Inheritance

Chapter 53

"All my life, I've always wanted to be like him. The golden son. The protege child. Even now, I find myself wishing I was. Look at me, I'm a million shades of fucked up. Austin has always been the better twin and I'm finally starting to accept that. I keep thinking about what might happen when she realizes just how much I lied about. She'll want nothing to do with me by the time..."

I froze once reading the last couple of sentences on the page, as something uncannily somber began to percolate throughout my body. My arms gradually developed goosebumps and, before I knew it, the melancholy shifted into mortification and rage. As I began to string together the delicate pieces of the puzzle that were so clearly laid out in front of me, two things were undoubtedly true.

1) Kendall had a twin brother.

2) Kendall was not Austin.

My shock of the two discoveries in itself was blinding. Yet, certain occurrences began to re-emerge from my shuffled memories. For one, I had just conceded moments ago that Kendall was a walking mystery and likely harboring several undisclosed secrets. He'd reminded me on several occasions that he wasn't who I thought he was. 

Then, there was the fact that I hadn't met his family. Which wasn't too out of the ordinary, considering how we'd only known each other for less than a year. But still, I couldn't neglect the way he'd never mentioned anyone in his family since the moment I'd met him. And, also, the eldritch resistance he'd given me when I asked about his brother.

I also couldn't forget the sequence of peculiar events that took place the morning that I'd gotten sick at his house. It was almost as though he hadn't recognized me. While I thought his behavior was strange at the time, I'd managed to push my instincts aside because of how stupidly smitten I was with him.

Could that have been Austin?

All that being said, I also noticed the calculated way he always went about talking about his past and the childhood we'd shared together. In fact, he'd never directly addressed what happened after I left the Franks' house. I had always assumed it was because he wasn't comfortable sharing those details with me. But, I never suspected it was because he might not have known—given that he was pretending to be someone he was not.

Each of these realizations nested together led me to draw one final conclusion.

Kendall was an imposter who had purposefully toyed with my emotions.

But why?

I tried to dissect all of the events that had transpired over the last few months but it became too much to contain at once. I shut my eyes to prevent rudimentary tears from escaping my eyes once realizing that my hands had been shaking ecstatically. The presumable source of my uncontrolled movements was my stunted disbelief as I tried to stop the ravenous anger and fear I began to feel for Kendall.

He'd played me. Point blank period. Both emotionally and physically.

I'd exposed so much of my mind, body, and soul to that man under a false pretense.

The heavy weight of that realization caused the journal to clumsily drop from my trembling hands, resulting in a loud colliding sound as it made impact with the floor.

"Sasha, is everything okay?" I heard Kendall's muted voice ring through the bathroom door, but I simply ignored it.

I was scared of whoever the hell that man was. All I knew was that he wasn't my Austin.

This was the ultimate betrayal. There was no going back. I couldn't speak. I didn't event want to look at the face of the man that used to drive me insane from how perfectly strung together he was.

I could hear him call out my name a couple more times, but I met each of his calls with a revered silence. My shocked emotions slowly transitioned to that of pure hatred, as I quickly scoured across the room to gather the rest of my things.

A few seconds later, the door to the bathroom barged opened and Kendall stepped out in just a black t-shirt and white towel wrapped around his waste. With water droplets still present on his skin, it was clear that he'd quickly rushed out from the shower.

The severity of the situation seemed to solemnly sink in for him, when his abysmal eyes narrowed to the journal that had landed face first near my feet. His thick eyebrows furrowed together, as an expression I almost mistook for guilt flickered across his face.

His hands slowly rose up, his eyes narrowing as he began to speak. "Sasha, I can explain—"

"Don't Kendall. Just don't fucking bother. Wait, is that even your real name?" I rudely interrupted, my hands trembling as the anger I had been holding in began to ricochet throughout the entirety of my limbs.

"Really? Sasha, you know me. I—" He returned, almost as if he was disappointed in my response. I lifted my palm up, cutting him off once again.

How dare he? He didn't get to act like I was being petty or childish when he was literally a pathological liar and psychopath cosplaying as his twin brother.

"You knew. This whole time, you knew that you weren't Austin. You lied to me, played with my heartstrings knowing how vulnerable I was to the idea of you being him." I nearly whispered, too emotionally conflicted to hold steady in my tone.

I stared at Kendall expectantly but he stayed quiet. Observing me introspectively, as a chilling wave of air wafted across the room. It nearly caused me to shiver.

"Was this your plan all along? Seduce the virgin girl whose uncle is a billionaire, then buy out their company? Why Kendall? What was the reason for toying with my emotions. Did it make you happy. Or did it turn you on?" I asked bitterly, which caused his full lips to twitch into a contorted frown.

"Just tell me this. Is Kendall even your real name...?" I uttered sourly under my breath.

"Sasha, look I'm—"

"Just save it. What you did is unforgivable. Do you understand that?! I fucking hate you." I nearly screamed, then paused when I realized the gravity of my words. When another pressing question arose, I continued my interrogation. "Was that him? Was that Austin that morning that I was in your kitchen?" I eagerly asked, wanting to know the truth.

I think I deserved at least that much in this moment.

"Yes." He said with a tone so light, I wasn't sure if he was pitying me altogether or finding the whole debacle amusing.

"But, why? Why did you do it? Better yet, did Austin know?" My voice cracked, as I mentioned his name. I wouldn't be able to bear it, if the answer was yes.

"No, he didn't. It was all me." He echoed, though his tone was lifeless as he watched me zip up the last of my suitcases. I nodded my head, my mind fixed on leaving a space I once considered to be the safest place in the world.

"I guess this should go without saying, but we're done. I never want to see you again." The vitriol in my tone left no room for discussion as I grabbed my items and abandoned the room. I eventually allowed my withheld tears to escape once I was sure he was out of sight.