David and Mary Margaret were in Killian's office, away from the party. David and his girlfriend were waiting for Killian to react after they told him what his stepfather told Emma, how he blackmailed her.

Killian could feel his blood boiling as he felt anger seep through his body. He clenched his hand into a fist, his knuckles turning white as he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"When did this happen?" Killian asked as he finally raised his eyes to meet David's.

"A couple of days after you spent the weekend at her place."

It all made sense now.

His heart ached when he realised that she must have had this visit shortly before he came to her place and tell her that he chose her. He felt his chest tighten at the sudden memory of being pushed away, not understanding why she didn't want him anymore.

"Look, Killian. I am telling you this because we want Emma to be happy, and she is happy with you. I hired a private investigator to try and dig up some dirt on Mr. Gold and he just called me, telling me that he found something that might help us." David explained quickly.

"I'm going to met with this investigator tomorrow, but Emma is too scared and vulnerable right now to even think of bringing down your stepfather."

"I'll come with you. If I can bring that motherfucker down, I will." Killian answered in a firm, unwavering tone.

David nodded and went to give him a piece of paper. "This is the address, I'll wait for you there at 11. Don't be late."

Killian took the piece of paper and tucked it into his pants pocket. David said goodbye and left the room, and was followed by Mary Margaret who stopped in front of Killian to tell him goodbye.

After the couple left his office, he decided to stay in it for a moment, to try and calm himself down before joining the party again, and faking his way through the rest of the evening.

He still couldn't believe what Gold had done, the lengths he'd gone to to keep his business intact. Killian felt another wave of anger course through him as he imagined Gold going to see Emma, and threatening her. He couldn't even imagine how it must have been for her, caught in this dilemma – choosing her livelihood or love. And he couldn't blame her for the choice she made, as he would have done the same.

Killian finally made his way out of his office and joined the party. He tried keeping a smile and laughing at people's comments, but his heart wasn't in it. He faked a headache, which made people leave earlier.

After most of the guests left, Killian cleaned up a little, not wanting to deal with any of this mess tomorrow, since he had more pressing matters that would need his attention. When he finished he went to his bedroom, happy to finally be able to lay down, and put his mind to rest. He got out of his clothes and stayed in his boxers and put on a white T-shirt before getting under the covers.

He finally settled himself comfortably in his bed when he heard the bathroom door creak, and heard Milah calling him out. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily before sitting up in his bed and looking over in Milah's direction. She was leaning against the doorframe, in black lingerie that left little to the imagination.

"What are you doing?" He asked in an exhausted voice.

"Giving you your birthday present." She answered him as she walked seductively towards him.

She climbed on the bed and straddled his hips, leaning in for a kiss which Killian avoided by turning his head to the side, causing her lips to land on his cheek instead. She leaned back with a confused look.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not in the mood." He took her by the waist and moved her to the side so she would get off his lap. Killian got up and walked towards the bathroom.

"You haven't been in the mood for weeks now." The hurt tone in her voice made him stop. He turned around to look at her and felt a pang of guilt shoot through him.

He was the reason why this vibrant woman with a thirst for life looked so sad and hurt. He looked down at his feet as he gathered the strength to tell her what needed to be said.

"I can't keep making you go through this, Milah. It's over." His voice was low and filled with guilt.

"What? Why?" She asked him as she got up from the bed and walked towards him. She stood in front of him, her eyes locked on his, demanding an explanation.

"I don't love you anymore, and I can't keep pretending that this is what I want because it isn't. And I'm ashamed of what I've done but I can't go on lying anymore."

Killian took a deep breath before telling her the truth about his awkward behaviour.

"I've been seeing someone else since our engagement party." He waited for her to lash out at him, to hit him or insult him for cheating on her. But there was nothing.

"I'm sorry, Milah, it wasn't my intention to string you along all this time, I was just too much of a coward to tell you the truth." He waited for her response, but when he saw her eyes water and her lips tremble, he didn't know what to do.

"I'll go sleep on the couch." He finally managed to say and he got out of the room.

-/-

Emma woke up in the morning with her eyes puffy and red. After the party, she came back home and cried herself to sleep, as she cursed herself for her moment of weakness. She wondered if the pain would ever come to an end, and if she would ever be able to get over him.

She got up from her bed and went to take a shower to try and bring back some sense into her. Coming out of the shower, she felt as if she had washed her troubles away and gained enough energy to help get through the day.

As she was made herself some coffee, she wondered what she could do with her weekend, since she really needed to keep her mind off of what was troubling her. Emma decided that she would have a day for herself and that she should be going to the movies alone.

Just when she was about ready to leave, there was a knock on her door. She looked at the door puzzled, wondering who it could be. She looked through the peephole and saw Milah on the other side.

Emma felt her heart race, thinking the worst of her friend's intentions. Maybe she had heard Killian and her in the bathroom, or maybe someone else did and told her. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and opened the door, forcing a smile on her face when she saw her friend.

"Hey Mi—"

"The wedding is cancelled." Milah told Emma as she interrupted her and walked pass her and to sit on the couch, waiting for Emma to join.

Emma closed the door, still shocked by Milah's dramatic entrance, and not sure if she heard right.

"What do you mean the wedding is cancelled?" She asked her as she went to sit beside the brunette.

"I broke things off with Killian." She said as if it was nothing, which left Emma bewildered.

"How?"

"Well, actually he told me that he couldn't go on with our relationship."

"So, he's the one who broke with you?" Asked Emma confused.

"Me, him, what difference does it make? Did you know that he was cheating on me? Since our engagement party!" Milah brushed it off, before dropping the bomb on Emma.

Emma tried to stifle the smile that was threatening to appear on her face, knowing that Killian had finally done it – he left her.

"He told you that? Did he tell you with who?" Emma felt panic invade her, sensing that she had been caught.

"No, but I'm going to find out. I mean I don't care that he has been fucking another woman, I just want to know who made him want to look somewhere else."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Well, a little, but – to be honest, I haven't been the most faithful of girlfriends, so I can't be that mad at him. Don't tell Killian about this, but I've been sleeping with Graham for a while now."

"What?" Emma looked at her friend, outraged by her confession.

"Don't look at me like that, you slept with Graham, too!" Milah responded as she pointed her finger at her.

"No, I didn't!" She answered defensively.

"You told me you did, when I asked why you left those sex bruises on you."

"Well, it wasn't Graham." She answered, as she tried to look away, not able to look at her friend.

"Then who was it?"

Emma started fidgeting on her seat, wondering if she should tell her friend the truth. On one hand, Milah didn't seem to mind at all about the fact that he was cheating on her for the last couple of weeks, and Emma felt less guilty knowing that Milah wasn't faithful either. She gulped hard, before raising her eyes to level with those of her friend.

"Killian." His name came out of her mouth, her voice small and filled with guilt.

Milah's eyes widened at the realisation that the woman her fiancé has been cheating her with was actually her best friend. Emma got more and more nervous as she waited for her to say anything. What she didn't expect was the slap that came across her cheek, the skin quickly burning.

"YOU BITCH!" Milah yelled at her as she got up from the couch. "How could you? You? My best friend?" Milah kept yelling at her, red with anger, tears in her eyes as she expressed her hurt towards Emma.

"Milah, I know, I'm the worst, but please, listen to me!" She got up from her seat and walked towards her friend and begged her as she started crying, seeing the pain she had caused her friend.

"No! It is one thing to be cheated on by your fiancé, but my best friend? You two deserve each other." She spat out before walking towards her door and slamming it shut.

Emma stood in her living room alone, and slumped back onto her couch as she cried every tear in her body. She had lost Killian, and now she had lost her best friend.

-/-

Killian was driving towards his mother's house where he knew he would see his stepfather. He parked his car in the driveway and saw Gold's car parked just in front of him.

He took the envelope on the passenger seat, the one the private investigator Sidney Glass had given him, with some compromising pictures of Gold and his secretary Belle. He got out of the car and walked towards the entrance and knocked on the door. His mom opened the door, and she greeted him with warm hug.

"This is such a lovely surprise! What brings you by?" Mary asked him as she led him inside the house.

"Uh, I actually have some work stuff to talk over with Gold." He told his mother as he waved the envelope in front of her.

"Oh! Well he's in his office. Are you going to stay for dinner?"

"I don't think so, I've got some other things to settle after this."

"Okay, well don't forget that we are having your birthday supper here tomorrow night." His mother reminded him as he walked towards the hallway that led to Gold's office.

"I won't." He responded before disappearing down the corridor.

He arrived in front of Gold's door and knocked on it before opening it, not waiting for him to answer. Mr. Gold was sitting at his desk, and he lifted his head the second Killian walked in, and dropped his head back to its previous position.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Gold asked him as he continued to work on whatever he was working on.

"There's something I wanted to show you." Killian held up the envelope that he was carrying in his hands and dropped it on his stepfather's desk.

"I'm quite busy, so if you don't mind take whatever you want to show me back, and return another time." He responded not once looking up at Killian as he pushed the brown envelope back.

Seeing Gold dismissing him made Killian angrier than he already was and he slammed his palms on the big wooden desk, which caught Gold's attention, finally raising his eyes to meet Killian's glare.

"You are going to make time for this. Take a look at what's inside the envelope."

An annoyed sigh came from the man sitting behind the desk as he did what Killian asked him, and took out the pictures that were inside. His face faltered when he saw what they were of.

"Where did you get these?" He asked in a menacing tone.

"Doesn't matter, what matters is this: you are going to leave Emma and me alone. You will not harm her business and you won't meddle in our relationship ever again." He warned Gold as he leaned forward over the desk.

"Oh really? And you think these pictures are supposed to scare me off?"

"Well, if you thought Emma would taint your business's reputation I bet these pictures would be worse if I send them to the newspaper. Which, I can assure you, would definitely have field day with this type of gossip." Killian smiled, seeing that his plan was slowly working.

"If you really think I'm going to let you intimidate me this way, you have another thing coming." Gold got up from his chair and stared at Killian.

"Do your worst. I'm not afraid of you." They both stared at each other for a moment, and Killian waited for Gold to step down.

When he did, Killian felt relieved, seeing that he won that argument, knowing that it wasn't easy to do so with that man. Mr. Gold sat on his chair, not wanting to show defeat as Killian took back the envelope and the pictures with him. He started to walk away, but stopped halfway through and turned back to look at him.

"And one last thing: you will file for divorce from my mother, she doesn't deserve to be married to a snake like you." He told him with contempt.

With that said, he left Gold's office and went to say goodbye to his mother. He entered his car and dropped the envelope back on the passenger's seat. He then pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

There was one last stop for him to make before heading home.

-/-

After Milah's departure, Emma decided to stay at home and not go at the movie theater. She felt lifeless, like the worst human being. She had ruined her relationship with her childhood friend over a man. The one thing they always said that would never happen. Milah was maybe a self-absorbed person but she still didn't deserve what Emma did to her.

She betrayed her friend by sleeping with her fiancé and the worst of all, is that she had to end it with him. Despite the fact that he finally left Milah, there was still Mr. Gold's threat of shutting down her business if she pursued her relationship with Killian.

Emma wondered when she would ever catch a break with all this drama, and she wished she could go to sleep and forget everything. And that's what she did, as she laid on her couch.

She was sound asleep when she heard a knock on her door and she grunted when the knocking got louder. She reluctantly got up from her couch and walked towards the door. Looking through the peephole, she gasped when she saw Killian.

"Emma?" He asked as continued knocking.

She managed to gather enough energy to open the door and deal with the other pending problem in her life. Opening the door, Killian's face brightened when he saw her, and a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Swan, at last." He didn't give her time to respond, as he crashed his lips to hers.

Instinctively, she wrapped her hands around his neck and they both sighed into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing their bodies together as much as they could as they kissed passionately. They separated their lips only when they needed to gasp for air, both panting. That was when Emma came out of her haze and pushed him back slightly, but not leaving his embrace.

"What are you doing here?"

"I left Milah."

"I know, she came by here this morning." She told him, shivering at the thought of how it ended.

"What did she tell you?" He asked her, sensing that it didn't go well.

"That you said you were cheating on her, and after one thing led to another, I told her it was me."

"Are you okay?" He asked as tucked one of her curls behind her ear.

"I will be." She answered as she let herself find comfort in his touch before regaining her senses.

"Look, Killian you should go. This doesn't change the fact that we are over." She told him as she tried to walk away from him.

"What if I told you that my stepfather won't be bothering you ever again, does that change anything?"

"What? How do you…" she didn't get the time to finish her sentence as Killian interrupted her.

"David told me. I went to meet with his private investigator this morning, and with the evidence that he got us, I was able to talk to Gold. He won't bother you anymore, he won't bother us." He told her as closed the space between them, grasping her small hands in his, his eyes fixed on hers.

"You're sure?" Emma asked him, bewildered, still not believing that he really did all that for her – for them.

He simply nodded as he waited to see what she would do. All of a sudden she jumped into his arms and pulled him in for a searing kiss that left them both out of breath. When she finally managed to tear her lips from his for a brief moment, she couldn't stop murmuring how sorry she was for having put him through this whole nightmare.

"Shh, it's okay, love. I understand why you did it."

"You don't hate me for it?"

"I could never. I love you, Emma Swan." She smiled at his declaration, finally feeling free to let herself relish on those words.

"I love you, too, Killian Jones." He smirked at her, and pressed his lips on hers once again as he led them both to her bedroom.

After their coupling, Emma felt sated and happy, as she rested her head on his chest, her hand splayed on it, fingers playing with his dark curls. Killian had his arm wrapped around her, his hand stroking her arm. He let out a content sight as he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry." Emma told him softly, her voice filled with regret.

"About what love?"

"For pushing you away, for hurting you."

"It's okay."

"No it isn't." Emma propped herself on her forearms so she could have a better look at him. "I've hurt you, told you I didn't want you when I wanted you so badly." She said to him, her voice trembling.

Killian mimicked her position and cupped her face.

"Don't be. I should be the one to apologize for all the pain I've caused you. If I had been man enough to tell you how I felt all those years ago, we wouldn't have been through all of this."

"This thing really was a mess wasn't it?" Emma chuckled, as she shook her head lightly, to which Killian responded with a laugh.

"It really was. But this all behind us now. We can start all over again, no secrets, no lies, just us, and nothing else. What do you say?"

She smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss and pushed him on his back as she moved on top of him.

"Is that a yes?" He asked between kisses.

"Mhm, yes."

"Good." He replied as he spun them around in the bed which made Emma giggle.

So this was the last chapter and I hope you liked it! I really had fun writing it, and I will miss writing that's for sure! There will be an epilogue, because I feel there are still things that need some closure in this story, but a full chapter will be too much.

Thanks to all of you who read this story, who reviewed, favorite and followed! I still can't believe the response this story has so thank you!

Until next time!