Jason stood transfixed at the door, quite surprised  to see Daniel. He noticed the unwelcoming look on his face and immediately knew that his presence angered the man, but he had no plans on leaving.
  He glanced over Daniel's shoulder  and noticed Faith who seemed uneasy. He was instantly compelled to ask about her well-being, but before he was given the chance to do so, Daniel's voice interrupted.

     "Here to rescue your damsel?" came his snide remark that left Jason confused.

Oblivious to what was happening, Jason stood trying to figure out what might have caused Daniel's question, but looking at the couple, he was able to come to the conclusion that things had took a turn. He came willing to fight for Faith, but now all that seemed  futile judging by what he was seeing. It seemed he didn't  have to fight, just convince.

     "Daniel, just go!" Faith exclaimed from behind which had Daniel grinding his teeth.

He turned to acknowledge Faith, eyes shooting daggers while he stared her down, not in the least bit cautious in exposing his true self, seeing that he had no need to be careful anymore. He turned sideways to look at them both, a conniving smile on his smug face while he sized them up.

        "And to think I once thought you were a good woman. But I guess being  a bitch has its way of catching up with people." He turned to Jason to see his expression but a flying fist was what he saw instead as he involuntarily staggered to the floor.

Faith gasped, hands moving to her mouth at Jason's unexpected actions, an angry Daniel  scrambling to his feet and holding his jaw as he tried to conceal his embarrassment.

     "Don't make this harder for yourself Faith.  I can make your life very complicated," and with that threat being said, he gave one angry glance at Jason before going through the door.

Temporarily paralysed by the overwhelming events of the day, Faith only regained her composure when the door slammed. Her eyes instantly caught sight of Jason who seemed more worried than he was angry.  He moved towards her in quick strides, searching her face to detect and read her emotions, his hand going up to cup her jaw, using his thumb to gently caress her cheeks.

    "What's going on?" he softly asked, eyes not leaving hers while they demanded answers.

Faith shook her head in a pointless attempt to clear it, shrugging out of his hold and moving towards the sofa where she sat with elbows on knees.  Jason accompanied her and awaited her response, using the silence as an opportunity to admire and appreciate the beauty that she carried, though sadness intervened. He silently  wished he had seized the moment years ago when they had met - he knew they would be living happily now.  And a part of him told him there is a reason for everything but another part of him told him that was a silly excuse.

    "It's like he changed in a second," Faith finally blubbered. Jason put his thoughts to a halt as he listened to what she had to say.

     "What do you mean?" He asked.

Faith used the tip of her tongue to moisten her lips before she replied.  "He came here not too long ago, willing to forget everything, willing to give us another try but I told him that it couldn't happen - I may have made a bad choice in choosing whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with," she glanced at Jason and he nervously swallowed as he held her gaze.

      "Faith -" he began but was interrupted.

      "Jason, I took a risk when I rejected Daniel  and chose you—this may all come to blow up in my face–"

     "Faith, listen," Jason intervened coolly. "We can make this work, trust me."

Trusting him wasn't the problem. She already did, but love couldn't solve every problem. Faith was certain it wouldn't solve this one.

Faith smiled despite herself. "I do, but Jason, there's a big problem," she continued,  watching Jason's brows raise in question.

     "What is it?" he queried.

      "Daniel."

***

Daniel was fuming by the time he arrived at Lilly's apartment. He knocked and when the door opened to welcome, he strolled inside without regarding Lilly, and started pacing the room.

      "What's the problem now?" she exclaimed irritably, crossing her arms.

     "Who do you think?" he hissed. 

     "Don't tell me you have yet again managed to fûck this up!"

     "Me?" Daniel growled.  "I didn't do a damn thing, she made her choices very clear!"

Lilly scoffed in disdain.  "She chose the best friend," she stated rather than asked.

      "Damn right she did. She made her needs very clear. "

     "You fücking piece of shit! You ruined  everything for us!" Lilly  blasted angrily, face matching the color of her emotions.

     "Chill the hell out, will you? and just listen to what I have to say," he demanded crisply.

Lilly gritted her teeth distastefully, remaining silent. 

       "Thank you," he sighed.  "Now, things can be very benefiting to us.  After dear old Faith rejected me for BFF, I took another opportunity to gain..."

Lilly's attention piqued.  "Continue," she urged.

Daniel smiled at the small victory.  "I asked for two million dollars in return for my disappearance.  If she wants an uncomplicated life with her new boyfriend, all she has to do is hand me two million. "

     "And where will she find that amount of money?"

Daniel forced a laugh. "She has a boyfriend and friends who are millionaires. It won't be hard."

      "And what if they refuse to pay and instead bring this to court?"

    "I know Faith. With a baby on the way and the pressures of a surrogate mother, she won't want another headache." Daniel  then smiled victoriously, even more so when he saw the faint one on Lilly's face.

      "At the end of this all, we're gonna be rich."

      "Just pray that I'm pregnant at the end of this all and then we can celebrate because if I'm not all this will be all for nothin'" Lilly concluded dryly.

Daniel moved towards her with a confident swagger to his walk, his signature smugness printed on his face as he stopped in front of Lilly, his hands planted on her shoulders in reassurance.

     "Look baby, even if you aren't pregnant, you will be pregnant to them. If it doesn't take this time, we will continue to discreetly try without them knowing. I'm sure Doctor Marten will be happy to help us out," he smiled.

Lilly joined him in on his glee as she stood there thinking it wasn't a bad idea after all. They all knew, judging by the changes, that Faith would opt out and start anew with Jason. Everything solely laid on the basis of Lilly's pregnancy, and if it didn't happen the first time around – with their conspirator's help –Faith would receive word of Lilly's pregnancy nonetheless. Until a real pregnancy was in place.

      "You're not so dumb after all, sweetheart," Lilly concluded while she pressed her lips to Daniel's possessively, a laugh escaping her lips as her other half lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

***

"Damn! I knew that bastard was no good. How could he!" Kaylyn exclaimed after Faith explained everything to both her and Matthew.

After relaying everything to Jason who was enraged by Daniel's demands, Faith had opted to call Kaylyn and Matthew to hear what that had to say about the matter.
    Now, all were seated with varying beverages in front of them, their thoughts swirling with scenarios and at the unexpectedness of Daniel's proposition.

Matthew raked a hand through his thick, dark hair in frustration, though he had to admit, the news of Faith's and Jason's newly-evolved relationship greatly outweighed Daniel's ridiculous demand. He just couldn't wait to give his best friend a proud pat on the back.

But he quickly diverted his thoughts from his own small victory and refocused on the matter at hand.

     "Pull his conniving ass to court and get this over with," Matthew announced drily.

     "Court?" Kaylyn reiterated. "Yeah, I thought about that. What if nothing comes out of it and he still makes her life a living hell. Court cases can take a long time."

"Are you saying she should give him the money? Because if she does, there's no guarantee that he still won't cause trouble," Matthew replied firmly.

Faith sighed heavily. "Look guys, all this won't matter if Lilly isn't pregnant. So we'll just have to wait and see."

      "When's the next appointment?" Kaylyn asked.

      "Two days from now."

      "But what if she is pregnant?" Matthew asked and for a moment there was silence, thoughts overruling the lips.

     "Then we call him on his bluff. This isn't going to get to court, neither are we going to pay him a dime," Jason announced sternly, his words as serious as the expression he was wearing.

No one else said anything else after and before they knew it, Jason was telling them of his plan.

Double update!...