A part of her, and she wasn’t sure how large that part was, realized that this was her fault. Her continual desire for him had only pushed him to compensate for her affections. They had been playing this game for six years now, and it had changed him. He couldn’t hold back any longer. He lacked self-control and his selfish and self-righteous behavior only intensified his demeanor. Somewhere in their past, they had mutually agreed that cheating was somehow alright. She didn’t know where that began, if it was the first time he had asked her out, the first time she had gone to see him knowing she wasn’t available, or that moment on the pier, which changed everything, but it had begun.

And that’s how she knew this moment in time was partly her fault. The sex before the proposal was like old times all over again. She had attempted to fight him, but she couldn’t fight Jack. When he was persistent, and damn was he persistent, he got what he wanted. That is how it had always been. That is how she had let it become. Cheating was as much a part of them as breathing, no matter how much Lexi tried to fight it.

However, she had made it pretty clear, up until last night, that she had realized her mistake and wasn’t going to continue on that path. If Jack hadn’t ran in New York, she would have taken some time away from him. She had wanted to show him that what he had done was not right. They had cheated and deluded themselves into thinking it was alright, but it wasn’t and it never would be.

But the other part of her knew that this was just as much Jack’s fault, if not more. He had been the first to cheat. He had been the first to tell her that it was always going to be okay, that they could just be friends, that it didn’t matter what they had done, rather what they felt. He had never given up.

And up until today, she thought he had always kept that one important promise that had saved them through so many battles. He had promised that he would never lie to her. Through everything, he had told her exactly what was going on and exactly what happened. He had even told her when he had cheated on her. Yet, she realized, through her mind clouded with anger, Jack had lied to her all along.

Because he had always said that he wanted to be with Lexi, and it was pretty obvious now that that was simply not the case.

The memory of Jack pulling out an exquisite wedding ring and all but proposing was still fresh in her mind. She could remember every little emotion she had felt that day from his confession, to her depression, to his attempt at making amends.

And now her ring, her ring, was on that bony, blonde bitch’s finger.

Lexi reared back and with every ounce of force she possessed in her tiny body slapped Jack clear across the face. His head snapped sideways with the momentum of her strike. Her breathing was heavy and uncontrollable fury was ricocheting throughout her entire body. She could hear Jack’s ragged breaths in front of her, but she couldn’t even stand the sight of him after what he had done. She heard Bekah gasp and rush forward as if to do something about what had happened, but something in Lexi’s eyes must have stopped her in her tracks. Lexi wasn’t certain what she looked like in that moment, but she was sure it wasn’t something that anyone would want to deal with.

“What the…” Jack cried bringing his hand up to his face to rub his jaw line.

“What is wrong with you?” Bekah cried still staying far enough out of Lexi’s reach.

“At the moment, everything is wrong with me,” she spat back at Bekah.

“How dare you react like this! Now, I knew that you still had feelings for Jack, but honestly this is ridiculous. Coming here, hanging all over him, and then slapping him when you have news of our engagement?” Bekah asked angrily. “That is childish and completely uncalled for. I think you should exit the premises.”

“Childish and uncalled for, honestly?” Lexi cried out. She couldn’t even form clear words to tell Bekah how absolutely ridiculous her statements were. How could you explain to a woman who was crazy about weddings and had just been proposed to that her ring was never meant for her? Could she break the news to her?

She had never liked Bekah, but she couldn’t shatter her dreams just because she was angrier at now Jack than she ever had been in her life. Actually, she might be angrier than she had ever been in her life.

But Lexi agreed with her. Perhaps, she should leave the premises. There was no need for her to stay here and make a fool of herself any longer. Jack had crushed her. That was all there was to it. He didn’t want her any longer. He had given her ring to Bekah, which proved that more than anything else ever could.

“Yes, absolutely,” Bekah told her, folding her arms one over the other.

“Whatever,” Lexi said glaring at Jack who still hadn’t spoken up. “There is so much I could tell you that I held back from you to save you heartache.”

“Like what?” Bekah challenged steeling herself against Lexi’s threat.

Jack glanced between the two girls uneasily. “You really don’t even want to know,” Lexi announced.

“I do. Please, shock me,” Bekah said raising her eyebrows as if challenging her to continue.

“Bekah, ignore her. She’s just pissed. I’m getting out of here and you should come too. You don’t need this,” Jack said snatching up his suit jacket and storming out of the room.

“That’s right, just run away like you always do,” Lexi called after his retreating back. Bekah stayed put and watched as Jack exited the room in a blaze of fury. “Aren’t you going to run after him?” Lexi asked condescendingly. She realized how much of a failure her coming to this place had been. Jack had used her and then threw her out with the trash just like Chyna had said.

“No, I think not,” Bekah said a smile creeping onto her face. “I’m actually very happy that we have this moment together.”

Lexi looked at her in disbelief. “And why is that?”

“Because I’ve been waiting for this very moment.”

“And again, why is that?”

“For you to finally realize that Jack will never be yours,” Bekah stated sweetly, tilting her head slightly to the right as she stared wide-eyed at Lexi.

“What are you even talking about?” Lexi asked staring at Bekah blankly. She wasn’t exactly sure about the change of conversation, but was still too angry to process what she was saying.

“Why do you even think that you’re here?” Bekah asked placing one hand on her hip and leaning into it.

“What do you mean what am I doing here? I came to talk to Jack.”

“No,, I mean, why do you think you’re in Atlanta?”

Lexi sighed. “I’m here, because Jack asked me to talk to you and convince you that he was ready to commit to you,” she said letting all the words come out in a rush.

Bekah’s smile widened. “You thought you were here to convince me that Jack was ready for commitment?” Bekah asked sardonically. “What a silly little girl you are after all.”

Lexi tilted her head to the side as if evaluating the situation. “What are you even talking about? That’s exactly what Jack told me, and fuck you, I’m not a silly little girl.”

“Well, yes, of course he told you that. I told him to tell you that, and he believed me,” she announced smiling sweetly.

“Then what are you talking about?” Lexi demanded tired of this ridiculous behavior.

“You didn’t come here to convince me…you came here to convince him,” Bekah stated simply. “I knew all about you. When he gets drunk, he babbles too much, and on occasion you were brought up. He never remembered mentioning you, or if he did, then he pretended as if he hadn’t spoken a word. You see, I knew that he wasn’t over you. I could tell from the way he looked when he spoke about you.”

Lexi stomach began churning. Why was Bekah telling her all this?

“So I made sure you came down to visit. I knew that if you were around, he would finally get over you. And you did just as I suspected, you convinced him that he was ready to marry me. You played right into my hand. I applaud you,” she said beginning a slow golfer’s clap. “I never thought you would make it so easy for me.”