Being smacked in the head with a pillow woke me up, and I realized my husband was no longer in bed and Brie and Skye were in my room. In the back of my mind, I noted the sheet was covering my nude body, so I carefully held it as I rolled from my stomach onto my back and sat up. "What the fuck were you thinking? You need to get your ass dressed and get to the kitchen. If you give us a good enough explanation, maybe we'll give you coffee," Brie said before she and Skye left me so I could dress.

Sighing, I realized she wouldn't know the whole story. Only what Chibs had seen. He and Jax had seen me kiss another man, even though I hadn't instigated it, and I'd pulled away, there had still been a few moments where I'd let it happen. I slowly got out of bed, taking a tee-shirt of Juan's and a pair of booty shorts and slipping both of them on before heading to the kitchen, stopping only to go to the bathroom so I could pee and splash some water on my face.

Upon entering the kitchen, I finally looked at a clock, noticing that it was just past 7 in the morning. I need to be at the hospital by 9, so I had time to deal with this and get there in time. I headed for my coffee pot, but Brie was standing in front of it, and I could tell she was going to make good on what she said, so I groaned and took a spot at my breakfast bar. "Juan had a fiancée that I didn't know about," I told them, unwilling to say anything more unless they gave me coffee.

After they'd shared a look, Brie slid me a mug of coffee that was already prepared the way I liked it. I took a sip of the still hot coffee as they both stood at the opposite side of the breakfast bar, waiting for the rest. I told them, letting them in on everything from the kidnapping to the conversation Juan and I had had when he got home. "You realize that's not normal, right? Krystal, you can't just go letting your ex kiss you to punish your husband for keeping a secret. I guess it worked for you, but you've gotta work through that shit in your head that makes you doubt yourself," Brie said when I finished. Skye nodded her agreement.

Yawning, I took another drink of coffee, but nodded and shrugged as I did. "I know that. I really do. I know the issue isn't completely dead, either. I still wanna know more about her, their relationship, but the kiss did do one thing. Any part of my mind that might have still been wondering if I was with the right person is completely gone. I guess I finally got that closure I was waiting for all those years, the confirmation that every single part of me is over Matthew. I wouldn't recommend what happened last night to anyone else, but the situation worked out alright in the end," I shrugged again.

Rolling her eyes, Skye shook her head, but chose not to comment on that situation anymore. "I can't believe you were kidnapped yesterday and didn't fucking tell us. Krystal Leann," she said in a no-nonsense tone that told me if I was going to be in trouble if I kept from sharing something like that again. I apologized and we continued analyzing yesterday for a while before I had to get ready and go to work. Because of the threat, we had to wait for one or two of the guys to escort us. I was driving Brie and Skye in my truck and Rat and a Prospect showed up to follow as I dropped each of them off and then went to the hospital.

Before Rat could ride off, I gestured for him to wait and got out of my truck, walking over to him. I could see that he was torn between knowing and caring for me, and his loyalty to his brother. I knew it would have to be up to Juan to really convince the guys, but I still would do my best to prove I was worth it. "Can you send my husband my way when he has a chance. I know he's looking for the other guy from yesterday, but tell him we need to talk," I requested, and he nodded before he took off, leaving me to make my way into the hospital.

By the time lunch rolled around, I hadn't heard from my husband about when I was going to see him. He'd told me that he was searching for the other attacker, but that was the only message I'd gotten from him. I found Tara in the cafeteria and sat next to her. "Everyone makes mistakes. I get that, but what the hell were you thinking last night?" she asked before I had a chance to say anything. "I thought I told you not to hurt him," she added and I sighed, remembering the first conversation we'd had about my relationship with Juan.

Running a hand through my hair, I opened my water and took a drink as I tried to figure out the right way to explain it. "Listen, it's not really going to make sense to anyone other than Juan and I. It was a stupid move, very stupid, but I am not looking to cheat on Juan or hurt him. I promise. We talked last night and we're fine," I assured her and she studied me for a minute before she nodded slowly. "What can you tell me about Chloe?" I asked before she could say anything else.

Regarding me for a few minutes, I could tell she was trying to figure out what happened last night from what she knew now. I also wondered where Chloe had disappeared to, since no one else seemed to know she'd been at the clubhouse last night. There had only been a few of us left there, because most of the guys had split as soon as they'd finished with church, but how did that blonde bitch get in and out with Juan and I being the only ones who really saw her? I needed to talk to my husband. I just hoped he got the chance to come see me at the hospital today.

Instead of prompting again, I started eating lunch while Tara decided what to say. "When all the shit was going down, with Roosevelt threatening to out the fact that Juice's dad is black, and the cartel and Miles shit, Chloe was there for him for a few years. I don't know for sure what he felt for her, but I could tell you even if he did love her, it wasn't anything compared to the way he loves you. I also know this: She's the one who asked him to marry her, and yes, he said yes, but obviously, he never went through with it. The morning of the wedding, he left her a note, took off for a month, and she moved out of town. He came back, and I've never heard him mention her again," she told me.

Biting on my lip, I considered all of that. I couldn't fault him for what had happened when he hadn't even remembered I existed. I still wanted an explanation for why he never told me she existed, and I did wanna hear what he had to say about her, but even if he had loved her, I'd been in love in the intervening years, and I didn't even have the excuse of forgetting him. I'd known he was out there, but at the time I'd thought it was an impossibility, and my heart had briefly allowed me to love someone else. I would have married Matthew, probably, if I could have. I couldn't blame him for finding someone else he would have married, too.

Logically, that all made sense. Emotions weren't always logical, though. I guess part of me was wondering if he'd kept her secret because he still loved her. If maybe she wanted to be with him again, and if he would want the same thing. I knew he told me that I was his type. He married me. He loved me. He wanted to be with me. I knew all of that, but still, I was thrown by his need to keep her secret. Secrets never boded well for me, from anyone, and I hated lies, even if they were lies of omission.

When I got finished with work, I headed out to my truck, calling Juan because I knew he wouldn't want me to leave on my own, so I wanted to check and see what I should do, but I found him sitting on the hood of it, leaning his back against my windshield. He pushed to his feet, still on my truck, when he saw me, and then jumped down, landing on the ground in front of me. He had shades on, and mine were protectively on as well. I wore sunglasses at least 50% of the time, so people couldn't see the emotion in my eyes.

Taking off his own, he tucked them into the pocket of his cut, and then he pushed mine off my face, up into my hair, so he could look into my eyes. His hands went to my waist and he leaned in to give me a kiss, but I leaned back, silently waiting for him to explain, unwilling to be thrown off track by anything else. He sighed. "I thought I loved her. I think I loved the attention. She stuck around. She was there when things got difficult. She understood the life, even though I never let her in all the way. It was easy with her I think I said yes because I didn't believe anyone else would stick around, but even though I couldn't remember you, part of me knew there was someone better out there. I couldn't do it," he paused.

Reaching up, he cupped my face, and I let him, but still turned my head to the side when he tried to kiss me. I was trying to process. "She's the person I might have been able to live with, but you're the person I can't live without. I know that, have known it from the moment you came into my life. Both times," he paused, searching for words again. "She was my Brooke, but you're my Peyton," he said, and I couldn't help but smile. I appreciated the analogy, because he knew how much I loved One Tree Hill, and I'd always believed Peyton and Lucas were meant to be, even if he had some good moments with Brooke. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, angel. There were no other long-term relationships for me. I promise you that," he attempted to kiss me again.

It was the apology and promise that did it. I knew he was sincere, and I knew he was being honest. I'd always been able to tell when he was lying to me directly. Secrets weren't as easy to detect, but directly lying to my face was something he'd never been able to do. I snaked my arms around his neck and kissed him, trying to be gentle with his split lip and bruised jaw, but I wasn't always able to control myself with my husband. "I love you, Ace. We're fine. Take me home," I said when I pulled back, noticing that he'd backed me up against my truck, and I was sitting on the hood, my legs wrapped around his waist. I wanted to be able to finish what we'd just started, in the comfort of our home. He didn't need to be asked twice. He helped me off the hood, then behind the wheel of my truck, and he followed me home on his bike.

A/N: Here's chapter 6. I hope y'all like it. I don't have much more to say, although, I think the next chapter will be dealing with getting Chloe and Matthew out of town. They should be gone for good after that, but I dunno, because sometimes characters come back without my planning on it. Anyway, please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.