Dark, empty, cold.
Although the room was adorned with every luxurious furniture available in Ikea and electronics with the latest technology, it still seemed caliginous and frowzy.
The beautiful murals on the blue wall awarded a hint of home; whoever had painted it clearly knew what they were doing. But it still wasn't home.
Through the window glass was the ever-changing art of the sky, the clouds that brought infinite images of beauty. It was also garnished by the tips of trees, a way to watch the seasons change in real-time. From the bare wands of the wintry days to the promise of spring buds and green leaves of the summertime awaiting their golden days.
The world beyond that window meant zilch to Kimberly as everything she ever wanted was right there, sitting on the opposite side of the bed.
"Kim?" Benedict mouthed, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "You zoned out."
"I didn't realize it." She gave him an apologetic smile before fixing the unkempt tendrils of her raven black hair.
"You've been busy." Benedict waved copies of the recent Vogue and Cosmopolitan magazines in front of his daughter with a strange sense of pride settling over his lips.
To anyone who casually glanced at the magazine cover, Kimberly's expression may have looked contrived but Benedict Hexington knew that whatever annoyance his daughter had felt the moment that picture had been snapped was absolutely genuine. In fact, she looked like she desperately wanted to get out of that itchy dress and high heels and slip into something more comfortable.
After being apart for almost four years- Benedict in rehabilitation in Washington DC and Kimberly in New York with her mother, one would think the bond between a father and a daughter might've withered. But it was quite the opposite in this case.
Even in those photographs, without the aid of having her directly in front of him, he could mark out when her emotion was genuine.
The flip of a few pages revealed her face again, this time with eyes glinting venomously, and her mouth quirked into that half-smirk she always wore.
"It's nothing," Kimberly replied modestly. Although being on the covers of ten most-read magazines at the age of twenty-two was quite the achievement.
"Pass me the orange juice." Benedict requested, his hand outstretched.
"Here." Kimberly passed him the container of orange juice as she continued watching him.
It wouldn't be long before the guards came dashing through the door telling her that her visitation time was over. She wanted to watch her father for as long as she could, she never knew when Evelyn would let her see her father again. She had negotiated with hefty leverage to visit Washington DC for this once but Kimberly didn't know if Evelyn would let her visit her father again. Or if Evelyn would keep the father and daughter apart, forever.
With Evelyn's latest antics, it looked forthcoming. Inevitable.
Kimberly could never get over how she almost looked like her father with the same hazel green eyes and a generic nose.
He smiled at Kimberly before focusing back on the magazine and finishing his toast. After breakfast, he'll probably have to take antidepressants. Even the thought of it caused her heart to ache a little.
Antidepressants, she never thought her father- Benedict Hexington, a headstrong neurosurgeon with a record of zero failed surgeries- would have to live off on Antidepressants to avoid relapsing into his self-harming tendencies.
Kimberly could never contemplate why Benedict did what he did and she didn't have the courage to ask him. There was an unspoken understanding amidst the two of them to condemn that topic of conversation. But deep in her heart, Kimberly knew it had something to do with her mother- Evelyn.
Everything was always about her anyways.
"So, isn't your final semester starting soon?" Benedict asked, taking a sip of his orange juice, an ash-burn curl of hair falling on his forehead. He threw his head back, to push it off his face. "Excited for graduation?"
"Yes and no." Kimberly chuckled, nervously. Anyone who was cognizant of her natural characteristics would never believe how sheepishly apprehensive, sanctimonious, and prim she acted in front of her father in contradiction to how Kimberly carried herself in front of the rest of the world.
It was almost like she had two personalities. Real and fake.
"You won't be there."
"Honey, you've survived the last three years without me-you can pass this last bit. I'll be home soon." He reached over to pat his daughter's hand, gently.
That was the only prodigious concern Kimberly withheld. It'd already been three years since Benedict was admitted to this rehabilitation. Kimberly had started to ponder if Evelyn was bribing the institution to extend his stay, longer than necessary.
Detecting the frown on Kimberly's face, Benedict spun the conversation in a 360. "What are your plans for today?"
"Mom's arranged this stupid benefit in honor of your hospital's 15th anniversary." She bit her lip, eyes avoiding his. "And I'll probably spend the rest of the evening with Maxon and Sebastian."
Benedict scoffed, the conspicuous ire evident on his face when Kimberly mentioned Maxon and Sebastian- her childhood friends.
"Dad, they're my friends." She chuckled at his overprotectiveness.
"I'll take your word for it." Benedict curler his lips in disdain, trying to turn his frown upside down.
"When do you think you'll be let out?" Kimberly asked, impotent to restrain herself any further. It'd been prolonged beyond measure since she had enjoyed a normal meal with her father without having to glance at the clock every two minutes, worrying when the guards would escort her off the premises.
It'd be nice to go skiing with him or watch a boring opera which Benedict fancied dearly. Kimberly would even sit through a book reading in a library for his sake, just so she could spend some quality time with him. But she wanted him home, with her. Kimberly was getting disgruntled and agitated by the constant delay in his discharge date.
"Soon, ma fille." She had almost forgotten how French sounded on his tongue-how he loved to do the switch. The switch where he'd flip from an American accent to a French accent.
Kimberly sighed, acknowledging the fact that it was inutile and fruitless to drag the conversation any farther. He'd often say soon but she was getting agitated of those repetitive, uncertain answers.
"How's Evelyn?" His gaze shifted to the carpet on the ground, he tried to fill the void in his heart but failed miserably.
"Still a bitch." Kimberly snorted.
"Kimberly," Dad warned, fulfilling his duty as a father but she could sense the glint of a smirk in his voice.
"No, I mean it. She put you in here and doesn't even have the common courtesy to visit or at least let me visit. Instead, she abandoned you." Her fists curled up into tight balls of angst as she tried to control the infinite curses that craved to escape her lips.
"But you're here."
"Only I know what I had to resort to, for her to let me visit you. My own father." Kimberly muttering, scowling all the while hoping that her father hadn't heard her.
"What do you mean? What did you resort to?" He moved closer to where his daughter sat, hands reaching out for hers.
"It doesn't matter," Kimberly said, abruptly. Benedict could sense the distress in her demeanor so he let the conversation lapse choosing not to press any further for details. Although Benedict was aware that whatever Kimberly had to do in order to visit him in Washington DC was ethically questionable.
"Well, there's one good thing that came out of it."
"What?"
"At least I don't have to pay alimony." He chuckled, placing a plate on top of the surplus orange juice in order to prevent dust settling on it.
Kimberly giggled looking up at him to scrutinize the little changes she observed. Benedict grew more wrinkled with each day, looking as though he had the worry of the entire universe to shoulder. His face had lost its healthy glow, he had worry lines near the edges of his eyes rather than the jovial lines he should have. His face had started to drain its cheeriness and had begun to fade into an ashy grey.
His skin was pale, it had seen more distress than happiness as if he'd been fighting with life, all his life. With dusky hair that settled atop his Herculean sallow figure, a disorderly mess of hair and wrinkles sat on his brow, forehead, and under the hazel-green eyes that never cried.
Kimberly reminisced when Benedict looked a powerful man with his ravenous dark hair and a slight stubble with his glistening eyes which would scare every person who dared to cross him.
It agonized her to look at her father in that appearance. She wished to see that mountainous man he had been before, the strong-willed yet a kind doctor, the gentle and caring father, the adoring and passionate husband.
Yet when Kimberly looked at him now, all she could see was a man who'd given up, who was tired of fighting. A man who'd been betrayed by the love of his life. The same woman who'd driven him to suicidal tendencies.
Kimberly wondered if Benedict was more afraid of living or of dying.
"Broken any hearts lately?" Her father grinned playfully.
The harsh reality was that Kimberly had gotten her heart shattered by an asshole too afraid to stand up to his own father. But she wasn't about to go down before destroying his love story. Consider this her personal therapy. Usually, if Kimberly was upset or distressed, she'd resort to a very expensive retail therapy but in this case, she was going to ruin Walter's love life.
Only that would grant her the satisfaction she craved so desperately.
"N-No." Kimberly gulped down the jarring verity and hoped that the little crack in her voice could go unnoticed.
They heard the unfortunate click of the doorknob before it swung wide open. A guard walked in through the hallway, covered in light armor as if he was a knight from one of those Victorian eras.
Kimberly sucked in air through her teeth, rolling her eyes as she expressed her irk louder than she intended to.
"Visitation hours are limited." He shrugged as if to defend himself with a lopsided leer on his face.
"Stupid guards," Kimberly muttered under her breath and her father chuckled with his deep hoarse voice.
"Hey! I don't like this part any more than you do." The man knitted his eyebrows together before giving Benedict a playful salute and waiting in the hallway.
"I guess, it's time." She shrugged, the misery and desolation evident in her voice.
"Kimberly." He locked her in a serious gaze. "You might not like Evelyn but she's still your mother and I entrust her with your safety. Please cooperate with her? She's been through enough." He sighed.
"Because of me." His last words were almost inaudible but Kimberly caught them. She couldn't contemplate why her father blamed himself. Evelyn was quite fine, also healthy and whoring herself around the town if Kimberly may mention so why did Benedict think that she'd been through enough?
Dismissing it as the last few connotations of his love for her, she embraced him.
"Dad." Her voice sunk into a soft melody.
"I know you want nothing to do with B.H medical centers but I established them from scratch and if you think your mother is taking a wrong decision, you have a say in that. You're an equity owner, make use of that power." Benedict caressed the back of Kimberly's head with a longing look. A look which almost forced her to break him out of this rehabilitation facility, steal the jet, and run away as refugees to another country.
But they both knew that Evelyn would still pull some strings, do everything in her power to hunt them down, and put Benedict back into rehab; away from his daughter. And like the aftermath of that escapade, she'd ship Kimberly off to a third world country.
With no WiFi, no shopping sprees, and no Starbucks. Kimberly shuddered at the mere thought of it.
Sometimes Kimberly felt like Evelyn did it on purpose like she relished watching her own daughter suffer in the absence of her father.
"Hurry up." The guard knocked on the door once again reminding them of the time-bound. Kimberly picked up her Louis Vuitton purse, slipping into her arm, ready for the bitter goodbye.
Benedict's expression stiffened. His mouth was slightly turned down, his eyebrows were curled downwards too; he looked like he was about to cry-just looked like that though. He was strong, haughty, and highfalutin, he never wept. He wore his pride as a parapet. Kimberly didn't know whether it was to shield himself or to avoid letting others in. Even when he was forced into rehabilitation, he had the quintessential serene smile on his face.
His face showed feelings of sorrow, angst, and humiliation but he never shed one tear. At least not in the twenty-two years that Kimberly had known him.
None of them knew how to bid adieu, so they just smiled, despondently.
"Don't cause too much trouble," Benedict said, tapping his finger on her nose before he pulled her into a fatherly hug.
Benedict sighed, wrapping his arm around his one and only daughter. His embrace was warm and his big, strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around his daughter. Despite the heaviness in Kimberly's stomach and the sinking feeling in her heart, she couldn't help but tug a little smile at the corners of her lips. The world around her melted away as she wished for the moment to freeze.
She had finally met her father and she vowed to break him free.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Charity galas also known as fundraising events are traditionally held to raise money for a cause but in the upper east side, it's a competition amongst the women regarding the amount of money they can donate.
"B.H medical centers have surely expanded over the years." One of the guests muttered to their partner.
"Its events are getting enormous and creative each year." The dark-haired boy whispered back.
Although Kimberly was obscurely secluded, she could still hear the loud whispers and gossips echoing through the hall. People appreciating how well the hospital had been maintained along with the seven more they owned all across America and the remaining fifteen, all across the globe. Although it should've been a gratifying moment for her Kimberly couldn't help feel a little bitter.
In Kimberly's eyes, Evelyn had stolen it from Benedict.
"Let me help." Even from the other side of the room, she could hear the shrill sound of her mother's laughter. Her sucking up to people hadn't toned down even a little bit. To Kimberly's dismay, Evelyn acted even more chagrined.
"I'm sorry about the mix-up." Evelyn smiled, the blood-red swash on her lips stealing the attention away from her skimpy dress.
"Walter." A feminine voice addressing Kimberly's latest ex-boyfriend was heard just a few meters away from where she stood. Naturally, at the utterance of his name, Kimberly flipped around. Her hazel-green eyes immediately settled on him and the woman hugging him.
"I didn't know you were coming." He gasped in a fake-shock before engulfing the skinny girl into his arms and swaying for a couple of seconds before letting her go. They soon seemed to be engaged in a hilarious conversation as the girl- who looked about Kimberly's age-couldn't stop gaging.
"He's been spending a lot of time with her." Someone whispered, unannounced, causing Kimberly's heart to leap impulsively.
"You freak!" Kimberly squealed, her body involuntarily walking away from the intruder which turned out to be Hayley from Walter's party. By her semblance with reddened, sleepy eyes she seemed to be drunk already.
"Are you drunk?" Kimberly scrunched her nose up in disgust. Although pawning Hayley into ruining Evelyn's night and her reputation in front of the entire state sounded like a tempting idea, but it was the last thing anyone wanted.
"No." Hayley's defensive retreat explained otherwise.
The woman hugging Walter had a sort of hen-pecked look. Her shoulders hunched together like she was trying to disappear behind him. Even her oceanic blue eyes seemed to be attempting to retreat.
"She's the one he dumped you for." Hayley nodded, bringing the glass up to her lips. Although that might've been an unsubstantiated and groundless accusation it was soon turning out to be verified as Kimberly resumed watching them chuckle and whisper like a couple in love.
"So it's you," Kimberly smirked, lower than a whisper to avoid unnecessary attention.
"Resorted to stalking now, eh?" A tap on Kimberly's shoulder and the smugness in the voice was enough for her to reckon the person.
"Shut up, Sebastian." Kimberly smacked his arm before recommencing to observe her ex-boyfriend if she could even call him that.
His strong arms were settled on the woman's curvy waist before he lead her into the front yard away from the crowd. He'd never looked at Kimberly the way he looked at her which only further confirmed her suspicions. Kimberly was not aware that Walter Wheeler could smile like that, he'd only smirk silently as if laughing out loud was a disgrace around Kimberly.
He slid open the front door before his eyes scrutinized the entire hall probably to make sure no one was following them.
"He can't keep it in his pants for a second, now can he?" Kimberly muttered under her breath assuming that they'd slipped out for a quickie.
Before he shut the door, his chocolatey brown eyes met Kimberly's hazel green, and an immediate chagrined blush spread across her cheeks. She flipped around in mere seconds to hide the blush that was reaching the apple of her cheek.
"Damn it. He caught me staring." Kimberly shut her eyes tightly before gritting her teeth in remorse.
"Don't worry, he doesn't care about you. I know him." Hayley chuckled practically swooning over Sebastian as she flirted and traced her finger across his bicep.
"Why are you stalking your own boyfriend?" Sebastian plopped down on the satin laced chair as a waiter placed a glass of champagne before him.
Amid the breakup and the visitation to her father in Washington DC, informing her friends about the breakup had completely slipped out of her mind.
"Walter broke up with her." Hayley chuckled almost gaining content from Kimberly's misery. If she wasn't one of Walter's friends who could provide information, Kimberly would've kicked her out of this event sooner rather than later.
"Someone broke up with you?" Sebastian fake gasped. "Wow, the world really must be ending."
"What if he marries her?" Kimberly plucked her elbow, placing it on the table and balancing her face on her palm. An uncertain expression making its way to her face.
"She's only twenty-two," Hayley informed, with saccharine voice and desperate eyes, clearly wanting to be a part of Kimberly's clique.
"And he's twenty-six. That doesn't define anything. My mother was married with a child by the time she was twenty-one." Kimberly scoffed.
"Has he confessed his feelings yet?" Kimberly looked to Hayley now; the holder of the Walter-encyclopaedia.
"Not to my knowledge." She gulped down yet another drink before clutching her head in a grimace.
"What are you planning to do?" Sebastian's devious eyes settled on Kimberly. He loved a game as much as she did and was one of those people who'd never retract from a scheming adventure.
"I'm going to make him regret the day he dumped me," Kimberly smirked glancing between the drunken embarrassment also known as Hayley, and Sebastian. "She's about to be dragged into a world she has no clue about."
"Don't sugar coat it, we all know what your true intention is." That little rise in the corner of Sebastian's mouth combined with the cool detachment in his eyes commenced their unspoken game.
"What is your true intention?" A wisp of a faint whisper near Kimberly's ear was enough for her to shank out of her seat and up in astonishment.
When her gaze settled on the culprit, her face immediately softened with a snort escaping her lips. Kimberly resumed her rightful place between Maxon and Sebastian as they both looked at her in ardor and avidity.
"You want to destroy her, don't you?" Sebastian suggested, hitting the bullseye.
"Wait. What?" Maxon narrowed his eyes with a slight tilting of his head.
Kimberly rolled her eyes ignoring the latecomer's astonishment. She eyed Hayley to fill in the blanks for Maxon and she complied willingly, practically drooling over him.
"Destroy is a dirty word. More like saving. I'm saving her from becoming a homewrecker." In her triumph, Kimberly smirked with just a small pouting of her lips.
"But aren't you the one who's wrecking her home?" Hayley narrowed her eyes, lips curled in a pout.
A slight hiss with the venomous gaze from Kimberly was enough for her to shut her mouth and do what she did best-drink in isolation.
"Anyways, I still have to dig dirt on her. You both are in, right?" Kimberly looked over to her two best friends, the obvious answer floating in the air.
"Sure. It's even more intriguing when our game has an agenda." Sebastian leaned onto the chair, throwing his head back and supporting it with his hands. "I'm all for vengeance."
"Maxon?"
"No thanks." He scoffed.
Kimberly couldn't believe or comprehend his reaction. When they selected a random target from university or high school, he would be far more exhilarated but Kimberly couldn't seem to understand his hesitance now.
"Excuse me?" She pulled his arm to make him face her. "What do mean by no thanks?"
"He's been raining on everybody's parade since morning." Sebastian threw the table cloth at his best friend before explaining the context of his accusation. "First he refused to come to the Hamptons party and now this."
"Why go through all that trouble for someone who's not interested in you? Just find a new boy you. That's what you do best anyways." Maxon shrugged, bringing the sparkly drink to his lips. Kimberly hissed at his accusation, it stung her that both her friends thought that she was incapable of genuine feelings. Furthermore, it reminded her of how similar she was to her mother and she wanted to be anything but Evelyn.
"The game loses its thrill." Maxon further added.
"It's not about the game. It's about the humiliation I felt and the.." Kimberly trailed realizing that she had almost slipped up, revealing the real reason they broke up.
"And what?" Maxon's eyes settled on her awaiting her answer with fervor.
Kimberly's gaze fell upon the uninvited drunk girl on the other end of the table- who couldn't seem to keep her ogling eyes off Kimberly's friends- thinking it was best to not disclose anything in front of her.
"Leave." Kimberly's eyes snapped to the unwanted girl at their table. With that clear cut command, she couldn't seem to get out of her seat quickly enough.
Shaking out her loose curls in triumph, Kimberly settled her gaze on the boys. She would've been lying if she said her stomach didn't clench in dread.
"What is it?" Sebastian leaned in closer as if they were about to discuss a world peace treaty.
"My mother cut a deal with Eric Wheeler."
"Walter's father?"
Kimberly nodded in agreement.
So she filled her friends in on everything that happened last night, from the dubious phone calls Walter made to Hayley's bitchy behavior and finally the talk in the yard.
"What?" Maxon reached out to take her hands in his, expression morphing into one of true concern.
"The worst part is Walter complied with it. He played me for weeks, reeling my emotions before he broke my heart." The sinking feeling returned to its original place at the pit of her stomach.
On the other hand, Sebastian and Maxon were having a tough time believing that Kimberly had grown fond of her recent fling. They thought she was incapable of love but guess not.
"I want him to feel the same humiliation and rejection I endured when he told me that he felt not even an ounce of affection for me." Kimberly pointed out, folding her arms across her chest as if to protect her heart from breaking any further. "I can't sit around and let him get away with it."
As if on cue, Walter returned back into the humongous living room of the Hexington Manor. Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, he retrieved his seat on the far end of the hall.
"What do you want us to do?" Maxon blurted clenching his fists in anger.
All Kimberly could do was gape for what seemed like a full minute as it was impeccably diligent to believe that she had managed to convince him.
"In order to hurt him, we'll have to break her." Kimberly tapped her nails on the tabletop awaiting their reactions.
"How?" The blue-eyed boy on her left inquired.
"The same way Walter did. Make that girl fall in love and then break her beyond repair." Sebastian filled in for his friend, their minds alike, as a devious grin crept its way onto his face.
Before Kimberly could respond, a loud cheer rippled through the crowd and both the boys along with her glanced up to see her mother-Evelyn Hexington enter onto the stage. She waved to her guests eloquently with her bony fingers and a smug smile.
The crowd fell into silence shortly after, listening to the B.H hospital group owner Evelyn Hexington proclaim her love for her patients and the doctors who saved people's lives. Kimberly was almost entranced, amazed by the poetic quality of her speech and sheer dedication to her patients. But the little wick of her betrayal last night was enough to pull her out of the trance.
Soon the speech was beginning to wrap up, but the saccharine in her voice only continued to sweeten.
"And with that, there's a special announcement to wrap up today's event."
Maxon squinted in confusion, not sure if he'd heard her correctly. Sebastian looked to Kimberly, his eyes questioning whether she knew anything about it. But to their dismay, Kimberly was just as clueless as them.
"What's the announcement?" Sebastian whispered voicing Maxon's thought.
Kimberly frowned, but never took her eyes off her mother. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll be at the suffering end."
Sebastian looked like he was about to say more but was cut short when Evelyn Hexington spoke.
"Our work brought us closer and I've been in love with him ever since." She sneered but the animosity was so obviously feigned. "This isn't how I pictured the announcement." She chuckled masquerading her vixen-like coy nature behind her hoax diffidence.
Another man traipsed on to the stage, kissing Evelyn's cheek before he grabbed the microphone. He appeared before them, his back facing the audience as he whispered something in Evelyn's ear, immediately receiving a giggle from her. Anyone unaware of Evelyn's deviousness would mistake that chuckle as an authentic noise but Kimberly knew just how imitated it was.
"I'll do it for you." The man turned around a tailored black suit with a charming red tie. His chiseled jaw lifted with a snarky, prideful smile. His eyes a deeper hue of chocolate. Kimberly knew those eyes all too well. Her feet gave up as she stood up, a hundred bricks falling onto her shoulders.
She knew that man all too well for her own good.
Eric wheeler.
"You all know who I am." Eric shrugged, nonchalantly posing with his quintessentially exemplary smile to the crowd. Evelyn forwarded her left hand - an enormous diamond with a princess cut which would've cost at least ten to fifteen grand - sat on her third finger.
Eric kissed Evelyn one last time before grabbing the microphone, "We're engaged."