The Grand Mistress

Hawk immediately let go of Simione's neck like he had done an unforgivable sin, his eyes that were full of questions imprisoned hers, searing through more of the secrets she hid.

He had recognized her but his rationality which for a very long time failed him made it hard for him to trust all that he felt and saw tonight. 

What happened?

Why did you become like this?

Where have you been?

What happened to your ballet dreams?

There was no way Hawk could have missed this. He had made sure to follow all her journey from the moment she entered the Mara Ballet Company. She was their best dancer according to the reports he received. She was to debut and expected to be taken to London and become the first ever Devon City ballerina to get accepted in a prestigious ballet Academy. What happened?

Why does it seem like she is not dancing anymore?

And why in the world did her cousin take her place?

From which part of all this did he miss such a switch of identity?

Hawk was drowned with thorough guilt under Simione's eyes. Her tears were still falling and the mark of his hands on her neck only made his feelings worse. 

This isn't true.

She isn't her fuzzy Cat.

But his heart was certain, he just couldn't accept he had gone wrong and had the wrong woman all this time.

"Are you…are you also Don Benedicto's granddaughter?" Hawk asked, wanting to be certain. His mind was aching with frustration, so was his heart. How in the world would he let her know his side of the story? 

She will not forgive him!

He can never forgive himself!

"Hawk….." Feather desperately hugged him from the back right away. She did not see Hawk's tears as he was at his back and so she did not catch the fact that Hawk somehow recognized Simione. In fact, she was thrilled because he had seen Hawk being violent with Simione and hoped he had killed her. But he backed out and so she wanted to fuel his anger so he wouldn't be unmerciful with her cousins who strangely raised from the dead. "Don't ask anything about that woman, she's full of lies. She's not my grandfather's blood, she was just an orphan we took from before. Father had kicked her out because she was full of schemes and she was very ungrateful that was why she ended like that,"

"Answer me…" Hawk demanded an answer from Simione, ignoring Feather's words as he wiped his hot tears away. He wanted to hear it from her because for some reason, he wanted to hear her voice. Was she really his fuzzy Cat? If she is, everything just makes sense, an unfortunate sense.

"Hawk, her goal is to ruin us, no need to ask that woman anything," Feather, who was desperate to cut off the conversation, glided in between Hawk and Simione. She then faced Hawk again and captured his face again, pinning his eyes on her. "We should not let her do this to us. We should continue with the wedding and show this woman she cannot ruin our love, this I ask of you Hawk, this I ask in the promise you made to me that you will love me and marry me…."

"Hahahahahahhahah," Simione bursted laughing at Feather's stupidity. Damn! The situation she was in right now went from dangerous to funny but Simione didn't care anymore. Eyes on Feather she clicked her tongue, "tsk…tsk..tsk… I find it so funny how you can launch great schemes and yet you are very slow on understanding things…"

"Shut up! You woman—"

"You'll never get to marry him no matter how much you wanted it both," Simione casted them hard glare. "Your love for each other will never work anymore, not with all this,"

"Even if the whole media will feast on this scandal, Simione, Hawk and I will show you that you can never break true love," Feather met her eyes with certainty. She was confident that somehow she still had Hawk's trust, especially when Simione was acting like the real villain right then.

"Are you sure? Do you think I made this scandal for nothing?" Simione raised a brow to challenge Feather's ground. 

"See Hawk? She said it herself, she made this scandal," Feather surely did not miss to make that obvious, "Did you pay all those reporters?"

"Of course I did," Her smile went proudly. Hawk's going to kill her anyway so why withhold anything? The couple had to know how disgusted she was with both of them.

"Did you hear about my love?" Feather turned to Hawk. "She's really vicious! She made this scandal so that our wedding will not push through but we won't let her right? Hawk…we won't let her ruin our love! Hawk!"

"What happened to you, Cat?" Hawk's tone went from angry to something else both Feather and Simione noticed. Suddenly the room chilled as Hawk's one angry state turned cold, like his anger turned to morning and the raging fire that settled in earlier dragged an instant snowstorm.

"I had always been this way Hawk Monsanto," Simione's voice however didn't falter. Her disgust for Feather and also Hawk didn't abate and she loathed them both with all her being. "No need to act pitiful,"

"And if you think your so-called love can make this wedding happen, you both are wrong," Simione added. She planned this scandal with something else in mind, not only Feather and Hawk's ruin. "What happened today will shake the entire Devon City and probably the entire country….do you know what that means?"

Simione, who no longer feared anything, dared to walk toward Hawk and Feather. She halted just in Feather's back and settled on her ears. "This means the Don will come home,"

Hearing the Don's name gives Feather and instant shaking.

"You….." Feather turned to look at her with eyes quaking with anger and disgust. Every part of her was shaking that she ended up grabbing Simione hard. "You…really….are….crazy…and…evil…."

"I am….welcome to hell Feather Han," Simione's lips twitch with instant satisfaction at the helplessness of her cousin. "Good luck begging the Don with your wedding,"

The Don as Simione knew was a very powerful man and his character was very unforgiving. He sure won't let this off. Not when the Han's reputation was tainted, not even when Monsanto was his enemy.

"I will beg grandfather for it, you'll see," Feather rebutted, still shaking.

"You know within yourself you can't," Simione gave her all her attention, her ever so beautiful face gleaming in amusement of her cousin who was running delusional with her twisted relationship with Hawk Monsanto, a man whom they both know was nothing but a foolish cheater. "Did you forget, I was once her favorite granddaughter. I kneeled and begged him in front of him for days, months and years yet he never gave me what I asked,"

Feather swallowed a mouthful at this. She knew what Simione was talking about and she knew how far the Don could go with his evilness. She had no way around him.

"Hawk can make him change his mind," Feather clung on that. "What do you think of my fiancee? He can make everyone's mind change here in Devon City!"

"And what do you think about the Don?" Simione challenged rather calmly. "Do you think he'll have Monsanto tear up Han's reputation? Do you think he will give his granddaughter to a man who cheated on her? You might not be her favorite Feather Han, but he is a damned prideful man, he'll never allow such a case,"

"As for your fiance…we both know how weak of a man he is," Simione added. "I don't even understand why you are so obsessed with him when he clearly is….hmmm…I don't know how to describe it…gullible? Weak? Unfaithful? Not to mention one big liar…" Simione mocked both Feather and Hawk this time. Seeing the misery and shame that went to her cousins' eyes, Simione continued. "Do you wish to know what we had been doing at your back? We've been making lots of fun….lots and lots of fun…"

"Right mi amore?" Simione dragged his eyes to Hawk this time who was only studying her. Hawk was taking in the view of her, her changes, her beauty. There were many traits that she retained but her being headstrong had gone overboard, she was more than she once was. "Should I tell your fiancé too how you confessed how much you love me and how you were planning to break up with her for me?"

"Lies!" Feather  gasped feeling betrayed. "Lies! You are on hell of a liar," 

The Han's heiress attempted to slap her but Simione caught her hand and pushed it back to her with force, making her lose her balance and fell on Hawk.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Feather screamed even when she landed safely at Hawk. "My head…my head…I'm falling…."

"Feather!" Hawk shook her when she instantly fell unconscious. Simione also saw it but she was too angry to care.. Feather had fainted and by the way her lips had lost their colors, Simione knew she wasn't faking it.