A/N: Hey all! So sorry for my absence. Hopefully this update will make up for it. Enjoy & Thanks so much for reading! :)

Remember Me- Chapter Fourteen

"Who was that?" Stefan asked, drying off his hair with a towel as Elena laid back into the mattress underneath her and she closed her eyes. She knew who it was and what she'd just so stupidly done. If anything, Aubrey knew about them now too, even if she didn't want to.

"Your wife called and I just accidentally answered the phone. I didn't mean to do it. But, I did and-." The angry look on Stefan's face was enough for Elena to get up out of bed and begin to apologize to him. "Please, Stefan. I'm sorry. I didn't-." Cutting her off with a wave of his hand, he got dressed quickly and took his cell phone into his hands.

"You and I are being incredibly stupid and reckless with each other. Elena, as much as I've been enjoying these last few days with you and these last few hours. I think it's time you go to stay with your brother." He said, without looking at her as Elena closed her eyes and shook her head. It was already too late; Aubrey knew and god only knew what she was going to do about it.

Elena scoffed, trying to stand her ground. "Why did you even marry her, Stefan? It's obvious to me that you barely even love her at all. I mean, she's the one who should be here with you. Not me!" She hissed out as Stefan stood up, their eyes level on one another when he stood in front of her and spoke in a warning tone. "I married her because you weren't there and Ben needed a mother. Because, if my illness ever came back. I wanted him to be okay. Okay? I married Aubrey out of fucking convenience for myself even if I didn't really love her that much. But, I grew to love her and to be honest, I've been fucking stupid with you lately. Now, I think it would be best for you to leave."

Elena shook her head, anger boiling up within her heart and her blood. "Here we are, fighting again like usual. God, damn it! Just when I thought-." He cut her off again, glaring at her.

"Just when you thought what? That we could really happy together again? Elena, I'm cheating on my wife and I'm a pathetic man for doing so." Stefan pointed out to her, running his hands through his hair as he looked up at her and made a stern suggestion. "We shouldn't see each other again for a while. Not until I figure things out with Aubrey." He told her, handing her a piece of paper with an address on it as he exhaled deeply.

"What's this?" Elena asked, giving him a perplexed look as Stefan shrugged his shoulders back and spoke. "If you don't want to stay with your brother. I understand. However, I think you should stay here then. I'll come out there too, eventually. Just to see how she's doing and how you are of course." Stefan replied, watching as Elena looked down at the address and noticed the name on it.

"You want me to go see her? Alone?" Elena asked as Stefan nodded, telling her he thought that it would be a good idea and that he'd be in touch over the next few days.

"You knew! Didn't you?" She shouted out, pushing her way inside of the house as Katherine and Damon stood near the door, confusion and utter shock on their faces while Aubrey glared at both of them for whatever wrong doing she claimed they had done.

"Knew what?" Damon asked her, scratching his head and trying to make sense of whatever it was that she was talking about.

"About Stefan's illness, about the fact that he's in Seattle with another woman. But, not just any woman. With her! His ex-fiancé, Elena Gilbert!" Aubrey screamed. Damon watched as Katherine pulled her aside, telling her to keep her voice down and that it would be best for them to talk outside. Katherine dragged her outside onto the patio as Aubrey breakdown in tears and stammered out uncoherent words like "How could he do this to me!"

"Aubrey, I had no idea that he was with her or that she was even in Seattle." Katherine tried to say, attempting to defuse the situation and make things a little bit less tense between them all. However, Aubrey looked as if she was going to kill one of them. "My daddy told me to never trust a rich man like Stefan Salvatore. Why the hell didn't I listen to him? Of course, he's still in love with her! I've known it for years. I just kept thinking that if I made him forget about her that things would be easier, that he'd love me more." She said as Damon paced the backyard and stopped when he heard something that stood out to him that Aubrey had just said.

"What did you just say?" He asked as Aubrey's tearful face glanced up at him and she sniffled out her words once more about Elena. "I said, if I made him forget about her…." She reiterated.

London….Elena being offered a job to work with Rebekah at her husband's firm. "Now, maybe it's a stretch. But, I think your parents set her up to stay in London, didn't they? Because they knew my brother was still in love with her and that it would ruin what the two of you had built. What you had built with him, this lavish lifestyle.…They're part of the reason why Stefan and Elena have been apart for so long. Because, the day that Stefan met you at that benefit dinner for Klaus's charity. It wasn't just an accident. They had done their homework, they wanted you to meet him. To get under his skin. Because, they were having financial problems and your family isn't as wealthy as everyone claims they are. They pushed you to marry my brother, for the money of course."

She sat there speechless, unaware of what to really say as Damon's theories came spilling out one by one and Katherine quickly stopped him. "That's ridiculous, Damon. It's enough. You're humiliating the poor girl."

Aubrey was crying even harder now, wailing sobs escaping out of her mouth as she took a few minutes to let herself cry it out and then with a red face and tear stained cheeks, she told them something that left them both a bit at a loss for words. "My parents did set up the meeting with Stefan. They knew about your family and how wealthy you all are. They also knew that we were about to lose everything. So, they figured that if I met Stefan, had him fall in love with me and marry me that it would save myself and them financially. But," She paused, glancing down at her wedding ring as she softly said. "No one was prepared for how I'd really start to feel about him down the line. No one, including myself thought that I was going to fall in love with him. But, I started to. A little after I had met Ben for the first time and saw them interacting together. I thought to myself that I could truly see myself being a family with him. Then, Elena came back into the picture and nearly ruined everything. So, yes, I had someone I knew very well make sure that Elena was too distracted in London to come back here."

"And, who could that have been, Aubrey?" Damon asked, shaking his head as he crossed his arms and felt the anger towards her come rushing to the surface when she stated. "Kai Parker. He wasn't just Elena's counselor. He was my childhood friend, with a very charming side to him that I banked on Elena falling for. Which, when she did. I knew that he'd keep her in London for a while longer than anyone else could. That was until the wedding came and I knew that it was time to finally see who Elena Gilbert was."

Damon shook his head, feeling disgusted with himself and with the new information that he had just learned as he asked in a stern tone. "Is he really sick, Aubrey? Or is my brother dying another made up lie of yours?"

She shook her head, wiping away her tears as she locked her eyes on to Damon and then to Katherine when she stated in a soft tone. "It's not a lie, Damon. He really is sick. Stefan really only has a few more years to live, if the treatment doesn't work for him. That time could be reduced to a year or two to live. I'm sorry." She told them, watching as Katherine and Damon stood beside each other in disbelief. Aubrey paused for a brief moment when Katherine asked in a curious tone. "Was any of it real? Your love for Ben, the way you loved Stefan?"

She nodded, swallowing the lump forming in her throat as she stated. "All of it. But, I should have known that my lies would catch up to me. So, I guess I can't be that mad at Stefan. Since, our marriage has been a total fabrication of the truth and soon enough, he'll see me for who I really am."

Elena stood in front of the door nervously. She couldn't get herself to knock on it and as much as she wanted to, she also wanted to turn right back around and leave. However, after everything that Stefan had done for Aunt Jenna and for her in these last few months, Elena knew that it wouldn't be fair to him or to herself to not at least sit down and talk with her aunt.

Exhaling deeply, she placed her hand on to the door and gave it a quick knock. Waiting, she took a step back as the door in front of her flung open and Jenna's dirty blonde hair flew out of her face, a wide smile spreading across her lips. "If it isn't who I think it is! Oh my god! Ric, honey! Check out what the cat dragged in!" Jenna hollered, pulling Elena into a tight embrace as they both laughed and Alaric came rushing to the door, getting a good look at Elena as he and Jenna both gave her a once over. She looked just like she had before, a little older and worn from the daily stresses of life. However, she was still the same niece that Jenna had hired all those years ago to work at her salon in Florida.

"I can't believe it! Sweetie, what on earth are you doing here?" Jenna asked, closing the door behind them while she pulled Elena into her for another hug and then Alaric hugged her too. They all smiled and laughed as Elena pointed to the piece of paper with her aunt's address on it, trying to explain.

"Stefan gave me your address and he told me that it would probably be a good idea to come and see you. Since, you know, it's been a long time." Elena smiled, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ears as she nervously fidgeted in place while her aunt smiled sweetly at her.

"So, why isn't Stefan here with you?" Jenna asked, watching Elena's happy facial expression quickly change to that of pure disappointment. "He has some other things to tend to." Elena explained, hoping that her vague enough answer would prevent the talk about Stefan to be brought up again.

"So, how's your brother and his wife?" The question made Elena take a moment to think about the best way she was going to approach the answer. She shrugged her shoulders as Jenna guided them into the living room while she replied with a simple answer. "They're divorced." Elena explained, watching Jenna's face fall as she took a seat next to Ric, grabbing his hand into hers instantly.

"What?" Jenna asked as Elena leaned back into the couch cushions, looking around her aunt's living room and noticing all the frames filled with familiar pictures. The memories of the happier times made her smile. It felt good being back with her family after so long.

"Yeah. It happened recently. I'm surprised no one really told you." Elena stated, hearing Jenna exhale deeply as she readjusted herself by Ric. She'd been out of the family loop for quite some time and now with Elena there, things felt like they once did. However, Jenna wasn't really sure about things because she could sense the uneasiness Elena felt around her.

"Part of me thinks you're not here to really talk about the family. So, why are you really here, Elena?" Jenna asked in a soft tone as Elena ran her fingers through her hair while she replied in an honest tone. "You're right, I'm not really here for that. I'm here to talk about the money, Stefan gave you Aunt Jenna. Why did he really contribute nearly half a million dollars to you and this new business you're running?"

She watched as Ric and Jenna looked at each other, both of them unsure of what to really say. But after a few minutes of silence between them, Ric dropped a bombshell. "It's not for a business. It's to build a house for him, for you and Ben. And to put money into a savings account for Ben. Look, Elena…We swore we weren't going to say anything. But, Stefan talked about his will with us and what he wants to happen after he's gone. Listen, he made it very clear. Elena, he wants you to stay in your son's life. That's the real reason he contacted us. Stefan thinks it would be a good idea for you and Ben to live with us after he's gone. He wants Ben to have a normal life and to get to know his mother on this piece of land and in a new house for the two of you. Because, you're all he's going to have left."

A/N: Until Next Time!