The words felt like acid in my mouth, and the bile slowly crept up my throat, but the lies falling from my lips were a necessary evil. Protect Jade, protect Jade, protect Jade was stuck on repeat in my head, and that kept me going.

Stella looked at Jade, her mouth curved into a depraved sneer. “See? He loves me. He belongs with me, and you took him from me!” Her voice grew shrill at the end, and Jade cowered when the firearm jostled in Stella’s flimsy grip.

I approached Stella with caution. “Lower the firearm Stella, and I’ll leave with you. We can get in my car, and drive away. Just you and me.”

“No,” she snapped. “I want Jade to see how much you love me, how good we are together. Maybe then she’ll give you back.”

Stella faced me, and motioned me forward with her free hand. “Come here, Reid, and kiss me.”

“I don’t think we should do it here,” I replied. “We need privacy, so I can show you properly how much I love you.”

Stella shook her head. “Do it in front of Jade. It’s the only way she will see, and maybe then get it through her thick head that you were always meant to be with me.”

I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat, and walked until I was at Stella’s side. Her grin was sinister as she trailed a hand up my bare arm, and around my nape. Her fingers slid into my hair, and I tried not to recoil. I shivered, and Stella’s smile widened.

“See,” she breathed, tilting her head towards mine. “You like when I touch you. Feels good, right?”

“So good,” I lied. “I miss your hands on me.”

That seemed to ignite a spark within Stella, because one minute she was touching me, and the next her mouth was on mine.

Make it believable, I told myself. If I could do that I would be able to distract Stella enough to disarm her.

I brought my hands to her hips, and lowered my head to deepen the kiss. It felt wrong, so wrong, but I had no choice. Stella moaned when my hands slid up, and shuddered when my thumbs brushed the underside of her breasts. I was aware of Jade, of how she was quietly crying as the scene in front of her unfolded, but I silently pleaded that she would understand. I was doing this for her, and for the safety of our unborn child.

I pressed Stella against me, kissing her with as much enthusiasm necessary to make her believe I was into it, and when her extended arm lowered, I saw my chance and took it.

Jade

I felt sick, and it took everything I possessed not to throw up on the bed. I watched in horror and despair as Reid continued to kiss Stella. Somewhere in my mind I knew what he was doing, but I was too unraveled by seeing them together that reasoning with myself wasn’t possible.

Stella moaned, and I cupped my hand over my mouth to quiet the sob threatening to tear me in half.

It was excruciating.

Painful.

Unbearable.

Seeing them together brought back a tempest of emotions I thought I’d buried, and I was having a hard time keeping it together. The sight of Stella’s hands on him, in his hair, her mouth locked on his was an image I wouldn’t soon forget, and even though Reid was pretending, I couldn’t get past the way his mouth moved over hers.

I felt a flutter in my belly, and that made it even harder to quell the need to cry hysterically, and beg them to stop. I couldn’t take much more.

I diverted my eyes long enough to search for my phone, but deflated when I realized I’d left it in the kitchen. It was all in Reid’s hands now.

I watched through blurry, tear-filled eyes as Reid pulled Stella flush against his body – a body that I’d always thought of as mine – and moved his hands up her body.

I hated it.

Every. Fucking. Second. Of. It.

And then in a flash everything changed.

Reid’s hand moved along Stella’s arm, and quickly moved to disarm her, snatching the firearm from her grasp, and shoving her backwards. She cried out, and hit the floor, and Reid lifted the firearm in her direction.

I inhaled sharply.

“That’s enough,” said Reid. “We’re done here, Stella.”

The bitch was brave, because she slowly rose to her feet, her smile manic.

“You won’t shoot me,” she said defiantly.

“Jade.” I jumped at the hardness in Reid’s voice. “You okay, baby?”

Stella sneered.

“Yeah,” I replied. My body trembled.

“And Daniela? She okay too?”

I clutched my stomach. “Yes.”

Before I could blink, Stella screamed and threw herself at Reid, and I watched as he struggled with her, the firearm between them.

Then it happened.

A gunshot went off and I was the one screaming.

“Reid! NO!”

They both stopped, and fell to the floor. I scrambled from the bed, and ran to where they’d landed. Stella was lying across Reid’s chest, and I saw the blood starting to stain the white uniform she had on. I stood immobile.

Time stopped.

My heart stopped.

Everything.

Just.

Stopped.

Reid grunted and my eyes flew to him as he slowly pushed Stella off his chest. I waited with bated breath to see if she would move, but she didn’t. Reid jumped up, his hands bloody, and looked down at himself searching for a bullet wound. When he didn’t find it, he spun in my direction, and caught me before I collapsed.

Stella remained unmoving, her blood seeping into our carpet, but all I could think about was Reid.

I looked up at him, and burst into a fresh round of sobs.

“Ssshhh,” he cooed, pressing kisses on my head. “It’s okay. I’m fine, baby. I’m not hurt.”

Just then we heard footsteps storming down the hallway, and in the next breath our room was filled with cops, followed by Reid’s father, and Dane. They took in the scene, and rushed to our sides as the cops went to Stella’s lifeless body. Reid continued to rock me, sooth me, and although I was so immensely grateful that he wasn’t hurt, I was having a hard time shaking the image of him kissing Stella. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him yet, so when I felt two strong hands wrap around my arms, I was relieved to see it was Dane.

He bent down, slid his arms under my legs and around my back, and lifted me. I didn’t object. I didn’t have the strength to. So I tucked my head into his neck, and cried as he walked me out of the bedroom.

To my surprise, Dane took me to the living room, and gently placed me on the sofa. He noticed my shiver, despite the hot temperature in the house, and wrapped a quilt around my shoulders. He left me for a few brief seconds, and then came back with a glass of water, and a wet dishtowel.

He crouched in front of me. “You okay?” He asked quietly. He lifted the dishtowel, and started wiping my face.

I shook my head. How could I be okay? I watched the love of my life, the father of my child, make out with his psycho ex, and now her body was lying in our bedroom. I didn’t miss the order in which those thoughts occurred. I should have been more upset about the dead body, but if I was honest with myself, I was more fixated on the image of Reid kissing Stella before the shit hit the fan.

It was messed up, I knew that, but I couldn’t change how I felt.

“We’ll have an EMT check you out,” said Dane. He rose to his feet, and I grabbed his wrist before he walked away.

“Thank you,” I murmured.