Scam

"How could you?" she cried, "I thought I was the one pulling the cords in the relationship."

She looked at him, seated there calmly holding his packet of cigarette but not lighting one of the sticks.

"Are you putting on that front to tell me that I was convinced you given up on the cigarette?" She asked. "Oh, please, cut the act, Steven."

Steven smiled at her and reach for the stick. He placed it on his lips and lit the match to burn the leaves wrapped there. He took a small pull on it and then handed it to her. She reached out and took the lighted cigarette, before placing it on her lips.

"How..." Then she changed her mind, and asked it differently, "When did you knew?"

"Some weeks back." Steven replied. "I got my own suspicions. You were not truly yourself. You were so ....uncompliant. That got me concerned."

"I was not; I was getting into you. I needed to know you. I needed it for my con." She sighed. "But you were so unpredictable. So casual then."

"I was? Gracious, do you know I was concerned on your come on's. I was concerned are you playing me for the role to be swiped." Steven smiled again. "I did got worried. I meant to say, I was the rogue here, but you really played me for one."

"Why didn't you pulled off then? You know our line of work was never to get involved. You got what you wanted." She replied. "How much was it? Two million? Three Million?"

"Two exactly." Steven replied. "But it cost me about that to build up the scam."

"So I lost the money that I was to get from your fictitious twenty five million. You turned the game on me, but why come back?" She asked. "To us, we are playing the game of con. And I lost."

"Me too? I lost my heart to you." Steven said it out plain. "Marge, I found myself really loving you."

"Pardon me? Did you said you loved me? Well, for two million of my scam money, you are truly a rogue at ending the scam." She crushed the half lighted cigarette. "Its always the man who pays for the love of the lady."

"I did. I spent two million to charmed you and found myself actually loving you." Steven pulled out the cheque for the two million. "You can have your two million back. I don't want it. I just want your heart."

She looked at the cheque and then she asked him.

"What made you .....love me?"

"The come on's during the last few weeks. You were so ...." Steven reached out with his hand to touched her's. "So real."

"Hey, we are con artist. We make believing look real. Did you forget that?" She looked into his eyes when his fingers held her's.

"And at some stages of our life, we forgot that to believe in making it real, when the real is truly believing in it." Steven looked into her and said the crucial line.

"I love you, Marge."

She remained silent for the moment and then replied.

"I think I am too. I meant to say I am not sure. I have conned many men of their love, and yet when it came to my own love, I am not truly sure." She turned away with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"We could begin again. You and me, But no more con. Just true believing that we could love each other." Steven told her. "I am willing to be real for once. Would you be for me?"

She remained silent to his words, but her head nodded to the words. He stood up and approached her. He held her to his chest and smiled. She smiled too, for her scam had worked. One more sucker to add to the wall of suckers on her billboard. She pocketed the two million cheque.

"Do you have the twenty five millions?" She asked.

"Nope, only half a million left." Steven sighed. "In our line, we lived on high expenses."

"I know." That half a million would pay for tonight' performance, she told herself. Tomorrow there is a Duke to be shown the ugly duckling look.