Murderous Intentions

Chapter 3 - Charlie

Charlie's point of view

"Right, now seems like a good time." I tell Jocelyn, looking at her as she sits on our bed.

"Great." She smiles mischievously, and I instantly know that I've recruited the right woman for the job. "So you're going to distract Liliana for me, right?"

"Yep." I nod, reminding her of the plan. "Long enough for you to talk to Michael, remind him of all the good times you had together, and force a wedge between the two of them. You'll be back together in no time."

"Perfect." She comments, her smile growing, then dropping instantaneously. "I just feel sorry for you, having to deal with gold-digging Liliana."

"We both know that I despise that woman," I start, placing my hand on Jocelyn's shoulder. "But spending some time with her is a small price to pay in order for her to be gone from our lives for good."

She nods at me, clearly believing my lies. Believing that I'm doing this for her. But she couldn't be more wrong, I'm doing this for me. "Right, let's get going then."

I give her a quick nod then slip out of the room. I head to Michael and Liliana's room, I know she's in there on her own, because I heard Michael say something about going to his study quickly. I knock before entering, and here Liliana's gentle voice say, "come in." I make my way inside, and Liliana seems shocked to see that it's me. "Charlie? What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." I tell her, but she shakes her head, about to argue with me, but I beat her to it. "And don't say that there's nothing to talk about. You know that there is."

"Fine." She says sternly, sitting down on the bed, gesturing for me to sit next to her. "What do you want to talk about?"

"You." I start, without hesitation. "And Michael." I explain, then sigh before continuing. "I'm surprised you two are still together. I didn't expect you to last this long."

"What because of the whole gold-digging thing?" She questions, sounding genuinely upset. "What? You don't think I hear what people say about me? Well of course I do, it's all anyone talks about."

"Liliana," I start, but she cuts me off immediately.

"Liliana Spencer, the gold-digging trophy wife." She exclaims, tears forming in her eyes, and I realise just how much I've hurt her, without even intending to. "I bet you're wondering why we're still together because I might as well just get a divorce and take half of his money, right? Well I'm not, because I love my husband."

I look at her, looking her in the eyes so she knows I'm telling the truth. "That's not what I was going to say."

"What other possible reason could there be for you thinking that we wouldn't last?" She asks, her voice softer now, less angry.

"Because as much as you say you love him, you also love someone else." I answer, in as compassionate a tone as I can manage.

She shakes her head slowly, "there's no one else for me." She comments, looking down at her hands. "I love him more than anything."

"More than me?" I ask her, causing her to look at me again.

"What are you talking about?" She questions, refusing to acknowledge what we both know happened last year. "I don't love you, Charlie. Not like that."

"But enough to sleep with me." I announce, and her whole body seems to freeze, as if she's in a state of shock. "The night before your wedding."

She stays frozen for a few moments more, but eventually shakes herself from it, returning to her calm state. "I have no idea what you're on about." She states, "we never slept together, you're imagining things."

She stands up to leave, and I grab her wrist, holding her back. "Don't try play that game with me." I warn her, in a voice more threatening than I intended. "We both know what happened that night, and we both know that it meant something."

"Charlie, you're hurting me." She says in a pained voice, looking down at my hand clamped around her wrist. "Please, let go." She begs, and I slowly release my grip on her. As I do, she backs away, taking a few steps backwards increasing the space between us. "I love my husband, Charlie." And with that, she runs out of the room, leaving me to think about what she just said.

How does she think refusing to admit what happened between us will work? Does she think denying will somehow save her marriage? Well it won't, because I will get her back, one way or another.

I make my way out of their bedroom and head back to mine and Jocelyn's, seeing that she hasn't returned yet. Maybe she's doing a better job at breaking this couple up. God, it was easy to manipulate Jocelyn into helping me. All I had to do was pretend to hate Liliana, and convince her that I actually cared about my brother's happiness. And it was all too easy to make Jocelyn believe that Michael was happier with her.

But the truth of the matter is that I couldn't care less about anyone's happiness but my own.