David's Pov

"It must be hard keeping all this from your wife." Stella ventured as she followed me out of the hospital and down the driveway to the curb where I parked my car.

Hands shoved deep in my pocket, I glanced up at the blanket of clouds that stretched across the flaming sky. It had been a stressful day but at least the air was refreshing. "It is." I finally answered. "But it's still a necessary evil."

"It doesn't have to be." She suggested, causing me to spare her a sardonic glace. Her eyes were as heavy and weary as mine. She was tired too. She shrugged. "You could tell her."

I blew out a tight breath. "Everyone wants me to do that but they all fail to realize it's not as easy as it sounds."

"If you love someone, you don't keep secrets from them. It's a simple rule."

"Sometimes it's easier to lie to the one you love than see them hurt," I rationalized, leaning my hip into the rear of my car.

"But that doesn't make it right." She countered, standing in front of me. "You only just end up prolonging the inevitable that way."

I looked at her, silently studying her form.

"What?" Her eyes twinkled.

"Nothing," I shook my head and chuckled softly. "You're probably right. I'm just scared."

"And I understand that." She pointed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "As a woman, hearing something like this would make me disappointed. I'd feel betrayed and heartbroken but I'll forgive you because the circumstances surrounding your decisions aren't solely your fault."

My brow rose in inquiry. "How?"

"I admit, after finding out the hell you put Stacey through just to have her get rid of your child, I hated you. When she died during childbirth, I cried my eyes out and swore at you but reading that journal and understanding what happened made me feel sorry for you. It almost feels like your life has been rigged from the very beginning to leave you lonely and heartbroken at the end. It's like a lose-lose game. It's saddening really."

I smiled, Intrigued by her analysis. "It's comforting to have someone understand me. If only my wife shared the same inkling as you." I sighed as the disappointment of that fact weighed on me. "Sadly, she doesn't."

"You can never know. Just try. She might understand you too."

"You think so?"

She nodded. "Although it might take a little more convincing since you've practically been outright lying to her face for some weeks now."

I exhaled and rubbed my hands over my face. "God, I feel like the biggest douche bag on the whole planet."

"Maybe not the whole planet." She chortled, spreading her arms apart. "You look like you could use a hug."

Yes, I could. A big one.

I pushed to my feet. "A fair warning, I might crush you with the weight of all my worries."

She smiled and did that open-close action with her fingers that gestured for me to come. "Give me the best you've got."

Without relenting, I accepted her invitation and hugged her. She was warm, and smelt nice. It was calming.

"Your sister-in-law isn't going to spring up on us again, is she?" She taunted, snuggling in.

I snickered. "I hope she doesn't." My arms squeezed a fraction tighter around her. "I like this."

"Me too." She mumbled, soothing my back with gentle strokes. My body sagged with relief and I felt my muscles loosen from their constraint. After a moment, I leaned off and thanked her.

She smiled. "You should go home to Dawn, she's probably waiting for you."

I nodded. "I should. Take care."

"You too."

Smiling, I got inside my car, pulled out of the driveway, and waved at her before leaving the block.

With the soothing music airing out of the stereo, I relaxed into my seat and cruised up the free tarred road whilst welcoming the rush of cool air that blasted my face and disheveled my hair.

I was just about to drive into the main metropolis when my phone started to ring and buzz beside me. I glanced down at it.

A call from Luke.

I picked up. "Hey man, what's good?"

"More like what's bad." He released a breath into the phone. "Did you fight with Dawn?"

My forehead folded. "No. Why do you ask?"

"She was talking with Thomas Townley at the office a while ago."

I maneuvered into a quiet street. "Who is he?"

"He's a divorce attorney, one of the best in Manhattan."

"Divorce? Why would Dawn meet with a divorce attorney?"

"I don't know. I was hoping you'd tell me. Should I be worried? As your lawyer, I need to know if-"

"Wait, hold up for a moment." I cut him, shaking my head as I tried to make sense of what he'd said. "I think you saw the wrong person. It doesn't make any sense."

He exhaled harshly. "It's six p.m and I might have had a few shots with my colleague but I'm sober enough to know when a blondie with a big ass walks into court in track pants."

I frowned. "You're not making sense dude." I shook my head again. "Look, I'll catch up with Dawn and call you later." I ended the call and tossed the phone aside to focus on the road.

I wasn't going to think about it. I felt nauseated by even the slightest thought of it being true.

Shaking my head one more time, I pushed all disquieting thoughts away, shifted gears, and topped my speed.

When I stopped in front of my third traffic light, I decided to call Dawn. It rang but went straight to voicemail. I called again, apprehensive. It didn't even ring before going to voice mail. She was deliberately declining my calls.

Something wasn't right.

I took a shortcut home, skipping the city limits and traffic lights. Once I reached the driveway, I immediately knew something was wrong. The garage door was open and so was Dawn's car truck.

I drove in, jumped out of the car, and walked with the light of speed into the house. "Dawn?" I passed the foyer and entered the living room space. "Dawn are you-"I halted when I found her dragging her luggage down the stairs.

My stomach clenched immediately. "Dawn? What are you doing?"

Just as if I wasn't there, she continued to drag the luggage down.

Anxiety blossomed in my chest. "Dawn, my love, talk to me." I beckoned, hindering her passage. "What's wrong?"

She stopped and looked up at me. Her eyes were swollen and red and her cheeks were ashen with dried paths of tears mapped on them. She'd been crying. "Get out of my way." The pain in her croaked voice when she made that demand caused a stabbing sensation to hit my veins.

I swallowed, finding the courage to step forward but she immediately receded backward. "Stay away from me."

Her behavior frightened me. "I don't understand." Confused, I made another attempt to reach for her but she shifted back, putting an invisible shield between us. "What part of stay away from me don't you understand?!"

"My love," I called, keeping my voice calm even though she was starting to scare me. "What have I done? tell me and I'll apologize right away."

"God, I feel like a fool." She laughed out bitterly. "I thought that this could work. You and me..." her voice cracked halfway through. "...We were perfect but you destroyed that. All the promises we made that day on the altar, you broke them. David you freaking broke them."

I frowned, trying to gauge her behavior. "What do you mean I destroyed us, I haven't done anything that would possibly-"

She reached into her bag and pulled out something. A book. My eyes widened and my words stopped short at the sight of it.

Stacey's journal.

For a moment, oxygen didn't move in and out of my lungs. "Dawn.." I strived for breath. "I-"

"Don't." She held up her hand to stop me from saying anything. "Don't try to lie to me now. I know everything. I know all about your child. I know about Stacey and the cause of her death, I know everything."

My blood ran cold. I gulped hard, my heart beating ten times faster. My lips parted, I tried to find the words to speak my senses had abandoned me.

She shook her head and tossed the book to my feet. "I've allowed my love for you to blur my vision for so long, but now that it's clear, I can see you for who you truly are-a lying, conniving, coward who hid a full section of his life from the one he claims he loves. You are vile, David. You are vile and cruel and I want nothing to do with you." She grabbed her luggage tight and made a move for the door.

"Wait." I stopped her again. "Please don't do this. I'm sorry I lied, I didn't mean to hurt you this way. It was all so sudden and I panicked. Just please don't leave, we can talk this out."

Without a word, she pushed past me and made it to the door. My heart thundered in. I turned, chasing after her. "I didn't want to lose you, Dawn. I was scared that you'd leave me. I loved you so much that it made me thoughtless and impulsive. I didn't want to let you go, I knew if I talked, I might. Everything I've done is so I don't lose you."

She tossed her luggage into the trunk of her car and slammed it shut with a bang.

"Honey, please say something," I begged, desperate, out of breath. She ignored my existence and got into her car.

The engines kicked.

My heart pounded like it wanted to give out. Not like this. A sickening fear gripped my stomach at the thought of losing her and I wasn't sure what motivated me to do it but without thinking, I jumped in front of her car and splayed both hands on it to stop her from driving off.

The car jerked forward and hit me on the knee. She cracked the brakes immediately after that but I'd already crumpled to the ground, grunting in pain.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Holding my breath, I elevated myself back up and stood with my hand still splayed in the car. "Run me over if you want to but I'm not letting you go like this," I said through ragged breaths.

She did nothing but stare blankly at me as she held on to the staring wheel tightly.

The heat of the car's engine cooked my hand to the point that it started to hurt but I didn't let go.

We both stayed that way; staring at each other. I bit on my tongue as the pain got worst. I wanted her to cave. My hands were turning red.

Come on...

Come on...

She suddenly let go of the wheel and stepped out of the car. I removed my hands immediately and internally screamed out in pain. Fuck!

She came up in front of me and I parted my lips to speak but before I could get a word out, her hand struck my face. Hard.

The force of it made my head turn to the side and it stayed there as I tried to register the shock of what had just taken place. "Dawn..." Slowly, I elevated my head. "I-" the second strike to my face made me grunt out in pain.

"You ruined us, David." She spoke. "Don't try to act like you're sorry now. You already did it. You put the dent in our vows, you soiled our promises we made on that goddamned altar with your lies and secrets and the mere sight of you sickens me to my stomach. I cannot stand to share the same air with you. I am disgusted and utterly appalled and I curse the day I gave you heart, trusting you not to break it. I curse it and I regret it!"

Her words were a stab straight to my heart. Pain shot through my gut. My eyes stung. I looked back up at her. What do I do? What do I say? "I'm sorry...Dawn."

She laughed. "You weren't sorry when you made me feel stupid for wanting to have your child. You weren't sorry when you renewed my pills every month, pretending it was for the best whereas you-" She closed her eyes for a moment and tightened her fists by her side. "I hope this is the last we see for a while." Her eyes opened back up and they bore into mine with so much emptiness and darkness. "I can't do this anymore. Emotionally, I am numb, physically, I am in pain, and mentally, I feel lost." She slid her ring off and tossed it at me, it hit my chest and bounced off to the ground but I didn't care, I kept my eyes on hers, waiting to find a flicker of the woman I love but there was nothing more than coldness and hate.

What had I done?

"Goodbye, Argent." A tear dropped as she turned around and walked back to her car.

"Dawn..." I choked. "I love you."

She didn't speak.

Not even as she got into the car.

Shifting gears, she drove off without sparing me a last glance and I stood there, hands burned, knee bruised, eyes red with tears.