Chapter 16 Jared's hand shook as he held onto me , as if letting go would mean losing me for good . " Willow , come with me . Give me one more chance , okay ? " I said , frowning , " Jared , there's nothing left between us . Just let it go ! " His eyes searched mine , full of desperation . " I know you're still mad . It's because of Elsie , right ? I got too close . But if that's what's stopping you , I'll cut her off . Hell , I'll tell her to leave right now ! " I couldn't take it anymore . I yanked my hand back . " Jared , what the hell do you want from me ? " He reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out a ring . Then he dropped to one knee , right there in front of me . He said , " Willow , I know you waited forever for our wedding . I'm sorry . I kept going back and forth before . I was too blind to see what I really felt . But I get it now . I love you . I always have . I was just too insecure to admit it . And I know you still love me too , don't you ? " I stared at him , stone - faced , as he teared up . He was getting emotional over his own nonsense . Who the hell did he think he was , thinking I'd just be sitting around , waiting for the moment he decided to come back to me ? I said , " Do you even know what love is , Jared ? It's not some cheap line you can throw around whenever it's convenient . Love comes from the heart . But you ? You don't love anyone . You only ever loved yourself . " His face went stiff , the color draining from his cheeks . " That's not true , Willow . I do love you . " He reached out , desperation written all over his face . I recoiled without hesitation , and he lost his balance , crashing to the floor in a pathetic , humiliating heap . Right then , Sean strode over , flanked by bodyguards who moved fast , pinning Jared down before he could get up . The second he saw Sean , Jared's eyes flared with rage . He let out a furious roar . " Give Willow back ! You don't even know her ! You don't deserve to marry her ! " Sean's arm slipped around my waist , gentle and possessive , his voice turning ice - cold . " You're the one who let her go , Jared . And now ? She's done looking back . As for ' knowing ' her , don't worry , we've got a lifetime for that . " I shot Jared a cold , wordless glare . In the end , Sean had the bodyguards drag him out . By the time we walked out of the hotel , Jared's screams were still bounding off the walls . Our wedding went off without a hitch . As we exchanged rings , I spotted Jared lingering in a dim corner below the altar . His back hunched a little more with each passing second , He stood there long after the wedding was over , unmoving . The hotel front desk said he stayed in the venue all night . No one knew what he was looking at . The next time I heard his name , it was on the news . There had been a brutal murder at the college where Jared worked , and he was the killer . 1/2 Chapter 16 +25 BONUS After I got married, Elsie , who'd always believed she could count on Jared , finally realized he would never be with her . She stormed into the president's office and filed a formal complaint , accusing him of assault . She even brought receipts and photos of their meals , getaways , and hotel stays , shredding Jared's reputation overnight . Elsie thought she could corner him into commitment . Instead , she pushed a desperate man too far , and he stabbed her to death . But none of that had anything to do with me anymore . Since our wedding was so rushed , Sean and I never had the chance to take any pre - wedding photos . So after the ceremony , he turned our honeymoon into a globe - trotting photo shoot . He hired a makeup artist and a photographer to travel with us , capturing wedding portraits in every place we visited . It all came to a stop two months later , when I found out I was pregnant . I woke up in Sean's arms at dawn . Still as handsome as ever , he leaned down and rested against my belly . " I think the little one just kicked me , " he murmured .