The street was deserted when the car came hurtling towards her but all of a sudden as if from nowhere a man appeared at her side making Kaycee jump in surprise.

"Do not move, you could be injured," the man said as he pulled out his phone and made two quick phone calls in a low voice and she frowned up at him in confusion as her mind became foggy making it hard to think clearly.

"I'm fine," she said after a moment as she tried to assess any injuries she may have sustained but could find nothing but a few scrapes although she would be have bruises tomorrow.

"Do not move," he repeated as she tried to get to her feet and Kaycee gave him what she hoped was a grateful smile.

"I promise I'm fine," she repeated but he still seemed unconvinced.

"I can't let you move until Jake sees for himself that you are alright," the man said and Kaycee froze in the act of getting up as she stared at him in horror. He had called Jake? How did he even know Jake? And how had he suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

"Who are you?" she demanded suddenly nervous and he smiled down at her as though trying to put her at ease though it did nothing to calm her frayed nerves.

"Max Powell, Bodyguard," he introduced and Kaycee felt anger boil inside at the realisation that Jake had been having her watched.

It was barely ten minutes later when Jake arrived and by then an ambulance had also turned up and a crowd had gathered to see what was going on. Kaycee felt extremely self-conscious as she found herself the focus of attention and she reluctantly allowed herself to be examined though she felt completely fine but Jake refused to take her word for it and insisted that she be taken to hospital in case anything had happened to the twins, something which the paramedics apparently agreed with.

"I'm fine!" Kaycee hissed once again to Jake when they were finally alone, after he had insisted on accompanying her to the hospital and had somehow gotten her a private room.

"You were almost run over, that is not fine," he replied watching her pale features carefully as though he expected her to break at any moment.

"There was no need to have me followed," she snapped finally letting loose what had been bothering her since she had found out but Jake merely sighed.

"Max is a professional who was only there to keep you safe," he explained and she narrowed her eyes at him furiously.

"There was absolutely no need," Kaycee growled at him and Jake shook his head in exasperation.

"Clearly there was every need," he told her indicating her current predicament and Kaycee glared at him.

"I am absolutely fine," she informed him but Jake wasn't buying it.

"Why didn't you call me to come and pick you up?" he asked sounding hurt and Kaycee sighed.

"Because I am quite capable of looking after myself, I don't need someone watching my every move," she insisted and Jake looked disbelieving though considering that she had been almost run over just trying to get a taxi she could understand his disbelief.

Before he could reply though the door swung open and a doctor appeared making Kaycee wonder how on earth Jake had managed to get her to the front of the queue as in her experience hospitals took great pleasure in making you wait about for hours at a time.

"Is everything okay?" Jake asked and the doctor gave them both a big beaming smile as he explained that everything looked fine but that they wanted to keep her in overnight just to be sure that the shock hadn't hurt the babies.

"I told you I was fine," she told them both but once again she was ignored as they discussed the possible risks that could still occur through the night. Just because she felt fine didn't mean that something couldn't go wrong later on.

Apparently they were all in agreement which meant that unless Kaycee wanted to cause an argument that she had no hope of winning then she would just have to accept that tonight she would be resting in the hospital. She was too tired to argue so acceptance it was though it was grudgingly given.

"What are you doing?" she asked wearily as Jake reclined in his chair never once taking his eyes from her.

"Getting comfortable," he replied and Kaycee rolled her eyes. She had expected him to be gone by now with more important things to be doing but he did not seem in a rush to leave and it surprised Kaycee.

"I meant why are you still here? I thought you'd have gone by now," she confessed and Jake frowned at her.

"You are my wife, Kaycee. Why would I leave you?" he asked and she sighed at the realisation that they still had so much more to learn about one another.

"Why would you leave me for a month?" she responded unwilling to let it go and it was his turn to sigh as he ran a hand roughly through his hair.

"I told you, I can't tell you. You have to speak to your father," he told her and Kaycee turned her wide green eyes on him at the revelation that her father apparently knew about this absence.

"My father knows?" she asked wanting confirmation and Jake nodded slowly.

"It was your father's idea. My father's too I suppose," he told her and he had a sudden worry on her face that surprised her. Why would he be worried?

"I don't understand," she told him and he smiled sadly at her.

"Just rest tonight. Tomorrow is soon enough for secrets to be revealed," he replied and Kaycee finally let him persuade her to drop the subject though she planned to find out exactly what was going on tomorrow.

She awoke bright and early though it was several hours before the doctors agreed she could be discharged. As she had predicted the only things that showed she had been hurt were a few scrapes and bruises though she was instructed to take things easy.

Jake seemed to realise her urgency for the truth as he drove to her father's instead of to their house that somehow seemed like home to her even though it had only been a few days. The only thing that seemed to be keeping her from falling deeply in love with her husband was his secrets and lies. Until she knew the truth she could never trust him and he finally seemed to realise that.

Her father seemed surprised to see them even though it was almost lunch by the time they arrived and he ushered them in to his office ignoring the furious glare that his wife gave them as they passed her in the hallway.

Kaycee had the fleeting thought that Sarah could be here somewhere but it disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. She had more important things to worry about than where her stepsister was hiding though she had questions for her too.

It was a tense moment as the door closed behind them and her father faced them both, his expression guarded as though he wasn't quite sure what to expect from this visit. He refused to look directly at her though and Kaycee wondered just when he had turned against her. It was clear that he no longer cared for her as much as he did his new family.

"What is the purpose of this visit?" her father asked when the silence dragged on and he aimed his question specifically at Jake who glanced at her before answering.

"I want my wife to know the truth. All of it!" Jake informed him and she could have sworn that her father paled considerably.

"All of it?" he asked and Jake nodded.

"Is someone going to tell me?" Kaycee demanded when silence continued and she decided that she'd had enough.

"The phone call I had that day was from my mother," Jake explained and Kaycee frowned at that. Why would he keep that from her?

"Why was that a secret?" she asked and Jake ran a rough hand through his hair in a nervous gesture.

"Because my mother was informing me that my father had suffered a heart attack," Jake explained and Kaycee gasped clutching her heart in shock as she sank in to the nearest chair. His father had been ill and she hadn't even realised?

"I don't understand, why wouldn't you tell me?" she demanded and Jake sighed.

"At first I didn't want to worry you until I knew more but then your father got involved and I couldn't tell you," he explained making Kaycee send an accusing glare her father's way.

"I still don't understand. How exactly is my father involved in all this?" she asked and Jake looked expectantly at her father who remained silent.

"Your father found out about my father's sudden heart attack and he approached me with an offer," Jake said when her father did not and Kaycee frowned. She did not like where this was headed.

"What offer?" she asked her father who still refused to speak.

"He suggested that I marry his daughter in return for our business's combining with me at the head," Jake told her and her frown deepened. Marry his daughter? But he was already married to her which must mean that....

"He wanted you to marry Sarah?" she asked in horror and Jake slowly nodded.

"He tried to bribe me in to marrying her by suggesting that my father would prefer to see his only son married before his death. I obviously refused but I had to explain why I couldn't marry her," Jake said with a pleading gaze and Kaycee finally realised what he was feeling so guilty about.

"You told them that we were already married,"

"I know I promised to keep it a secret but they wouldn't accept no for an answer. That's why I had to tell them. I'm sorry," Jake said pleading for forgiveness and Kaycee smiled for all this time she had been thinking he was cheating on her and instead he had only been thinking of her.

"That's why Sarah left her wedding. It had nothing to do with cold feet. She knew that Rob had no hope of owning Daddy's hotels because I was the first one to marry and not her," Kaycee exclaimed and Jake inclined his head for he too had come to this realisation.

"But why would Sarah let me think that she had someone else? Why would she hint that you two were together for that month?" she asked.

"I recently discovered that your family seem to have quite an obsession with combining our hotels. It appears that Susan convinced her daughter that I was her ultimate prize and she should do anything to have me. It seems that since then Sarah has tried everything she can to convince you to leave me. I assume she is the reason you left," he said and Kaycee nodded unable to believe that her family could be so devious.

"How could Sarah do this to me?" she asked and her father looked shifty.

"There's something else. I also found out that Sarah was the one who tried to run you over," Jake revealed and Kaycee stared at him in horror.

"Did you know about all this?" she demanded of her father who had the gall to look guilty when he had apparently been trying to ruin her entire life piece by piece.

"You don't understand Kaycee. Susan is my wife," he said by explanation and Kaycee glared at him.

"Jake is my husband but do you think for a second that he would ever let anyone bully our daughter the way you let Susan bully me? All my life I've felt like a disappointment and all the time you were just trying to make her happy? Do you think that makes you a good husband? I think it just makes you a fool!" Kaycee informed him and her father blanched at her anger.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. But believe me when you have children you'll understand," he said and she stared at him incredulously. Understand? She would never understand how someone could treat their child that way.

"You know what? I'm already pregnant dad, with twins. Your first grandchildren! And believe me when I say that they will never know you. I will never mention any of you to them," Kaycee told him and her father stared at her stunned.

"But they are my grandchildren," he tried but Kaycee was having none of it. For too long she had kept quiet and let herself be treated like a second class citizen but no more. From now on she was taking back her life.

"And I was your daughter but that didn't stop you from throwing me away. Well, you've just thrown away the best thing you ever had. And the worst part is that I won't even miss you!" Kaycee said calmly before she turned and stormed from the room leaving her father to gape after her for he had never seen his daughter like this before.

"You little bitch!" Susan said as she blocked Kaycee's exit.

"Excuse me?" she asked her stepmother who glared at her like she thought she was above Kaycee but that had never been true and she would not be allowed to go on thinking like that.

"You heard me. Who do you think you are? You think you can have my daughter arrested for something she didn't do and act like a spoilt little bitch?" Susan demanded and Kaycee responded by laughing in her face.

"Who do I think I am? I think I am a hardworking wife and soon to be mother who had a lucky escape. And I think you will find that your daughter is the bitch here," Kaycee informed her making Susan's face screw up making her look more hideous than usual.

"Any children you have will be nothing more than little whores. Just like their mother!" Susan screeched and that was her undoing for Kaycee had finally grown a backbone. With one swing of her fist she punch Susan as hard as she could and her stepmother went down with a bang, staring up at the girl she had bullied for so long with fear in her eyes.

"Don't you ever speak about my children like that again!" Kaycee snapped and then she left the house with Jake close behind her and he was prouder than he ever could have said.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you," Jake said as they approached his car and she gave him a huge smile as all the weight of the world fell from her shoulders.

"I understand. You thought you were doing the right thing but it just gave them an opportunity to drive a wedge between us. I just want you to know Jake that I'm sorry for leaving and I'm sorry for not fighting for what I wanted," Kaycee said and he smiled back at her as he closed his arms around her waist and pulled her close against him.

"I love you Kaycee! I don't know why it's taken me this long to say it but I do. I fell in love with you the first night I met you but I just didn't want to admit it. And I'm sorry for acting like a jackass but I was so scared when you left me and I couldn't bear for you to leave me." Jake confessed and then he kissed her so tenderly that it bought her to tears.

"I love you too Jake. I'm sorry I left. I was just so scared and I didn't want our marriage to end up like my father's. I know that our children will be happy and loved no matter what and I know now that our marriage doesn't have to be all about how it started," she told him and then she kissed him back leaving him in no doubt of how she really felt.

Jake's father recovered from his heart attack and he continues to live in his cottage with his wife. They were both thrilled to hear about their son's marriage and insisted on a proper wedding even though Kaycee was eight months pregnant at the time it took place.

Five months after they declared their love for the first time twins Connor and Cameron were born. They were a handful but their parents loved them unconditionally and ten years later they would find themselves at the mercy of their little sister Jasmine.

Kaycee has not seen her family since that day she left the house but she heard that her father and stepmother were living in a flat now as their business had failed and Jake refused to offer them assistance.

Sarah did not serve any jail time as Kaycee dropped the charges but she did find herself alone and jobless. She had not had any luck on either front so far.

Kaycee and Jake were still very much in love and even though they were busy with the children they wouldn't have wished for a different life. They declared their love for each other every day and planned to have many more children in the future.

THE END