"..and this is why Sebastian is being banished to South Korea." Maxon had just consummated speaking incessantly with no aid of food or water for the past forty-five minutes.
They were currently seated in their living room of the hideout situated in the Bentley Hotel's exclusive penthouse. Even in winter, their living room filled with warm cushions and plush leather chairs brought vehemence to their little sanctuary. Gold and pale, the sunlight rose for the first time since the harsh winter of New York, filled their entire room with an arduous sensation.
Although vehement, Kimberly had seemed to freeze on the news of Sebastian's departure. It took her a moment to completely digest the fanatical events from the past few hours.
The moment Kimberly had entered the Bentley Hotel's Penthouse, Maxon had ambushed her and commenced rambling with no intervals. He didn't care how obtuse he sounded or how anguished he looked; all he needed was for some miracle to happen so that the three of them could go back to normal.
Their lives were never normal, it was an overstatement, but they'd managed to live with this demoralized normal. Maxon just wanted to return to that.
"Wait, I don't understand." There seemed to raise some expression to Kimberly's uncharacteristically numb face, a face which clearly stated that I know you're hiding something else from me. "Are you sure this is all there is to the story because it seems like there are certain holes which just don't make sense? It feels like you're not telling me the whole truth."
"I understand why you might feel that way, but you know how Ruxton is. He's just dramatic. When we resolve our issues, I'm sure he'll take me back in the mansion." One tiny detail that Maxon had forgotten, or better phrased as chickened out to tell Kimberly, was that he was, in fact, not a Kingsley.
He was a bastard. Child out of wedlock. Although his promise to tell Kimberly the truth and the past few conversations with Sebastian, Maxon just couldn't hurt Kimberly anymore. He acknowledged that he would eventually have to confess, but he wanted to avoid that as much as possible.
"You don't have to feel obligated to do this, Kim." Sebastian perched down, the couch dipping just a wee bit as he grasped his head in his palms. He wasn't mainly betting on finding his mother; in fact, a little part of him wanted this entire plan to misfire.
That's when a very passive-aggressively thrown pillow hit him on his head. It didn't cause him any physical damage but was enough to seize his attention. And that's all Kimberly aimed to do.
"You think I'm that selfish?" Kimberly traipsed over to Sebastian, who was slumped into a loveseat. She knelt on her knees to match his slopped figure. Her hazel grey eyes met his dark brown ones, and Sebastian could swear that he felt untarnished, surplus chemistry there, a profound connection he deeply longed for.
"Seb, how could you even for a second think that I'd let that cunt exile you from America?" Kimberly's hand grazed slightly over Sebastian, caressing his palms, and his entire body stiffened. Just like it did every time Kimberly touched him.
But he soon melted under her touch, her smooth fingers grasping his as they drew circles on the back of his palm involuntarily.
"I'm just-I'm sorry. We're sorry for keeping this from you." Sebastian put his hand over hers, holding it as tautly as he could, afraid to let go. Somewhere deep in his heart, he feared that this would be their last encounter.
Maxon's jaw tightened as he clenched and unclenched his fists in short intervals, his nails rigid enough to drill a hole in his palms. Over the years, he'd learned to dominate the jealousy, rise above it as he acknowledged that his outburst would not be suitable for anyone. But just for a few fleeting seconds, he wished he was with Kimberly.
He often found himself pondering what it would be like to have her feel the same way he did finally. He wasn't quite sure what he felt for her, but it was deeper and denser than just friendship. He'd give up anything for her, anything all at.
This passion made him wonder if all of this was just infatuation or the 'l' word he was so afraid to use.
"I think we should focus on finding Georgina." Maxon interrupted the duo's moment, safe to say he enjoyed every bit of destroying whatever emotional bond Seb and Kim were forming.
Sebastian seemed unperturbed by it as he let go of Kimberly's hands before walking over to the bar to make himself a drink.
All of this was too much for Sebastian to handle in sobriety.
"I'll get my sources to start tracking Georgina." With a few taps and a quick phone call, the process of finding Georgina Lee had officially commenced.
With Kimberly's success rate at finding dirt on anyone, literally anyone on this planet, it had suddenly dawned on Sebastian that there was an eighty percent chance that he would meet the woman who birthed him.
For the first time in twenty years.
To say he wasn't prepared was an understatement. Yes, he had fantasized about this encounter since he was a kid, but to experience it in reality?
He wasn't prepared.
So he downed another glass of the intoxicating amber liquid.
"I've been dying to ask this since the moment you entered." Sebastian poured himself a third glass and took a quick gulp before resuming, "What is up with your outfit? I've never seen you wear that in public."
"Yeah." Maxon narrowed his eyes, giving a once over to Kimberly's overwhelming choice of garments with a dubiousness. "What's up with that?"
"Well, there was coffee and a nerd and an elevator-" Kimberly tried to fixture her sentences, all the while mentally debating whether she should tell the boys about Ayaan.
In a few seconds, she decided against it, and she was quite appeased with her decision. It was premature, and what she experienced could've been merely a spur of the moment. She wasn't even sure if Ayaan was flirting with her or if it was just an attempt at being friends. "-you know what? It's a long story, maybe later."
"Alright." Sebastian nodded, and it astonished Kimberly how easily he let go.
"While my Investigator is doing his work, let's get started on this." Kimberly threw a thin file stacked with freshly printed papers across the table; crossing her arms against her chest she plopped down on the emerald green couch, waiting for the boys to open it.
"Are you divorcing me, honey? What about the kids?" Maxon smirked only to receive a soft scoff from his friend.
Maxon was the first one to unlatch the thin file, and he immediately wished he hadn't. Inside was a picture of the same beautiful girl with whom he'd spent a glorious night and who had shot him down numerous times the morning after.
"In that file is everything Eliza has ever done, legally or illegally." Kimberly smirked, but the smile faded just for a teeny bit as she said, "Unfortunately, there's nothing illegal or else it would've been fun to toy with her. Alas, we must stick to the original plan."
"High school valedictorian? Impressive." Maxon chose not to spare her picture another glance as he often found himself ogling at it or rather her so he started reading her accomplishments with appreciative nods, which irked Kimberly.
His keen interest in Eliza had her thinking just for a second if all of this was a terrible idea. But she couldn't trust her hunch this time rather, she didn't want to. This time she tried to listen to her heart, but it craved revenge.
"Wait, wait, wait." Kimberly stood up frantically like she'd lost her passport in a foreign country. "Where's the video camera?"
"I think it's on that shelf." Maxon stopped reading briefly, as he took a moment to point to a shelf filled with videos and cameras.
The videos had live footage of the trio planning and scheming of their sick games. It was like a trophy, an artifact of their emotionally hurtful gambling. And the fact that they recorded it and kept it as some sort of achievement was purely cruel.
The saddest thing was, all three of them were aware of it.
"Found it." Kimberly quickly hit the record button as she took a seat next to
Maxon.
"So.. where were we?" Maxon reopened the file.
"Page two." Kimberly pointed out.
"She's one of the Knight sisters. Impressive." Maxon squealed at his newfound information, but Kimberly only made a sour face.
Yes, Eliza was equally rich to Kimberly, and that's what hurt her ego the most.
She couldn't stand a girl who was just as attractive, wealthy, and smart. It somehow made Kimberly feel inferior.
"Damn," Sebastian whispered. "She's rich."
Kimberly only gruntled at the intoxicated boy. She was used to the boys pacing around her; their interest in a new girl had her worried.
What if they replace me as Walter did? She thought.
"There's this one thing which keeps bothering me, which I couldn't find out about.." Kimberly tapped her slender manicured fingers on the ornate glass table, focusing on nowhere in particular.
"What's that?"
"She was involved in a police investigation when she was five years old." Kimberly's eyes averted from Maxon to Sebastian and then back to Eliza's photograph.
"What was the case about?" Maxon bit his lip, almost worrying if she had emotional baggage. Hysterical women often made him uncomfortable.
"That's the thing-it's almost as if it never happened. All the records, reports, suspects, victims, and the accused have been wiped off from the official records. Not even the media knows about it." She continued. "But soon after this police case, Eliza and her family migrated and settled off in Australia until recently when she came back to New York for her undergraduate degree."
"Interesting, but if no one knows, then how did you find out?" Maxon thrust his hand through his hair, messing up the perfect stance just a tad bit, but it made him seem attractive even more.
"My PI heard it from one of their former servants. This isn't concrete, she may have been lying to extort money from me, but it does make me wonder." Kimberly's sight was still fixated at the blue-eyed girl's photograph intently.
"Tell him to dig further," Maxon ordered to which Kimberly simply nodded. She had taken a keen interest in knowing the backstory of Eliza Knight, and she wouldn't stop until she found out everything she could use against her.
"I will."
"Let me have a look at that." Sebastian snatched the folder, leaving an annoyed Maxon with nothing in his hands.
"Wow, she has been a star kid all her life." Sebastian crossed his legs in a square as he involuntarily grasped the bourbon filled glass and brought it to his lips.
"She's the..kind, compassionate type." Kimberly inferred. "Never takes risks, always lived in a safety net. It's going to be hard. Are you up for the challenge?" This time her gaze fell upon her childhood crush, better known as the guy she had untitled feelings for.
Do I even have a choice? Was what Maxon wanted to say, but he ended up saying, "Yeah, how can anyone not fall for me?"
"You two hang out too much." Kimberly scrunched her nose up in disgust at Maxon's cockiness. "Sebastian is rubbing off on you."
"Hey!" Sebastian whined, throwing the file recklessly on the table like it meant nothing like she meant nothing. "There's nothing wrong with being confident."
"There's a thin line between cocky and confident, and you, my friend, are always on the wrong side," Kimberly smirked, and Maxon chuckled.
"Agree to disagree." A half-drunk Sebastian pouted, to which Kimberly paid no heed.
"She needs to lower her guard around you." Kimberly rolled her eyes at Sebastian as she flipped around to glance at Maxon. Sebastian, although drunk, nodded in approval, and Maxon simply listened further.
"Trail her." Sebastian clicked his fingers with a huge grin plastered across his face.
"I think that's called stalking and it's a federal offense. Do you want me to be banished from America too?" Maxon's lip curled in disgruntlement. He was not ready to throw his life away in prison on sexual assault accords for Kimberly's stupid unjustified vengeance.
"No, no." Sebastian slapped his friend on the arm playfully before he scooted closer to the duo. "She should feel like it's a coincidence. Like everywhere she goes, she sees you. Similar to the movies."
"Yes!" Kimberly jumped up in excitement like a ten-year-old on Christmas. "What initially feels like a coincidence will slowly feel like fate."
"Do you think she believes in fate?" Or instead forced fate, Maxon wanted to add, but he decided against it to avoid any further squabbles.
"Every girl believes in fate. Even the independent ones who don't need men. There's a little part of us who unconditionally have faith in meant to be's." What Kimberly said was indeed not a falsification. She, herself, although denied when asked, believed in that.
"I think that only works in books or movies." Maxon's pessimistic attitude was ruining Sebastian and Kimberly's mood, but they cut him some slack due to the recent stressful events.
"Trust me, when mediocre average girls start experiencing shit that happens in books or movies, they start believing in fate." Kimberly rolled her eyes like it was apparent like the boys should've known that.
"But, there's one tiny problem in our plan." Sebastian clicked his pen; when the nip disappeared, he threw it at Maxon for him to catch it.
Unfortunately, it ended up hitting Maxon on his forehead. "Ouch."
"What problem?" Kimberly crossed her legs, one on top of the other as she leaned forward, completely neglecting Maxon's grunt.
She could not afford this plan to backfire or collapse; she needed this. She needed this revenge to feel good about herself again. To feel powerful. She'd always controlled others around her like puppets, even Maxon and Sebastian ignorantly, but lately, it felt like she was the one being controlled.
Kimberly Hexington despised being controlled. She could not afford to feel weak. It would destroy her.
"Maxon can't act." Sebastian looked over to his friend, who was glaring back in astonishment.
"That is so not true." He defended.
"If only you were good at acting- with that face attitude, you could've ruled over the hearts of billions of people all over the world." Sebastian sighed dramatically like it was a significant loss on Maxon's part.
"I can make myself seem realistic." Maxon's voice was getting high pitched now; it always did when he was defending something which he knew deep in his heart was right.
"You're eyes are too transparent. They're like an open book." Sebastian complained, waving his hands around Maxon's face fanatically. "Anyone can tell what you're feeling by one single look in those baby blue eyes."
Kimberly nodded; she had fallen prey to those mesmerizing baby blue eyes, which seemed to communicate more than words.
Maxon slapped Sebastian's hands away. "No woman has ever looked me deep in my eyes anyway. They're busy looking somewhere else." Maxon concluded with a nasty smirk and got an uncharacteristic cheer from Sebastian.
"Enough." Kimberly rolled her eyes at her two melodramatic friends.
"You ruin the mood." Sebastian pouted like a kid to which Kimberly scoffed in disgruntlement.
"I intended to." She turned around to face Maxon now, running her hand through her gorgeous raven black hair, "Just don't take her out for lunch or dinner."
Kimberly announced like a judge's verdict. Maxon gasped at her like she was a crazy person.
How was he supposed to date a girl without taking her out for lunch or dinner?
"You're kidding, right?" Maxon scoffed indignantly.
"Dates are all about food." Sebastian swooped in aid of his friend. "Besides, the best kind of date is breakfast in bed after a night of amazing sex."
"Sebastian," Kimberly scrunched her nose up in disgust. "Zip it."
"You're making this difficult for me." Maxon narrowed his eyes in protest.
"You eat like a man who's been deprived of food for years. We want her to get attracted to you, not get repulsed by you." Kimberly nodded her head in dismissal before looking at Eliza's picture on the file. She had to admit; the girl was stunning; she could understand why Walter took a liking towards her.
What she couldn't understand was how he chose her instead of Kimberly.
"What about drinks?" Sebastian probed even after being told to shut up.
"That could work, but we don't want Maxon to come off as a guy who hits it and quits it." There was some truth to Kimberly's words. If they wanted Eliza to fall head over heels for Maxon, drinks were the last resort.
"But I am a guy who hits it and quits it."
"Not anymore."
"Then what?" Maxon worried his eyebrow before he plucked a page out of Sebastian's book and poured himself a powerful drink.
Kimberly picked up the recklessly strewn file again as she flipped a page one at a time, carefully going through every line. Her eyes widened just a tad bit as she seemed to have hit the jackpot and looked back up at the boys who were both drowning themselves in alcoholism.
"She volunteers at a nursing home." Kimberly almost sounded impressed by this girl that she had to remind herself that Eliza Knight was her nemesis.
"You could meet her up there accidentally." She emphasized with double-quotes.
"When?" Maxon was now on his third glass, his voice had sunk into its nonchalant tone, and he had to suppress a sour face at the previously mentioned fact.
Who volunteers at a nursing home? How boring! He had thought.
Sebastian took a quick peek at the file, as his lips tugged up smugly. "Weekends."
Maxon paused. His entire body, along with its activities, legitimately paused. The glass still in his hands, his mouth wide open as if he couldn't believe the piece of information coming out of Sebastian's mouth.
It was a good two minutes before Maxon stopped buffering and spoke again. "A nursing home? On the weekends? You have got to be fucking kidding me."
"At seven a.m." Sebastian added, trying to be sympathetic, but the little squeals of giggles couldn't stop from escaping.
"You can't do this to me." Maxon downed the rest of his drink in a hasty gulp before looking at Kimberly pleadingly. He was a heavy sleeper and not a morning person at the very least.
"Maxon, come on.. look at the big picture here." Kimberly tried to convince.
"What big picture? Besides, I'm not even a morning person. I will just end up making her resent me. Why can't I just accidentally meet her on weekdays? In the evenings. How romantic." Maxon double quoted as he tried to convince his way out of this, but he and Kimberly both knew how that discussion would end - with Kimberly getting her way.
But it was still worth a try, plus a drunk Sebastian giggling like a teenage girl wasn't helping Maxon at all.
"Maxon, you promised." The look in Kimberly's eyes was enough to convince him to give up his sleep. He sighed in defeat as he bid his goodbyes to his weekend slumber plans.
"Where?" Maxon dropped his glass on the counter with a little bang. He was stubborn, but he deserved a little whining, didn't he? The guy was giving up his sleep.
"Tomorrow, seven a.m, Brooklyn. And it better be a meet-cute." Kimberly winked before getting up and walking over to the bar to make herself a drink. All this planning and scheming was wearing her out already.
While she usually resented day drinking, handling two adult children like Maxon and Sebastian and their drunken whining was tiresome.
"Alright, kids. Daddy has to leave." Sebastian stood up, ruffling his hair in an attempt to fix it as he faked a salute.
"Where are you heading to?"
"I'm technically grounded." Sebastian narrowed his eyes as he bit the corner of his lips. "But Damien will be back from Los Angeles in a few hours. I have to be home before he is."
"See you later." Was all Maxon said before he accompanied Kimberly at the bar. Sebastian squelched the door open as it made an electronic buzz before locking behind him. They could hear the pitter-patter of his shoes against the marble ground before he boarded the elevator and swooshed down to the lobby.
"So meet-cute, huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Maxon scratched the back of his neck as he watched Kimberly down two shots of vodka. He was genuinely astonished by her sudden decision to day drink.
"A charming encounter which eventually leads to a whirlwind of romance and love." Kimberly tilted her head; she looked at Maxon as he tried to comprehend it.
"Love?" Maxon scoffed, toying with the artificial flowers perched in a vase on the bar counter. "I wonder what that's like."
Kimberly didn't respond to that. She'd had her fair share of heartbreaks. She never apprehended falling in love, but she had - with someone she couldn't have and with someone who didn't want her.
"It's almost like we're cursed to spend the rest of our lives alone." Maxon had a fanatical smirk on his face, which was partially sarcastic.
"You, me, Sebastian, we don't deserve love. We ruin everything we touch." Kimberly sniffed, holding back the hot tears which threatened to spill.
"You believe that?"
"Don't you?"
"To a certain point, I do." Maxon sighed. "Maybe pretending to be in love is as far as I can get to real love."
Kimberly's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't realized that Maxon linked finding love to his happiness. For a split second, she imagined him falling head over heels for Eliza. She could picture him choosing Eliza over her, just like Walter had done, which would eventually leave her abandoned and isolated.
Her breathing quickened, and her chest constricted; she let out a deep sigh before downing another shot, which gave her the last thread of courage she needed to do what she was about to do.
Circling the counter, she walked up to Maxon. He looked taken aback at the sudden nearness, but he didn't protest. He had a rough clue of where this was heading, and he didn't want to stop.
They both gazed in each other eyes longingly, not a word spoken by either of them. Kimberly seemed to have drowned in the breathless paradise of his baby blue eyes, but Maxon didn't make a move.
Kimberly finally leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching now, their lips dangerously close to each other. Dear god, Maxon couldn't fight the thoughts that reeled through his brain. Her jasmine scent mixed with vanilla was flooding his senses.
Unexpectedly, his hand drifted to her hip. It settled there and pulled her closer. Kimberly inhaled sharply. She splayed her hand against his chest, intending to push him away, but instead, she left it there, lingering. His breath quickened as did hers. Their breaths mingled, and Maxon's heart fluttered inside his chest.
Love, this is definitely love. He inferred to his previous mental debates.
Her lips brushed against his. Not innocently, but hot fiery, passionate, and demanding. Maxon wanted to pull away before he lost himself, but he couldn't seem to retract. At that moment, his senses had been seduced, and he could no longer think straight.
"Maxon," Kimberly whispered slowly with a sultry breath, prolonging each letter as if to savor them. Maxon smiled, his heart fluttering at her voice as Kimberly clasped her hands on either side of his face.
Her lips brushed against his, but this time her eyes remained wide open as she spoke, "Don't fall in love with her."
Maxon gasped, wide-eyed as he watched her retrace her steps, clutch on her Gucci purse, and walk out the front door without another word, leaving him stunned to silence.
She was toying with him, just like she did with everyone else. It was a bitter feeling, being played like that, but he swallowed the gut-wrenching pain as blinked back the subtle sense of being betrayed.
And it had finally dawned on him that he might be in love with her, but she wasn't.
Kimberly Hexington only loved herself.