Lucas sighed as he sat in the SUV. He felt like a spy, parked inconspicuously out of sight on the quiet suburban street. He was a man on a mission, a mission he had been avoiding for way too long. It was time to man up and face the music but fear and guilt had hampered his previous efforts. So he had decided to take the bull by the horns. He had given Caylan the spa day she had been longing for. With her safely tucked away for skin rejuvenation and deep tissue massage, it was his sole opportunity to get away and handle the business he had been ignoring. Had his fiancée been aware of his intentions, she would have had a cow and Lucas knew it. Some things were better off being kept a secret.

He had the perfect view of the front door and relief fell upon him when it finally opened. Just like clockwork, Haley filed out of the condo, smile on her face as she climbed in her car and headed off to work. Some 20 minutes later, Nathan followed suit. Dressed down in workout gear, it looked as if he was headed to the gym. Lucas mouthed a silent prayer of thanks. His baby brother had never been known as an early riser, especially when he wasn't working. It could have been hours he'd have to wait for Nathan to rise and leave the house but just his luck, the wait hadn't been too long. Now came the hard part.

His heart pounded. His palms were all yucky and sweaty. He felt like there was a frog in his throat. The anxiety building up inside was unreal. It was hard to face her and that's why he had been avoiding it so. But it could wait no longer. The talk was inevitable. The air needed to be cleared. He owed it to himself. Most of all, he owed it to Peyton, he reasoned as an unsteady finger rang the doorbell. The few seconds felt like years of eternity as finally he heard small footsteps walking towards the door. Slowly it opened and Lucas swallowed a breath.

"Hey," he said, letting it out.

There she was. Black tank top, gray sweats, bare feet, and her blonde hair pulled up, sans make up. Plain and simple but still beautiful. That was Peyton. That was how he would always remember her.

"Lucas…" she seemed surprised.

"Hi," he nervously repeated.

For a split second it looked as if her expression had softened. After all they had spent many years together as lovers and friends, soul mates and confidants, husband and wife. There was a hint of gentleness in her green eyes but the flash of anger quickly replaced it. Immediately her lips curled into an unimpressed scowl, arms folding defensively.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"I, um, I needed to see you, Peyt. We have to talk."

"About?"

"About us. About everything that's happened and that is happening."

"Lucas, when I needed to talk to you, you ignored me. It pissed me off but I was willing to let it go because I figured you needed your space or whatever. The I found out, in front of all our friends, exactly why you had been ignoring me and the business you and I needed to settle. That was pretty low and after that, I have nothing to say."

She went to shut the door but he blocked it with his foot.

"Wait…Peyton, the beach house sale is final."

Peyton gave him an impatient glare.

"I know that, Lucas. When you finally decided to get your ass in gear and actually show up for a meeting with the lawyers and realtor, we got all that settled."

"I have something for you," he reached in his pocket and handed her an envelope.

"What the hell is this?"

"1.5 million dollars," he stated. "It's a check for your half of the final sale."

She eyed the paperwork, finally accepting it.

"I could have gotten this through the mail or I could have picked it up."

"I know but I wanted to save you the hassle. It's the least I can do, right?"

She laughed bitterly in spite of their ominous and awkward situation.

"Whatever, Lucas. This is just one step closer to me being done with you forever. Once the ink dries on those divorce papers, I never want to see you again."

He closed his eyes.

"Please don't say that."

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"Peyton, I care about you, okay? You know that. We have been in each other's lives for so long. I never want that to change."

"You have some nerve."

"We said we wouldn't be one of those couples, Peyt. We've been together too long and we've been through too much. So it didn't work out. We promised we'd always be friends."

"Yeah? Well, that was before."

"Before what?"

"Before her," Peyton spat.

"I get it," he hung his head. "This is about Caylan."

"You think?" she questioned sarcastically.

"We need to talk about this. It's a long time coming actually. Could I just come in and…"

"No."

"Peyton, come on. Do you really want to have this conversation in the front yard where any and everyone could hear us?"

She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why not? You're the one that loves to broadcast things in such a public fashion."

He frowned. She was not going to make it easy.

"Okay. You're upset with me."

"No, Lucas, I am very pissed off at you."

"You and everybody else," he sighed. "What did I do? Please tell me. What part bothers you?"

"What part doesn't bother me? And the fact that you think you can just come here and act all casual and nice like nothing is wrong totally blows my mind."

"I came here to talk, to clear the air. I came to somehow try to fix this because I can't stand you and everybody else hating me."

Peyton chewed at her lip.

"Were you with her when we were still together?"

It was the question that had been burning a hole in her heart and soul. She was angry with Lucas and had every right to be. It wasn't supposed to matter but it did. And she had to know.

"No. No, Peyton, I wasn't. I mean that. I swear on everything. It was a few months after we separated, after you moved out. I met her at a press party. Believe me, the last thing I was looking for or expecting was to meet someone but it just sort of happened. We were introduced, we talked and we just clicked. That's it. I promise this had nothing to do with you. I would never cheat on you, not in a million years. I never did. I give you my word."

"And now you're both here in Tree Hill for the summer and you're engaged."

"Yes."

Peyton shook her head.

"I'm not dealing with this right now. Just go…"

"I can't do that. We have to deal with it sometime."

"Lucas…"

"Just don't shut me out, Peyt. I know you have a lot going on. Just talk to me. Tell me how you're feeling."

"You want to know how I'm feeling?"

"Yes, I do. That's important to me."

"Okay. I'm confused. I'm mad as hell. I'm hurt, I'm humiliated. Want me to keep going?"

"I'm sorry you feel that way but I just don't get it."

"How could you not get it? Dammitt, Luke!"

"Peyton, the marriage is over. I'm moving on, we're moving on. That's what happens when people divorce."

"How could you do this?" she asked quietly.

The emotion level was high but she was doing her best not to show it. Ever since that disastrous night at Haley's dinner party when Lucas and Caylan had shown up, Peyton had put on a brave face, trying hard to mask her disdain and sadness from their friends.

"Peyton, honestly, I don't see what I did wrong. Granted, I should have been upfront with you about Caylan. Just showing up at the party was stupid and inconsiderate. I get that part. What I don't get is how you can be so upset that I'm with someone else? I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't cheat on you."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is the point? How am I the bad guy in all of this especially when you're the one that ended the marriage?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, Peyton but I have to put it out there. I feel like you're not being fair. We were married and it was a good relationship and I thought we were happy and one day you just pull the rug from underneath me and basically say you're not in love with me anymore and you want out."

"Give me a break, Lucas. Marriage is about passion and being madly in love and all these wonderful things that we used to be. But you know damn well things had changed. We were creatures of habit, we had gotten comfortable, gotten used to the other person being there. How fair was that? I just had the guts to say something. We're so young and I didn't want either of us to spend the rest of our lives missing out. You know it's true and you felt the same way, too. It was just easier to keep things the way they were."

"Maybe I liked the way things were," his voice slightly rose. "Did you ever think about that? Did you ever once consider what I wanted?"

She fought back tears.

"We talked about it…"

"No, Peyton. You talked about it. I listened and I did what it took to make you happy even if it hurt me…just like always."

A lump formed in her throat.

"Now who's being unfair?"

"You didn't want me anymore, Peyton. I accepted that. As much as it sucked, I finally got over that. And I met someone else who did want me. A wonderful, beautiful girl that I fell in love with. And I'm happy now. So I guess you were right all along, Peyton. You and I weren't meant to be together forever. There was someone else out there for each of us. Now I found the woman I want and you're alone and bitter and second guessing your decision. Everybody feels sorry for you and takes your side. Well, guess what, Peyt? I don't feel sorry for you."

Tears filled her eyes but they weren't tears of sorrow and regret. They were hot, bitter, angry tears.

"So you really think that's what it's about?"

"Yeah, Peyton, I do."

She defiantly dabbed at her eyes.

"I love you, Lucas. I have loved you for a really long time. I don't have regrets. I don't regret being with or being married to you. But I don't regret this divorce either. You were always there for me and we shared some really happy times but we weren't right for each other. Just because we shouldn't be married anymore doesn't make me care about you any less. It doesn't take away that mutual respect I always thought would be there. And it doesn't diminish everything we ever had. We had a great life together and that counts for something. Yeah, I walked away and I knew there would come a time when we both moved on but honestly, I didn't expect it to be so soon."

"Peyton…"

His voice softened. He hated seeing her cry. That would always tug at his heartstrings.

"How could you? We're not even divorced yet and you're already planning a wedding to someone else. How do you think that makes me feel? I'll tell you. It feels like a slap in the face, like a real punch in the gut. It hurts, Luke. It's like what we had didn't matter that much to you in the first place. It's a respect thing and that night at Haley's party in front of everyone and standing here just the two of us, I don't feel very respected."

Standing there in the doorway, the tough girl had quickly disappeared. In her place was a vulnerable, hurt young woman. Her words hadn't fallen on deaf ears. For the first time, Lucas could see the situation through another perspective.

"Peyton, it was never my intention to hurt you," he spoke with a dry mouth. "I, I'm sorry."

He put a hand on her shoulder but she flinched and quickly pulled away.

"Don't…"

"Please. Let me…"

"Let you what? Let you fix it? You can't, not this time, Lucas. What's done is done."

"Are you going to be okay?"

She shrugged.

"I'll be fine. Worry about yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just be careful. Sometimes it's easier to fill the spot with anyone rather than dealing with the loneliness. If you love Caylan and she's the one, then so be it but you should be sure, especially before you marry her."

Lucas nodded. It was fair enough but he wasn't interested in her or anyone else's advice.

"I'm gonna go…"

"Yeah. Um, I think that's best."

He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I hope we get past this somehow. You'll always have a place in my heart, Peyt. I don't ever want us to be strangers to one another. I hope you can forgive me and we can be friends again. One day."

He wanted to say so much more. His intentions had been pure but he couldn't help but feel he had made an even bigger mess of things. A part of him wanted to hold her. But there was nothing to do but leave. Giving her one last look and hoping it hadn't all been in vain, he simply turned on his heels, headed back to the truck. From the doorway Peyton watched, tears streaming. It was funny and ironic how time could change everything. One thing had remained the same over the years…nobody could turn her life upside down like Lucas Scott. It had first happened when she was 16 and now 10 years and many broken promises later, it was still happening. She longed for the days in Tree Hill when life was simple but it felt like a lifetime before. And she wasn't sure if life would ever be simple for any of them ever again.