Poll: Should the leads end up together or not?
___________________..."I don't know what's wrong. I don't know what I did wrong." I told Zoe as soon as we reached the balcony. "We were fine just this morning and all of a sudden she is talking about divorce."Zoe scoffed and crossed her arms across her chest. "You both were never fine. Maybe for a moment there, she might have faltered and fallen for your shit but it seems to me she is back in her element and wants nothing to do with you."I gaped at her. I thought she was team happily ever after. But no, she was probably the one feeding all the poison against me to my wife."What is your problem?" I asked her. "Why are you against us being happy?""Oh, I am all for my friend's happiness, buddy. It is you who I have a problem with. You don't deserve her." If one thing I knew about Zoe Wilkins in the last few months that I had known her, was that she did not mess around.If I wanted to find what exactly was going on in Rory's mind, it would be through Zoe."What makes you say that
________________________...Why do I feel hurt? I wanted to get away from him as soon as possible anyway. What is wrong with me?This is what happens when you have hopelessly in love with a man for nine years.Listen here, two of you. I thought as I pressed both my palms to my flat underbelly. Never fall for useless pieces of shit like your Dad. And don't become a hopeless piece of shit like your mother.I felt really bad just thinking it. Just imagine how bad the situation has to be for a parent to wish that their children did not turn out like either of their parents.I needed to set an example. I needed to show my children that their mother is not some weak doormat who would stay in a relationship like this.My bags in the guestroom were still unpacked because I had spent the whole night crying to Zoe and falling asleep out of exhaustion. I felt like this was the time to move out.I really needed to do this. I had made the announcement, and everything was sooner or later going t
_______________________...I opened the front door as slowly as I could. The apartment was in complete darkness.Well, it was past nine and Rory liked to hole up in the bedroom with her Chinese or Korean drama by this time.I sighed. It had come to look like I had snatched the master bedroom from her and left her at the guest bedroom.Things were almost perfect this morning. It had looked like it would end up good too. That I would be able to salvage something of the fucked up situation that I had put us four in.Four. We were going from two to four in a couple of months. We already had.But Ophelia had to come in at the end moment and ruin everything.She was blackmailing. Blackmailing with every affair I had since my marriage. At this point, it shouldn't matter to me. It was not like Rory did not know what I had done. And I did not give two shits about what anyone else thought of me. So I shouldn't be playing into her games.But I was scared. If everything went public, it could m
____________________...I kept jabbing on the doorbell of the Lewis Mansion. "Rowan, what are you doing here?" Came my mother-in-law, Katherine Lewis' voice from the security system before a buzz was heard and the front door flung open. The Lewis' butler, George, stood there with his scrutinizing gaze. He did not seem happy to see me.But the person who seemed to be in a much worse mood was my mother-in-law. And that surprised me because Katherine was always happy to see me. "Eric told me Pump- Rory must be here." I rushed out. "She left home without telling me." "You mean to say, she left you." Katherne corrected and it was a jab right to my heart. "Kathy, I-" She held up a hand, signaling me to shut the fuck up. "My daughter wants nothing to do with you, Rowan. And in that case, I don't want anything to do with you too." I was shocked by her change in behavior. I remembered that just yesterday, she was mad at Rory for talking about divorce when our babies were on their way
___________________..."You did this?" Gabriella stood there with her phone facing towards me, her expression that of utter disbelief. "Is it that hard to believe?" I let out a small humorless laugh. I had aways been such an idiot when it came to Rowan that people were treating me like a clown. People say there are a lot of side effects to being pregnant. I think one of mine is that I have grown a spine. "You outed every single affair Rowan had throughout this marriage to the fucking media?" She was still in shock. "It was the only way I could think of that would have the contract out of my skin." I shrugged nonchalantly as I continued to feast on the cookies and cream ice cream. My pregnancy cravings were mostly sweets and most ice cream among that. "Who are you and what have you done to my sister?" She let out a laugh of exhilaration as she dropped her phone on the bed and walked over to give me a hug. "You know, I should be offended that you are so surprised by me doing s
_______________________..."Come on baby, don't play oblivious now. You and I both know you set me up two years ago."The biggest truth of my life is that I have never loved and hated someone with the same intensity as I have done with Rowan. What bullshit was he coming up with now and everything else was closing up on him? "I set you up?" I asked him, feeling lightheaded from all the blood rushing to my head. The vase sitting to my right seemed really expensive to be broken over someone's head, so I refrained myself from doing just that. "I am sorry I am bringing it up now but I am tired of being the bad guy here. I love you, honey, but you need to come clean too." He grabbed me by my shoulders. I looked up at him, not blinking. I did not hear anything after he said those words. He threw it out so casually. The three words that had dictated my life and my feelings towards Rowan so powerfully in the last decade were nothing but that, just three words to him. "Say something."
_________________..."I didn't do it!" Ophelia yelled. "For the umpteenth time, I am telling you, Rowan, that I didn't do it!" Ophelia was repeating the same words like a parrot. Any more, and I would actually believe her. But I knew better than that. "You tell me I was getting everything I wanted while blackmailing you. Why would I throw my trump card away?" "Because what you actually wanted was me. And for that, Rory and I needed to get divorced." I told her, and she was silent. She knew it was true. "Now you have gained that. Rory gave me a divorce, so don't tell me what to believe and what not to." There was no use. The truth coming out was the problem, not who leaked it. There was nothing to gain by bringing to Rory, whoever revealed everything to the media. The damage was done. The divorce was done. There was no going back on that. Now, I needed to focus on getting my wife back. She may not be my wife on paper, but she would always be my wife to me. "Rowan, she is not w
_________________...I completely ignored my ex-husband as I marched over to my two male friends. "I thought we made it clear that it was a girls' trip. Why are you two gatecrashing it?"Kevin winced in Rowan's direction and that only made me scowl at him some more. "Answer her." Zoe was ignoring her man like she ignored her mother's endless calls and text messages. "We wanted to gatecrash!" Kevin threw his arms around his girl and pulled her to him. "I felt bad for fighting.""That's new." Zoe shrugged his hands off of her. "You, for one, never feels bad about fighting. In fact, half the fights between us are because you like to fight for no reason!" Her voice raised and broke at the same time when she said it. It was obvious that she was getting tired of the constant breaks and patch ups. The old me would have asked her to stay since she loved him so much but the new me had half a mind to tell her to just ditch him and get a more peaceful relationship. I was a bad friend to K
_____________________...~~THREE YEARS LATER~~."Can you stay still?" I screamed at my hysterical sister as I fixed her veil. "All the daisies are going to fall off at this rate!""Who invented wedding gowns?" Gabby screeched as she tugged at the tulle of her wedding gown."Oh, the first documented wedding gown was worn in fourteen-o-six by-""No thanks, Miranda." I cut the overenthusiastic wedding planner off.Gabby rolled her eyes. "You know too much." She told the oblivious lady who just grinned as if it was a compliment. It probably is."You okay?" I whispered to her as I fixed the last daisy.Gabby took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I'm just... nervous.""You're going to marry the love of your life," I said, smiling at her through the mirror. "What's not to be happy about?"Gabby took a deep breath. "It's just... everything is happening so fast. And what if it's not enough?""What do you mean?" I asked, my hand on her shoulder. "You dated him three years before you are marr
____________________..."Oh well, I won't say I didn't see it coming," I murmured as I watched Gabby come out of Eric's room. She froze, trying to run back into the room and bumping into Eric's broad chest in the process. "but I also didn't think the day would come this fast.""What can I say?" Eric laughed as he wrapped his arms around my sister. "I know to woo my woman right.""Well, in my defense, it takes a lifetime of groveling to make up for the kind of mistakes I made." I shrugged, laughing even though I felt a pang in my chest. I had fucked up so bad.Gabby's eyes searched mine. "I know you're sorry.""But is that enough?" I asked, my voice low.Gabby looked at me, understanding in her eyes. "You know she loves you, right?"I nodded. "I know." But love was a fickle thing, and I had learned that the hard way. "But I hurt her, Gabby. Deeply.""And you're going to have to prove it to her," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "Every day. With every action, every word. You need
____________________...I was fixing myself a sandwich after putting Ki to bed when the doorbell rang.Rowan's mom was in the living room, watching TV. "I've got it," I called out as I made my way to the door.Opening it, I was surprised to find Eric standing outside. "What's going on?" I asked, my heart racing.He looked serious, his eyes darting around the hallway before he stepped inside. "We need to talk," he said, his voice low and urgent.Beth looked up from the TV, curiosity piqued. "Everything okay?""I'll handle it," I told her, guiding Eric into the kitchen. "What's going on?"He leaned against the counter, his eyes searching mine. "I found something out about Derek," he began, his tone serious. "It's... it's not good."My heart skipped a beat. "What is it?"Eric took a deep breath. "Derek isn't just obsessed with Rory. He's got a history of stalking and harassment. I found some old police reports."My stomach dropped. "What kind of history?""It goes back years," Eric sa
___________________________..."I still can't believe you didn't tell me about Eric being there in the UK all those weeks!" Gabby was ranting as she did my hair. She repeated the same tale of my betrayal at least once a day. Especially when she wanted something from me."Spit it out." I rolled my eyes. "What do you want from me?"Gabby took a deep breath, her hands stilling in my hair. "I want you to promise me that you'll always tell me the truth, no matter what."I looked at her weirdly in the mirror. "Okay.""And that you will get me an electric blue Porsche." She grinned in the mirror.I snorted. "That sounded like my sister.""You are taking over Dad's position soon. You will have money of your own then. Get with that." I told her as she twisted my hair into an elegant knot."But what about you, Rory?" Gabby's voice turned serious. "What do you want?"I took a deep breath. "I want peace," I said finally. "For all of us."Gabby nodded, her expression thoughtful. "That's all I w
_______________________..."This sucks!" I exclaimed as I watched the expressionless face of Eric Rogers.He looked at me with a glare. "Seriously, dude?""What? It's the truth!" I shot back, pacing the tiny cell. "I've never been in jail before! And now, because of Stacy and Charles, I'm going to have a record!""Charles has said that he will drop the charges." Eric said but I knew there was more to that story."Why?" I asked. "I am sure he would not have done it for free."Charles was never a good person. He was just amazing for me. And as someone who didn't really deserve a good person, I had decided to settle with him. But the dude had cheated even before the relationship had even started. That's what got on my nerves."Does it matter?" Eric sighed. "The procedures will be completed in a few moments and then we can leave."The door to the cell opened, and a female police officer stepped in. She was tall, with stern eyes that scanned me up and down. "Gabriella Lewis, you are fre
_____________________...I fell asleep in Rowan's arms. That much I remember.But when I opened my eyes, I was back in the van.Derek's crazed face loomed over me, the gun pointed directly at my forehead. "You shouldn't have done that, Rory," he whispered, his voice a chilling echo in the confined space.I jolted awake, my heart racing and my breath coming in shallow gasps. The room was dark, the only light coming from the night lamp, casting eerie shadows across the floor. I was in my own bed, in my own apartment, with Rowan sleeping peacefully beside me. But the fear lingered, clinging to me like a second skin.It was just a nightmare, I told myself, over and over again. But the cold sweat on my forehead and the pounding in my chest said otherwise. The image of Derek's furious face, the gun pointed at me, the sound of the shot ringing in my ears—it all felt too real.Rowan stirred beside me, his hand moving to rest on my back. "Rory, you okay?""It was just a bad dream," I whispe
________________________...I scrambled to my feet as soon as I heard the shot.Was it Ophelia? Was she shot trying to save me?I had to save Ophelia if she was still alive.Ignoring the pain in my shoulder, I rushed to open the van.I peeked inside. Derek was on the floor, his hand slack around the gun. Ophelia was kneeling beside him, her hands shaking as she tried to stem the flow of blood from his leg."Oh my God, Derek! Is he okay?" I rushed to Ophelia's side."He fainted on impact." Ophelia was crying. "Quick. My phone is in my car outside. Call 9-1-1."I nodded, the shock slowly wearing off. I rushed to the car and got in, using the phone I found in her purse to call the police and ambulance. I gave them Rowan's name and address for them to contact him as well because the phone was locked. When I got back to the van, Derek was regaining consciousness. "Aurora, I think it's better for you to leave now. Give me my phone and get in my car and leave before he wakes up." I sh
_____________________..."Derek?" I was still stumped by the revelation. "Derek, why are you doing this? Is this because of Ophelia?"Derek stepped into the light, his expression cold and unrecognizable. "This isn't about Ophelia, Rory. This is about what you took from me."I stared at him, confusion and fear mingling. "What are you talking about?""You. You took away yourself from me. I had the perfect life planned out for the both of us but you kept going back to that bastard who had the least respect for you.""What are you talking about, Derek? I never even knew you felt like that." I was more stumped by the latest revelation."How would you know?" He let out a humorless chuckle. "You were too wrapped up around Rowan Keller to actually notice other people's feelings.""I'm sorry," I whispered, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice. "But this isn't the way to deal with it. Let me go, and we can talk about this."Derek's eyes narrowed. "You don't get to tell me what to do an
__________________________..."I have a bad feeling about this!" Jake murmured as I tried Rory's number for the nth time."I'm going to the park. Something's off." I told him, my heart racing."Let's go together," Jake offered, his eyes sharp.I nodded, and we sprinted down the escalator of the mall. We had been looking for Ki and Mary here."What if they are not there?" I panted, my legs burning from the run."Then we widen the search," Jake said grimly.We dashed out of the mall into the blinding sunlight, our eyes scanning the bustling street. The park was only a few minutes away, and the tension grew with every second that ticked by."What could have happened?" I whispered to myself, fear for Ki gnawing at my insides. Now Rory was also not picking up the phone.I had a bad feeling about all of this.The park was eerily quiet, not a soul in sight.We reached the parking lot. Something glinting on the ground caught my sight.A phone.Rory's phone.My heart sank. "Jake, look." I p