Lying to your loved ones isn't good, but lying to them to keep them safe from people who might hurt them in any way possible is good. I never liked liars from the start, but now I am one of the liars who I used to despise a lot. Jake looked at me as if he was wondering what was going on in my head. It was clearly written on his face that he was waiting for me to answer his question, but I kept my mouth shut. I have lied to my mom, my sister, and my best friends, but somehow he is the one with whom I couldn't have the courage to lie.

Why is he the only one exempted? I don't know.

Jake's hold on my hand tightened while he kept looking directly into my eyes. "Will you tell me what is the history between you and Justin?" He asks.

"I don't know if I should tell you this or not, because once the secrets are out. Everything will turn upside down for me." I replied to him as calmly as I could.

"Reena, you can confide in me." He says. "I won't judge you."

"You are saying this now, but I am sure that you will also treat me like others who got to know about the truth," I told him.

"But don't you trust me at all?" Jake asks me and I avoid his gaze.

"It's not about trust. I don't want to drag you into my mess," I replied to him. "You have done so many things for me, and I am grateful for that, but I can't drag you into my personal problem anymore."

"But it's not a matter of your personal problem anymore because we all are stuck in this, whether you like it or not." He says sternly. "So, please. Tell me, what was the history between you two?!"

"And what would you do after hearing my side of the story, huh? I know Justin is your friend and you trust him a lot but you don't know his real jerk face." I said to him and got up from the chair.

As I was making my way towards the door of the cabin, he held my hand and asked, "If that's the case, then I promise that I will trust you more. Regardless of what happened between you two, I would never leave you. So, please tell me what happened between you two?"

"Jake, leave me alone," I said to him as I tried to loosen his grip on me. "You should mind your own business and besides that, why are you doing this? We are nothing more than friends. I am just a friend to you like others are. That's it!"

"You are more than a friend to me!" He yells. "You have always been more than a friend to me. Haven't you noticed that before at all?"

"Yes, I noticed that!" I yelled back at him. "Everyone in this office noticed that!"

"Good! Because that was exactly my intention from the start!" He says as he drags me towards him. I somehow sat on his lap and he looked at me in anger again. "Ever since I met you in that car accident, I can't stop thinking about you. Call me an idiot. I don't care because I can't think about losing you. You may not remember me by now, but I have always remembered you since I got to know more about you at your family dinner. I have looked everywhere for you and now that I finally found you after so many years, I won't let anyone take you away from me. Not now, not ever."

"I have no idea what you meant by remembering you, but I do know that If I will be close to you, I will lose everything. My family, my morals, and more importantly, I will lose the part of me who was living her life even after I wanted to end it the moment my whole life spiraled out of control." I told him and pushed him away from me. I stood up and strided towards the cabin's door when I heard him say.

"You will not lose me, Reena. I will always be there for you. Always." he says, and I stopped on track.

I know that telling him the truth about what his friend did to me is not my place. I might get killed by that, but somehow the way he was trying to assure me that I won't lose him is making me feel comforted. I have heard my sister, and my best friends say that to me whenever they knew that something was bothering me. But the thought of losing Jake because of that is making me waver about my decision to keep this secret anymore.

"Do you really want to know what happened between Justin and me?" I ask him, while not being able to look at his face, for his reaction. I heard him sigh in exhaustion and heard his reply. "Yes, I want to know. I want to know everything."

I turned to face him, and saw the determined look on his face; it was somehow giving me the courage to open up about my past to him. The past ruined everything in my life.

*****

Reena Kaur, a 25 years old Indian American girl, was trying to live her life to the fullest after a past that still haunts her. She tried not to think about what happened to her so many times, but some people reminded her of her mistake every day. Her mom and her sister don't know what she has gone through and for the world, she was the perfect daughter, but those who have known her secret had abused her both mentally and physically. She was thinking that her life would turn a bit more normal once she got a job that would keep her mind at peace, but her life turned to good once she stumbled upon Jake Romano. The CEO of the company where she got the job.

Jake Romano, a 27 years-old Italian American guy, was living his life according to his father's orders. He may have good friends in his life, but he was searching for the one girl for years that never judged him ever. He was looking for her for years but never found her. He doesn't know her name or her whereabouts, but he never stopped looking for her. Once he stumbled with Reena in a car accident, he never thought in his life that he would be able to know some harsh truth about his friend, who was the wolf dressed as a sheep. He may have been the one who trusted everyone in his life, but after meeting Reena, he got to know some things that were kept under the light.

They both kept their feelings for each other to themselves as one kept them to keep her safe while he kept them to himself until she told him first that she loved him. Only time would tell if their love story would be good for them in the future or will it create chaos for him and her.