Jade got ready to put her plan in motion and went to the police station the following morning, she needed to let them know she was alive before everything else happened.

"Okay, let's go over this again, you are telling me you faked your suicide to escape from your husband?" The cop asked and she nodded.

"Yes, I…I was afraid for my life, he threatened me and said he would hurt me, he'd beaten me before and he raped me, so I knew he was serious" Jade said with tears in her eyes "I didn't want to leave my life, but I had no choice, I knew he would just keep abusing me every day, he didn't even let me go out when I was with him"

"Did you do this on your own?" The man asked.

"Yes, I had no one, my dad was on his side and I couldn't take any chances, if he'd known I was alive, I would probably be dead by now" Jade affirmed and continued crying, so the cop sighed "I'm sorry, I know I broke the law but I was so scared, I didn't know what to do"

"It's okay, Miss, you don't have to worry about him anymore" The cop affirmed.

"But I'm going to prison, right?" Jade asked and he shook his head.

"No, you did not benefit economically from faking your death and no jury would convict you for escaping from your abusive husband" He affirmed and smiled, so she smiled back. She already knew that, but she had to seem honest and innocent in every possible way.

"So, what now?" Jade asked as she wiped her tears away.

"Do you have a friend or a relative you can stay with?" The cop asked "We need to inform your husband of your status and it'd be better if you weren't alone"

"What? Does he have to know?" Jade questioned scared.

"You are still married and divorcing you from him requires his knowledge, but not permission, it's a matter of weeks before you are free again" He explained and she thought about it.

"But he is gonna hurt me" She affirmed.

"No, it wouldn't be in his best interest, don't worry" The man said "But just in case, please do stay with someone while this is settled" He suggested and saw her scared face "It's okay, Miss, you will be okay"

"If he has to know, could I tell him? Maybe…maybe he changed, maybe I can explain and we can do it peacefully" Jade said.

"I don't think that's a good idea" He responded.

"Please, just call him and let me talk to him" Jade insisted and the man sighed.

"Alright, hold on" He said and started looking for the information, then he dialed the number and called Mark.

"Thanks" Jade said and grabbed the phone, she put it on speaker and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello" Mark said.

"H…hi, it's me, Jade" Jade said nervously.

"What? Jade?" He asked shocked "Is it really you?"

"Yes, I'm alive" She informed and there was silence for a few seconds.

"You…miserable bitch" Mark said and started laughing "You faked your own death? Really?"

"Mark, I know you are upset but I needed to escape, you hurt me a lot" Jade said and he laughed more.

"And I'll hurt you even more, you fucking whore, where are you?" He said angrily and Jade looked at the cop nervously "You ruined me, you fucking ruined me and I've spent all these months wishing I had killed you myself"

"Mark, please stop, I just want to get divorced" Jade said scared.

"Where the fuck are you? Divorce won't be necessary, I can't wait to be an official widow, you're gonna pay for this" He threatened and she covered her mouth as the tears streamed down her face, but she was happy on the inside, that phone call had turned out better than she had imagined.

"I won't tell you where I am" Jade said "I just want you to leave me alone"

"It's okay, darling, don't tell me…I'll find you" He said and chuckled "I'll fucking find you and you'll regret what you did to me"

"Mark-" She started but he hung up, so she shook her head "Oh my god, he is gonna kill me, I shouldn't have come back" she affirmed terrified.

"No, don't you worry, I'll call him again and let him know I heard everything, if he tries anything, he'll find himself in prison forever" The cop affirmed and she nodded, but she kept crying "Go now, don't be alone and try not to go out, only for now"

Jade left the police station and went to a mall nearby, she changed her clothes, she put a male wig and an oversized hoodie on and then left again dressed as a homeless man. She needed to make sure no one would recognize her and she had to avoid being seen by any security camera.

Jade went to Mark's house and saw his car still outside, but she knew he would go look for her in matter of minutes, so she had to get to work. She went under the car and cut the brakes, she'd studied how to do it for months, so it was relatively easy and she managed to get away before Mark and his guards left the house.

Jade simply went to a different mall, changed back into normal clothes and went to Tori's house, Tori had already called the gang, so they were all there and they smiled as soon as they saw Jade.

"Hey girl" Andre said and she smiled when she saw them.

"We've missed you" Beck added and Cat hugged her.

"I'm so happy you are back" Cat exclaimed and Jade chuckled as she hugged her back.

"Me too, Cat" She said and then walked towards Tori to give her a little kiss.

"What did they say?" Tori asked.

"I'm not in trouble, but Mark is, I called to tell him I was alive and he threatened me" Jade informed.

"Oh my god, then we need to get you somewhere safe" Beck affirmed "If that man knows you are here, you are in danger"

"No, it's okay, the police said he won't try anything" Jade said and looked at Tori, she was the only one who knew the truth.

"Yeah, I think it's safe here, my dad is a cop so…" Tori said and Jade nodded.

"Exactly, I just want things to be normal again" She added and held Tori's hand "It's all gonna be good" she said and smiled at her friends.

They spent the rest of the day watching movies and eating pizza together, they wanted to make Jade feel safe and she wanted to distract herself while she waited for the call she needed. Hours passed and at 8PM, the phone finally rang so Tori picked it up.

"Hello" She said and looked at Jade "Yes, she is here"

"Who is it?" Beck asked.

"It's the police, it's for you" Tori said and handed the phone to Jade, so she sighed.

"Hello" Jade said and put it on speaker.

"Miss West, I need you to come to the station right away" The cop said.

"Why?" She asked.

"Please, come and I'll explain here" He said and hung up.

"That's weird" Andre commented.

"But you should go" Robbie said.

"We should go, she is not alone" Tori affirmed and Beck nodded.

"Yeah, let's go…I'll drive you" He said and they all got in his car, he drove to the police station and the cop approached them as soon as they arrived.

"What's the problem? What was the rush?" Jade asked confused.

"You might want to take a seat" The cop said.

"Just tell me" She demanded.

"Mark Higgins was in an accident earlier today, a few hours after you called him" He informed and Jade's eyes wide opened.

"What? But what kind of accident? Is he okay?" Jade asked confused and the cop sighed.

"His car crashed on a cliff after driving off the road" The cop explained "We believe there might have been a brake malfunction"

"And where is the bastard now?" Beck asked.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Higgins didn't make it and neither did his driver" The cop informed and Jade's mouth dropped.

"He is dead?" Jade asked shocked.

"Yes, he is" He responded and she sat down on the chair behind her "I know this is a big shock, but you need to know he was heading to Miss Vega's house, that's what we believe"

"He was coming to kill me, wasn't he?" She questioned and the cop sighed.

"He can't harm you now, you are officially free" The cop said and she sighed.

"This feels…like a dream, I can't believe it" She admitted emotionlessly and covered her face "I am actually free"

"Yes, you are" Tori said and smiled.

"That's not all" The cop informed and they all looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked and a woman stepped closer to them, she'd been watching from a couple of desks away.

"This is our attorney" The cop said and the woman smiled "She has news for you"

"News?" Jade asked.

"Well, Mr. Higgins did not have any relatives, his parents died, no siblings or children, so his only living connection was his wife, that's you" The woman said.

"I wanted to divorce" Jade said.

"But you didn't, you are still married to him under the law" The woman commented "And that makes you the new owner of all his assets" She informed and everyone's eyes wide opened.

"What? What are you talking about?" Jade asked confused, but feeling victorious inside.

"Jade, you are Mr. Higgins' widow and therefore, the only person with a claim on all his money, his properties and his company" The woman said "The inheritance is yours"

"Are you serious?" Jade asked shocked and she nodded.

"I am, as far as we know, there is no one who can fight your claim but even if there were, you are legally entitled to the inheritance, it's yours and no one can take it from you" The woman explained and smiled.

"Does that mean I…?" Jade asked.

"You don't have to worry about anything, Jade, you're set for life" The cop said and she looked at her friends, who were all smiling happily but she had to keep her act.

"Wow…I did not expect this" Jade lied and they nodded.

"We know it's been a hard year for you, but it's over" The lawyer said "Now we only have to do the paperwork and soon you'll be able to dispose of your new assets"

"Thank you, thank you so much" Jade said and smiled, so they smiled back.

"Welcome to your new life!"

As the attorney had promised, Jade got her hands in all of Mark's assets, so she sold the house and the firm, but she kept some of his other investments. She bought herself a nice apartment, a car and left the rest of the money in the bank, she was now free to enjoy her life as she pleased and it was a wonderful feeling, she didn't even feel guilty for Mark's death, she felt entitled to do it.

"Hey babe" Tori said as she walked into the apartment, she had her own key and she basically lived with Jade at that point, she only went home to sleep and sometimes she stayed over with Jade.

"Hey" Jade said as she stepped out of the bedroom and Tori gave her a kiss, she started pushing her back into the room and they fell back on the bed "Wow, what's gotten into you?" She asked.

"I'm just…so happy" Tori said as she smiled at her and gave her another kiss "I want this to last forever"

"You on top of me?" Jade asked and Tori laughed "How about this?" Jade asked and turned Tori over to get on top of her "I think I like it better this way" She added so they kissed again.

"I mean, this…all of this" Tori said and stroked Jade's face "A year ago, this wasn't even in my mind but now I don't know what I would do without you" she said and Jade got off of her, she laid down on her side and started stroking her hair.

"You don't have to know it, I'm here" Jade said and gave her a little smile as she held her hand "We are together"

"I'm just…afraid that it'll pass and that we'll go separate ways" Tori admitted "This is so stupid, I've never been this insecure about a relationship before but that's because I've never cared this much"

"Tori, you are overthinking this" Jade said "We are not gonna break up"

"But you were so happy with Beck and you ended up breaking up anyway" Tori said and Jade sighed.

"That was different, it wasn't that we didn't love each other, we simply weren't meant to be together forever" Jade explained.

"That's the point, what if we aren't meant to be together either?" Tori asked and Jade chuckled.

"I mean, after everything we've been through, it's kind of a miracle that this even happened, if that's not fate then I don't know what is" Jade admitted.

"You really think that?" Tori asked.

"You need to stop questioning whether this is real and just enjoy it, we are here, we are together and that's all that matters right now" Jade affirmed and Tori sighed.

"You are right, I'm sorry" She said and Jade smiled.

"I never told you this, but you looked pretty good singing in that karaoke a few years ago" Jade randomly said "I had some…thoughts that night" she added and Tori laughed.

"Shut up" She said and Jade laughed too, but then Tori kissed her and they started making out sweetly on the bed. It all felt right, they were safe and they wished nothing but to stay in that bed forever.

"I love you" Tori affirmed as she broke the kiss and Jade smiled.

"I love you too"

I love a happy ending :)

I hope you enjoyed the story and do send me your ideas, I don't promise I'll take them but concepts always help when I have writer's block, the only requirement is that they are my kind of story aka dramatic and angsty ;)

PLEASE REVIEW!