Beautiful Thieves

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Title: Beautiful Thieves by AFI
Content Warning: strong language

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*A Month Later*

"Ah, home sweet home." he snickered to himself. His plan had worked flawlessly; he managed to ditch his ex in a foreign country, bribe a Shang Simlan officer to clear his name with the simoleans he stole, and move out of Michele and Alex's place without paying rent. With the added bonus of the stolen jewelry, he managed to fill his empty wallet with a load of simoleans with no one the wiser.

"So, 'ol chum, what shall we do now?" he said to himself. "Ooh, I know; how about some drinks?"

He hummed as he walked outside to his mini-bar and made himself a simargarita. "I could really get used to this," he whispered. He figured it was probably too early for a drink, but it's not like he had anything "real" to attend to in the day anyway.

Mark took a seat on his lounger with his tray of drinks and sighed contentedly. He took in the splendor of the beaches and the mansions, knowing that due to his brilliant plan, he'd never have to work another day in his life.

He let out a loud groan when his phone began ringing. "Mark Filroy. What do you want?" he asked curtly.

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Filroy. My name is Rebecca Abner, and I'm a reporter for 'Sims Magazine'. I can call back later, if you'd like."

"'Sims Magazine', eh?" he grinned. Sims Magazine was a huge tabloid magazine that documented the lives of the young, famous, and wealthy. "Well, that's interesting."

"We were just wondering if you'd confirm or deny the rumors that you and Ella Cartez have been dating," she inquired. "Yeah...I'll 'confirm or deny'," he mocked. "We can set up a meeting at my house for tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Great, sir. Just let me get a pen an paper and I'll jot down your address."

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"Why hello, Platinum! I'm sorry I didn't make it back to finish watching the stars with you, love. I just ran into some problems." he smiled. Ella definitely wasn't smiling though, as she rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Don't play games with me, you asshole. I know what you did."

"Oh?"

"Yes," she huffed. "You stole my money and fucking ditched me and left me for dead! In case it weren't obvious, we're over."

"Okay then," Mark said, his voice lowering. "Why the hell did you come here, and how did you get my address?" Ella barged past him and made her way to the couch.

"Come sit, loverboy."

"I want you to look me in the eye and answer all of my questions. Got it?" she demanded.

"Are you sure you even want to know, babe?"

"I'm not your 'babe' anymore, and yes."

"Babe, you'll always be my babe." he winked. "Shoot."

"First of all, how much of what you said to me was a lie?"

"Pretty much all of it except my name." Ella winced internally and bit her lip in response to his admission. How could he take her heart and treat it as if it were a piece of gum on the bottom of his shoe?

"It's pretty easy to con famous people. All the information on them is on simGoogle, and if you act the part, people usually tend to believe you. Didn't you ever wonder why I never took you to my house?"

"No," she mumbled sheepishly. The neon writing was on the wall the entire time, and she just noticed. "I have another question...why did you do it?"

"I was homeless and desperate for cash, and you were naive and desperate for companionship. You made it pretty easy for me. You fell for every line I fed you, and you trusted me with everything. It would have been a crime not to con you," he joked. Ella couldn't hold her tears any longer, as he, the man she once trusted, pretended not to see her pain.

"I must admit, I did have fun with you. You just weren't my type, is all. Your cash certainly was, though."

"And why shouldn't I turn you into the police?"

"Well, because then I'd have to tell Sims Magazine about the little tryst you and that Jordan guy had about a month ago. That, and you still love me. I wouldn't have thought it to be true if you hadn't come today. I can see deep in your eyes that you'd want nothing more than to be held by me right now."

"You lie," she spat.

"No, actually, I don't. A conman must be perceptive as well as persuasive, and as you can see, I am both."

"You're also heartless." she muttered.

"Can't deny it. It's also a part of the job." he admitted.

"So, this is all I was to you? A job?"

"Quite frankly, yes. Hey, you wanna hear something funny? According to simGoogle, this is the house your mom used to get fucked in." he sneered

That one did it.

 "How dare you talk about my mother like that, you scum!" she screamed. Ella used all her strength to deliver a swift slap to Mark's face. His cheek grew bright red as he let out a yelp of pain.

"You're right, Mark. I still loved you. And you wanna know why I really came here? I wanted a reason to hate you. After all you did to me, I still couldn't hate you. Until. now."

Ella, now furious, made her way to the door; her adrenaline levels rising with each step.

"Goodbye, Mark. You'll get what's coming to you one day."

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 Feeling slightly guilty, he went to go drown his doubts at his old stomping grounds, the SHooters bar. The bartenders greeted him with a smile, and the air smelled of mediocre hot wings and cologne. He sat down at the bar, and a bartender immediately got his usual; two drinks on the rocks. Nothing much has changed, much to his relief.

Except this time, there was a lady in pigtails that caught his attention.

 "Hey, I couldn't help but notice you from the bar. My name's Mark," he flirted. "Could I buy you a drink?"

"Well, Mark," she replied. "I don't know. Should I let you buy me a drink?"

"I think you should."

"Then I will."

Mark motioned the bartender to serve up two "bad cheerleaders" and put it on his tab. Maybe tonight, there will be more than drinks to get his mind off of things.

"Haven't I seen you around here before?"

"I doubt it, I would remember a pretty lass like you." he smiled. "So, what's your name?"

"Colette," she blushed. "Colette Bachelor."

"Well Colette, why don't you come back to my place after you've had some more drinks," he purred.

And so, Colette was able to put Mark's tinge of regret to bed...

...for now.

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