A/N: Sorry for the overdue update, I had writers block with this one. This chapter will close up Stella's past, Kelly now knows everything. I hope I did her past justice for you all. Now next chapter will take a slight time jump, hopefully you guys like it...

Kelly was completely taken aback by her confession. Out of all the things he figured she would say, killing someone wasn't on his list. His mind was going a hundred miles an hour; there was so much to say, but the words weren't coming out. He was extremely shocked. All he could do was stare at her, she was looking at the floor, hugging herself, shaking, and crying. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and comfort her, but he couldn't move; it was like his feet were stuck to the floor. His heart was beating loudly, it felt like he couldn't breathe. He tried to speak, but nothing would come out. He was paralyzed emotionally, mentally, and physically.

Stella continued to cry, looking down at the floor. She wondered what he was thinking. If he was regretting meeting her? Did she ruin the best thing to ever happen to her? Is he going to walk away from her? Why did she tell him? Why didn't she just take this secret to the grave with her? She's been carrying it around with her for over six months, why did she have to tell him? God, she's such a fool. She kind of just wanted the weight lifted off of her. It was nice talking to Kelly about everything that she's been through and how supportive he's been. She was kind of praying that he would understand why she did what she did and support her, but now that she's back to six months ago when it first happened, she feels guilty and wants to turn herself in. She wonders if he's going to convince her to turn herself in. Can you be with someone who's a murderer? So many questions are running through her mind as her heart breaks for what could have been.

Kelly took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. He needed answers. He needed to know how she did it. when she did it? Did he attack her again? Was it self-defense? There were so many questions running through his mind that needed to be answered, but he didn't know if he could handle the answers or not. He's freaking crazy about this girl; he's pretty much got their future planned out in his head, of course. but now her confession has his mind all jumbled up. Should he stay, or should he walk away? Should he give her a chance to explain, or is it best for him to just let things be and say goodbye, or does he ignore what she just told him and pretend he doesn't know and they could be together happy, would he be able to let it go, or would it weigh him down till he explodes and ruin everything between them? Can they go back to the way it was before her confession? He doesn't want to let her go, but can he be with someone who murdered someone? That's the biggest question going through his mind. His eyes opened at the sound of her voice.

" Kelly, I understand if you want to walk away. I do. What I just admitted to you I never said those words out loud before, and not a single soul knows. I've carried this secret around with me for the last six months." She paused as she mentally prepared herself. "I meant what I said—I don't regret it. I'm sorry if this changes the way you see me or if this ruins what we had or what we could have had." She wipes her eyes. "I told you because I feel like I could tell you anything. You are the only person in my entire life who I never felt was judging me. I felt so open with you. You gave me something that no one had before peace. Like a river that had been rushing, pulled by the current for too long, You made my waters still." She tells him, she needed to break the awkward silence. She looked up, and their eyes connected for the first time since her confession. He looked a little disoriented; his eyes looked withdrawn.

She waited for him to say something. After what seemed like an eternity, she left the room. She couldn't take the painful silence or the look of disgust in his eyes anymore.

Kelly watches her practically run out of the room, and he sighs loudly as he hears what he assumed was her bedroom door slam. He walks over to the window, looking out at the night sky. As he continues to think about everything, his mind replays everything she has ever told him. He can't walk away from her; he doesn't want to walk away from her. He's falling in love with her, or at least he thinks he is.

Stella walked out onto her balcony and closed her eyes, enjoying the night breeze blowing on her face.

"Did you shoot him?" His voice was low and demanding.

The tone of his voice makes her jump. She turns and sees him standing in the doorway leading out to the balcony.

"No." She replied as their eyes locked.

"Stabbed him?"

"No!"

"Choked him? Knocked him down the stairs? " He asked, desperately needing to know. He watched the confusion on her face. "Drowned him? Set him on fire."

Her face went pale, and her eyes went dark. Kelly was blown away; she set him on fire. He didn't think she was capable of such a horrendous act.

She broke the contact and turning back around, she could see the look of horror on his face.

"You set him on fire?" He questioned her, staring at the back of her head.

She swallowed hard. "Not exactly. I didn't set the fire."

Kelly arched his eyebrows. "What exactly did you do?"

Stella closed her eyes as she thought back to that night. "I was on shift, and we got a call to an apartment fire. It was a three-alarm fire that started in the basement. When we got there, the whole building was in flames; they changed it to a four-alarm fire. The fire was spreading fast. My lieutenant, about seven other firefighters, and I went to the basement. I was sent to the back of the basement; there were a lot of people in the basement. So we started getting everyone out. I was helping this woman, and she said her boyfriend was in the back; he was stuck under a refrigerator after the explosion. So I handed her off to another firefighter. And went looking for this man. The fire was heating up in there, and as I was looking for the victim...

Kelly walked up behind her; she had her eyes closed, and the tears were falling fast. "As I tried to move the refrigerator, I saw that the man trapped underneath was Paul. I froze Kelly; I haven't seen that man in years, and now all of a sudden I was in the same room with him. He was smiling that creepy smile at me, the one that makes my skin crawl. I felt trapped; I started having a panic attack. I didn't call for help. I just stared at him; there was a loud bang, and then I heard my chief radio everyone out. "

Kelly closed his eyes. "You left him there."

"I was shocked; I literally couldn't move. I don't know why I didn't move, even when they called all the firefighters out. I didn't move; I just stood there, and flashbacks of what Paul and Sonny did to me came rushing back to my mind. " She took a deep breath. "He started yelling, help me, but I didn't move towards him; I slowly walked backward out of the little room. I closed the door. I heard someone yell my name. They asked if I was okay; I said yes, and they asked if there was anyone in that room. I told them no. " She looked down at the busy nighttime street. "I wanted him to die; I didn't care about his life; he took so much away from me and he didn't care; the son of a bitch smiled at me in that fire. I started having nightmares that he and Sonny broke into my apartment, tied me up, and raped me repeatedly. I didn't sleep for months; every day I would check online to see if Sonny was still locked up, and I would read the article about Paul's death. Just so I could remind myself that they couldn't hurt me anymore." She bit her lip so hard that it started to bleed.

Kelly closed his eyes as he let everything, she just said sink in. As a firefighter himself, it's hard for him to understand why she did what she did; she took the same oath he did. His eyes opened wide as she spoke.

"I will never allow my personal feelings or danger to myself to deter me from my responsibilities as a firefighter." She said part of the firefighter's oath as if she read his mind. "I know I broke the oath; it's why I stepped away from being a firefighter. But I don't regret it; I wish Sonny was in there too. After everything they did to me, Stacy, and Devin, they deserve to burn in hell. " Her voice was so raw and emotional.

He watched as she wrapped her arms around herself. Goosebumps on her bare shoulders from the cool night air. The moonlight was dancing on her tan skin, giving her beauty and an extra glow. It kills him when he thinks about everything she's been through; she has been traumatized, and all he wants to truly do is heal her or at least try to heal her.

"Do you believe in magic?" She asked but didn't wait for him to respond. "I never used to. I mean, how could I? At 15, your mom dies, and you hope against hope for magic—something to make it all better. It never comes, and, you know, you look to the only family you have left, your aunt, who's unable to overcome all of her tragic flaws. Well, no abracadabra there. And then there was Misty. Well, any magic that was there ran out when I lost her, didn't it? But, uh, then I met you. Proof that someone cared and that someone was thinking of me. It's pure magic." She says this as she turns around to face him. "I lost so much of myself in the process of what they did to me that I don't even recognize who I am anymore. But I suppose that was the point of it all—for me to lose the person I was so I could find the person I am becoming."

Kelly sees the emptiness in her eyes and the brokenness reflecting on her face. She is a reckless mess, but she wears it quite beautifully. She's like the rainbow you see while the storm is still raging. He wants to get closer and see all of her beauty, but he also knows the danger."

I want to be a part of your life. If that means sitting on the outside and helping you grow until I can hold you, then that's what I'll do."

Her eyes widen. " Seriously?" She wasn't expecting him to say that. "You want to be with me even after what I confessed to you?"

He walked over to her and said, "I admit, you definitely surprised me with that little confession." He tells her as he wipes away the blood on her bottom lip with his thumb.

"Little confession? That was an huge confession; I committed a sin. I should be sitting in prison right now. I...

He put his hand over her mouth. "Let me talk." He tells her, as she nods. He removes his hand and places his hands at her waist. "I understand why you did it, and if I were in your shoes, I would have probably done the same thing. He was a pure demon, and he deserves to burn in hell."

"At first I felt guilty; I Kept seeing his face lying on the floor, begging me for help." She laughed bitterly. Kelly gave her a confused and concerned look. He noticed that her eyes seemed emotionless. "But that all changed a month later; I didn't regret it or feel guilty. After...

"After what?"

Her eyes teared up. "I was watching TV one night and there was a breaking news update. I wasn't even paying attention at first, but then I heard the headline... " She was trembling. "It said Paul Edwin, the man who died in the four-alarm apartment fire, was on the run from New Jersey police."

"The police were looking for him."

"Yeah, he was living in New Jersey for a while, I guess." Her tone was so fragile.

"What were the police looking for him for? What did he do?"

Stella leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. He pulled her closer and smoothly ran his hand along her back in a comfortable way. "What is it?" He was curious to know why she was crying and so fragile now.

"He kidnapped two young girls in New Jersey." She cried. " And locked them in a room and repeatedly raped them for over two months."

Kelly closed his eyes. "That bastard..." He said, in a disturbed tone. He kissed the side of her head. "How old were they?"

"Thirteen. They were only thirteen, Kelly." She said it in a heartbreaking tone.

"God. Those poor girls." Kelly said it in a painful tone. As he imagined what hell those girls went through.

"Yeah, after learning about what he did to those two innocent little girls. The trauma he put them through for two months, and the hell they are going through now trying to heal and move on from such a horrifying experience. All the regret and guilt I was feeling suddenly disappeared. He deserved to burn in that fire. She pulled back, looking at him. "Honestly, my only regret is that he didn't suffer enough." She says her tone is zealous. "If that makes me a bad person, so be it." She shrugged her shoulders.

"It doesn't make you a bad person. Intrusive thoughts do not make you a bad person or a criminal. To be honest, I agree with you; he deserved so much worse than his actual fate. I believe that they should allow families of the victims of women and kids that are kidnapped, raped, beaten, and chained up for days, months, or even years to be locked up in a cell for one hour and let the family torture them." He caressed her face. "I would love to be locked up in a cell for ten minutes with Sonny." He tells her with the most serious-minded look, his blue ocean eyes filled with so much anger.

She kisses his lips softly and says, "I have something for you." She tells him as she walks over to her closet.

Kelly confusedly watches as she comes out of the closet with a red box. She lays the red box on the bed, and he slowly walks towards her, as she goes through the box. "What are you looking for?"

She picks up the white envelope and stares at it for a moment. "Misty wrote this." She says as she thinks about Misty, She looks over at him.

"She wrote you a letter."

"Not exactly; Misty wrote this to the future guy that wants to love me."

Kelly's eyes widened. "Really? " He was a little surprised she was sharing this with him.

"Kelly, I've come to realize I don't need someone who will set my world on fire. My life has a way of bursting into flames more often than I'd like. I need someone to help soothe my burns and remove the smoke from my lungs, showing me exactly how I can learn to breathe again. You have no idea what you've done for me in this short period." She grabs his hand. "I believe Misty wrote this for you. I don't know what it says, and you don't have to tell me it can be something private between you and Misty; I'm okay with that." She tells him as she hands him the sealed white envelope.

Kelly took the envelope from her and smiled as he read how it was addressed. "To whoever is strong enough to love my girl... P.S. Do not open this if you don't have the intention to fully love her beautiful soul."

Stella blushed as she looked down at the floor. She looked up as she heard the envelope open. "Are you opening it?" She asked in a surprised tone.

"Of course I am." He tells her this, smiling at her. "It's personally addressed to me." She bit her lip as he stared at her. "I intend to fall fully in love with your beautiful soul."

She gave him a small smile. "I will give you some privacy...

"No!" He stops her. "You are going to sit here beside me while I read this out loud. I want you here with me." He sits down on the edge of her bed and pulls her down next to him. She is beyond nervous now; she was always curious about what Misty wrote, but she never opened it. She made a promise, and when she makes a promise, she keeps it. She bites her lip as she watches him unfold the letter. He gives her a quick peck on her lips like he could sense her nervousness. "To the man who has remarkably broken my girl Stella's walls down Congratulations! You must be one amazing man. "

" Yes you are." Stella whispered.

Kelly smiled. " I need you to remember something as your love for her grows. She is going to harden herself, and she's going to make it so much harder for you to penetrate her armor. You are going to have to make sure that you are as patient and understanding as possible if you want to love her. She is damaged beyond repair, but maybe you're exactly what she needs to feel better again. You have to keep in mind that this woman has been challenged by life time and time again. She has been through more than her fair share of tough trials and tests. And so she's probably going to test you just as much. She's going to push you just as hard. She's going to challenge your willingness to have her in your life.

Because of how much she's been through, she might be a little emotionally unstable, and you're going to have to deal with that. She's going to make it so hard for you to love her, but you're going to have to do it all the same." He looks over at her as she stares down at her lap. "They say that love can't heal all things. That doesn't necessarily have to be true for everybody, but you could give it a shot. You have to be able to show her that she can still believe in love. You have to show her that, despite her fears and apprehensions, your love for her is still going to win out. You have to be able to convince her that love isn't something to be feared, especially when it's done right. You have to make her believe that the love that you give her is the kind of love that isn't going to hurt her—the kind of love she can trust. She is still going to try to push you a lot. And that's okay. You just let her do it. It gives her confidence in herself. She is showcasing her courage and bravery. And once she sees that you're resilient enough to stay despite her best efforts, maybe she will grow to trust you. But that only comes with time. So that's why you have to be patient with her. You have to be persistent. You have to be willing to grind it out. And even though you might scare her at first, she is going to slowly become acclimated to your presence in her life. And then she's going to let you in." He paused as he thought about what he was reading.

" No worry there." She says as he looks at her. " I've already let you in." Kelly kissed her forehead.

"And it's going to get to a point where she won't feel worthy of your love. And you have to convince her that she is. You have to convince her that her wounds are her trophies and that her scars are her medals. You have to convince her that her brokenness is what makes her beautiful. You have to convince her that, despite her damaged self, she is still a woman worthy of true love. And you're the one who has to give it to her. Treat her right; she deserves the world, and she will love you as no one has ever loved you before. Patience is the key; just don't give up on my girl; believe me, she's worth the wait if your intentions are pure." He reads the letter over as he takes in everything Misty said.

"She has a way to make you think, huh?" Stella says. " She loved to talk, she was a talker... She was one of those cheerful happy people at seven in the morning, the ones you want to punch in the face. Because they are to damn cheerful." She jokes.

He laughs, " I definitely knew people like that. Misty really loved you." He said this as he folded the letter and laid it beside him. "She knew you pretty well, huh?"

"That she did."

He grabs her hand and interlocks his fingers with hers. He takes his other hand and lifts her chin so he can look into her eyes. "I want to be the person who knows you better than anyone in this entire world."

"I want that." She whispered.

"I want you to know that I don't care how far you push me away; when I told you I wasn't going anywhere, I meant that. I promise to be there to support you in any way I can, even on your hardest days I'm not going anywhere."

A broad smile covered her face. "I'm ready to put the past behind me and focus on my future with you."

Kelly smiled at her. "I'm ready for that too, but I have one question for you before we officially leave the past in the past."

Stella gives her a strange look. "What's that?" She asked nervously.

"Is there anything else in your past I should know? Do I know everything now?" He questioned her in a slightly scared tone, but his eyes were so hopeful.

She stood up and straddled his lap. She cupped his face. "You know every horrifying detail of what I've been through; you know everything. And I promise when I have one of my dark days, I will lean on you. "

Kelly felt completely relaxed, knowing that all her secrets were out. " Good, now let's start healing you, I want to help fix what's broken."

"I'm ready for that too," she says, kissing him softly. "And I want to start the healing process by leaving New York and moving back to Chicago as soon as possible."

The grin that appeared on his face melted her heart. "We can start packing you up tonight." He told her with a laugh.

"I say we start packing in the morning." She kisses his neck. "Right now, I want to do something else."

Kelly moans as she continues to suck on his neck. His hand slipped up the back of her shirt. A few moments later, clothes were flying everywhere. As the two souls become one.

One week in one day both their worlds changed, for the better. They are both excited for the new adventure they would share together in Chicago. The future is unknown but they are ready to face it, as long as they are together.