Several cars were trailing after us as we drove to the location I was told to go to. Kieran had demanded that I go by myself and I guaranteed him that that was what I was going to do.

I didn't have to worry about him believing it since last time he asked me to keep everything to myself, I listened to his not-so-empty threats and actually kept everything to myself.

The drive was supposed to be to an abandoned house 45 minutes away from where I was staying. I was terrified for myself, terrified for Damian and most importantly terrified for Ava. Mr Brown had called me and asked me if I heard from Ava since she had disappeared since yesterday which wasn't like her at all. I had no idea whether to tell him the truth or not so I had to make up a quick lie about how she was sleeping beside me.

Ava. My best friend. I can't believe I managed to drag her into this. I'll never forgive myself if something bad were to happen to her.

Or Damian.

Damian...

I looked at him and wasn't surprised to see him eyeing me expectantly. We were both sitting in the back seat, the driver the same guard I talked to earlier.

"I kind of wish you weren't coming," I found myself saying. He scoffed, offended. "You don't seem to like my presence at all."

I gulped. "You know that's not true. Not true at all." For three years, I ached for him. I ached for his touch. I ached for everything I used to have. I ached for how he was mine, and I was his.

My beautiful husband. The one person who was always nice to me. I loved him then, and I still love him now. My beautiful husband, whom I will love for the rest of my life, even if he doesn't share the same feelings towards me.

I cleared my throat. "Kieran was my sister's fiancé at one point. He loved her so much. That demon..I still can't believe he's capable of love." I laughed humorlessly.

"You have a sister?" he asked, astonished. Funny, isn't it? We were married for a year and I never once mentioned her to him. The wounds were still too fresh for me to talk about it.

I shrugged, feeling my heart crumble at the mention of her. "Had. The best sister ever. She was my other half. I could never stay away from her. I'd follow her everywhere ever since we were both kids," I smiled at the memory of her complaining to our mother about having to drag me with her everywhere. I ruined all of her hangouts with her friends.

"She met him in college. He was a bad boy. Hated everyone. Argued with everyone. But the moment he laid his eyes on her? He felt like maybe falling in love wasn't a bad idea." I reminisced. "I liked him in the beginning, you know? He tried so hard to impress our small family of girls. My sister had no one but me and our mother. She wouldn't let anyone who disrespected us in our lives so he made sure he was on his best behavior whenever he saw us. I would've never thought that he.." I swallowed back the lump in my throat. "I ruined everything. I saw him kill someone. Gangs, you know, the normal." I scoffed. "Not normal for me. An average high school student. Not normal for any of us, really. Maybe just him."

I could see that Damian was starting to feel more and more sympathetic. "I told my sister. He was a dangerous man, I would never let her stay with a murderer like that. She didn't believe me, of course, but she didn't fight me about it either. She told me not to tell anyone and to be patient. She was going to understand everything from him and we'll deal with the outcome together. But she never got the chance to." I paused when I felt Damian wipe some tears that I didn't realize managed to slip down my cheeks."His friend killed her the moment he found out she knows. Didn't give Kieran the chance to explain. Kieran went crazy and killed him. Then, he vowed to ruin my life for ruining his. He loved her, after all." I laughed humorlessly again. "My mom blamed me. She said that if I had kept my mouth shut then my sister would've probably still been there, happier than ever, with her soon to be husband who loved her with all his heart. Instead, she was stuck with the useless daughter who did nothing but cause problems for everyone else."

"I'm sorry," Damian started apologizing. For what? I don't know. The one person who should be issuing me an apology right now is Kieran. He's the main reason my sister isn't part of our world anymore.

I shook my head. "I forced mother to move here with me to hide from him even though she hated my guts. The only way I managed to guilt trip her into coming was by convincing her that if she died then the only person that would remember her other daughter would be me, the useless one who caused her death.

"I stayed here for a bit, then I met you. The light of my life. The best thing to ever happen to me," I smiled wistfully. His eyes conveyed a deep hurt—hurt at what I had gone through, and hurt at what we had missed of each other in the past few years. "Everything went downhill when he found us. He kidnapped mother. He threatened me to kill her and hurt you if you were to know anything. He sent a message that if I didn't go to him that day.. the day where everything was ruined.." I hinted at the day that led to our divorce. "He said he was going to kill her and send me her remains. I couldn't.."

"I get it.." Damian stopped me. He held my cheek and wiped each and every one of my tears. "Valerie. I wish you would've told me."

I nodded, "me too. Goodness, I wish I'd have told you everything. I regret everything. That day I went to him, I was drugged. I don't know what happened. I don't think he would've touched me since he hated my guts but.. he made sure you were going to hate me after that. If he couldn't stay with the love of his life then I should suffer the same outcome," I scoffed. "Then he threatened me that if I didn't leave, you'd be the one he kidnaps next. And he promised he'd shoot your brain out."

"He couldn't-"

"He would've! He shot her.. he shot mother right in front of me!" I cried. I had blocked that memory from my brain for so long now. I almost couldn't even remember it happened. I was too in shock to even glance at Damian's reaction.

"Oh my God.. I saw her die!" The realization hit me so hard that I couldn't stop gasping for air.

"Valerie!"

I suddenly remembered her terrified eyes. Her lips saying sorry. Her lifeless body slumping to the ground.

"Valerie..my love.. I'm so sorry," he pulled me to him and I hid my face in the crook of his neck. I couldn't see anything through my tears. I just wanted to get these memories out of my head.

"I'm so sorry this is all my fault. I shouldn't have forced you to talk about it," he apologized over and over again as he continued to remove my hair from my face. I couldn't help but cry hysterically at everything.

"No," I managed to mutter out. I wish I could just forget everything. Why did everything bad have to happen to me? Why did I have to remember it all now? Why.

Why.

Why.

What if the two people I love most also end up with the same outcome?

I gasped.

"I shouldn't have let you come with me. Oh my god. Damian. Don't come with me," I pulled away just to look properly at his face. "Tell your guards to drop you off here. Let some of them stay with you."

"No," he shut down the idea in a heartbeat. "Are you crazy? You want me to let you go all by yourself?"

"I'll still have some of your guards with me. Just," I wailed, "don't come."

He shook his head. "I'll come with you."

"Damian-"

"I'll come. It's final," he gritted out with so much disdain. I knew just how stubborn he was. Nothing that I was going to say was going to convince him to stay back so I just shakily nodded. I sat beside him and for the rest of the ride with me trying to calm myself down, I prayed and prayed that he and Ava come out of it alive.