Chapter 1

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Character change: Crystal Reed is Rebecca.

This chapter is dedicated to the lovely @PatchMeLuv. Your support and love is wonderful. You're amazing and I don't even know you. Hope you enjoy this first chapter love.

I heard shouting behind the door as I grabbed my things and began to walk away. The door opened and I heard her again.

"Jace?" She called my name. I turned to look at her and her beautiful brown eyes were filled with disbelief, relief, and...anger. She couldn't say anything else.

She was beautiful as ever. She had gotten slimmer but not in a bad way, gone was the young girl that tried to kill herself three and a half years ago; in her place was a stunning woman that held confidence and power.

"Hey Becks." I said, my voice muffled by my hand. Her eyes that were once filled with disbelief had turned into rage. She was livid. My own eyes widened in shock, she had never been like this, she always kept her composure and never showed anything, her eyes unreadable.

"Don't call me. You don't get to call me that after what you did." She said, her voice cold. I flinched. She hated me.

She has every right to. A voice said in the back of my head. I put my head down. She sighed.

"Come inside so you can clean your face and then you have to leave." She said, walking back into her home. I followed her into the house that we once shared and my heart broke. There stood my daughter. Mackenzie.

She stared at me with curious eyes. Tears filled her beautiful eyes and her expression became sad.

"You daddy." She said. Rebecca froze in the doorway. "Daddy left. Daddy no love Kenzie." She whispered before tears fell from her eyes. William appeared behind Rebecca and once he saw Mackenzie's distress, he scooped her up in his arms and cuddled her to his chest.

He whispered into her ear as she cried, my heart falling apart as I watched my daughter in the arms of another man.

A man that I called my best friend after everything that Jacob had done. A man that I told if I couldn't do anything that he was supposed to protect them both. Rebecca was in front of me with a dish towel, looking at the little girl that was in William's arms.

"She knows who I am?" I asked as soon as Will had left with Mackenzie. Rebecca nodded and smiled fondly after the two.

"She figured it out pretty quickly for almost being three. She knew at one who you were. Then one day, she stopped asking."

She stopped asking about me? That was the question that bounced inside my head. She stopped. She didn't ask about me anymore... why would she when I left her. I should've been honored that she at least knew me as her dad.

But it wasn't enough.

Will came back downstairs, his eyes darkening when he saw me.

Rebecca saw his expression and stood between us, her back to me. She grabbed his face, whispering 'hey' and tried to put herself in his line of view.

"Hey." Her voice firm. His eyes snapped to hers and softened dramatically. Love was written in his eyes. "It's OK." She said to him, her voice gentle and soft.

If my heart could have stopped, it would have.

They were together. My friend and the mother of my child were together. I looked at the two, looking at Will's left hand that was bare of a wedding ring and then watched as he became relaxed and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her forehead and then looked at me.

"Why are you here, Taylor?" He asked, the venom in his tone didn't go unnoticed. Before I could answer, a knock on the door sounded.

"Shit!" Rebecca cursed and she pushed me towards the backdoor. I resisted, not understanding why I had to leave because of the door knock. "Will, open the door. Tell them I'm just handling something." She said, using strength that I didn't know she had to pull me out of the living room and through the back door.

"What the actual fuck, Rebecca?" I asked once we were outside.

"You need to leave." She said, taking a few deep breaths before continuing. "Evan is back from Afghanistan, Alex literally said that if ever saw you again, he was gonna beat your ass, your mother wants your head on a stick and Maddie... that girl...let's just say that she is probably the one you should be the most afraid of. Anyway, you have to leave."

My family hated me too? Everything was exactly how I thought it was going to be.

"Does he make you happy?" I asked her.

"Yes." She replied immediately and I knew she wasn't mine anymore. There was no hope. I nodded and went out the back gate, watching as my younger brother walked into the house.

Nothing was the same. I had lost my family. I lost my best friend... both of them. And I lost the girl I love.

From: Zander

You did the right thing.

I glared at the text message, looking up to see a black Lexus pulling up to where I was. I sighed and got into the car, throwing my bag in the backseat.

"How is she?" He asked as soon as I got in the car. I turned to look at Clyde who looked at me sympathetically.

I walked into the safe house that the Abel family had, the three leaving town for a while since everything kind of hit the fan and Rebecca wanted nothing to do with them.

Sitting on the couch were Zander and Clyde, both with angry expressions on their faces. I was in shock that they had found me.

"Why did you leave them?" Clyde asked. His eyes blazing with rage. I sighed and began to tell them everything about what Rosie had said.

"That doesn't fucking mean that you leave without giving her an actual reason! It's been 2 weeks and she's not taking care of herself!" Zander shouted at me. I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"You can't tell them. They can't know. I've seen Jacob around the house and he knows that I'm not there. He hasn't been back. But the thing is, I know the fucker is always watching and I need them safe. My daughter can't be apart of this, she's innocent."

After that day, they checked in regularly. They obviously didn't know about William and Rebecca being together so I'm taking Zander will be texting me soon.

"She's with William." Was all I said before looking at the house that I once called my home.

He sucked in a breath but said nothing. He drove away, my heart staying at my old home. I regretted eveything I did but not for what cause. I love my daughter, even if she thinks that I don't love her. I love Rebecca even if she is with someone else.

My phone beeped and I snapped out of my thoughts.

From: Zander

She's getting married.

That was the finally straw.

"Pull over." I said, my voice breaking. Clyde immediately did as I said. I opened the door, falling to the ground due to my knees buckling. Tears ran down my face, my chest radiating with intense pain.

I had lost them. They were never going to be mine again.

Author's note:

what's up! So I've edited this chapter a little and I'm gonna be doing that throughout the book. welcome if you haven't read this before.

🌸

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