Moving On

I had initially considered posting this for the Holiday contest, but Murphy's Law (and endsems) ensured that I could not get around to writing it till now. Credits to my editor zoyiab.

Anyway, vote, comment, and send private feedback to let me know what you think of it.

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Karen Carmichael had always been somewhat of an enigma. She was one of the most talked about people in the world, but shied away from the spotlight as much as she could. Just 32, she had already courted more controversy than most. She was the CEO and ex officio chairwoman to Carmichael Industries, her step father's business empire.

Very few people knew her personally. She conducted most of her dealings from her lavish mansion on the Upper East Side. Largely reclusive, she was more of a social rarity in all of the fabulous parties thrown here and there, with good reason. Some of the things she had done in her life were questionable at best, and she preferred not to talk about them. One of them would have to be marrying her step-brother Adrian.

When a recently divorced Victor Carmichael married the beautiful socialite Alice Lane, he had no idea that one day his son and her daughter would fall deeply in love. They shared more than the normal love between step siblings. Karen was passionately in love and Adrian felt the same way. But there was a whole slew of societal dogma and media hounding that stood in the way.

If they went through with it, they would be branded as semi-incestuous degenerates by the whole world. Being the strong-willed and confident woman she was Karen did precisely that. Their parents reluctantly accepted it and she gave a stirring speech at a press conference to silence all her critics once and for all. The hearts of every New Yorker went out to them and the intrinsic purity of their romance.

She was barely in her twenties when her parents died in a sailing accident. The siblings got each other through that difficult phase. Adrian had taken charge of the business conglomerate initially. They were married in a joyous ceremony at San Marino. Then, after ten years of married bliss, tragedy struck. And that is where our little tale begins............

Karen sighed for the umpteenth time. This was the part of Christmas that she hated- getting ready for dinner. Being as reclusive as she was, she never really got the hang of what to wear when entertaining guests. The only party she had was a small, private Christmas dinner for her oldest friends, Tom and Sue Markham. Her personal chef was busy at work, conjuring a sumptuous banquet as she still struggled with her clothes. After some searching, she finally found the dress that Adrian had brought her from Paris. Her eyes spontaneously moistened in his memory.

Life was just not the same with what had happened to him the previous year.

Finally, she put on her dress and made her way downstairs to receive her guests. Sitting down to have dinner, Sue noticed that there was an extra chair at the table. She felt a pang of sorrow. Adrian was a good person, who did not deserve what happened to him. They started eating.

"So tell us Karen, how is the business going?"

"Very well actually, we have big plans to expand our market to India. There is a huge potential customer base waiting for us."

"Oh that sounds wonderful, and in your personal life? Are you seeing someone?" asked Sue kindly.

Karen visibly stiffened. After a while, she said, "No. I have not seen anyone since Adrian......"

Sue immediately apologized for being intrusive. Karen controlled herself well enough and did not cry. Somewhere in her heart, she had not yet accepted the reality.

"It's okay; I knew Adrian was going to come up eventually. So, you must be curious about what happened last year?"

The Markhams looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Karen sensed their unease.

"Don't worry. I am comfortable talking about it. In fact, talking about it somehow makes the load feel lighter. Like a form of therapy."

Tom gently nodded towards his wife and they gave her the go-ahead to start. Karen drew a deep breath and gathered all her thoughts. It was a very painful memory, but one she would have to come to terms with.

"It all started one day, when Adrian had an unexplained seizure in his office. It was during a board meeting. He was rushed to Mercy and I flew in from Chicago to see him. The doctor had some bad news for us."

She paused, trying her hardest to hold back her tears.

"Adrian had small cell carcinoma, a rare and untreatable type of cancer. He had about a month to live. There wasn't any warning. "

The tears were almost out by now.

"I stayed by his side the whole time. It was a cruel dichotomy. On one hand, I could not bear to stay away from him. On the other hand, it hurt so much watching my one true love slowly dying. Then one day, he made his request."

Her restraint finally slipped as the corners of her eyes moistened.

"He said he was in too much pain and,... and....... asked me to end it for him."

The dam of stoical calmness finally ruptured as she wept.

"He was in so much pain and nobody saw it. He told me to put him to sleep where he could not feel it any more."

The Markhams extended their arms to console her, but she waved them away and composed herself.

"His last words were- Karen, I love you so much. Thank you for this."

She wiped her tears and resumed.

"I guess you know the details of what happened after that?"

Tom sighed knowingly. He had been her defence attorney. The state of New York collectively gasped when they heard about her euthanizing her brother. Opinion was sharply divided on the issue. There were those who wanted her head and those who thought she had done the right thing.

Karen Carmichael was the most talked about figure in New York for a while. Her trial was widely covered by every news channel on the planet. Tom had prepared a speech for her to say when she would be questioned, but she waved it off and spoke from her heart. Her words were eloquent and touching beyond measure. The jury members actually began sobbing by the time she had finished. The verdict was a unanimous 'not guilty'. She left to a resounding round of applause. Since that day, it had become necessary to maintain a low profile.

"So how are you coping with it? Do you need any help?" asked Tom kindly.

"No thank you, I will be just fine."

They finished the rest of the dinner in silence. Karen often shot a longing glance at the empty chair beside her.

After the Markhams had left, Karen dismissed the chefs and housekeepers and went to her room. Once she was alone, she opened her cupboard. Parting all her clothes, she found the hidden latch. Clasping it, she opened her secret compartment in the back. There were many small vials of a clear liquid and several syringes. She took out a vial and a syringe. Carefully, she drew 10 ml of the fluid. She rolled up her sleeves to look for a place to inject herself. There were innumerable punctures on her skin from her previous doses.

She found a spot and gently stuck the needle into her forearm. Taking a deep breath, she gently pushed the plunger in all the way in a smooth, well-practised motion. The first effect from the drug shook her world a little. She lay down on her bed as the drugs flowed through her bloodstream up to her brain. The room slowly dissolved around her as she slid two fingers down to her slick pussy. The tips of her fingers had just touched her clit when the scenery around her began forming again.

It was the garden outside their country estate, in autumn. The evening sky was brilliantly multi-hued in shades of blue, purple and orange that only nature can give. Some of the trees had already begun shedding leaves. This idyllic locale was the backdrop of some of her most romantic moments. She stood up and scanned the surroundings, looking for someone.

"Karen?"

At last, she heard his voice. The voice that made the stress of her life and all her worries disappear. She turned in the direction of the voice with a radiant smile on her face. A figure emerged from behind a tree. It was Adrian.

He was just like she remembered him. That beautiful innocent face with his piercing green eyes brought back so many memories. His jet black hair was neatly combed and he was wearing his favourite Yankee T-shirt. She sprinted across the gap between them and engulfed him in a warm hug. He hugged her back.

"Oh Adrian, I miss you so much. You have no idea."

He looked at her with a cold, disapproving look.

"Karen, what is it- the third time this week? Those drugs will ruin you."

"I don't care. I just want to be with you."

"You have to move on. You know I would have wanted that."

She pushed him down onto the ground. There was a look of anger mixed with a profound sadness on her face.

"How dare you tell me to move on? You moved on and left me all alone. It's your fault. You promised you would always be there for me."

Adrian smiled at her.

"I will always be there for you. Over here," he said, touching her chest lightly. "Whenever you need me, look inside your heart and I am always there, but please don't do this to yourself, for me."

"Why are you saying these things?"

"Because you know this is what I would have said. It's your conscience trying to dissuade you."

He held her head in his hands and smiled.

"You have no idea how proud I am of you. You have taken our company to dizzying heights that I could never have imagined. Please, stop doing this."

"I won't, I... can't," Karen finally admitted. "I love you too much."

"You have to."

She stood up, a look of determination on her face.

"I don't have to do anything. This is my fantasy, my rules. You take off those clothes now."

He stood up beside and looked at her with a look of futile disappointment and started taking off his shirt.

"See, I knew you would eventually do it."

"As you said, it's your fantasy. I don't have much of a choice."

His clothes slowly fell of his body and now he stood in front of her completely naked. She clasped her hands over her mouth as she saw the site.

"You are so beautiful. You were always so beautiful."

Saying this, she began to take of her clothes. Soon they were just a heap near her feet. Adrian admired her gorgeous body for a while before saying.

"You look great. Why do you want to spoil this with LSD?"

"I thought you were going to be compliant now. No more talk, make love to me like you used to."

She lay down on the soft grass and seductively ushered him towards her. He lay down and gently held her hips. She rolled over until she was on top of him and gently lifted her hips to guide his engorged member into her vulva.

She gasped as his thick penis filled her up and stretched her pussy.

"Exactly how I remember it."

She held his face between her hands as he looked away.

"Look at me Adrian, look at me please."

Slowly he turned his gaze to meet her. There was a look of pleading in his eyes. He desperately wanted her to stop, but she could not bring herself to it.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed herself up and down on his erection. Her pace was gentle at first, but it slowly became faster and faster.

"Oh God, Adrian I love you so, so much."

She was moving at a frantic pace now, desperately grinding her pelvis into Adrian's hips. His large cock plunged in and out of her vagina in quick, rapier like motions.

"There is no one else. There will never ever be anyone that can replace you, Adrian. You were the only one for me."

Her pleasure was now building on itself, rising higher and higher with every successive thrust into her aching pussy. He used his hands to hold her nipples and gently roll them between his fingers.

"Yes, do that. You know how much I liked it."

She screamed in ecstasy as he continued playing with her nipples and then rubbed her areola as well. He reached up to kiss her. The kiss was exquisitely tender as he gently used his tongue to probe her mouth. She met his kiss with a surprising energy and began to kiss him back fervently. Their tongues duelled for some time as the intensity of the kiss sent a wave of renewed passion to all parts of her body. She was aroused like never before, and she sank even deeper into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Her climax was getting closer and closer as this treatment sent her body to heavenly heights of bliss. Finally, in a rapturous explosion of thunder, lightning and a carnival of all the primal forces of nature, Karen had a massive orgasm. It literally sent shock-waves through her body as she convulsed over and over again.

She just lay there, on the green grass, collecting her breath.

"That was wonderful Adrian."

"It's your fantasy, it had to be."

"It was just like what we had. We had something too special to describe in words."

"Of course we did. I would not trade that for anything, but what you have right now is crazy. Go on, find someone, start your life again."

"How can I find someone? He won't be you."

"Karen, I am dead, you have to come to terms with that."

Suddenly, Karen's face brightened up.

"No you're not. You're downstairs waiting for dinner."

Adrian sighed disapprovingly.

"You know that is not true."

Karen however smiled from ear-to-ear.

"It is. I'm sorry for what I said earlier, but I know you could never leave me. We love each other so much."

He didn't say anything, just looked down.

The garden started spinning wildly around them. The drugs were wearing off. Adrian slowly disappeared into the mist as the entire scene became hazy. His parting words were, "Move on."

Karen woke up sweating on her bed. Her fingers were still deeply buried in her snatch even though she had already ridden the crest of her orgasm. She sat in bed, silently reflecting on her present state.

The worst part about it was that she never regretted it, never hated herself for it. She wanted to desperately cling on to whatever part of her love she could. Adrian's room was a shrine for her. Everything was untouched from the way he had left them. Only she went in that room, when she felt exceptionally lonely.

Suddenly, she remembered the last part of her dream. She had not yet given Adrian his dinner. She went down the stairs and into the empty kitchen and started taking the steak out. Christmas was always a special holiday for them and Adrian loved steak. She prepared a small one for herself since she had already eaten. She loved cooking for him.

Carrying two plates, she slowly went down the stairs to her basement. Putting the plates aside, she turned a knob and then opened the door. Inside the room, there was a small table with two chairs. In one of them sat Adrian Carmichael.

She smiled at him and he smiled back. In fact, his face permanently bore that beautiful smile and his alluring green eyes looked directly at her as she sat down opposite him and pushed a plate in his direction.

"It's so great to see you again, Adrian."

He just stared at her silently as she started eating.

"Eat up, bro. I made it just the way you like it."

He kept staring.

"You will not believe how taxing the business is. I would go crazy if I couldn't come down here and talk to you."

Cold impassive silence reigned at the other end. She kept talking to him, pouring out her entire day and he listened without speaking.

Finally, she finished her steak and looked over on his side of the table to see his plate untouched. She gave him a look of sisterly disapproval.

"Still not hungry eh? Well you have to start eating one of these days."

She leaned over to plant a quick kiss on his lips before gathering her plates and getting up. She walked out of the door and put the plates down once again. After closing the door, she set the inside temperature to below freezing point once more, by turning the knob.

She went upstairs thinking about what to cook for him the next day.

For those who cannot move on.