"So Ms. Jones tell me why you are here?" Roz Washington was a lot of things. A former Olympic swimmer with a sharp tongue. A woman who told people the truth with an abundance of sass and bluntness. However, she was also a therapist. She studied and got her degree in college and when her time with the Olympic team was up she opened up her own private practice. Her office was covered in dark tones. Her desk stood in front of her floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and in front of her desk was the comfy leather couch. There were a few windows to let in sunlight but other than that it was very neat. Clear of all clutter.

Mercedes cleared her throat before answering, "Well I was kidnapped and then raped and beaten for three days straight. I was proposed to by my boyfriend but it wasn't in the normal way. Then I was thrust into the world of the bride and forced to plan a wedding. I knew that I needed to come back here to properly heal, to get away from all those bad memories in Michigan."

"Well, would you like to talk about the proposal given that is easier and most recent?" Roz spoke.

"Sure. I was in the hospital room and I had just woken up and Sam was there which I was happy about because I wanted to see someone familiar in there. We spoke and then I felt my hand was heavy and there was the ring. Every girl dreams about their wedding and every woman dreams about their proposal. I expected something romantic, something memorable, something I could brag to my friends about. He told me that there was no time like the present, and I knew that it was wrong, but the happiness of being alive and being free was mistaken for the engagement," answered Mercedes.

"Do you resent Sam for not giving you the proposal that you wanted?"

Mercedes sighed out, "I didn't think that I would but I do. I do. I told that man, that if he ever was to propose to make it memorable, make it something that older version of ourselves can look back it in photographs and smile. And being proposed to after all that torture with Will was awful. Then his parents, in their own way were trying to make things better, but I feel as though they made it worse."

"How so?"

"Sam's parents are amazingly sweet and caring, but the minute Sam placed that ring on my finger there was a switch. Everyone forgot that I had been through some shit and am still going through it, and they acted like it never happened. Mary was taking me to venues and I wasn't in the mood. I wanted to focus on moving out of my condo but I was thrust into being a bride. Hell, Dwight took me to the jewelry store to go get these matching bands for the wedding because it is an Evans tradition. The wife-to-be goes to pick the bands with her future father-in-law. None of them could see that I wasn't ready. There was no pause button, there was no way for them to actually be present. I guess it was their way of helping me try to cope by placing all of these new profound responsibilities on me but I was overwhelmed. I was drowning."

"Do you think Sam's actions could have been the result of his parents?"

"I don't want to say that but I do feel like a lot of our relationship has been for their benefit."

"What do you mean?"

"My club. Luxe, it is this gentleman's club that I own, however, right now I have three people that I trust running it before I decided to go back. Anyways Sam was going to buy it from me that is how we met, but I told him no. Then it came to my attention that a lot of Dwight's colleagues and people that flow around in the political circle go there. From that point on my club became a spy palace, we would bring them to Sam's speakeasy, corner them if they were enemies with the information that we knew. I don't believe that this would have happened if it wasn't for the fact that we ended up cornering Will and Ken."

"Well, I don't want to overwhelm you, so I am going to end the session today. Mercedes you are doing a great job, and I do believe that you will be a better person than before, and I want to thank you for coming in so open and honest the first session," Roz replied as she stood and shook Mercedes's hand.

"Your welcome I will see you in the next session." Mercedes stated sweetly. She grabbed her things headed out to the parking lot and took the backroads to her mother's house.

Being in Nashville was such a refreshing moment, everything was familiar, and all of the places she passed by reminded her of the good times that she had. When she made it to her mother's house she exited the car used her key to let herself in.

"I'm home," She yelled out.

"Hey baby, I am in the kitchen," Sinclair answered. Mercedes placed her things down and headed into the kitchen where she saw her mother baking up a fresh dessert with fresh flowers on the island.

"More flowers from Sam?" Mercedes asked as she went over and smelled them and grabbed the card.

"Yep, he called me earlier to ask how you were doing, I said if he really wanted to know he would contact you and not me." Mercedes flipped the card over and read the single "I love you" statement before taking a sigh and tossing it back o the counter.

"My number hasn't changed, and he has asked how am I doing and give him the basics but other than that I am just not ready to talk to him," Mercedes answered.

"And that is fine baby, I don't expect you to just be ready to talk to him, I am telling you what has been going on. So how did therapy go?"

"Um, it went well I was more open about everything than I thought I would be."

"Well, baby if you stick with it, it will really help," Sinclair replied. Mercedes was about to reply when there was a knock at the door.

"Here baby come stir this for me, I'll go get the door," Sinclair said. Mercedes did as she was told and started stirring the liquid. She heard the door open and her mother start cussing someone out. At first, she thought it was a solicitor or a Jehovah's Witness, so she stopped stirring and headed to the door and saw her father.

Marty Jones looked old, his once black hair was now pepper and salt and he had bags under his eyes, his once muscular frame was now just regular.

"Baby girl, how are you doing?" Marty questioned as he looked at a stunned Mercedes Jones.

Sam Evans was looking at his phone contacts. His fingers were hovering over Mercedes's name. The contact name was Love of My Life and he refused to change to something else. As Sam looked back at his past misactions he thought he was doing the right thing by distracting Mercedes, but that was his mistake. He was trying to push something else on Mercedes's when she was still trying to get over the initial thing.

Deciding to call her he dialed her number. She didn't answer so he left her a small voice mail message.

"Hi b- Mercedes. I just wanted to check on you, Ms. Sinclair says you are doing fine but if I really wanted to know I should call you. I hope you are doing better, call me back. Bye." He hung up the phone and rubbed at his eyes in his office. He was trying to get some work done for the speakeasy but he was struggling to do so. He picked up a receipt when Artie came into the room.

"We have a problem?" Artie said.

"What kind."

"Ken Tanaka, he didn't leave town in fact he is coming forward, I just got word that he plans to uncover what exactly happens here at the speakeasy. Not only that but he is bringing Luxe and Mercedes into the mix."

"What about Jane, she can come forward,"

"I tried that but she says she never wants to revisit that time period and she is staying in place. Sam if he comes out with this statement your father's political career is done, your restaurant done, the speakeasy can possibly be a part of an investigation, and Mercedes is going to be the common factor in all of this." Artie explained.

"Shit," Sam hissed.