All those years ago he had been blinded by Cynthia’s beauty, but then so had a lot of men. She had been cold-blooded though, so he’d had to get shot of her. In the end she went for a man she believed would give her the life she craved. Unfortunately, it seemed, she had made a serious fuck-up in that respect, and now she was tied to that poor bastard come hell or high water. But that wasn’t his problem – he’d wiped her from his memory. His love for Celeste was completely different. Of all the women he had met, slept with, and gone through, she was the only one who had kept his attention, kept him interested, and kept him enthralled. He loved her with every fibre of his being. He just hated that he had been with her sister first, that Cynthia was a part of his life still, because she was there whether he liked it or not. And he didn’t like it, not one bit.

He was making a name for himself, becoming a Face of sorts, making himself important to the right people. He could give Celeste a good life, a good home, and a good seeing-to as and when she needed it. He also knew that Celeste was the kind of girl who would appreciate that – and welcome it. She didn’t have any hidden agenda, she just loved life itself. And he loved her for that.

His mother was a drama queen. He loved her of course, but he knew that he could never live with all that himself. Celeste was a real woman, as innocent and unassuming as she was. Jonny knew she would never understand how marvellous she really was. He also knew that Cynthia, her older sister, would never accept that he had chosen Celeste over her. But he had, and he would never regret that decision. Cynthia still bothered him though, if he was truthful. For some reason he knew that Cynthia would make them pay for their happiness. He didn’t know how, or why, but he knew Cynthia would somehow extract her pound of flesh. It was in her nature. He had fallen for Cynthia, sexually and mentally, for a short while, but he never wanted Celeste to know that. Cynthia was poison, she was not someone anyone in their right mind would have kept in touch with. And she was dangerous, because she had no real care for anyone or anything, except herself. He had realised overnight how one person could change your life, not for the better, but for the worse. Because that was what people like Cynthia did, they tainted everyone around them, and they made sure that everything and everyone they touched would be as broken as they were.