And here I am. Relaxing in the Bahamas. Basking in the warm sun. Sipping Mai Tais and enjoying my unfortunately infinite life.
I'm almost able to forget about Klaus and Stefan.
Katerina lays next to me on a lounge chair, sunglasses on and clad in a white bikini.
I haven't spent time like this with her in over a century and it feels good but also wrong in some way.
"Hey, Kat?" I say.
"Hm," she mumbles, eyes still closed under her sunglasses.
"I have a weird question."
She looks at me, pulling her sunglasses down onto her nose, "yes?"
"Your baby. Do you ever wonder what happened to her?"
Katerina tenses, pulling her sunglasses back onto her face. "No," she firmly states.
I take a sip of my drink and hum, "Hm. I don't know how. I would think of my daughter every day."
"Why would I? Doing that for five hundred years would drive me insane."
I nod, "wouldn't stop me from doing it, though."
"That's because you're too compassionate and caring. You need to learn to let go."
"Yeah. Who was the father of her anyway?"
Katerina grins, "Why do you ask?"
"When I asked before you were always so secretive."
Katerina looks at me again, this time pushing her sunglasses onto her head, "promise not to get mad?"
I hold out my pinky, "Pinky swear."
Katerina knots her pinky with mine as she says, "The shoe cobbler."
My jaw drops and I gasp, "Katerina!"
"You promised not to get mad, Audrina."
"I didn't know it would be him. I thought it would be that miner who was obsessed with you or the bartender down at the pub. Not my boyfriend. God!"
She rolls her eyes, "calm down."
"How'd you get him to sleep with you?"
Katerina huffs, sitting up, "I pretended to be you," she shrugs, "I was curious."
"You were jealous. Someone loved me and you couldn't take it."
"Okay. Curiosity and Jealousy. I mean, we look the same. I didn't understand how he could love you and not me."
"Are you dense?" I narrow my eyes, "he loved me for me. Not my looks."
I stand up and walk off, heading back into our villa. Inside, there's a man that Katerina compelled and as I begin to angrily feed on him, Katerina walks in.
"We pinky promised."
I toss the man aside and turn towards her. She grabs him, sits him in a chair and gives him a cloth so that his neck doesn't bleed everywhere.
"That was before I found out how much of a tramp you are."
She chuckles, "Please, you already knew that."
"Our vacation is over."
"What?" she complains, "it just started."
"It's been over three months, Katerina. I need to return to my mansion. Besides, William needs me."
Katerina stares at me in disbelief, "your butler?"
I nod, "My butler."
She sighs, "Suit yourself. I'll always be here if you need me."
~
I arrive back at my mansion, with plans already made to meet up with Damon later. Apparently, it's Elena's birthday so he invited me to that as well.
Not sure why he thought I'd come considering I tried to get her killed but whatever.
William meets me at my door, ready to take my luggage. "Miss Petrova," he grins, "how was your trip?"
"It was great," I smile back.
"There's someone waiting for you in your living room," he tells me.
I furrow my brows, asking, "who?"
"Damon Salvatore."
"Damon?" I question as I walk over to my living room.
And there he is, standing there holding a drink. "Hey," I smile, "we were supposed to meet up at the grill."
"Yeah, but I couldn't wait," he wraps an arm around me, encasing me in a hug. "How was your trip?"
"Well, it was with Katerina so I'll let you guess," I laugh.
"So more like a prison?"
"At some points," I chuckle, "anyway, so you and Elena?"
"What? I have no idea what you're talking about."
I roll my eyes, "come on. You're letting her have her birthday party at your house."
He shrugs, "I like to party too. And isn't that necklace you're wearing a gift from Klaus?"
I narrow my eyes at him as I tuck the necklace into my shirt and shrug, "It's a cute necklace. Has nothing to do with Klaus."
"Has he still been contacting you?" he asks.
I nod, "every time he and Stefan make a new move, I'm the first to find out. Along with getting a new gift from him."
Damon's face darkens as he listens to my response. "That guy's obsession with you is getting old."
I take a sip of his drink and lean against a nearby table. "Tell me about it. But he's been helpful in keeping me in the loop about their plans."
Damon sighs. "Well, at least you're making it work. So, how have you been? Anything else exciting while you were away?"
I glance around the room, noticing a painting I've never seen before on the wall. "Just the usual immortality stuff. You know, arguing with Katerina and sipping cocktails in the sun. Speaking of which, do I have any bourbon around?"
Damon smirks and fetches a bottle of bourbon and two more glasses. "Now, that's more like it. I missed having you around, Audrey. Things are way too serious without you."
I accept a glass of bourbon, clinking it with Damon's. "Well, I'm back now. Let's bring a little fun back into this mess of a life."
As we continue to chat and catch up, it's clear that my return has injected some much-needed energy and levity into Damon's world. We reminisce about old times and make plans to visit Elena's party, although I can't help but wonder how she'll react to my presence after everything that's happened.
After Damon leaves, I walk up to the mysterious painting and further analyze it. And I realize that Klaus put this here. I don't know when or how but I just know he did.
~
The idea of attending Elena's party fills me with both anticipation and apprehension. I take a moment to consider my presence there and the potential tensions that might arise. "Damon, are you sure it's a good idea for me to come to the party? I don't want to cause any unnecessary drama."
Damon shakes his head, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You? Drama? Never. Besides, it's about time you showed up to one of our little get-togethers. We can't have Elena thinking you're avoiding her, can we?"
I chuckle. "Fair enough. Plus, it'll be interesting to see how she reacts to my presence. Maybe I can smooth things over a bit."
Damon nods in agreement, a smirk playing on his lips. "Oh, I'm sure you'll work your Petrova charm and have her eating out of your hand in no time."
I roll my eyes playfully at his remark. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. How do you think Stefan is doing these days?"
Damon's expression softens slightly at the mention of his brother. "I hope he's hanging in there. You've heard it. All the bodies. It's gotta be him."
I take a deep breath, "Okay, let's head inside."
Admittedly, being here is very awkward. Getting mistaken for Elena straight up or people just giving me weird looks.
But I ignore it, trying to enjoy my time here.
As the party unfolds, the atmosphere is a mix of celebration and lingering tension. I navigate through the crowd, doing my best to blend in. However, it doesn't take long for Elena to spot me across the room.
She approaches, her eyes narrowing in confusion and suspicion. "Audrey? What are you doing here?"
Damon, standing nearby, intervenes before I can respond. "Hey, Elena, give her a break. She's been away for a while. Thought she'd drop in for your birthday."
Elena's gaze shifts between Damon and me, her scepticism apparent. "Really? After everything that happened?"
I take a sip of my drink, feigning innocence. "I thought it was time to bury the hatchet, you know? Life's too short, right? At least for you."
Elena's expression remains guarded, but Damon's defence seems to soften her stance a bit. "Fine, but don't think this erases the past."
I nod, offering a conciliatory smile. "Of course, Elena. I'm genuinely sorry for any misunderstandings in the past."
Damon redirects the conversation, trying to lighten the mood. "Come on, let's enjoy the party. It's not every day we celebrate another year of your existence, Elena."
"You know, Audrey, it's just strange seeing you here after all that happened. I mean, you did try to kill me."
"Elena, we've all been through some rough times. Can't we let bygones be bygones?"
I chime in, maintaining my facade of sincerity. "Damon's right. I've had some time to reflect, and I genuinely regret the past. Shouldn't have tried to kill you. Let's move forward, shall we?"
Elena hesitates, her gaze flickering between Damon and me. "Fine, but one wrong move, Audrey, and you're out."
I nod appreciatively, "I completely understand, Elena. Thanks for giving me a chance."
"Sure."
I plaster on a wider smile, "Happy Birthday."
Just then, my phone rings, "excuse me," I mutter and step out to take the call. "Audrina speaking," I say.
There's a sigh of joy on the other line, "Oh, how I love to hear that voice of yours."
My eyes narrow. "Hi, Klaus. Bye, Klaus."
"Wait," he says as I start to hang up, "I think you'll want to speak to me."
I roll my eyes and bring the phone back up to my ear, "and why is that?"
"Because. I'm in town."
"Really? Send a postcard," I begin to hang up again but bring the phone back to my ear as he continues speaking.
"And I know you're here too," he states, "let's meet."
"Why would I want to do that?" I ask.
"Because you want to see me. I know you do. No matter how much you deny it."
I sigh, crossing my arm under my other, "Where are you?"
"I'll text you the address. See you soon, Audrina."
As I hang up, I head inside to find Damon. After a bit of searching, I find him sitting with the history teacher whose body was taken over by Klaus. Can't remember his name for the life of me.
"Hey," Damon says when he sees me, "drink?"
I shake my head, "No thanks. But I gotta go."
"Me too, actually," he says.
"Really? Where?"
"Picking up my girlfriend," he says.
"Girlfriend?" I question.
The history teacher speaks up, "She's compelled. Her name is Andie."
I nod, "Ah, well good luck."
"Mhm. What about you?"
"Nothing important. Just some business," I lie.
"Oh. Well, see you later then."
"Yeah. See ya."
~
I arrive at the location that Klaus sent me and it's some random bar.
As I walk in, I find him sitting at the bar alone, a drink in front of him. Only when I look over, some tortured man lies dead on a table. I cock a brow and sit next to him, "what's that about?"
A smile grows on his face, "a failed hybrid."
I chuckle dryly, "Your great plan not going the way you wanted?"
Instead of teasing me back or coming up with something clever, his smile grows as he studies me. "You're breathtaking. What's got you so dressed up? Or was this all for me?"
"I was on a date," I lie. "Where's Stefan?"
"Is that why you came all the way here?"
I take a deep breath, turning toward the bar and ordering a drink, "no," I admit. "I actually... I missed you."
His hand reaches over to me, lifting the necklace that lays on my neck. "You make this necklace look not good enough for you."
His fingers leave the necklace, gently tracing my neck and soon finding my jaw. "Niklaus," I whisper, "you betrayed me. Again."
His hand falls from my jaw and his eyes sadden. "I'm sorry."
"And we weren't exactly on good terms. You basically called me a whore. You said you no longer loved me. You... you truly hurt me, Klaus. You were the first man or even person to claim they love me to say all those nice things to me. Then hours later you express a deep hatred to me."
"I was hurt," he admits, "I saw you with Damon and—"
"You were jealous," I say.
He nods, "Yes."
"I understand that feeling."
"Do you still love Stefan?" he asks, seemingly dreading the answer.
"It'd be pathetic if I did, right?" I chuckle. I grab my drink, dragging my finger across the rim. "I had three months to get over him."
"Did it work?"
I look back at him, staring into his eyes. And suddenly, I think back to that night. That night 500 years ago when he first told me he loved me. "Am I still everything to you?"
He nods, "and I still am nothing when I am around you."
"Do you still think I'm an angel?" I quietly ask.
His lips form into a small smile, "that and more, Audrina."
I reach over, grabbing his hand and holding it tightly. "Stefan is of the past, Nik. And you...you are my future. You should've been long ago."
~
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