"I love you, April. I always have. I love everything about you. Even the things I don't like, I love. I love you and I think you love me too. Do you?"
April was frozen, her eyes locked with Jackson's. The number of thoughts running through her head was paralyzing. Oh my god, Jackson loved her… He's always loved her… He loved all of her…. And he told her in front of her sisters, and her friends and everyone… At her wedding no less…. To another man... Crap!... Matthew.
The thought of her fiancée finally brought her out of Jackson's spell. April made a panicky look to her left and saw Matthew, her always sweet Matthew, staring at her with an anger in his eyes that she'd never thought possible. That's when April realized that she hadn't spoken, hadn't screamed at Jackson to shut up and stop ruining her wedding. Oh man, this was really bad, wasn't it? So April opened her mouth to yell at Jackson, but nothing came out.
It was Matthew who finally spoke first. "April, what is going on? Why did he say that? Why aren't YOU saying anything?" he demanded.
The anger she heard in his voice helped April regain some level of control over her verbal abilities, but she could still only manage to stammer, "I'm… I'm so sorry, Matthew. I don't… I don't know why he said that."
She turned toward Jackson, but avoided looking directly in his eyes because she knew that would be her undoing. She took a deep breath to gather herself and then said as calmly as possible, "Jackson, please. This is my wedding." Her voice began to crack a little, as she added. "You can't do this. We can't do this. You have to go."
Jackson sighed and his face dropped. He tried to will April to look at him, to give him a sign, some little bit of hope. But she was steadfast in avoiding his gaze. He started to turn, but then stopped. He'd come this far, so he wasn't going until he knew.
So he set his chin, turned back toward her and said resolutely, "No. Listen, April, I know this is not the time or the place." He gave her an apologetic look as he continued, "I'm sorry, but I can't go yet. I can't leave because you did not answer my question. I asked you if you love me."
April's mouth dropped open in disbelief. She scoffed, "You've got to be kidding me. You interrupt my wedding, telling me you love me and now you've got the gall to demand I respond? Un-freakin'-believable," she said as she tossed her hands in the air.
And then she heard Matthew clear his throat next to her and say, "Actually, I'd like to hear the answer to his question myself." He said it calmly, but there was clearly an edge to his voice.
April was slightly exasperated as she pleaded, "Oh please, Matthew. You know exactly how I feel about Jackson. We've talked about this before. Of course I love him. He's my friend…"
Matthew interrupted, "C'mon April. You know that's not what he's asking. Just answer the question. I think we all deserve that."
April stared at Matthew and the tears began to prick her eyes. She couldn't lie to Matthew. She just couldn't. So instead she shook her head and looked down as the tears began to roll down her face. Her voice was barely a whisper as she finally managed to ask, "How can I answer that? What do you want me to say?"
Matthew's face hardened, "Nothing. You don't need to say a word because your face tells me everything I need to know." He stepped off the platform and pushed Jackson out of his way as he stormed out the room.
April cried, "Matthew, please. We have to talk about this. Please don't go." She began to chase after him, but tripped over her wedding gown as she stepped off the platform. Jackson, who had ended up closer to April after Matthew's shove, reached out to catch her just before she fell to the ground. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he pulled her up toward him. Their faces were just inches away from each other, as their eyes locked on each other.
Jackson gave her a nervous, half smile as he quietly asked, "Are you okay?"
April stared at him, mesmerized by his eyes just like she always was when they were this close. She stammered, "Um, I'm fine."
Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw Matthew's mother staring at her and she suddenly became very aware of her surroundings. She quickly stood up straight and added, "You can take your hands off me now."
"Oh, sorry," Jackson said as he lowered his arms and took a step back. "Listen, April…"
"No Jackson," she interrupted, holding up her hand to stop him from talking. "I've listened enough to you today. You said what you came to say and my wedding is ruined. Happy?" she asked sarcastically as she turned away from him and stormed out of the barn.
And then reality set in for Jackson. He quickly glanced around at the angry faces of Matthew's friends and family before locking eyes with a livid Stephanie. As he began to walk toward her, he swore at Mark Sloan under his breath, "burn your life to the ground, I'll say."