Chapter 26: Addiction

Thanks Lizzy. You too, he furiously typed and hit send. Then, Greg Wickham angrily threw his phone at the bedroom wall, taking a sick kind of pleasure from hearing the case crack before it fell to the carpet below. Never had he seen a woman play so goddamn hard-to-get as Elizabeth Bennet.

He had to be honest - it threw him off a little because they seemed to have a really good vibe going. She understood him. In fact, before Lizzy Bennet, no one had ever been able to so eloquently phrase why he hated Will Darcy: the man had ruined his life by dooming him to a lower middle-class lifestyle. As a friend - NO, as a Godbrother, even - Will should have been willing to take the fall for the plagiarism incident; they never would have kicked Darcy out because of who he was, and then he would have been able to finish his degree instead of having to seek his usual, less-than-reputable, lines of work.

Family should have each other's backs; not tattle like they are still six-year-old brats with daddy issues.

It was no matter, however, because Elizabeth would be his in time. Greg smirked as he reflected that Gianna was already well on her way to ruin as a result of his last scheme; a coup that would take Darcy years to recuperate from. If he could then get Elizabeth to willingly choose himself over Darcy, his revenge would be sweet indeed. Wonder boy was used to getting whatever he wanted; losing his sister and the woman he loved to his arch-enemy would be a defeat for the ages.

Wickham was methodical and conniving; traits that he had nurtured with pleasure from a very young age. Therefore, when he had returned the key to her apartment after making his own copy, he had also made sure that there would be plenty of time to snoop around. She and her sister were both at work, and by now he knew their schedules well enough to know that they weren't due home for a few hours yet.

His invasion of their privacy had turned up a few interesting details: Jane enjoyed volunteering her time at both a local children's hospital and a nearby community center. Elizabeth's much younger sister, Katherine, had a bad habit of posting her entire life on Instagram, and her parents lived in a cozy house in Valley Stream. From what he could tell, Lizzy herself had a very active social life: he found plans for both a holiday party in her apartment and an upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic. Taking down some useful names and numbers, Greg had grabbed the pair of earrings right before leaving the apartment. They were the only ones not hung on her earring stand, an observation signaling that they were probably a pair of choice and perhaps somewhat sentimental. Judging from her reaction on the text message, he had pretty much been right.

Hopefully, she would contact him sooner rather than later to get the earrings back. When that happened, the polished and practiced Wickham Charm would be in full effect. There was no way that he was losing this war.

If William Darcy had to eat one more chocolate and mint sugary nightmare he might actually lose his stomach. In reality though, it probably wouldn't matter, because he was fairly certain that he had already lost his mind.

His self-imposed, month-long exile from Elizabeth Bennet had taken more of a toll than he possibly could have imagined. He felt sluggish and uninspired, and he had completely lost his usual focus. Perhaps he had been overconfident; he had truly assumed that, although it would take time, eventually his feelings would lessen and he could go on exactly as he had before. There was no reason for that not to be the case, really; he had always been fine alone, and beyond his close circle it had always been easier to shut out the rest of the world.

Well, almost. There had been times in his past when loneliness and seclusion had gotten the better of him. He was nineteen when the first modeling opportunity had presented itself through a friend of his father's. Initially, he had vigorously declined the offer, but his father had insisted he take it in the hopes that it would serve to awaken the non-existent extroversion he desperately hoped to one day find within his son.

Strangely enough, it had an opposite effect; what he had discovered was the perfect way to put himself out into the world while still being able to maintain his preferred level of privacy. By modeling, he was reaching out - putting himself on view for all to see - and yet, still safely shielded by the barrier of a camera. The world saw him, felt like they knew him even; but in reality, they never came close. When he was at his loneliest, taking on a modeling gig became a certain way to temporarily lessen the severity of the distance he maintained between himself and others. The high was so satisfying, in fact, that over the years the hobby had become something of an addiction.

It seemed that now, just like any other drug, modeling had only served as a gateway to stronger "substances". After completing a Ralph Lauren Polo photo-shoot a few weeks back, Darcy had been dismayed to find that the usual release that came along with seeing the completed print advertisement was nowhere to be found. He still felt alone, felt thoroughly empty; and Elizabeth Bennet still held his thoughts entirely captive. He needed to escape her, to erase the regrets that seeped into his conscience whenever he had a moment alone; but instead, the image of her lively, intelligent face that surfaced whenever his mind wandered only deepened the ache in his soul.

So he tried something stronger. His agent had informed him that a U.S. marketing agency had discovered an article on his selection as "Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor" and wanted him for an appearance in a television commercial. The ad was well-known for its focus on eyes, and they strongly felt that he was a perfect fit for their needs. It was a 20 second spot and a non-speaking role: in essence, a perfect introduction to the medium of television. Although Darcy was desperate for relief and willing to try almost anything, even he was surprised to hear himself immediately agreeing to do the commercial without a moment of hesitation.

Now, standing there with the fan blowing his hair, the candy wrapper crumbled in his hand and the make-up artist giving him another hurried once-over, he already knew that the experience would do nothing to help his inner turmoil. In reality, it was only a sorry, pathetic attempt at ignoring the question that he was so desperately avoiding having to answer: where the hell had he gone so wrong?

Darcy was certain that he had done his duty when he had made his decision in the limo that night. Bingley was as close to him as a real brother, and dating Elizabeth in the wake of his heartbreak over Jane would have been cruel and inexcusable. Gianna was in the middle of a crisis and deserved his full attention as the only member of her immediate family. He had even done his best by Elizabeth considering the balancing act he had to maintain: sending her a note in an earnest endeavor to encourage her safety and not stand her up. I did tell her that I didn't have her cell number...it isn't my fault that she never gave it to me.

And him. What about the duty he had to himself? He would have made a fool of himself pursuing a woman with dubious connections that could threaten his family, all over some petty emotion called love that he shouldn't want and didn't need.

But if that were the case, why did he have the sinking feeling that sometime when he wasn't looking Elizabeth had become as vital to his life as breathing? And why had it taken him so long to finally admit that she wasn't just something he wanted; but rather, that she was now essential to both his comfort and happiness?

He took another bite and stared imploringly into the camera, imagining that only Lizzy returned his gaze. Just a little more time. When I come back from vacation, it's likely that I'll finally have the date for Gianna's trial. Also, enough time will have passed that I can ask Bingley how he would feel if I pursued her again. Hopefully he'll be over his latest passion for dive bars and not showering daily...God, I wish there was something more I could do for him.

Most importantly, that will give me enough time to figure out how to best explain everything to Lizzy.

And maybe I should work on buying that ring.

A/N

Can anyone guess what product he is doing a commercial for?

I would like to take this moment to again thank you all for your favorites, follows and reviews. I try to write back to each review personally (that I can send a PM to) and I truly appreciate you taking the time to read Magnets and give me your feedback!

I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I refuse to post unless I am really satisfied with a chapter; hence the reason for my longer than usual gap between updates. I will try to make it up to you by posting the next one sooner, rather than later. Not a guarantee, but I will do my best. :)

In the meantime, I've done some updates to the Magnets extras on my profile. I made a lot of the photos larger, and added pictures of their Halloween costumes! I hope you enjoy them as it was really fun finding them! (I still love playing dress up some days.)

Timeline Update:

Max Brenner- Monday, November 17

Day that Jane found out Bingley was returning to England- Friday, November 21

Darcy's Commercial Filming- Monday, December 15