Jackie's POVI stayed in the library even after Andrea had left. My mood had changed so drastically and it did not go away so easily as the image of Lucas and Cindy kissing stayed glued in my head. I knew I could trust Lucas and that he would never willingly kiss that woman but it hurt. The chances of the DNA result coming out positive would determine how our relationship would be and I have not been okay.Cindy was manipulative, that I could tell. No one knew what she could be planning. We suffered in the hands of Maddy now someone else with an obsession for Lucas walked into our lives. To feel comforted, I placed my hand on my small baby bump and stared at it. My lips tugged into a small smile as I imagined my baby safe and sound in my womb."I just hope we have our happy ending," I said and my stomach grumbled from hunger. "Really? Tsk, I guess you and I need to eat. Let's go see what's in the kitchen."As I rose from the couch, my phone rang in my pocket. I took it out and saw it
A lot was going through my mind while I was panicking. Cindy had tears running down her cheeks, the baby had his mouth open while gagging, and Lucas walked into the kitchen looking shocked and confused. My body was rigid in its spot and almost sweaty as I watched what was happening."What's going on here?" Lucas asked but no one paid him any attention.I watched as Cindy turned her baby on its stomach on top of her arm and hit his back aggressively. "Your girlfriend wants to kill my baby!" Cindy yelled through tears. "My baby is choking!""What?!" Lucas looked at me and I shook my head. "I didn't do anything!""Shut up!" Cindy faced me while hitting the baby's back. "Just shut up and pray that nothing happens to my son!""I'm sorry." That was all I could say.Lucas went over to Cindy and took the boy away then positioned him in the same way Cindy had kept him. He started to pound his back while Cindy touched her son's head."It's going to be okay. Mommy's here."I covered my mouth w
I did not understand what he was trying to say. His expression, body language, and tone of voice were not helpful to me at this moment. "What... What do you mean?" I asked, my voice shaking."Look, I understand that you may not like Cindy or everything about this situation... But leave the child out of this."I gasped in disbelief. My eyes widened and my mouth stayed open in shock. I couldn't help but chortle."Wait... Are you trying to tell me that you're blaming me for this?""Yes," he retorted. "I am blaming you. What is wrong with you? I hate Cindy, yes but I will never be so careless! What if the child had died?! Do you even think for someone who claims to be intelligent? How could you leave a child unattended and have him almost swallowing something hazardous?!"I slapped him across the cheek, sending his face sideways. My eyes were already brimmed with tears and my heart was pounding in anger."Don't you even dare try to say that to me!""I don't care what you want me to say.
I wanted to pretend like I had not heard Cindy speak but the weight of the issues on the ground would not let me act like I didn't care. So, I took in a deep breath and faced them fully, my face blank. I ignored Lucas' stare as I walked up to the table and dropped the things I held on the table. I smiled and slowly turned my head to look at Lucas."What is this bitch saying, Lucas?" I asked through gritted teeth and he looked at the bowl of baby food before him."You heard me and don't call me a bitch, bitch."I poked the inside of my cheek with my tongue as I fought the urge to get across the table to smack Cindy in the face. I chose to clench my hands and continued to stare at Lucas while waiting for a response from him."What's the point of asking him? I told you that Lucas can never be loyal. He's not a one-woman man. Besides, did you think that after what you did to our baby, I would allow you to stay in this place?"I chuckled drily. "So, you told him to kick me out?"I glared a
"So, let me get this straight." I got up, pointing my hand at him. "You said all those crap to me, hurt me intentionally for some stupid plan that you could have told me about?!"He got up instantly and tried to touch me but I stepped back, avoiding any bodily contact."Do you know how hurt I was? Did you even think about my condition as your pregnant girlfriend? Why couldn't you just text me or call me that this is what you're planning to do?""I panicked! I'm sorry, okay? I was too angry and anxious about the fact that I just found that that bitch intentionally had people break into the apartment all because she is obsessed with me. Almost putting that baby in trouble for a man! I was going to let you know when I came back but the whole thing with the baby choking on the pen cap happened."I cupped my forehead and tried to register everything he had said. I exhaled through my mouth and dropped my hand then looked up at him."I am so sorry for saying those things to you but the plan
Something in the air did not feel right but I could be overthinking and overanalyzing the tone Matt had used in speaking. Even the expression on his face was questionable and the way Lucas' eyebrows furrowed at him for a split second didn't help things. The next thing that crossed my mind was the picture I saw in Matt's wallet. What if Matt knew something about Lucas? "Your girlfriend is a remarkable woman," Matt said, placing his hand on my shoulder. The touch was unexpected and made me flinch a bit."Yeah. I know about that. She's a lovely person," Lucas replied.Matt turned to me with a smile on his face. His eyes were a bit distant, making it appear like his mind was not here but his body was."We were supposed to head out today." Matt faced Lucas. "My apologies but your girlfriend and I have plans for today."I racked my head trying to understand what he meant when I remembered that he had called yesterday. I sighed and threw my head back in agony. I wanted to spend some time wi
I didn't have anything to say to him. I simply smiled and shrugged."Sorry. I got distracted. This place reminds me of home. Sorry for wasting time. I'll get going now," I said and rushed past him to the living room.I was not comfortable in this place anymore. Something was off about Matt and that picture. Could Matt be related to them in some way? The more this kept unfolding, the more I had to tell Lucas about this."Are you guys ready?" Matt asked as he walked into the living room.I avoided his eyes and stared at the coffee table. My heart was pounding because I didn't want him to be suspicious of me. I needed to get to the bottom of who this man was. My hunch kept telling me to dig further and at the same time, I wanted to question him so bad, but I felt it would not end well or it was just my experience with people that made me not trust anyone."Where's Victor?" Bria asked from her spot across me."Are you feeling okay, Jackie?" Matt asked me as he sat down beside me on the co
Jared’s POVThe sound of my alarm ringing loudly forced me awake with an annoyed groan leaving my lips. I squeezed my eyes for a moment and open them again then stared at the wall of my room. Events of last night came to my mind, reminding me of what had happened and how much I hated thinking of it. Thinking specifically of him.I huffed and sat up on my bed, bunching the blanket around my waist. I glared at my door as Axel, filled my head once again. I didn’t know how and why or when this started but recently, he started to piss me off by getting into my head. It made me want to rip my brain out. I hated thinking of him and I hated the growing warmth I felt in my heart when I was around him. I knew the feeling, it was attraction and I hated it with all my heart.I never told anyone about my sexuality as there wasn’t any need to. My bisexuality was something I never told anyone since the day I fell in love with a high school classmate of mine. I hated it because each man I wanted was
Jackie’s POV“Evangeline, please.”I laughed at the way Matt had spoken. He was so down bad for Evangeline who gave him an incredulous look. I watched him wrap his arms around her waist and put his face in her neck. I could see that Evangeline was blushing from his touch, and it made me happy for her. At least, Matt has become a new man and no longer the person he was, plus, he made her happy even though she still played hard to get. I shipped them so hard. The day they announced that they were dating, I would rejoice.“Are you done?”I looked away from the duo to Andrea who was pointing at the sliced apples on the chopping board. In her arms was Paul, who was sucking on his pacifier. He grinned when he noticed my attention was on me, making my heart melt.“Lucas’ mom wants to see you,” Andrea said, and confusion filled.“Me?” I pointed at my chest. “Do you know why?”“Girl, I don’t know. She just wants to talk to you about something.”I dropped the knife I was holding and wiped my han
Chapter’s Soundtrack Love Me Hard by Elly DuheLucas’ POVI felt the dawn of a new day and opened my eyes. There was slight darkness in the room as my eyes took in the expanse of the room. I yawned and tried to stretch, only to feel a weight on my arm. I blinked and looked down, then smiled at the sight of Jackie sleeping in my arms. My heart fluttered at the feel of her body resting against mine, fitting perfectly.I held my breath when she moved and moaned before cuddling me more. I pressed my lips against her head and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. I looked at the hand that was fisted on my bare chest then took it, lacing it with mine. I brought her hand close to my face and kissed the knuckles of her hand. I opened her hand and pressed her soft palm on my cheek before nuzzling it with my nose.She moaned and moved in my arms again, making me stop what I was doing. She moved her head against my chest, rubbing her nose on it before raising her head off it. I smiled when she co
Lucas' POVI knew trying to trigger Henry was the wrong move but seeing Matt and Jackie with me gave me the courage to know that we would all walk out alive, but it seemed as if I was wrong as I watched him pull the trigger. The first thing that came to my mind was to protect Jackie, and how a repeat of what happened was about to repeat itself.But what I did not expect was for Matt to stand between us and Henry, taking the bullet. When he dropped to the ground, it felt as if everywhere around me went dark. My heart squeezed from fear and worry as I stared down at his body that lay unmoving on the floor.When Jackie screamed, I snapped out of my state and looked up with rage coursing through my veins. Henry was stiff from shock, and I took that as an opportunity to dash my way to him. I hit the and that held the gun, sending it flying away. Before he could react, I hit him in the face. I barely had any strength but adrenaline to finish off Henry was in me. I had the urge to kill him,
Jackie’s POVFear was back.I could feel the fear just as I could feel the weight of the gun against my cheek as he began to count from number one. I looked away from Lucas to the side to try to stare at the monster. He had a nasty smile on his face, a maniacal one that reminded me of Maddy’s. It was crazy how there were psychopaths moving with us. Why couldn’t my love life have jealous exes who did not murder and crazy family members who didn’t just like their child’s partner?“Three… You’re not saying anything, son.”He needed to stop calling him that.My heart skipped a beat when he dug the mouth of the gun into my cheek, making me feel pain there. I gritted my teeth and tried to look over my shoulder at Matt. What was that fucker doing? He needed to cut the man off per our agreement.“Tw—”“Wait,” Matt said, getting our attention.I let out a sigh of relief and thanked the heavens when he left my head and let me fall back to the floor. I crawled over to Lucas’ feet and held his an
Jackie’s POVI felt like I was going crazy from all the influx of emotions inside of me.Anger, sadness, guilt, worry and shame.They were at war within me as I tried to clear my mind, to remain sane, to be hopeful. I was forcing myself to believe that it was not my fault. I was not at fault for losing Drake and was about to lose Lucas too. I felt so stupid all because I wanted to get a few school items. If I had just waited a little more, or forgot about it, a stranger would not have snuck into our home and taken my child.Tears formed in my eyes, and I let them fall, heating up my cold cheeks. I sniffled and began to cry softly. I had no idea what condition Drake and Lucas were in while I sat in comfort. I hated feeling useless. I wished I could do something to save Lucas and Drake, but I was useless. I was barely healed from childbirth and that made me even more angry.I curled my body on the bed and cried harder, trying to force the pain in my heart to seize. I grabbed a handful o
Lucas’ POVPain, dullness and a slight feverish feeling was heavy on me as I struggled to open my eyes. I started to feel confused, wondering where I was and what had happened, especially why it felt as if I could not move. My chest felt heavy and at the same time, it felt as if I could not feel one side of my body.I opened my eyes and hissed as an ache hit my head. I blinked multiple times before my eyes opened properly. I raised my head and groaned when my arm hurt so badly. I looked at the arm and saw that the sleeve of my jacket was stained with blood.“Finally awake?” A deep voice asked.I tried to sit up and grunted when I realized that I was tied to the spot I was sitting in. I looked down at my body and saw a thick rope tied around my torso, arms and legs. I raised my gaze to the person and frowned when I saw Henry. He was sitting on a couch across the room, holding a gun and a glass of wine.“Untie me, you bastard,” I demanded, and he laughed with a shake of his head.“I kno
Lucas’ POVI didn’t know how I boarded a flight back to Atherton, but I did and throughout, it felt like my soul was not in my body. I felt empty with only fear and anxiety as I was trying to understand how my son was kidnapped. Everything around me felt as if I was in some type of bad dream that I desperately wanted to wake up from.Jared was beside me on the plane, trying to calm me down but his words were either distant or jumbled up. All I could think of was Drake. What was anyone doing when such happened? Was Jackie okay? Was anyone harmed? I needed answers.Almost two hours later, I arrived at Atherton and booked a ride home. The moment we arrived at our destination, I rushed out of the car, leaving Jared to pay for the ride. There were cops parked in front of the house and my heart only picked up from fear.Jackie.I ran into the house and was met with more cops in the living room and a crying Ruth sitting on the couch. I went over to her and fell on my knees in front of her.“
Lucas’ POVI returned to Rochester the following day the moment Ruth came to Atherton, saying she wanted to see her nephew. She was still pensive about Cindy’s son, Paul. She hated Cindy right from the beginning, even before Paul was conceived and her hatred now made more sense to her than before. So, when she texted me that she was in Atherton to see her nephew and not nephews, I knew what she meant. I already made her understand that hating a child that had nothing to do with how nasty his real mother was made no sense and she just told me she didn’t hate the boy.I just didn’t want any more bad blood between our families as our generation needed to move on and make amends from the damages created by our older family members. Which was why I was still stunned and somewhat relieved when the person who bought the night racing group was Matt Jefferson. I never knew the fucker had it in him to be good for fucking once.A knock on my office door made me blink out of my thoughts. I cleare
Jackie’s POVEver since I saw the email stating that the scholarship I had applied for was a success, I have not been in the right state of mind. All I could think about was what Lucas would say or how he would react to the news.Looking at him now, it was hard to tell what he was thinking because of how blank his expression was as he read through the paper again and again. I knew this was going to be difficult. I had applied for the scholarship after Andrea sent me a link to the school since her family knew the dean. When I applied for it, I never thought he and I would get back with each other. I was scared now that we were back together. The scholarship would keep me out of the continent for years and it made me worried with fear.“Lucas?” I said his name softly.I watched the edges of his mouth twitch before it expanded into a smile. I was confused for a second before he looked up at me with an even bigger smile on his face. He opened his arms like before and I got even more confu