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Jackie's POV

I walked further into the living room and crossed my arms, waiting to hear what Maddy had to say. Her mouth was moving but no words came out and her eyes went from Ruth to me.

"By the way, what are you doing here?" I asked and she tensed up.

"I... I... What are y-you doing here?" She asked back and I rolled my eyes.

"I came here to get something I left behind," I lied, knowing I had been in Jared's place, waiting for the perfect time to come out. I had heard everything she said about me to Lucas and if I said I was surprised, I would be lying.

Maddy could not even wait until maybe I was out of the picture before she went ahead to brainwash Lucas. Like always, if I had not known the truth, I would have reacted differently.

Maddy smiled, which did not reach her eyes. She wiped her hands on her denim pants and pointed at Ruth.

"Y-you... Uh, Ruth. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"My brother stays here," Ruth retorted.

Maddy nodded. "Yeah, I know but aren't you the one who is responsible for everything that has happened?"

"That's not what Ruth told me," I said and she froze with her eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" Maddy asked and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

I shrugged. "Remember I told you that Ruth has been found? Well, I met her outside and confronted her. She told me she has been kidnapped all this time. She has injuries on her body to show for it. She revealed she was forced to do things which she never wanted."

"She could be lying! Why would you easily believe her? She is lying. Have you forgotten what she did?!" Maddy asked at the top of her voice then made her way to me. She stopped in front of me and eyed Ruth coldly before looking at me.

"Is there any proof of what you're saying?" I asked and Maddy blinked. "Right now, anything anyone has to say needs proof to back it up. A lot has been happening and I simply can't believe everything just like that."

"What is wrong with you? This girl here goes missing and comes back claiming she was kidnapped and you believe her?" Maddy asked. "She is trying to separate the both of you and you stand here telling me you believe her?"

"You know I am standing here, right?" Ruth asked and Maddy rushed to her. She grabbed her hand and I pulled her close.

"Shut up! I know what you're doing! All those letters, everything you've been doing. They may have believed everything you said to them but I won't believe you."

Ruth yanked her hand out of her hand and shoved her away.

"I was kidnapped! I was beaten and forced to do things against my will! All because of something I knew nothing about!" Ruth yelled. "I was able to escape and you say to my face that I want to come between the both of them?! Why would I separate my brother and her? I swear to God, I will find those behind this and make them pay!"

I met Lucas' eyes and he smirked at me. I looked away and looked at Ruth, hoping she wouldn't reveal anything to Maddy too quick.

"By the way, why are you even reacting to me more than the people involved?" Ruth asked, voice shaky.

I could feel the emotions in her voice and I was tempted to hold her, knowing she was going through the trauma of what happened. She wasn't supposed to be in on our plan but she had a Vendetta against Maddy.

"Lucas," Maddy said and went over to him then held his hand. "Don't tell me you believe what she's saying. This girl has put you all through so many problems and you believe her?"

Lucas sighed. "I don't know what to believe. I may believe what she's saying but that doesn't change the fact that Jackie cheated on me. I know my sister would never do anything to hurt me. Besides, you just told me you believe that Jackie cheated on me, right? You just told me that Clark told you that Jackie came onto him, seducing him, right?"

Maddy stepped away from him and looked at me with wide eyes. She shook her head and forced a smile on her face.

"I never said that Lucas," she said and I raised an eyebrow. "Don't listen to him. He's drunk and doesn't know what he's saying. He's still on about the whole picture thing."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care about what he thinks of me. He can call me anything he wants, I don't care. He already broke up with me."

Maddy sighed. "I'll take my leave now."

I stepped aside when Maddy came close. She stared at me in some pleading manner before walking out of the house. We waited for two minutes before laughing softly.

"You should have seen her face," Ruth said and chuckled. "I've never seen anyone so red as a tomato before."

"Wow, I thought she was going to expose herself but if she can hide her true self for over a year, you don't expect her to blow her cover now," I said and made my way to Lucas.

"I felt so disgusted in myself for listening to her say shit about you," Lucas said and grabbed my hand. He brought it to his face and kissed my hand.

"It's okay. I am equally disgusted in myself for having such a friend," I said and looked at our hands. "I want everything to come to an end as soon as possible."

"Me too," Ruth said. "What's the next plan?"

Lucas let go of my hand, he stared at a random spot for some seconds before meeting my eyes.

"It's time for the next plan; the reason why I still have Ashton Kingston in my house and not in prison. This should make her expose herself to us even though we know the truth. I want her to lose her mind."

Ruth stood in front of her brother and crossed her arms.

"I would say let her go through what she put Jackie through but I am not evil like her. I would never wish my enemy to go through what I went through as an assaulted person. Maddy doesn't deserve any pity from us," Ruth said and dropped her hands. "I never liked that bitch and I'm glad I didn't."

I placed my hand on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly at Ruth.

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I was nervous as I went over our plan in my head. I was scared of the plan failing as I wanted everything to be done with. I wanted to move on with my life no matter how hurtful everything was to me. It was heartbreaking how all these months, I was friends with a snake. So, it would be hard not to erase these memories.

"Hey," Ruth said, standing beside me.

"Where's Lucas?" I asked and she pointed ahead of us.

I looked out from the corner of the building and saw Lucas coming out of his car with Ashton. Ashton had his face concealed with the hood of Lucas' sweatshirt. I watched as Lucas motioned for him to turn around the car. When he did, they walked to the outdoor seat of a restaurant.

"Has Maddy called you?" Ruth asked and I shook my head.

"Let me try calling her again," I said and raised my phone to my face. Before I could call, Maddy started calling and I quickly answered the call. "Yeah?"

"I'm close. Give me a minute," she said and I motioned for Ruth to go away.

"Okay, I'll be waiting by the restaurant," I said and ended the call. I showed myself to Lucas who was already looking in my direction then gave him a thumbs up, which he nodded at.

I went back to my previous position and looked around the slightly busy road. A minute went by and I spotted Maddy's car pulling up on the side of the road. I took deep breaths and walked straight to her car. When she got out, I smiled.

Maddy locked her car and went around it then stood before me.

"I'm surprised you said you wanted to see me. After what happened yesterday," Maddy said. "Look, I'm sorry about whatever happened yesterday. I was not in the right state of mind especially when Lucas called me over and started saying nasty shit about you."

"Maddy, let's not talk about this here. I want us to sit this out. Today, we find out if our friendship will go on or not," I said with a double meaning.

While I felt uneasy on the inside, Maddy seemed sad on the outside and I couldn't tell if it was real or not.

"I've lost you, right?" Maddy asked and I sighed.

"Let's go," I said and started walking away. I heard her footsteps behind me and slowed down so she matched my steps.

We took a turn at the curve of the building and I smiled at the sight of Lucas' back facing us while Ashton faced our direction.

"Jackie, if I have offended you in any way, forgive me," Maddy pleaded but I paid her no mind as we got closer to their table.

Once Maddy turned her body toward the entrance of the restaurant, I made eye contact with Ashton who rose to his feet and looked at Lucas who was relaxed in his seat.

"M-Maddy?" Ashton stuttered.

I looked away and saw Maddy flinch in front of me. She stopped walking and did not look back until after five seconds. She turned her body and gasped at the sight of her cousin.

"Ashton?"

I glanced at Ashton then at Maddy, with a false shocked expression on my face.

"Who's that?" I asked and Maddy jumped at the sound of my voice as if she had forgotten I was there.

"I... He... He is my friend, yes. A friend. Ashton, what are you doing here?" She asked and walked past me to stand in front of Ashton.

I crossed my arms and smiled when I realized she had not seen Lucas. As if on cue, Maddy turned her head and gasped.

"L-Lucas? Lucas, what are you doing here?" Maddy asked and I could see the discomfort on her body.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked, still sitting on the chair. "I'm having lunch with Ashton. Why are you looking so surprised?"

I stepped forward and placed my hand on Maddy's stiff shoulder. She recoiled from my touch and glanced between me and Ashton.

"Who is this, Maddy?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"I... Why do you ask? He's no one. Come on, let's go inside," Maddy said and grabbed my hand.

"Maddy, why are you acting as if you're not my cousin? Plus, isn't this the girl that—"

Before Ashton could finish speaking, Maddy grabbed the glass of water on the table and splashed it in Ashton's face. I raised an eyebrow at the behavior while Lucas rose to his feet in shock.

"What is wrong with you?" Ashton demanded and wiped his face.

"Come with me!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him away from us.

"Where do you think you're going, Maddy?" I asked and they halted in their steps.

I glanced at Lucas and then looked past them when Ruth came out of Jared's car parked up front. Ruth shut the door and crossed her arms. I smirked and Maddy turned around, catching my expression.

A look of realization crossed over her face some seconds later. She let go of Ashton's hand and stepped back, swallowing.

"You... No, it's not possible," she said.

"What isn't? That I wouldn't find out the truth?" I asked and took a step forward with a scowl. "Game over."