“Burn those who burned me!” Chapter 27

Chapter 26: The day of the Charity Ball.

***\-Aaron’s POV:***

That Friday morning, Aaron and Rabena enjoyed a quiet breakfast in their suite while the rest of the family ate in the hotel restaurant. The ball was set to begin at 4pm and they both knew the day would be hectic, so they used this rare opportunity to enjoy some alone time. While eating her bacon, Rabena began to giggle.

*“Something funny my future wife?”*

Aaron gave a mischievous smirk at Rabena.

*“I was just thinking, if a charity ball and engagement party was this hectic, imagine what our wedding weekend is going to be like.”*

Aaron began to laugh along with Rabena, it was true, their wedding was definitely going to be a weekend to remember. He would have to make sure there would be a way for him and his bride to sneak off.

After breakfast, Aaron went to ballroom of the hotel and began to prepare for the ball. Rabena informed him she would be to help once her dress arrived.-

***\-Thomas’ POV:***

It was the morning of the Charity Ball and Thomas was at his grandmother’s estate. He’d failed to locate Rabena, and panic began to seep into his mind. He paced back in forth in the kitchen as he tried his best to think of a good illness to give his imaginary wife. Just then, Tyler walked in.

*“So, where’s Rabena? I haven’t seen her in a while, is she okay?”*

Thomas decided to test his lie out on his cousin regarding Rabena’s illness.

*“Actually, she hasn’t been feeling too well, it looks like she may have a severe case of the flu, I think I’m going to let her stay home.”*

Thomas stared nervously at his cousin trying to determine if his story worked. Tyler raised an eyebrow, he knew Thomas was lying, still, he smiled and nodded leaving no signs he was aware.

*“Oh no, I hope she feels better. Maybe I’ll come and see her in a few days.”*

Thomas let out a sigh of relief, it looked like his lie was working. He decided to head to the Crest mansion to make sure everyone was on the page.

Arriving shortly after 11am, Thomas waited in the grand room for the Crests all to arrive, he’d decided not to tell them about his run-in with Damon. The first to arrive was Danielle, she hadn’t spoken to Thomas since the day of the proposal and was worried about where their relationship stood.

*“Hello Tommy.”*

She said in her sugary yet sad voice. She was hoping like always, her tears would win him over. Thomas was curt.

*“We need to discuss the plan for tonight. I’ll wait for everyone else so we can go over everything together.”*

Danielle’s heart began to race, he didn’t even acknowledge her let alone pay attention to her tears. Sitting next to him on the sofa, she looked directly into his eyes.

*“Is that all you have to say to me?”*

Thomas let out a slight sigh, what exactly did she want from him? He wasn’t sure how he felt after everything that happened.

*“What do you want me to say Dani, I’m still upset.”*

*“I know! I’m sorry Tommy! I didn’t mean for all of this to happen!”*

Danielle’s voice began to break in between sobs thawing some of the ice around his heart.

*“Dani, I just don’t understand why you did it. Why would you lie about th-”*

*“Because I was afraid!!”*

Danielle cut Thomas off as he continued to question her, eyes flowing with tears, sobs getting louder.

*“I was afraid that if you learned the truth it would be over for us! Don’t you understand how much I love you!”*

Thomas began to rub his temples; he didn’t understand Danielle’s fear. He’d loved her even before all of this, there was no need to lie.

*“Dani, haven’t I always shown you how much I loved you above everything else. You didn’t have to lie; I would have never left you.”*

Danielle suddenly stopped crying; her red eyes pierced straight through Thomas. While it was true he did love her, she knew how much he wanted to be CEO.

*“Tommy, tell me the truth, if you had known my sister was the one that wrote that proposal, would you have wanted to divorce her?”*

Thomas’s face suddenly fell, he loved Danielle more than anyone else, but the position was owed to him. Without responding, she already knew the answer. Wiping her eyes, Danielle let out a low laugh.

*“That’s what I thought. What was I supposed to do Tommy, be your permanent mistress? Marry someone else? Tell me!”*

Thomas knew Danielle was right, if it met securing that deal; he would have gladly stayed married to Rabena and played the dutiful husband. What would his plans have been for Danielle then? Thomas wasn’t sure, besides, none of that mattered now, all that mattered was him pleasing Michales finance and securing that deal. He wasn’t about to let his smug cousin take his position!

*“None of that matters right now Danielle. The focus right now is securing the contract, help me do this and we can still have our happily ever after.”*

Danielle’s eyes beamed with joy, she’d still had a chance at her happily ever after with Thomas, all she had to do was play the role she’d known so well. The role of a loving sister. Just then, the rest of the Crests walked into the room. Amber the first to speak.

*“Well, I most certainly hope you’ve calmed down and apologized to my daughter.”*

Amber sneered as she saw the two of them sitting together. Before he could answer, Danielle grabbed his arm.

*“Mother that’s enough. Tommy and I have made up! The most important thing tonight is making sure we all secure that MGT deal.”*

Darius scoffed, no longer was he thrilled about the idea of Thomas and Danielle being together. All that week, he couldn’t help but think about the pain and anguish this family had caused Rabena.

*“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”*

*“We’re going to go with Danielle’s plan and say Rabena is sick.”*

Daniel looked at Thoams in disbelief, surly he didn’t think Chairman Michaels would fall for something like that.

*“You don’t really think that’s going to work?”*

Thomas glared at Daniel and Darius. ‘What the hell is wrong with these two! Did the miss the part about Crest Real Estate being a part of the deal?’ Thomas began to get annoyed, usually the only brother that gave him a hard time was Damon. Suddenly, Davis spoke up.

*“We don’t have a choice Daniel and Darius. The market has been staggered, a deal like this could be worth billions if he expands throughout the entire continent. We have to do this.”*

Darius looked slightly disgusted at his father, suddenly those words from Damon played in his mind. ‘I’ll never respect a man that didn’t protect his own daughter.’

*“And if Rabena finds out we’ve been lying not only on her name but on her health?”*

Amber let out a loud scoff, who the hell cared about that nobody! Before she could answer, Davis responded.

*“We’ll find a way to make it up to her, right now this is more important.”*

Davis looked directly at Amber as if to say, ‘stay quiet if you want them to help.’ Rolling her eyes, she sat on the sofa next to Danielle.

Thomas began to go over the plan for the evening, by the time he was finished, it a little after 1pm. Standing up to leave, he gave one more final walk through.

*“Alright, so that’s the whole plan, if we all stick to same story that Rabena is sick with pneumonia and could not make this evening, we should be fine with explaining why she isn’t there. As long as everyone plays the role of a loving and concerned family, we should be good.”*

Thoams made sure to look directly at Amber, it was no secret she hated the girl the most, he would need her to at least pretend to care.

*“Amber, just pretend it’s Dani.”*

With that, Thoams left the mansion leaving everyone speechless.