Hi guys! I know this is so out of character for me but I decided to post this new chapter. I'm not sure what your reactions are gonna be but I hope you'll like it. Let me know what you think okay? Cheers! ;)

Chapter 10

It was a beautiful day for a wedding, Haley thought. She was seated in the front pew with Jamie by her side. She held his small hand in hers and smiled as she watched two of her bestfriends exchange their vows. Vows that were going to commit them to each other for the rest of their lives. She was aware of the glances that Nathan threw her, although she ignored them. She was aware of them. She had managed to avoid him after that day when they almost had sex. He had wanted to talk to her about it and she had flatly refused, telling him that it was a big mistake.

He saw her focusing her eyes on Lucas and Brooke at the altar, knowing that she was avoiding his eyes. Her refusal to talk to him was frustrating. That frustration quickly turned to anger. He took it as another way of her turning her back on him, just like she did four years ago. He had told her that what happened four years ago did not matter to him anymore, but he would by lying if he said that he was not curious. He heard Lucas and Brooke exchange their vows and almost scoffed. He and Haley had said the same vows, and now look what happened.

A loud cheer was suddenly heard as the priest pronounced Lucas and Brooke as husband and wife. Haley beamed as she watched Lucas kiss his new bride. Brooke looked gorgeous in the dress of her own creation. They made their way down the altar and to where she and the rest were sitting. She threw her arm around Lucas and enveloped him in a big hug.

"Congratulations Luke!" she exclaimed to her grinning friend.

"Thanks buddy," he said and hugged her back. She winked at him before turning to Brooke and giving her the same attention, all the while painfully aware that Nathan's eyes were on her, watching her every move. She stepped back and watched as the couple made their way to the exit and smiled wistfully. She felt happiness and sadness at the same time. She was happy that her two friends had found each other, and sad as she thought of how she was once in Brooke's shoes. She used to be somebody's wife. She used to be happy.

She held Jamie's hand as she followed the crowd outside the church. Nathan stood on the other side holding his other hand. To an onlooker who did not know, they looked like a perfect family. She spotted Peyton in the churchyard and stopped in her tracks. She then bent down and looked at Jamie.

"Hey buddy. I need to talk to Aunt Peyton for a while. You'll be alright with Daddy?"

"Don't worry. I'll take him," Nathan said gruffly. She nodded and made a small run towards Peyton.

"Hey," she said and tapped Peyton's shoulder. Before Peyton could reply she continued, "I need to get away. Any chance you could make it happen?"

Peyton looked bewildered for a moment. She sensed that something was wrong, although she knew about the 'almost sex' incident. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Haley nodded. "I have to go. I can't take this anymore."

"Did you tell him?" She shook her head. "Haley," Peyton sighed exasperatedly. "Why are you the one who has to go away? You need to tell him. He has a right to know too. You can't keep this a secret anymore."

She was on the verge of crying. "I know. Just give me a bit more time. I just need to get away. To think. Please," she begged Peyton.

Peyton looked at her friend and knew that she didn't have much choice. Her brain went on an overdrive as she thought of a solution. "Okay, here's what we'll do," she said as she pulled Haley to a quiet corner.

It was late in the evening when Haley stuffed her clothes in her bag as she packed hastily. Jamie watched her in confusion. "Why do you have to go Mama?"

Her hand stilled and she turned to face him. "I'm sorry honey." She sat down on the bed next to him. "Jamie, you know I'm a singer right?" Jamie nodded. "And that I have a new album out, right?" Again he nodded. "Well, I have to see some people and convince them to buy my album. That's why I have to go away."

"But you already have like a million people buying your album," Jamie said in protest.

She had to smile at that. It was true that she had legions of fans around the world, but she had agree with Peyton that the only way she could get away is by saying that she needed to promote her new albums. It was a perfect plan as she did not have to be apart from Jamie that long, and at the same time she could use the time to think about things. Peyton had arranged for her to go back to LA where she'll meet her new promotional manager, Connor Walker to discuss her promotional tactics in Europe.

"I'm really sorry but you'll have your dad with your for three whole months. That's good right?"

"Yeah, I guess," he said. "But I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too buddy." She pulled him up on her lap and hugged him. "You be good okay. And listen to Daddy. Promise me?"

"I promise."

"Good boy. Mama loves you so much," she said and pulled him close. She was gonna miss Jamie, his smell, the way his body felt when he snuggled next to her in bed. Her heart constricted at the thought of leaving him behind.

The sound of someone clearing his throat made her turn. It was Nathan standing in the doorway looking in. "Peyton told me you're leaving."

"Yeah, I am. Tonight. I meant to call you. Would it be okay if Jamie stayed with you?" she said and continued with her packing.

"Jamie, why don't you play outside for a minute. Daddy needs to talk to Mama okay?"

"Okay Daddy," Jamie said and bounded off the bed. Nathan looked over his shoulder to make sure that they were alone.

"How long will you be gone?" he asked quietly.

"Three months," she said without looking up.

He placed his hand on hers. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm not doing anything. I have to promote my album," she said and pulled her hand away.

"That's bullshit. You're running away. Again," he retorted. He roughly grabbed her and spun her around until she was facing him. "Now, do you wanna tell me again why you're doing this?"

"Nathan, you're hurting me," she hissed. Her head was throbbing and she felt a tear threatening to fall, and still she held it back. "Let me go!"

"I've already done that, remember," he said angrily and pushed her away. "You know what? You're one selfish bitch. All you think about is yourself. Your tour. Your album. Your career. It's all you. Isn't that why you left? So that you could be the huge superstar that you are today?"

"Nathan stop it," she said and zipped her bag. She made sure that she had not left anything behind before dragging the bag along with her.

"Yup, go. Leave. You're very good at that obviously."

She felt his anger, and it matched her own. "You're still not over that, huh?" she said. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her fingers were trembling. She felt her anger rise up like a molten lava threatening to spew out of a volcano. "Nathan, before you stop pointing fingers, why don't you look at yourself in the mirror first? And then we can talk."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I told you that you I loved you. I made a promise on our wedding day to be faithful to you, to love you until death do us part and I'm still holding on to that vow eventhough I don't have to anymore. Can you say the same thing about the vow you made?" she asked, her voice trembling as a steady flow of tears ran unchecked on her cheeks.

"What?-"

"Even after all that happened, I still love you. Call me stupid and ignorant. Call me whatever you want but you are the love of my life," she said and hastily wiped her tears away as the sound of a honking horn was heard. "I have to go. My cab's here. Please take good care of Jamie" she said with a tone of finality in her voice.

"What's all the commotion in here?" Peyton said in a rush as she barged in the room. She saw Nathan and Haley glaring at each other and felt her own anger rise. "What did you do to her Nathan?"

Haley put her hand on Peyton's arm to calm her down. "It's okay. I'm okay. I have to go. Just let me say goodbye to Jamie first," she said and walked out of the room, leaving Peyton and Nathan alone.

"Yeah okay," Peyton said. "He's with Jake in the living room." She made sure that Haley was gone before walking over to Nathan and slapped him hard across the face. "You son of a bitch!" she yelled.

"What the hell Peyton," Nathan yelled back. He was surprised that her slap really stung.

"What did you say to her?"

He rubbed his cheek, hoping that the stinging pain would go away. "She was leaving again Peyton. What else could I say. I told her that she was selfish for doing this again."

She shook her head in disbelief. She wanted to so bad to hit him again but she controlled herself. They had been friends since they were toddlers and yet right now, all she felt for him was hatred and disappointment. She was spared from spewing another set of expletives when Jake came in the room. He immediately sensed that something was wrong when he saw the look on Peyton's face.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Peyton shook her head. "No I'm not okay," she said although she didn't offer any explanation. "What's up?"

Jake looked at them curiously. Something must have happened for Peyton to be this angry, but knowing her, she would tell him in her own time. "Erm...Brooke and Lucas are here. They heard that Haley was leaving. They wanted to say goodbye."

"Well, it's too late for that isn't it? She's already gone," she said. She then sighed and said to Jake. "Okay, I'll come out in a minute."

Nathan grabbed her hand. "Wait, we're not done here. You know something don't you? You know why she left." Her look said it all. "You have to tell me."

"I don't have to tell you anything," she said and yanked her hand away before walking off into the living room in a huff. She knew he was closely behind her.

"Tell me Peyton or I swear to God-"

She turned around and looked at him angrily. "What? What are you gonna do?" she challenged him.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lucas exclaimed. Like Jake, she had never seen Peyton this angry. "Where's Haley?"

"She left. She said to tell you that she'll see you guys in a couple of months," Peyton said.

"She left?" It was Brooke's turn to look bewildered. "But she didn't even say goodbye," she complained. "And why are you so worked up anyway?" she asked Nathan.

"Peyton knows why Haley left me and she wouldn't tell me about it." He looked at Lucas and noticed that he had a guilty look on his face. "You know too?"

"And you didn't tell me?" Brooke wailed as she punched Lucas on the arm.

Lucas held up his hand in surrender. "I made her a promise not to tell anybody."

Nathan ran his fingers through his hair exasperatedly. The anger had somewhat dissipated and had turned to curiosity. "Who else knows?"

"Dad," Lucas said.

Peyton looked surprised. "Dan knows? You know what, I've been keeping this a secret for a long time and I can't take it anymore. I think it's time we let this out in the open." She looked Lucas in the eye and asked, "so what did Haley tell you?"

He looked unsure for a moment but decided that since Haley was not there to be mad at him, he might as well tell them. He would deal with the repercussions later. He shrugged and said, "she left coz she wanted Nathan to focus on his NBA. She said that if Nathan had gone with her, he would blow his shot at the NBA."

Peyton covered her face with her hands. "Is that what she told you and Dan? Dammit Haley!" she cursed out loud.

Nathan looked stunned. Peyton looked at him angrily and said, "wipe that look off your face and save it for later Nate. That's not why she left."

"You mean she lied to me and Dan?" Lucas asked in disbelief. "Why would she do that?"

Peyton then said to Jake, "honey, could you put Jamie to bed please? I don't want him to hear this."

"I'm on it," Jake said hurriedly. "I'll be right back."

"I think we should all sit down while I make some coffee. I have a feeling this is gonna be a long night," Peyton said and headed towards the kitchen.

Brooke noticed that Nathan had been keeping quiet through all the commotion. She sat next to him and said, "are you alright? You're awfully quiet."

"I don't know," he said. "It's so like Haley if she left me to make sure that I was focusing on NBA, but now Peyton's telling me that that's not the reason. What else could there be?" Suddenly he felt as if he didn't know her anymore. They had always shared everything when they were together. What had happened that had pushed her to leave?

Jake then entered the living room. "Jamie's sleeping. He must be exhausted."

Nathan looked at him gratefully. "Thanks man," he said and made a mental note to check on Jamie later. Just then Peyton appeared and handed each one of them a steaming mug of coffee.

She sat down on the couch and looked around at her friends' expectant faces. She then focused her attention to Nathan. "Nathan, before I tell you I just want you to know that I know how much you love Haley and she loves you. She still does although God knows why." Nathan nodded. "And I want you to promise that whatever I'm gonna tell you next will not make you feel any different about your son."

"Jamie?" Nathan asked in confusion. "What's he got to do with all this? I don't understand."

Peyton took in a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was going to say next. "Jamie is your son. But he's not Haley's."