Here's another chapter! Thank you all for the reviews! They really motivate me to finish this story, and without my amazing reviewers Married to the Law would have probably been abandoned months ago. Love you all! Thanks for the continued support!
Rachel snuggled in closer to the warm chest as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. For a moment she forgot about everything that had gone wrong.
For a moment, she laid there on her husband's chest as she thought about their baby.
And then it hit her.
Her eyes fluttered open and landed on Jax's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful that Rachel temporarily felt butterflies. She was tempted to curl up closer to him and go back to sleep, but she knew she shouldn't.
Rachel quickly changed into her old clothes and made her way downstairs—hoping that she could escape without being noticed.
"Well, I didn't expect that," Rachel heard Gemma's voice bellow from behind her. The older woman sat at the bar drinking a cup of coffee. The look she gave Rachel seemed as though she wasn't impressed.
"Captain America not satisfying you anymore?"
Rachel bit her lip as a lump rose in her throat. She stood by the door—once again frozen.
"Where are you going?" Gemma asked. She had noticed the young woman's stiffness when her husband was mentioned.
"I'm gonna go clean up Grandma and Grandpa's house."
Rachel threw her clothes in a suitcase as she attempted to quickly pack her stuff.
She wanted to be gone before David came home. She wasn't ready to see him. But she knew that when he returned to find her stuff gone he would come looking for her.
She just needed time. She needed to be alone. She needed to think about whether or not their marriage was salvageable. And right now, she didn't know. All she could think about was the moment that she saw her husband's face emerge between Stahl's legs.
She and David had been renting out her grandparents' house for years. Luckily for Rachel, the house had become vacant a few months ago—giving her a place to stay until she had decided on what she would do.
She took the time to clean her face, put in her contacts, apply some makeup, and fix her hair. It was the first time she had fixed herself up in what seemed like forever.
She continued packing up her valuables until her car was fully loaded. She took one last look around her home and let out a deep sigh before grabbing her purse and walking out.
She knew she would be hearing from David tonight.
Jax opened his eyes and immediately noticed that the woman he had slept next to last night was gone. He got out of bed, put on some fresh clothes, and headed downstairs.
"Hey baby," Gemma greeted her son as she finished up her coffee.
"Hey, Mom."
Jax poured himself a cup of coffee—hoping it would help him wake up.
"You wanna tell me why a married woman was sneaking out of your bedroom this morning?" Gemma raised her eyebrow as she spoke.
"She saw Hale cheating on her with Stahl," Jax answered simply—knowing his mother would be on his ass if he didn't give her an honest answer.
"Oh, shit."
Gemma hadn't expected that answer.
"Did you say anything to her before she left?" Jax asked. He knew that Gemma most likely had made a smart remark to Rachel before she slipped out of the clubhouse.
"Nothing at all, sweetheart." Gemma's fake smirk assured Jax that his mother had definitely gotten lippy with his ex-girlfriend.
"Did she say where she was going?" Jax questioned.
Gemma pursed her lips and gave her son a knowing look.
"Jackson," she began. "Don't get involved with that shit. They'll be back together in a few weeks and I don't want to see my baby get hurt. Leave her alone. All you need right now is Abel and the club."
"Mom," Jax gritted his teeth. "Did she say where she was going?"
Gemma huffed in annoyance.
"She went to her grandma's house. She probably left about thirty minutes ago."
Rachel looked at the pile of empty boxes before her. It hadn't taken her long to unpack all her items. She had called in sick to work, and due to her poor work ethic lately, the office seemed almost happy to hear that she wasn't coming in.
Jax had called her earlier—leaving a voicemail saying that he would be coming by to see her after he took care of some club stuff. She had suspected that Gemma told him her whereabouts. She wasn't ready to see him. She didn't want to see anyone.
David had yet to call or send any texts.
He probably hasn't been home. He probably spent the whole night with her in the office and then just stayed there until his shift started.
Her blood boiled in anger.
Was Stahl better than her? She wondered if the older woman had managed to satisfy her husband in a way that Rachel obviously seemed to lack.
Rachel shook her head—halfway hoping that the action would shake out the memories of seeing her husband making love to another woman.
Not ready to face the rest of what awaited her today, she made her way down to the basement in hopes that going through her grandma and grandpa's storage would cheer her up.
Rachel sat in a dusty purple beanbag chair that she had found in the basement. She vaguely remembered being gifted the chair on her eleventh birthday. Around Rachel were piles and piles of pictures.
Rachel held a stack in her hand. Her pale green eyes stared at the picture in front of her as a small smile appeared on her face. The picture was of a six-year old Rachel sitting on her grandpa's lap. Her short, uneven bangs were a sign that her grandma had unfortunately left her sewing scissors in the little girl's reach. The girl had a big smile plastered on her face—showing off the gap between her teeth. Her grandpa's smile almost rivaled hers as he held her first lost tooth between his fingers.
"Need any help?" a voice spoke through the silence—causing the woman to jump.
Rachel turned around and smiled at Jax.
"Nah," she shook her head. "Everything's done. I'm just looking at these old pictures."
Jax looked over her shoulder and grinned at the sight of the little girl in her photo.
"I'm thinking about getting my bangs cut like this again," Rachel joked.
"If anyone could pull it off, it'd be you, darlin'."
The two sat there shifting through old pictures. Some pictures were fairly recent, and then there were other pictures of her grandparents in their teenage years. There were even a few pictures of Jax and Rachel as a couple from when she had been in high school. Rachel's eyes lingered on the picture of her in her graduation cap and gown— a younger version of Jax smiled as his arm wrapped around the graduate's waist.
Those days seemed so much simpler.
"Rach," Jax called out as he stared at the picture in his hand. "Isn't this your mom?"
Rachel leaned over to get a better look at the photo. Her eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Yeah," She spoke softly. "I don't think I've ever seen this picture before."
Rachel grabbed the picture from Jax and observed it closer.
It was her mother. With Gemma, John, Clay, and a man that certainly wasn't her father.
Rachel knew that Gemma knew her mother. But she never knew they hung out. She assumed they simply knew each other because they were from the same town.
"Jax," Rachel began to ask. "Has Gemma ever mentioned my mom?"
"Not much," Jax answered truthfully. "I didn't know your mom hung out around SAMCRO."
"Me either," Rachel was beginning to feel like something was off. "Who is this man?"
Jax looked at the picture again. "It's Otto."
Rachel had heard of Otto. She knew he was currently serving time—and had been since she dated Jax.
Rachel and Jax heard the doorbell ring faintly upstairs.
Rachel laid the picture out to the side. She would definitely be asking Gemma about it later on.
She walked up the basement stairs as Jax followed her, secretly enjoying the view.
As she opened the door, her heart fell through her chest. There was her husband looking back at her from the other side of the door.
And then he saw Jax.
"I'll see you later, Rach," Jax excused himself from the awkward situation as he slipped between Rachel and David and made his way out of the door and to his bike.
Rachel opened the door more and let David in.
She silently prayed that God would help her through the next few moments.
"Are you gonna tell me why all your clothes are missing from our closet?" David asked softly.
Honestly this was the first conversation they've had since she lost the baby.
"I know, David." Rachel crossed her arms as she spoke.
"You know what?" David asked. But Rachel could tell that he knew exactly what she was talking about.
"I know," Rachel paused as she stirred up enough strength to say the next words. "I know about you and Stahl sleeping together."
"What?" Shock and fear spread over David's face.
"David," Tears began to form in her eyes. "Please."
The two stood in silence staring at each other. Neither knew the right words to say.
"I am so sorry," David began to say.
"Sorry?" Rachel cut him off. "You slept with another woman, and 'sorry' is supposed to fix that?"
She was becoming angrier by the moment.
"Rachel—"
"I can't even look at you right now," Rachel stated in anger. She turned away—not wanting him to see her tears.
"It was a mistake," David's voice cracked. "After the baby I just couldn't handle—"
"You just couldn't handle it, huh?" Rachel turned around to face him again. "So instead you made me face the baby dying and my husband cheating by myself."
"By yourself?" David began to raise his voice in anger. "Like Jax wasn't here to dry your tears."
"I did not have sex with Jax," Rachel pointed her finger and David, almost as if daring him to continue his accusation.
"You know what?" Rachel screamed as she power-walked towards the door and flung it open. "I want you to leave. Just get out now!"
"No," David stood his ground. "I wanna stay. I wanna talk about this."
"Okay," Rachel scoffed as she slammed the door shut again. "Let's talk about it then. How was she?"
"What?" David was surprised by her question.
"Was she good? How long have you been seeing her? How many times did you make love to her?"
David stood in silence.
"Come on, David. You said you wanted to talk about it," Rachel dared. "Let's talk about it."
"I'm sorry, okay?" David spoke in defeat. "I was disgusted with myself every time I did it."
"But you did it anyways," she bit her lip. "time and time again."
"She meant nothing to me."
David took a step closer to Rachel. Rachel took a step farther away from David.
"But she was worth jeopardizing our relationship."
"I was just heartbroken," David ran his hand through his hair out of frustration. "Our baby was dead."
"Well," Rachel's voice broke. "You sure had one hell of a time at the wake."
David stared at her as her words stung to his core.
"I was jealous of Jax," David spoke quietly. Tears were forming in his eyes.
"Alright," Rachel sighed. "Let's say I slept with Jax. Would you have been able to forgive me?"
David's face grew red with anger.
"Rachel, did you sleep with him?"
"Honestly," she looked into his eyes. "No. I did not. But by your reaction I can tell what your answer would be."
"Okay," David let a tear fall down his cheek. "You're right. I would be devastated if you slept with him. But I would still want to be with you."
The two stood in silence for what seemed like hours.
"Come on, Rachel. Tell me what you're thinking."
Rachel didn't answer.
"Are you not gonna talk to me now?"
Her silence was driving him crazy.
"Rachel, I'm sorry. I was out of my mind. I was grieving. I don't cheat. That's not me," David paused. "Jax is the one who cheats."
"The thing is," Rachel paused. "I expected him to cheat. I never expected it from you."
"I did a terrible, stupid thing." David's hands shook as he spoke." I wish I could take it back, but I can't. But Rachel, please don't throw away a relationship that is so damn good because I messed up. I can fix it."
Rachel began to sob.
"Rachel," he grabbed her hand. "I love you so much."
He leaned in to try to kiss her, hoping that she would kiss him back.
"No," She pushed David off and walked away. "It doesn't work like that. You can't just kiss me and act like the perfect husband and try to pretend you've never been inside another woman."
Tears still fell down her face.
"I think you should go," her voice broke. "I'm gonna stay here until I decide what to do."
"What?"
David seemed shocked at the idea of her not coming home with him.
"I really think you should go now," Rachel stated for the second time.
"There's got to be a way to work past this, Rachel." David no longer was able to hold back the tears. They began to roll down his cheeks.
"No," Rachel sobbed. "I can't. You're like a totally different person to me now. I used to think of you as someone that would never ever hurt me. Ever. And now I can't stop imagining you with her. I can't. It doesn't matter what you say or what you do. It's just changed everything."
David stared at the floor as tears fell onto the carpet.
"Rachel, I love you."
"David, I need some time alone."
I love you all! Thanks for reading. As always, your reviews mean the WORLD to me. So please take the time to review this story. I get so excited when I read each and every thought that you guys have!