Exposure_A Stone Billionaire Series Novel

by Kaya Woodward

  I can only nod.

  She was innocent.

  It was, an accident really.

  I needed a tutor to pass math or something or other, Elizabeth was assigned to me.

  She was incredibly intelligent, and funny.

  As a young girl she was always uptight in class.

  I would’ve much preferred her sister Lauren, who was younger than us and great fun, but Lauren and I were friends.

  There was no lust between us.

  The more time I spent with Elizabeth, the more my lust for her intensified.

  I couldn’t see at the time, that I just wanted what I couldn’t have.

  Elizabeth readily agreed to go out with me.

  Things were turbulent at best in the beginning.

  She was always jealous, but her jealousy was somewhat of an aphrodisiac for us.

  Our fights would turn into hot make out sessions in a stairwell, progressing onto other things.

  “So, what exactly were you thinking when you decided you wanted to take my virginity?” She asks.

  “You wanted it just as much, if I recall,” I sigh.

  “Only because you made me, you had every single girl at our school on the hook, but you wanted me out of all of them,” she laughs, and then there’s that devious smile.

  This much was true.

  “You did blind me to everyone else,” I admit.

  “So, let’s fast forward, at one point did you decide you were never getting married?” She asks.

  “We were eighteen, may I remind you,” I point out.

  “No, no, love,” She shakes her head. “Remember after Evan was born? You wanted us all to be a family? You, me, both of our children? You promised we would have a real marriage if we could all just be together,” She looks at me with total honesty.

  I never told her I would marry her.

  Never.

  “I wanted us to be a family, but you left,” I remind her.

  “I left for Ava,” She says. “I left to take her back, but they were so impossibly happy with that girl, I didn’t know what to tell you. I only came back after I found out she’d been at the mercy of the foster system for quite some time,” She looks at me expectantly.

  I don’t believe her.

  For the pure reason that every lead I had on Ava, went cold whenever I got close.

  Someone was stopping me at every turn.

  We’d get so close, we’d almost have her, and then damn, the lead we were following went cold.

  You can’t tell me that was an accident.

  When I don’t respond, Elizabeth shakes her head. “You remember the night, I found you in bed, with Tinsley?”

  Tinsley and I discussed this at length: Ava would’ve been seventeen at that time.

  “Oh god,” I have to take a long drink now. “Don’t tell me.”

  “That was the night I came back to tell you I’d found Ava, that we could all be a family. You turned me away,” she sniffs.

  She’s a liar.

  I’m blinded by rage at Elizabeth’s attempt to turn me into a monster.

  I promised her a family, and when she came back to be a family, supposedly, I couldn’t give her that.

  Just like I could never give Tinsley what I promised.

  “You do remember that?” Elizabeth asks, after I take another long drink.

  I selfishly want to yell at her to get out. Then I realize her hands are shaking. “You know that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” She admits.

  “You?” I ask bluntly.

  It’s hard to swallow, my throat is dry, and every single part of me has gone cold despite the heat of the day.

  “That’s all you wanted? Was a marriage? Was our family to be together?” I snort.

  “That’s really it. You drove me to this,” Elizabeth announces casually.

  She drove herself to this.

  My refusal to allow her to blame me keeps me from falling over in my chair.

  Never, could I have ever controlled her, or foreseen her coming back years later on the exact night that Tinsley and I decided to wreck everything about our friendship, and turn it into more.

  I want to explain to Elizabeth that Tinsley was a mistake, we could never make it work, and we still can’t.

  But that would be a lie, part of me still hopes.

  “We can’t make it work. Tinsley and me. Never could,” I do lie.

  I lie through my teeth, with a straight face, and keep a stern look on my face as Elizabeth looks delighted.

  “What do you mean?” She pretends to be sad for me.

  “It’s been over for a long time,” I smile at Elizabeth.

  It’s been over, but we never really could stay away from each other.

  Elizabeth clenches her fists, her mouth pursing, moving from side to side for a moment. “I’m leaving for Switzerland in three days. I’d stay if there was a chance,” She looks up at me, her eyes shining with the sort of hope I wished for.

  “If there’s a chance we can make it work real? A marriage? Our children?” There’s a hint of wistfulness to her voice, and her face relaxes.

  Truly, she is a monster.

  I feel no regret. “Just, stay for another month or two, stay until after July 4th. We’ll go together. I want to wait until I can see Ava, when she comes back. Then we can leave together. I can’t promise you anything, but I would like to try. In earnest. No outside interruptions,” I look up at her, doing my best impression of hopeful.

  She deserves what I’m going to give to her: jail time.

  When she doesn’t respond, I hold out a hand to her, doing my best not to recoil when she takes it, squeezing it gently.

  “We don’t even need the children,” She tells me. “Just the two of us?”

  “Just us, Elizabeth. Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be about?” I squeeze her hand back.

  When my phone begins ringing, I ignore it, simply out of purpose.

  What I’m not expecting is the answering machine to come on.

  And Tinsley’s voice to come on the machine.

  “Noah, look, hi. Okay. I don’t know what to say, I just know you talked to my parents, and you’re all worried about where I am. Don’t be. I’m fine. I just wanted to leave you a message and say I’m fine. Don’t call this number back, it’s blocked. You won’t even be able to trace it, because I’m leaving where I am today. Bye, Noah.” I can hear Tinsley breathing into the phone before she hangs up.

  There’s a click.

  “Out of your life?” Elizabeth’s hand recoils, crossing her arms. “I should’ve known better, then to trust you.”

  “Doesn’t it sound like she’s out of my life? I was worried for her,” I take long drink to disguise the smile on my lips.

  Hearing her voice was like hearing an angel.

  “Now I’m going to stay in Manhattan, just to ruin all four of you. Your son, your daughter, and Tinsley. I’ll save you for last,” She stands with authority, leaving the rest of her drink untouched.

  “Letting yourself out then?” I ask.

  “Most definitely, love,” She blows me a kiss. “I think I’ll start with your precious Ava, as soon as she’s made her debut into society then. That’ll be wicked fun, having her arrested, on the same night everyone gets to meet her?”

  “I look forward to it,” I glower at her, watching through the glass as she exits the penthouse. Far below me she will get back into her car, and start barking orders at her men, who will feel her wrath.

  I swallow my drink and then the rest of Elizabeth’s.

  I can’t help but believe that Tinsley just helped us dodge a bullet.

  More specifically me.

  How would I have carried on for a couple of months?

  Pretend we were going to run away together?

  Just to keep her in the city?

  I would’ve been able to do it, even if it was wrong, just to keep Ava safe, just to keep her in the city long enough to get her behind bars.

  She w
ould’ve known the ruse was up.

  But igniting her ire?

  That was really the best way to do it, to make sure she wouldn’t leave until Ava was back, until she could absolutely destroy everyone in her path.

  For what? To make me come crawling back to her?

  There’s more to this.

  I can feel it.

  I feel no remorse over what we’re about to do.

  It’ll be all the more pretty, especially when everything blows up that conniving witch’s face.

  Chapter 28: Ava

  June 30, 2017

  It's the end of June already, and I've spent a month with Athena and Evan in, of all places, the London Stone residence.

  I am Ava Stone.

  Ava Stone.

  I repeat the words in my head every single day like they aren't real.

  But it's true.

  In New York I know they are gearing up for the fourth of July, everyone is probably going to take the week off.

  Evan is, like me in so many ways.

  He's only two years younger than I am.

  We have the same parents.

  I have a brother.

  I can’t believe it!

  We look like siblings even.

  Which has also been hard to get used to, his presence is warming, even seeing his face makes me happy.

  Evan and I look so similar; he has the same heart-shaped face, only fuller with high cheekbones like me.

  He is incredibly handsome, with blonde hair, and he’s much taller.

  He's our father, part two.

  Noah has been in New York, but we have our weekly calls at Athena’s behest.

  How am I doing, aside from heartbroken?

  I miss Corban.

  I can physically feel the loss of him, the loss of him beside me, and the loss of him in my heart.

  A piece of me is gone.

  I will never get that part of me back.

  My mother, as far as I know, succeeded in her plan.

  I do not mention anything about Corban to my father; I refuse to ruin their relationship.

  He looked out for Corban all his life, and I will not let his one mistake with me, destroy what they have.

  I am not my mother; I will not go seeking revenge against a man I love, for his mistakes.

  I do still love him.

  I will always love him.

  But I can never forgive him.

  The thought of forgiving him makes my blood pressure rise, it makes me nervous, sends me into a panic attack, like I'm giving my mother what she wants.

  It sounds twisted, even in my mind, but I will not complicate my life any further.

  Besides, I haven't decided what to do about the Darlingtons.

  Athena insists I meet them soon, especially my Grandmother, Ava, who I was named for.

  She has always been looking for me, and she’s desperate to meet me.

  Athena said that I am to call her when I am ready.

  Everything I try to eat doesn't stay down; I am still nervous.

  I am not prepared to be part of this world, not without Corban by my side.

  That’s not likely to happen, however.

  I need to talk to someone, and the only person I want to speak with is my mother.

  I want to ask her how she could've possibly asked a man to do that to me, and how he could've agreed to this?

  But I won't get any answer that satisfies me.

  I know this much.

  Athena has given me her old bedroom, the bedroom that Noah first gave her when she was young and new to the family.

  Athena was a product of their father’s affair, and when Noah found out he’d been keeping her secret he openly welcomed her into the family.

  It is bright, and airy.

  White and yellow, with a king size four poster bed, and sheer draping.

  This room makes me feel calm, it gives me solstice.

  There is a knock at the door, and Athena in all her aristocratic perfection appears.

  She's always bright, shiny, and perfect, the opposite of Evan and me.

  She is hardly a Stone; she doesn't match up with the rest of us.

  Her narrow face, thick pink lips and wide blue eyes set her apart in a crowd.

  She is the kind of woman that demands attention, especially with her impossibly tiny waist and elegant gait.

  Athena reminds me vaguely of a blonde Audrey Hepburn.

  I'm wrecked and broken, my love life is torn to shreds, but I will be alright.

  That must mean that I am Stone, because we are notoriously unlucky in love, but we do get through it.

  I've only now started to refer to him as my father, though I still sometimes call him Noah on the phone.

  It's a slow start.

  I have so many questions I don’t want to ask.

  “How are you doing?” her voice is soft as usual. “I'm going out to see Nicholas, do you need anything? Evan is downstairs; waiting for dinner.”

  “No, I don’t need anything, I'll go down with you though,” I smile, still feeling lonely, despite their constant presence. It’s as though they need to be by my side all the time.

  I guess maybe they're worried, but if I were them I'd be worried too.

  I follow her down the winding staircase of the Stone family home.

  The expansive home has been in the Stone family for four generations.

  The only one who stays here is Athena when she’s in London.

  It's well kept with a twinge of neglect, like you can tell there haven’t been many happy times here.

  There’s almost a haunting feeling when you walk through the halls, of love lost and those who died without being finished.

  It’s eerie in a beautiful way.

  The staff they employ is usually only at Athena's use, but now they have two more to deal with, myself and Evan.

  Not that we are a nuisance.

  Evan plays guitar, I listen.

  We watch movies and we talk.

  We're quiet guests, and we both stay out of trouble, together.

  I guess alone, we are quickly talked into trouble, but when we do go out for trouble, I find that Evan and I balance each other out.

  Evan is already waiting downstairs.

  “Let's go out to eat,” He bugs me. “We haven't done that in almost two weeks. I'm bored. I want a pint, or four.”

  “Alright,” I shrug. “We'll take your car. I can't drive on the wrong side of the road.”

  “Like I'm any better. But we can take dad's car,” He raises an eyebrow, grabbing my jacket before his, tossing mine towards me. “I made a few reservations; there's that classy Asian place you like?”

  I’m leery about him driving Noah’s Aston Martin.

  “I want comfort food,” I shake my head.

  “Then the place across town it is, there's usually a wait a mile long, but, we're the Stones, we'll get in,” Evan smirks.

  ***

  Evan is right, he says our names, and the waitress leads us right to a cozy booth that could fit five.

  We sit closer together, so we can judge the people around us privately, a game we came up with since the service here tends to be a little bit slow.

  Everyone knows who Evan Stone is, and they’re probably wondering who I am.

  Sometimes it feels like all eyes are on us.

  The vibe is ultra-trendy, everything is slick and dark, the booths are all on raised platforms, giving us the best view, over those below us.

  I was born into this, and I can feel it.

  I don't consider myself above these people, but it's fun to guess at what their lives are like.

  Before I knew what, it was like to have endless money at my disposal, I would've never wasted what little money I had on a random night like this.

  Evan wants to do this all the time.

  He orders a beer, and I order red wine, though I can barely smell it without wanting to throw up, taking a sip of my water instead.

  Maybe I've b
een going too hard on the wine lately, I think to myself.

  Not that I’ve really been drinking all that much.

  “Okay, so the Member of Parliament over there? He's paying that woman. They're always together, and they're engaged, but look at the size of her rack,” He points to a booth far on the other side. “And they're sitting far apart.”

  “She used to work for Elizabeth,” I divulge. “I know her. Should I go say hello?” I purse my lips together with a sneaky smile.

  “Holy shit!” Evan whispers fiercely.

  “It happens more than you think. Men will just as easily pay for a wife, as they will a car,” I shrug. “What about that married couple down there, they look miserable too. How many kids at home?”

  “Two, and then number three was a surprise,” He guesses. “Did you ever want kids?”

  “Not really. You?” I never wanted them because of the life I led.

  Family never seemed like an option.

  “Never in my life,” He shakes his head. “I'm not up for diapers or puke.”

  “Me neither,” I shake my head, something occurring to me.

  I haven't exactly gotten a period as of late, but I haven't been eating either, which would explain that.

  I count back days, thinking there's no way I could be pregnant.

  There's no way.

  “You look like you swallowed something sour,” Evan takes another sip of his beer.

  “I'm fine,” I take a swallow of the wine; letting it slide all the way down before I count back again, thinking back.

  It’s not like Corban and I were careful.

  We were stupid and in love, we didn’t care about using condoms.

  “Ava?” Evan glances at me. “What are you thinking?”

  “Nothing. What are you a mind reader?” I put my wine down.

  “You think you're pregnant, don't you?” he studies me.

  “Holy shit. How did you do that?” I glare at him.

  “Just a guess,” He stares at me for a few moments. “Corban?”

  “Shut up!” I cut him off.

  “Well, are you pregnant?” he is as persistent as he can be annoying.

  “I don't know,” I shrug. “Stop it.” I shush him again.

  I don’t want to think about this.

  “Let's go get a test,” Evan shakes his head, pretending he's the older brother again, dropping some colored bills on the table to cover our drinks.