[|]

"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 supposed to marry Maddy but this is obviously something that has been going on between his family and hers for long. Just telling you about it won't stop their parents from pushing them into this marriage. I ship you two alot and it affects me to see you two like this."

I hated how true his words were. He had a point and I knew I was overreacting to everything but he should not have kept a huge secret from me, knowing it would affect our relationship in the future.

"So, what do you expect me to do? You think I should grovel at his feet or something? Lucas said shit to me, accusing me of cheating and now this marriage topped it all up. Don't expect me to smile and give him a big hug. I have a right to be hurt."

Jared groaned. "No one said you shouldn't be hurt. All I want is for the two of you to talk and decide what happens next. Don't use your emotions to make decisions that you might regret later."

I mulled over his wise words while envisioning how the scenario would have been different if we had talked but I was human. A human who had gone through so many emotional problems and sitting down to talk things out wasn't the first thing to do.

"Okay," I said in a low voice and Jared fisted bump the air. "I'll talk to him when he arrives. Excuse me."

I made my way to the door but Jared stopped me and I glared at him.

"Where are you going?"

"I just want to step out for a while. I'll be back," I said and opened the door.

[|]

After spending an hour walking around town, trying to reminisce on some places I had not seen in a while, I made my way into a small supermarket to buy some snacks I was suddenly craving.

I grabbed some chips, bottled water, canned drinks, chocolate and fruits, then started making my way toward the checkout counter. As I did, I felt a heavy feeling over my body. I stopped walking and look over my shoulder on instinct, only to see a tall, burly man standing close to a shelf looking at me.

My heart pounded in fear when I saw how dangerous he looked with his deep frowning face, tattoos all over his face and his black outfit. When he noticed I was staring in his direction, he looked away and pretended to be checking the diapers in front of him.

I gulped and continued walking, only to falter when I saw another man dressed like him, staring at me from another shelf a few feet away. I looked down and quickly went to the checkout counter. As the woman scanned my items, I immediately ordered for a car which was luckily just outside the supermarket.

Once I paid, I rushed out of the building and searched around for the plate number. I found the car and went to it, then boarded it. My heart was beating so fast that I felt breathless and nauseous.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" The driver asked, meeting my eyes through the rearview mirror.

"I'm fine. Just drive," I said and as soon as he reversed, the men I had seen rushed out of the supermarket, staring at the car.

I sidled down on the seat and exhaled in relief then prayed to the heavens that they don't follow us.

Ten minutes later, I arrived back at the motel, slightly jittery from what I had experienced. I opened the door and walked in then raised my head.

I stopped with a small gasp when I saw Lucas standing in front of the bed while Jared was laying on it, his phone in a horizontal fashion.

"You're back. Alright, I'll leave you two," Jared said and rolled out of my bed. He patted Lucas on the shoulder when he passed and smiled at me before he left me alone with Lucas.

I looked away from Lucas for a second before looking back at him when I noticed how tired he was. He had light hair growing around his jawline, his hair wasn't in his usual slick-back-with-some-hair-infront style. His hair was scattered and his eyes were dull.

"Hi," he said in a hoarse voice.

"What do you want?" I asked, going straight to the point.

"I'm sorry," he said and I scoffed then made my way to the coffee table by the television.

I dropped the plastic bag and my ears picked up the sound of his shoes hitting the floor. I turned to face him with a stern look on my face.

"You came to apologize?" I scoffed. "What exactly are you apologizing for? I need to know what I'm going to waste my time listening."

Lucas dropped his head and put his hands in his back pockets. I watched the crown of his head before shifting my eyes away when he raised his head.

"Jackie, I am a fool, a bastard, every fucking word that connotes to an insult. I am a fool for not believing you," he said and walked over to me.

I wanted to move have but forced myself to stay still while looking at the bed.

"Jackie, I believe you," he said and I looked at him.

"What?"

"I believed you somehow when you said that you never cheated on me. But those pictures were so real to me that I didn't know how to react," he said and took his hands out of his pockets. He raised his phone between us, showing me the screen.

I looked down at the phone and saw a picture of me and Clark on the couch, fully clothed. In fact, it was the same picture from before but with us with clothes. As I looked closer, I saw it was the same thing we had been wearing when Clark came home drunk. The day we kissed.

"I believe you," he said. "Axel's partner is a professional hacker and tech person. They were able to check the picture and they found out it was photoshopped."

"Yay, congratulations. Do you want a cookie for that?" I sarcastically asked and he shut his eyes for a second before opening them.

"Jackie, please. I know everything I said will not go away. My apologies will not take away the hurt I made you feel but you need to know that I still care for you. I was so stupid to react the way I did. I was so stupid to insult our baby."

I rolled my eyes. "I thought the baby isn't yours?"

Lucas dropped his phone on the coffee table and stepped closer.

"Jackie, I beg you. Please, forgive me for what I said and did. I should not have doubted you or sent you out of the house. I am ready to do everything to make you forgive me. I reacted this way because the person behind all of these issues wants us separated. No offense but if it was you in the reverse, you would have reacted the same way, right?"

I felt my emotions stirring inside of me and my eyes began to prick.

"Yes, I would have reacted the same way you did. I am still hurt about how you treated me and I know it is not your fault. You said you love me yet you didn't trust me. You know the type of person I am yet you made me feel like a piece of shit. It hurt to see the one man I've ever loved say such things to me. You say that someone wants us separated yet that didn't cross your mind at first before you accused me of silly things?"

My tears blurred my vision and my heart began to beat faster from the emotional turmoil inside me. I shook my head and sat down on the coffee table, afraid that I would fall from the sudden weakness in me. I wiped the tears in my eyes when Lucas knelt before me, his eyes teary too.

"I am ready to repeat how sorry I am until the day I die, Jackie. I am so sorry for hurting you, I am sorry for hurting our baby, I am sorry for not believing you, I am sorry for accusing you of bad things, I am sorry for chasing you out of my life, I am sorry for causing you pain. Please, forgive me," he pleaded and hesitantly held my hand between his.

I cried silently as he brought my hand to his face and kissed it. I forced my hand out of his and sniffed.

"Even if I forgive you, you broke up with me. We aren't together anymore, right? Most of all, you're married now. What's the point of coming to apologize to me? Listen, Lucas. I have forgiven you just because this is all as a result of manipulation and a year ago, you were framed for allegedly planning those boys to assault me. I didn't believe you and I hated you so much. So, I understand your reaction."

Lucas smiled and I looked away from him.

"You forgive me?"

"Don't stretch it," I said. "I may have forgiven you but you still hurt me. Plus, you're married now. You should not be—"

"No, I'm not," Lucas said and I blinked hard.

"Excuse me?"

Lucas smiled wider and rose to his feet. He left my presence to the bed where he took a file I had not seen. He walked back to me and stretched the hand holding the file out to me. I stood up and took the file, then stared at him in confusion.

"What is this?" I asked, heart beating by a few seconds.

"I never signed the marriage contract, Jackie."