15th Chappie

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  • Dedicated to Nikki
                                    

Hey lovely people! Sorry for another late update. My chapters are being written faster now that we are coming to the end - I promise. I hope you like this chapter! Please let me know what you think!

The moment his lips touched mine the magic was over. What was I doing? I snapped out of my trance and remembered my intensions. This didn’t feel right. This wasn’t right. There had been a part of me that wondered what I would do if Richard had crawled back to me and pleaded for my forgiveness. He hadn’t even really apologised and I had willingly allowed him to embrace me. I had let this situation leave my control but I was going to change the tables. I thought I might still feel something when I was in his arms and when he kissed me. Instead I felt nothing. No sparks. No fireworks. There was nothing but lip touching lip, skin touching skin. Richard Cummins wasn’t my knight in shining armour. I broke the contact between us immediately and shoved myself out of his reach.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” I snapped wiping my mouth as if his lips had released an invisible poison.

“Was this not the reason you came? You want me so desperately but you can’t admit it?” He shrugged. What arrogance! I had to wonder how he walked through doorways with such an ego surrounding him. Was he always like this? Was I really that blinded by love? No, I wasn’t in love, not really. I thought I was but looking back on it now; I had found comfort and contentment. “How dare you try to understand my feelings? You know nothing! You never cared about me. I wasn’t your fiancé or even your girlfriend. I was going to be your trophy wife, stable but not an affectionate partner.  I thought you loved me. I never needed marriage to be happy, I just needed love. You couldn’t even give me that.”

“I thought I was in love with your sister, I am in love with your sister!” He pleaded his case.

“You don’t know the first thing about love. You were getting cold feet that you might have to share your life with another and compromise on some decisions that you usually make alone. You saw Lucy-Bree and felt overcome with lust. Yes, she was beautiful and sexy, she always has been. You were an engaged man, you were meant to become my husband!” I was screaming now. This was what I had imagined ever since I started the road trip.

“I didn’t think things would turn out this way but they did.” He said matter-of-factly.

“It just did? Are you listening to yourself?” I gasped. “What did I ever see in you?”

“You aren’t being yourself, Katherine.”

“I think I’m finally done pretending to be in love with you.” I said. The memory of sitting on the back of Alex’s motorbike flashed through my mind. That was one of the first moments I felt free and truly happy. I had made up my mind. It was as if the skies had cleared and chased all my doubts away. I had been so stupid and lost. This wasn’t about Richard anymore. It was my time to shine and I wasn’t going to let this hold me back. It was so ridiculous how much time I had wasted in this state of mild satisfaction.

A feeling of laughter came over me and I couldn’t stop the chuckle escaping me. “Katherine?” Richard questioned as he took a step back.

“You’re right, Richard. I shouldn’t hate myself. I just hate you. Actually, I don’t even hate you. I think I need to thank you for being the biggest arse. I’m finally over this stage in my life. I’m finally done using you as my shield. I’ve found someone who I have fallen in love with and I need to go and tell him that.” I smiled.

“What? Who?”

“Why do you care, Richard? You won’t be in my future and that’s a thought that really makes me smile. I guess there is only one thing left to do.” I pulled my engagement ring out of my back pocket and looked at its shimmering surface for the last time. He moved forward and held his hand out flat waiting for me to return the expensive piece of jewellery.  That’s the moment I smirked at him and brought the ring to my lips. I kissed the cold stone and realised that’s all it ever was between us, a cold and unemotional relationship.

“What are you doing?” He gasped. I turned to the ocean and concentrated all my energy. I felt the final strings of attachment for Richard pull away. I swung my arm back and threw the ring into the ocean as far as I could. I cheered as I saw it disappear almost instantly beneath the foaming waves. “Do you know how much that cost me?” He squeaked in his rage.

“Stop your whining. Oh before I go…” I walked over to him and leaned in his ear. “Stay away from my sister.” Feeling like some true revenge, I kneed him in the groin and watched in complete satisfaction as he hit the sand, hard. He inhaled some of the grains and choked as a few made it to his throat. “Goodbye Richard.”

I turned and stormed back to the porch, a changed woman. I was free of my relationship and finally could take on the future. Alex was right, I had been hiding behind the supposed heartbreak caused by Richard but that was a lie. If I was brutally honest with myself, I was running away. That was in the past now. I wasn’t going to run anymore. I was going to take every challenge life swung at me head on. I could do that. I was stronger now. I bundled my shoes together in my arms and didn’t bother putting them on. There was no time for that. I walked confidently through the house but stopped when I found no one in the living room. I heard a familiar laugh and followed the sound of my best friend’s voice to the billiard room. There I halted in my tracks to see Mads and Matthew playing pool. Mads was lining up the final ball and sunk it with perfect skill.

“I believe you now owe me $75, old Matty-o!” She cheered and danced around the table before turning to me. “And you, my friend, nice aim!” I blushed at the reminder of what I had just done but gave a wide smile.

“I can really tell you were concerned for me.” I mocked.

“I was bored and anyway, we got front row seats with popcorn. We could see you two through the window.” She said. That was the moment she motioned to her left where I couldn’t help but let out a giggle when I saw the bowl of popcorn resting on top of the bar.

“You actually made popcorn to watch my final showdown with Richard?” I raised an eyebrow.

“We never doubted your strength for a moment, Miss Katherine.” Matthew smiled. The quiet butler and I shared a moment of silence and I finally realised after all these years that he had always had my back.

“Thank you, Matthew.” I turned to my friend again. “We gotta get going, Mads.”

“Where to?” She asked, placing her pool cue into the proper slot on the wall.

“I have a fire-fighter to catch.”

“It’s getting hot, hot, hot in here!” She sung the lyrics of a Rascal Flatts song as we walked towards the door.

“Oh shush.” I hit her arm playfully. I turned to Matthew then and could help but embrace the older man in a hug. “Thank you, for everything.” What I didn’t expect was the butler actually hugging me back.

“You always deserved more, Miss Katherine.” He said as we separated. He then directed his attention to Mads and I knew I saw a tear grace his eye but it was gone in a flash. “Miss Madison.”

“It’s been fun, Matthew.” She smiled and they shook hands.

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