Not Meant To Be?

Reality intrudes

Past

Riley and Lucien were still on the floor where they had fallen asleep, when Riley's phone rang. Riley was oblivious to the sound from her phone. Lucien eventually woke up and answered in a drowsy state. His mind cleared very quickly as he listened to the person on the other side of the call.

He tried waking Riley and all she did was snuggle closer to his body. Riley hated being woken when she was comfortable. Lucien resorted to doing what was inappropriate at the time, but necessary, it definitely was. He tickled her on her tummy. That worked. Riley pushed his hands away and laughingly sat up. "Love we need to go to the hospital. There was an accident. Your parents....." "Lucien, honey, what are you saying? What happened to my parents?" "Babes, get ready! They were in an accident. The hospital called."

The nightmare began at that moment and has continued into the present. Throughout it all, Lucien was at her side. He arranged everything with his parents help. Riley was numb to the point where, not even, Lucien could get through to her. It was then, that the snake made it's move. The snake's name was Elena Simmonds. A classmate of their's who wanted Lucien at all cost. Wiggling her way into their small circle of friends she pretended to be a shy and sweet girl. Opportunity came to her when she saw how withdrawn Riley was after she lost her parents and how helpless Lucien was when nothing he did, got through to Riley. She was studying photography and using her skills, she managed to end the relationship that everyone admired.

Riley was having a tough time. She just needed a little more time to accept their deaths then she would be able to move on, and mourn her loss. She didn't attend classes since the accident. Lucien was assisting her with all her work. Imagine her surprise when Lucien arrived at her door one day after class, in a rage. On this particular day, Riley woke up feeling better and she was ready to go back to university. Imagine her shock when she opened the door, saw Lucien and put her arms around him, only for him to push her away.

"Luc? What's the matter? Is everything okay?" "You tell me!" He was scaring her with his behavior. He sounded angry and his eyes looked at her with something strange. There was a spark of something that didn't look good. His eyes were dilated and his voice also sounded strange. Riley was worried. This wasn't her Lucien. What had happened to make him behave like this? "Luc come eat. I made your favourite pasta. We can talk after." She took his hand and he yanked it away. "No! I don't want to eat! Why did you do it Riley? How could you betray me, like this? Huh? Am I lacking in some way? Do I not love you enough? Maybe, it's you who doesn't love me, because if you did, you would never betray me." "I don't understand. Luc, why would you say such things? Don't you know much you mean to me? Luc, I.." He cut her off with,"Riley! Stop! I dont want to know. Okay! I don't want to see you again. You are a despicable human being. You are nothing more than a whore who would would spread her legs for anyone. You surely fooled me by pretending to be a virgin." It sounded as if he swallowed a sob. His voice caught and Riley looked at him. Into his eyes. All this while, she had been looking at the floor. Frozen in place. Angry and hurt, Lucien glared at her. "You fooled me long enough Riley. While pretending to love me and wanting to wait so that, when we finally made love, it would be special. What a joke. You are the worst Riley. What did you get out of fooling me. How did you even pretend to be a virgin is beyond me."

Riley looked at Lucien. At his face. Into his eyes. "Lucien, please leave. I'm sorry for hurting you." "What? Is that all you have to say? I'm sorry for hurting you? You are pathetic. What did I ever see in you. Your angelic looks surely fooled me. Inside, you are an evil person. I saved myself for you. Pathetic me! See you never Riley!" He bumped into her shoulder as he walked out. Riley looked at him until she couldn't see him. This whole time, they hadn't moved from the door. Riley closed the front door, then slipped to the floor. Her legs couldn't support her anymore. Her heart that had suffered a blow when her parents died, now turned into smithereens. She couldnt believe what just happened. That Lucien was not the boy she loved. Her Lucien would never hurt her in any way. That person who just left her house, was a stranger. A stranger she never wanted to see again.

There was nothing left for her here, except pain. When there were no more tears left Riley packed her bags and left her home without a backward glance. You could ask why she didn't stay and fight for her love. The answer is that Riley knew Lucien like the back of her hand. Better than he knew himself. Once Lucien made up his mind about anything, he never changed his mind. Riley knew that she had lost him. She couldn't even process half the things he said but one thing was pretty clear and that was, Lucien's opinion of her. If he could lose faith in her so quickly, then what was the point. If he didn't trust her, then he did not love her, like she loved him. Riley was stubborn and if someone unjustly accused her of something, she didn't care, but the only person who mattered, didn't deserve her, if he had such a low opinion of her. That day, Riley vowed to never set foot in this place again. One thing she was sure about was that she would never have believed any stories, about Lucien.

She bought a ticket to the furthest place the bus would take her. A little town called Steppsfield. She found a job as a library assistant and a place to stay. A month later, she came across Ryan who had been kicked out of his home when he confessed to his parents that he was gay. Ryan was Elena's cousin. He had been in her's and Lucien's circle of friends and she knew that he was a nice person.

Two months later, Ryan met Carter and they hit it off. From there, the bond between the trio strengthened and the idea for Sunvac Resort was born. The friendship developed into a familial relationship and there was nothing they wouldn't do, for each other. Through Ryan's friends on social media, she knew that Lucien and Elena were dating and the day when they got engaged. That is when Ryan and Carter found out what had happened between her and Lucien. They hated him. She still defended him, saying that it wasnt his fault that they were not meant to be.