The Bitter End (7 page)

“Welcome fine guests!” he said and they applauded him as a few flashes continued to go off until he held his hands up and spoke again in his deep and demanding voice.

“We are here to celebrate an incredible moment. One I have waited for, and I am certain many of you hoped for. The birth of an heir!” People applauded again as my stomach tightened up. The fact that he ignores me completely when it comes to controlling the family business is infuriating. I know I am capable, but to him a woman has two functions, fucking and producing males. I know it seems horrible and it is, trust me. I hate to say it but I would almost deny him the right to calling me his daughter if I had any will to go without money. I can’t though and that ties me to him as well as my genetic code. I can only hope that my corruption will never fully consume me as it has him. He then tapped his glass and Miko raised hers too. Nice that she finds drinking is okay even when pregnant. What a cunt. You would think she would be more careful with her future.

“I would like to announce that we now know it is a boy! And with that
my legacy as well as my family’s, which has stood for hundreds of years, will be secured forever.”

I looked down and felt a bit sick knowing Miko had done it. The fucking cunt had managed to make a boy in her rat infested uterus. I felt Holland squeeze my hand and I looked over to her as my Father continued on.

“In light of this I will also announce that I am immediately revising my will of which the details shall be made public before the birth of my son.”

I sucked in my breath and felt an anger rising in me. A revision? A fucking revision of what? For whom? I then opened my mouth and stared up at my Father as I yelled to him. Everyone became silent as I held my hand up to him as if to salute him like Hitler. He watched me as Miko stepped forward and I held onto Holland’s hand tightly.

“Congratulations Father, I know this is what you always hoped for and I am so happy to see it happen for you.”

I
then looked back to Holland and she grinned at me as I kissed her, opening my mouth up and letting my tongue play with hers. I heard the flashes before I saw them behind my closed eyes and my Father’s drink fell from his hand and crashed to the concrete below him as Miko grinned and watched us make a mockery of him as none had dared to before.

I sat in the lawyer’s office and tapped my fingernails on the long glass table as two of Father’s best vulture’s sat across from me, whispering and looking over papers spread out before them. My attempt to embarrass my Father had not gone unnoticed by him. In fact he was furious and had lost five of his best clients who held a higher standard of morality, or so they lied about including two politicians who hated gays, who fought against gay rights as a strong agenda with my Father backing them. But with my little show ended that and he had taken a hit financially, enough to be noticed and not taken lightly.

I looked up as my Father entered with Miko on his arm, baby bump and all. I stared at he
r stomach, as the beast that lay in it would be as ruthless as he was, I had no doubt. A son would be a tragic continuation of his evil, an anti-Christ in this world. I imagined choking her for a moment on the table, her legs kicking and her lips turning a nice shade of fucking blue and I then came back to my senses as Father pulled the chair for her and it creaked. I blinked and stared at her dark soulless eyes, she looked like a great white shark and I bet she was in a former life. Father took a seat next to her and cleared his throat as he interlocked his fingers on the top of table and stared me down.

“The conditions are clear to you?” he asked me and I nodded slightly as my stomach felt nauseous.
A lawyer stepped up next to me like a demonic minion and held a pen up to me as I took it with a trembling hand.

“Sign it already
, Bethany,” Miko said as she stared at her gold nails and I sighed and signed away my dignity.

“The money will be deposited monthly as always, you will come to visit twice a month, be sure to tell those who have influence in media. You will be present for the christening, holidays and what not. We will play family as long as I am alive, once I have passed you can go on your way. It will then be a decision made by your future brother as to what your role will be within the family.”

I took another slow breath as the thought of this new life sickened me. Now the false family I always knew we were would be the reality I lived in, fake pictures on the mantel, in the papers. Being paid to be a daughter he wanted me to be and not who I am.

“Ready?” T
he lawyer asked me and I nodded as I stood up and Father stood up too.

“Beth,” h
e said to me and I walked out as Miko stood up and held his arm as he suddenly paid all of his attention to her and his future dynasty. I stepped out into the long hallways and followed the lawyer to the elevator. We stepped on and down we went, 100 floors to the bottom, into the gaping mouth of the new hell I had built for myself.

We stepped out to a podium set up by my Father’s company, press all in front of me
, and flashes going off as I leaned up into the mic.

“I have come to tell everyone here today that I am not gay, I have never been nor will I ever be. I was under the influence of narcotics that night
of the party and I do apologize to my Father and his lovely wife, my stepmother Miko, for making a mockery of their happy announcement.”

I paused as I looked at the next line written out for me and did not want to say it. Then I felt a hand on my arm as chattering welled up in the crowd before me. I looked over to see Ryan staring at me and he leaned into the mic.

“My name is Ryan Blackwood, and I was paid by Beth’s father to fuck her so she would not appear to be gay.”

I sucked in my breath and stared at him in disbelief as he pulled me through a crowd of
hand held recorders and cameras. He held his hand up in front of my face as I placed my sunglasses on and we entered his black car and the door was shut behind us as people tapped on the windows. I took my sunglasses off and stared him down in the back seat.

“So…paid huh?”

He nodded and I placed my glasses back on and tapped the seat.

“Please take me home now.”

Ryan nodded to the driver and we left what would always be to me the day Ryan became mine, with one small offering of the truth in a world of lies…

****

The money stopped immediately. When I say immediately I mean that day. I had signed papers with my Father that stated I would play hi
s game and now my inheritance was more than in jeopardy. It was taken from me. How I would survive was a mystery but that really was not what concerned me the most as I stared at Ryan asleep in my bed. What would become of us? Our “relationship” had been paid for by a father who had made a habit of buying me gifts ever since I could remember. This by far was the craziest of them all. He had actually purchased a boyfriend for me or so it seemed, but my confusion as to why Ryan confessed that day was still a mystery. I mean, he could not possibly love me as I do him. Could he? I mean he was paid what I could only imagine was a huge amount of money to play with me. Had he gotten caught up in emotions as I did? Maybe I need to go back on my meds. Who will pay for that? I mean I still have money but it will soon be gone with the staff and every other elaborate thing I have in my life. I then took a drink of my coffee as Holland stepped up behind me and hugged me.

“This is a fucking mess,” s
he whispered to me and I nodded and turned to her.

“I have n
o idea what I am supposed to do,” I said quietly.

She glanced at him and then back to me.

“Love him,” she said and I laughed and took another drink.

“Oh yeah, sounds lovely.”

“I am serious,” she said as she pulled the door closed and we walked to my leather couch and sat down. She pulled her legs and faced me, reaching out to touch my hair for a moment and I moved to stop her. She looked hurt or perhaps a bit confused. I had never stopped her from showing me affection before and now suddenly I felt like Ryan was the only one in my life who should be receiving it at all.

“Beth, you have to love someone sometime. If
it is not me then that is okay,” she said quietly and I moved towards her.

“I do love you, it is just different with him. I guess love has different levels or something.”

She watched me and then took my hand and held it while she ran her fingers across the top of it.

“It looks good on you,” s
he said as she looked down at my hand and I narrowed my eyes.

“What?”

“Being ‘in love’, I have never known it or seen it. My parents are about as loving as hyenas.”

I sighed and watched her closely.

“Is this what it is? Love I mean?” I said to her and she smiled at me.

“You know, we have known each other since we were small. I used to come and play at your house often and I always loved the way you let me play with your toys. There was no one else in our circles who would let me do that, but you always wanted to share…even being an only child. It was like you wanted to see me happy and I am happy
, Beth. With you, I am happy,” she said as the door opened up and she let my hand go. Ryan stepped out and stretched as he was naked and I covered Holland’s eyes and laughed.

“Company
, Ryan.”

He looked at us and smiled as h
e glanced down and then turned. Holland laughed and pulled my fingers down as she caught a glimpse of his beautiful ass walking back into the bedroom.

“Damn,” s
he said and I smacked her on the arm. She laughed at me.

“Seriously
, Beth. Let’s just go out and have fun. It has been six months since all this shit happened and I miss you,” she said to me and truth was I missed her too. I missed shopping and going where I wanted to but the camera’s lurked and so did my Father’s lawyers, like if I said anything else in public they would have me killed. Honestly with the power he has I was surprised we had not accidently been blown up or some shit but perhaps Ryan had protected us in that way being so honest and exposing my Father on just one thing in his life. Killing us would lead back to him and he loves being alive and torturing people. Besides, Miko is coming along and as soon as the heir to the kingdom arrives he will have plenty to do. I am sure Miko’s power will triple with it and she may even try to have another one just to seal up the deal…you know, a back up boy just in case they accidently kill the first one. She is not exactly Mom material so the army of nannies will certainly be on full time. I stood up and smiled at her.

“Let me take a ba
th. You are right, let’s go out,” I said and she smiled up at me. I touched her face and then walked to the large doors to the bathroom and stepped in. I started to close them behind me and looked forward to a bath, a nice hot one in a house I did not know how much longer I could afford to live in seeing the staff had been cut down and the bills alone on it were outrageous. I had never known what they were before the money stopped coming and I had no idea how quickly it disappeared. Ryan was not making money either, now that we were…whatever the fuck we are now.

“Need company?” she asked and I laughed and shook my head no.

I closed the doors and turned to the tub and grinned. Hot water always made me feel better, always had always will and I glanced at the razor at my counter and had a moment of weakness to cut myself in an act of feeling a bit more under control of everything but I let it pass and started the water, waving my hand in it slowly and calming my nerves.

Holland walked to my bedroom door slowly as she glanced towards my bathroom and then she opened it up and saw Ryan lying on the bed with a hard on holding the sheet up.

“Need help?” she asked him and he nodded as she closed the door behind her quietly and locked it.

“A job,” I said as I stared at him in the restaurant and Ryan held his napkin up to his mouth and grinned behind it.

“It is not uncommon for pe
ople to work,” he said and I stared him down as if he was speaking another language to me.

“We are not common,
” I said quietly and he smiled at his drink and fingered at the glass for a moment.

“You are not common, I am,” h
e said as he drank it quickly, reminding me of how my Father drinks and then waved to the waiter to being him another.

“You have had three.”

He looked at me and leaned back against the black leather behind him. It also reminded me of the furniture in my Father’s home.

“And I will have three more, since when do you care how much I drink
, Beth?” he asked me as the waiter returned with another glass and placed it before him. Ryan looked up at him and grinned.

“She needs a drink, somethin
g strong to beat the bitch down,” he said and the waiter controlled himself from laughing as he glanced at me.

“Ryan,
” I said as it offended me and Ryan sighed and looked at me.