[|]

"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 deserve it and more," Maddy said, glaring at me.

"You knew that I had no contact with Lucas. You knew I had no idea he was with us. Why did you still torture me?" I asked and she grimaced.

"I didn't torture you again," she said with a shrug. "My hate for you began when you started seeing him again. I wanted to do something about the situation but couldn't think of a good plan. So, when I noticed Clark was so into you, I knew I had to weaponize it somehow. His housemate doesn't like him so I used him. Made sure he caught you two in a compromising position because I knew Clark would do something stupid. He can't control what's between his legs."

Tears began to sting my eyes as she spoke, wondering what was wrong with her.

"You are nothing but a bitch," I said through gritted teeth.

Maddy rushed to me and cupped my chin hard, her fingernails digging into my skin.

"Me? A bitch?" She moved my head from side to side. "What is in you that they see?" She asked, eyes hard. "You are ugly, poor, pathetic and nothing pleasing to the eyes. Even my maid has more class than you. You are like the dirt under my shoes. What is in you that these men see and go crazy about? I am the perfect definition of a complete woman."

I felt heartbroken at how she shamed me. It hurt that someone I trusted and cared about could say such a thing to me. It hurt so deeply that my heart ached.

"You took Lucas away from me and when I moved on a bit, you took Clark too! You are such a whore! A gold-digging whore! I am sure that if I was a guy, you would have wanted me to because I am just as rich as they are!" She moved back and slapped me hard across the cheek. "I hate you so much for bringing me to this level! Everything that has happened is your fault! Your fault! I'll make you pay for it!"

Fear became so full in my body that sweat pooled out of my body. I felt restless and my breathing became irregular. My head was aching and I felt nauseous. I knew what Maddy was capable of doing and Lucas and Barry had no idea where I was.

"Tonight, you will die! Your soul will watch as I marry the love of my life!" She yelled and went over to the man standing in the corner. She snapped her fingers and he handed her a file. "In this file contains the original copy of the marriage contract. The one we signed wasn't it, though it still means we are married."

"Lucas will never marry you. He'd rather burn you alive," I said venomously and she laughed.

"Not when I have his Jackie on the verge of death, he will." She opened the file. "Tonight, I will become Mrs. Maddy Hamilton. The name is so sexy. Prepare your mind for your death because I will spear you the heartbreak of seeing Lucas be mine."

My breath hitched and tears blurred my eyes. I said a silent prayer, hoping for a miracle to happen. The fact that I could sense death close made me have no vision of what could happen in the next few minutes or hours.

"Bring him in," Maddy said in a slightly higher tone of voice.

A minute later, I heard hurried footsteps and groans coming from my far left. I gasped when I saw Axel being dragged by another buff man. He had blood stains on his forehead and a busted lip. When they got close, he raised his head and his eyes widened.

"Jackie?" He said in a weak voice.

"Axel, what happened to you?" I looked at Maddy. "What have you done to him?!"

Maddy shrugged. "This bastard was in the way of me kidnapping you. He knows how to fight. Luckily, I was able to use his device to text you. You should start having locks on your phone, Axie babe."

"You fucking bitch! I'm going to kill you!" Axel shot his body forward but was punched in the stomach.

"Axel!" I shouted. "Please, stop. They're going to hurt you!"

Axel groaned as he fell to the floor. His hands were tied behind him, making him helpless. I could see he was in pain and that made me cry. I was beginning to believe everything was my fault. I should have not fallen for Lucas or done anything to get close to him. I could have found a way to stay away from him. Our feelings for each other began when I moved in with him and now, we were suffering because of it.

"Hand over the phone. I'll text him right away," Maddy said and a phone was placed on her palm.

I tried to open her mouth to stop her but a whimper left my lips. I wished everything would go back to the day before I met Lucas, I would have not run away and let Tony bully me. I should have stayed and not gone into that locker room where I met Lucas. Maybe I could have been in the UK, studying the course of my dream.

"It's all my fault," I whispered, hot tears rolling down my cheeks.

[|]

Lucas' POV

I swiped the key card against the door of our hotel room and pushed the door open. I furrowed my eyebrows when I saw the room empty with no sign of Jackie. I shrugged and walked in, shutting the door in the process. I dropped the bag full of food on the table closest to me and took off my jacket.

Traffic had been high after we left the restaurant due to some explosion that blocked the road and it took us thirty minutes to arrive back at the hotel. I was hungry and needed to have my dinner with Jackie who I was yet to see.

"Jackie? Baby?" I called out and got no response. "Is she in the bathroom?"

I went over to the door of the bathroom and knocked on it. I listened for any running water and opened the door— Jackie wasn't there. I closed the door and looked around the room one more time before taking my phone out of my pocket to call her.

The door opened, startling me. Barry ran in, breathing hard with wide eyes.

"What is it?" I asked and they ran their fingers through their hair.

"Have you seen Axel?" They asked and I shook my head.

"I just came in, remember? I was just looking for Jackie too. She isn't here," I replied and they cursed.

"Axel said he was going to get his car from the mechanic. His car downstairs but he isn't in our room," Barry said, and worry developed in me.

"Maybe they went out?" I asked.

"He should have texted if he did. He always tells me where he goes," Barry replied in a frustrated tone.

I unlocked my phone and called Jackie's number. My heart dropped when it says her phone was switched off.

"That's not possible," I said, bringing the phone down from my ear. "I plugged in Jackie's phone. There's no way it says it's switched off."

We stared at each other for some seconds in silence before we both ran out of the room. We rushed to the elevator and Barry pushed the button on the wall.

"Call Axel, Barry," I said and they did.

"It's not available," Barry replied and hissed.

I didn't want to dwell on the fact that something may be wrong but a sudden feeling came over me. It was almost as if I wasn't conscious of my environment, meanwhile, a type of fear I'd never experienced was heavy in my heart. Something was wrong somewhere.

We ran into the elevator once it opened and some minutes later, we were on the ground floor. We ran through the busy lobby and out of the hotel.

"Where did Axel park his car?"

"Over here," Barry said, pointing toward the road.

We went straight to the car and I looked around it. I went over to the driver's side and peered through the window, there was no one inside or anything that indicated that they had just used the car.

"Lucas?"

I moved away from the window at the tone of Barry's voice which didn't sound too good to my ears. I went around the car and saw them looking at a phone which I immediately recognized as Jackie's.

"Isn't that Jackie's phone?"

"It was on the ground," Barry said and I snatched it from their hand.

Concern doubled in me when I saw the screen was broken. I tried to switch the phone on but it barely came on.

"Something happened," Barry said and I looked at them. "Lucas, were you able to place that tracking device on Jackie?"

My eyes widened in remembrance. After I had come back from Maddy's family house, Barry had cornered me and given me a tracking device the size of my fingernail to clip to Jackie's clothes or place in her pocket. While she had been sitting on my lap, I clipped it in her hair. Barry was a tech person and had us put trackers on our bodies in case one of us goes missing or got captured by Maddy or her cohorts and I didn't want to believe it was the case.

"Yes, I did," I said, hoping to find an answer to her disappearance.

Barry didn't say anything, instead, they took out their phone and tapped on it for some seconds before meeting my eyes.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Jackie's in a church by the beach, fifteen minutes away from here. Axel's tracker says the same thing too."

"What are they doing in a church?" I asked and my phone signaled that I just had a text.

I raised it to my face and opened the message. It was as if everything around me vanished the moment I read the message. I only heard my heartbeat and my labored breaths as I read the message over and over again.

Axel. H: If you want your woman to live, I advise you to meet me at Victory Temple. Let's get married, Lucas or Jackie dies with her baby.

I swallowed. "I'm going to kill that bitch."