Chapter 3

Alice’s POV

Jace started laughing. I remembered how I used to love his laughter. But right now it made a shiver run down my spine. 

"What are you running away for?" he asked,"Why didn't you just do what your father told you?"

I stared at him in disbelief, unable to move. "Jace!" I snapped. "How can you say that? You know my father wants to steal our child.” 

He sighed, like I was being annoying.  "Alice," he said. "I'll tell you the truth so you stop running around and making things difficult for us."

He put his hands in his pockets, looking relaxed and casual. My chest tightened. 

"Your father promised me an investment," Jace muttered. "That's the only reason I dated you. For the money."

The wind blew through the trees nearby, rustling the leaves. I must have heard him wrong.

"Do you know how annoying it was?" Jace continued, his voice getting lighter, like he was finally free to say what he really thought. "Staying with you every day. Pretending to be sweet. Pretending to care about you. God, it was fucking exhausting!"

He paused and then his lips curled into a devious smile.  "And the baby in your belly?" he said. "It's not even mine."

My fingers started shaking.

"What...?" I could barely get the word out. My head was spinning. 

"I never touched you, Alice," he explained to me like I was a five-year old. "That night, you were fucked by someone else. Probably a waiter or some drunk who spiked your drink. By the time I found you, you were already ruined. When you woke up, you thought it was me. But it wasn't. It was just some random vagrant."

He started to laugh while my world was crumbling right before my eyes. My lungs squeezed so painfully, I struggled to breathe. 

"I saved myself for you," I said, my voice breaking. "My first time…I wanted it to be with you…"

"Your first time?" Jace snorted. "Who the fuck cares, Alice? You take yourself way too seriously."

Serena chuckled and my heart broke to see her stand beside Jace. I stumbled backward, almost falling.”Serena…” 

I could understand Jace’s betrayal, but not hers.  We were always such good friends. How could someone who had shown care and kindness to me for eleven years betray me so easily? Was it all fake? 

She rolled her eyes. "You should just behave," she crossed her arms. "Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be."

I blinked at her, trying to understand her motive. She was smiling at Jace like I was a joke to her. 

Why did she show care for me if she despised me all along? 

"Serena?" I called her. My eyes watered as I asked, "Why? Why did you betray me? What did I ever do to you?"

Her smile disappeared. "Oh, please," she sneered. "Don't act innocent. I thought being friends with you would make me popular. I thought I would be the friend of the rich girl and through you people would recognize me as well. But you turned out to be such a disappointment, having no popularity. So useless!" she spat. 

It was horrifying to learn that behind all those smiles and kind words, Serena was actually planning my downfall. And all this while I thought she was my savior. 

Was my entire life a lie? 

She stepped closer to me.

"Now I'm Lily's best friend instead," she smirked with pride, as if she had achieved something. "She actually has power and unlike a loser like you, she’s going somewhere by marrying a bigshot.” 

"Now all she needs is this child, and she'll get to marry into a truly prominent family."

Serena grabbed my hand hard, her nails digging into my skin. I hissed in pain and I tried to resist, but her grip was stronger. 

"Lily's waiting for you back at the hospital," she said. "So you're going to come with us quietly. Or I'll drag you there myself." She warned me, venom laced in her voice. 

There was no kindness in her eyes, not even a little bit of sympathy for a pregnant woman. I looked at her, wondering if she was this cruel from the beginning. 

How had I not seen through these people all these years? 

I wanted to run away but I was trapped between the two of them. If I tried to run, they might catch me. 

My legs gave out. I dropped to my knees on the cold pavement, my hands clasped together like I was praying.

"Please," I begged, looking up at Serena. "Please, Serena. This is all I'll ever ask you for. If you remember anything about our friendship, if any of it was real, please let me go."

Silence. I wondered if Serena changed her mind as she wasn’t moving. 

“Alice?” She called me and I looked up in hope. 

She smiled at me devilishly and then looked at Jace. “Happy third anniversary, darling. I hope we’ll get a hefty f*e in exchange for her.”

My heart dropped in my stomach as she punched me in the face.