how "wonderful" she was. Cassidy was the god they worshiped in California. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Applying eye shadow above her large, cold eyes, Cassidy admired herself in the mirror. She had always been gorgeous, everyone thought so. She had flawless skin, shiny hair, large pretty eyes, straight features… she could go on and on. She would too, if she weren't running late. But there was only one person that she could never win against.

Kathryn.

Oh, how she loathed her cousin Kathryn. Perfect, dainty, brilliant Kathryn, who was always more interesting, more educated, more beautiful, landing better boyfriends and better positions. It had always been an unspoken competition between the two. Kathryn had usually been the victor, but occasionally Cassidy came out on top. Smiling smugly, she went over the past year and a half of her life, and knew that this was one of those times.

Worse yet, Cassidy knew that Kathryn had never obsessed over her as much as she did. Kathryn had only cared long term about one person, and that person was long gone. Cassidy only came to Kathryn's mind when she had accomplished something or failed at something, meanwhile Kathryn remained in Cassidy's mind at all times, even if it was just in a small, back part of it. Perhaps the reason that she despised her most was because she admired her more than anyone she had ever known. That sort of hero worship was painfully embarrassing for a Merteuil woman to experience.

Rolling her eyes, Cassidy checked her reflection a last time before exiting her exquisite bedroom, walking down the sweeping marble staircase to the exterior of her beachfront mansion. A limo was waiting, but her parents weren't.

"So sorry Miss Merteuil. Your parents wanted to be here, but they had other obligations on this day," Arthur, the elderly British chauffeur explained.

"Because I was expecting them," she sneered sarcastically, impatiently waiting for him to open the door, and sliding in smoothly once he did. She hadn't been expecting her parents to be home to say goodbye to her. After all, she was only leaving for college. They hadn't been there when she left for freshman year, why would they be there for sophomore? It caused her a slight pang to realize that there was no one to wish her farewell. Inadvertently, her thoughts swung to Sebastian Valmont. This surprised even her. Cassidy hadn't thought about him in a very long time, not since word of his death reached her so long ago. She remembered that day clearly.

"What a waste. He was a really good fuck," Cassidy mused aloud, repeating what she had first thought that fateful day a year and a half ago. But she remembered that afterwards, after she let him have her, he hadn't said much.

He hadn't even fallen asleep, just wrote in his journal for a little while, and then stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Roughly thirty minutes later, his cell phone rang. She told him to just let it go, cuddling up against him, but he immediately disentangled himself from her, reaching for it.

"Valmont," he said professionally, with a mocking tone to his voice. Cassidy smiled at him fondly. He was so gorgeous, and now he was hers. His handsome features began to cloud over. She couldn't figure out what was being said to him, but it couldn't be good. Cassidy was unable to distinguish the words, but she could tell that it was a female voice, and that the voice was hysterical.

"Oh my God… okay, calm down… calm down baby, it'll be okay… I'll be there in a few minutes. Okay? Relax. I'll be there," he said calmly, but there was a panicked look in his blue eyes.

Baby? Who the hell was he talking to?' Cassidy wondered, angry now. He appeared to have all but forgotten about her lying there, naked in the bed as he raced around the room, muttering to himself as he tossed his rumpled clothes on.

"Sebastian?" she inquired.

"Wha—oh, yeah, I'm really sorry Cassie. I've got to run. A… friend has an emergency," the words slid smoothly from his lips as he pulled on his shirt and put on his sunglasses. However, the dark lenses didn't prevent him from seeing the crestfallen look on the pretty girl's face. "Cassie… that was amazing. I'll call you, okay?"

He didn't wait for a response, just kissed her twice, softly on the lips, and then once on the forehead before slipping quietly out of the room.

He never called.

The next time she saw Sebastian was at a Merteuil family party. Kathryn stuck to him like glue, their arms linked together. They had always looked good standing next to each other. Their heights complimented each other perfectly, and they always matched their clothing in a way that was so classy, it couldn't be tacky. He was so naturally graceful and confident, and she was so poised and elegant and they were both so good looking that they were just a picture of perfection.

Cassidy made eye contact with him, and he smiled slightly at her, allowing her heart to soar. However, none of this went unnoticed by her cousin. The petite brunette subtly checked if the coast was clear before leaning up, sensually licking the jaw line of her stepbrother before placing a kiss on his cheek. Interest piqued, Sebastian was now focused solely on Kathryn, which was hardly unusual and exactly the way she wanted it. Cassidy instantly knew that her cousin was the one Sebastian had run to after their time together, and a combination of despair, envy, bitterness and anger boiled together inside of her, a lethal mixture indeed. Kathryn's eyes met Cassidy's across the room, a clash of brilliant green and deep brown. Her message was clear.

Mine.

Honestly, it was better that Cassidy didn't have a boy to tie her down. It was a tough job, being the most wanted girl at Prestridge University, but somebody had to do it. And if anybody else tried to, she'd destroy them. It occupied most of her time, as cover-ups were often difficult. But hey, they were necessary. If you want to be the girl all the guys would like to fuck and all the girls would like to be, you have to make sure that they don't know that it was you who circulated those pictures…

The limo slowed to a stop outside the administration offices of Prestridge University, the prestigious college she'd been attending the previous year. Straightening out her leopard print skin and sleek black shirt, she waited a moment to regain her poise as she stepped out of the limo. The first person she saw was Jason Argyle. She exchanged air kisses and a few words with him. God, he was easy.

Cassidy had known that Jason was in love with her from their first meeting. Some guys were just too predictable. Since then, he had tried anything and everything to get her into bed with him, but nobody pulls one over on a Merteuil. He was hot; she would give him that one. But there were plenty of appealing males on campus. Cassidy actually wouldn't have minded having sex with Jason if he posed any challenge whatsoever. Unfortunately for him, he didn't. Now, it was more a game to her. Get him worked up, and leave him high and dry.

Their conversation was interrupted by an unfortunate looking new student with an annoying voice and a loud cough. He was frantically arguing with the man in charge of room assignments over something. Who cares? Patrick Bale. That was his name. Disgusting little creature he was. As he passed, having lost his argument for a private room, Cassidy couldn't resist tossing in a snide little remark.

"A moment of silence… for his roommate," she sneered. Surprisingly, he didn't blush or slump down, but fixed her with a glare. If looks could kill, she'd be six feet under, just like dearly departed—

"Miss Merteuil? Your room is ready…"

"Excellent," Cassidy said, waving her hand as a goodbye to Jason. He frowned, clearly not wanting their time together to be over, but she had better things to worry about than his feelings.

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Author's Note

Oh my God guys… thank you so much for your reviews! Honestly, I wasn't sure many people still read CI. I know I do, and I'm pretty sure that I always will, but you never know about other people. Anyway, I was really happy to get them and thank you all for your kind words.

Kerimack- Wow. I made your day? That's different... your stories usually make mine! Lol. Btw- I totally agree with you. We need more CI fanfics!

So this chapter was an introduction to Cassidy, because I'm going to include characters from all Cruel Intentions-es. Well, maybe not 2, just because that movie completely sucked. Although I probably went a little heavy on her envy of Kathryn, I wanted to really drill it in, because it's an integral part of who she is and what this story might become. .:whistles innocently:. I was going to wait a little while to post this chapter, but I was feeling really inspired after yesterday, and I figured I'd just post the chapter once I was finished with it. I haven't quite mastered the art of time between updates lol. Oh well… Anyway, thank you all for reading, and please review and let me know if this totally sucked lol.

Xo Sam