Chapter Three

Rina's POV

It took a whole hour for everything to be settled and for me to sit directly in front of my mother. As for the image and very impending trauma it was going to cause? That was inevitable.

Mom… a hardworking caregiver at the state hospital didn't just have sex normally, but with a BDSM-ish kink? And with THE Benson Bennett.

What was I to take from this? I should probably hear their story, but what exactly was I to take from this? Was she by chance hooking up with a famous billionaire for money? Was she a gold digger? Not that I thought any of that was wrong, but my mom wasn't like me. She was calm and coordinated, and I thought sex for her would just be a chore.

I couldn't stare at her, so I bowed my head, staring at the tablecloth, bleached by too much washing.

"Honey," my mom started, and if anything, I couldn't understand why Benson was still here and not gone.

"You just ruined my life," I said, and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't be dramatic."

"Dramatic? I'm not the one who was getting fucked so…"

"Watch your mouth, Rina." My mom snapped, her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment, and Benson cleared his throat.

I scoffed. Were they only feeling embarrassed now? After that stunt?

"You had your bedroom. You had the bathroom. Or some hotel."

"We didn't know you'd be back so soon."

"Can I just go upstairs? On second thought, I don't think I want to hear what you have to say."

"You go to school with my sons, don't you?" Benson spoke for the first time, and I almost rolled my eyes.

"You know that, and you…" my eyes darted to my mother, something clicking into place. It wasn't a coincidence.

"You… I always wondered how you could afford my tuition. Is this it? Just how long has this…" I paused and gestured to them "...this stunt been going on?"

"It's not a stunt." My mother said, warning in her voice, but I totally ignored it.

"It sure looked like some enormous staged Eros play to me."

"Watch your mouth!"

"You should have watched the way you acted!" I yelled, and my whole body shook with emotion. I stood up and ran up the stairs into my room and banged the door. I had been too shocked and numb to realize what was going on.

But now the reality of it all was crashing down on me.

My mother was fucking Benson Bennett.

Father of the Bennett brothers! People who made my life a living hell, but I still wanted to conquer for the sake of my revenge.

How do I look them in the face? Knowing what I knew. With what I saw? With the memory still clear in my mind?

And that wasn't even the worst of it.

It had been two years since their mom passed. If they found out about this and worse… that my mother was the one…

This shouldn't be happening. Why? I jumped on my bed and punched the pillow. I wanted to scream into the night, but I did instead into the pillow.

It wasn't serious. There was no way the Almighty Benson would have anything serious to do with my mother. But even as I wanted to believe it, I couldn't. I'd been in college for almost a year. If he had paid for my tuition, helped my mother, and they were still together?

It wasn't looking like a one-time thing.

I hardly slept all through the night, the scene still playing in my head. When I got downstairs in the morning, I saw a black dress hanging on a rack and furrowed my brows in confusion.

My mom wasn't in the dining room when I got there. My breakfast was covered, and I saw a note on the table which read:

'I'm so sorry you had to find out like this. We had been dating for quite a while and wanted to let you know today, but you had to find out a night earlier. Come back early from school and wear this dress. A driver will come pick you up, and we'll explain everything.'

More explanations? I didn't like where this was going. I would rather they didn't explain anything. But I was going to a fancy restaurant. From the look of the dress and the fact I would ride a car… my I*******m was going to blow up. A meek rat? They wouldn't see that coming.

What I didn't want to do, however, was hear any excuse.

I hurriedly took my breakfast and got out to start my hike to school.

I had just rounded the corner to my faculty when a hand grabbed the back of my hoodie and stopped me mid-step.

I frowned, turning to face an amused-looking Kevin. My heart leaped to my throat.

He didn't already know, did he?

"You could have called my name."

"You don't get to speak first," he snapped, and I almost rolled my eyes.

"What did you do to Kanye, and why is he keeping shut?"

"How would I know that?" I asked, and he pulled me harder, his hand grabbing the front of the hoodie.

"Don't play smart with me. You already knew he wouldn't sell you out. Wasn't that why you asked for a bet?"

"That's a very strong accusation, Kevin."

He cursed under his breath and pulled me roughly to the side, my back hitting the wall. Everywhere, people passed around us, not daring to look at a Bennett brother harassing a girl who had probably crossed him.

"Don't get smart with me, or I would put you in your place. You should remember exactly who you are." My reply was just at the tip of my tongue, but then I hesitated.

The goal wasn't to make Kevin hate me even more. It was to lure him, and besides, with my mom and his dad… things could get worse.

"I'm sorry. I just thought it would be a fun way to get close to you," I said instead, and his grip on me loosened. There we go.

At least this one could get his ego rubbed.

"This was all a stunt to talk to me?"

"I still won the bet though."

"Don't tell me you like me and you want me to date you because you won?" He said, and I almost laughed. That's right. I'll let you build the stories yourself.

"Will you?"

"Are you mad?" He snapped, and I bowed my head.

His phone buzzed with a text, and he looked at it, then at me. I could still see the question in his eyes.

"We will still have this discussion," he said and left me, walking away. I sighed as I stared at him.

Kevin… You might have been my right choice after all.

I walked back to class and after that went home, anticipating whatever the evening had for me. When I got home, a car was indeed waiting. I did my hair and put on some makeup before heading out.

The restaurant was more luxurious than anything I had seen. Someone welcomed me, knowing my name, and led me to a private room. When the door opened, I stopped at the door as three pairs of wide, shocked eyes found me.

Kanye, Kevin, and Kai were seated at the table across from my mom and Benson.

What the heck was going on here!

"What are you doing here, meekrat?" Kevin was the one to talk, and his father waved a hand to silence him immediately.

"That's not the way to talk to your soon-to-be stepsister," he said, and I gasped.

"Stepsister?" The triplets yelled at the same time.