Laurel's living room wasn't spacious but it was feminine and comfortable at this time, however, Oliver was feeling anything less then comfortable. Sitting in her sofa waiting for her to finish the phone call and sit with him.

He had planned his speech over and over in his head, it was going to be painful for both but specially Laurel.

"Hi, love. Sorry about that, it was Sara, she's a mess, again. You know how she his."

Yes he knew perfectly how Sara was. Laurel didn't know how intimately well he knew how her sister Sara was and he wished she never would. So he just nodded and focused on the matter at hand.

"Laurel I need to talk to you."

"Oliver is something wrong?"

She could sense something was off, his stance was rigid and it was like some unfathomable wedge she couldn't see was there between them. To reassure herself she got closer to him putting her hand over his. She felt a almost imperceptible titch but Oliver's hand didn't move from under her's.

"You can say that. I'm calling the wedding off."

The words were simple enough but it was like her brain couldn't process them. Her hand faulted, Oliver's hand was still under hers but she stopped feeling it. She was numb, all her body was numb.

"I think... I don't understand... what are you saying, Oliver?"

"I won't marry you, Laurel"

She got up and sit down again. She was fidgeting, trying to find words in the middle of the pain that completely overwhelmed her.

"But the wedding his just a few days away, Oliver. You can't do this. What would we tell the guests, and the journalists. Oh God... the tabloids."

"It's my decision, I will take the fall."

"But Oliver we love each other."

Oliver wanted to tell her she could only speak for herself but that would be just mean and this was painful enough as it was. He hated seeing Laurel like this and being it was his wrong doing he felt even worst.

"I don't love you, Laurel. In fact I now know I never did. I can't marry you feeling like that, you deserve better, you deserve someone that loves you."

Inside Laurel pain was gradually shifting to anger. He really was serious about this. How dare he?

"It's that... what's her name... Felicity, isn't it?"

This took Oliver totally off guard. He had prepare himself to all arguments he expected Laurel would use except, this one.

"Why do you say that?"

"You have been all over her for week's. I was happy to see her gone, finally I would have a fiancee that gave attention to me and not some unknown Queen Consolidated IT girl."

It was now Oliver's anger that was building up.

"She was my friend, Laurel. And she was and is in danger."

"Maybe so but she is gone, she's out of your life, and from the little I manage to get from Tommy she's not coming back ever again. I wish her all the luck and happiness in her life but I'm glad she's out of your life for good."

That was just the thing she wasn't out of his life, quite the opposite, she was a more powerful presence in his life now than she was ever before.

Laurel bringing Felicity up to the fold was a low blow to Oliver. He understood Laurel was hurting but the fact was the wedding was off because he didn't love her. He had to be sure Laurel would register that. For the rest, the more he stayed listening to her lose her self-control the more compromised a eventual future friendship would be, and being that Tommy was in love with her and Tommy was his best friend he would do anything to preserve at least the possibility of being in the same room together in the future.

"Laurel I am not in love with you, I never was. I'm not going to marry you."

That was all Oliver had to tell her.

"I'm sorry I've put you in this awful situation but I couldn't possibly make you happy. I won't be in Starling on the wedding date. Has for the tabloids you can say to them what ever you like about me but only about me. I will let you do the public announcement provided it's issued until tomorrow. Now I'm going home and tell my family, I want them to hear it from me."

Oliver left Laurel's home, never to come back. The only sound in the room was her sobbing and it broke Oliver's heart he was the one that inflicted that pain but there was no other choice.

Diggle couldn't believe Oliver did that. He couldn't believe Oliver told Laurel just days before the wedding he wouldn't be there.

Laurel wasn't one of Dig favorite people but he couldn't stop to pity her. She must had expected it though, Dig did. It was crystal clear Felicity took priority over Laurel in Oliver's mind. What he was finding hard to believe was seeing Oliver, for the first time, fighting and doing what needed to be done no matter how painful it was. And it was painful he could see it in Oliver's eyes.

Publicly it was going to be a scandal of epic proportions. Every news media would be all over it. For now and only with a few in the know things were hard on Oliver already. His mother had taken it pretty hard, Walter was also disapproving even if underneath Dig had a feeling he understood, Thea was the only one at Queen Mansion that really could see Oliver's pain even if she didn't knew all that was happening.

"Ollie, you know Laurel is like a sister but YOU are my brother so I'm right here for you. I can see something is dreadfully wrong. What is it? It could help if you talk about it with someone."

Oliver listen to everyone and was grateful to Thea but he only needed one person and she wasn't there. She had always been there to the extent that he took her presence for granted and now he was suffering for not realizing how much he needed her, how much he could have done to keep her with him.

His friend Tommy was torn. He saw the breakup coming and he was there, by Laurel side, holding her hand, as soon as she called him after Oliver left. But to be with Laurel he wasn't present at Oliver's side and Tommy knew he was hurting and in need of all help he could get to find Felicity. He told Oliver exactly that by phone.

"Stay with Laurel, Tommy. You are helping me by helping her, trust me."

"Any leads?"

"No. She left her phone home, disconnected; she empty her bank accounts and there's no card movements. Dig is still looking for the right rental car dealer."

"Can you search their databases for her ID?"

"Felicity could but, with our limited IT knowledge in that area, combined with the fact she went in to many car rental houses, with need to narrow it down. Dig had also contacted some friend over in Vegas, maybe she went to her mom."

"Maybe, but as I recall she and her mom didn't spoke."

"We are covering all the bases, Tommy."

"Call me if you know anything."

"Will do, Tommy, will do."

"And, Oliver. Laurel his making the public announcement tomorrow by 10 a.m. she doesn't want to tell you, she's angry and she wants to make you suffer so... try to protect yourself."

"Thanks for the head's up, Tommy."

Laurel completely trashed Oliver by using her playboy fame, nothing worked better than a well know truth to cover the lie, Laurel was the one to break the engagement off and decided not to marry Oliver Queen.

After that Queen Consolidated was like refuge for Oliver. His office was the only place where he could be without unfriendly looks and or words and without journalists tackling him. In here he could work on tracking Felicity with Dig. He was so very grateful for Dig. Besides being a great professional he was showing himself to be a good friend and Oliver wasn't but amazed of the way he was helping him.

"Oliver, Felicity return the car to the rental's shop in Vegas."

Finally a clue they could follow, Oliver was aching to move, to do something other than waiting.

"Let's go."

He grabbed some papers and some correspondence from his desk to his briefcase while Dig called their pilot.

They were airborne in less than an hour.

Oliver open his brief case and something fell off from the middle of the paper's. It was and unopened envelope. That was odd. Has he turned it, to see the sender he found there wasn't one and their was no need to be one, he knew that handwriting on Queen Consolidated address anywhere, it was Felicity's.

He opened it eagerly.

"Oliver

By know you know I left willingly. Don't fear for my safety, Cooper is good but I'm better, I know exactly where he his, I'm tracking his movements so he won't get to me.

I can't leave you without and explanation and a final request.

While driving back to Vegas I was recalling the day we met. Do you remember?

You lied to me then but I helped you and, in turn, you helped me. That night, if it wasn't for your, I would probably had talked to Queen Consolidated security in order to spend the night at my office, you got me home, safe.

I never had anyone protecting me like you did ,that day and all then ones after that, except my mom.

I loved our little get together's at the end of each day, I enjoyed the car conversations and the occasional get together's at my house. It was all so gradually I didn't even acknowledge my feelings for you were evolving. But then the day you told me and Tommy about the engagement it all came crushing like a sea wave on a cliff on a stormy day, I, Felicity Smoak, was in love with the unattainable Oliver Queen. I cried so much that night, Oliver, the pain was so real. I had made the stupidest mistake a woman can make ,fall, for someone she can't have and a friend no less.

I picked myself up, pull myself together, and stick to the daily routine. Got up, work, a drink with you and/or Tommy, home. I barely functioned for days, weeks even.

In Tommy I found someone I could talk about what was going on with me, things I couldn't possibly tell you, I didn't know what your reaction would be if I told you but I knew what my reaction would be, I would be unable to look you in the eyes or be alone with you ever again and I needed you in my life, I need that so much. For our friendship I would have endured the wedding, for you, for you to be happy, with Tommy support.

But then Cooper showed up and you where there, right there, holding me, comforting me, I almost kissed you a couple of times while we sat together in my couch. When it wasn't you it was Diggle, constantly reminding me of things you wanted or not wanted me to do, and then it was too much. Too much to lose, I had already accept losing you forever becoming a memory fading in to oblivion but now I had a glimpse of what I really was losing, your love, your protection, your presence, our quite moments, the losing became real and it was too much for me handle.

Please forgive me for not being stronger, you deserved a better and stronger friend. At this time though I have to recollect myself, I fell to nothing, I got lost somewhere along the way and I need myself back.

I'm writing you from Vegas I came to say farewell to my mom and to leave all that was Felicity behind, this is were she started this is where she end's.

I wish you all the happiness in the world, you are my best friend and I love you more that I ever thought it would be possible to love someone.

Understand I have to be away at least for a while and don't try to find me.

Forever yours

Felicity"

When finished Oliver he extended the letter to Diggle.

"Felicity's..."

Has Diggle read the letter, Oliver revised it in is mind.

Oliver remembered the day he met Felicity. A pissed off Sara Lance had official terminated an enjoyable exclusively sex related relationship with him by running over his laptop. He lied to Felicity but he knew he hadn't fooled her at the time, she saw trough his crappy excuse in a split second, and without a word, called him on it. That day she save his, and Tommy's life. His laptop contain and important project they were developing to present to Walter and Malcom Merlyn, all their hard work would be gone if it wasn't for her.

Finding out were she lived shock and terrified him and later Tommy. She was so frail and sweet, fresh in Starling City, and lived on the baddest part of town. At first they just gave her rides for her protection and as a way to repaid a favor she unknowingly had provided, but after a while Oliver and Tommy just appreciate her for her wit, her sassy and sometimes goofy answers, and her spirit. She was not frail, far from it. She provided them an escape from all the people just hovering for favors, posing question, demanding, collecting; she was like a ray of sunshine in an generally gloom world and they gotten use to having a bit of it everyday.

And now he knew for how long she had loved him, in silence. Now, that he knew how loving someone really felt, that he knew how painful it was not being able to touch the person you love, he tears pricked his eyes. So much pain and suffering she had gone through all this time, and he... just oblivious to all of it.

"How could I not notice? How?'"

"Hey man, don't beat yourself up like that. She's stronger than you thought, Oliver. She hid the small tell tail signs very well, I almost missed them myself."

"What do you mean? You knew?"

"I saw it, Oliver, but it's not my place to interfere and she didn't look like she was going to act on it. I have the advantage to be watching from far and the professional skill to analyze all people that surround the person I'm protecting, in this case you, Oliver, but I must be honest that, from what I read, she even fooled me for a while."

Which made Diggle add one more skill to Felicity's personal file that could make their quest harder. And it was difficult, at best, already.

Oliver was too emotional to extract from the letter the important tips it contained for the mission they were undergoing.

First of all Felicity was even smarter then they thought she had always been a step ahead of Cooper, the only problem was Cooper had made friends in jail and Felicity probably wasn't factoring those in.

Second she wasn't in Vegas anymore but she was there and she was at the post office, at least, and probably at her mother's home or work.

Third they weren't looking for a Felicity Smoak anymore.

"Oliver, do you know her mother?"

"Not personally. Her name is Donna Smoak, and she's a waitress at Casino's. According to Felicity she and her don't get along."

"I think we will find that to be a lie."

Has the plane started his descent to Vegas Oliver shot a puzzled look to Dig. Diggle was sure, Felicity wouldn't go to her mother's, at a risk of being caught or traced, if she didn't care deeply for her. And in Vegas there was always a security camera watching. Dig was counting on that.