[|]Jackie's POVI was washing the plate I had used to eat when the door banged open, scaring me. I turned around and saw Lucas standing at the door, a frown on his face as he stared at me. I rolled my eyes and turned back to continue what I was doing. He was still looking for a way to fight with me. "Jackie?!" He called to me angrily."What?!" I yelled back, facing him again."Come here," he ordered and I scoffed."Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for any of your antics," I retorted and dropped the plate on the sink before making my way to the counter where I dropped my glass of juice.As I raised the glass to take a sip, Lucas marched toward me and smacked the glass out of my hand. It shattered to pieces, making me shocked at what he had just done."What is wrong with you?!" I asked at the top of my voice."Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Lucas barked and I froze.I have never seen him so angry before. It was so scary that I had to back away."What did I ever do to you?! Why are you
[|]"Eat something. Please, eat something. You're making me more worried about you," Maddy said, trying to force the spoon into my mouth."Leave me alone, please," I said in a hoarse voice, tilting my head away from the food in front of me. I had not left the house since Lucas told me to. I was still sitting on the floor of the kitchen, waiting for him to come home. I still believed he would come back, apologizing and hearing me out. It was already almost midnight yet there was no sign of him. I had called but I realized he had blocked my number. I had even tried calling him with Maddy's phone yet he had not answered, he was smart enough to know I was the one calling. "Jackie, you're hurting me too," Maddy said in a cracked voice. I glanced at her face, she had unshed tears in her eyes. "Please, eat something.""Maddy, I'll be fine. You should go home. It's late," I said to her but she shook her head."I can't leave you here. Can you at least come stay with me at the guest house I'm
[|]I shook my head as I read the heading and the rest of the document again. I refused to believe what I was seeing was real. There had to be a joke somewhere as I read the content of the file. I quickly flipped through the pages, reading more of it. The more I read, the more I felt like someone was stabbing my heart continuously. Tears blurred my eyes as I took in everything like a bitter pill. I dropped my hand and stared ahead of me, rage building inside of me. I wiped the tears out of my eyes and marched out of the closet, past the room and down the stairs. I saw Lucas sitting on the couch, lost in thought and at my presence, he stood up, frowning. I stood before him and tossed the file in his face, making him surprised at my action."How could you?!" I yelled at the top of my voice. My heart hurt and my breathing seized for a second that I had to catch my breath. "Lucas Hamilton! How could you keep this from me?! Who the hell do you think you are to accuse me of something that
[|]Jared had been driving for hours, heading to Redside after he had gotten my stuff from Lucas' place and my other ones at Maddy's. I had not also said anything to him since he was driving and neither had he asked even though I could see from his countenance that he wanted to know what happened.Maddy had called and surprisingly, Lucas who had unblocked me called too but I never picked any of their calls. I even had to turn off my phone so I could save the battery. I needed to stay away from both of them until I could think straight. Maybe after taking care of my troubled mind, I could try to talk to them again. If that was possible."Jackie?"I blinked out of my deep thoughts and leaned away from the window. I looked at Jared who was facing the road while driving."Yeah?"Jared sighed. "I'm sorry about everything.""You know?" I asked, eyebrows furrowed."When I went to get your things, Lucas tried to get me to tell him where you were but I read the room and knew I couldn't tell h
[|]"Wait, Ruth has a girlfriend? Yet she's after my own man?" I angrily asked Andrea through the phone when the thought crossed my mind."I'm not sure you're aware that people cheat or plan to cheat on their partners. Look, we don't know how dangerous Ruth is. Well, she is dangerous from all indications but you need to be careful out there," she said and the noise of paper followed suit. "Do you have any information about this Donatella fellow?" I asked and rose to my feet, fingers crossed. "Like where she leaves or her phone number?""What are you planning on doing?" Andrea asked in a suspicious tone. I rolled my eyes. "Just tell me, Andrea. I need to know. I need to find Donatella and have her answer some simple questions about her girlfriend."Andrea was quiet for some seconds, probably trying to convince herself to give me what I wanted. I heard a sigh and a mutter and I smiled."Fine. Donatella Adamson is seventeen, in the tenth grade, straight As student, a lesbian. She's bee
[|]"Huh?" "Yes. Lucas is on his way here."I shook my head in disbelief. How did he figure out where I was? I didn't want to see him. I needed to have control of my emotions before I see him and I knew that wasn't any time soon."I can't see him. I don't want to meet him, Jared. What did he say?" I asked."He found out through Andrea that you were here and that's when he called to tell me."I hissed in anger. Andrea isn't going to escape my wrath for doing this to me. But then again, I had not said anything about our relationship issue to Andrea, so it was logical that she would open her mouth to tell Lucas about my location. "I don't want to see him, Jared. Take me back. I don't care if I have to stay with you in your apartment," I said and Jared rushed to my side."Look, I am tired of this problem. Aren't you two in love with each other? Why don't you realize that it's the situation that's causing you two to behave this way? Yes, Lucas was wrong for not telling you he was suppose
[|]Lucas had not signed the marriage contract? It was hard to believe his words. There was no way he did when I saw him writing on the paper."You're lying," I said and glanced away. I didn't want to be fooled by his words."Look at it," he said, motioning at the paper in my hand.I brought the file up to my face and opened it. I flipped to the page where I saw Maddy's signature on the first page then flipped to the next. My eyebrows rose upward when I saw the area where his signature was supposed to be, blank."How is this possible? I read through this contract when I found it. Your signatures are supposed to be on different pages. Maddy's own is here but yours..." I was stunned by confusion.Lucas took the file from my hand and smiled down at me. I waited patiently for him to explain while he kept a smile on his face."I did sign it but not the contract. While you were being emotional and Maddy was distracted by you; I touched my pocket and felt paper in it. I took it out and saw i
[|]Later that day, I was sitting in my room when I remembered the men who had been following me at the supermarket. I sat up from the bed, thinking of who they were and why they were following me. "I have to tell the guys about this," I said, getting out of bed. I rushed to the door and opened it, then ran out of my room to the room next to mine. I knocked on it and it was opened by Jared who eyed me from head to toe."What's wrong? You look scared," he said and I pushed him aside.I walked into the room and stopped at the sight of Lucas sitting on a couch, using his laptop. He saw me and rose to his feet in haste."Jackie?" I ignored him and sat on Jared's bed. I wrapped my arms around my body as I thought back to their scary faces."What is it? Is the baby okay?" Lucas asked, approaching me. He sat beside me and tried to touch me but stopped himself."I'm fine and the baby is fine. I came here to tell you two about something. Earlier on, before you came to Redside. I had gone to
[|] The next day, we were back to the hotel we had been in before Maddy captured me. When I woke up, I felt an odd feeling at the thought of Maddy being dead. Even though she ended up betraying me, she had been part of my life and it made me a little sad that she had to end the way she did. I pushed away the feeling and sat up on the bed. I looked at the other side of the bed and smiled at a sleeping Lucas. He was facing the other way, bare-chested. I leaned forward and ran my hand over his smooth chest. He moved his body a little but didn't wake up. I rested my chin on my palm and stared at him. His jawline was covered with very light beards and I pictured him with a full beard. He would look handsome with it and more mature as I imagined him with a trimmed beard. It made me smile as I focused on his hair which was a bit longer. I began to imagine our life together with a child running around the house. I smiled wider at the imagination. "All I want is happiness from here on ou
[|]"Hey."I flinched at the sound of Lucas' voice. I turned away from the floor-length window in the hallway of the hospital and faced him. He was looking stressed out with bags under his eyes, scattered hair, and pale skin. I wouldn't be surprised if I was matching his look."How are you?" I asked, walking up to him. I opened my arms for a hug and he came into it and I wrapped my arms around him. He lowered his height and rested his head on my shoulder."I'm so tired and I'm sure you are too," he said and hugged me back."I'm better now that I know Axel is fine," I said and pulled away from him.Axel had gone into surgery the moment we arrived at the hospital and it's been hours since we arrived. Barry had not left the door of the operating room. I could see how much they loved Axel. "You need to sleep. You are stressed from everything," Lucas said and cupped my face."I'm kinda hungry though," I said with a smile. "I need a nap but I won't do all these until I'm sure that Axel is
[|] The loudness of the gun was ringing in my ears and I could barely hear my heartbeat. I was frozen on top of Maddy as I felt fear move through me. I gulped and wondered why I couldn't feel anything, I was numb. I rolled away from Maddy and looked down at my stomach. There was blood on my shirt but I couldn't feel any wound. It was when I looked at Maddy, that I realized the blood belonged to her and not me. She had a bullet hole in her chest while the gun was slack in her hands. Her eyes were wide as her chest moved up and down quickly. I rose to my feet, holding my stomach out of fear and protecting the baby in me. "Jackie?!" I looked up at the sound of a new voice. I saw Lucas staring at me with fear in his eyes. He ran up to me and cupped my cheeks"Jackie, you're shot," he said. I snapped out of my shocked state and shook my head. "No... Not me," I replied and looked down at Maddy who was laying on the ground, still breathing. Lucas furrowed his eyebrows and slowly fol
[|]Jackie's POVThe moment Lucas had shifted, I was confused because I had been expecting him to fall at the impact of the bullet but I saw someone else; Axel.When I had seen Lucas at first, I felt my heart stop beating, I had felt like I lost it all. I thought I had lost him, I thought I had lost the man I loved but when I saw Axel, I didn't feel any different. Axel was my best friend, a brother I never had. I never had a sibling but it felt like I was losing one when I saw Axel taking the bullet for us. I didn't know if I could have screamed or passed out at the sight of Axel. I had not expected Axel to take the bullet. When I saw Lucas broken at the sight of his brother, I prayed that Axel was alright.The moment I saw Maddy run off, I knew I had to go after her before she escaped. I didn't even think twice and ran after her, picking up the gun she had dropped in the process.When I saw that Maddy had run out through a door in a corner. I pushed the door and looked on each side
[|]Lucas' POVI could not let Jackie die. I would rather die than let the woman who has suffered enough go through death. I just couldn't watch her take that bullet.So, when I saw Maddy pull out her gun, I knew things would not end well. I had thought she would not pull the trigger but I was wrong when I saw her finger push the trigger. Knowing how fast a bullet was, I blocked Jackie to take the bullet with my eyes shut the moment she fired the gun.But when three seconds went by and I did not feel the burning and body-numbing feeling of the bullet, I opened my eyes and felt like my soul left my body when I saw the last person I was expecting in front of me."Axel?!" I screamed at the top of my voice, the same time Jackie said my name.I couldn't feel my body as I watched Axel slump to the floor. Everything around me became dark and I found myself falling to my knees and crawling toward him. He rolled onto his back and my eyes went straight to his bleeding chest. My hands began to s
[|]Jackie's POVIt hurt so bad.It broke my heart to see him sign the contract. It made me angry to see them kiss. It wasn't Lucas' fault, I was not mad at him. I was mad at Maddy. She was so cruel. The worst feeling I felt was helplessness. I couldn't do anything to stop everything as I watched them kiss. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest and tossed into a larva. I felt like I could not breathe. It was at that moment I knew that people could die from heartbreak. I just couldn't withstand the sight and thought of losing Lucas to her."Finally," Maddy said and I raised my head.I sniffed and glared at her when she looked at me, smiling wide with the contract pressed against her chest. She giggled and walked up to me."Won't you congratulate me?" She asked, craning her head to the side.I formed some saliva in my mouth and spat on her face. She gasped and closed her eyes at the impact. I smiled at the sight of my spit on her face then chuckled."I already got what I want
[|]Lucas' POVI took out my gun from my duffle bag and checked for bullets. I saw it was fully loaded and fixed the gun between the waistline of my pants and my back. I covered it up with my shirt and grabbed my jacket then turned toward the door. I paused to take deep breaths. I was scared and worried and I was feeling like I was going to go crazy. I was so mad at myself for leaving Jackie alone when I knew Maddy was around. Now, she was with a crazy bitch who was probably going to hurt her. Whatever I had to do, I had to act smart and not put Jackie in danger.I exhaled and opened the door then walked out of the room where I met Barry leaning against the wall across me."Ready to go?" They asked and I nodded."Yes. Have you called the police?" I asked."Remember the Redside police department is on their payroll, I don't think it's going to be something they'll like to hear," Barry said, pushing themselves off the wall."You're right. They won't care about what we say," I said and
[|]"You know, at some point, I started to give up on Lucas since I saw you weren't interested in him. That's where Clark comes in," Maddy said and sat down on a chair the man had brought for her. "I saw him, he was rich, handsome, and a player like Lucas. They had the same issues, family problems and all. I felt like I had Lucas but in a different body."I was too weak to even try to tell her how crazy she was. I saw her type of person in the movies and books. It was so unbelievable I was experiencing such before my very eyes. "As I was saying before this, I found out Lucas was going to our college and I had to forfeit a prestigious university to be close to him. I watched him but with you around, it was so hard. I ended up regretting canceling your scholarship to the college in the UK. I wish I had but I'm only human. When I found out you choose this college as your second choice, I had to keep you close and make sure you got in. I'm sorry for everything you went through but you de
[|]My eyelids hurt so bad that I felt pain when I struggled to open my eyes. When I had them open, the first thing I saw was my lap through slightly blurred vision. I hissed and then moaned when I felt a dull ache on my head. I tried to raise my head but it was difficult, almost as if my neck was stiff with pain. I shut my eyes against another wave of a dull headache then opened them when I heard heavy footsteps."You're finally awake," a gruff masculine voice reached my ears and I groaned out in pain when my hair was yanked back.The pain in my neck and head doubled and I felt dizzy from the movement. I took deep breaths and looked to my side, I saw the same man who had been following me in the supermarket. My eyes widened as fear came over me then I became aware of my surroundings. I was facing a church altar and on my side were rows of wooden benches. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked back at the altar in confusion. I could tell from the stained glass window behind the cross that