Chapter 27 - The Departure

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Jared's POV

"Phew... thank god you're out, I was about to barge in if I still didn't see you out," I heaved a sigh of relief upon the sight of Juliette.

However, I could tell that she was hardly holding herself together at the rate of how her red and teary eyes threatened to claim her face.

"Let's go, he told me this is where Rogan is being held at," She sniffled and wiped her tears before showing me the location of Rogan on her phone.

"Alright, let me get the cops now," I pulled out my phone as I entered into the car but Juliette stopped me immediately.

"No, Romeo said Oswald isn't around, we can just get Rogan out by ourselves. Please don't alert the cops, I don't want Romeo to be implicated with the cops," She explained concernedly.

I hesitated with the risk that we will both take on with this rescue without the cops.

"Please... Jared, I'm sure you don't want anything to happen to Romeo too right?" She pleaded.

"I can't believe you're still thinking for him after what he has done to you... Alright, fine, let's go now," I exasperated in disbelief at how forgiving Juliette is towards Romeo. 

Maybe this is the reason why Romeo fell head over heels with Juliette, the one and only woman who has nothing but genuine concern in having the best interest for him. Little does she knows that her good intentions have landed them no further than an entangled tragedy.

Juliette Leclaire's POV

"This is the place, let's go," Jared checked against his phone before alighting from his car. 

We followed the instructions that Romeo sent and led ourselves to a cell that has been installed with an electronic lock in this desolated warehouse. We had to be quick and stealthy with our movement just in case this place is still guarded.

We keyed in the code and the door came unlocked. Jared pushed opened the door and stepped into the cell before me.

"Jared?" Rogan's voice came through.

I hurried in and that's when I saw a weary-looking Rogan standing up before me.

"Juliette?" His voice quivered as his eyes glistened upon the sight of me.

"Rogan!" I broke into tears upon seeing Rogan as I ran up and hugged him.

"Thank god, you're still alive," I snivelled in gratitude as I continued to hold him tightly in my embrace.

"Julius! Your sister is held in captive too!" Rogan exclaimed.

"Julius managed to escape, and that's how I got to know you were captured," I reassured him.

"What about you? Did he hurt you? How did you two get in here?" He asked in a fluster as he scanned me from head to toe while he held me in his hands.

"We can explain to you that once we get out of here. Come on, let's go now!" Jared whispered anxiously.

Upon getting out from that place, we sent Rogan to the hospital as we were concerned about the injuries that he had sustained. On the way to the hospital, we explained to Rogan of how we managed to realise he was missing and how we got here.

Now that Rogan is safely out, the whole ordeal ain't exactly over yet.

While waiting for the doctor's examination of Rogan to be over, I decided what was best for all of us.

"Jared," I called out to Jared.

"Yea?" He asked with his brows raised.

"Can I crash at your place tonight?" I finally got this out of my mouth.

"What? Why? Shouldn't you be staying with Rogan?" He asked with a ridiculed expression.

"You know not everything can be returned to just like before just like this... I'm carrying Romeo's child, I can't possibly still expect Rogan to accept me in his life," I explained.

"But Juliette, it wasn't your fault, and I'm pretty sure that wouldn't stop Rogan from loving you," Jared tried to convince me otherwise.

"Jared, it's not just about my child with Romeo. It's everything that has gone wrong because of me! I just thought it's ridiculous how my presence has caused a wedge between the two brothers, and even my family is implicated... I need to end this... I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, I should just disappear for the good of everyone. Please... please just help me..." I spewed my trouble woes to him as I threw my hands through my hair in frustration.

"Juliette, this isn't a solution, you're not being fair to yourself. You clearly are the victim in this, why beat yourself up so hard?" Jared retorted.

"I need to end this... I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, do you understand? Please... please just help me..." I begged.

"Alright, you can crash at my place, but I really hope you can think this through properly..." Jared exasperated.

"Family member of Mr Rogan Morgan?" A nurse called out to us.

"Yes, that's us," I responded as we hurried over.

"Doctor's examination of the patient is over. Mr Morgan doesn't have any major injuries, just malnourished with some cuts and bruises, but we have already attended to him on this. He is safe to be discharged for now," The nurse explained.

"Thank you very much," My spirits were lifted in relief to know that Rogan is safe and sound.

We drove Rogan back to the Morgan's residence for safety reason. Rogan's mother was of course over the moon to see Rogan back. She hugged him immediately in tears upon the sight of him."Why are you here?!" She glared at me and hissed.

"Mom, why can't she be here, she is my wife," Rogan defended.

She pointed her finger in angst as she said to Rogan, "She is no wife of yours! She signed the annulment paper, she was in cahoots with Romeo!"

"No, mom, she didn't know Romeo was impersonating me," Rogan defended once more.

"She didn't know?! She spoke up for Romeo when I confronted him!" She cursed.

"Regardless, I'm going to turn him in to the cops for what he has done," She pulled out her phone and was ready to dial.

"How could you do this to Romeo? You said you wouldn't call the cops on him as long as Rogan returned tonight, didn't you?" I exclaimed in disbelief at how cruel she was towards Romeo.

"You see that, son?!" She turned to Rogan and exclaimed.

"Enough!" Rogan snapped at his mom.

"It wasn't Romeo, it was Oswald who had manipulated him, you should be calling the cops on Oswald, not him," He explained.

Her face was twisted with disgust upon the mention of Oswald and she stormed out from our sight thereafter.

"Juliette, I'm sorry..." Rogan apologised to me.

"No, I should be the one apologising... I'm so sorry that I didn't realise you were missing until now. I'm sorry that I have failed you..." I was twisted in guilt as I apologised to him.

"No, you don't have to, it's not your fault, Juliette... I know you were tricked by Romeo, he told me everything when I was held in captive. He would come to me to brag about his time spent with you, but I know he was doing this as an outlet to confess his misdoings. I know everything... I have failed him as a brother, it was my fault... You and your family wouldn't be implicated in this if I had paid more attention to him. I'm so sorry, Juliette... I wasn't there to protect you... it must have been painful for you to go through that miscarriage..." He hugged me as he said.

"Rogan... I lied to Romeo," I said with every ounce of courage that I could muster in me."What do you mean?" He asked.

"I never lost his child... I lied just so he could let go of me and hence let go of you. You have finally safely returned home, but we can't go back anymore..." I touched my belly as I said heavily to him.

It hurts me to come to this conclusion that the once happy moments with Rogan was just a passing rain in my life that was never meant for eternity.

"No, it doesn't matter to me at all whether you're carrying his child. Juliette, you're all that matters to me. If that's what you are concerned about, don't worry, I will never forsake you no matter what," Rogan looked into my eyes, pleading me not to leave.

"Rogan, don't you understand, we would be repeating history if I let you into this child's life. I don't want my child to suffer as Romeo did, I don't want my child to go through what Romeo has to go through just because he or she isn't your biological child," I snapped."Juliette, I wouldn't do that, what is yours is also mine. I will love him or her regardless, please, have faith in me..." He pleaded once more.

"No... you don't know what you're talking about... it's not fair to you, I don't want to put you through this either... You deserve someone else better," I pushed myself to put forth my point.

I rubbed my forehead in anguish and exhaled deeply as I continued to explain to him, "Don't you see how ridiculous this whole situation has got because of me? Two brothers fighting over one woman, implicating our family's companies as a result? It's not worth it... I'm not worth it... I'm ashamed and guilty for bringing this to both of you, so please... let me go..."

"No, it was me, it was my fault. I did him wrong first, I took you away from him when I hid that note from you. It was my selfishness who turned him into this state and caused you harm... I'm sorry, Juliette, I understand if you can't forgive me, but please don't blame yourself... don't leave me... let me make it up to you for the rest of my life, please..?" His voice quivered and his eyes turned teary as he pleaded.

"I just want... what's best for my child... and for everyone... I would rather be alone for the rest of my life if that means no one is going to get hurt if that means I could live with a clear conscience. Please... I hope you can understand this," I snivelled in anguish.

Rogan Morgan's POV

It hurts me to see her in such pain, such pain that I had indirectly inflicted onto her because of my selfish act to have her.

What rights do I have to forcefully make her stay by my side if I was the source of her pain... I fell silent, I was lost for words.

"I have to go now, Jared is waiting for me. You don't have to worry about me, have a good rest and take care of yourself," She said before turning around to leave.

She left when I still haven't wrap my head around to this piece of devastating news. She left with my heart still with her and that breaks me in an indescribable pain of loss.

*The next day*

Jared's POV

I decided to check on Romeo, just in case he does anything stupid. I certainly did not feel secure about leaving Romeo all alone by himself yesterday, but I had to do what was right for everyone. As I drove up into his mansion, I could already see him sitting there motionlessly on the swing.

"Romeo!" I called out to him as I got out of my car.

He remained unresponsive.

I walked up to him and realised his face was as pale as a sheet.

"Gosh, Romeo, you looked terrible, did you even had anything last night?" I exclaimed.

"I'm fine..." He replied weakly, still staring blankly into the distance.

"What are you doing here? I think you should really get some rest now, come on, let's get into the house," I persuaded him.

"I'm waiting... waiting for my family to come home to me..." His voiced cracked dryly and then he shook his head in despair and snickered to himself, "Isn't it funny that I'm still waiting for something that will never return to me, something that I can't ask for?"

He obviously isn't in the right state of mind. The turbulence of emotional battle beneath that battered eyes of his was a telling of his melancholy.

I know what broke him, but I never expected that it would be this big a blow to him.

"Romeo, you're a fine man yourself, you could have got any ladies you want, why so foolishly fixate on Juliette?" I asked in bafflement and then I sighed, "I think you need help."

There is just something crazily inexplainable about Morgan's men, they are all such committed lovers that they only devote themselves to one woman in their lifetime. First was Oswald, then was Romeo and Rogan... What was supposedly a good trait has now become the very thing that brought tragedy upon this family.

"I know she must have thought that my love for her was out of my insanity..., but I know what's in my mind, I'm not sick... I love her at first sight, everything about her... for who she was, not because of my sick needs. I know... there are no excuses for my actions... but I just didn't know how my heart can live without her..." He said in anguish like a hurting animal.

I have known Romeo for a long time and it hurts me to see him shackle himself to such misery which he is helpless too. I was tempted to tell him about his child but I decided it wasn't my right to do so. I could only hope the best for him, that he could ride through this ordeal.

"Romeo... I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say to you... but at least you did the right thing yesterday," I gave him a comforting pat on his shoulder.

*That night*

Juliette Leclaire's POV

"Wow, I'm glad you still got your appetite," Jared praised me for finishing my plate of food."If it wasn't for my baby, I wouldn't have pushed myself to eat..." I said heavily."I'm surprised you still..." He choked back on his words.

"Still what?" I asked.

"Still care about his child?" He bit his lips and said.

I sighed and poured out the truth... the truth that I had been running away from, "It's also my child after all... Besides, I would be lying if I said I never loved Romeo. This is exactly why I hated myself... I hated myself for having feelings towards both of them, how could I? I'm ashamed of my wavering faithfulness towards either of them. I'm terribly ashamed that I have only brought harm to them, choosing either of them will only hurt the other. This is the reason why I have decided to leave and I intend to leave tomorrow, away from their life forever."

"Juliette, I know you might not want to talk about it this anymore, but now that you came to terms with your feelings. I thought you should know this..." Jared said with hesitation."I went to find Romeo today, he doesn't seem to be in the right state of mind. He was sitting on the swing and saying that he was waiting for his family to come back home to him, but at the same time, he said he was waiting for something that will never return to him," Jared said with a troubled expression.

The swing... The mention of that swing immediately struck my heart. I knew what Romeo meant when he said he was waiting, a flashback of what he said to me when he built that swing surfaced on my mind. Back then, he was so happy and looking forward to a family... a family dream of his that I have so cruelly taken away from him when I decided to hide the truth from him.

And now... he is still hopelessly waiting for me...? It breaks my heart to learn of this...

"I'm not speaking up for Romeo because I know regardless of how much he loves you, what he did was still wrong. However, I have to say... Romeo really loves you. The Leclaires was in trouble because Oswald took action behind his back and Owen used your family's company as a scapegoat to deflect this ordeal. Romeo went through great lengths to get the Leclaires back up by going down to several banks to convince the executives to bill the Leclaires out from this crisis. All these years that I have known him, I have never seen him truly in good spirits until you came into his life, it was as though you gave him a purpose in life and breathed life into him, that you were that important to him, and when you left him, the despair in his eyes was just..." Jared shook his head and sighed heavily.

"He didn't dare to want you anymore, he blames himself for hurting you too. I know Rogan loves you too, I'm not saying Romeo is better, but I just wanted you to know... that's all. Most importantly, Juliette, nobody wanted this to happen, and you're certainly not to be blamed. I wish nothing but happiness for you, do what's right for you, I will support whatever decision you made," Jared gave me a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, it's nice to hear that from you, especially at this point in time," My troubled mind felt a tinge of relief and warmth from his comforting words.

*The next day*

"Hi Julius, how's everything at your side?" I called Julius.

"Juliette! I was so glad when I finally heard that you and Rogan are safe now. I'm finally with mom and dad now, the coast seems to be clear for now, dad is getting better too, and so is the company. Detective Cavani is on the chase for Oswald. When are you coming back to Chicago?" Julius responded.

"I'm glad to hear that, please stay safe and send my regards to mom and dad. I won't be coming back to Chicago, in fact, I'm leaving Michigan to somewhere else temporarily," I said.

"What?! Where are you going? Who are you leaving with?" Julius asked.

"I'm leaving with no one, I just needed time alone and away from both Rogan and Romeo. I can't shake off the fact that this whole thing happened because of me. Leaving here would be the best choice for everyone," I explained.

"But... aren't you pregnant? You can't be out there on your own, I don't feel safe about it," Julius protested.

"Don't worry, I will keep in contact with you. I just don't want Rogan or Romeo to know my whereabouts and pester you for it. I need to break cleanly away from them, it's for the good of everyone. I'm leaving by train this evening, it's the only way they won't be able to track me, if you really need to know," I reassured Julius.

"Okay... promise me you would take care of yourself and get back to me once you have arrived safely, alright?" Julius replied with hesitation.

"Thank you, Julius," I said with a smile of relief before hanging up on her.

Rogan Morgan's POV

It's been two days since she left, but she stills weigh heavily in my heart. When it comes to Juliette, I'm always uptight in every move I made because she is someone so precious to me. After hearing what she told me that night, I didn't know what I should do that would be the best for her.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed and an unknown number flashed across the screen. I picked up apprehensively, "Hi, this is Rogan speaking."

"Rogan! I'm Julius, Juliette is leaving Michigan by train this evening, you better catch her before she leaves!" Julius sounded panicky.

"What?! Why?! Where is she leaving to?" I exclaimed.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you about it, she wanted to leave without you or Romeo knowing about it because she felt that she was at fault for whatever that happened. I contemplated hard before deciding to tell you about this because I'm worried about her. She refused to tell me where she was going to, only saying that she was leaving by train this evening. I have checked, there are only two trains leaving Michigan this evening, you might be able to catch her if you rush over there now," Julius explained.

"Okay, I'm going to the train station now, thanks for the heads up!" I responded quickly and then I ran over to my car as soon as I hung up.

Suggested Playlist: How Long by Lalin
(This song is perfect for the scene below, I was inspired by this song as I wrote this part, please listen to it as you read on!)