---- cafe. Seeing the teens that came and went each day brought me real joy. Sweet treats really could lift the spirits. One day, as I was serving up desserts, a high school girl leaned in close and whispered, "I think there's a guy who's got a crush on you. He's been skulking around your shop a bunch of times but never comes in. "T spotted him today, too. He's always hiding behind that tree over there." While the girl savored her slice of cake, I stepped outside. There, behind the tree, was someone indeed. However, I never would have guessed-it was Thomas. "What are you doing here?" ---- Thomas reached out and grabbed my hand, and my first thought was to run. He held me in an iron grip, his voice a mix of desperation and tenderness I had never heard from him before. "Rebecca, from this moment on, nobody can ever split us up again." He came clean about the Wells family, unmasking Tracy's true colors. He admitted to causing me pain time and again, all to outmaneuver Tracy and leave her without a play. He claimed it was all out of love for me, that he could not risk Tracy getting the upper hand and using it to hurt me. After his confession, he waited, eyes full of hope. However, my response made his face go white as a ghost. "Thomas, you've got it all wrong. The only one ---- who's been hurting me from the start is you. "You think your actions were out of deep love? All Ican think right now is that I'm not some pawn in the Wells family drama. I don't get your high- society feuds. Tracy might be heartless, but are you any better? You've walked all over me! Haven't you done enough?" My tears sent Thomas into a frenzy. He scrambled to explain, "I'm sorry, I was just scared I couldn't keep you safe. My love for you is the real deal; I never laid a finger on any other woman." "And the car accident? You must realize by now that it wasn't me who hit you." Thomas went pale, stumbling over his words as he said, "I'm sorry, I thought you were the one who hit me. It turned out to be Chloe. She knew Tracy had always been closely watching you, so she disguised herself as you and ran me over before ---- you could see me. I've since locked her up in an asylum, where she's living a nightmare." "So you decided to play a twisted game, using the accident to torment me, even after you knew I wasn't the one who hit you?"