Jackie’s POVI cannot believe Darrell would do this to me. How could he do such a thing without my permission? All because I rejected him. It hurt that I was always unlucky with friends that I made. Darrell was backstabbing me and using his influence as the son of a wealthy family to hurt me. I worked so hard with Andrea and mom to get that store and he was trying to sabotage it?Now, Lucas was heading to do lord knows what. I knew what he was capable of doing and I had a feeling he was going to hurt Darrell badly. I wished he could stop as he was the owner of an up-and-coming company, he didn’t need to do any more dirty work as much as Darrell deserved to be punched into unconsciousness.I leaned against my pillow and sighed. My ears perked up when the door opened, and I hoped it was Lucas, but my hope shattered when I saw Mrs. Hamilton walk into the room. The room suddenly felt small and airtight. I sat upright as she approached me with a blank look on her face. I wished I could rea
Lucas’ POVA few weeks later.Coming back to Atherton felt strange as I drove through the quiet neighborhood. It was still the same. Not that I was expecting any major change, seeing I have not been around for a short amount of time. Also, I wanted to surprise Jackie today. The last time I saw her was after the day she left the hospital, and I was excited to see her. I needed to be around her now that she was going to go into labor any day from now.As I got close to our house, my chest tightened. As much as we were being careful with our current state of relationship, I was nervous of what she would think of me coming back or at least staying with her for a few days. I was glad that I told her to stay in our home instead of staying with Andrea so it would be easy for me to come see her without someone holding a knife to my back. I was actually happy that Jackie had people who were there for her, despite the history between the three of us.I arrived and slowly parked in front of the
Lucas’ POVI was sweating bullets as I paced back and forth at the airport entrance. There were still no available flights going to Atherton. My heart was pumping blood faster than usual, making me feel light headed and more restless. Jackie was about to give birth to our child to the world and the universe was about to fuck things up for me. I needed to be there for her, by her side, to make her feel that I was there through the pain she was going through.The moment my phone rang, I checked the ID and it was Maddie calling. I had sent a text to our group chat and they have been in panic mode since then. I answered the call and put the phone to my ear.“Yes, Maddie,” I said, sounding so out of breath as if I had been running around the whole airport building.“Lucas. Where are you now?”“At the airport. What is it?”She said something to someone before clearing her throat.“Lucas. My dad owns a private jet that is in one of the hangers at the airport. I spoke to my father and he said
Lucas’ POVBefore I knew it, Jackie had gone into active labor, close to delivery and was rushed into the labor room. I thought I had been restless hours ago, but now, I feel worse. It was around three in the morning that her contraction got worse and when the doctor and nurses had come to check her, they said she was dilated enough to be in the labor room.Now, I was stuck between going into the room to be with her or dying of worry out here in the hallway. I was partially less worried, just by a very tiny percent, because Andrea was in there with her but that was not enough. I wanted to be with Jackie, by her side. I got her pregnant and the thought of her being there alone, without me, the father of the child, made me feel guilty. It didn’t help that I could also hear the pained screams of other women coming from two rooms.I slid down the wall and sat on the floor, not giving a fuck if it was a hospital floor. I was nervous, sweating and had a funny feeling in my stomach. I wanted
Lucas’ POVAfter I went home to freshen up, I rushed back to the hospital, not wanting to stay away from Jackie and our newborn for too long. When I arrived, I saw our mothers standing at the entrance of Jackie’s room arguing.I stood for a few seconds to understand what was happening, listening in on their argument.“You have no right being here.”“And you do? That is my son’s child there… my grandchild!”“The son who abandoned my daughter?”I needed to put an end to this. They were running their mouths in front of Jackie’s room door and the last thing I needed was for her to hear the things they were saying about us.“You are—”“You better get—”“Enough.” I cut them off and marched over to them. I glared at each of them. “You two need to take your problems away from me and my family. Jackie does not need any of this shit you two are doing and if you cannot get over your fucking problems for once or at least for your kids, I don’t want any of you near us.”I could see the offense on
Lucas’ POVA month has gone by since Jackie brought our son into the world and it has been the best month and at the same time, stress filled. One thing I didn’t prepare for was how loud and fussy a baby could be. Even though the books said babies would keep their parents awake, Drake’s was too much. We barely slept a wink almost every night. He was always hungry. When I asked why he was fussy, my mother told me it came from me.From then, I didn’t complain but right now, it was three in the morning and Drake has been crying.My eyes were heavy, and my arms hurt from carrying him for two hours. Jackie had breastfed him, but he still continued to cry. He was either crying or refusing to sleep. I was sporting a headache already.“Hey, Drake,” I said to him as I rubbed his back softly. “Why don’t you close your eyes so daddy can go to sleep, hm?”The only thing I got was a burp as a response and when I felt a little warm weight on my shoulder blade, I knew he had thrown up. I sighed and
Lucas’ POVRookie CEO of Nexus Wealth Deals with Illegal Gang Race: Drug Trafficking and Drag Racing.My heart started to pound so fast in my chest and every sound around me muted. My phone suddenly appeared small in my hand as I stared at the screen, reading the headline over and over again. I took a deep breath and sat down on the closest couch then started to read the article. From start to finish, everything was about me racing illegally, mingling with people who did drugs at the racetrack, the team embroiled in illegal activities, with pictures of me being part of the group. It was over. There was no way I was recovering from this. Henry attacked me so well and I doubt there is anything escaping it.I searched up my company’s name, going on every social media platform but there was barely any article. I was partially relieved since I was just a newbie, but the attention was still on me, and this was social media. Digital footprints would affect me even if I escaped this and becam
Lucas’ POV“Dad?” What was he doing here?Why can’t he stop coming out in public so much when Henry could easily find him.“Dad?” Matt repeated and looked at me with wide eyes. “What is going on here?”I walked past Matt to him and stood in front of him, angry.“What are you doing here and—”“Move aside, Lucas,” dad said.We stared at each other for a few seconds before I stood to the side. He walked past me to where Matt was. I hesitantly turned around and watched Matt’s face. Shock and confusion was heavy on his face.“What…how?”Dad reached out his hand to touch him and he smacked it out of the way. I rushed over to his side and glared at Matt who looked like he was on the verge of exploding.“What the fuck is goin going on here?!” He yelled. “How are you fucking alive?!”Matt faced me and grabbed me by the collar, pulling me into his face. I held his shoulders, trying to put space between us.“Is this some sort of joke?” He asked in my face. “How much did you fucking pay for some
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