A/N: Hey everyone! So, first let me say thank you sooooo much! You guys have been so great after the latest chapter. And all the tweets and DM's I get telling me how much you love the story or complimenting me truly mean the world to me. I'm so so grateful!

So, that last chapter is nothing compared to this chapter in the angst department. It's a pretty sad chapter, just in terms of heartache for JaceSam, but have faith that things will get better quickly. My Jace and Sam are way too smart to be fooled for long. :P

So, let's just right into it and find out what happens when Sam learns about Hayden.

As always, thank you for the reviews and please keep them coming. :)

Happy reading!

Jen

buttercup0303

Chapter 26

The next morning dawned overcast and freezing. The dark, dreary weather matched the mood of the penthouse, as Jace brooded into a cup of black coffee.

He stared into the dark, steaming liquid, a headache brewing behind his eyes. He hadn't heard from Hayden yet. And he'd tried to reach Sam, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Damn it!" He cursed suddenly, slamming his fist onto the table. He had to get a hold of Sam and let her know what had happened. He didn't want her caught off guard by Hayden. He had to avoid hurting her.

He let out a heavy sigh. Not likely, he thought with frustration. He couldn't imagine a scenario where Sam wouldn't be hurt by this and it was killing him. He'd give anything to spare her this. Hell, he'd give anything for last night to have never happened. If he hadn't, he would still have the hope for a life with the woman he had fallen so helplessly in love with.

How could he go back to a life with this woman when Sam owned his heart completely?

The pain in his head increased as he stood up and carried his coffee to the window and stared out at the overcast sky.

His head turned towards the front door as a sudden knock sounded. He left the mug on the counter and strode quickly to the door, praying it was Sam.

But his heart sank as once again, it was a different petite brunette standing there, staring up at him.

"Good morning, Jace." Hayden greeted him, glancing up at him timidly. Biting back a sigh, Jace nodded shortly.

She waved a manila envelope in the air with a weak smile.

"I have the proof you asked for." She held out the envelope and Jace stared at it with dread. Some part of him had held out hope that she wouldn't be able to prove her claims.

He reached out slowly and took it from her. With an arm gesture, he invited her inside. She smiled warmly and began unbundling from the smart, black winter trench she was wrapped up in. She pulled off her black cap, and shook her long, streaked hair out.

She was beautiful, there was no denying that. But all he saw when he looked at her was that she wasn't Sam.

Sighing, unable to delay the inevitable, Jace opened the envelope and reached inside. Pulling out the sheaf of papers inside, a few photographs tumbled loose. Landing face up on the floor, Jace's face went pale as he stared down at a picture of Hayden and a man that looked eerily similar.

He bent down and picked up the photos. Staring down at it, he stared at the man, waiting for some spark of recognition that never came. He let his eyes drift to Hayden's picture. She was smiling up at the man, who grinned down at her, their arms wrapped around each other. They were obviously in love.

Jace's jaw tightened as he flipped through photos, staring at memories of two people in love. Hayden and him on their wedding day, Hayden and him on their honeymoon, Hayden and him kissing. It went on and on. Unable to look at anymore photos that he had no connection to, Jace set the photos aside and went through the papers.

A marriage certificate, his birth certificate, driver's license, and more. He stared at his name on the driver's license.

Jace Adam Barnes

Suddenly angry, Jace looked up to see Hayden watching him expectantly, a hesitant smile on her face. But at his expression, her smile faltered.

"This doesn't prove I'm your husband. Sure, he looks like me. We have similar names. But that's it. There's nothing here that proves without a doubt that I'm who you say I am." He said shortly, dropping the envelope onto the table.

Hayden suddenly looked furious as she stepped forward and clasped his face between her hands.

"I don't understand. Why are you fighting this? Why can't you accept that I'm who I say I am. I'm your wife, and you're my husband!" She shouted.

A small noise pulled both of their attention to the door, where Sam stood, pale-faced and frozen.

Sam stared between Jace and the stunning, petite brunette clutching his face. Jace quickly stepped back from the woman and stared at Sam in horror.

He took a step towards her, a hand out in supplication.

"Sam." He started but stopped when she scrambled away from him, her back hitting the door.

Hayden's brows rose and she looked at Sam appraisingly, and though Sam was pale as a ghost at the moment, there was no denying that Hayden was looking at one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen.

"This is Sam? I thought Sam was a man. Is she the reason you won't believe me?" She asked accusatorily.

Sam stared at Jace, her heart shattering into a million pieces inside her. Refusing to this stranger see her collapse, she straightened her shoulders and threw her head back.

She stepped forward and looked Hayden upside down.

"I'm Sam McCall, Jace's friend. And you are?" Sam introduced herself calmly, though there was a slight tremor in her voice.

Jace watched Sam with a burst of pride. He'd seen the devastation on her face when she'd overheard Hayden, but she held herself with grace and pride. He'd never been more in love with her than he was at that moment.

Hayden's face went red.

"I'm Hayden Barnes. Jace's wife." She said coldly.

Sam blanched, but quickly schooled her features into mild interest.

"Is that so? Then why has it taken you two months to find him? Where have you been? And how did you know where he was?" Sam shot back quickly.

Jace grinned, watching Sam interrogate Hayden. He knew he should feel some loyalty to Hayden, but the truth was, even with all of the proof she'd provided, something inside of him was screaming that this was all wrong.

Hayden reared back, looking between him and Sam.

"I'm sorry, but am I missing something? Is there something going on between you and my husband? Is that why you feel the need to give me the third degree?"

Sam crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm the one who found Jace and I've been by his side practically every day since. I care about him and I'm not about to let him be taken advantage of by some stranger."

Hayden looked furious.

"How dare you?" She stepped forward with her hand raised, but Jace moved quickly, placing himself between her and Sam.

"Don't." He said, his voice hard as he stared down at her.

Hayden glared at him.

"You're defending her? I'm your wife and she's some stranger you met a few months ago." She said in disbelief.

"Lady, I don't know you. As far as I'm concerned, Sam is the only person I know for sure I can trust, and you're the stranger I met last night."

Hayden's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head, filling Jace with remorse. He didn't want to hurt her, he just didn't believe what she was saying. He couldn't.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to hurt you. But something doesn't feel right here."

Sam risked a glance at him but kept it brief. It hurt too much to look at him right now.

"What proof do you have that you're his wife?" Sam demanded suspiciously.

Hayden's eyes lit with triumph and she reached down and grabbed the papers Jace had dropped on the table, handing it over to Sam with a smirk.

Sam took them and flipped through the photos, staring down at the man with Hayden, each picture sending dagger after dagger into her heart. She took a shuddering breath kept looking.

Jace watched Sam, wanting nothing more than to snatch the envelope from her and throw it into the fireplace. He could see how much this was hurting her but he was powerless to stop it.

Hayden took a deep breath, deciding to come at this from a different angle.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm being so rude. It's just, my husband has been missing for months and when I finally find him, he doesn't want anything to do with me. And to top things off, it appears that he's fallen in love with a beautiful stranger while I was grieving for him. Can't you understand? Can't you give Jace and I space to figure things out?"

Sam finally looked up at Hayden, and when she spoke her voice was softer.

"I lost my husband two years ago. And I prayed he would come back to me for over a year. I never really accepted his death. So, I've been where you are right now. I know the pain of losing the most important person in your life, but I also know the feeling of pure happiness and bliss that you feel when someone you've lost is miraculously returned to you. And that's why I don't believe you. Because I don't see that in your eyes. I see determination and intelligence. But I don't see the truth. You're lying. And I don't know why, but I'm going to find out." Sam promised with quiet conviction.

Jace stared at her, stunned into silence.

Hayden stepped closer to Sam, fighting a war inside as the raw pain in Sam's voice sent waves of empathy through her. But her sister was counting on her and she wouldn't let her down. Nattie was all she had left.

"Have you considered that the reason you don't see the truth in my eyes is because you don't want to see it?" Hayden asked calmly.

Sam nodded in acknowledgement, and at that moment the briefest flash of doubt was visible in her eyes.

"Maybe. But I don't think so. Like I said, I'm going to figure this out one way or another."

"How? I've already given you all the proof you need."

"I'm a private investigator, and my best friend is the most talented computer genius in the world. He'll verify your story."

Hayden's blood ran cold. She didn't know how well Helena's people had built her cover. What if they uncovered her part in this? She'd never see her sister again.

She turned imploring eyes to Jace.

"I wish you would believe me. I have no reason to lie to you. Listen, take this. It's my number, and my room at the Metro Court. Do whatever it is you need to do to verify my story. I'll be waiting for you there."

Hayden turned away but Jace stopped her with a hand on her wrist. Sam looked away quickly.

"Wait. You say we're married. What about our children?"

Hayden's eyes turned up to his in surprise.

"What?"

"I had a memory of my kids. Where are they?"

Helena hadn't mentioned children. Hayden's mind whirled as she tried to think of a reasonable explanation.

"We don't have children." She said slowly. Jace's eyes lit.

"I remembered two little boys. If we didn't have children, then you must have made a mistake. I'm not your husband."

Sam's eyes widened and her eyes landed on Hayden. Hayden's mind worked quickly as she remembered what Helena had told her about Mr. Morgan. He had two nephews, if she wasn't mistaken. Okay. She could use that.

"Wait! You must be remembering your nephews. They spent a lot of time with us."

Jace was surprised at the feeling of certainty her words brought. Those little boys were his nephews. But…

"What about the child we lost?"

Hayden bit back a curse, though she remembered vaguely seeing something in the packet Helena had given her to study. She willed tears to fill her eyes as she stepped closer and cupped his face.

"You remembered losing our little girl?"

Frozen, Jace stared at her.

"I remember holding a little girl, and she was so still, almost as if she was sleeping." He explained.

He bit back a curse as Sam let out a broken sob. He started to go to her but Hayden threw herself in his arms.

"This is the reason we were drifting apart. We wanted our little girl so much and then when she didn't survive childbirth, we were grieving so much, that we shut each other out."

Outwardly, Hayden was the picture of a grieving mother but inwardly, she was cringing, disgusted with herself for using this piece of Jason and Sam's past. Just think of Nattie. She told herself over and over again.

Jace nodded, confused. Losing a little girl during labor, those two boys being his nephews...all of it felt right, like it was a part of his past life. But when she claimed to be his wife, everything inside him rebelled.

Suddenly, voices echoed in his head, distorted and far away, but Jace could just barely make out the words.

"My baby is not dead! Do you hear me? She is alive!"

"Sir, you're going to have to wait outside."

"Ok, let me help her."

"She is alive!"

"I'm going to sedate her."

Jace stared at Hayden, stricken.

"I remember." He said slowly, staring at her, trying to figure out what was happening. Sam watched them helplessly, and started to back out of the room.

"I'll-I'll leave you two alone." She muttered.

Jace's head snapped to her.

"Sam, wait!"

But it was too late. Sam had slipped away quickly, the door slamming behind her, desperate to make her escape. Sam hurried across the hall to her penthouse, reaching wildly for the doorknob, blinded by her tears.

"Oh, God." She gasped out, laying her hands flat against the door and letting out a shuddering breath, tears spilling unnoticed down her cheeks.

He was married. He was married. He was married. It played in her head like a litany, each time hurting her more and more. Because no matter how much bravado she'd shown, she was reeling.

Those pictures, the paperwork, it was all damning information. And the Jace's memory of losing their child had hit her like a ton of bricks. And though her instincts told her Hayden was hiding something she couldn't say for sure that it was her marriage she was lying about. Maybe there was more to the reason of their split. Maybe she felt guilty for not finding Jace sooner.

Sam didn't know what it was, but something about Hayden made Sam's instincts scream out. And that wasn't something Sam could ignore. But at the same time, it didn't change the fact that there was a very real possibility that she had just left Jace alone with his wife.

And it didn't change the fact that Sam had been on her way to Jace to admit that she was falling in love with him, and wanted to explore their connection. Thank God I didn't have a chance to tell Jace how I was feeling.

There was an odd, gasping noise, and with some shock Sam realized it was coming from her. She was crying and she hadn't even realized it.

Covering her face, Sam gave into the sobs.

Jace ran after Sam, flinging the door open, ignoring Hayden's cries.

"Jace, wait!"

But only the scene before could have stopped him from going to Sam at that moment. Jace stood stock still, watching Sam as she stopped in front of her door, leaning her forehead against the door. A small sniffle came from her before she eased the door open and slipped inside.

Jace stared at the closed door, feeling as if every nerve ending in his body was raw. He'd done the very thing he'd tried to avoid. He'd hurt Sam. He had to make this right somehow.

He strode up to the door and lifted his hand to knock when a small, heart-wrenching cry came through the door.

"Sam." He whispered, laying his hand flat against the door, his head down as he shook with the effort to rush in and pull Sam into his arms.

He couldn't ignore the evidence that was piling up that he was married but he also couldn't pretend that he wasn't in love with Sam now.

What am I going to do?

"Damn it!" He suddenly shouted, punching the elevator doors between the two apartments.

"Jace?"

Jace looked up to see Hayden stood in the doorway, watching him.

Suddenly, the door opened behind him and Sam stood there, staring up at him through reddened eyes.

"Jace?"

Jace stood there, looking between his past and his future unsure what to do. If he really was married, he couldn't just walk away without giving Hayden a chance to remind him of what they had meant to each other. But could he walk away from Sam? She'd given him a reason to survive after his accident, and he felt a connection to her that he was sure he'd never felt before.

His heart aching, Jace turned his head and met her eyes, remorse in his own.

"I'm sorry."

He turned away and walked into the penthouse, knowing he would be haunted by the devastation on her face but unable to make any other choice.