Chased By The Bad Boy

Prologue II

Leo Donovan

When I saw her by the lockers, I never would have thought that approaching her would suddenly change the course of both our lives. I never would have guessed that that one greeting, that one twist of fate that made us seat mates because of our last names, and that one invite to eat lunch with me would suddenly be the start of a love that would take us to a rollercoaster ride with so many highs and so many lows at the same time.

Either way, it was a ride I would never forget.

By the second week of me constantly annoying the beautiful stranger whose name was actually Lucy, things somehow took a quick turn. I found myself unable to stop thinking about her, wanting to get to know her and get close with her each day. 

I wasn’t going to lie, she was a tough shell to break. This girl was so busy trying to join all the clubs that I somehow ended up joining each one as well just so I could get closer to her. I would have never seen this coming from myself, from the guy that didn’t even want girls to approach him. 

But there was just something about her. The charisma, the undeniably captivating and charming aura of hers, and don’t even get me started on her bewitching beauty. She could top any student in this entire school without any hesitation whatsoever. That is if she actually bothered to try and be popular, but I noticed immediately that that wasn’t really her goal. 

From the clubs she joined and the extra curricular activities she chose, it was clear what type of person she was. She was a giver. A girl with a pure heart who would rather use her free time serving others, whether it was helping out at the daycare or in the senior homes, Lucy was there. 

I guess in the middle of all of that, all the days that turned to weeks that turned to months of me following her around to try and get closer with her, I suddenly realized that there was more to life than just being selfish because I didn’t get parents that cared for me or gave me the attention that I so craved for. There was more to life…

And it was her. Lucy Delaney - the woman that became my first love.

But it seems that no matter how much you wanted something or someone, if it wasn’t meant to be, if by some tragic fate that your stars aren’t aligned, then whatever you did… you still wouldn’t be able to have the happy ending you so badly wished for. 

“I won’t marry her! I don’t love her!” I shouted angrily at my father who was sitting by his black wooden table. 

He had suddenly called me to his office in the house and that only ever happened when he wanted something from me and it was usually never good. Every time I wished it would be the opposite, but I should have known better to not keep my hopes up. This time included. 

“You don’t have a say in this. Our company needs this agreement. Without it, we will fall.” He answered without any remorse, any guilt, and that angered me even more. 

It angered me that after years of not talking to me, of not giving his own son actual attention, he was suddenly going to think he had the right to dictate who I was going to marry and who I was going to be with for the rest of my life. 

“No! You don’t have a say in this, in my life! I’m not marrying whoever that Isabela Hawthorne is. I don’t even know or care about her!” I responded, the rage in my voice echoing in these four walls and my father too was shocked at how displeased I was. 

After that, I ran. I didn’t even know where I was going nor what I had in my mind. All I knew was that as tears flowed down my face, my feet continued to move on their own. Sooner or later, I suddenly found myself in front of a house that I didn’t know I was running to, but somehow my heart did. 

Third Person

Lucy was studying for an exam the next day when she suddenly noticed someone in their front yard. It was close to midnight and she thought it was an intruder until she realized that very familiar figure and she knew all too well who could look so good even with just their shadow. 

A smile formed on her lips as she stood up and hurriedly made her way downstairs. Although she was worried that it was a little too late for him to be coming over, she was sure he had a valid reason for this and it didn’t hurt to see her favorite person after all. 

“Leo? What are you doing here? It’s late. We have cla-” Lucy began to talk, but stopped the moment Leo had come into the light and she was able to really see him. 

“Wh-what’s wrong? What happened?” She asked flustered as she began to run towards him once she realized that Leo was in tears. 

She had no idea how to react as she had never seen him that way. Although the two had hung out almost 24/7 since they met each other and when Leo showed immense interest in her, the closest to being sad she had ever seen him was when she joked that she was going to leave. Lucy immediately took the joke back seeing how hurt he got. 

Leo tried his best to keep his tears from coming, but the more he did, the worse it got. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, thinking about his father’s words and what it really meant for him… and for his entire family. 

He hadn’t noticed as he was running from his house to Lucy’s that he had actually been thinking deeply about everything. The choice he had to make. 

Was he going to stay and be with the one his heart truly wanted or leave for the sake of his family?

“Lu-Lucy...” He stuttered as he walked closer to her, pulling her in for a hug, enveloping her in his arms and Lucy immediately reciprocated, tightly wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I’m… sorry…” He told her, his heart breaking at just the thought of what he was about to say. 

Memories of the two of them flashed in his mind and it felt like an arrow had pierced straight into his heart. How could things have gone so wrong so fast? Their whirlwind romance happened in such a rush and now it was going to end just as quickly as it began. 

“Leo, what-what is going on? Please, tell me.” Lucy asked desperately as she continued to hold onto him, hoping that this simple gesture was going to help comfort him. 

Little did she know that this hug would possibly be their last one. 

Leo pulled away as he exhaled deeply, looking into Lucy’s eyes that he had fallen for the first time he saw them. There was so much good in them just as there was in her, the woman that changed him. He would have never become the person he was now if it wasn’t for her and for her kindness towards him. 

Lucy had single-handedly made him feel important, made him feel that he mattered, that no matter how much the world has wronged him, he was still worthy of love and it was never too late to be kind to others as well. 

Unfortunately, now he found himself in the middle of a crossroad he so desperately wished he didn’t have to keep walking on. 

But alas, he had no choice. 

“I… I can’t be with you anymore.” He finally managed to say to her, the words coming out almost as if he wasn’t the one saying it, as if there was a bigger person out there that was currently making him say all of this. 

“What… do you mean?” Lucy asked, the expression on her face changing from confused to unsure as she stepped back, away from Leo. 

Leo’s heart broke the more she got further from him. He understood her pain and so badly wanted to take it all away, but he couldn’t. He needed to do this… for his family. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat before beginning to explain his side. “Lucy… our family business… it’s going bankrupt and my-” He stopped as he felt his throat drying up. 

He let out an exhale. “My father has arranged for me to marry someone else for its sake.” 

Leo would never forget the face she made when he finished his sentence. He would never be able to forgive himself of the heartbreak that he clearly caused when he promised her that he would never do anything to hurt her. But here he was, totally and completely wrecking her heart into pieces.

There was a silence in between them for a few minutes that seemed like hours. The two stood under the moonlight, the breeze passing them but neither shivered from the cold as they were too distracted at the moment. 

Lucy was heartbroken. No, scratch that. She was utterly, wholly, and downright… heartbroken. 

And yet, in her kind heart that had been broken into pieces, somehow she still managed to go above and beyond. To let the love of her life go because he was needed more elsewhere. 

A smile formed on Lucy’s lips and this took Leo by a complete shock, tilting his head and furrowing his brows into confusion as he wondered what had changed in the few minutes that they hadn’t exchanged words. 

“I wasn’t going to tell you yet, but I guess now is a good time.” Lucy began to speak up as he walked closer to Leo.

“Tell me what?” He asked her, his heart beating fast. 

“My dad got reassigned to another base. We’re moving again.” She said with a sigh before looking down and taking Leo’s hands with hers. 

Those soft hands that made her vividly remember the first time she was able to hold them. That time they decided to have a little fun and jump around the outside mall fountain, getting the attention of the guard. She remembered that adrenalin rush holding his hand and that was when she realized… Leo Donovan had not just taken her hand, but her whole heart too. 

But tonight, he was going to give it back. 

“Oh.” Leo said, a tone of heartbreak and realization all at the same time. 

“I… see…” The only words that came out of his mouth, unable to figure out how to respond or to express exactly what he was feeling. 

Was he happy that at the same time he had to leave her, she too needed to do so? Or was he sad that in the end, there was just no way that the two could be together - that their relationship was not written in their stars?

“So don’t worry!” Lucy suddenly said with a cheerful voice. She placed her hand on Leo’s shoulder, giving him that wide smile he had come to fall in love with… that same smile he was going to see for maybe the last time.

“It’s good you can do something for your family. I’m sure they did their best before having to go through with the arranged marriage so don’t be too hard on them, okay?” Lucy told him and as expected from her, she always saw the good in things. 

Leo loved that about her. It was always his flaw, always just seeing the bad side of things, but when she came into his life, it was like a bright light in the darkness that was his life. 

“Luce-” 

“No sadness! Never any sadness. Remember things always happen for a reason.” Lucy cut him off, demanding him to smile as she pinched his cheeks and the two lightly chuckled. 

“What’s her name? The girl they want you to be with?” She asked and Leo looked away, biting his lip as it flashed in his mind. 

“Isabela Hawthorne.” He said and Lucy had to grit her teeth to not show a bit of sadness on her face.

“She sounds beautiful… and nice. So be nice to her back.” She told Leo with a smile and a demanding tone. 

“Hey…” Leo said softly, taking Lucy’s hand once again as he looked deeper into her eyes. “Are you really leaving?” 

Her heart skipped a beat nervously, wondering if he had caught her lie. Should she really tell him the truth? Should she tell him that she only said that so Leo would feel better about his decision? 

No, I was lying. I’m not leaving. I love you and I want to be with you. Please stay with me. Please don’t marry another girl when the moment I realized you were the one all I ever wanted was to walk down that aisle and see you at the end of it. Please pick me. 

“I am, yes.” Lucy forced a smile on her face as she tried her best to mask the sadness in her heart and the truth that was trying to come out.

The two found themselves holding hands as they stood outside, their heads raised up as they admired the night sky, taking in each other’s presence and warmth for what would be the very last chance they could do so. 

When the clock struck midnight, they both realized that there was no more time for either of them. Like in Cinderella, both of them had to face reality once again. 

Leo pulled Lucy back into his arms, making sure to truly hold her close to him, every bit of her. The silence in between them wasn’t really silence as they shared each other’s feelings through touch. No words exchanged, but a ton of emotions. 

Eventually though, the two had to pull away. 

Just as Lucy was walking back to her house, Leo stopped her and took her hand just like he did on that first day they had met. 

“You will always have a special place in my heart, Lucy Delaney.” He told her with a comforting smile. 

Lucy looked at the boy with the striking blue eyes, the bad boy she never thought she would fall head over heels for, but the universe ended up having other plans for them. She knew that no matter what happened, wherever the world took them, she too would feel the same for him. 

“And my heart will never forget you, Leo Donovan.” She said with a smile that melted him completely. 

From then on, Leo Donovan came to not hate being called by his name as well as realize that he too could love and be loved while Lucy Delaney learned to live life with little risks once in a while, that sometimes the best experiences come from unexpected things.