Everything around me was happening too fast.

I was being rushed to the hospital and in the background I heard Archer saying something to me but I was far too numb with the pain to hear his voice, it sounded too distant.

I didn't know why...

I had a bad feeling about everything.

Throughout the ride in the car, I kept mumbling 'Tyler wouldn't do this to me.' again and again like a broken record. I kept saying it until I convinced myself to believe it even though it wasn't true.

I saw Tyler in the hospital standing in the corner staring at me. I saw my name on his mouth, he was calling out to me but I tuned it out because the last thing I needed right now was to see his face. The final parts of the diary had proved that he could never love me the way I needed him to; he'd used me for his advantage which was some twisted fairytale about building a life with me because he couldn't live with someone else.

I'd seen movies in which a girl gets stuck in a toxic relationship with a guy that she loves, and I always thought I'd never become that person.

And now that girl was me.

Sometimes life plays ugly games with us.

Tyler was with me the entire time, throughout hours of pain, he held my hand in a tight grip while I gave birth, and at that moment I let him stay close to me because I was weak and in a vulnerable state that demanded someone's attention. I was far too caught up in the moment to concentrate on being mad at him. I could think about that later.

"Why isn't she responding? Is she going to die?" I heard Tyler whisper, his voice sounded anguished. "Why can't she hear me, Mom?"

"We should let Vicky rest..." I heard Mrs. Lockhart's soft comforting voice. "She just gave birth, honey, she's tired. Let's go wait outside."

"But I heard some doctors say that she was too weak to give birth, what does that mean?"

Mrs. Lockhart said something that I couldn't hear.

"No, I'm not leaving here." He said adamantly.

I could see a faint silhouette of Tyler by my bedside.

I opened my eyes and looked at him and everything started coming back to me. Mrs. Lockhart kissed my forehead and walked out of the hospital room giving us privacy.

Tyler smiled, "Hey beautiful," he caressed my cheek softly; "You scared me."

The room was filled with flowers, stuffed toys, and balloons.

"Where's my baby?"

"Ours," He corrected, "We have a baby girl, Vicky. And she's so sweet and adorable. Everyone is saying that she has your nose and she has my eyes."

I couldn't believe it when I was holding the little girl in my arms. She looked like an angel, and I was hyperventilating about the fact that I'd made someone. I'd given birth. This little human was a part of me.

Tears gathered in my eyes and spilled uncontrollably, and no matter how old you are when you become a mother, you get the instinct to want to protect your baby at all costs. She had a round face, fuzzy blonde hair, and clear blue eyes. She was my little doll.

Nursing the baby was the nicest feeling.

"Vicky, can we talk?" Tyler asked me.

I'd forgotten he was even here.

I glanced up at him. He was giving me the puppy-eyed look again, Honor's father, and the boy who'd contributed to making her.

Her name would be Honor because I was honored to be her mother.

Right now I was scared about the child's future. I didn't want my baby to grow up in the same environment that Tyler had—amid tragedy, pain, and the kind of darkness that had no end. If there was something that my baby didn't need it was the Lockhart's family history following her. She needed a normal life.

"Vicky, I'm talking to you." He said lightly brushing the baby's hair with the back of his fingers.

"Shhh, she is sleeping." I tried to dismiss him.

"Did you mean what you said in the text?" He asked bluntly, digging his hands in his pockets, "I want to know the reason why you said what you said."

He wasn't even going to say the word 'break up' out loud.

"Yes, I meant what I said," I admitted quietly.

"Why?" he was shaking with frustration, "Why are you doing this? I thought we resolved it earlier."

"We can talk about this later," I said through gritted teeth.

"What did I do?!" He asked me again, this time his relaxed voice had picked a furious note.

"Ask yourself that." I looked down at the baby and cooed. I didn't need Tyler anymore, I told myself or rather tried to convince myself.

His jaw hardened, a blaze was burning from his eyes, "You can't break up with me." His mask had broken again and he was showing his true colors. "We've talked about it before. That is my baby too, MINE, hence I get a deciding vote."

He looked like a child that was insisting that part of my Lego set was his and stomping his foot trying to make his point clear.

Thankfully, Mrs. Lockhart peeked inside the room; her smile vanished when she noticed the sudden tension in the atmosphere. "Is everything alright here?"

"Mrs. Lockhart, can I speak to you please?" I asked, and when Tyler didn't take a hint, I added, "Alone."

Tyler didn't look pleased but stepped out of the room without a word.

Kiara Lockhart sat down in the seat that Tyler vacated. She looked at the baby lovingly. "What is it, sweetie?"

I couldn't blink the tears away. "Mrs. Lockhart, I need to talk to you about something..."

I told her about Tyler's diary, leaving out the murders because that wasn't my secret to tell. Once I began spilling to her, I couldn't stop. It felt so much better to unload all that information to someone I could trust.

She listened to me patiently and then I heard her sigh, "I never thought he would go to such lengths to..." she bit her lip because she felt too ashamed to face me for the actions of her son.

I was done hiding things about Tyler. An adult needed to know what he'd done and his mother was the only logical person I could get help from.

"I'm so sorry. If I'd known that he was going to do something like this, I would have done my best to stop him." She explained clenching her purse in her hands, "I'm to blame for what he's become, but I will not let him turn into his father." She said with conviction. "He's not like Jasper and never has been. Tyler is more humane and considers people's feelings. Please understand, Vicky, he would never do anything to hurt you on purpose, he loves you. I cannot make excuses for my son, but I know that he wanted a family of his own, and that made him do this." She took my hand in hers, "He's not like us. He learns everything by observing other people and he wants to change for you."

"I don't think he wants to change, Mrs. Lockhart, so I've made a decision and I just wanted to let you know. I won't marry, Tyler, and I don't need him to support me or the child."

She reached out to take both my hands in hers, "But you would let him be in her life at least, won't you?"

She'd accepted my decision without any problems, although I knew it hurt her deeply to hear me say this.

"Of course," I said.

"Jasper wouldn't like it." She seemed worried about her husband for some reason. "He'll try to convince you to marry Tyler."

"Truthfully, Mrs. Lockhart, I think Tyler needs serious professional help, maybe to check into a rehab for a while."

Mrs. Lockhart gave a weak smile, "None of that would help. If anything, it would do more damage."

When I was done nursing Honor, Mrs. Lockhart took the baby into her arms and slowly cradled the baby to sleep. Then she placed her beside me and left the room, telling me she'll be back soon, and the moment she walked out, my mother stepped inside the room.

"She acts high and mighty for someone whose son is responsible for all this." She said as she watched Mrs. Lockhart leave.

"Mom, please." I said, "Tyler's parents are the ones who paid for the hospitalization. What more do you expect from them?"

"And how are they going to compensate for the rude behavior of their son? He just brushed past me in the hallway and didn't even look at me." She huffed, "I still think you should consider..."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The baby started wailing and my mom was taken aback by my sudden outburst and closed the door behind her.

The next few days passed slowly. Archer was over the moon and couldn't stop talking about the baby. He found excuses to spend his money on little gifts for Honor. When I looked at them, I knew Archer was going to be the best uncle my daughter could have and if that wasn't enough, Hazel was making plans to play dress-up when Honor grew older.

Tyler would come to visit and play with our daughter but I wasn't enthusiastic about making conversations with him. He knew something was wrong, but I guess he didn't want to press me to talk about it because he secretly wished I left it alone.

And I wasn't going to do that.

While I was glad to have Honor in my life, I was not happy with how he'd gotten me pregnant for a motive. The motive was to tie me down to him with marriage and that's what I wasn't going to give him.

One night after nursing Honor, the baby started coughing and suddenly started turning blue. Tyler was with me that night. We'd panicked but managed to drive to the hospital and the baby had to be on an incubator with some breathing tubes and it broke my heart to see that. They said it happened because Honor was born prematurely.

I just had a bad feeling about all of this...

I was always careful handling Honor so I couldn't understand how this had happened.

And then Mom told me something that completely shattered me. She said the baby couldn't survive.

I don't know what happened after that but what I do remember is being hospitalized for having an asthma attack. I recalled being on the floor, too weak to move—it was the worst type that I've had in years. I had to be put on a ventilator and I remember lying there in bed and thinking I was better off dead. I was so angry and frustrated with this world.

My purpose in my life was taken away from me. My future was bleak. Going back to my room that was filled with toys appeared to be a nightmare. I ripped off the Band-Aid and packed all the little clothes and toys and put them away in a donation box save for a few things that I couldn't part with.

I couldn't eat much and I'd lost so much weight in just a few days. Sometimes I felt like I couldn't go on. I went back to school and the other kids looked at me like I was a ghost and walked on eggshells around me. I heard the occasional whispers in the hallways, and the way some kids would stop talking mid-conversation because I was there.

Archer and Hazel were devastated but they were the only reason I was moving forward.

Tyler seemed to be doing better than me.

I started avoiding him because that was easier than dealing with him. I could tell that he was trying to give me space but he would keep staring at me with longing in school, wanting to speak.

This was his fault!

If he hadn't gotten me pregnant on purpose, none of this would have happened. Honor wouldn't have come into my life and then taken away. This was on Tyler, and every time I looked at him, I saw those striking blue eyes that were my daughter's and resented him even more.

The confrontation was going to happen sooner or later and knew that as much as I tried to push the day forward, I would have to face it one day.

I had a feeling things were going to get uglier.