JESSICA

|20|

I woke up in a luxurious, cold, lonely bed. The city stared back at me this time; with no empty life to fill the emptiness of myself, I had become self-consuming.

The night before, Jeremy and I had 'sneaked' out to dinner at a low-key late night cafe. I was genuinely amazed by the quality of the food from such a small establishment. We talked more, filling each other in on the last few years. I forgot how he could make everything melt away with ease.

Today however was my real birthday. I didn't know if Christopher was coming back, I hadn't heard a word from him, but I didn't expect to either. So until then it was the bed and I.

A light wrap of knuckles on the door caught my attention. I jumped up, slipped on the hotel dressing gown and opened the door slowly. Stood there none other than Kassie. I grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the room and hastily shut the door behind her.

What was she doing here? How did she know I was here? I thought it was a secret, but then Jeremy turned up and now Kassie too. Or was she even here for me? Maybe she was looking for her dad.

With so much internal questioning going on I hadn't stopped to look at her let alone speak to her. My heart skipped as I watched her look at me, her blonde hair cascading down her bare shoulders.

She wrapped her arms around me tightly. "I know everything, I found the journals." she whispered into my ear, her breath danced on my skin, sending shivers down my neck.

Fuck. I felt violated. If I wasn't pale from her surprise visit I was pale now. Those diaries weren't meant for anybody's eyes but mine. I felt dizzy and sick knowing she'd read them. They had everything in them, a detailed, day by day account of life since Christopher found me. I should have known even in a locked secret safe, they were not safe from Kassie.

"Kassie, I." I gulped down the lump in my throat, but before I could say anything she did.

"Jes- I mean what should I call you now?" she stumbled on her words nervously like I'd never seen before. If Kassie was one thing it was confident, but the Kassie in front of me wasn't.

"D-Daisy, you can call me Daisy." I replied.

"Daisy, I, I'm so sorry." With a rush of air in her lungs, her chest pushed against mine, rapidly rising and falling, like the waves of a stormy sea. She was breaking down, sobbing her words into my hair. "If I had known back then I, I would have never let that happen to you. What he did to you. I thought we were saving you when he brought you home."

"There's more Kass, he knew who I was, he kidnapped my dad and that's why my dad had to go, to keep me safe, but he found out where I lived eventually. He was coming to kill me and my mother when he found me." I rambled before she could say another word.

She pulled back from me, holding my shoulders. "That makes this whole situation a million fucking times worse." she gritted her teeth. It must have hurt to realise how much of a monster the only man she'd ever loved was. "Why didn't you tell me Daisy? You could have spoken to me." she sighed.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get sucked into it. I feared if you knew, he, he wouldn't hold back on you. I was protecting you."

"But what he did to you, Daisy, no one should have to live with that. I can't, I just can't. I have contacts too, I could have helped. I could have stopped it, for Christ sake I love you. I would have done anything to save you."

"That's exactly why I couldn't, I couldn't have you hurt Kassie."

She looked me dead in the eye with burning intensity. "It's never going to happen to you again, he's never going to hurt you again. Okay?"

"W-what d-do you m-mean Kassie?" I stuttered, stunned at the certainty in her voice. What had she done?

"He's not going to be around to hurt you anymore. As soon as I read your journals, I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't help you Daisy. So that's what I did. I got in touch with Henry and he helped me with the resources I needed. I reached out to my uncle, explained everything to him and he was happy to help. He and Dad never saw eye to eye, but he's the rightful head of the company. He's going to overthrow him, and then Dad is going to get what's coming to him. Don't they say karma's a bitch?" She spoke clearly and concisely, but detached. I'd never seen her like this, what she read must have changed her.

But more to the point did she really just tell me she ended it? I'm safe and I'm free? Was I dreaming? Was I even alive? This didn't seem real. And who was her uncle? I thought her only uncle died with her mother. And her conspiring with Henry?

"You have an uncle? You spoke to Henry? You, are you gonna-" I stopped myself from finishing the last sentence.

"He didn't want to inherit the business and so he disappeared, but like I said, they never got along, he gave him the scar on his neck." I cringed at the mention of that godforsaken scar. "Dad never knew that I kept in touch with him all these years, hell if he did, he would have had me strung up for treason." she paused for a breath. "And yes, I did. Henry was my only option, if I had used company resources Dad would have found out before a plan was even formed and Daisy, I love you, okay?"

I tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear, interrupting her. Her eyes, bright, big and full of pain met mine. "K, I can't believe you did all this. I can't believe you read everything. I can't believe you're still here after that. I just. I'm so sorry, I'm stupid, I used you and I do, I really do love you Kassie, but not in the same way." I rambled until the words stopped carelessly spilling out of my mouth. I was useless. There she was here in front of me, after going through so much just to save my ass and after what? After she found out I cheated on her and constantly kept secrets from her. She was the real angel here.

She ran her hands down my arms, cupping my hands and led me to the bed. I gulped. She swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes grew teary. "I may be jealous of what you had with Jeremy. I wish that our relationship was built with the trust you had with him, but I'm not mad at you for it, or for Henry. I knew a long time ago that what we had was being stretched to its last threads and I didn't understand why, but I do now. So I understand if you don't love me in the same way."

I kissed her on the cheek. "You were always too good for me."

She wiped a tear from her eye. "I spent some time with Henry whilst figuring specifics out. He is annoyingly understanding and gentle and probably the sweetest person I've met in a long time." She took a deep breath in choking back the tears. "He really adores you, hell, he really loves you Daisy."

Where was this coming from? I didn't understand. Why was she telling me this?

"Kassie-"

"No, let me finish," she interrupted me "after everything you've been through you deserve someone like him to look after you Daisy. I think you should talk to him. You must care about him if you ended up here to protect him. I have arranged for the company to wire you enough money for you to make a life with. So do it, don't stop living, okay?"

Her cheeks now red, sore from escaping tears. I hated seeing her like this. I could see her suffering and I just wanted to be there for her. I wanted to stop her pain.

"But what about you?" I asked desperately wanting her to be okay, but my desperation wasn't going to fix the reality of the lies in her life. Or the decisions she can not undo.

"I-I have my uncle. He is a good man, he'll look after me." she plastered a fake smile across her chapped lips. She squeezed my hands in hers. "And happy birthday, by the way, I always knew you were more of a Sagittarius." she giggled through the tears.

I pulled her in for a hug and held her tight, not wanting to let go, just wanting to save her. But I knew that wasn't my job anymore.

A/N Hey lovelies, happy Wednesday!

What do you think will happen now?

Where will Jessica end up?

Is it really over?

What's Christopher's fate?

Love you allllllll, till next time 💕💕