by Jessica Wood
“Blair, you know me. You know I’m a pretty good judge of character. I know the type of guy Ben is, and I think he’s perfect for you.”
“But I…I don’t know if we’re meant to be.”
I frowned. “What are you scared of, Blair?”
Her voice cracked as she answered me. “I’m scared that he’s not over her. She was his very first love, and if she hadn’t cheated on him, he would have proposed. It was because of her crushing his heart that he’s been a commitment-phobe bachelor for the last decade.” She sighed. “I’m worried that she will always be a part of him—that there are feelings there that he doesn’t even know he has because he’s been resisting her because he wants to be faithful to me.”
“Blair,” I grabbed both her arms and looked intently into her eyes. “Fuck Katherine! There was a reason that relationship ended. It’s also been over ten years. People change. Ben’s changed. Blair, I let the secret of Katherine almost destroy our relationship. Don’t let her destroy the relationship you have with Ben. I can tell you both love each other.”
I could tell my words were marinating in her mind as she tried to decide what to do. Finally she smiled and threw her hands around me, hugging me as tightly as she could. “Thank you, Trent! You’re right. I made a big mistake.” She then walked quickly to her car.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to go tell Ben exactly how I feel about him before it’s too late!”
Before I could respond and wish her luck, she sped off. I stood there smiling after her, happy that she was going to go fight for her happiness.
Chapter Seven
Ben
I felt numb as I stared up at the off-white ceiling over my bed. I had been awake for a while now, but I had no motivation to get up. I knew time had passed. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into hours. But I continued to stare up at the off-white ceiling in a vegetative state, willing myself to not think about anything or anyone. It was the only way to numb out the excruciating pain that radiated from my chest and into every fiber of my body.
It must have been early afternoon when I heard the lobby intercom to my condo buzz. Blair! I immediately thought, my spirits instantly lifted by the possibility that she’d changed her mind.
I raced to my door and looked at the video surveillance of the lobby entrance. My chest tightened and anger enveloped my body when I saw who it was. The Blonde Bitch.
I was about to shut off the surveillance and ignore her, but her voice boomed through the intercom.
“Ben, I know you can see me. Don’t ignore me. I need to talk to you about Blair.”
The mention of Blair’s name through her lips grated against my last nerve.
“Don’t fucking say her name to me,” I said through gritted teeth. “You don’t deserve to say her name.”
Adding fuel to my fury, she laughed coolly. “Well that’s a new one. Now come on, Ben. Let me in.”
“Go fuck yourself, Katherine!” I screamed into the intercom.
“Well, I’d much rather you fuck me,” she purred.
My mouth gaped open at how brazen this bitch was. “You know very well that shit will never happen!”
I saw her roll her eyes. “Ben, I’ll ask you one more time. Let me in now.”
I snorted. “Or what?”
A smirk appeared on her face. “If you don’t, I’ll destroy any shred of a chance you might still have with Blair.”
“Don’t threaten me. You’re just talking out of your ass.”
“Are you sure about that?” She looked directly at the surveillance camera. “Do you really think it’s worth risking it?”
I clenched my fists, trying to stabilize my rage. “How do I know you’re not going to try to destroy my chances of a relationship with Blair even if I let you in?”
She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t.”
“Katherine, I’m fucking tired of your mind games.”
“Well then, that’s easy. Just let me in.”
I thought about my options and knew that I had to let her in. From my conversation with Blair last night, I knew that she still wanted to make her relationship with her sister work. I didn’t know how much power Katherine had over Blair, and I wasn’t ready to risk it before I had a chance to talk to Blair again.
Begrudgingly, I pressed the intercom button.
“That’s what I thought.” Katherine beamed at me before walking through the unlocked lobby door.
I punched the wall in frustration as I waited for her to come up.
“Well, hello, Ben.” Katherine walked through the front door.
“What do you want, Katherine?” I asked impatiently as I walked to my living room without looking over at her.
“Shit, Ben!” she suddenly cried.
I glanced over to see what happened, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “What wrong?”
“You, actually. You look like shit.” She shook her head in disapproval. “I’ll need to teach Blair a few things about taking care of her boyfriend.”
I bit my tongue and didn’t react. I knew she wanted to get a reaction out of me, and it was the last thing I was going to give her.
“What do you want, Katherine? I’m busy.”
“Well, I was just concerned about you after everything that had happened yesterday.”
She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I immediately yanked her hands off me and took several steps back.
“Cut the bullshit, Katherine. I know you well enough to know this is all an act. What is it that you want?”
She sighed and her tone changed. “You’re right, Ben.” I knew immediately this was her normal voice. “I’m tired of this cat and mouse game, and I came to ask you something.”
I looked over at her and met her gaze. “Okay, what is it?”
Her expression changed, and it unnerved me when I saw a glimpse of the Katherine I remembered from years ago flashed before my eyes.
“Now that Blair knows everything, I want to tell you something I’d wanted to tell you over a decade ago.”
“And what is that?”
“I’m sorry for cheating on you. I was young and stupid. I couldn’t see the incredible man that I had in front of me. I took you for granted.”
“Katherine,” I cut her off, “I need to stop you there. All that is ancient history. We don’t need to rehash anything. None of that is important to me anymore.”
“I don’t believe you,” she insisted.
I groaned in frustration. “I don’t know what I can say to make you believe me, but I have no reasons to lie to you. I’ve long moved past everything that’d happened between us. So let’s not waste each other’s time in talking about it.”
“But our kiss last night? That was amazing.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “What the fuck are you smoking? Because clearly we are not talking about the same kiss.”
For a split second, I saw her face fall in despair. But it quickly disappeared, and in its place was a stone-cold, expressionless Katherine.
“Do you want to know a secret, Ben?”
“Not particularly when it’s coming from you.”
“Well, I think you’ll be interested in hearing this one. It’s about how I came back into your life.”
My ears perked up, but I kept my face free from expression. “I don’t think I can stop you from telling it, so be my guest.”
A grin spread across her face. “Well, so I wasn’t exactly honest with Blair when she called me that first time.”
I glared at her. “How am I not surprised by this?”
She ignored my comment. “You see about a year or so ago, I had seen your picture in Forbes Magazine under San Francisco’s ‘30 Most Eligible Bachelors Under 30.’ It was then that I had realized the mistake I’d made years ago when I cheated on you with your frat bro. And then months later, something cosmic happened. Blair found me and called me for the first time to tell me that I was her sister, something I had a
lready known, actually. But what I hadn’t known at the time was a pleasant surprise. While she was rambling on and on over the phone about how she’d been looking for me and how much she wanted to meet, I’d jumped on Google and looked her up. That was when I saw a picture of her with you in some local social magazine. When I saw your picture, I knew it was fate. I knew it was the Universe giving me a second chance. And as if the signs hadn’t been clear enough, Blair had then asked me if I could meet that week.”
She paused and smiled at me. “It was destiny that brought us back together, Ben. So I vowed to do whatever it took to get you back.”
“But she’s your sister, Katherine. Your real sister. And you knew that I was her boyfriend. How could you hurt her like that?”
Katherine’s expression hardened. “Because you were my boyfriend first! I was your first love. I was the first person you made passionate love to. And if I hadn’t cheated on you, you’d already be my husband. And you know what? I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m the person you pictured when you were fucking her and all the other women you’d slept with after me.”
“You’re delusional! I was your boyfriend over a decade ago! I am no longer that guy anymore. I’m Blair’s boyfriend, and nothing you say will change that.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Ben. Blair’s the delusional one. Now that she knows everything, she knows that I was your first. For such a family-oriented girl like her, I’m not sure she can let you fuck her without picturing how hard you once fucked me, how wet you once made me, and how much you loved eating me out. That’s something she can’t change. I was your first love, your first fuck, and your pussy that you worshiped. She’ll always know that when you’re deep inside her, she’s having my sloppy seconds.”
Katherine threw her head back in laughter, and that was when I’d lost it. But before I went over and slapped her across the face, a sudden movement from the corner of my eyes caught my attention.
It was Blair, and she’d walked through the half-open front door and stormed toward Katherine. Katherine turned to see who it was but before she could react, Blair curled her hand into a tight fist and threw it across the air. As if in slow motion, I watched the fist of the woman I loved forcefully pound into the face of the woman I hated.
Chapter Eight
Blair
“Fuck!” Pain radiated from my hand immediately after my fist collided against Katherine’s jaw. I watched as she toppled back and fell to her knees. A visible gash appeared on the corner of her lips.
“Shit, that was quite a punch! Are you okay?” Ben rushed to my side to take a look at my hand.
“Yeah, I didn’t know it’d hurt this much.” I looked at my battered hand and then at Katherine who had just regained her grounding. “But it was totally worth it!” I flashed Ben a smile of satisfaction.
Ben laughed. “If that’s the first time you’ve thrown a punch, you’re a fucking natural.”
“I guess I am.” I relished the moment as Katherine began to glare at me.
“Why the fuck did you hit me?”
I could see the vile hatred she had for me in her dark eyes and I knew she wasn’t the person I had first thought she was. “Why did you think?” I challenged. “I heard everything you’d just said to Ben.”
“Really, little sister, you really should learn to grown some backbone.”
“I’m not your little sister, you bitch! So don’t think you can use that to somehow push me around. Yes, we may be sisters by blood, but Trent is more of a family than you’ll ever be. I don’t ever want to see you again! I want you out of my life!”
She flashed me a condescending smile and licked some of the blood from the corner of her mouth. “Or what? You’ll throw a girly punch at me again?”
“No,” I smiled back and took a step toward her, “I have something even better. I spoke with my Dad today, and it appears that you’ve been living comfortably since you turned twenty-five five years ago when the living trust Dad set up for you went into effect.”
“So what if I lied about being poor?” she shot back.
I smirked. “You see, I threw you a lifeline today. I didn’t tell Dad about how you treated me or about how you lied to me. Since you were legally adopted by your parents, you can’t inherit any money from my family. And if you mess with me or the ones I care about ever again, I will make sure that living trust is revoked and you’ll never see another dime from my father again!”
“You wouldn’t!” She sneered at me. “I’m your sister!”
I looked at her with disdain. “You lost the right to call me your sister the moment you lied to me. I’d do anything to protect those I care about. You may have confused my initial love and care toward you as a sister for weakness, but let me warn you now, there’s nothing weak about me when you get on my bad side.”
Katherine’s face with bright right with anger as she gritted her teeth. But she remained silent. Finally she stormed to the front door with a huff. When she got to the frame of the door, she stopped. “He’s just my leftovers. He’s nothing special. If you really want my sloppy seconds so much, then he’s all yours. But, Blair,” she paused and turned to me with a wide smile on her face, “be sure to think of me when you’re sucking his cock tonight.”
“Get the fuck out of my house, Katherine.” Ben shoved Katherine into the hallway and slammed the door on her.
After Katherine was gone, Ben and I smiled at each other, and I felt my heart ache at the sight of him. He reached his hands and caressed my cheeks, pulling me up to kiss him.
But before our lips met, I moved away. “I can’t, Ben.”
Chapter Nine
Ben
Her words sent a shock wave through my system and I wondered if I’d heard them correctly. “What do you mean? I thought…”
She shook her head. “So much has happened recently, Ben. I wonder if…”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and I felt my chest tighten in fear for what she’d say next.
I grabbed her arms. “I’m sorry for everything that’s happened, baby. But we can make this work.”
She slowly pushed me away and met my gaze with somber eyes. “As much as I don’t want to admit it, Katherine’s right about one thing.”
“What?” I was completely shocked by her words.
“There are some facts that we will never be able to change. The fact that she’s my sister. The fact that you’ve slept with her. The fact that you’d loved her so deeply that when she broke up with you, you refused to be in a relationship for over ten years.”
“That’s all in the past, Blair.” I needed her to know that I didn’t love Katherine anymore. “What I felt for her doesn’t stand a chance to how I feel about you.”
“Tell me this, Ben. If she hadn’t been a bitch to me, and we had became close sisters, would you have been okay with that? Would you have been able to appreciate her as my sister?”
“I…” I was taken aback by her questions. It wasn’t something I’d thought about.
“Would you have forgiven her for all the things she’d done to you?”
I knew she wanted the truth, and I was tired of lying to her. I looked away. “I don’t know.”
“You’ve been holding on to so much anger and resentment against her for over ten years. I don’t think that just goes away overnight.”
“But that doesn’t change how I feel about you,” he insisted.
“But it changes how I feel about us.” I watched her fight back her tears as she tried to hold it together. “I’m still trying to accept and move on from the fact that she’s your ex.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. She was right. I couldn’t change any of these facts.
“Ben, since the first moment we met, it’d seemed like life has been trying to pull us apart. Maybe we don’t work.”
“Don’t say that,” I begged.
“You know, when I was younger and got my heart broken by a guy, my Dad said something to me that has stayed with me. He said,
‘You can’t force love. You can’t control the future. But you deserve the best in life. So if the time is not right, then move on. Second best is never enough. You’d do much better on your own.’” She turned to meet my gaze. “Those words stuck with me all these years, and it holds true more so than ever. People always say that timing is everything when it comes to relationships. And it’s been pretty clear from the very moment we met that timing has never been right for us. Something or someone was always just around the corner to break us apart. So…maybe it’s time for us to move on…from each other.”
“No, Blair. I think we should talk about this.”
She tried to force a smile but more tears fell down her flushed cheeks. “What else is there to say, Ben? I want all of you, Ben. But I don’t think you can give it to me right now.”
“That’s not true,” I argued, but a part of me wondered if she was right. I had never truly let go of what Katherine had done to me over ten years ago, and the pain and anger had stayed with me all this time.
“Even if it’s not true, even if you could move on from your anger for Katherine and be okay that she’s my sister, I’m not sure I can move on from the fact that she’s your ex.”
I wanted to tell her that I loved her, but fear held me back. I could tell from the expression on her face that she’d made up her mind.
“Maybe it’s not meant to be.” Her voice was soft and pained.
My chest constricted and I found it hard to breathe. A heaviness was in the air as we stared at each other in the still, tense silence. There was nothing left to say.
Finally she broke the trance between us and kissed me gently on the cheek. “Goodbye, Ben,” she whispered in my ear, and I felt her hot tears wet my face.
Unimaginable pain paralyzed me, and I couldn’t seem to speak. My stomach lurched with regret and agony as I watched her walk out of my life.
EPILOGUE
Ben
THREE YEARS LATER
Today was a day I’d been waiting for as long as I could remember. It was a day I’d dreamt about for so long. It was a day I’d worked my ass off for during the past eight years.