Serenity Falls

Chapter 43

Sorry for the short chapter! But I hope you like it anyway :)

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"What the fuck are you doing out here?" Tiffani shouted, as she looked down at Alyssa, who had stumbled to the ground immediately after pulling the door open.

She was sprawled on the floor where the two different carpets met, her hands spread beside her in a completely ungraceful fashion. Looking upwards, she gave a small, nervous smile at Tiffani and tried to regain her footing that she had lost just moments ago.

"Uh... I was just..."

"You were listening in on my conversation, weren’t you?" Tiffani said, the volume of her voice fuelled by anger. "Weren’t you?"

"No..." Alyssa protested, although she was aware her story was sounding increasingly unlikely, especially since she had just been caught with her ear pressed against Tiffani’s bedroom door.

"What did you hear?" Tiffani hissed, glaring up at Alyssa as she scrambled to her feet. Her voice was lowered as to not attract too much attention. "Tell me what you heard!"

"Oh, I heard enough," Alyssa said, smiling smugly as she saw the panic in Tiffani’s eyes. It was good to know she had some sort of power over her, something that gave her control. Something that definitely counted as quality blackmail material.

"It’s not what you think," Tiffani said quickly, pulling Alyssa inside her bedroom and shutting the door behind her, so if Mr Taylor were to appear, he would not overhear them. She didn’t want the whole thing to unravel before she had even had time to blackmail Alyssa. "Whatever you heard, it’s not what you think."

"Oh, really?" Alyssa said, her voice challenging. She sidled over to the far end of the room, picking up a couple of Tiffani’s perfume bottles and eyeing them with disgust. So this was the stuff Tiffani used to make her smell like cheap whore. "Because I thought you said you slept with some guy called Damien and he’s the father of your unborn child, and not my Dad?"

Tiffani rolled her eyes. "Okay, so maybe it is what you think."

"Duh," Alyssa scoffed. "You could’ve kept it a little quieter, especially since you didn’t want me to know. You know, talking about it loudly on the phone with your friend wasn’t the best way to keep it a secret."

"So what’s it going to take to keep your stupid little mouth shut?" Tiffani asked, stepping away from the door and standing in the middle of the room, her hands placed on her hips.

Alyssa turned her head to look at her stepmother, eyeing her up and down. She was wearing a grey cashmere sweater that hugged her waist, and skin tight blue jeans that hung on her hips. Even though she was inside the house, she was still wearing her signature black stiletto heels, and her hair was teased over her shoulder. She certainly looked less glamorous than usual, especially with the worry of her not-so-secret secret resting on her shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Alyssa raised her arched eyebrows, her mouth curling into a smile. "You don’t seriously think you can bribe me, do you?"

"Well, it’s either that or... blackmail." Tiffani shot a look at her that seemed to burn right through her. Her eyes became daggers, piercing through her skin. "Which option do you pick?"

"Uh, neither," Alyssa scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I’m not going to keep my mouth shut about this. Are you kidding me? I’m telling Daddy, and then he’ll get shot of you once and for all."

Tiffani edged forward slightly, folding her arms over her chest and smirking, even though she felt far from relaxed. How could she, when Alyssa now knew her secret? If Richard found out, he’d divorce her immediately and she’d lose out on the lifestyle she’d learned to love. Sure, she had to satisfy a wrinkly old man in bed a couple of times, but it was worth it for the wealth and happiness that he brought her. If she got divorced, all that would go away. She could not let that happen.

"You are not going to tell Richard about this."

"Why not? Are you going to stop me?" Alyssa challenged. "I don’t think so. Like I said, this is the perfect opportunity for my Dad to finally get rid of you. And it’s about time."

"Me and Richard love each other," Tiffani said, her voice softening, although Alyssa could see right through it. There was no way she was going to fall for her sickly sweet act she had seen too many times. "Don’t ruin it for us."

"Are you kidding me? If you loved him so much, why did you go and sleep with this Damien? Just cut the crap, Tiffani, we all know you’re here for the money, so don’t even try to deny it."

Tiffani sighed, obviously not even bothering to keep up her act anymore. What was the point? Alyssa was the only person who could see right through it, and that irritated her. There was no way of manipulating her step-daughter – at least no way that she had figured out yet. She was much more complex to understand than her father – all she had to do to get Mr Taylor wrapped around her little finger was pull her top a bit lower and tighten her push up bra, the old pervert.

"Okay, here it is," she said, marching over to Alyssa threateningly and staring up at her. Even in heels, Alyssa was much taller than she was and that was irritating for her. "Go ahead, tell your dad. But who do you think he’s going to believe? You..." she screwed up her nose in disgust, "or his beautiful, sweet wife?"

"You? Beautiful and sweet?" Alyssa scoffed, although she couldn’t help but feel a little fazed by Tiffani’s proposition. She was right, as much as she hated to admit it. Even if she did tell her father, there was no guarantee that he was going to believe her, and Tiffani only had to make up some crap about her being jealous and her story would seem much more unlikely.

"You may think you’re in control here, Alyssa, but you’re wrong. Richard would believe me over you any day. After all, he never wants to see his skank of a daughter, does he?"

"Just shut up!" Alyssa screamed, suddenly snapping as Tiffani’s insults penetrated her thick skin. "Just shut up, okay?"

"Well, it’s true, isn’t it? I mean, when was the last time he wanted to hang out with you? I can’t remember. And did he take you to Hawaii? Uh... I don’t think he did. Face it, Alyssa, your Dad doesn’t even like you."

That was when she snapped.

She lurched forward, shoving Tiffani with such force that she stumbled backwards, stopping only when she hit the door of the wardrobe. Her face displayed shock, her mouth hanging open slightly as her back collided with the wall. But before she could retaliate, Alyssa had stomped out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Did you get a drink?" Kayla asked, when she returned to her bedroom, with an angry look plastered on her face.

"No!" she screamed, a little more aggressively than she had intended. "Sorry, but I fucking hate Tiffani!"

"Why, what happened?"

Alyssa ignored her question as she began to pace up and down, hands behind her back and her eyes focused on the floor. "I need to figure out a way to tell Daddy about her, so he’ll believe me. I want to ruin that bitch!" She stopped pacing, her eyes narrowing in fury. "I am going to ruin her, if it’s the last thing I do."