*AN… Sorry for the long delay of updating, business got in the way. Believe me, I'd rather be doing this than working 2 jobs! Don't worry, we'll get to the mystery of "Hello, Mother" soon! Then back to Vegas!

Benjamin

Veronica POV

I'm a Hartwick, descendant of the family who established some college back in the 1700's. My name alone gets me a lot of things and believe me, I'll take what I can get and more if I'm able to. I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth and I always got what I wanted. I guess you could call me a spoiled little rich girl, and I agree completely. I've never had to work a day in my life and I don't plan on it. My mother never worked either so I don't see what the problem is if I don't. She was always doing some do-gooder activity and she'd drag me into it, dangling my trust fund in front of me like a carrot. It worked to a point. All I ever did was make my appearance by showing my face and then going about my life like nothing changed. I don't have time for that stuff.

Having money was a huge benefit. It gave me more power in social circles and I enjoyed being the center of attention. I always had people flocking to be friends with me because I would always do things that were off-the-charts fun. I had access to a lot of things that most people wouldn't so when I did something everyone else wanted to hang out with me. We always had a good time. While in high school it was all about status, parties, boys, shopping and trips. I was cordial to everyone because I had to be, but, unless there was some way I could benefit from you then we weren't social.

I had my father wrapped around my finger, at least I thought I did. He gave me everything I ever wanted and never asked for anything in return so I never questioned things. After all, I'm an angel compared to my brother, Bruce. Now there's a rich kid with issues. He's been in and out of jail, accused of numerous things and was cut off from the trust fund dad set up for him. It's still waiting for him though, but apparently father wants him to straighten up and prove he can be responsible enough to handle it. I think it's a bunch of bullshit and just one more way for father to control him. I mean sure, he's had some issues happen and was accused of things but the people involved were able to buy off the courts and manufacture evidence to win their case. I feel bad for him so I help him out whenever I can. I can't give him very much because then I would run out of money for myself from my allowance, but I can't let him be without either. The times he's been in jail I was the one who put money in his account so he could have things to make his time better. Thank god it was only a couple of years at a time, had it been any longer I couldn't do it. I couldn't keep giving him money that was coming out of my allowance so I was very thankful that daddy kept providing me with my allowance, otherwise I'd never be able to live the social life I expect to. Graduating high school was the best thing that ever happened to me. I had a huge party, hundreds of people attended and it lasted all weekend. It was a great kick-off to my independence and one step closer to my financial freedom.

I can't wait to access my trust, then I will no longer have to rely on my parents for money and I don't have to follow their rules doing stupid social functions. I mean, who cares if I'm there or not? Mom will handle everything for me, just like she usually does. The closer I get to twenty-one the more I can't wait for my trust. I'll be able to enjoy trips to different countries, going on shopping sprees there instead of packing for the trips. Trips to the beaches have always my favorite and it would be so much easier to travel with a private plane. I will be able to buy new cars when I feel like it and spare no expense on the accessories. I always had to have the top of the line and the best of everything. Oh yes, I will also move out and into my own apartment in downtown Seattle. I heard it's the best place for the up-and-coming social stars.

I realize that with all my plans for being a socialite and not working, I need to find a man that can take care of me. The problem is that there aren't any men around here that interest me. Sure there are men that are interested in me but there is no physical attraction there and that is an absolute deal breaker. There's got to be something there to make some sort of connection besides, I don't want to be so obvious about my priorities.

When I was invited to that barbeque it was like I was meant to meet Oscar. He was always sweet, very handsome and had the drive to build his career quickly. I hated that I wasn't his full attention but I knew he would take care of me. I know it will be worth it in the end. His investments, pension, life insurance policy and all the properties will be mine in the end. Not to mention that I would still have my trust. It couldn't get better than that!

The only kink in my plan was getting pregnant so soon. Actually getting pregnant at all. I never wanted kids but our son was one of the best things I ever had. He was perfect in every way. Easy to take care of, quiet, smart, and did everything he could to please me. The older he got the more he became one of the most important things to me. I even took him to all my functions because everyone else loved him just as much as I did. With Oscar being out to sea often, I knew he would want as much time with James as possible, after all it was only fair considering he IS his son. However, I absolutely hated it because I had no control over what they did.

While I did enjoy Oscar focusing on his career, I did get lonely and started seeking attention elsewhere. I started socializing just like I did in high school and met a lot of people. The only difference what I wasn't looking for money, I was more interested in someone to focus on me. To dote on me and give me the attention I craved. After a while I met someone, Brad, and he did just that. He was all about making me happy, complimenting me, loving me and the sex was amazing. It was easy for me to find a sitter because James was such a good little boy that everyone wanted to babysit him so I took advantage of that and went out whenever I could.

I did whatever I could to cover my tracks so I could hide my affairs. Actually, there weren't that many and once I met Brad, he became the only one after a while. Though I knew we would never be anything more than a long-term hook-up, we still couldn't let each other go. While Oscar was out to sea, Brad and I spent a lot of time together and about three weeks before Oscar returned I started feeling a little 'off' and noticed that I would get nauseous but I never got sick. I decided to take a pregnancy test just in case but I made sure to leave base and go to a random store to get one. I wasn't about to go to the doctor or any store on base where word would get around quickly. Sitting and waiting for the results to pop up was torture but I needed to know what I was working with. And, unfortunately, I was pregnant. SHIT!

I never told anyone about Brad and the time we spent together but I knew that I'd have to act fast so Oscar wouldn't find out about me having an affair. I had only two options. One, I could get an abortion but then I'd have to explain to Oscar why I was having a medical treatment. I'm sure somehow his work would somehow find out and then I'd really be in deep shit. Or two, I could hide it, pretend nothing happened and make Oscar believe he was the father. That meant I'd have to make sure to fuck him as often as possible and pretend I was happy that he was back stateside. Unfortunately, I never thought when Oscar and I had sex that it was love. It was merely sex or dutiful fucking and I only enjoyed the physical aspect. There was absolutely no emotional connection to him, even after all the years we were married. Boy how I wish I had chosen differently; It sounds terrible but it's the truth.

I was miserable the entire pregnancy, both physically and emotionally. I had made the mistake of "accidentally" falling in love with Brad and when I told him he said he didn't feel anything for me and just walked out of my life. I've never been so hurt in my life. I had hoped he would have developed the same feelings I did over time but I guess I was wrong. Even in high school I never experienced something like what we had. I mean, I loved Oscar but I wasn't IN love with him. He was just a means to an end. This baby was just a reminder of Brad's love that I'll never get and I harbored bitter feelings toward it. I often wish I'd risked everything by having an abortion, then I wouldn't have to be reminded every second of every day that my happiness was ripped from me.

When Rhiannon was born, I was glad to have her out of me. We never had that close mother and daughter bond and the emotional connection never appeared. I just couldn't bear to be reminded of who her father was knowing that I'll never have the happiness that I wanted. To make matters worse, I was forced to take care of her while Oscar was at work but I couldn't bring myself to do it like a mother should so we spent a lot of time with friends and family so it wouldn't seem so obvious that I didn't want to. While I doted on James it was obvious that I was neglecting Rhiannon, not so much physical neglect, more like emotional neglect. Oscar, on the other hand, connected with her from the instant he saw her and he would do everything for her. I'm sure he knew she wasn't his because she looked like neither of us. Apparently that didn't really matter because he still considered her his. Oscar quickly took over most parental duties involving Rhiannon and I guess, in a way, I was ok with this because it just meant that I didn't have to be involved in her life very much.

Oscar would take her everywhere with him, work, the gym, the store, basically everywhere he went, she went. It was perfectly fine with me. In fact, the more she was away from me the better. She preferred to be with him anyway, and when we were together the tension was palpable. Maybe I was jealous of their love or maybe I resented her for losing Brad. Either way, we were happier when we were not with one another. Besides, I had James and he was all that mattered.

The relationship between James and Rhiannon was a tumultuous one. They fought like cats and dogs one minute and the next James was trying to make things better between them. He always wanted to make amends and didn't like it when Rhiannon was upset with him. She claimed to never do anything to cause the fights but I know she did. James would never do anything that she accused him of and I'm pretty sure she was the one who instigated everything. She caused a lot of problems over the years and the older she got the worse they were. She made accusations that were horrendous and there was no way it could have happened. In fact, if anything, she probably asked for it or deserved it. She was always trying to break up relationships of every type, family, friend, romantic you name it. It was like she was jealous of everything I had and wanted to ruin my life.

Around the time she turned 12 we grew so far apart that she spent hardly any time with me. When she wasn't with Oscar she was either with his parents, my parents or his coworkers and friends. It was rare when James and Rhiannon went anywhere together, especially to either set of grandparents. I think they preferred to have them separately, which isn't a bad thing considering the kids are able to get sole attention and not having to fight for it. Oddly enough, when Rhiannon was with my parents they would go off and take trips and having special adventures, shopping and whatever else they came up with. When it was James' turn, he always came home complaining that all they did was tell him how to act, that he'd regret treating his sister so bad and they never did anything special for him or let him have any fun. At least that's what he claimed. Because of this, the older James got, the less time he wanted to spend with either set of grandparents and I can't blame him either. They definitely never did any of those things with me when I was a kid and it hurt. All they ever did was give me money and sent me away on vacations and stuff like that, like they were paying me to disappear.

The differences in the relationships between relatives created such a stressful and tense environment which led to many fights between Oscar and myself, and some of them were absolutely mean and spiteful. Oscar and I would fight so much that we finally got divorced. It certainly made my life easier, to a point. I made sure to have him file the paperwork so he would have to pay me alimony.

While we were waiting for the process to complete, I moved out of the house but I was allowed to stay on base because I was the kids' mother and someone needed to be close in case there was an emergency and Oscar couldn't be reached. Upon finalizing our divorce, after all the haggling and fighting in court was finished, we finally had an agreement of custody of the kids. James would come to live with me and Rhiannon would stay with Oscar. I was livid. How dare the judge award Oscar custody of Rhiannon instead of me when he's the one who's away for weeks at a time for work! I fought him on this and appealed the decision but I guess Oscar had more connections than I originally thought. In the end, he only paid me for alimony and child support for James, which I appealed again but I failed there too. I swear, Rhiannon has everyone wrapped around her finger, even the law. One day everything is going to come back and bite her in the ass and she'll deserve everything she gets.