A/N

Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the very long delay. We're finally in the final chapter of Seth and Ysabel's story. It has been one hell of a journey but every journey has to end someday. After this is the epilogue and we can finally end the book. Enjoy!

-----BETTER-----THAN-----DREAMS-----BETTER-----THAN-----DREAMS-----

Chapter 30 – The Beginning of the End

"What?" His eyes widened. "Jackson stop the car." He barked and the car came to an abrupt stop, I took that chance to get out of his car.

I got out of his car, not caring about the case of booze I left in his car. I wanted t get away from him as fast as possible. I hugged myself, the cold night air gave me goosebumps as I walked the street. I heard footsteps behind me and it doesn't take a genius to know who it is.

"Why are you following me?" I asked, not once slowing down. If anything, I picked up my pace, I am that determined to get rid of him.

"I told you, I'm here to protect you." His voice almost stopped me, almost. I missed hearing his voice. All I wanted at that moment is to run into his arms and forget about everything that happened but I know I couldn't do that. Almost all of what happened was a lie. The only true thing that happened was I fell in love with him. I fell in love with a 'mark'.

"I think your duties are over the moment we stopped talking to each other." I rubbed my arms, hoping to get some heat into them. I wish I had a bottle of booze right now, that would make me warm.

"I need to know two things from you and you never have to see me again." He shouted and I stopped in my tracks and turned to him. I waited as he neared me, his scent hit me like a wave and I had to supress the urge to run to him.

"Tell me everything from the beginning." Is the first thing he said the moment we were a foot apart.

"Everything was a lie, the break up, Greg organised that because he knew Ashley. I didn't know Ashley was in on it until Greg told me. Greg knew you were going to that bar the night we met. Greg knew you were dating my sister. He manipulated everything and we were merely players in his little game. He wanted me to marry you so I could have the right to your money." I blurted everything out, there was nothing stopping me now.

"How did he know I wouldn't draw up a prenup?" His eyebrows furrowed and I had to look away.

"The moment you took me out of the country, he knew you would do anything for me. He knew you love me." A tear abandoned my eyes and I had to avert my gaze. The word 'love' scarred me.

He gripped my arms which caught me off guard. I can't look at him, not like this. The pain came back to me, not the physical pain I felt whenever a cane connected with my back, this is worse. Emotional, it could scar you for life. "Look at me." He demanded but I couldn't do it. "Look at me dammit!" He shouted, I winced but I still didn't face him. "Look at me! You owe me that much!"

It took everything in me not to break down the moment my eyes met his. I can see the pain, the anguish I had caused him. I will never forgive myself for doing this to him. I did this. I became a part of this. I cannot blame Greg, this is all my doing.

"You said two." I stated as calmly as possible. That seemed to snap him back to reality.

"When you said you loved me, was it true?" His eyes showed longing and desperation. I caused him enough pain to last a lifetime.

"No." The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it. He let me go and I fell to the cold concrete.

He turned his back from me, got on his car and drove away. I just sat on that cold concrete, staring at the spot where the car was parked. This is good. This is for him. This is for me. I did the right thing, right?

I took whatever strength I had left and walked back to my apartment. I opened my apartment and slumped on the couch, that's when I noticed the fresh flowers resting on my coffee table, a note tucked in the middle.

'You may not have loved me but I loved you. I still do. –S'

I buried my face in my hands and started to weep. I love him. I still love Seth Morgan, in that short span of time that I was with him, I fell in love. I didn't think I was capable of love, much less receive it. How can everything get so messed up? Why can't I be happy for once?

A knock came to my door and I didn't have the strength to open it so I rested my head on my couch. The knock was persistent and I held back to urge to shout profanities at the person. I opened my door and came face to face with the man I haven't seen in a long time.

"How are you madam?" Jason stood by my door in his usual way of dressing.

"Madam? Jason, aren't we past that already?" I rolled my eyes at him and opened the door wider for him to come in but he declined.

"I came by to give this to you." He handed me a plain white envelope with my name written on it. "Madam, please help him." And with that statement, we walked away without another word from me.

I shut my door and I sat on my couch staring at the envelope, debating whether or not I should open the envelope. Fear, that's it. I fear what's inside the envelope.

After hours of staring at the envelope, I finally decided to open it. An address, a room number and a time are written on the card and nothing else. No message from him or anything.

For the next hours, I debated with myself on what I'm going to wear. Am I going to see him? If I am, then I have to look my absolute best considering I haven't slept! I rummaged through my closet and found the perfect outfit. An off white dress that landed on my knees, I wore white heels and hailed a cab and told him the address.

The cab stopped in front of an office building and thought I might be in the wrong address, I checked with security and he told me I'm in the right building. He told me directions on where I could find the room number on the card.

I stepped inside the room and found myself in an office, two chairs and a couch sat beside the window. A table and two chairs sat on another side of the room. A woman sat on the chair behind the desk who seemed busy writing something.

"I'm so sorry, I must be in the wrong room." I excused myself when the woman called out my name.

"Ysabel Crest?" She asked and I nodded my head.

"Great! I am expecting you. My name is Dr. Spencer but you can call me Melissa." She held out a hand and I narrowed my eyes before shaking her hand.

"I don't really get why I'm here." I told her honestly and she just smiled at me.

"Why don't you sit down?" She led me to the chairs by the window and I cautiously sat down.

"What kind of doctor are you?"

"Mr. Morgan didn't tell you? I'm a therapist. I heard you went through something traumatic?" She kept on talking but one thing caught my attention, therapist.

"Seth sent me here to talk to a shrink?" My voice sounded angry but I was disappointed, I'm not going to see him. "I think I should go." I stood up but Melissa stopped me.

"We won't talk about deep stuff if you don't want to. We can just talk, you know? I want to get to know you." She gave me a small smile which says, I'm not allowed out of this office until my time is up. I sighed and sat back down.

"Good! Let's start with your name." I groaned, this is going to be one hell of a meeting.

-----

I opened the door to Melissa's office and found Jackson waiting for me.

"I'm to take you back home Miss Crest." He spoke like the professional he is and I simply nodded my head. Talking to Melissa took a toll on my energy level.

"We're here miss." Jackson's voice woke me up and I'm eighty percent sure that this is not my apartment building.

"Jackson, this isn't my apartment." I haven't been here in a while, memories flooded back and I had to swallow an invisible lump in my throat.

"This way miss." Jackson opened the door and led me towards double doors. "Mr. Morgan is expecting you, you just have to go through." He left me standing in front of the tall double doors and I had the urge to run away. I shook my head, enough running. I took a deep breath before opening the doors, revealing Seth. He's seated behind a mahogany desk with stacks of books and papers on them.

He looked up and his eyes lit up when he saw me. "So, where's Mrs. Morgan?" The words came out of my mouth faster than lightning.

"Mrs. Morgan? If you're talking about my mother, she's in her home." His face showed confusion. He stood up and went to a bar counter which I didn't notice because I was too busy ogling him. He poured whiskey in two glasses and handed me one. "I'm not married. Never have." Somehow the news delighted me. He finished the glass in one swig and took the glass in my hands and downing it.

"You are not allowed to drink because you are battling alcohol addiction." He pointed a finger at me, figures, he sends me to a therapist and doesn't let me drink. I don't drink that much, occasional yes.

"Why am I here Seth?" He sat on a couch by the window and he patted the space next to him. I sat down beside him and his scent invaded my personal space, not good. He still has the same effect on me like before.

"I have a proposition for you Miss Crest." He spoke and I thought it was some kind of joke. The last proposition I agreed to broke my heart and almost destroyed my life. "Here." He handed me a large brown envelops with a bunch on papers in them. "Read it and tell me what you think. I will see you tomorrow Miss Crest." He winked at me and I almost forgot what we were talking about.

"What is this exactly?"

"A contract."

"For what?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What our relationship is going to be like." His eyes showed darkness, he's testing me. What am I going to do? I could take the contract, read it and sign it or I could throw it in his face and I never have to see him again.

I stood up and made a beeline to the door but I stopped and turned to him. I placed the envelope on his desk, I can feel his eyes on me the whole time. "I've learned my lesson Mr. Morgan, I got out of a man's clutches and landed into another. Now that I'm free I don't think I'm ready to let go of my freedom just yet." I turned and got out of the room. I slumped on the carpet and took in deep breaths.

Doing that drained every last bit of courage I have. "Ysabel!" Seth shouted and ran towards the door, he let out a smile when he saw me seated on the floor. "What do I have to do to get you off the floor?" Humor evident in his tone.

He picked me off the floor and he walked towards his bedroom. "Mr. Morgan what exactly are we going to do in your room?" I asked playfully.

"I think you know Ms. Crest. I'm so proud of you, you've definitely become a stronger woman." He opened the door and placed me on his bed.

He took his shirt off and I had to stop myself from drooling, his perfectly sculpted body filled my view and I kneeled on the bed to meet his eyes. I kissed his forehead, both his eyes and moved to his cheeks. His arm snaked around my back, pressing my body to his. I closed my eyes and savoured the moment. He claimed my lips and everything went to the back of my mind, Seth is the only thing that matters now.

His hand went to my nape, holding me in place. He trailed kisses down my neck and took his time at the junction of my neck and shoulder. He nipped and sucked, he's marking me as he put it. I let out a breath of pleasure and one of his hands found the zipper of my dress and I heard the zipper go down. I thought about everything we went through, this is where I want to be. This is where I belong.

He let me go, his eyes locking with mine and I know what he means. I stood up and pushed him to the bed. I removed my dress slowly, his eyes following the movement of my hands and my dress dropped to the floor. I crouched to remove my heels but Seth stopped me.

"Leave it." He sat on the edge of the bed and kissed my belly button. I let out a giggle when he kissed my hips. He held onto the sides of my lace thong and slowly pulled it until it joined my dress. "So beautiful." He murmured and I had to giggle once again.

"How'd you know I was testing you?" He asked as he trailed his hand up and down my thigh.

"Talk later." I told him but he stopped, damn. He raised an eyebrow and I had to groan.

"I can see it in your eyes, you wanted to make sure this is me, that I can make decisions for myself. You need to know that you can trust me. I can see it in the way you were looking at me the whole time." I told him and he gave my hand a tug and I landed beneath him.

"I love you so much." He murmured in my ear and a tear fell down my face. He said it. He finally said it. "Why are you crying? I'm so sorry, I know I know, it's fast but I just wanted to let you know. You are in no obligation to reciprocate right away." He started babbling and I had to laugh for him to stop talking.

"I love you too." I murmured and he hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe.

"But this does not mean you get away from therapy, you still need it. I want you to get better." Concern filled his eyes and more tears flowed from my eyes.

He wiped my tears with his hands. "You are the best thing that's happened to me. I will go to therapy, I think Melissa can help me move on from my past. I think she can help me get over everything that has happened." I told him honestly and I could see the one thing I wanted to see in his eyes, pride. He is proud of me.

Finally, I can say I'm happy

-----BETTER-----THAN-----DREAMS-----BETTER-----THAN-----DREAMS-----

A/N

Hey guys! I just want to say that I am thankful for all the votes and comments and most especially the reads. I know there are a lot of mistakes and I will go through them I promise. This book has finally come to an end and I just want to thank everyone!

Epilogue will be up maybe tomorrow. I really need to sleep since it's 1am here. That being said, this chapter is not edited in any way so I apologize for the mistakes. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

-G