30 Days Fiancé

Chapter 38: Something Different

"Lexa... is there something you want to tell me? You've been weird all day. As if something's eating away at you."

Clarke stood in their room, having dressed up for the dinner and was already prepared to go down when she remembered the distant look on Lexa's face when they were in the car on the way home. It was hurting Clarke on the inside that she couldn't push through this one barrier that Lexa has been keeping up from the time they met. Clarke always felt it, that Lexa was always so strong, so kind, so good, yet she held something in her heart that just wouldn't be let out. Her mother had been talking to her more often times than not, even her father didn't say as much besides the casual teasing when Abby was around but never talked as much to Abby. Raven and Octavia too had been around Lexa more often and they usually had concerned faces on when Clarke was with Anya or Lincoln talking. Then there was Aden whom had told her upfront about Lexa's heart. And Mrs. Beaty. How she told Clarke not to fall in love with her for she would only have her heart broken. This was something that bothered Clarke. Was Lexa really sick that she didn't want Clarke to know? Clarke wanted Lexa to come out and tell her her true feelings, but every time, Lexa replaces it with her jokes or something entirely different that she couldn't get the chance to remember about it.

"I'm fine love. Nothing to worry about." And that's when Clarke got angry.

"Don't. Don't do that."

"Do what?" Lexa turned her gaze over at Clarke who had her arms folded.

"Like as if I can't see it in your eyes. For the past 3 weeks I've known you Lexa, you can't lie for shit with your eyes. What is going on with you?"

"Why are you angry at me all of a sudden? I'm fine Clarke. Stop worrying will ya?"

"See you pull that same shit again. You're clearly not fine Lexa. I see right through you. You're hiding something. Because for a fact that you are pretending to be fine in front of me but you let down your defenses with everyone else is pissing me off."

Clarke had enough. What was it going to take to get Lexa to budge?

"Fine. If you want to talk, then I suggest we talk about whatever it is that's bugging you after the dinner. I don't want to argue with you right now when it's your parent's anniversary dinner which is on right now and I don't need them having a sour mood as well."

"Fine!"

Clarke turns around and heads out the door, slamming it behind her and heading downstairs to the function room. Lexa sighs and sits back in her chair, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. What the fuck did I just do? I was supposed to tell her. But no, you just had to piss her off. You idiot. Lexa curses herself and gets up to leave the room. She could tell everyone else about her heart failing, but somehow she couldn't muster the courage to talk to Clarke about it. Lexa was depressed at this point. She made her way down to the function room, immediately taking herself to the bar and ordering a strong drink even though she's not supposed to. She scanned through the crowd of people who had turned up, business people whom she remembers clearly during the time she had projects with and found Clarke talking to her father and mother in the corner of the room. She wanted to head back upstairs and just shut herself out from the world at this point. She was afraid. So afraid of the fact that Clarke might walk away just like Costia did, only to have someone sit in the chair beside her.

"You never changed. Still drinking your sorrows away, I see."

Lexa instantly froze. No fucking way. It can't be.

"Costia?"

Lexa almost drops her glass, turning to look at the woman she once loved and had her heart shattered to pieces, sitting right next to her with a smile on her face. Lexa's heart broke all over again, for the woman before her was nothing more than Nia's prodigy now. Her tone, her language and her demeanor said it all. The woman she used to know wasn't her anymore. Costia was someone else entirely.

"In the flesh. I'm surprised you're still alive." A knife just pierced her heart at the tone and words used.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Jake Griffin invited Nia over and I was invited along. Nice to see you still alive."

"Leave me alone."

"Now don't be rude. You used to be so sweet and loving. Heard you found yourself a fiancé. Congratulations. I'm happy for you. Did you sucker her into loving you too even though you're dying?"

What the fuck. She really knew how to kill someone. Lexa glared at her before finishing her glass of whiskey and walked away. Anya saw from a distance that Costia had showed up with Nia, and immediately took off in her direction. Raven saw it too and excused herself, following Anya. Lexa was about to reach the doors when Jake starts his speech.

"Good Evening everyone. Thank you all for coming, it's a special night for me and my wife of course. Our 36th year anniversary, and just like every year when we have our anniversary dinner, everyone is invited. And in all these years of loving my beautiful wife, I always tell myself how lucky I have been to fall in love with her and marry her. I remember the first time we met, I slipped and fall, hitting my head on a desk at work. Next thing I knew, I woke up to this beautiful angel staring back at me. Of course I was the lady charmer back in the days, but she, talk about having to go to war and back to win over her heart. Took me 8 months to chase her, but I would do it all over again." The crowd claps and whistles, Jake smiles and sees Lexa standing in the crowd, smiling slightly. "Now, there is something else I would like to say. I know most of you heard that my wonderful daughter is finally home this year, with her fiancé..." Lexa turns to look around for Clarke, and finds her staring at her from the small stage where she was seated by her mother, and she focuses on those eyes that were still angrily at her. "Clarke, Lexa, they way I look at you two, reminds me so much of my love for Abby. Love like yours only happens once in a lifetime and no matter what life puts you through, always remember that life is worth surviving. Build you trust and love together to forge a bond stronger than the universe itself. And always be there for each other for soulmates never give up on the other. With that, to my lovely wife Abigail Griffin, Happy Anniversary my love. I love you."

Jake heads down towards the table and pulls his wife into a kiss. "I'm surprised you worked your way into Griffin's good graces. Marrying his daughter. Really smart move Woods." Lexa turns around to look at the woman before her.

"Nia. How is it that you're sorry corporate ass made it here? What did you swindle from him this time?"

"Oh my dear. I would never do such a dirty crime. In fact, I offered him a good project that I'm sure he wouldn't resist. Tell me Lexa, your business empire is running down to the ground and what is it going to take for me to buy over your stocks?"

Lexa scoffed at the older woman. Sly as a snake. Nia Queen really knew how to destroy one's business to run the business world on her own. Jake was the only one company that she hadn't managed to destroy yet, including Lexa and by hiring Costia, she knew it would break Lexa defenseless. But of course, Lexa was really smart, making it near damn impossible for Nia to even think of taking her down.

"You really never learn do you? I have my resources on standby and my business partners still stand by me in which your imbecile of a assistant couldn't have possibly retrieved because I may have had a relationship with her, that doesn't mean I tell her all my secrets. And with that, I'm sure Jake would like to hear my side of the story on how you sent Luna's company in shambles and bankruptcy. Would you like that? Oh wait, he already knows your scheming methods Nia. So try to lower that ego of yours before he sends your company to the ground."

Lexa walks off, running into Anya who had watched the whole scene that happened just two minutes ago, trying to get Lexa to talk to her, but Lexa shook her head for her not to follow. Clarke on the other hand, felt guilty. She was talking to her mother when she saw one of her father's business partners walk up to Lexa. Lexa's mood had already soured from the time they were in the room and clearly the words exchanged between the two had been somewhat venomous. Clarke excused herself and followed in the direction of where she last saw Lexa, hoping to ease her from the tension and to apologies for earlier.

But what she was going to find was something entirely different.

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End of Chapter 38

xx Alex