It was the middle of September, officially one and a half months away from my first show. Yet, I was squandering away my time by the pool in Lily's backyard. If biting off my nails in anxiety counted as relaxation, then so be it.

"You said you wanted to relax, what the fuck are you doing in full clothes by the pool?" Lily thundered while standing on top of me in her sparkling red bikini.

I looked at her in awe, but shook my head. "I'm not going in. Bikinis or water, both aren't for me. I'm just going to watch you swim."

"And sweat over what's not even in your hands anymore?" She asked, then grunted in frustration. "Man, I really wish I could take you to the nearest club, get your sweet ass drunk and send you home with a man. Too bad, you're not free to hook up."

I choked on the cool red wine I was sipping. I looked at her in incredulity, showing her I totally thought she was insane.

"I know, I know. At least, you have a fiancé. Go hook up with him. Sex is the best stress reliever."

I got redder at her words. Lily had always been the crude one, but her words suggesting such actions between me and André did weird things to me. Lily walked off towards the pool, but came back to me.

"Don't tell me... have you guys really not done anything yet?" She asked me incredulously.

I replied sheepishly, "I just wanted to wait... "

"For what? The world to end?" She exclaimed. Sitting close to me, she asked, "Are you sure you've got the right André? How could that man go without sex for six months? He must really, really, like you."

I took in her excited face and smiled. "Well, he is marrying me, so..."

We both looked at each other and laughed. Even if it was silly and meaningless, it felt good to be so free. I hadn't laughed like that in years, and I didn't know how liberating it could be. Ever since I was born, all I'd known was pain and suffering. Thanks to my father, I couldn't have all that I had now.

As I watched Lily splashing over in the water, trying to look cool while swimming, I let out a little laugh. It was indeed true that good company could get you out of your deepest lows. Going back to my book of two scandalous lovers, I spent my afternoon without further worries.

The big danger was impending, but for now, I would live just like Lily instructed me to.

Thirty minutes later, Lily came back from the pool and jumped on her margarita. I raised an eyebrow at her choice of drink, which made her snap at me.

"What? I just wanted it."

"Tequila in the afternoon? How drunk do you want to be?"

"I don't know. I'm fucking stressed, just like you."

That was new. I didn't even know that she was stressed. "Why? I've told you André would take care of it. Even though it's taking him a lot of time."

But she shook her head. "Its not that. It's something else."

"Like what? Why are you being so secretive about it?"

"I'll tell you later. But, I heard you postponed your wedding?" She asked me, fully dismissing that topic.

I nodded. "Yes. The upcoming show and all such events are reasons for show. The real reason is mama. She's now gradually getting better, but I don't want to put more pressure on her. And I really want her to be there for me on my big day. I want her to see me get married."

Part of it was true. Even if all of this was fake, I still wanted her to see it. She had been overjoyed this past couple of weeks, and I knew my engagement was the sole reason behind it. She'd even cried looking at the pictures Lily clicked for me on that night. I didn't want to snatch the opportunity to witness the most important day in her daughter's life from her.

"That's so sweet. I love how you care for your mom so much. It makes me feel like an idiot for constantly arguing with mine, but oh well."

I laughed. "That's why you have to learn from me and start being nice to her. She only has your best interests in mind."

"Yeah yeah, sure." She waved it off and was about to start rambling on another subject until her eyes widened.

"André? What are you doing here?" She shouted, and I instantly whipped my head around.

There he was, clad in a casual full sleeved white shirt and dark denims. His hair was tied up again, but I realized I liked it like that. His eyes seemed to be searching for something, until they roamed around the backyard and finally fixed on mine.

Me, he was searching for me.

"Liz and I had special plans for today, so I'm here to get her. Liz dear, you're aware of it, right?" He said, then smirked lightly at me.

I groaned internally. Why did I have to agree to such a thing? Who knew what this Devil would put me through?

Standing up from the chair, I gave him a forced smile. "Of course, I know. Let's go."

I picked up my bag and walked towards the door of the house, with André behind me. We hadn't even taken two steps until Lily called out.

"Hey, you had plans to have sex with your fiancé all along? And you didn't tell me?" She hollered, and I turned red.

What the hell was she on? Oh right, tequila. I turned around to see her already tipsy, with a huge smile on her face. I looked to the side and found André watching this exchange with quite a satisfied look on his face. He was reveling in the fact that we talked about him.

I threw a nasty glare at her to shut her up, but that didn't work at all. She continued, "So, are you finally gonna pop your cherry and– ow! What was that?!"

She exclaimed in shock when I threw the book in my hands at her. It landed right on her chest, and must have hurt her skin. Good for her, for spilling everything about me.

"Um... I don't think I'm going to read that book again, so I'm giving it back to you. Thanks for the recommendation though," I said, trying to cover up my actions awkwardly.

Turning on my heel, I made sure to walk out of there as fast as I could. I could hear faint footsteps behind me, and Lily called out once again. But I didn't pay heed to anything. At the front of the house, was André's car. I made my way towards it, but had to wait for him to come up and unlock the car.

Once he unlocked it, I sat inside, still red and embarrassed about earlier. How could she just spill everything like that? Lily showed me every time why I shouldn't get drunk because she always did the craziest things while being wasted. It was like a habit now, and even I wasn't exempt from its consequences.

Once André closed the door, he started the car and drove us out of the house. After a while, he spoke, "So, you were at the pool. Not in a bikini, but in full clothes."

I looked over to check if he was insulting me as always, but his expressions remained pleasant and almost... teasing. He was definitely in a better mood than when he came home two nights ago, so that was a relief.

"Why? Did you wish to see me in a bikini?" I asked, but immediately slapped my mouth with my hand.

Had I just flirted with André Beaumont? That too, voluntarily? Oh God, I was actually going insane.

André too, was surprised. He looked at me being dramatic about it, and let out a laugh. Focusing on the road again, he said, "Honestly? I would love to. But knowing you, it's not really possible. And I kinda expected it."

"Expected what?"

"To be by the pool in full clothes. You have this... habit of wearing more clothes than all the girls I've ever met, and you can't shed it overnight."

I nodded. It was true. "Now, you treat it as a nice thing. When we first met, you called me a grandma with no fashion sense."

As I said those words, I saw him tense visibly. Clearing his throat, he said again, "Look, I can't really put up facades, so I'm going to be honest with you. I'm sorry – for all the mean words and the accusations. I know this won't be enough, but I was just so angry about this whole thing, that I never realized you too had your own demons. It might look stupid, but then, I know I can be pretty stupid at times."

I chuckled at that, and he smiled too. "Just, just forget about all those things if you can. Even if you can't, I'll make sure to apologize for them properly."

My heart warmed from his words. It was true André didn't have the best personality around, but one thing was for sure, that he didn't like to sugarcoat things. If he said something, there was always truth in it. So, I believed it. I didn't forgive him yet, but I believed in his change and I knew that I would eventually forgive him in the future.

"But, where are you taking me? You didn't even tell me anything and just dragged me out of there!" I said, and he smiled.

"First of all, I didn't drag you out, you ran away from there embarrassed. Second of all, I won't tell you where we're going. It's the basic rule of agreeing to anything, so don't even complain about it."

I huffed and turned to face the front again. Looking down at the huge diamond on my finger, I smiled. Even if we could be friends by the time this fiasco ended, that wouldn't be such a loss.

I could get used to some impulsiveness in my life.

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