[|]

As soon as I walked into Lucas' apartment, I felt strange. The atmosphere of the apartment was so different to me because of the last thing that happened before I left for Redside. I had not been expecting that I would come back to this place after everything that had happened. But now that the truth was out, there was no point in harboring negative emotions or energies that would weaken my mental state.

I made my way to the kitchen and ran my fingers over the smooth surface of the counter. I started to remember the times we ate here and cooked food together. It brought a smile to my face and I wanted more memories with him.

I heard the door closing behind me and I turned around. Lucas was dragging my luggage and his duffle bag toward the stairs. I smiled at him when he glanced my way. When he climbed the stairs, my phone rang in my purse and I quickly took it out. I frowned when I saw it was a call from Maddy.

I hesitated for a few seconds before accepting her call request. I rolled my eyes and placed the phone against my ear.

"Hey," I said in a dry tone.

"Hey, Jackie. Are you still in Redside or you're back?" She asked.

"Why'd you ask?" I could not help but be suspicious. It was Maddy after all; a modern-day witch.

"Nothing. I just wanted to know if I could come to visit you and keep you company as your best friend and all."

I wanted to laugh so bad at her choice of words but pressed my lips together to stop myself.

"I'm back. Since school is resuming next month for registration and some classes, I was thinking I prepare myself. Besides, I need to start looking for a new residence building on-campus that I'll be staying in," I replied and leaned on the counter.

"That's true. Oh, I'm planning on renting an apartment close to our school. I was wondering if you could move in with me after the whole break-up thing."

If I had not known the type of person Maddy was, I would have thought she meant well to me as a friend but I knew she had a motive behind her wanting me to move in.

"Nah, don't worry. I want to stay on-campus for some projects. And besides, you'll be getting married to Lucas soon. What's the point of us living together?" I asked in a sly tone and watched as Lucas came downstairs with a knowing look on his face.

"Oh... That's true. Look, Jackie. I'm not interested in this marriage. I'll try to talk my parents out of this, I promise," she said in a concerned tone that had me grimacing.

"Whatever," I said, trying to push the topic aside.

"Say, what if we meet up now? I'm bored and would like it if we meet up at a café or something."

I looked at Lucas who was going through his phone and gulped. Maddy doesn't know that we were aware of the truth and I am sure she won't try anything dangerous but then again, I can't tell if she is pretending to not know that we know everything about her. She was that cunning.

"Sure," I said and she squealed.

"Great. I'll come to pick you up. You're at a hotel, right?"

"No! I mean... I'll meet you at the café. Just let me know where."

"Okay. Bye."

As soon as I was certain she had ended the call, I exhaled in relief and placed my hand on my chest. I was nervous and shaking on the inside.

"You're a good actress," Lucas said and I glared at him. "What? I'm telling the truth. I would not have the tone you used if I speak to her. So, are you truly meeting up with her?"

I nodded. "I will and don't worry, I'll be fine."

From the way Lucas' expression went from happy to worried, I knew he did not believe me. I was about to reassure him when he walked around the counter to stand across from me. I leaned on the counter in confusion as he pulled bent down, making me only see his head. I craned my head to see what he was doing then stood straight when he came up.

He placed his hand on the counter and I looked down, only to gasp when I saw a gun.

"Is that a gun?! Is that real?" I asked in utter shock and he hummed.

"Yes, it is and I want you to have it with you at all times," he said in a serious tone.

"No. I don't want it," I retorted and he hissed.

"Jackie, take the fucking gun with you. I don't trust that girl and the last thing I want is to have you getting hurt when you could have defended yourself," he argued and I gritted my teeth.

"But I can't be carrying a weapon with me. What if a cop catches me with it or something. What if I mistakenly shoot someone with it?" I asked in horror as the scenarios played in my head.

"The gun's mine and it's licensed," he said and grabbed the gun. He went around the counter and approached me. "Please, Jackie. I want you to be safe when I'm not there to protect you. Take the gun if you're going to see her or if you're going anywhere."

I eyed the black metal in his hand and swallowed. I was scared of that thing but knowing how important it was, I nodded and hesitantly took the gun from his hand. It felt heavy in my hand plus dangerous.

"I don't even know how to shoot a gun," I said, looking up at him.

"I'll show you what to do before you shoot. Since we aren't at a gun range, we won't be shooting but a little demonstration should help," he said and took the gun from me.

Maddy was changing a lot about me and it was becoming serious by the day. I never thought a day would come when I was close to killing someone if they tried to harm me.

[|]

I arrived at the café before Maddy as she had said she wanted to get something first. While I waited, I was nervous as this was the first time I would act normally after finding out the truth. I did not think I was a good actress and I was wondering if Maddy could sense something off about me.

The door of the café opened and Maddy walked in. I tensed up with a straight back and breath held. When she got closer, I forced a smile which she returned and sat down across me.

"Hi," she said, smiling wide.

"Hi," I said and gulped. "How are you?"

"I should be asked you that," she said. "After everything and all. Jackie, I'm sorry for not telling you about the marriage. My parents are persuasive as you already know and it's difficult when I try to raise the topic of this marriage with them. You're my best friend and It'll do everything to not ruin your relationship with Lucas."

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You lied to me about this before, who knows what else you're lying about."

A stunned expression crossed her face and I had to stop myself from smirking. I couldn't continue to pretend for long, that I knew but I still had to try.

"Jackie," she whispered. "It is only just this marriage contract I hid from you. I know you're still angry and all but you need to try to understand that I don't want it."

"It's not easy for me to accept everything," I said and she sighed.

"I'll keep apologizing to you no matter how long it'll take you to forgive me," Maddy said and shifted her hands closer to mine that was resting on the table.

I drew my hands back and looked away from her face. I didn't want to have her anyway close to me, body-wise. I cleared my throat and made eye contact with her.

"Ruth has been found," I revealed and Maddy's eyes became wide. I couldn't tell if she was scared that Ruth would reveal that she wasn't the one behind everything or scared that Ruth was out of the grasp of her thugs.

"R-Ruth? Where was she? I mean, how did you find her?"

"You know she's the one behind all of these that have happened because she wants her half-brother, right? Axel was able to track her and you'll not believe what she said. She claims she was kidnapped. But we don't believe her. I feel it's part of her plan to get Lucas at all cost, at least his pity."

Two can play her type of game. This was going to be fun to do because the plan was to play her the way she had played all of us.

"Oh, wow. She's crazy. It's disgusting how one tries to be with her flesh and blood. It's disturbing," Maddy said, shaking her head.

"Yeah," I said and feigned a sad expression on my face. "Have you heard from Lucas?"

"Lucas?" She sounded surprised. "Why are you looking for him? I thought he broke up with you? Jackie, don't tell me you're still going after him. He's proven how much of a cruel person he is. By the way, there's something I have to tell you about Lucas."

I got worried for a second but calmed my heart down. I swallowed and nodded for her to go ahead.

"Jackie...I don't know how to say this to you. The thing is, Lucas called me and told me he's ready to go ahead with the marriage. He still believes you cheated on him and he told me how much he hates you and all those shit. I tried to tell him to stop but he wouldn't listen. Jackie, he's saying he wants that marriage at all cost. Something about moving on and starting a new life without you."

If I had not known who this girl before me was, I would have felt heartbroken by everything she was saying. She was trying to sow a seed of hatred within me, not knowing the man she wanted was against her and was probably planning on killing her.

Knowing I had to go with the flow, I clenched my hands on top of the table and exhaled.

"Can we not talk about Lucas? I'm trying to forget him. He hurt me and bringing him up will only give me a reason to want to go far away from here."

"I am sorry for everything. I didn't expect Lucas to say such to me. I had expected he would try to try to get you back. I can't believe this is someone I'm going to be stuck with... That's if the marriage happens." She rushed the last of her sentence.

"Maddy, I'm not stopping you. Be with him. I mean, you two already signed the contract. You've married already. It'll be hard to still be your friend and I don't think it's wise we meet each other like we used to. Lucas might hurt you because of me," I said and rose to my feet.

Maddy looked up at me with worry on her face. I smiled and walked closer to where she was sitting. I placed my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it a bit.

"Watch your back, Maddy," I said and she tensed.

"Huh?"

"I meant to say that Lucas can't be trusted, right? So, watch your back. You can never tell when someone stabs it," I said in a hard voice then walked off, feeling fulfilled.