"She could've died."

"I know."

"You're telling me that someone was actually trying to hurt my daughter and her baby, that night." It wasn't a question that slipped out from between Pattie's lips but rather an accusation. Her intense gaze eventually resting on Kylie's face and it didn't take rocket science for Kylie to have guessed what thoughts were racing through her mind at that moment.

"That's what she said. But sometimes..." Kylie began before halting abruptly, glancing down at her hands, only to find her fidgeting fingers scraping unforgivingly at the skin surrounding her well-manicured cuticles; a recent habit that she had begun to seek refuge in. She inhaled deeply before averting her gaze back up towards Pattie and Elijah.

"What I'm trying to say is that sometimes...people want answers for why...for why it happened even when there is no reason so maybe this is Jess's way of finding an answer?"

"You're actually going to stand there and accuse her of lying? You, of all people, is accusing my Jessica of lying? That's really fucking rich." Pattie scoffed in return, the curse word sounding so much harsher emerging from Pattie's prim-and-proper mouth. It reminded Kylie of her earlier encounter with Jess and how she'd been just as surprised at the sudden rage Jess had shown towards her mother. Maybe, it was true. Maybe Jess was just like her mother after all.

"Come on, that's not what she was –", Elijah's sentence fell short when he became the victim of Pattie's furious stares.

"Of course, that's what she was trying to say! Don't think for a second Jessica didn't tell me what you said to her that night." Pattie snarled cruelly at Kylie and Kylie didn't need three guesses to work out that Jess had omitted what she herself had said to Kylie first.

Kylie braced herself for whatever abuse was going to be hurled her way next but instead, Pattie flashed one of her forged smiles before sauntering off into the kitchen.

Kylie let a sigh of relief escape from between her lips and began making her way upstairs before she felt Elijah's grip tighten around her wrist, as he followed behind her.

"What the hell are you doing? Pattie is right there and I think I made it more than clear that I have absolutely no interest in fucking you anymore."

Elijah chucked lightly but there was no hint of amusement in the raspy sound, "why'd you do it, Kylie? Were you jealous, is that it?"

"Are you actually being serious? Tell me you're fucking joking!" She laughed mockingly, "don't flatter yourself into thinking this was my ploy to get rid of Jess and have you all to myself. I had nothing to do with whatever happened to Jess that night, okay? Read my lips, nothing." She noticed how he took her instruction rather literally as his gaze fell down to her lips and remained fixated on them for a few seconds too long.

"You were late that night. Two hours late. Where were you then?"

"Yeah, okay I did come back here and I was angry and in a mood to fight and we had...words. But that's all. She was fine when I left, a little worked up but absolutely fine, not a scratch on her."

"You argued for a whole two hours, huh?" He raised his brows, the little crinkles forming around his eyes enough to let Kylie know he didn't believe a word she was saying.

"No, I was stuck in traffic, I've already told you that. But..."

"But what?"

"Maybe it was you...you were alone for two hours too, maybe you came back here and pushed her."

"What?" He half shouted in a manner of utter disgust.

"You were hardly ecstatic at the prospect of being a dad, were you?" Maybe this was your way out." She pressed a hard, accusing finger against his chest.

"I would never ever physically hurt Jess. I love her."

"Yeah, well so do I. You know that. You know I would never intentionally do something to hurt her or her baby."

He sighed audibly, running his hands through his curly mane, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have accused you. I do know that."

Kylie had already begun making her way up towards her room, and even as he frantically tried to grab her wrist for a second, she pulled it away from him with a force that he didn't recognise.

He turned on his heel, resting his head against the doorframe of his and Jess's bedroom door before gently knocking.

"Come in."

A small smile appeared on Jess's face at the mere sight of her fiancé; a smile so genuine and so full of love. Elijah loathed himself for not being able to return the exact smile.

He quietly slipped his shoes off and unbuttoned his short placing it into their wardrobe. Jess recalled how she'd loathed his face, his presence, just the mention of his name for the first couple of days after the miscarriage was enough to have her reeling.

She couldn't understand why she'd mustered up such feelings of resentment; why she'd blame him so heavily for the loss of their unborn baby. But now when she admired each and every one of his unique features again, she knew that the bond between them was unbreakable. More so now that they'd gone through such a huge ordeal together.

The silence in the room enveloped them as Elijah continued undressing before making his way towards their bed; the same silence that had begun to consume them for the past few weeks.

Jess had grown fond of their comfortable little silences. She recalled being a young girl and her mother telling her how true love was when the silences between the two of you aren't awkward but rather comforting. When she thought about life before she'd met Elijah, she remembered how her parents would often sit in silence when they were together. Probably, because they were so in love.

But for Elijah, the silence was anything but comfortable. In the silence, he was faced with the tragedy that was them; him, Jess and Kylie.

The dents in his and Jess's relationships had always been there, and it hadn't been long before they'd evolved into cracks but now they were holes. Big, nasty, unsalvageable holes.

He could feel her gaze against his temples as he sat beside her on the bed. Her tiny green lasers penetrating into him.

"Elijah, I'm sorry."

He blinked a few times, before meeting her warm gaze, "why are you saying sorry?"

"Because I've been wrong. I've been wrong all along."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about everything. I've been terrible to you lately."

"No, you haven't. And even if you think you have, it's understandable, you've been through so much recently. We both have."

She grinned lightly, "That's so you, isn't it? Always telling me I've done nothing wrong even when we both know that that's not the case. I always go along with it, smiling and acting like it's all you. It's never me, I could never have possibly made a mistake. Except, it is me...it's always me."

"Jess, let's not do this now..."

"Elijah, it needs to be said. It's true, we both know it." She sighed, sitting upright on the bed to face him, and allowing her hands to find their way to his. She noticed how his hands were slightly more calloused then she remembered, and she was surprised at how it had only been a few months since the time that she was able to draw along each line on his hand, just from her memory.

"I wanna fix this, I wanna fix us...before it's too late. I know I've made some huge mistakes and I've done things knowing that you wouldn't be comfortable with them but I want to fix that now. I promise, I'm going to change, for us."

Elijah moved his hands away from hers, and turned slightly so his legs were propped off of the side of the bed and he would no longer have to make eye contact with her, "maybe we've both changed and that's the problem, not the solution."

She placed her hand on his back, and he could hear the fear growing in her voice, "Elijah, what are you saying?"

"Maybe, we just don't work like we used to do. Maybe it's time to call it a day."

"No. No!" Jess shook her head, jumping out of the bed hurriedly and sitting on the ground in front of him; her hands planted on the sides of his face, forcing him to meet her gaze, "No, how can you even think that? We do work, we'll always work."

Elijah, I'm not going to tell you that I can't live without you, but I don't want to ever have to live without you. It's only been three weeks since...you know. Of course, things are going to be strained now, but it's not forever. You've been amazing to me and I love you so much, just as much as I did all those years ago. Nothing's changed, we still work."

Elijah nodded hesitantly.

"You still want to marry me, don't you?"

Elijah smiled unconvincingly and Jess immediately took that as an affirmation.

"Good. Because I still want to be your wife. And we can start fixing things now...starting with this." She moved her hand over his thigh, placing it over his groin area and gently squeezed.

"Wait, what are you doing? What happened to remaining celibate until marriage?"

"It's not what you wanted though, is it? And maybe, this is what we need to be closer again." She pressed her lips against his neck, leaving little-wet kisses. He glanced up at the ceiling, imaging Kylie lying in her bed and he couldn't help feeling guilty at the fact that he wished it was Kylie's lips making their way down his stomach and towards his crotch, instead of Jess.

From upstairs, Kylie had made the mistake of leaving her door wide open and could hear Jess's giggles and light moans, and she felt the shock hit her like a truck. She clamped her hands instinctively over her ears like a young child trying to drown out the sounds of their parents' quarrelling. And she felt a sense of deceit wash over her.

This really fucking hurts.

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Authors' Note: It's been way too long and I'm sorry but I'm now on holiday from University, and I'm planning to update way more frequently.

I hope you guys enjoyed this update, it is completely unedited so if there are any mistakes, feel free to point them out and let me know what you think of the characters and where you think the story is going? :)

Thank you for a support, and please vote if you do enjoy! Your support is what keeps me going and I love reading your comments so please do comment :)