THREE

            The loud pitter-patter of the heavy downpour could be heard as Adelynn sat on her matrimonial bed, wearing a black night dress with her silky, red night robe over it.

She stared at empty space, a glass of white wine in her light grip. Her face was completely devoid of make-up but she was still such a beauty. Without the makeup on, one could easily tell how much she was struggling, because her aura kept emitting melancholy.

There was one person on her mind today and his name was Jensen. Adelynn tried to understand what it was that he saw in her, because someone like her didn't deserve someone as amazing, as perfect as he was. She knew that she was letting her insecurity get the best of her, but she just couldn't help it. A sad smile curved her lips when she recalled how she'd met him.

Jensen had been just as amazing back then when they were still teens. Whereas, she had been as stubborn and pig-headed as always back then.

**Several years ago***

         Fifteen years old Adelynn scoffed and scowled at no one in particular as she pushed her pink bicycle along the sidewalk. School had just closed for the day and she was supposed to ride her bicycle home. But, someone had decided that it would be fun to ruin her bicycle tires by making slashes all over it with what seemed to be a knife. So, to say the least, Adelynn was beyond angry. She was pissed and she desperately wanted to vent it all out on someone else.

Whoever it was, Addie desperately wanted that person to show up and try to bother her.

"Addie!" someone yelled, but she refused to listen to the person who was calling out for her. Therefore, she increased her pace, exerting herself as she tried to keep her ruined bicycle tires moving. "Addie, wait up!"

Suddenly, a hand touched her and she reacted immediately without stopping to think. She punched him in the face, letting out a cry when pain exploded within her knuckles and fingers. "Ow! What was that for?!" the blonde teenage boy standing behind her exclaimed as he cupped his nose that had begun to bleed. "You!" Adelynn hissed and the boy frowned.

"What? No apology?" He said and she glared at him, clutching her hand that was already starting to get swollen. "You startled me!"

"No, I did not! I called your name several times"

"How do you even know my name? I don't know you" she spat and he smiled.

"We're classmates, Addie and I was calling you because you dropped this" he said, holding out a charm bracelet to her. Her eyes went wide, shock crossing her features. The necklace was very special to her because it was her grandmother who had given it to her. Without showing any signs of gratitude, she snatched it from him, holding her injured hand to her chest.

"I think you injured yourself punching me. Let me see it" he said and she scowled.

"I don't need your help" she spat and began to struggle with moving her bicycle.

"Let me help you" he said, wiping his nose.

"You're the one with the broken nose, not me" she said, trying to hide the fact that she was concerned about him.

"I'm fine, you didn't break my nose" he responded with a smile on his face.

She soon found herself staring at him, realizing for the first time how good-looking he was.

"Come on, Addie. Let me help you" he said and she scowled again, her heart fluttering within her rib cage. She groaned mentally, feeling very uncomfortable around the boy who looked too goodlooking to be hanging out around someone like her.

"You're not allowed to call me Addie" she muttered and he grinned.

"Fine. But, I'm not making promises" he said and she rolled her eyes, finally letting him move her bicycle for her. "Does it hurt?" He suddenly asked and heat creeped up her neck.

"No"

"Your lips lie to me, but your eyes tell me a different story, Addie" he said and she lowered her gaze to the ground, hoping that he wouldn't notice the pinkish stain on her cheeks.

....

   Adelynn snapped out of her reverie when the door to the bedroom creaked open. Dominic walked in, most of the buttons of his shirt, undone. His green eyes were brighter than usual but his steps showed that his mind was clouded by the effects of alcohol.

"Were you waiting for me, wifey?" He asked, wriggling his brows. She rose to her feet and crossed her arms.

"You're so..... disgustingly annoyingly!" She exclaimed, her eyes burning with fury. He ignored her and began to take off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body.

"Do you have any idea, how long I spent waiting for the person you never even bothered to send to me?" She demanded and he stared at her, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"What is wrong with you? Do you not care, even a little?!" She demanded and he turned away from her, pushing his fingers through his wavy raven hair.

"Maybe I shouldn't have married you in the first place. I can't believe I ended up with someone as heartless as you are!" She spat, angry tears filling her eyes. He turned to look at her, his eyes hard and cold.

"I'm always the villain. You always see me as a villain, Adelynn. You never try to understand me, no you don't. You will always put the blame on me. Here you are, talking about me not caring about you. But, do you care about me? Of course not! News flash, I came for you. But, what did I find? You got into another man's car! I saw the way he looked at you, Adelynn! It drove me mad!" He said, his chest heaving.

"Dominic, he means nothing to me! You're my husband, not him! And if you had come earlier, that wouldn't have happened!"

"Yeah, right. Just....stay away from that man. I do not want to ever see you with any other man, Adelynn" he said and made his way into the bathroom. Adelynn crumbled to the ground, her knees to her chest. She was so angry, but she was also very sad. Would Dominic ever love her like Jensen had?

....

   At the office, the next day, Adelynn made up her mind to act as coldly as possible towards Jensen. For a few hours, it worked. He seemed to get the message that she didn't want to be anywhere around him. But, when she had to go to his office to drop some files, she found him standing by the window, staring at the sky. He was wearing a pink shirt and black suit trousers with a pair of black shoes. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to expose his strong forearms.

He didn't turn to look at her. But, he could tell that it was her. "Mr. Jefferson-" she began but fell silent when he interrupted her.

"You're killing me, Addie. Stop calling me that. It's making me feel very uncomfortable" he said and she swallowed hard.

"We're in the place of business, what did you expect?"

"I expected you to stop acting so coldly towards me. We've crossed that river, remember?"

"You can't keep doing this, Jensen. Why do you keep doing all of this?" She asked and he stiffened.

"Is there any chance that..... you're still in love with me?"

She dared to ask, hoping that he would respond in the negative. God knows that my poor heart won't be able to take it if he tells me he's still in love with me, she thought.

Jensen on the other hand, had gone completely still, his heart racing as different waves of emotions barrelled through him. He stared at Addie, feeling conflicted.

She's so stupid. How can she ask me this? Isn't it obvious that like a fool, I am still utterly in love with her? Four years was never enough for me to move on, he thought.

"Why?" He asked, a taunting smile curving his lips.

"Do you think I'm still in love with you?" He asked, trying not to show how much it hurt him to say those words.

"Jensen, you know the answer to that question. I am no longer in love with you. I'm married now and my husband loves me" she said, keeping her face expressionless. Jensen gave her a wry smile as he gazed into her eyes. He was sure she was lying to him. He felt that something was really wrong with her marriage and she was desperately trying to hide whatever it was, from him. He'd always been good at reading people, but when it came to Adelynn, it was something he excelled it. He knew that his guts couldn't be wrong.

For certain reasons, he felt both relieved and worried. He didn't care if he was being selfish, he just couldn't get over her. She was Adelynn, strong headed and strong willed. Jensen loved that about her.

She was also very independent and cold on the outside. But he knew who she was. She was soft on the inside and had merely put on a rough exterior because of everything she'd gone through.

Adelynn watched Jensen quietly, doubts starting to flood her mind when she realized that he wasn't giving her a straightforward reply. "Jensen, you haven't given me an answer" she said, through gritted teeth.

"Did you expect me to still be in love with you after everything? You're not that amazing, Adelynn. Like you said, you're married now and I shouldn't meddle with your affairs because your husband loves you. So, I'm going to do just that, Mrs Suarez. But, that doesn't mean that you're not going to give me the explanation I asked for" he said and lowered himself on his leather swivel chair.

"You can leave now, Mrs Suarez" he said and looked away from her, his gaze now focused on his PC as he pretended to be busy with his laptop. Adelynn swallowed hard as tears filled her eyes. This was what she wanted. But, why did it hurt so much? Clearing her throat, she made her way out of his office, feeling more miserable than she'd felt within the past six months.