Written by: Dallas Walsh

Lydia Rockwell opens the front door to the Rockwell Mansion and quickly walks inside. She moves swiftly into the living room, where she immediately sees her oldest son, Cole Rockwell, pouring himself and his siblings, Stacey and Lex Rockwell, each a brandy. She throws her purse onto the sofa and puts her hand on her hip as she begins to make an announcement to her children. She knows that she has to discuss their father's, MacKenzie Rockwell's, latest marriage to, the much younger, Carmen Santos. The fact that Mac married Carmen so quickly after his divorce from Lydia was official is still baffling to Lydia; she knows, however, exactly the reason the marriage happened so quickly and that is because Carmen Santos is a gold digger. And, Lydia refuses to let that woman get the best of the Rockwell family and money.

"I'm glad you're all here," Lydia announces to her children as they all turn to face her. "We have something very important to discuss and it simply cannot wait."

"I'm just pouring some brandy's mother, would you like one?" Cole asks her as he passes Stacey and Lex their drinks.

"Yes, I'd love one. My nerves are shot quite frankly."

"What has gotten you so worked up, Mom?" Stacey asks her as she takes a sip of her drink. "I haven't seen you this upset in a very long time."

"I think it was last week when she missed her manicure appointment," Lex replies to Stacey quickly.

"Very funny Lexington," Lydia rolls her eyes at his jab as Cole passes her a drink. "This has to do with your father. Do you all know that he's remarried?" she asks them as they all look back at her with concerned looks on their faces.

"Yes, we know that he married Carmen Santos," Cole tells his mother. "He told just it happened over the Christmas break."

"Well then, why aren't the three of you more upset?" Lydia shrieks at her children. "Carmen is your age for crying out loud! She's nothing more than a gold digger!"

"Okay, Mom, let's calm down, okay," Lex moves up to her and tries to move her to get her to sit down on the sofa.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Not when that little girl is going to spend every dime this family has!"

"Do you really think Carmen will do that?" Stacey asks her. "She seems…nice?"

"Of course she seems nice! You all mark my words, we have to stop Carmen Santos! We have to get her out of your father's life," Lydia tells her children. "Now, please tell me you're on my side with this!"

Cole looks at his siblings and realizes that if his mother is right, they do have to stop Carmen as he doesn't want his fortune to be spent by her. "I'll help you Mom. I am on your side," he tells her as Lydia breathes a sigh of relief.

"Yea, me too," Lex nods back to her.

"We all are on your side," Stacey uneasily smiles back to her mother, hoping that they are doing the right thing.

***

Mac sits behind his desk looking at some of the files he has in front of him. He puts his pen down for a moment as he thinks about Carmen and how much his new wife and brought to his life. He knows that when he first told his children after Christmas that he was remarried, they were skeptical but he has fallen in love with Carmen; she is good for him, he believes. After all the drama that he went through with Lydia, Mac is just happy that he is finally in a relationship that is normal.

He looks up when he hears his office door open and Carmen quickly moves inside carrying a number of shopping bags. Mac stands up to greet his wife.

"What's all this?" he asks her as he moves up to her and kisses her on the cheeks. "More shopping, I see?"

Carmen uneasily chuckles back to him as she sets her Chanel shopping bags down. "I couldn't resist getting a few more handbags. The new Chanel collection is to die for."

Mac laughs back to her. "Yesterday it was Burberry, wasn't it?"

"A girl can never have too many handbags, you never know what the occasion will be."

"If you say so," Mac smiles back to her. "I'm glad to see you're so happy."

"I have never been happier," Carmen winks back to him. "And, I owe it all to you."

"You make me very happy too, Carmen."

"Are you busy right now? I could show you how happy you've made me," she purrs as she runs her hand down his muscular chest.

"I'm never too busy for you," he leans in and kisses her passionately again. She pulls back and turns around to lock his office door before she turns back around and kisses him.

"Make love to me Mac," she whispers in his ear as she unzips his pants.

***

"Kent, I know you're in there!" Vivian Blackmore pounds her first onto the front door of the penthouse where Kent Blackmore lives. She is desperate to get him to open the door so she can try to explain, yet again, why she faked a terminal illness to get him back in her life. She knows that she has tried to get him to listen to her more than once since Christmas and their conversations always end the same way: with Kent telling her that he never wants to see her again. This is unacceptable to Vivian; she can't let their relationship end this way. "Kent, I am not leaving here until we speak!"

Kent finally opens the door and glares at her. "Do you have any idea how many noise complaints I am going to get because of you?"

"I don't care about that," Vivian pushes her way into the penthouse. "We need to talk. And, I'm not leaving here until we do."

"Say what you have to say and get the hell out," Kent barks at her as he moves to the bar and pours himself a brandy to calm his nerves. He knows that Vivian is about to say and in his mind, he has heard it a million times before.

"Kent, please look at me," Vivian pleads with him. "You have to understand why I lied about my illness! I thought it was the only way for you to come back to me. And once you did come back to me, you have to admit, it brought up a lot of old feelings. Old feelings that never truly died, Kent! You and I, we were always meant to be together!"

"Damn it Vivian," Kent grits his teeth before he takes a sip of his brandy. "You know damn well that it did bring up old feelings! That's why this betrayal hurts so damn much. I was starting to care for you again only for your lies to blow everything up!"

"We can still get those feelings back, Kent! I know we can!"

"I spent so many years with Lydia and dealing with her lies and schemes, Vivian," Kent tells her. "I won't go through the rest of my life with a woman that I can't trust. And, I don't trust you, Vivian."

"I can make this up to you!"

"No, you can't," Kent shakes his head back to her. "Whatever we had, Vivian, it is over. You need to accept that so you can move on with your life because that's exactly what I'm planning to do … move on."

***

Sabine Andrews swiftly moves up to the bar in the country club and immediately orders herself a champagne cocktail. She then opens her purse and takes out her Pretty Mess by Two Face compact and checks her lip stick. After reapplying some gloss, her drink arrives and she immediately takes a sip of it.

"God, I needed that today," she whispers to herself as she hopes to hear from Kent today. Ever since she exposed Vivian for lying about her illness, she has been giving him space so he can come to an understanding of what Vivian's deceit. She just wishes she had gotten to the mansion before Kent married Vivian; alas, she did not and they did get married.

"Drinking this early in the day?" a voice calls out from behind Sabine. She turns around and is surprised to see Deacon Cooper standing behind her.

"I've had a long day, do you want to join me?" she asks him as she purses her lips together.

"Nah, I'm on my way out," he tells her. "But I saw you and couldn't resist coming up to see you. You haven't been around as much as I had hoped you'd be."

Sabine uneasily chuckles back to him, recalling how she slept with Deacon to get to the truth about Vivian. She never thought she'd have to go that far but she doesn't regret it. "Does that mean you've missed me?"

"I thought we had a great time together," he admits to her. "I know that you're in love with Kent, but what's love got to do with it?"

"I appreciate that Deacon, but I am in love with Kent and I am determined to get back together with him."

"How do you think he'd feel if he found out about us?"

Sabine shoots him a look of death. "But he won't find out, will he Deacon? Because you and I are the only ones that know about our little fling and it's going to stay that way, do you understand me?" she sternly asks him as he puts his hands up in the air. "Good, now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish this drink."

***

"You never cease to amaze me," Houston Blackmore struggles to catch his breath as he lays his next body next to his fiancé, Stacey Rockwell, in their California king size bed, fresh from making love to one another. "You're so beautiful, Stacey."

Stacey leans her head up from resting on his muscular chest and looks into his eyes. "You are too kind to me, Houston. I don't deserve you."

"Hey, why would you say that?" Houston asks her confused by her statement. He knows that they went through a minor rough patch over Christmas but he believes that they have put all of that behind them. "You know that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Stacey takes a deep breath as she struggles with the memory of sleeping with Marat Kafelinkov on Christmas Eve; she knows that she and Marat have a very long history but she never thought that they would end up being lovers again. She hasn't told Houston about the encounter as she doesn't want to hurt him, but the images of being with Marat haunt her.

"You're not saying anything," Houston tells her. "Stace, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," Stacey tries to put a smile on her face. "I just…I guess I'm thinking about our distance over the Christmas break. We are back on track now, right?"

"Of course we are," Houston reassures her. "I'm sorry for my role in that distance, I really am. I love you and want nothing more to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's finally finish our wedding plans and get married," Stacey looks into his eyes. "What do you say?"

"I think that sounds like the best idea we've had since we got naked," he chuckles back to her.

***

Celeste Baldwin slowly walks down the stairs of the country club where she has been staying for months with her son, Ivan. She had hoped that after exposing Madi Stewart's secret to Cole Rockwell that Cole would come rushing back to her and they would reunite. However, that has not happened as of yet, which is shocking to Celeste because she thought once Cole knew that Vivian was really Madi's mother, he would leave her.

She reaches the dining room and peers into it hoping to see a friendly face to eat with, like Marat. Her eyes stop at a table where she sees Cole about to order. She wonders if she should approach him to find out where things are standing between him and Madi.

She sighs and forces herself to feel confident about what she has done. She moves up to Cole and clears her throat when she reaches his table. Cole sees his former fiancé and realizes that she looks like she hasn't slept very well recently.

"Celeste, what a surprise," Cole tells her as Celeste takes a seat across from him. "I'm surprised you're still in Kelsey Lake. I thought you had left town."

"I've been laying pretty low since Christmas," she admits to him. "I thought after the scene I caused at the mansion that you needed time."

Cole chuckles back to her. "You certainly did make a scene," Cole admits to her, thinking about how Celeste interrupted his Christmas proposal to Madi with the news that Vivian is Madi's mother.

"How have you and Madi dealt with her secret coming out?" Celeste asks him, hoping that she will get some information from him. "Vivian being her mother must have changed everything for you considering your history with Vivian."

Cole takes a sip of his beer before he looks back at her. "The thing is, Celeste, Madi can't control who her parents are," he tells her. "And, she had no idea that I had a history with Vivian, so her not telling me who her mother was really doesn't change my relationship with her."

"You can't be serious," Celeste replies to him. "It changes everything. Does she know that you've slept with her mother?"

"I am in love with Madi," Cole tells her quickly. "I want to marry her. You need to get that through your head. We are over, we are never getting back together."

Celeste feels her heart sink in her chest. She puts her head down and then looks up at him. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. I will always cherish what we had together Celeste, but I've moved on and it's time you do the same."

Celeste slowly nods back to him as she stands up from her chair. She quickly walks out of the dining room and moves into the foyer; once she's there, she immediately puts her hand over her mouth as a tear falls down her cheeks.

***

"I was going to leave you a note," Vivian announces to Madi as she walks into her daughter's office and sees her sitting behind her desk. After leaving Kent's, Vivian raced over to see her daughter. She didn't expect Madi to be in her office as she knows how busy she can be with work. "So seeing you is even better."

"Hi Mom," Madi looks up from her paper work. "What brings you by today?"

"Ugh, just that Kent once again told me that I have no future with him. And you know what? I'm starting to believe him. I have to move on from this disaster."

"No offence but you did pretend to be dying," Madi chuckles back to her. "Even I have a hard time believing anything you say somethings."

"Hey now, I'm still you're mother," Vivian wags her finger at her. "How are things with you and Cole? Any better now that he knows that you're my child?"

"He has been hot and cold," Madi admits to her. "I'm hoping he stays hot though."

"That man, I tell you," Vivian rolls her eyes.

"Why do you say that? I thought you didn't know Cole that well?"

Vivian uneasily chuckles back to her. "Our families have had a long, sorted history," she explains to her daughter. "Needless to say, Cole Rockwell will do whatever Cole Rockwell wants. That's something you need to remember, Madison. Don't let him hurt you, okay?"

***

Lexington Rockwell sits behind the CEO desk at Blackmore Ltd. and smiles to himself at the thought of running his father's company. He was working with Mac at Rockwell Mining but Mac and Cole were against his relationship with Grant Shaw, so Lex quit after Kent, his biological father, offered him the top position at Blackmore Ltd. Lex has been running the company very well while Kent cleans up his personal life. The biggest downfall is working with his half-brother, Houston, Lex knows as Houston is still upset with Kent for not giving him the job.

"Good, you're here," Houston announces as he opens the door to the main office and moves up to the desk where Lex is sitting. "You haven't gotten back to me about the new proposal I left with you last week."

"Yes, I've been incredibly busy," Lex replies to him. "Running this company isn't easy; I don't always have time to get back to every single proposal that comes across my desk."

"Cute," Houston rolls his eyes back to him. "Please tell me you actually did review it? I think the idea of expanding our mining further north in Canada is a wise move; apparently they have some very large diamonds that are still waiting to be uncovered."

"I reviewed it," Lex stands up from his desk and moves to the bar where he pours himself a brandy. "But, if I'm honest Houston, I don't think now is the time to expand without knowing more about the land and the details of what could or couldn't be mined."

"Ugh," Houston groans back to him. "This is so typical of you. You are purposely saying this because you don't want to support anything I say or do in this company!"

"For the love of God, listen to yourself," Lex turns to his brother. "Stop making this personal because it's not. This is a sound business decision. We currently do not have the resources to expand our mining business into Canada and into unknown territory."

"Oh please," Houston continues to get into Lex's face about his decision. "You know damn well that if you wanted this to happen you could make it happen. It's the fact that it is my idea that's causing you concern."

"I have to work to do," Lex cuts his brother off. "So, if you're done with this tantrum, you can see yourself out."

"Yea, I'll leave," Houston scuffs back to him. "But this isn't over, Lex, not by a long shot."

***

Lydia peers into the main office at Rockwell Mining and sees Mac sitting behind his desk working away. She knows that she has to try to convince him that she, and the children, are concerned about his marriage to Carmen. The last thing she wants is for Carmen to spend the entire Rockwell fortune or hurt Mac more than she already could.

"You're here late," she tells him as she moves into the office and Mac looks up to see her. "You're new wife might not like you burning the midnight oil."

"It's not that late," Mac replies to her quickly. "And, Carmen was here earlier. We have a nice visit."

"I'm sure you did," Lydia sits across from him. "Mac, can we please talk? It is important."

"If it is more of this Carmen is a gold digger nonsense then, I've heard it all before," Mac sternly tells her. "I don't have time for it."

"Let me ask you a question," Lydia stands up and moves to the bar to pour herself a drink. "When Carmen showed up today, did she have shopping bags with her? Which designer did she pick today?"

"I'm not sure what you're getting at," Mac stubbornly replies to her. "She has come from nothing, of course she's excited to see what the one percent lives like."

"You really are blinded by this woman, aren't you?"

"Do you know what I think?" Mac looks his ex-wife in the eyes. "I think you're jealous that I have moved on from our second, quick, marriage. Yea, I think you're upset that Carmen loves me and you're alone since Noel dumped you."

"Noel did not dump me!" Lydia shrieks back to him, thinking about her much younger, physical training lover, Noel Baker. "It was a mutual decision, thank you very much. And I am not jealous! I simply do not want you to get hurt or this family be hurt by this woman!"

"Don't worry Lydia," Mac tries to ease her mind. "Carmen is not going to hurt me, I can promise you that."

***

Sabine slowly climbs out of the swimming pool that is at the country club. Now that the winter weather has turned, she enjoys coming to the club to get some physical in; after all, she's not getting any younger but still wants to ensure she looks her best. She moves over to her lounger and rests from her swim when she sees Vivian emerge from the change room with a beach towel, a pinot grigio and a book. Sabine immediately feels her blood pressure start to rise at the sight of the woman who faked her illness to try to get Kent to remarry her. Of course, it worked; before Sabine exposed the truth, Kent remarried Vivian. Sabine hasn't seen Vivian since Christmas Day when the truth came out as she knows that she would likely scratch her eyes out for causing so much grief.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Sabine moves over to Vivian, who is setting up her lounger. "Don't you have a pool at your mansion that you can use?"

"Yolanda has the day off," Vivian coolly replies to her. "I like having the staff bring me drinks and food as I need, which is accomplished here."

"Of course you do."

"I am not here to be attacked by you today Sabine," Vivian stands up to Sabine and looks her in the face. "I need to relax."

"I'm sure you do," Sabine purses her lips together. "Just know that if you ever mess with me again, it won't end well for you. You've betrayed me for the very last time."

Vivian rolls her eyes back to Sabine. "Sure, Sabine. Have a nice day."

Sabine turns to walk away from her but she stops and grabs a glass of rose that another customer left on a table. Sabine turns around and throws the wine in Vivian's face. "There, now you have an excuse to get in the pool."

"You bitch!" a mortified Vivian yells back to her.

"Consider that you're warning," Sabine chuckles back to her. "Stay the hell away from me or else."

***

The next morning, Carmen sits in her walk in closet and looks at the clothing she has purchased over the last few weeks since marrying Mac. She has every designer's latest collection in front of her and there is still money in the bank accounts. She almost can't believe how lucky she got by marrying Mac when she did.

She stands up and runs her hands along the dresses in her closet before looking at the display case of jewelry. Diamonds, emeralds, rubies … all at her finger tips.

"This is all yours Carmen," she whispers to herself. "You will never go without again."

"Talking to yourself?" a voice calls out from the master bedroom.

Carmen quickly turns and is stunned to see her brother standing in the room. "Mateo? Dios mio! What are you doing here?" she asks him as she rushes up to him and hugs him, having not seen him in years.

"You didn't really think I'd stay away from you after I found out that you married Mac Rockwell, did you?" Mateo asks her. Mateo is a tall, slender, very attractive man with jet black hair and hazel eyes. Like his sister, he has always had a taste for the finer things in life, however, growing up poor in the Bronx didn't exactly leave him, or Carmen, with the life style that they both desired. Mateo moved to LA a few years back and tried to get into the modelling industry; he only ended up shooting a couple of gay porn videos but nothing more. When he found out that his sister married a Rockwell, he used up any little savings that he had and hoped on the first flight to Kelsey Lake.

"I'm sorry I didn't call, everything has just happened so quickly," Carmen tells her brother. "But yes, I am Mrs. MacKenzie Rockwell. Can you believe it?"

"This house is amazing," Mateo looks around at the paintings on the wall. "Every room seemingly outdoes the previous one."

"I know. And it's all mine! It's mine, Mateo!"

Mateo looks back at her with a sly grin on his face. "Please tell me, sister, that you didn't sign a prenup?"

"Why would that matter?" Carmen asks him. "I'm not going to divorce Mac; he loves me very much."

"Right now he does," Mateo nods back to her. "But things change in life. If you signed a prenup, this could all go away."

Carmen gulps hard as she recalls Mac did make her sign some legal documents before they got married; she didn't read them carefully enough to know if it was a prenup or not as she was too excited to be able to finally marry Mac.

"I don't know if I signed one or not."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean, I don't know!" she tries to not shout at him. "Mac made me sign a bunch of papers before the wedding; something about protecting our interests?"

"Yea, that was a prenup sis," Mateo rolls his eyes back to her. "He's not a stupid man, after all."

"What am I going to do?" Carmen asks him in a panic.

Mateo looks back at her with intent. "You're going to keep him very happy. A lot of sex. A lot of blow jobs. And, if all else fails … we'll have a backup plan."

"I…I don't know what kind of a backup plan you could mean?"

"Don't worry," he winks back to his sister. "I know exactly what we'll do. You and me, we are in this together, right?"

Carmen uneasily nods her head back to him. "Of course, Mateo. I'm so glad you're here helping me."

***

At the country club, Celeste picks up her cup of coffee before looking over at Marat Kafelinkov as they are enjoying breakfast together.

"How is Ivan doing? I'm sorry I haven't seen much of him lately, work has been keeping me busy," Marat admits to her, as he thinks about his son with Celeste.

"He's growing bigger each and every day," she replies to him. "After breakfast, we can head upstairs to see him. He is with the nanny now."

"I'd love that," Marat finishes chewing a piece of his eggs benedict. "So, what's new with you? The invite for breakfast made it sound important somehow?"

Celeste sighs a little. "You know me too well," she smiles back to him. "The fact is, Cole told me yesterday that I have to move on from my feelings for him."

"He's been telling you that since Christmas, Celeste."

"I know, I know," Celeste waves her hand in the air. "I guess it finally just struck me that I actually have to move on."

"I know how much you cared for Cole," Marat tells her. "But, I do think that moving on is for the best. You can't spend your life pining over someone who doesn't want you."

"Are you talking about Cole and I or you and Stacey?" Celeste looks back at him.

Marat looks back at her and arches his eyebrow as he recalls how and Stacey made love on Christmas Eve. Of course, he hasn't seen or heard from her much since then.

"Why don't we focus on you moving on," Marat winks back to her. "And leave Stacey to me."

Celeste uneasily chuckles back to him. "Sounds good. Shall we go see Ivan?"

"I'd love too."

***

Lex moves into the living room of his condo that he shares with his lover, Grant Shaw. They had moved into the penthouse that Kent owns, but after Sabine exposed Vivian faking her illness, Kent moved back into the penthouse. Luckily for Lex and Grant, there was a three bedroom, three bathroom unit in the same building for sale; Lex purchased the condo and the two of them have been living there ever since.

"Do you want coffee this morning?" a shirtless Grant asks as he walks into the living room holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

Lex turns and looks at his lover. "I'd love one, thanks," he tells him. "I'm going to need all the energy I can for work today."

"Are things that busy at Blackmore?" Grant comes up to Lex and passes him the cup of coffee.

"I can handle the work load," Lex nods back to him. "It's Houston, actually. He's driving me crazy. He thinks every decision I make is out of spite and that couldn't be further from the truth."

"Are you sure?" Grant asks him with a sly grin on his face. "I know that you two have a sorted history."

"If he came to me with a good concept that wouldn't bleed our bank accounts, then yes, I would take him seriously," Lex tells him. "The fact is, Houston can't stand the fact that Kent made me CEO and not him. He still has a lot of learning to do. I can't apologize for that."

"You are so sexy when you're this confident," Grant winks back at him as Lex looks him in the eye.

"What do you have planned today? Do you have anything going on right now?"

"Not that I know of, why?" Grant asks him.

Lex runs his finger down Grant's firm chest. "I don't have to be at the office for an hour," Lex purrs to him. "I know something else that would help me get through today."

"Meet you in the bedroom," Grant winks back to him as they start to walk towards the bedroom.

***

Houston parks his Lamborghini outside the Rockwell mansion and slowly climbs out of the car. He takes his sun glasses off as he moves towards the front door of the mansion. He is there to take Stacey to breakfast so they can start planning their wedding. His mind, however, is also on Lex and Blackmore Ltd. He knows that there has to be someway to get Kent to realize that Lex is not a good CEO; he has to get Lex removed from that position. The question is: how?

As he moves towards the front door, it opens and Mateo quickly walks out of the house. Houston arches his eyebrow having never seen the young man before.

"Good morning, do you need help with something?" Houston asks coming up to Mateo.

"No, I don't think so," Mateo replies to him. "Whoa, nice car."

Houston chuckles back to him. "Thanks. I didn't realize the Rockwell's hired a new gardener? "

Mateo feels his blood boil at the suggestion from Houston. "You don't look like you belong here, to be honest," Houston quickly tells him realizing that he might have crossed a line.

"I don't belong here, maybe that's why," Mateo replies to him. "I have much bigger dreams. One day I want my husband and I to own a house like this ourselves."

"Husband?" Houston asks him surprised by his admission.

"I'm gay," Mateo replies to him. "And don't worry, I'm not hitting on you. I know a straight guy when I see one."

"I'm Houston Blackmore."

"Mateo…." He stops himself from saying his last name so Houston won't connect him to Carmen.

"Just Mateo?"

"Just Mateo."

"It's a pleasure Mateo," Houston shakes his hand as the wheels in his head start to turn. "Listen, I know we just met but would you be interested in working for me? It could be a start for you getting to your dreams."

Mateo looks back at him in surprise. "You're offering me a job? Doing what?"

"We can discuss that in greater detail," Houston chuckles back to him. "But, let's just say that I will make very worth your while."

"You have my attention," Mateo smiles back to him. "Let's discuss the details?"

***

Sabine takes a deep breath as she prepares to knock on the front door of the penthouse. She was delighted to receive a text message from Kent asking her to come see him; she has been giving him space since he revealed Vivian's lies at Christmas time so for him to reach out to her must be a good sign. She doesn't know why she feels so nervous but she shuts her eyes for a moment to calm her nerves and then knocks on the door.

"Sabine, you came," Kent says as he opens the door and sees her standing there. "Please, come in."

"Thank you," Sabine moves into the penthouse. "And, yes, I came. I've been trying to let you figure things out. I know what happened at Christmas must have come as a surprise."

"It certainly did," Kent agrees with her. "I can't thank you enough for telling me the truth about Vivian."

Sabine turns to face him as she gets a sly grin on her face. "I was fighting for our relationship," Sabine admits to him. "If we still have a relationship; so much has happened."

"It has," Kent replies to her quickly. "And, I've done so much soul searching since the truth came out. I want you to know that I told Vivian that we don't have a future and I've filed for an annulment."

"I don't know what to say … congratulations? I'm sorry?"

"I'm sorry," Kent moves closer to her as he grabs her hands. "I'm sorry that I let myself be fooled by her. And, I'm sorry that I pushed you aside to do it."

Sabine feels her eyes swell with water. "If you'll have me back, I'd love to try to make it up to you, Sabine," Kent continues to tell her. "I do love you and I want to be with you."

"Oh Kent," Sabine whispers back to him. "I've longed to hear these words from you."

"Does that mean you'll give me a chance?"

She rushes into his arms as a tear falls down her cheek. "Of course," she whispers into his year. "I've never stopped loving you."

They look into one another's arms and then their lips find one another. He finally breaks free and lifts her into his muscular arms. "I want you," he looks into her eyes.

***

"I hope I'm not bothering you," Sabine announces as she opens the door to the main office at Blackmore Ltd. and sees Lex working away behind his desk.

Lex looks up and sees his Aunt move inside the office. "I always have time for you, Sabine. What's going on?"

Sabine sighs as she moves to the bar and pours herself a brandy. "To be honest with you Lex, I am feeling a little squirrely around here lately."

Lex stands up and moves closer to her. "What does that mean exactly?"

Sabine turns to face him before she takes a sip of her brandy. "With Kent not coming back any time soon, I am left wondering if my services are really best suited for Blackmore right now."

"Please tell me you're not thinking of leaving? You know how much I value you around here. Especially since Houston is driving me absolutely crazy."

Sabine chuckles back to him. "You and Houston still haven't made amends, huh?"

"I don't think we will ever see eye to eye," Lex replies to her quickly. "And that's fine, I just wish he'd understand that Kent made me CEO, not him."

"I can see his point of view Lex," Sabine admits to him. "For the longest time he thought he was Kent's only son; he thought he was next in line to run this company."

"Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay?"

Sabine shakes her head no. "I wish there was but I need to spread my wings, I hope you understand."

Lex pulls his Aunt into a hug. "Of course I understand," he tells her. "Just know that the door is always open for you to come back if you'd like too."

***

Mac moves into the country club desperate to have a mid-morning drink as his morning has been crazy. He happens to see Celeste sitting at the bar alone with a champagne cocktail in front of her. He arches his eyebrow wondering how she is doing; he hasn't see his ex-wife in a few weeks and, as per Cole, she had been trying to reunite with his son.

"Do you mind if I sit with you for a moment?" Mac asks her as he walks up to her.

"Mac, hi, please do," Celeste purses her lips together. "It's been awhile since I've seen you, how are you? You're looking good."

"Thank you," Mac sits next to her and orders a bourbon. "I guess it's my new marriage, must be rubbing off on me."

Celeste chuckles back to him. "I had heard through the grapevine that you got married again," she tells him. "She's a lucky woman."

"I appreciate that," he nods back to her. "After everything the two of us went through, you didn't have to say that."

"We both made a lot of mistakes," Celeste replies to him. "That doesn't mean that you don't deserve to be happy, Mac. If this woman makes you happy, then I am happy for you."

"You should be happy too, Celeste."

"I'm getting there," she tells him. "It might take some time to truly get over Cole but I know I can do it."

"I'm proud to hear you say that," he takes a sip of his drink. "It isn't always easy to get over a loved one but sometimes it is the best thing for everyone involved."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," she chuckles back to him. "I'm glad we ran into one another, Mac. This has been unexpectedly pleasant."

"I couldn't agree more," Mac lifts his glass to toast to him before he finishes his drink.

***

Carmen sits on the sofa in the living room of the Rockwell mansion and opens her laptop. She starts typing quickly into the Google search bar and gets a sly grin on her face when a website appears in front of her.

After discussing the situation with Mateo, she realized that she had to continue to act quickly. She had never thought that Mac would ask her to sign a prenup, but since Mateo told her that it was likely, she has realized it is exactly what her husband did to her. Of course, she feels completely stupid having not realized that Mac was getting her to sign a prenup.

"Okay," she whispers to herself as she looks at the website on the screen in front of her. "Now, I just have to find Rockwell Mining and buy some shares in the company. I'll buy some every day until my plan is done …"

"What the hell is going on in here?" a voice calls out from behind Carmen, who freezes and slowly closes her laptop.

She puts the computer on the sofa next to her before she turns around and sees Lucinda Rockwell standing in the living room with her hand on her hip. "What's wrong little girl, cat got your tongue? What did I just walk in on?"

"Mrs. Rockwell, hi," Carmen stands up. "Would you care for a drink? I could pour you one? And, Mac is at work right now. He's not here."

"I'd love a drink," Lucinda tells her. "And I know where my son is. He is married to that company."

Carmen rolls her eyes as she pours Lucinda a drink. "Actually, he's married to me," she says as politely as she can before she passes Lucinda a brandy. "What brings you today?"

"Answer my question," Lucinda snaps at her. "What were you doing on that computer?"

"Just some personal banking," Carmen lies to her, quickly coming up with a lie to tell. "I didn't think anyone was here to notice."

Lucinda takes a sip of her brandy as she studies Carmen; she can't place it but she doesn't trust her son's latest wife. She just has to find a way to prove it to Mac now. "If you'd like to wait for Mac to get home, I'm sure we could pass the time together somehow," Carmen uneasily offers her.

"Yes, I will wait for MacKenzie," Lucinda moves around the sofa and sits down where Carmen was sitting previously. "He and I have a lot to discuss and it can't wait."

Carmen sighs to herself realizing that she will have to purchase the Rockwell Mining stocks later when she is alone because now, she has to entertain Lucinda for the rest of the afternoon.

***

Sabine sits at a table in the country club reading the local newspaper when she sets it down and picks up her glass of white wine to take a sip. She can't believe that there is a natural preserve that was mined on years ago; now, as a result of the mining, the natural habit is slowly dying.

"Awful isn't it?" a voice says over top of Sabine.

Sabine looks up and sees Madi standing there. "It really is. Does anyone have any idea how this happened?"

"No, that's the sad part," Madi admits to her as she sits across from her. "I work for the national preservation office; I'm trying to uncover more details but it is proving to be difficult as the police have deemed it a cold case."

"Surely there would be records of who mined there?"

"Whoever it was covered it up very nicely," Madi admits to her. "You have a lot of connections in the mining industry, don't you?"

Sabine purses her lips together. "I've been in the industry for many years, so yes, I guess I do."

"I hope this isn't too forward but I heard that you recently left your position at Blackmore Ltd."

"Yes, I did."

"If this preservation stuff interests you, I have an opening in my office. With your contacts, I might be able to get to the bottom of who created this mess," Madi looks back at her with intent.

"You're offering me a job?" Sabine asks in surprise.

"Only if you're interested."

Sabine leans up in her chair. "I am very interested. Thank you, Madi."

"Great, come by the office tomorrow at 9 and I'll show you the ropes!" Madi beams back to her.
***

Mateo walks up to the front door of the Grind, the local coffee shop in Kelsey Lake. He peers through the front doors before he moves back from the door and checks his phone from a message from Houston.

"This is the guy," Mateo reads the text from Houston which is followed by a picture of Grant Shaw. "Don't fuck it up. $$$"

Mateo uneasily puts his phone back in his pocket and then moves up to the door and moves inside the coffeehouse. He scans the room and sees Grant sitting by himself on a bean bag chair by the window as he reads a book with a coffee next to him.

"Houston told me that I would get a good pay day from this," Mateo tells himself as he waits for his drink to arrive. "You got this Mateo and he is easy on the eyes."

He gets his drink and then moves over to the seating area where Grant is siting. "Hey, is this seat taken?" Mateo asks as he sits next to Grant.

Grant looks up from his book and can't help but notice how attractive Mateo is. He has been coming to the coffeehouse to read in the afternoons while Lex has been working so much; he hasn't had many encounters before and as Kelsey Lake is so small, he didn't think he would make any new friends. Suddenly, however, he thinks that may be changing.

"It's free," Grant smiles over to him. "Please sit."

"Good, cause I knew I wanted to sit here as soon as I walked in," Mateo looks back at him and licks his lips a little. "I'm Mateo."

"Grant," he extends his hand to shake Mateo's. "It's good to meet you."

"Likewise," Mateo nods back to him.

***

Houston looks at his phone and sees the incoming text from Mato telling him that he will take care of it. Houston uneasily smiles to himself before he puts his phone back in his pocket as he waits for Kent to arrive in the penthouse because while he has a plan in motion with Mateo and Grant, he still wants to try to get Kent to see that Lex is not good as the CEO of Blackmore Ltd.

"Houston, what a surprise," Kent says as he walks down the stairs in the penthouse. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Dad," Houston replies as he pulls his Dad into a quick hug. "I hope that you and Mom can…"

"I'm going to cut you off there," Kent interrupts his son. "Your mother lying to me about dying has ended any chance we have to being together. I know that you had hopes of us reuniting but that ship has sailed, Houston."

"I understand," Houston nods back to him. "I can't say that I blame you, exactly."

"Good, because as soon as my annulment is finalized, I want to marry Sabine. I never stopped loving her and it's time that we are together."

"So I guess that means that you're not returning to Blackmore Ltd anytime soon?"

"Not right now," Kent tells his son. "Besides that, Lex is doing a fantastic job at running the company."

"No, he's not Dad!" Houston immediately protests to Kent. "Any idea I run by him he shoots down. Why? Because he is trying to prove it to me that he is the CEO and not me. He's rubbing my face in it! It has to stop Dad, you have to step in."

Kent sighs back to his son. "I really had hoped that you two working together like this would bring you two closer together; you're brother's for crying out loud!"

"That won't happen anytime soon. Not while he has this carrot he can dangle in my face whenever the fuck he wants too."

"Houston, please," Kent tries to calm him down. "You need to figure out a way to work with Lexington."

"Why? You're not going to help me? You're not going to step in?" Houston asks him stunned that Kent isn't jumping to his rescue.

"No," Kent shakes his head back to his son. "Lex is in charge; you have to accept that. This will be a good learning curve for you son. Try to embrace it, okay?"

***

"Lucinda, what are you doing here?" Lydia asks as she moves into the living room of the Rockwell mansion and she sees her former mother in law on the sofa with a fresh brandy in her hand. When Lydia arrived at the mansion the last thing she thought she would see is Lucinda.

"God, all I want to do is see my son, is that too much to ask for? First I have to deal with that stupid little girl he's married to now and now I have to deal with you? What have I ever done to deserve this?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Lydia barks back at her as she moves around to sit next to her on the sofa. "Why are you waiting for Mac? Has something happened?"

"I need to convince him that marrying this woman was the worst mistake of his life. Even worse than marrying you … twice!" Lucinda quips back to her.

"For once, you and I are in agreeance about something," Lydia smirks back to her. "Mac marrying Carmen is the biggest mistake of his life."

"You know what is interesting," Lucinda sits up to face Lydia. "Is that when I walked in here, she was on her computer. She claimed to be doing online banking but …"

"But what? What was she doing?"

Lucinda shrugs her shoulders. "I didn't get a clear image of the screen," she admits to Lydia. "But, she shut her computer down so quickly that I suspect she was up to something."

"Well then," Lydia purses her lips together. "It's up to us to figure out what the hell she's up too. Because, I won't stand by and let her shop her way through this families fortune."

***

"So, I am hoping that you two will still support me in my quest to marry Cole," Madi tells Vivian and Deacon as they sit in the living room of Vivian's mansion. Madi has been enjoying getting to know her family again since she was reunited with Vivian; the fact that her half-brother, Deacon, is around as well only make things better for her. For so long, Madi was alone, so she is loving the fact that she is back with people that she loves.

"I still have my reservations about him, you know that," Vivian takes a sip of her champagne.

"I really don't know him that well at all," Deacon chimes into Madi. "I've really just read a lot about him. Not all of it is good, of course, but when you're in that a life style with that much power, is it ever going to always be good?"

"The only thing that matters is that I love him," Madi tells her family. "I know he's made mistakes, but so have I. We all have."

"I can drink to that," Vivian replies to her as she takes another sip of her champagne.

"Under no circumstances will you marry Cole Rockwell," a booming voice announces from the entry way to the living room. Madi, Vivian and Deacon turn and gasp at the sight of the man in the room.

"Daddy?" Madi asks in surprise as her father, Chase Cooper, stands in front of her.

***

"So, how was the first day at the preservation office?" Kent asks Sabine as they sit across from one another having a light dinner together. Kent is very pleased that Sabine has found a new job so quickly after leaving Blackmore Ltd, which he was upset to learn about.

"It was really great," Sabine admits to him. "I wasn't sure what to expect when Madi offered me the job, but it is really interested. If I am honest with you, I had never realized what the other side of mining is and it is rather eye opening."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I just mean, I've always been very pro mining so the best diamonds could be uncovered and made into something incredible. But seeing this land that was mined on illegally and the devastated it left, it is really hard to grasp."

"Well, I am proud of you," Kent smiles back to her. "I was upset to hear you left my company but this seems like a really good fit for you, Sabine."

"So far it is," Sabine replies to him. "Thank you for your support. It really does mean the world to me.

***

Houston opens the door to the main office at Blackmore Ltd. and moves inside as he feels his blood boil from his meeting with Kent. He can't believe that his father refused to step into help him deal with, in his mind, an out of control Lex, who has let the power of the CEO position go straight to his head.

He walks over to the bar and pours himself a brandy and immediately takes a healthy sip of it. He checks his phone hoping to see an update from Mateo but he groans when he has no new messages.

"I will get you out of this CEO position," he grits his teeth together. "Even if it's the last thing I do, I will stop you."

"Talking to yourself?" Lex asks as he moves into his office. "What are you doing in here Houston? This is my office."

"It's our father's office," Houston sneers at him. "You're simply keeping that chair warm for him until he comes back."

"Someone's in a great mood today," Lex observes to his brother as he sits at the desk.

"Don't get too comfortable Lex," Houston looks at his brother with intent. "Because, I will get you out of the chair. Mark my words."

Lex bursts into laughter which further frustrates Houston. "Keep telling yourself that brother," Lex tries to control his laughter. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a million things to do today."

***

"So, what are we going to do?" Lydia asks Lucinda as they sit next to one another on the sofa in the Rockwell mansion. Neither woman had thought that they would ever be working together but the fact that they both want Carmen out of Mac's life has formed an unlikely alliance; if they can get Carmen out of Mac's life, they realize that the entire family will win.

"I could have my basement cleaned up," Lucinda uneasily chuckles back to her.

"That's not funny," Lydia glares back at her. "We have to be serious here. We have to get Mac to understand…"

"Get Mac to understand what?" Mac asks as he moves into the living room and immediately wonders what is going on as he knows that Lydia and Lucinda can barely stand the sight of one another. "What the hell is going on in here?"

"You're finally home," Lucinda stands up and moves to hug her son. "Do you know how difficult it is to come see you and be surrounded by either your current or ex-wives?"

"Lovely to see you too, Mother," Mac smiles back to now. "Now, what are you two talking about so civilly? Has hell frozen over?"

"Very funny," Lydia stands up and looks at her ex-husband. "It turns out that Lydia and I actually have something in common."

"Oh God, do I want to know?" Mac asks them back.

"Darling, we are just concerned about this marriage to Carmen, that's all," Lucinda tries to tell him as Mac puts his hands up in the air.

"Not this again!" Mac yells at them. "Listen to me, I am happily married to Carmen and nothing you two say will change that, okay? I'm going to club to get a drink. When I get back, I expect you two to be gone, okay! Because I'm not listening to this, not anymore!"

Mac storms out of the room leaving Lucinda and Lydia left to look at one another. "Looks like this will be more difficult than we thought it would be," Lucinda tells Lydia.

***

Upstairs, Carmen shuts her laptop with a grin on her face. Once Lydia arrived at the mansion, she snuck upstairs so she wouldn't have to deal with Lucinda for the rest of the afternoon and she continued the plan that she and Mateo came up with.

"The first purchase of Rockwell Mining stocks is complete," she whispers to herself as she puts the black American Express back into her purse. "It's ironic that I'm using Rockwell money to purchase stocks in my name. And soon, I will own majority share of the company. That will give me the assurance I need to ensure I don't lose this life style."

She moves over to her large Chanel bag and pulls her out her phone. "Things are on track," she types into a new text message and presses send to Mateo.

"Nothing will get in my way," she purses her lips together. "Nothing."

***

"Whoa, you're going to runs someone over moving that fast," Celeste stops Mac from speeding into the country club. "What's going on? It looks like you're about to blow a fuse."

"My mother and ex-wife are driving me crazy," Mac admits to Celeste. "I was just about to head in a get a drink."

"It sure seems like you need one," Celeste puts her hand on his muscular arm. "I could keep you company, if you'd like me too? I can listen if you want to vent."

"That would be nice, thank you."

"Of course, if you need something else…?"

Mac looks back at her and arches his eyebrow. "What else could I need?"

Celeste feels herself blush as she looks back at Mac and can't help but notice how attractive he is again. She knew this a long time ago but so much happened that someone that went away for a while. But now, she can't help but notice how much she wants him.

She moves up to him and kisses him passionately on the lips. When they part, she looks into his eyes. "I'm free for anything, MacKenzie. The rest is up to you."