Ivory and I had an amazing wedding. She wore a beautiful white dress and everything was perfect. Sadly, none of my friends came and neither did my parents. It was an awful feeling but I had to do what made me happy.

I woke up to Ivory making pancakes. She smiled as she poured the syrup and slid the plate to me.

"Morning beautiful." I smiled.

"Morning handsome. Our dream has finally come true." Ivory beamed as she pecked my lips.

"Yes it has and I'm soo happy we can start our life together."

"And soon the baby will be here and we'll be the perfect family."

I rubbed her tummy and kissed her forehead. Her phone buzzed and she checked it immediately causing her to frown.

"Is something wrong?" I questioned.

"No it's fine. It's just a friend. She wanted me to meet her that's all." She smiled but I could tell something was wrong.

"Are you sure? The baby could come anyday. Do you really want to go out by yourself?"

"Its fine honey. I'll be okay. Let me shower and get dressed. I'll be back home in a few."

"Alright."

After she left I took a long shower then booked two tickets to Tahiti. I remembered us wanting to go there. This would be the perfect opportunity to spend our honeymoon there then go to Paris. I booked our hotels in each of the places and ordered something extra special for Ivory when we arrived there. She'll love the surprise.

I opened my phone and checked my messages. There was one from Nicholas that was delivered since last night.

They found Aubrey. A flood of relief washed over me. I felt a rush of emotions and I knew I had to see her. I quickly texted him and asked for the location. He was hesitant at first but eventually gave it to me.

I darted off my bed, grabbed my keys and got into the car. I needed to see her immediately.

Arriving at the hospital I took a deep breath and went inside. Aubrey's family was there and so was all of my friends or former friends I should say.

Entering the waiting room, they all looked at me. Finally, the weight of my guilt caught up with my and I felt soo ashamed of myself.

"What are you doing here Vanderbilt?" Vincent questioned.

"So we're on last name basis now McKnight?" I retorted.

"Just leave Haden." Emma snarled.

"I came to see Aubrey."

"We don't want you here. So you should just leave." Emma yelled.

"That's enough Emma. He can stay if he pleases. We need peace at this time. Let's just be happy that Aubrey was found." Matthew, Aubrey's dad stated.

"Fine." Emma muttered.

Blake was glaring at me from the corner of the room and for once I felt horrible. They all knew what I did and the fact that I wasn't there for Aubrey made things even worse.

The doctor entered the room and we all stood.

"Okay it's visiting hours now. Who would like to go in first?"

"I think it should be Vincent. Plus we can check on Caleb and Xavier in the meantime." Nicholas suggested and they all nodded.

"Xavier? What's wrong with Xavier? He was with you guys?" I questioned.

"Yes he was with us Haden. And he's okay. You can go see him if you like." Derek stated.

The doctor directed me to Xavier's room and I went there.

"Hey bro. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. Haden There's something you need to know." He said seriously.

In an instant I was by his side.

"What is it?"

"I need you to..." He paused and breathed.

"You need me to what Xavier. You're scaring me. Damn it. Should I call the doctor?"

"I need you to get me some nachos. I'm starving." He groaned.

"Have you always been this annoying?" I hissed.

"I had you there didn't I big bro?" He laughed.

"Whatever. But are you okay? What happened?"

"When we found where they were keeping Aubrey, we decided to go last night. Entering the mansion, we split up to look for her. I went into a room and began searching for Aubrey when a guy ambushed me. I just felt a cold metal collide with my head causing me to lose consciousness."

"Wow. You could have called me. I would have been happy to help."

"Let's cut the crap. You wouldn't have shown up Haden."

"That might be true."

"I didn't even ask. Who was that guy that kidnapped Aubrey?"

"It was some dude named Anthony." He said and my mind wandered back to the guy Ivory was texting the other day but I brushed it off.

"He's down at the police station. We could go see that bastard later if you want."

"Oh I intend to."

"Have you seen Aubrey yet?" Xavier questioned.

"No and I'm scared to. What will she think if she saw me? How will I feel when I see her?"

"You have to face her eventually. And tell her that you two are no longer married. You have to explain everything to her. She needs to know."

"I know but I feel soo confused. I don't know what to think. My emotions are soo raw."

"Do you love Ivory?" He questioned.

"Yes I do."

"Do you love Aubrey?"

"Well ... I-I...I care about her."

"Wow you stuttered so much. I think you love her but you're afraid."

"I'm married to Ivory."

"That wasn't the question."

"Look, I'm gonna see Caleb now."

"Fine. But you can't run from your feelings." He yelled as I left the room.

I bumped into Vincent and he stared at me.

"Sorry about that man." I said and he ignored me.

"Is she okay?" I questioned.

"Like you care." He spat.

"I do care that's why I'm asking."

"Do you have any idea of what she has been through? Do you know how she's feeling? You're a bastard and this is your fault Haden. You pushed her to the point where she ran away and got kidnapped. She stayed with that sick man for months and you did nothing. You didn't care Haden. He raped her and now she lost the baby. She is traumatized and broken. This could have all been avoided if you had just act right Haden." Vincent snapped.

"I had no idea. She has been through a lot. I screwed up. I need to see her."

"You can go and see her but if you think that you're ever gonna get close to her or be part of her life then you're wrong because I won't allow it." He sneered.

"You love her don't you?" I questioned.

"Yes, I love her and I'm not going to let a selfish ass like you ruin her again." He stated and strolled off.

I was silent for a moment as I processed what he said. He loves her. Does she love him too? Wait, she's in love with me right. I shouldn't feel threatened. Why do I want Aubrey to love me? Why do I hate the thought of her moving on?

I took a deep breath and walked into the room.

Aubrey lay on the bed staring at the window.

"Hey Aubrey." I smiled but she didn't look at me. Her face was expressionless.

"I just want to talk to you." I sat at the edge of the bed.

She slowly turned to look at me and those were the coldest pair of eyes I've ever seen.

"You got married." She stated in a flat tone.

"Aubrey. What did Vincent tell you? He told you I was married didn't he?"

"No, you did, just now." She stared at me.

"Aubrey, I'm sorry. I want to be here for you. I will take care of you. You can come home and-

"Shut up. Save it Haden. I don't care. I've been through hell for crying out loud and you're coming here with your bullshit." She cut me off.

"I want to help. I put you through so much. I just want to fix things."

"Oh! now you wanna fix things. That's so funny. You're hilarious Haden. While you were sucking Ivory's face, I was stuck with that sick man. He did all sorts of things to me that I don't wish to speak of. He impregnated me and still managed to kill my child. He brought me to my knees and I was begging to be free. Where were you? You were getting married to Ivory. You didn't care about me then. Don't act like you care now." She sneered.

"I know and I'm sorry about that. I can't imagine what that was like."

"It doesn't matter. I've been through hell and those memories are engraved in my mind. Don't you get it? The worse part is that I won't be able to have kids again. Do you hear me Haden? I can't have kids and I love children. All I wanted was a happy family. All I wanted was to be loved. But that night you tried to take advantage of me, you drove me away into my doom. That was the final straw."

"Aubrey I'm soo sorry. I knew how much you loved kids. This shouldn't have happened."

"Oh really? Haden Vanderbilt knows something about me. I'm honoured." She laughed sarcastically.

"Aubrey I'm just trying to help. A million apologies couldn't fix this but I still want to try. I know you."

"You don't know me. You never took the time to know me. So don't act like you're actually interested."

"Aubrey, what do you want from me?" I groaned.

"I want you to leave me alone."

"I'm not gonna do that."

"I don't care what you want to do because " As the words left her mouth, my entire world crashed. Aubrey hates me.

"Y-You don't mean that." I stuttered.

"Oh but I do Haden. I mean every single word. I hate you for coming into my life and now I realise how dumb I had been to love you. Looking back I realise the role you made me play, of the fool. I was chasing someone that didn't give a damn about me. I was so wrong for loving you. I thought we could be something but that was a huge mistake. I should have found a way out of that marriage sooner. Not for you but for my own sake. I have to start putting myself first. You no longer exist in my world and you'll do fine as a relic of my past. I want nothing more than to stay far away from you. You have no purpose in my life. So I'm going to protect myself."

"From me?" I questioned as the tears fell from my eyes.

"Yes Haden. I need to save myself from you. And don't cry because this is nothing compared to the pain I felt from you or Anthony. Trust me, this doesn't even count as a fraction of what I've been through. I'm just stating the truth. And the truth hurts. You're a selfish man and I don't know what I saw in you. I saw something that wasn't even there. But I wish you a happy life with Ivory and your baby."

"Aubrey please. Just don't walk away from me like this. Let's save what we have. We could be friends. Something, anything. I just can't lose you." He begged.

"There's nothing left to save Haden. There wasn't anything there in the first place. You need to stop being pathetic. You need to leave me to live my life. This should make you happy. You finally got me off your back. You should be happy. I'll sign whatever papers you need me to. I have to focus on myself because I'm broken. I don't even have the energy to cry about all of this. But one thing's for sure, I'm not going to cry over you. You're not worth my tears and I'm over you."

"Aubrey, I know you still feel something for me."

"Don't you have a wife and a child to run to?" She chuckled.

"Aubrey just please-

"Haden, get out."

"Fine, I will. But look at me in my eyes and tell me how you really feel about me."

Aubrey looked at me straight in my eyes. Her beautiful green eyes had a steely, coldness in it. She had definitely changed. She seemed different. Her hair was a mess and it framed her face.

Hues of grey and blue were more prominent in her eyes as well. I never noticed her eyes were this beautiful.

I stared at her directly in her eyes and she stared right back at me.

"Haden Vanderbilt." She paused.

"I hate you." She said each syllable smoothly as if she practiced it a thousand times. The words flowed from her mouth so perfectly.

Looking into her eyes, I realised that she meant every word.

Aubrey hates me and it hurt like hell.