Ceaser was having a panic attack or more so a really strong guilty conscience which was making him freak out.

"Are you alright son?" Eric asked, "You seem to be far away."

Ceaser looked at his dad, not knowing exactly what to say.

"You've been acting pretty strange since last night." Xavier said.

His bachelor party had been worse than a funeral. He hadn't been able to think about anything except what he should have told Jules but still hadn't. He had slept pretty late and had woken up with it still on his mind.

"Son?" Eric called again.

Ceaser snapped out of his reverie.

"Are you ok?" Eric placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I did something, Dad." He said, "And I can't get married to Jules unless I tell her the truth but I'm afraid if I do, she would hate me."

Eric hadn't seen that one coming, or maybe he had.
"Would you rather not tell her and let her find out after you're married?"

Ceaser knew he didn't want that, it wasn't even in the question.
"No."

"Then tell her son." Eric sighed "Go tell her." Eric gave two pats on his shoulder before Ceaser left the room, down the stairs and to his car. He had to get to Jules. He had to tell her.

Jules stood in front of the mirror in Ceaser's room. They had been separated the night before for his bachelor party and her bachelorette party. She realized in that second as she stared at her reflection that she hadn't gone bridezilla throughout the planning of the wedding. She had remained calm and focused, mostly on work but focused regardless. She hadn't had the time to get cold feet or have a panic attack or one of the things brides have when they realized how close the big day was. Well, she hadn't had them, until now.

"Breathe in..." Sofi said and she obliged "...Out" out "In..." In "...Out."

"She's going to be fine." Andy said to Sofi with Ivy in her arms.

"Of course, I'm going to be fine." She felt herself begin to calm down.

"Good." Sofi said "You better be. If not, you'll be dragged to the church then down the aisle."

"By us." Andy added

Knock! Knock!

"Come in." Andy and Sofi said.

"Is she ready?" Selene peeped in with a smile before she entered.

Jules smiled at Selene
"I am."

Selene's eyes held so many emotions as she looked at Jules.
"You look so beautiful." Her eyes had gotten glassy.

Jules was keeping her tears at bay
"Thank you."

Selene placed her hand on the side of Jules' face.
"Your parents would be so happy for you." She said, "As am I."

Jules let out a shaky breath.
She wasn't going to cry.

"You both look lovely." Selene said to Andy and Sofi "And so do you, sweetheart." She pinched Ivy's cheek.

They all turned when the door was pushed open.

"Ceaser?!" Jules was surprised to see him "What are you doing here?"

"Get out!" Sofi said

"You're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding." Andy stood in front of Jules blocking her from him as Sofi went to push Ceaser out.

"I need to speak to you, Jules." Jules frowned at the serious look on his face.

"Out lover boy." Sofi said pushing Ceaser back but he didn't budge.

"What's so important that can't wait till after the wedding?" Selene asked, "Go to the church now, she'll meet you at the altar."

"It's very important" Ceaser stared right at Jules "After I tell you, you might change your mind about marrying me." Jules' heart clenched in her chest. She felt her world was about to be turned upside down.

The room went silent as Sofi stared at Ceaser in shock letting his go.

"We're going to be down if you need us." Andy said to Jules "Sofi?"

"Yeah." Sofi said walking out the door with Andy.

Selene walked to Jules and kissed her forehead.
"I'll be outside if you need me."

Jules nodded then Selene walked out of the room, throwing daggers at Ceaser. He was her son, yes but she had come to know and love Jules as her own daughter and both of them loved each other so much if Ceaser did anything to mess up both of their happiness, she would be mad at him.

They were finally alone. Gaze locked on one another as the tension in the room escalated.

Jules swallowed the lump in her throat but it didn't make much of a difference.
"You have something to say?"

Ceaser stood there, door closed as he stared at the woman he loved and quite sure he was about to lose. She looked so beautiful in the dress, it took his breath away when he walked in.

"Ceaser?" Jules called to get his attention seeing as he was far away. "You're scaring me."

"Jules," Ceaser exhaled as he walked towards her taking her hands in his "before I tell this, I want you to know how much I love you. You are my entire world and whatever happened, in the beginning, was a mistake and I am truly sorry."

Jules wasn't sure what to expect but she was sure they would never be the same again.

"Before we met, I set out to do something terrible." He said, "I bought Freddie and Co. because I wanted to destroy one woman." Jules frowned "When I met you at the elevator and the parking lot, I had no idea who you were but then I showed up at your doorstep and I was as surprised as you were."

Jules took a second as she took in what he said
"I was the woman you wanted to destroy?"

Ceaser nodded and Jules' let out a shaky breath as her whole body trembled.

"W-why?" She asked, "What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong baby." Ceaser shut his eyes painfully "It was all me."

Jules shook her head not understanding.
"I-I..."

"There's something I haven't told anyone yet." He said, "Not even my parents know."

Jules waited.

"Bea had a child. My child, my daughter." He said and Jules felt like her head had been hammered "She never said a thing when she was alive and I found out through a letter from her lawyer. She gave my little girl up for adoption when she was born and didn't even put my name on her birth certificate. I was angry at her for having kept that important detail from me. I wasn't thinking much of anything except getting my daughter back at any cost. I didn't know where she was and who adopted her, or if she was in a good home and had a good family. I wanted to get her any way I could and taking the matter to a court wasn't an option because it was time-consuming and I wanted her as fast as I could get her, so I took matters into my own hands."

Jules didn't know what to do with all the new information she was getting. Important bits of his life he had kept from her, someone he claimed to love.

"That first day I showed up at your house," He began "it wasn't because you were the woman I had given a ride to the night before. It was because that was the address where my daughter lived."

Jules looked up at him after a moment, eyes wide and filled with tears. She could barely see him as her gaze had gone blurry. She shook her head continuously.
"I-Ivy?" She asked even though she already knew the answer to it.

Ceaser hated seeing her in tears so he looked away, nodding.
"Yes."

Jules choked a sob as she connected the dots. He wanted to destroy the woman with his daughter which just so happened to be her.

"I didn't know what to think." He said "The two times I had met you, you were just a woman with a daughter and you seemed like an amazing one. Then I realize your daughter is my daughter." He took her hands "Believe me, Jules, I didn't know what to do."

Jules took a step back as she ran everything that had happened in her head. Why he stayed away from her, why had been weird around her the first few times after he had shown up at her place. She looked at him.
"What did you decide to do with me?"

Ceaser shook his head.
Not that question.
"Jules don't ask..."

"Tell me!" She raised her voice.

Ceaser swallowed.
"I was going to get you to fall in love with me..."

"You mean seduce me." She said

He let out a breath
"...marry you, adopt Ivy, divorce you and fight for custody."

Jules gasped as the tears she had been holding back fell down her face.
"Is that what this is?" She asked a moment later.

Ceaser looked at her like she was crazy.
"No!" He walked to her "No. Never. I would never do that to you."

"Except you almost did." She said "You almost destroyed my life. Why couldn't you have just told me?"

"I was angry at Bea, I wasn't thinking straight." He said "I wanted to take my anger out of anyone and you seemed like the only person but that was before I knew who you were. Before I got to spend time with you and fall in love with you."

Jules held back the rest of her tears and looked at him.
"Were you ever planning on telling me?" She asked, "Because right now it seems like it was just your guilty conscience."

"I was planning on telling you, but I was scared." He said "I didn't know what you'd think of me and I was scared of losing you. You and Ivy are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't know what would happen if I lost you two."

"All this time you kept it from me. Something so important it could destroy us." She said, "You say you love me but what's love when it's based on a lie?"

Ceaser held his breath as he shut his eyes.
"Please don't hate me." He pleaded.

He opened his eyes when he felt her hand on the side of his face as she watched him.
"I love you, Ceaser, that's why this hurts so much. And I don't know if I could ever hate you but..."

He waited to feel his heart about to drop.

"I can't marry you." Jules said truthfully as her hand fell from his face "I can't marry someone I don't trust."

"We can work this out, Jules." He said "Please."

"We can." She said "But I don't want to. Not now anyway."

Ceaser let out a breath.
"I will wait for you for as long as it takes for you to forgive me."

Ceaser reached up to touch her face but Jules shifted out of his reach. She didn't want to be around him at that moment. She needed to be alone.

Jules pulled the veil off her head and let it fall to the floor and gave Ceaser a last look before she walked out the door, down the hall and the stairs hearing chatter in the kitchen. It went silent when they saw her standing at the end of the stairs.

She walked to the kitchen and took Ivy from Sofi.

"Jules, what's the matter?" Andy asked

Jules felt her heart get heavier by the second.
"Wedding's off." She said before she grabbed her keys and walked out of his house ignoring the questions they threw at her then drove to her place.

She was not going to think about any of it until Ivy had taken a nap or something. She didn't want Ivy to see her crying.

She wanted to be alone with her baby.

She wanted things to go back to the way it was before Ceaser showed up.

She wanted to be happy again with just Ivy.

But fate, destiny or karma, whatever was out to get her didn't want what she wanted.

Why did life have to be so hard?
She thought.