The Announcement

Chapter 3

Chloe sat in the cab nervously wringing her hands together. She leaned back in her seat and turned her head to stare out the window at the night sky. She'd left Star City four months ago and to this day she could still see the look in Oliver's eyes when she told him she was leaving. She had hurt him and it was the biggest mistake of her life, she knew that now, maybe she had known it all along and had been fooling herself. It took just a few dates with another man to make her realize that.

Jacob was nice enough and maybe if she wasn't still in love with another man they could spend more time together so she could get to know him better, but that was not an option for her, she was taken heart, mind, body and soul. No one else would ever compare.

The car pulled up outside his building and she paid the driver throwing in a generous tip. She exited the cab suitcase in hand and headed to the elevator. Once inside she pushed the button for the top floor.

This was it she was going to tell him she was sorry that it had been wrong for her to just run away because things got hard. Relationships took work and she was willing to put in the effort if he was. They belonged together, and she hoped he still felt the same way.

She stepped off the elevator and headed to his door but when she reached it she saw it was slightly ajar. She gently pushed on the door and took a step inside looking around she saw that the place was a total mess. The contents of his desktop, which were normally neat and organized were now strewn across the floor. She felt her stomach tighten thinking that someone broke in and had been looking for something.

A moment later she heard a sound from the back of the penthouse.

Making her way down the hallway she reached inside her purse and pulled out her keys. As quietly as possible she fumbled with them until she found the pepper spray key chain Ollie had bought her after one too many close calls. He almost hadn't made it that time and told her she needed someway to buy herself time to get away just in case. She smiled at the memory she was so gonna hear about this from him walking toward the danger on her own. She just hoped he would be too preoccupied with her being back to lecture her.

She slowly turned the handle to the bedroom door and nudged it open peeking through the small crack it created. But what she saw inside was not what she expected. No one had broken in that was for sure, and based on the brunette currently straddling him Oliver would not be interested in anything she had to say.

Her head was spinning and she felt her legs start to tremble. She leaned back against the wall beside her and bent over gasping desperate to catch her breath. What had she been thinking? This is who he was. A womanizer. A playboy. Whatever he felt for her was gone. He was over her.

She had to get away. Away for Star City and more importantly away from him. She pushed herself off the wall but kept her hand there to brace herself as she headed for the door. She walked to the elevator and pushed the button. Once the doors closed she fell against the wall and slid to the ground finally allowing the tears to fall. When the elevator stopped she climbed off and fled into the night.

She booked the next flight back to Metropolis and as she took off she promised herself that she would never risk her heart again…

She shook her head wishing silently that if she shook hard enough it would erase the memory from her mind. That had been the moment she had given up the hope that her and Oliver Queen would ever be together again. A realization that had broken her heart.

"Chloe are you listening to me?" her fiancée said handing her a fresh cup of coffee.

"Sorry Jake, What were you saying?" she asked taking the cup and smiling up at him.

"My mother would like you to go dress shopping with her early next week. She'd like you to call and tell her what time works for you."

"Oh right… I'll call her later today to set something up . Okay?"

"Sounds good." he said leaning down and kissing her gently on the lips. "I've gotta get to the office. Dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, sounds good." she said, and watched him leave.

There had to something wrong with her. Here she was with this great guy a guy who loved her and who she had agreed to marry and for some reason ever since he had slipped the ring on her finger she kept thinking of the man who broke her heart. She thought she was over him that she was finally free of the pain but here he was, invading her thoughts and dreams. She had to fix this. She had to find a way to stop looking to her past and focus on the future.

With a sudden overpowering resolve Chloe pushed back her chair and headed to her bedroom once inside she closed the door and headed to her closet. She yanked the door open quickly and reached up to the top shelf and pulled down a box that was hidden away from everyone.

She lost her footing for a moment causing the box to fall upside down on the ground, "Shit."

She bent down and started picking it up and in the process the lid fell off she watched the contents inside fell to the ground then slid to her knees and looked at the things inside. Everything he'd even given her, at least of a personal nature was laid out before her. She quickly gathered everything up and put them back into the box.

She knew she had kept these things because she couldn't stand the idea of getting rid of the last few mementos from their time together, but now it was time to move on. Completely. It was only fair to herself and more importantly to Jacob.

A/N Okay so I'm sorry this is late and also kind of short but I had the whole chapter written out, edited and ready for posting, and then I accidentally deleted it. L

This is what I was able to write back out. I will try and post more soon.

**On a side note. Anyone who's reading The Wager I'm a little stuck on something and would really appreciate some feedback. I have Two possible endings planed out and now that the story probably only has about five or six chapters left I can't decide which one to go with. One leaves things open for a sequel that I wouldn't start right away but not too far out. So sequel or no?