A/N Sorry it seems to take so long, you guys! And I just want to thank everyone so much for reading and bearing with me for so long

Chapter 5: A Twisted Confession

"Honey, where have you been? I came home a bit early to spend time with you, but you weren't even here. I was starting to worry," Gary told Misty, circling his arms around her in a tight embrace.

"Oh, I, uh, ran over to Delia's to thank her for the cake. Then I stopped by the store—" she looked at the clock, just now realizing how late it had gotten. It was only five, but the sun was already gone, and thick grey clouds had quickly replaced the cold winter's night sky. In truth, she'd also stopped by the Water Stadium to see her sisters, which would explain her tardiness, but Gary wouldn't give her time to finish.

"Delia's? Isn't Ash back home, now that I think of it?" Gary asked, breaking the embrace and looking straight into Misty's eyes.

"Well, he is, but I didn't—"

"And don't you still, I don't know, have feelings for that kid? I saw the paper, Misty. I know about the dreams. Why don't you tell me why you were really at Delia's?" Misty was speechless. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Gary, accusing her of cheating on him with Ash! Preposterous!

"For your information, he was asleep! I didn't even see him! Haven't seen him in six years! Don't look surprised, Gary! I've moved on, and so has he. Don't even think about turning this all on me. What about Umiko? Why was she really here last night?" Misty was furious, ready to knock the daylights out of Gary for being so pretentious.

"Don't even go there, Misty! At least I'm not harboring feelings for someone who doesn't even want to see me anymore!" She knew those last words to be a lie, but still couldn't help it when a few tears escaped down her cheeks.

"Why would you even bother to bring this up, Gary? You know what this does to me! What about the baby? What about the promise you made?"

"Promise? Ha, I don't remember any promise. As for the baby, what about it?" She was officially appalled, and quickly realized what she was going to have to do.

"Wh-What do you mean 'what about it?' Don't you even care what happens to your child?"

"Actually, I really do. You'd understand, if you only knew why I was doing this. You'll thank me later, you know," Gary smirked.

"Doing what? Breaking my heart? If that's your plan, well, it worked," she sighed, looking down at the hardwood flooring, unable to face him.

"That isn't what I'm trying to do at all. It's for the best, Misty. I do love you, I hope you know that much," Gary replied, leaning forward to kiss her one last time. She pulled away, not wanting anything else from such a lying hypocrite.

"No you don't, you never did!" She pushed him aside, her spirit completely broken, her soul utterly shattered. This isn't the Gary she'd known and come to love.

What was wrong with him? Why was he saying all this? It doesn't matter. She rushed upstairs, grabbing the biggest duffel bag she could find, and started to pack. "I'll call Ash for you, if you'd like him to come get you. It is raining after all," he called upstairs, saying Ash's name with an acidity that clearly showed his hatred toward the Champion.

"No, I don't want anything else from you, you phony! This was all just a big lie, wasn't it? That girl, Umiko, she was your girlfriend, wasn't she? You know what, I don't even care anymore." She grabbed what she could, leaving anything and everything Gary had ever gotten for her, and raced down the staircase.

"Have a happy life with Umiko, and here, give her this ring while you're at it!" she screamed, throwing the engagement ring at him as she stomped out the door. It was pouring violently, letting Misty know this was going to be a long, sleepless night. With nowhere to go, she walked over to the curb and sat there, letting the rain come down on her. At least the rain covered the tears that disobediently streaked her cheeks.

She put her face in her hands, a torrent of emotions rushing out all at once, namely hurt, anguish, regret, and rage. Why had she blindly allowed things to go on like this for so long? He never truly cared, as she could see now. He didn't even care about the baby. Their baby! His child.

She felt so stupid, so mad at herself for not seeing this coming. Gary may have changed over the years, but she was a fool to think he'd changed completely. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me, she thought, looking up as she realized someone was standing behind her.

"Who are—" she stopped, unable to say anything else. He had a heavy brown trench coat on, with a hood covering his eyes. She couldn't tell who it was, but she felt like she knew him somehow. Had known him for years. He nodded, and without a word, sat beside her, taking her hand and holding her close.

She fell freely into the embrace, letting his warmth comfort her from the freezing wetness around her. "I-I tried, tried so hard for him. I left Delia's just to appease him, just, just to make him happy! And now I feel like he's slowly been pushing me away this whole time, like he was waiting for just the right moment to kick me out. Or to twist it into making me want to leave him. Seriously, what kind of man does that to his soon to be wife? Not to mention their…" she trailed off, feeling the sudden desire to keep her baby a secret. God knew why she didn't want to tell this man, but for some reason she just felt as though she couldn't.

"It's just, I don't know, unbelievable of him to do such a thing! I-I trusted him! Oh, I really messed up this time! I don't have anywhere to go…My sisters won't even acknowledge me. I mean, Delia said I could come back, but I just can't be a burden like that to her, not anymore. Not after everything she's done to help me. And Ash—no, it's out of the question."

The person softly stroked her hair, taking every word she said to heart. He lifted up her face, cradling her chin in his hands, so that he could get a good long look at Misty, as if committing her appearance to memory. He helped her up, scrambling to get up as well, and gestured for her to walk with him. She followed, encouraged by the strange man she somehow knew, and he offered to share the coat that was incredibly too big for him. Snuggling close to him, she trudged on, still wondering just who her angel in disguise might be.