Chapter 9

Abigail glared at Chad across the room.

Sami, Johnny and Sidney didn't deserve this. Chad was right.

She loved EJ, but she had no right to love him. He had a family. He had obligations she could never understand.

"I can't handle this," she admitted. "I need to leave."

She turned away from both men and fled the room before either could stop her.

She reached the hallway in time to see her Uncle Lucas slamming a bedroom door at the end of the hall. He looked awful. His face was red and his shirt was rumpled and untucked.

"Lucas..."

Abigail heard Sami call his name through the door.

She wasn't the only one.

EJ had followed her out into the hall.

His face was dark with anger.

He blocked Lucas's path.

"What is going on here, Lucas?" he demanded.

Lucas snorted and pushed him aside. "Maybe you should talk to your precious Samantha about that?"

He stopped and looked back at Abigail standing beside his longtime rival.

He looked from her to EJ and back again. His eyes turned cold.

"Abigail, what are you doing with EJ?" he asked. "EJ, you've already been with my mother and two of my ex wives...did you really need my niece, too?"

Abigail blushed and shook her head.

"She's with me. You have no right to talk about Abigail like that," Chad said from the doorway.

Lucas shook his head and cursed.

"I don't understand any of you," he said with contempt.

He looked down at Sami, who now stood in her robe at the end of the hall.

"I love you, Sami. I always will," he said. "I'm not the guy that is going to kill for you or kidnap a rival to get you. I'm just the man that has always been there for you. I'm not going to beg you to love me. I already know that you love me. You asked for my advice, so I'm going to give it. Take a break from all of us. Leave Salem for a few weeks. Clear your head. Decide what you want on your own. That's the only way you'll ever know if marrying EJ is what you really want for the rest of your life."

Sami's mouth dropped. She looked at EJ and burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry, EJ," she whispered.

He was stunned.

"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded.

Chad actually laughed behind him.

"For a brilliant lawyer and businessman, you can be remarkably dense, brother. Are you sure you didn't suffer brain damage when Sami shot you in the head?" Chad quipped. "Your maybe bride-to-be loves her ex husband. From the looks of it, she was just 'loving' him this morning. Not that you should judge, mind you. Not with your track record..."

"Shut up, Chad!" EJ and Abigail said in unison.

EJ walked up to Sami and took her hand.

"You don't want to get married?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't know what I want. I don't want to make another mistake. Do you want this?"

EJ looked back at Abigail, Chad and Lucas. He couldn't believe they were having this discussion in front of a crowd.

He loved Samantha, but wasn't his current situation with Abigail proof that, at least on some level, he had doubts? He'd spent last night making love to another woman...a woman for whom he was starting to develop feelings.

How could he say that he had no doubts?

"Maybe a break is best," he said sadly. "I don't want to hurt you or the children anymore."

Sami hadn't expected him to give in quite so easily. He should have been kissing her doubts away and fighting for her like he always did. Was something else going on?

Suddenly suspicious, she looked down the hall at Abigail. Abigail and Chad were finished. They had been finished for quite some time. Neither should have been up here... As EJ's brother, Chad had been invited to the wedding but he had declined.

Abigail had been around a lot since she'd ended things with Chad...

"What are you doing here, Abigail?"

Abby narrowed her eyes at Sami. Sami had clearly just been making love with her Uncle Lucas. She didn't have to justify anything to this woman.

"I'm not sure, Sami," she said honestly. "I was just leaving. You two should be alone."

She turned to walk away, but Sami refused to be dismissed.

"What's going on, Abigail? Why are you up here and not downstairs with the other guests?"

Abigail swore inwardly. She didn't want to be in the middle of this. If Sami wanted to call off her own wedding for her own doubts, fine. That was great. If she really was in love with Lucas, better still. Abigail sincerely believed that they were meant to be together anyway. If she moved on with Lucas and never found out about EJ and Abby, that would be best for everyone.

"There are guests waiting downstairs, Sami," she said. "Uncle Lucas and I should probably go so you can decide what you want to do about them."

"You may want to zip your pants first, Lucas," Chad pointed out with a wry smile. "I'll walk you out, Abigail."

Abigail was going to protest, but thought better of it given that Lucas thought she was there with him.

EJ watched the unlikely trio walk down the stairs, grabbed Samantha's arm and led her back into her room.

Clearly, a lot had gone on in there.

Her bra was lying atop her wedding bouquet, her panties wadded up at the foot of the bed. The blankets were rumpled.

The obvious evidence of Samantha's betrayal hurt. Despite everything, he loved her.

He sighed.

Why did these things always happen with the two of them? Why could they never just be happy together?

"Samantha, what happened?"

She wrapped her arms around her chest and shook her head.

"I don't really know. At the rehearsal yesterday, everything just felt so off. I can't explain it," she said. "I went to my mother's and I felt this panic set in. I love you EJ. I am just so confused."

"Did you have sex with Lucas this morning?" he asked.

Her shoulders heaved and she started crying again. No one could cry like Samantha Brady. It was the 'I'm caught, I'm sorry, please feel awful for me' cry that only Samantha could actually sell.

"No," she said truthfully. "We stopped before it got to that point."

EJ swore aloud. He couldn't believe this was actually happening again.

They had a garden full of guests who were probably pacing bets against it, but he'd sincerely believed that he and Samantha could make it work this time.

Then Abigail had come into the picture...

He was shocked by how little Samantha's confession actually hurt. EJ was not known for taking betrayal lightly, but he honestly blamed himself for this situation.

Had Samantha sensed his conflict? Could she tell that he'd been distracted? Had he neglected her? Had he unwittingly pushed her back into Lucas's arms?

Samantha required a tremendous amount of attention. He thought he'd always give her everything she could have wanted. Then his sister had turned their lives around by scheming against her brother. Had their fate really been sealed the day of Kristen and Brady's wedding?

EJ would have never slept with Abigail if his relationship with Samantha had been solid. Had that last breach of trust been the final nail in the coffin?

"I think I should go tell our guests that the wedding is off," he said softly. "You stay here. You would not want anyone to see you like this."

He turned to walk out.

"EJ, I'm so sorry," Sami said. "I didn't want us to end. I think Lucas is right, though. I need some space to decide what I need and want for the rest of my life. I owe that to myself and my kids."

EJ looked back at her and smiled sadly. He knew he would always love this woman. She was so beautiful and full of fire. She understood him. She knew him. Maybe that was their downfall? They knew each other so well that they could never trust each other.

"I think I do, too," he said. "Goodbye, Samantha."