He acted hasty and repulsive, rushing into the Beckingham's home with no rational thoughts.

"Where is he?"

Isobel froze, staring at the gun he had. She noticed it was just like the one Lily's father had, she didn't know what was going on and she didn't want to be an upshot of anything catastrophic. "What are you doing here?" She tried backing away.

"Where is he?" His eyes dart to all corners of the room, paying her no mention.

"You need to leave, Jacob... before you do something foolish."

He looked at her, she thought she had gotten through to him. He blinked his sorrow-clouded eyes before lifting the gun towards her. "I should be the one telling you that." He watched her face, how she frowned and looked like a rotten fruit with that swollen eye. “She was your friend. She stood by your side and you betrayed her. How could you let this happen?”

"I am her friend, s-so you can’t kill me." She trembled, raising her hands slowly.

"Then get out of my way."

“I can’t let you do that.” She pleaded. “Please, I love him. He’s my only hope.”

Jacob clenched his jaw, almost lowering his hand before lifting it up. “You should get out of here, Isobel. Before it’s too late, before he takes you too.”

Isobel chuckled to herself, letting her tears fall from her cheek. “He already has.”

No doubt, he was serious, she knew it. She gulped, slowly shifting to the corner of the room, still feeling like she was going to die, even though he had already made it up to the second floor.

Pacing down the halls, he couldn’t have predicted his next move. Everything moved so slowly, he checked the first two doors, wishing he could just lay eyes on the bastard so he could be rid of him and end Lily’s sorrows. He pondered on this family long enough and had let them get away with too much. He couldn’t let them do this too. It was at the third door down the hall where he heard the voice.

"Didn't think you'd come." He said.

William knew Jacob was at the door, he knew what he was doing there and why he came but he didn't think Lily could do it. He didn’t think she’d bring herself to speak so freely with her husband when he had such a secret over her. He had little faith in her but she proved herself to be braver than he was. Staring out the window, he could still see her in the garden reading as usual. It was the one thing she loved doing in her free time.

"Why'd you do it?" Jacob begged for an answer, feeling lightheaded. "Damn it, William, why'd you do it?!"

"Because I loved her." He said calmly, turning around. "I loved her even before you were a part of her life."

"You’re pathetic." He cursed, lowering the gun. "You planned this whole thing. You killed Taylor."

"So she did tell you everything." He grinned, feeling accomplished.

"And you killed her father too." He watched him, holding the gun up again. "Didn't you?!?"

"If you weren't there, this didn't have to happen. “Taylor didn't have to die, Jacob."

"Does she know?" Jacob felt his heart sink, he should've seen it coming. "Why did her father quit working for your family?"

"Because he was sick, Jacob." William glared at him. "He was sick, that's all there is to it."

"No. No. He wasn't sick, he was never sick. I had my uncle do an investigation on this wretched family. He got into an accident on the ranch, your father's ranch. That's where you saw her. "

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"She never noticed me, how could she? After what I did to Sarah, Fullin didn't want her to have anything to do with me." William, now in a state of complete desolation, didn't know what the point of fighting was. He knew he was cornered and the secrets he had where too much, it overwhelmed him. The steady nightmares and bad dreams never stopped, for twenty years they threaded on and the more things he did, the more intense and vivid they got. “He forbade me from marrying her and even said, she didn’t have to be reminded of my existence.”

"So you got rid of him." He said, heavily.

“I gave him a choice. You know what he said to me?” William scoffed. “Over his dead body.”

"It wasn’t a damn accident and I’m positive he wasn’t the first one." Oh, how William wished Jacob would end his misery. “Your sister.”

"You’re right.” He glared at the man. “It got easier."

"Even after losing their daughter, they still let you off the hook, how predictable."

"Jacob Dale, why don't you tell me how normal your life was?" He smirked. "It had to be normal for you to judge me... and be a hypocrite."

"This isn't about me."

"I'm positive that you didn't come here to talk about me either."

"You're right."

Lily found herself staggering up the steps of the Beckingham Manor. It was all too quiet for her liking. She felt the coldness of the house, creeping up her back and resting on her spine. “Jacob!” She shouted but to no avail. The young woman had burst through the door, stumbling as she checked each room. With the sound of a Bang! Cramps ran through her body like lightning, she held her heart as she screamed out. “Jacob!... Jacob!” She continued along the corridor until she reached the door where Jacob had been lying, on the floor, almost out of breath. She glanced up at the black-haired girl with red plumped lips, pale white skin, and a knife. “Isobel? You stabbed him?!” She screamed, almost like a whistle. She dropped to her knees instantly, the shock throughout her body continued as she draped his shoulder onto her lap.

“J-Jacob?”

He held her hands before answering. “Are you scared, Lily?” He struggled to get out the words because the blood filling his lungs. Her hands trembled as she moved them around his abdomen where the pool started expanding around him. With her hands now a scarlet red, she moved them up to his face and nodded.

“N-no, I’m not… I’m not.”

He coughed some blood, which splattered onto her chest she flinched. “Oh, Jacob.” She pushed back his hair some more. By then Isobel had disappeared but she wasn't worried. Lily didn’t care if she too was stabbed, it would’ve been the perfect time to be dying beside her husband.

“As long as he was alive you’d never feel safe.” He said, his eyes welling up as he gave a weak smile.

“Jacob, I- I”

“It’s okay, Lily. I know.” His eyes were sad, not by emotion but by the slow coming of the afterlife. “You never have to be alone again. You’ll always have a piece of me with you.

“Be… with me~” He gulped before fighting the words. “Till my last breath, okay?” Her hands had been drawn to the chest by his.

She nodded. “I will, I will.”

Upon hearing these words, he smiled… almost as if to show his contentment. She felt it, his heart beating. It started fast but somehow, Jacob had relaxed himself but he continued to hold her hand until he was not allowed to. His heart started skipping beats until she felt his final breath against her neck then his hand slipped out of hers.

She kissed his forehead and closed his eyes with an “I love you.”

Jodi came out of her room, draped in a towel with wet hair. "Oh, my god. " She said, looking at Lily. Her first instinct was to check on her son so she ran down the hall and saw him. He was dead as she predicted, Lily killed him. It was her fault- she thought. She never wanted the girl there in the first place, she was skeptical from the beginning. Jodi picked up the weapon with quivering wet hands. "You did this." She said then screamed. "You did th-" Pow! Lily heard, screaming. "Ah!" She covered he head, shocked and scared by the terrifying sound it gave.

"I'm not going to let you kill her," Isobel grunted, holding Jodi's hands apart. They both fought each other, Isobel tried to take the gun from her but Mrs. Beckingham was set on killing this girl first. If there was one person she hated more than Lily, it had to be Isobel. She was sick of her strutting around like a peacock and Isobel thought the same about her. They went back and forth, back and forth until they reached the rails that overlooked the grand hall. Jodi's strength was enough to push Isobel off the edge but she fought, long hard until they reached the steps then the gun went off again and Lily screamed even louder, crying and wishing someone would come and save her from this nightmare.

Isobel gasped, not knowing where to look. "What did I do?" She said, taking a step back on the stair only to trip and tumble to her death. Jodi froze in place with widened eyes, she looked at Lily one more time then looked down at her stomach, watching the blood soak her white cotton shirt. Mrs. Beckingham dropped the gun and then fell to her knees, tumbling down the stair behind her soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

Then it all went silent. The bakers couldn't bake, the thinkers couldn't think, the lovers couldn't love and the drinkers couldn't drink.