A/n: I know last chapter was not an ideal one for you all and I apologize to all you guys sincerely. Like I said last chapter, Brooke getting married to Julian was part of my initial planning. I wanted to so badly changed things after reading your reviews but I just couldn't, my plot line would have gotten all screwed up! Anyways thanks for understanding and like I promise next chapter things will change but first we need to get through this one. Thank you all for the story alerts, favorites, author alerts and for your continuing support!

OTHfan25: Hi there! So sorry, the prologue wasn't meant to confuse anyone but after I re-read it myself I can see why it did. You see the way I wanted to write the first part of the prologue was so that you guys wouldn't know who Brooke was talking about until she got to the gravestone. So to help clear things up…the first three sentences she's talking about Julian, then that one sentence it's all Lucas and then again Julian. Hope that helps :)

Chapter Ten

What Could Have Been

She couldn't believe she was actually in Las Vegas, only a few hours left until she got married with Julian. When they arrived late last night, Julian had reservations already made for a suite in "The Cosmopolitan" so as soon as they checked in they made their way to their room. They were dead on their feet from that long five hour flight from New York to Las Vegas that once they made their way to their room they immediately fell asleep.

Brooke had already called her mom telling her where she was going and with who but not what she was going to do. Victoria though initially shocked at her daughter for being so impulsive and irresponsible, knew that she couldn't do much about it. Brooke was old enough to make her own decisions and she just needed to trust and hope that she wouldn't be making a mistake there.

Tiredly Brooke got off the enormous bed that she shared with Julian. She had been lying down for the last thirty minutes just randomly thinking about things. It was early morning around nine and Julian was gone. He had left a few minutes ago to prepare things for their wedding later on tonight and to take care of some "other business" he told her.

She headed towards the kitchen and got a glass of water drinking it instantly. Thinking about her upcoming wedding made her feel all jittery at the thought of it being only a few hours away. But it also made her feel like the way she was doing things was wrong. Her wedding shouldn't have to be in a rundown chapel (in her opinion) in front of a cheap Elvis impersonator. Her wedding should have been the best day of her life with the people who she loved like her family and friends. They were supposed to be surrounding her as she made her vows to the man she loved.

Things shouldn't be like this but then why was she here then?

She shook her head. Thinking things like this would only make her more confuse than ever. She should have been happy she was going to finally marry the man she had been in love for the past couple of years. She should be happy yet there was a part of her, a small part that was screaming to run away, that she was making the biggest mistake of her life.

She wanted to call her mom, Clay and Haley to tell them what she was about to do. She wanted her mom's advice, Haley's understanding and Clay's comfort. She needed them but she knew she couldn't call them because they would all tell her what she didn't want to hear, that she was making a mistake and shouldn't be marrying Julian like this.

Thinking about three most important people in her life also made her think of Lucas who had slowly become an important part of her life too. Yesterday they had talked things through and their friendship was back on track. However with this news she didn't know how he was going to react. She knew she had to be the one to tell him what she was going to do.

If there was anyone that deserved to know what she was about to do, it was him. Her family and Haley though at first would be mad, they would eventually understand why she did it but Lucas needed to know beforehand. After everything they've been through and knowing his feelings towards her, she knew she owed him that much at least. Without overthinking it too much and before she convinced herself not to call him, she got her cell phone out and dialed that familiar number she had come to know so well.

Lucas was quietly working in his office checking papers and signing a few that needed to be approved. It was a little past twelve so he knew he needed to take his lunch break soon but he kept busying himself with work. Although yesterday they didn't exactly agree to meet up today he was waiting for a call or a text from Brooke telling him to get together for lunch or something. That call hadn't happen and he was starting to lose hope but just as he was about to leave his office and grab something to eat, his phone ranged. He checked the caller i.d. and saw 'Brooke' flashing on the screen. Months ago before their fight it would have been 'Pretty Girl' or 'Cheery' on the screen but after what happened between them he decided to change it to just her name. He would have to change it back to either one of those names soon.

Smiling Lucas picked it up and with the customary greeting of a "hello" he answered his phone and waited for her response.

After a couple of seconds of silence Brooke finally spoke. "Lucas…hi it's uhh Brooke but umm of course you already know that so saying it's me must seem redundant." she let out a nervous laugh. "But umm hi again, how are you?"

"Hey Brooke I'm fine. I was just about to head out to lunch." he told her laughing a bit at her rambling.

"That's great Lucas…"

"Brooke are you alright?" he asked sensing there was something wrong with her. She was acting really strange, well stranger than usual and that was starting to worry him.

"Yeah I am but umm lunch huh? I completely forgot about the time difference so I'm sorry I'll just call you later."

"Wait, time difference? Brooke what are you talking about?" he questioned feeling very confused at the moment.

"It's nothing really Lucas. I don't want to keep you from lunch." she said trying to back out of talking to him. This was surely some sort of sign telling her not to tell him about her upcoming wedding right?

"No it's fine I have time to spare. What's going on Brooke? And what time difference are you talking about?" he asked as he sat down in one of the couches in his office.

She took a deep breath gathering all the courage she had. "Lucas there's something I have to tell you." she shakily said. "I don't know how you're going to react but this is something you should know before it happens."

"Brooke what's going on?" he asked again sitting up straight. She remained quiet though knowing this was probably going to be one of the hardest things she ever had to say. "You're scaring me Brooke. Where are you? Do you want me to meet up with you or something?" he offered knowing that in a beat he would be right by her side.

Brooke shook her head even if she knew he couldn't see her. "Lucas I'm not in New York."

"Th-Then where are you?" he asked confused.

"I'm in Vegas…with Julian." she said whispering the last part. His eyes widen. She was in Vegas with Julian? What was she doing there unless…no, she couldn't! He was praying that she wasn't there thinking of doing what he thought she was.

"P-Please tell you're in Vegas for some sort of mini vacation and not for what I think." he pleaded with her.

"Lucas…" she sniffed a bit. This was going to be harder than she thought it would be.

He felt like his heart had just stopped beating. From her tone he knew he guessed right but he needed to make sure. "Brooke tell me…tell me you're not there for what I think you're there for." he pleaded once more, his voice trembling a bit. He wasn't the type of guy that would beg but when there was a possibility that you were about to lose the girl that you love, well anything was possible.

"Luke…I'm sorry." Hearing those words were all it took for Lucas' composure to fall.

"Brooke, no don't please." he cried out quietly.

"Lucas I have to."

"No you don't, you don't have to do anything." he said shaking his head in desperation. "Just, just come home Brooke. Come back here to me please."

"And what about Julian?" she asked letting out a dry laugh. "What am I going to tell my boyfriend of three years huh? That I'm not marrying him because you told me not to?" Lucas cringed at her use of the word 'marrying' in a sentence. He didn't want her to marry Julian at all and just hearing her use it made it that much real.

"Forget about Julian Brooke! You don't love him like you think you do!" he yelled as he stood up from the couch. He couldn't believe that just yesterday everything was cleared between the two and that they were on their way to becoming friends again. And now things were getting all messed up again.

"Lucas I do love him and because of that I have to marry him."

"No you don't Brooke please!" he begged one more time not caring how desperate he was sounding. He started pacing around his office, this wasn't good. He was losing her and he didn't know what to do about it. "Marrying him will be the biggest mistake of your life Brooke don't you see it?"

"Listen Lucas I just wanted to let you know because I know how you feel about me and I didn't want you to find this out from someone else." she explained carefully ignoring what he said. She had to ignore what he said because if marrying Julian was a mistake, then what the hell was she doing in Vegas with him?

Lucas took a deep breath trying to calm his pounding heart. There had to be something, anything he could say to make her changed her mind. And then it clicked to him. It was worth a shot at least.

"But you're wrong, you don't know what I feel for you." he told her in an eerie calm voice. He made the decision that if he was going to lose Brooke then he might as well lose her but with her knowing how he really felt.

"Luke…"

"Brooke you don't know how much you really mean to me. Ever since I met you I've felt something for you. That feeling only kept on growing and growing until I realized that-"

"Lucas please stop, I don't want to hear this." she pleaded as tears started to trickle down her face. She knew where he was heading with this and didn't know if she was going to be able to handle it.

"Please Brooke if you're going to marry him then at least do it while knowing how I truly feel about you."

"I don't want to hear any of this." she firmly said knowing that one more word from him and she was going to break down. "Why can't you just accept that what I'm doing is because I want to?"

"Brooke…"

"I don't want to hear any of it so just stop!"

"Well you're going to have to because…damn it Brooke I love you!" he confessed with such conviction in his voice. She felt her heart tightened in her chest at his confession. She didn't know what to say to that, she was honestly not prepared to hear that from him today of all days. Lucas on the other hand felt relieve to have finally said those words out loud. Of course he would have preferred to say them under different circumstances but desperate times called for desperate measures.

He waited patiently for her to say anything but she remained quiet.

After a few seconds of silence and just hearing each other's breathing through the phone, Brooke regained her ability to speak. She was wrong earlier, what she was about to say now was the hardest thing she's ever had to do. "And I-I love Julian Luke and th-that's that."

"Pretty Girl…" Lucas said closing his eyes. "I'm begging you with everything that I have…please don't marry him…please."

"I'm sorry…" she sobbed quietly and then without another word hanged up the phone. When Lucas heard that dial tone he felt like if he had just loss a huge part of himself. His confession made no difference to her and knowing that just broke his already broken heart even more.

In a suite in Las Vegas a thousand miles from where Lucas was, Brooke was lying on the bed face down crying her eyes out. She didn't know that with three simple yet meaningful words she would be on the verge of breaking down.

The day had dragged on for Lucas as he tiredly opened his door to his empty apartment. He never thought much about it before but now that's how he saw his apartment- empty. It was also how he pretty much was feeling inside of him at the moment. After Brooke's call he threw himself into work hoping that he would forget what she told him. That didn't work and all day his thoughts were about the cheery brunette and how she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. How he was losing her as each hour passed.

He tossed his keys to the bowl where they usually went in and made his way towards the living room. He took off his suit jacket, loosened his tie and threw both items to the floor, not caring where they landed. He sat down in the middle of his couch and buried his face in his hands.

He couldn't believe how with just one phone call his world came crashing down, turning his life upside down. How he wished things would have turned out differently but he knew things were never going to be the same again. By this time Brooke was probably already or in the middle of getting married and the sad part was that he couldn't do anything about it. He failed, not even the fact that he confessed his loved for her did it changed her mind. Maybe he had been kidding himself all along and all that Brooke felt for him was just a strong friendship.

He leaned back in to the couch and closed his eyes. Just thinking about the fact that she was probably in the arms of Julian at this moment made his heart break a thousand times even more. He didn't know how he was going to do this but he knew he had to forget all that was Brooke Davis. She was never his to love and now more than ever wasn't his to keep on loving.

He got his cell phone out and dialed a number he knew so well. It ranged two times before the person picked up. "Hey ma…yeah sorry I know it's late but I have some stuff going on and I'm not in a good place right now." He waited for her response. "How would you feel about me going to Tree Hill for a couple of days?"

"Mommy!" a brunet boy who looked to be no more than five years old shouted as he ran straight into Brooke's arms. Brooke was puzzled at the moment. Why was this little boy in her arms? And most importantly why was he calling her mommy?

She picked him up though, holding him close to her; it just felt right to do it. "What's wrong sweetie?" she found herself asking lovingly.

His clear blue eyes lit up brightly. He pointed at the window excitedly. "Daddy's here mommy!" he exclaimed with happiness his dimples showing. "Let's go mommy, let's go!" Brooke started walking towards the front door, opening it and letting the little boy down on the floor. "Daddy's here!" he screamed again. No sooner that these words came out that she saw a man getting out of a car smiling down at them. She walked out of the house, closer to that man who she couldn't quite see who he was.

"Daddy!" the little boy screamed again as he started running in to the man's arms. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too buddy." the familiar voice said, smiling at the little boy in his arms. The man looked up at Brooke and smiled warmly at her. "Why don't you run inside and get your little brother and sister for me." he suggested and the little boy nodded in agreement. The man set him down and he started running towards the house passing Brooke along the way with a huge smile on his face.

Brooke turned around to see where the little boy went inside and she gasped in surprise. There in front of her was this huge beautiful looking white house standing before her. Everywhere around it was colored in white except for the shutters and the bright red front door. It had a huge balcony along with many windows and a porch. It was the definition of her perfect dream house and honestly she loved it. She found it strange though that the house had that red colored for a door but it felt just right, like it was supposed to be there.

She soon felt two arms wrapped around her from behind and she tensed slightly until she recognized his familiar voice when he spoke. "What about you Pretty Girl? Did you miss me?" he asked giving her a loving kiss on her temple. He rested his chin on her shoulder, holding her that much closer to him.

She leaned back into him letting out a content noise. "I missed you so much…Broody." she said smiling as she turned around in his arms to look at him.

"I've missed you too." he said before he pulled her in for a kiss, a kiss that sent shivers running through her body. Just as she was getting into it, he pulled away after a couple of seconds making Brooke miss the way his lips felt on hers. She closed her eyes savoring the warmth that his lips left her with.

"Never leave me Luke." she suddenly said holding him real close.

Lucas smiled a bit. "I'm always going to be by your side Brooke but…I have to go for now." His voice started getting faint as he pulled away from her. "I'll return though…someday." he whispered.

"No wait Lucas! Don't leave me now!" she begged when she saw his figure started to back away from her. She looked around and saw that her dream house was getting blurry along with the little boy from earlier and another two kids who were by his side.

"No, not you too please!" she begged when she saw they were waving at her as if they were saying goodbye. Brooke didn't like that feeling at all. "Please not you too!" she repeated with urgency in her tone.

She turned around to look at Lucas only to find that he was almost out of sight. She started running towards him screaming for him to stop. However the faster she ran to him, the farther he got away from her.

"Lucas wait!"

"Lucas!" she frantically screamed as she shot up from bed. Her breathing was hard, her heart was beating fast. She looked around the room only to find darkness surrounding her. Where was she? She saw movement next to her and then she remembered where she was and what she had done earlier.

"Brooke…?" the sleepy voice of her now husband said. "What are you doing up?" he asked sluggishly as he tried to get up from his induced sleeping state.

"Nothing…just go back to sleep." she told him and he quickly did. She frowned when she saw how easily it was for him to just sleep when clearly she wasn't feeling alright at that moment. She got up from bed and headed towards the balcony to think.

That dream felt so real and left her wising that it was for a moment.

She shook her head.

She was a married woman now and having dreams about another man and having kids with him nonetheless was wrong. But still that dream left her wanting more of that life. She gently let her hand touched her lips where dream Lucas kissed her and she closed her eyes. She was feeling the aftershock of that kiss along with the way she felt when she saw herself losing Lucas.

Was this dream some sort of warning that Lucas was leaving her? And if it was then why did she have the sudden urge to pack her things up and go find him?

To Be Continued…

I know it was shorter than what I usually write but I hope some parts were worth it. Initially I wanted to add Haley, Owen and Nathan to this chapter but I thought better of it and decided that it was just going to be all about Brooke and Lucas.

Hope you all are still enjoying and please let me know your thoughts, if you have any questions or concerns.

Please Review!