Present Day.

Olivia's POV.

This is insane.

I've never even been to New York city, I've never even dreamed about visiting the city but here I am.

Cassandra sent me a ticket and she had someone pick me up from the airport, as promised, I spent the entire ride admiring the city, it's pretty crowded and everyone looks so busy but I think I like it, can't say I can imagine myself living here but a girl can't help but dream.

Cassandra lives in a penthouse and it's freaking insane, it has floor to ceiling windows that make me feel nauseous, the furniture around me looks luxurious and I could die in peace on the leather sofa I'm sitting on.

I've been sitting here for five minutes and she still hasn't come out of the shower that her assistant told me she was having. I'm getting anxious and impatient and my heart won't stop aching.

Can't say it's because I'm meeting a celebrity.

Whatever it is that Jace and his friend did to me, it's so important a celebrity sent me a ticket just to tell it to me in person.

What did you do, Jace?

How bad did you hurt me?

Am I going to forgive you?

God, I really like him though, I feel safe around him, how could he have possibly hurt me?

"Holy shit," a voice yanks me out of my head and I snap my head to look.

Cassandra Richardson.

Shit.

I stand up, drinking her in.

Her blonde hair is damp, she's wearing a short silky pink robe and house slippers.

Fuck me, she's even prettier in person.

"Hey," I wave at her as she approaches me.

"Oh my God, come here," she pulls me into an embrace.

Holy shit, I'm hugging Cassandra Richardson, and she smells really nice.

"I fucking love this hair," she pulls away and looks at my head, I smooth a hand over my bleached hair, muttering a thank you.

So she knows my original hair color, which tells me that she really does know me.

A part of me was hoping that maybe she was faking it over the phone, that maybe she just wanted to meet the girl her ex was sleeping with but that's clearly not it.

"You want anything? Wine? Food? Water?" She offers.

"No, thank you," I shake my head.

I'd love to drink some of her expensive wine but I don't think I'll be able to swallow any liquid or food.

"Alright then, straight to business," she notices my nervousness and plops down on the sofa, I awkwardly sit down next to her, interlocking my fingers on my lap.

"I don't even know if I wanna find out," I say out loud.

"Trust me, you don't," she says more like a joke but I know she's serious.

"How bad was it?" I hold my next breath.

"Bad enough," she purses her lips.

"Did he do it on purpose?" I release a shaky breath.

"No, of course not, he loved you, or so he said," she shrugs.

"Well, how could he hurt someone he loved?" I try not to start crying.

"This whole situation is really not what it seems, what happened that night, at that party, it changed everything and everyone and trust me, it broke a lot of friendships," she explains... nothing.

"You mean Diego and Jace's friendship?" I ask.

"I mean Diego and Jace, Cassandra and Blair, Blair and Diego, Cassandra and Jace, all of us," she clarifies, my heart slams against my chest.

"Well, you and this Blair person had nothing to do with it, right?" It's more of a statement than a question.

"Let's just say, we had a disagreement and she had the opportunity to choose but she made the wrong choice," Her expression turns sad and distant, "I didn't wanna associate with people who agreed on something so heartless and cruel," she adds.

"That something had something to do with me, didn't it?" I ask.

"Yeah," she nods.

Of course.

"Okay, I'm ready to hear what it is now," I announce, bracing myself.

"No, you're not," she laughs, "Maybe you are but let's be honest, you would rather hear this story from Jace himself than me," she says my thoughts out loud.

"True but he won't tell me shit," I say frustratedly.

"He will if you find something that will force him to explain himself," she tilts her head to the side and keeps eye contact.

"Something? Like what?" I ask desperately.

"If I were an eighteen year old boy that did something bad to a girl I liked and then decided to live a life of regret then I most definitely would keep something to remember her by, something to remind me of my actions," she says, I nod my head at her words, "he has to have something that belonged to you, all you gotta do is look," she lifts her shoulders.

I feel so dumb for not thinking about that myself.

"You're really... kind," I narrow my eyes at her face.

"And to think you used to hate my guts," she chuckles.

"No!" I exclaim in shock.

"Yes, you hated me so much you once slut shamed me and slapped me across the face," she says with a laugh.

"Oh my God," I cover my mouth with my palm.

"Well, Jace and I started having feelings for each other while he was dating you so I understood you," she says.

"But that's no excuse to slap someone in the face," I run a hand down the side of my face.

"Does that mean you forgive me?" She questions.

"Did you fuck him while I was dating him?" I question back.

"Not even a peck on the lips,"

"Did you date him before or after I did?"

"We never dated," she informs, I blink at her.

Oh.

Something else he lied to me about.

"Okay then, I forgive you," I say the words truthfully.

Olivia one was a bitch for not liking this girl.

"I like this new you, so cool and mature," she smiles at me.

"Thanks," I smile back at her, "I'll have that wine now," I relax back.

*********************

As soon as I got back home, I waited for Jace to go out, I asked Myra to feed him a lie and ask for his apartment key and sure enough, he gave it to her.

Now I'm in his apartment, searching for something I don't even know.

You'll know when you see it, said Cassandra.

I search and search but I know I'm not going to find anything where I'm searching from, the only place I'll find something is his dark room, in those boxes.

I slowly make my way to the room, I even think about going back to my apartment and forgetting all about this shit but enough is enough.

I enter the room, switching on the lights and immediately getting to opening boxes.

I pause.

I look up at that specific shoe box that screams 'grab me' from on top of the rack.

I drag a chair on the wooden floor, stepping on it in order to reach the box from the top, I grab it then I sit on the chair and place the box in my lap.

I lift the lid, letting my eyes wonder inside the box.

Pictures.

I start looking through them and as crazy as it all seems, I'm not surprised to find pictures of me in here.

There are pictures of me smiling at someone behind the camera, pictures of me and Jace, pictures of me painting, pictures of me in bed, pictures of me with my dog Sam.

And then, at the very bottom of the box is a necklace.

A star necklace.

The same star necklace from my dream, the one I pulled from my neck and threw in my car.

Well, just because I dreamt it, doesn't mean it actually happened, maybe I wasn't even wearing the goddamn thing at the party.

I swallow.

Or maybe, just maybe, I was.

The door opens and Jace stands in the doorway, looking at me and the necklace in my hand.

"What are you doing," he looks scared.

"What are you doing here?" A memory of that voice comes crashing into my brain.

At the party, he asked me something similar at that party.

"I remember," I whisper in realization but I think he heard me.

My mind starts whirling with memories, from my workaholic parents to me spending years alone in a house admiring Jace from a window, to dating him and then...

"Oh my God," I bring myself to my feet, looking at him in horror, "You." I take a few steps backwards away from him even though he's not even close to me.

"Olivia, I can explain," he walks inside the room and I extend my hand in warning.

"Why?" My bottom lip trembles, "Why would you do that to me?" Tears blur my vision.