I felt my heart stop as soon as I saw Ruby's name flash on my phone screen. I wondered why she had been calling me but I knew it couldn't have been for anything good.
"Aren't you going to take that?" Benjamin arched an eyebrow at me and I nodded, proceeding to answer but my thumb hovered over the answer button. I took in a deep breath before finally picking up the call.
"What was that stunt Derrek just pulled, Tiara?" Candice's voice came through, completely taking me by surprise.
"I don't know why he did that. I didn't ask him to." I tried to remain calm but I was panicking on the inside. If Ruby and Candice released those photos my life was going to be over.
"I don't want to have to release those photos but you've given me no other choice." Candice feigned a sad sigh and I shook my head.
"Listen, I'm on my way to the airport. I'm leaving the country! I'm going far away from him, so, please don't release them!" I pleaded.
I noticed Benjamin glance at me with a worried look but I ignored it, turning towards the window. I didn't want to have to do this in front of him.
"Derrek rejected me in front of the entire world! If I can't have him, I'll destroy you both!" Candice yelled and the line went dead right after.
"Candice! Hello? Candice!" I called out to her but it was too late. She had already hung up. I tried redialing her but there was no answer.
Candice sounded really upset and I was sure she was going to release those photos to the press. She wanted to destroy me, I could hear it in her voice but I was helpless. She had the upper hand here.
"Tiara, are you okay? What was that all about?" Benjamin asked and I broke down into tears.
"She's going to ruin me!" I sobbed, burying my face into my palms. What was I going to do now? I couldn't ask anyone for help without telling them what Candice had on me.
"Who is going to ruin you? What is going on?"
"I did something terrible, Ben. Candice and Ruby have evidence. They are going to expose everything and I don't know what to do." I said, lifting my head.
"How bad is it?"
"You'd never look at me the same way if you found out." I considered telling him for a moment but I shook my head, stopping myself. After all these years, I finally had my big brother by my side. If he found out I had lied to him about something this big, he would have never forgiven me. He would have never looked at me the same way.
"You're my sister, nothing could ever make me look at you any different."
"I can't tell you. I'm sorry." I sniffled, cleaning the tears away from my face. I needed to think of a way to stop those two crazy ladies from ruining my life but how?
"How do we stop them?" Benjamin asked and I glanced at him, wondering if I had heard him right.
"What?"
"How are we going to stop them? What's the plan?"
"You're going to help me?"
"Of course, I am. I don't care if you murdered someone, I won't let anyone ruin your life." Benjamin gave me an assuring smile and I felt slightly better. "You didn't actually murder someone though, right? Cause I think I'd have to draw the line at murder. That's just a lot to-"
"I didn't kill anyone, Ben." I rolled my eyes at him and he gave a sigh of relief, causing me to crack a little laugh.
I felt my phone buzz on my thighs and I immediately picked the phone up, hoping it was Candice but instead, Derrek's name flashed on my screen. I stared at it unsure if I should have answered the call or not. Logic said to ignore the call and block his number to avoid further trouble from Candice but I knew Derrek was never going to quit if I didn't pick up. He had gone as far as coming to my house every time I ignored him. He wasn't going to stop until I made sure he had no reason to call me.
"Who is it?" Benjamin asked, taking a quick glance at me.
"It's Derrek."
"You should answer him. He might have some dirt on Candice that we can use to negotiate with her."
Nodding, I took in a deep breath and answered the call.
"Tiara?" Derrek called.
"Yeah?"
"Where are you right now?" He asked and I gave a sigh, looking out the window at the houses that blurred past.
"Why does it matter?"
"You're not really leaving, are you? Candice said you were leaving but I didn't want to believe her. Please, tell me she lied."
"I-Is she there right now?" My eyes widened in panic. If she was with him, she could have been testing me and if I said the wrong things, she could have sent the photos to the press like she had promised.
"She left a few minutes ago. Are you really leaving?"
I thought about it for a few moments before replying. Derrek had said he and Candice were over but she had just been at his house. She obviously wasn't going to let go of him that easily and I was the only one who was going to suffer in the end. There was no point in telling Derrek anything. He might have tried to confront her about it and then, she would have come after me for revenge. I couldn't take that risk.
"I'm leaving."
"If you're leaving because of me and-"
"I'm letting go of the past and I'm moving forward. I forgive you for all the lies and deceit but I would appreciate it if you didn't contact me again." I felt tears sting at me eyes as I said the words I should have said a long time ago. It was time to finally let go of Derrek and move on with my life.
"Tiara, please-"
"I'm about to board my flight. I need to go." I lied, closing my eyes to stop tears from rolling down. "Goodbye, Derrek." With that said, I hung up.
"Are you okay?" Benjamin asked as I rested my head on the headrest, trying to think of anything else but the fact that I had just said my final farewell to Derrek Dune.
Derrek was someone I never had that I had been holding on to and some part of me had wished I had confessed my feelings to him. Maybe things would have been different if I had or maybe I was just kidding myself. Maybe it was a one sided love and nothing more. If Derrek had felt something for me, he had many opportunities to say so but he didn't. Maybe it was a good thing that I hadn't said anything to him. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was never meant to be anything more than a fake engagement. Maybe.
"I will be." I said and opened my eyes, then, I took in a deep breath to calm myself.
My phone began to buzz once again and I checked to see Derrek's name on my screen. I swiped down on the top of my screen and clicked on the airplane icon before setting my phone down.
"I change my mind, Ben. I'm leaving." I decided.
"What? I thought we were going to stop Candice."
"She's not going to send the photos to the press. She was just at Derrek's house to tell him that I'm leaving. She's not going to ruin his reputation and risk him hating her for life. She will however find another way to ruin me if I don't leave." I explained and Benjamin hit his fist on the steering wheel in annoyance.
"I really hate her and I hate Ruby even more for helping her. How could she do that to her own family?"
"Ruby has been out to get me since we were kids and now, she's found someone who hates me as much as she does. She's not going to stop until I'm dead or something."
"I would never let that happen." Benjamin promised and I gave his arm a little squeeze.
"Thank you for being here for me, Ben. I'm glad you're my big brother."
*
"Are you sure about this?" Benjamin asked as I walked back to him. I had just checked in my luggage and decided to say my final goodbyes to my brother before proceeding to airport security.
"I'm sure." I told him as I wrapped my arms around him for a final hug.
"I love you, Tee Tee. I'll always love you no matter what you do. I need you to know that." Benjamin said and I heard him sniffle right after.
I pulled back to see Benjamin with tears in his eyes. He swiped his finger over the side of his eyes to catch the tears before they fell and I felt my heart break. I wished things could have been different. I wished I hadn't faked an engagement just to realize how loved I already was. I wished I hadn't broken the trust of my family, friends and everyone who cared about me. I wished I didn't have to leave and I wished things had been different but this was my reality and I had to face the consequences of my actions. However, I didn't think I could face anyone if the truth came out.
"I love you too, Benny." I gave him a smile. Trying to show him that I was okay and he didn't need to worry about me, although, I felt terrible on the inside. I waved at him and turned around to leave.
Tears stung at my eyes as I walked away from Benjamin, my family, my friends, my home and my country. I pressed my lips together and blinked rapidly to stop the tears from flowing down but it didn't seem to work as they came rolling down my cheeks.
"Tiara, wait!" I heard Benjamin call and I quickly cleaned away my tears before turning back around to face him.
"Yeah?" I said as he approached me.
"There's something I have to tell you." He said, pausing for a moment as if contemplating what to say.
My eyes caught on something behind Benjamin and I gasped as I realized what or rather, who it was.
Looking around the airport was Derrek and behind him were Naborhi, Tosin and Ziora. They must have been searching for me. Thankfully, they hadn't spotted me yet but they would have if I didn't leave immediately. I couldn't let them stop me.
"What are they doing here?" I took a step back and Benjamin glanced back for a moment before grabbing my arm.
"I called them." He confessed.
"I have to go!" I pulled my arm from his hold and hurried towards airport security, hoping I could get through before they could get to me.
"Please, don't leave, Tiara!" Benjamin called after me but I ignored him.
Thankfully, there was no one in line, so I went on to present my documents. I had just been let through when I heard Derrek call for me.
"Tiara!" He called and I was shocked to a stop, although, I couldn't bring myself to look back. "Tiara, please don't leave!"
*****************************
I'm so sorry for the late update guys.