Entangled (Vice Games)

by Cooper, Alice

  ‘What? No,’ I found myself saying with bafflement painted all over my face.

  ‘My breakup with Lauren will be questioned and Karen will not accept the news lightly.’

  ‘So I’m to be your excuse?’

  ‘Yes. Everything has been arranged and you are to follow my lead.’

  ‘What you’re asking me to do is lie to your father and stepmother,’ I said.

  ‘My family is already full of lies; one more will not hurt any of us. Besides, this was your idea.’

  ‘How, exactly, is pretending to be your fiancée my idea?’ My heart raced as I spoke. His fingers were still wrapped around my wrist and the touch made it hard for me to breathe. Then I remembered our little conversation back at the restaurant yesterday. When he said he needed to pick someone that would not offend Anna, I did not realize that he meant me. ‘No. I can’t do this. Lying to them is one thing but to Anna? No.’

  ‘What you choose to disclose to my sister is up to you. But I would advise that you do that after the dinner. Her reaction is vital in convincing them of our ruse. I will discuss the arrangement with you later.’

  ‘We could have discussed about this during the day,’ I pointed out, ‘or early in the morning before you left for work.’

  ‘I had other businesses to attend to.’

  ‘Like buying a new car?’

  ‘You looked uncomfortable in the old one,’ he said without pointing to the fact why it made me feel that way. He knew and there was no need to talk about it any further.

  ‘How long am I supposed to stay engaged to you?’ I asked.

  ‘Until it is necessary to terminate.’ Tristan released my wrist and looked at his watch. ‘We need to go.’

  He opened the door and stepped aside for me. I frowned as I made my way down the stairs where Anna waited. Her eyes immediately caught the rock on my finger. Lorraine was next to her and their mouths dropped instantly.

  ‘Is that mom’s ring?’ Anna asked as she came forward and took up my hand to observe it. ‘It is mom’s ring.’

  I turned to Tristan who descended the stairs with elegance. He nodded for me to keep walking and did not answer my enquiring look. On my finger was a family heirloom and it made me feel like an imposter to be wearing it. Everything seemed to be happening so quickly that I did not have time to comprehend it at all.

  ‘To the car, Anna,’ said Tristan.

  ‘Did you just propose to Phoebe? I didn’t know you two were…when did this happen?’

  ‘Anna, I’ll explain later but for now, well, come on, let’s just get this over and done with.’

  Tristan opened the car door for me and Anna bounced into her seat. She pestered us with questions but Tristan did not answer any of them. I remembered what Tristan had said to me earlier and held my tongue to prevent it from bursting Anna’s elated bubble. I dreaded how she would take it when she finds out that it is only a lie.

  It was dark when we arrived at the mansion and it was slightly over six. The traffic had not been kind and it took an extra half an hour to reach the Main House.

  ‘Anna, compose yourself,’ Tristan said as he moved to stand beside me. Anna pulled a face at her brother but did as she was told.

  I felt nervous as we walked together up the front steps and guided us through the house by one of the waiting butlers. The place was illuminated with a harsh white glow and every inch felt cold. The dining room was large and the table big enough to seat at least fifty table. Seated at the head of the table was Elliot Vice and to his left was his wife Karen. I was surprised to see Lauren seated next to her. She wore a bright low cut dress that placed her pair of melons on display. Her hair was set in the same perfect curls as Karen and I thought that it made them look almost like twins. The similarity made me think that these two are somehow related, or perhaps it was just Karen’s surgical modifications. Their perfumes were strong and it felt as they had showered in it.

  The two women’s eyes immediately glanced towards the ring on my finger. With their taste in money, a rock of this quality and size was not hard to miss. I saw Elliot Vice’s eyes moved in the same direction and it deduced a flicker of emotion through his stone face.

  ‘Sit,’ he said.

  Tristan led the way and sat on the opposite side from Karen and Lauren. Anna and I followed. I noticed that Anna remained unusually calm in the presence of these two women and I quickly realized that it was probably due to the false fact that I am engaged to her brother. It prevented her from having a panic attack as a different sort of thoughts moved through her mind.

  ‘Explain yourself,’ Elliot Vice demanded.

  ‘What would you like to know?’ Tristan asked. He turned to face his father directly and I noted how his tone changed with a hint of mockery.

  ‘Why is that ring on her finger?’ Karen asked.

  ‘Oh,’ said Tristan as he picked up my hand and observed the stone under the chandelier light. As he ran his fingers to straighten out mine, a wave of electricity moved through my body. ‘You mean this?’ Tristan placed my hand down on the table and held it in place for all to see. ‘We are engaged,’ he announced.

  I held my breath as my eyes observed the two women opposite me.

  ‘Engaged?’ Karen repeated. The surprise must have been so strong that it managed to show itself. Incredulity covered her normally plastic and unchangeable face.

  ‘Yes,’ Tristan confirmed.

  Lauren seemed to be in shock but quickly found her voice. ‘Is she the reason why you broke it off with me?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Her eyes widened and it looked as if she was about to scream. Her chest heaved furiously as she glared at me with murder in her eyes. Karen placed her hand against Lauren’s arm and kept her from lashing out. It was a good thing the food was not served yet. I was certain that she would most likely throw her knife at me.

  ‘I see you have chosen to have Annabelle return here,’ she said.

  Anna immediately looked past me to question her brother with her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but I quickly took up her hand. I sensed that Tristan has some sort of plan. He would never let Anna back here, especially when she’s doing so well since being away from this place.

  ‘That won’t be necessary,’ he said calmly.

  ‘But that is part of the agreement. You marry Lauren and she will take care of your troublesome sister while you work.’

  ‘Yes, that is prior to Phoebe’s employment. Father, did we not come to another agreement concerning Annabelle? You said that she may stay with me under the circumstance that I am able to hire someone who has control over her behavior. I am aware that the teachers that come to my house are also employed to witness her taking her pills. The doctors you have assigned to her also confirmed in their reports to you that Annabelle’s behavior and mental stability has also positively increased since Phoebe’s arrival. As you can see now, Annabelle is also not experiencing any signs of a panic attack which often occurs when she is here in this house.’

  Elliot Vice could not deny these facts. I have been in every class that Anna took with the teachers that her father had hired, with the exception of yesterday’s math lesson. I also went with her for her doctor appointments. Although we continued our lies to them as well, it was clear that not taking the pills had a dramatic positive impact on Anna’s sanity. But her father didn’t need to know that and Tristan did not speak a word about it. The only other souls that knew about the ruse were Lorraine and Jace.

  ‘Well, you can’t just simply discard your engagement with Lauren,’ said Karen when her husband did not speak a word.

  ‘It is necessary that I end my relationship with Lauren,’ said Tristan with ice in his voice.

  ‘And why is that?’ Lauren asked; her tone was sharp and deadly.

  ‘Phoebe is carrying my child.’

  I nearly choked at the announcement and everyone fell into stunned silence. Anna was as shocked as I was to hear this from Tristan. It caught everyone off guard and
no one knew how to react. Faking an engagement was one thing but faking a pregnancy was another matter. Tristan squeezed my hand gently, somehow, that is meant to be reassuring.

  ‘Do you have proof?’ Elliot Vice said in a deep low tone.

  Tristan reached into his jacket pocket and produced an envelope. He handed it to his father who opened it and pulled out the letter inside. His glanced over the paper.

  ‘You’re lying,’ said Karen. ‘Elliot, if you’d please.’

  Elliot Vice gave the paper to his wife. Lauren leaned over and her eyes grew wide with disbelieve.

  ‘The test was done yesterday and hence her absence from Annabelle’s math lesson. I’m sure you’ve been informed. It was also the reason why I was absent from my meeting with you at the office yesterday afternoon.’

  ‘Is this true?’ Karen questioned him. Elliot Vice’s silence only confirmed what Tristan had just said.

  Lauren could not take it anymore and immediately stood up. She left the dining room and when she was far away enough, we heard the echoes of her furious scream reverberate through the corridors. The butlers came in with the dinner - a serving of steak, potatoes, carrots and peas with the most glorious smelling gravy. But Karen was not in a mood to eat. She left as soon as the plates were placed down in front of us.

  ‘Bon appetite,’ said Anna as she grinned and began to cut into her steak.

  Chapter 12 – The talk

  Anna has never enjoyed any sort of meal at the Main House since her birth mother passed away. She was bouncing like a balloon when we returned to Tristan’s house and decided to announce the news of my pregnancy to Lorraine and Jace.

  ‘I’m going to be an aunt!’ she screamed at the top of her lungs.

  ‘Off to bed you go,’ Tristan said to her. Anna squealed and gave me a tight hug before she bounded up the stairs. Lorraine and Jace came out of their rooms. They were old and wise enough not to be easily convinced as Anna.

  ‘Master Tristan,’ Jace began.

  ‘It is my day off tomorrow and I’m sure we can talk whatever it is you want to talk about then,’ he said to his trusted gardener and chauffer. ‘That goes to you too, Lorraine.’

  They looked towards me with an explanation but I was mentally exhausted from the intensity of the dinner lies.

  ‘I am going to bed,’ I said and quickly made my way upstairs.

  Anna was already in her pajamas and her mind bubbled with questions. However, she quickly held her tongue and continued with her grin when Tristan stood at my door, his arm above his head and rested against the frame. I turned and was taken aback by the appearance. His suit jacket buttons were undone and it showed his off his cream white shirt that fitted snuggly on his strong torso.

  ‘I’ll go and sleep in my room tonight,’ she said.

  ‘Anna,’ I started but the girl was already gone. Tristan stepped inside and closed the door after him.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘What do you think I’m going to do?’ he asked as he narrowed his eyes playfully at me. It made my heart skip a beat. He approached me and something about his sudden movement made be back away defensively. It was undeniable that I was certainly attracted to him but everything that occurred in the past few hours was more than I could process in one night.

  I took the ring off my finger and held it out to him.

  ‘You can have it back now,’ I said.

  Tristan smirked and took a step closer towards me. It gave him a devilish sort of look upon his face and that made my pulse quicken. He picked up the ring off my palm and as I dropped my hand, he took hold of it and held it securely in his hand. Tristan slipped the dazzling rock back onto my finger again.

  ‘Keep it on,’ he said. ‘You’re going to be watched closely for the next few months.’

  ‘Few months?’ I found myself repeating.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And the matter concerning our non-existent child?’

  ‘You have at least a month or two before they begin to notice anything, though I’m sure that a false baby bump can be arranged.’

  ‘I’m not going to wear a fake bump.’

  ‘Would you like to make it a real one?’

  My mouth dropped at his suggestion and I immediately reached out with my free hand and grabbed the pillow on the bed. I hit him as hard as I could with it. There was a soft thud as the goose feathers deflated against the impact and only made Tristan laugh. The sudden change in the way he spoke to me surprised and terrified me.

  ‘Perhaps not.’ He released my hand and I was allowed to escape to the other side of the room.

  ‘Are you mad?’ I hissed at him. He saw my fear and seemed to be amused by my reaction. Many things flashed through my mind – Lauren, the dream, my lunch with him yesterday, my unyielding attraction towards him – it was maddeningly unfair.

  ‘No,’ he said simply.

  ‘You were engaged to someone else two days ago,’ I started. ‘Don’t you love her at all?’

  ‘Love?’ Tristan snorted. ‘Do you really believe that I loved that woman?’

  ‘She was in your bed.’

  ‘Yes. But that was out of necessity.’

  I blinked. ‘Necessity?’

  ‘I’m sure you’ve been listening and observed how close Karen and Lauren seemed to be. I only agreed to marry her for Anna’s sake. It was the only way to get her out of the Main House at the time, since you rejected my initial employment offer. Lauren is Karen’s niece. Due to the prenuptials my father had to sign in order to marry my mother, Karen won’t be able to touch Baxter Enterprise.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

  ‘My grandfather was a smart man and suspected my father’s intentions when he pursued my mother. Baxter Enterprise is a multibillion company and my mother is an only child, which makes her heiress. With that much amount of money, my grandfather felt the need to protect his family assets. He drew up the prenuptials and it excludes my father from everything that my mother gets. Only her children will have authority and the ability to inherit, that being myself and Anna. When my mother passed away, he was quick to remarry and Karen came into the scene. She was not aware of the arrangement and was under the impression that she would get a share in my mother’s fortune. However, when it became clear that could not touch anything, her tactics changed and at first she targeted me.’

  ‘But it didn’t work and so she went for Anna?’

  ‘Yes. She knew Anna is my weakness and used her against me in every way possible. I tried to get her out of the Main House several times but Karen would always arrange to have her back. There was a time, five years ago, when I attempted a legal injunction against them but it failed when I got into an accident.’

  There was a sinister tone in the way he talked. It was clear that Karen must have had a hand in the events that occurred. Although Tristan did not reveal the details of his accident, I understood that it forced him to change his tactics that eventually lead to accept Lauren into his life. As my brain began to process all this information, I began to realize that I had just become entangled in a family battle for control with the fight for Anna being in the center of things.

  ‘And your father lets her do this? Why?’

  Tristan’s lips twisted in a skeptical grin and he lowered his eyes. It was clear that he didn’t like talking about his father and the relationship between them is not as it should be.

  ‘He only loved my mother’s money,’ Tristan said bitterly.

  ‘Oh,’ I found myself saying and could not think of anything else that would be appropriate for the moment. ‘I’m sorry about that.’

  ‘Don’t pity me, Phoebe,’ he said to me, his tone was low and silky. There was something alluring in the way he spoke to me. It also made me aware that I was alone with him in the room. That made my heart race a little faster and I had to pinch myself to keep my head under control.

  ‘So what’s going to happen next?’ I asked.

  ‘Marry me,’ he said.

/>   ‘Just like that?’

  ‘Yes. You will be entitled to a divorce when Anna turns eighteen and you will be recompensed in the divorce settlement.’

  ‘And our non-existent child?’

  ‘There will be a miscarriage after the wedding and the only child you will have to take care of is Anna,’ he said.

  ‘You have it all planed out,’ I found myself saying.

  ‘Yes. It is only two more years until Anna becomes a legal adult. When the time comes, they will attempt to file a conservatorship to gain control over her share of the inheritance, citing mental instability as their main reason.’

  ‘How do you know all this?’

  ‘They’ve always been after the money and conservatorship is the most likely path they’ll take. Those pills Anna is forced to consume, she’s never needed them. It’s partly my fault because when mom died, I wasn’t there for her and Karen took advantage of that. When I did return, it was much too late and Anna was not herself anymore. But then you came into her life and your actions to defend her mental stability against Lauren…’ Tristan words faltered as his eyes seemed to look straight into my soul. ‘I saw the way you looked at me.’

  ‘I only did it because of Anna,’ I said.

  Tristan paused and then nodded his head slightly. ‘Of course,’ he said so quietly that it came out almost like a whisper. He walked across the room and stood in front of me. We were less than an inch away and I found my back pressed against the wall. I did not move as I peered up at him. My limbs felt weak as I felt his body heat exude from his strong solid body. He lifted his left hand and brushed away a strand of hair from my cheek. The momentarily touch melted my insides as an electric wave travelled through my skin. He lowered his face close to mine and I didn’t dare close my eyes as I held my breath. He stopped and his slightly parted lips were less than an inch away from mine. He moved his head to the side and allowed his warm moist lips to touch the side of my cheek. I flustered.

  ‘We’re both doing this for Anna,’ he whispered in my ear. ‘Good night, Phoebe.’