HEARTBREAK
1686 Words
Caoimhe
I felt my heart sink and my stomach churn. I was in shock. It was unbelievable although I was staring at my step sister and fiance.
The ivory invitation felt like a bad joke still clutched in my trembling hand.
I had thought it was nothing but a bad joke, a prank, hence the reason I came only for me to get the confirmation without having to hear words. But the scene before my eyes proved me wrong, very wrong.
"What are you doing here?" I heard Jason's voice, it sounded cold and distant and held no hint of remorse.
"Seriously?" I couldn't even believe my ears.
I lifted the invitation card up. "This! What does this even mean?" I struggled with my own voice.
"You are being an unnecessary loud sister." She drawled, looking like she was trying to hold back a laugh.
I stared at her for a moment, the knowledge that not only did she want to be caught, she was actually enjoying this, settled in my mind.
Suddenly, the invitation card and the insistence that it had to be given to me in person made sense. It was Sarah who wanted me to see it.
That's how Sarah has always been. She only wanted to see me in pain and looked for means to hurt me and she finally did.
I turned to Jason, "WHAT THE f**k IS GOING ON?" I hadn't even realised I was screaming, or that I had the strength to scream, but somehow it was the only thing that made sense to do at the moment.
He remained impassive, his handsome scrunching up in mild annoyance.
"Caoimhe, lower your voice," he said, walking across the room and picking up a white towel draped on an armchair before wrapping it around his waist, his tone devoid of warmth, an undertone of a chilling authority I didn't recognize.
"Lower my voice?" I shrieked, incredulous.
"You have the audacity to tell me that after… after this?" I thrust the invitation at him, the delicate paper crumpling in my grasp.
"We are supposed to get married!" I yelled in pain, struggling to breathe.
His silence was an answer, a deafening confirmation of my worst fears. Panic clawed at my throat, choking back the sob threatening to erupt.
This was the man I fell in love with. The only person I trusted. The only person I felt had my back. What went wrong? I wondered in pain and confusion.
"There must be some explanation," I pleaded, my voice cracking. "Just tell me why. Sarah? Why! How could you do this to me and with my own step sister, the one you know hates me!"
A muscle flickered in his jaw, the only hint of emotion betraying his carefully constructed facade. "There's nothing to explain, Caoimhe," he finally said, his voice flat.
"You saw the card, I presume, you know exactly what is going on. I strongly suggest you turn around and go home. Nobody wants you around here."
The words hit me like a physical blow. The man I loved, the man I was about to spend the rest of my life with, owed me no explanation? The absurdity of it all threatened to send me spiralling.
"Don't you dare do this to me, Jason!" I said quietly, my anger gave way to fear and denial. I was a pleading, desperate shield against the crushing weight of betrayal.
"We have a future! We planned to live out the rest of our lives together! Don't do this to me, please!"
My hands stretched out involuntarily, reaching out to him, to the man I had fallen in love with, to the man I wanted more than anything else. He took a measured step back, his eyes cold and distant.
"There is no future, Caoimhe. Not anymore."
My vision blurred, the room tilting at a dizzying angle. The world I knew, the world we'd built together, was crumbling around me. In that moment, the only thing tethering me to reality was the primal urge to lash out, to inflict on him a fraction of the pain he'd caused me.
"NO!" I screamed, lunging at him, a primal scream tearing from my throat. My hand, propelled by a surge of white-hot fury, aimed for his face.
"Please don't do this to me Jason. You are all I have. We had plans!" I pleaded, wanting to touch him but instead, he evaded my touch and pushed me off him.
I lost my balance and fell to the ground, almost spraining my ankle.
A choked sob escaped my lips, a strangled cry of despair and humiliation.
Then, a sound pierced the heavy silence - a sound that sent a fresh wave of nausea washing over me. Sarah's laughter. It wasn't a light, playful giggle, but a harsh, grating sound that spoke of something dark and twisted lurking beneath the surface.
"Oh, come on, Caoimhe," she drawled, her voice dripping with mock sympathy as she dragged the blanket to cover up her bare breasts, wiping off the sweat on her forehead with the back of her palm and relaxing on the bed.
"You should have known someone like Jason wouldn't end up with you. I mean have you seen yourself?"
Tears streamed down my face, hot and stinging, but before I could even attempt to confront her, Jason's voice cut through the air.
"That's enough, Sarah," he said, his tone laced with a surprising edge of steel. The coldness in his eyes, however, remained unchanged.
Sarah shrugged, the amusement fading from her face as quickly as it had appeared.
"Just trying to lighten the mood," she muttered, her gaze flickering between us with a mix of curiosity and something akin to satisfaction.
Ignoring her, I turned to Jason, my voice hoarse with unshed tears. "What have I done?" I whispered, the question a plea for understanding, for some shred of decency in the face of this utter madness.
He met my gaze for a fleeting moment, a flicker of something - regret, maybe? - crossing his features before being swiftly masked by indifference.
"Nothing," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It has nothing to do with you."
"Jason please-"
"That is IT!" Sarah cut in, rising from her bed, the smugness in her face replaced with annoyance. "Look at you, you are a fool."
She stood up to walk over to Jason, dragging the blanket behind her like a bridal train, her eyes fixed on me, her face twisted into a sneer.
"Jason and I have been together for a very long time." She continued, hooking her arm into his.
"And the fact that you couldn't see that, is exactly why he is going to end up with me, not you."
"You, my dear, are a naive little fool, for thinking you will end up with Jason. You are not good enough, you never were." She paused to take a deep breath, before looking back at me, the smirk back.
"You never will be good enough, just like your poor, little mother."
My mouth dropped open, shocked at how she sounded, I turned to Jason, I tried to speak but words failed me. He, on the other hand, looked indifferent, like he couldn't care about it all less.
"She is right Caoimhe" he said, his voice without even as much emotion.
"She is the heiress of one of the most powerful men around, you, on the other hand, is an illegitimate child with nothing to her name."
That was it. That was the line.
My body moved on its own accord, my mind too dazed to form any coherent thought, I stood up slowly, carefully, stumbling a little as I found my knees were too weak to carry my own weight.
Without another word, I walked out of the bedroom, feeling their eyes on me and as soon as I shut the door behind me, I heard a mocking laughter.
Sarah, apparently, was not done having her fun.
I made my way down the elevator, walking across the lobby into the rain soaked New York street. It was still raining heavily this time, but I didn't care because the pain that I felt was much more.
————————
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the bastard child, I wonder who," My step mother Alicia uttered the minute I stepped into my fathers mansion with a frown on her face.
She never had anything good to tell me, ever. She was always either making fun of trying her very best to make my life as miserable as possible and I always tried avoiding any confrontation with her.
Mocking.
"You look like wet garbage." She scoffed.
I shrugged, "s**t happens."
"Well, stay away from my living room."
She continued, "I don't want you to ruin it."
The door swung open and I saw Sarah walk in, her face beaming. I looked away immediately, the memories of what I had seen her doing what felt like a couple of hours ago rushing back into me as soon as I saw her.
I felt like pulling out her hair but I stood still.
She said nothing, going to sit next to her mother on the sofa, leaving me standing.
And sure enough, almost as soon as Sarah came back inside, I heard my Dad's heavy footsteps approaching.
He stopped on his tracks as soon as he saw me, a fleeting look of surprise passing through his face before it returned to its normal, impassive look.
His eyes ran through me, "You are wet."
"It was a long walk-"
"Where are you coming from?" He asks, his eyes boring into me this evening.
"Whatever it is, I don't care this evening."
He said gruffly, "I have news that concerns you."
In Spite of myself and how miserable I was at that moment, I couldn't help but look up.
"What?"
He released a deep breath before breaking the second most heart shattering news I had gotten today.
"Get ready. You are getting married to William Madden"
- Writer
