My Valentine

  The fucker laughs. “Adiós, Señor Valentine.”

  Knowing I can’t say any more, I storm out, but not before hearing the fucker telling the fuckard that he’s planning on buying his wife a diamond ring when he leaves the station.

  Scarlet

  I have three more months until this baby’s due, and I can’t wait. I’m trying so hard to distance myself from this baby, but it’s so fucking hard when he or she is a constant reminder. I feel movement more now, which only adds to my heartache. And yes, I do mean heartache. I want to run from this baby simply because I don’t want it to make me feel. I fucking hate myself when I’m lying in bed and find myself stroking my belly as if soothing my baby. I hate myself when I worry that the baby hasn’t moved for hours, and then, when it does, euphoria shoots through me. I hate it when David strokes my belly and talks to the baby, and I respond with a smile, which creeps up on my face. I also hate it when he kisses me afterwards, and he makes me feel like I’m part of a family—his family.

  And I know what will happen next. It always fucking does with me. I’m destructive like that. I can’t seem to help myself.

  So, after having sex with David, we’re lying on the bed, and when he links his fingers through mine, I can’t help the words that come out of my mouth.

  “I heard you talking with my mum.” Immediately he stiffens when I mention it. I wasn’t expecting anything less.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That day a couple of months ago, she came over and told you I was your daughter.”

  His head snaps up to mine. “And you never thought to tell me?” I see the look of confusion and hurt across his face, but this was what I was after.

  Wasn’t it?

  “I was waiting for you to tell me. Why haven’t you? And I know you’ve not opened the letter. You lied to me about the results. It’s still sitting sealed in your office drawer.”

  Immediately, he scoots off the bed and throws on a pair of jeans. “I can’t believe you’ve known all this time and never told me.”

  I get angry then. “I can’t believe you’ve known all this time and haven’t told me. Don’t you think I have a right? Not only that, you lied to my face telling me I wasn’t your daughter.”

  David exhales, and right off the bat, his face softens. With his jeans not fully buttoned up, he sits on the edge of the bed. “I was afraid,” he finally says.

  “Of what?”

  He fixes me with a look as if to say I should already know. “Isn’t it obvious? Scarlet, I’m sitting with you right now, having this conversation after just having had sex with you. I feel things for you no father should ever feel for his daughter. I know it may be a possibility, but I don’t want to believe it. Can you not understand that?”

  I nod my head. “Of course I can.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything? You’ve been pushing me to be in a relationship with you when all this time you knew.” When something dawns on him, he grits his teeth. “I’m not that fucking arsehole of a father you had growing up, Scarlet. I’m nothing like him.”

  I reach over, cupping my hand over his. “I know that. In fact, you’re everything he’s not.” I sigh. “I guess that when I’m around you, I just can’t help myself. It might sound cliché, but it’s true.”

  I’m surprised by my own admission. It is the truth, but not a truth I was expecting to leak out.

  Embarrassed, I look away, but I quickly feel David pulling my face his way. “Hey, don’t look away. That’s the first time I’ve ever really seen you vulnerable with your feelings. You shouldn’t have to feel that way with me.”

  “I don’t like it,” I admit.

  David exhales. “Believe me, I know. But I also know that—deep down—there is a woman with a heart of gold just waiting to get out.”

  I start laughing at the absurdity of what he’s just said. “Me? With a heart of gold? You must be off your trolley, David.”

  He starts laughing, but pretty soon, he stops. “I deliberately haven’t opened the envelope yet.”

  “Why?” I ask with a frown.

  He shrugs. “Like I told you, I’m scared of what the results will be.”

  “What are you hoping they will be?”

  His eyes widen. “Shit, Scarlet. What type of man do you think I am? Do you seriously think that I want to be the father after screwing you every fucking chance I get?”

  Lust takes over every core of my being. Just hearing him talk like that is getting my juices flowing again. For a fleeting moment, I think of Richard, and it makes me wonder what he would think of this. It even gets me horny when I already know the answer.

  Without a thought, I go to David, straddling him. I’m completely naked as I throw my arms around him and start kissing his neck. “Don’t be ashamed,” I say, knowing just what a twisted fucking slut I’m being. “You can’t help what you feel.”

  Like always, I feel David’s cock harden beneath me. It never did take much with him. “We should talk about this,” he answers breathlessly.

  I pull away, glancing up to meet his eyes. “Afterwards. Let me love you first,” I say, closing in for a kiss. My mouth meets his, and our tongues mesh together hungrily. We only had sex ten minutes ago or so, but the way we’re acting, it’s more like it’s been ten months.

  Moaning into his mouth, I tug at the bottom button he managed to do up before pulling his jeans down. David helps, lifting himself up a bit, and the moment he’s free, I’m sliding down on his cock with a satisfied moan.

  “Fuck, I love your cock,” I whisper, kissing him deeply as David cups my breast and plays with my nipple.

  “I can’t stop,” David utters with a strained voice. “I can’t fucking stop.”

  “Just let it go,” I reply between bouncing up and down on his cock. “Whatever the result, nothing has to change.”

  “But we can’t—”

  “Yes, we can,” I interrupt. “No one has to know. Only us. It’s none of anyone’s fucking business.”

  As I feel David give in to my little speech, my orgasm rises, and without thinking I shout, “Come for me, Daddy!” as I explode around his cock. I wonder if he’ll get disgusted and throw me off, but instead his breathing quickens, and his grunts get louder as he too finds his own powerful release.

  “Fuck!” He screams, breathing heavily against my neck. “What the fuck’s happening here?” I know he feels the guilt, and I know he feels it’s wrong. Like me, though, he can’t help himself.

  After a few minutes, he calms, and then he utters words I definitely wasn’t expecting.

  “There was another.”

  Frowning, I pull back to look at him. “What other? Another what?”

  David swallows hard before looking up at me. “That night you may have been conceived. Your mother doesn’t know I know this, but after she left me, she thought I was asleep. I heard moaning, and when I went looking, I found her having sex with my best friend.”

  Reid

  When I get back to the bar, I’m angrier than I’ve ever been in my entire life. All those years of hard work only to have some fucker steal it. And the worst part of it all is there’s fuck all I can do about it.

  By the time I reach the door, it’s already past eight. It’s quiet, but then that’s normal for a Sunday night. As I walk through, Akilah looks up from pouring a drink for a customer. He smiles as I approach.

  “Everything okay?” I shake my head, but don’t say anything. Akilah knows this isn’t a conversation to be having in front of clients. Knowing this, he finishes up with his client before walking over to me. “What happened?”

  “They stole my fucking money,” I seethe.

  Akilah’s eyes widen. “But they can’t. We need to try and get it back.”

  “It’ll be our word against theirs.”

  “Fuck,” he hisses, taking a couple of steps back. Once he calms a little, he leans over the bar. “I’m so fucking sorry, brother.”

  “It’s not your fault
. There was nothing you could have done.”

  “Who do you think tipped the police off?”

  I shake my head. “I’ve been thinking about that the whole journey home. I know there have been clients we’ve turned away, and some have even threatened retribution. Whoever it is, I will hunt them down and have great delight in gutting them open and revealing the fucking pig that they are underneath.”

  “And I’ll help,” Akilah says with determination.

  I smile, knowing I have an ally. I trust Akilah with my life. “Thanks, man.”

  “After everything you’ve done for me, it’s the least I can do for you.” He points to the bar. “Drink?” I nod, and he gets to work fetching a glass and pouring me a whiskey. I say my thanks and take a sip, savouring the bite it offers me. I’m still pissed, but with every sip I take, it dulls down a little. I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do, but I’ll find the fucker who did this, and he or she will pay in blood.

  I watch as Akilah serves another customer before turning my attention back to my reflection in the mirror. I look tired and pissed off.

  Something catches my eye.

  When I look into the mirror squinting, I see a familiar-looking purse sitting on one of the tables in the far corner. On turning, I stalk towards the item. My head’s buzzing, and my knees are trembling. It’s a purse, but not just any old purse. A purse that’s red with distinctive diamonds around the edges—diamonds which I had specifically instructed to be placed there. And I know if I turn the purse around, there will be more diamonds forming the initials S and V … for Scarlet Valentine.

  I pick the offending purse up and immediately turn it around. My heart sinks when I see the initials. “Who left this?” I shout, causing everyone in the bar to look up. “Who the fuck left this purse?”

  A woman with black hair, a red tank top, and incredibly short shorts walks towards me, holding out her hand. “That’s mine. We’ve moved tables, and I accidentally left it there. Sorry about that, but thank you. I really don’t want to lose this purse.”

  “Where did you get it from?” I ask, noticing her frown when I won’t give it back.

  “It was a present. Can I have it back now, please? It’s mine. If you don’t believe me, look inside. It has my ID card in there.”

  Surprising her, that’s exactly what I do. There are a few euro notes and some credit cards, and, sure enough, there’s also ID. I take it out to look and see her face staring back at me. “Sarah Vickers.”

  “That’s me. Now, can I have my purse back, please?” She asks, extending her hand out again.

  Reluctantly, I give it back, but not before asking, “Did the purse come with that design?”

  She shakes her head. “No. My boyfriend bought it for me and had it custom made.”

  Somewhere in my mind, I don’t believe her. This was Scarlet’s purse. But, how can I prove it?

  Shit, this bitch is messing with my head. If there is another life after death, she’s certainly taunting me with it. Then again, I deserve it. She’s most probably down there right now, having a drink and laughing her arse off with the devil.

  “Thanks,” she says again as she starts to walk away. Before she does, though, I catch her shooting me a look that says I’m batshit crazy.

  Ignoring her, I go back to the bar and to my drink. Immediately, Akilah comes over. “Are you okay?”

  Being honest, I shake my head. “No, I’m not fucking okay.”

  He walks away, grabbing the whiskey bottle before walking back. As he pours some more liquid in, he says, “Do you want to talk about it yet?”

  I huff out a laugh. “How long have you got?”

  Scarlet

  It’s been two days since David told me about his best friend Gregory Maxwell—otherwise known as Greg. Somehow, the name feels familiar to me, but then I put that down to his name just sounding ordinarily familiar. Maybe David mentioned him once before. I don’t know. What I do know is that I need to know more about him. From the information I got from David, they went to school together, so they must have been the same age when they fucked my mother. After every vile thing she ever said about me, I still can’t help but laugh at her hypocrisy.

  I also found out that, like David, he has made a name for himself, owning several car garages around the UK. He’s been successful with many business ventures over the years, earning him a Business Man of the Year award a couple of years ago. He’s also married with three kids. For some reason, I couldn’t find an up-to-date photo of him. The one I did find was gravelly and looked like it had been taken twenty or so years ago.

  With David at work and an address in hand, I take one of David’s spare Porsches and make the thirty-mile journey to his main offices in Guildford. It takes close to an hour in traffic, but I manage to find where he works without getting lost. I park up in one of the available client spaces and walk the distance to the luxury car garage filled with Mercedes, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis. I walk in, noticing there’s nobody here, but then a voice makes me jump.

  “Can I help you?” When I look to where the voice is, a small man of about five-foot-six and greying hair approaches me. “I’m sorry, madam. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He glances at my attire, and then his eyes immediately land on my pregnant belly. “Buying a present for Daddy?” he smiles.

  “Or maybe Daddy might like to gift me one.” I laugh at my own joke, but I can tell I’ve confused the fuck out of him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Never mind,” I answer. I’m here to see Gregory Maxwell. It’s a personal matter.”

  His eyes give me the once over again. “And you are?”

  “Oh, he won’t know me. My name’s Scarlet …” I almost say my surname, but hold it back. “Bernstein,” I blurt, realising I’ve inadvertently said David’s surname.

  “Wait here,” he responds with an air of indifference. I watch as he walks away and once he’s disappeared, my eyes scan the shiny new toys scattered across the shop floor.

  “Well, well, well, would you look at that? I guess my birthday and Christmas have come all at once. Come to repay the money you owe me?”

  My head snaps to the voice and instant recognition mars my face. I know now why his name was so familiar to me. Why didn’t I try and dig deeper? Fuck, now what?

  I watch as he snarls at me before his eyes drop to my stomach. He points to it. “You’re not fucking pinning that on me. No fucking way.”

  When he steps towards me, I start walking back. “There’s been a mistake,” I start to say, turning to make my way out the door.

  Shit. I shouldn’t have come here. Instead, I should have dug deeper into his name. There was a reason I knew it.

  And the reason I did was because a few months ago, he was one of the marks Reid got for me—one that we blackmailed five grand out of.

  I should have known one day that shit was going to haunt me.

  “Not so fast, whore!” he seethes, grabbing my shoulder. “You’re coming with me.”

  Slight fear creeps up my spine as he drags me from the door towards his office.

  “Let me go!” I scream. “You have no right.”

  “Just like you had no right conning me out of five grand!”

  I start struggling with everything I have to get away, but he has a hold of my wrist so tight it’s fucking painful. I start to dig my heels in, but all that does is make me slide across the shiny floor that goes with this fucker’s shiny cars.

  “You can’t do this to me!” I wail before fixing my eyes on the salesman. “He can’t do this!”

  The salesman doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself. He looks from me to his boss, then back at me, and then to his boss again.

  “You never saw anything. Right, Clark? Not if you value your fucking job.”

  Immediately, he shakes his head. “No, sir.”

  “Noooo!” I scream as Greg yanks me into his office before slamming the door. Once through, he throws me into a seat.

  ?
??Sit your fucking pregnant arse down.”

  I land with an undignified huff as Greg runs his hands through his jet black hair. It’s so black that it must be dyed. It makes me wonder for a moment what colour he had before dyeing it.

  “Now,” he says, turning towards me while adjusting the silver cufflinks at the end of his crisp white shirt, “care to tell me what you’re doing here? Cause I ain’t paying a single penny more, you little slut.” He sits opposite me on his desk, clasping his hands together like he’s in a meeting.

  “Coming here was a mistake,” I tell him.

  He laughs like it’s the funniest joke. “Meeting you all those months ago was a mistake. You were the most expensive lay I ever had.” He eyes me up and down with a frown. “Why are you here?”

  I wonder what I can say to get out of this, but I keep running on empty. I can’t accuse him of being this baby’s father as he will soon add up how long it’s been, so there’s no way this baby could be his. The only other option is the truth.

  “Twenty-six years ago you were out with your mate for the night when you met an older woman at a bar. As your friend’s parents weren’t in, you took her back to your friend’s house where you had sex with her. Do you remember this?”

  He fixes me with his eyes, and it’s then I realise how green they are—just like mine. It may be a coincidence, but then again, it may not. With this news about my mum, there’s no telling how many men she slept with when she and Richard separated.

  He scans my face a moment, a hard frown forming. I can tell he remembers it well, but I can also tell he’s wondering where all this is going.

  “What has that night got to do with any of this?”

  “That woman you slept with. She’s my mother.”

  He doesn’t say or do anything at first. Then, out of the blue, he starts laughing. “You may be a whore, but that was funny.” With a smirk, he rises up from his chair and walks over to where I’m sitting. He positions himself right in front of me, towering over me like it’s supposed to intimidate me. What he doesn’t realise is I’ve had a man twice his size intimidate me for years. This—what he’s doing right now—is nothing compared to what Richard put me through.