AMPHION CALVERT-EGERTON HAD messaged her and she didn't want to respond.

She hadn't blocked him or done anything of the sort because that was just unnecessary and petty, and they might need to communicate in the future. Actually, they most definitely would have to communicate in the future.

The messages had come in shortly after she'd kicked them out, but Livia had been too engulfed in her writing session to glance and respond. She hadn't wanted to anyways. She'd immediately closed the notification, so she wasn't even sure of its content.

It probably had to do with what they'd briefly discussed this afternoon, though.

Still, she didn't look at it. She didn't want to.

She was running away, she knew that. But at the same time she couldn't bring herself to care. So what if she was a coward?

Maybe if she didn't look at the text long enough, Amphion would assume she'd blocked him and stopped messaging. Maybe.

But at the same time, there hadn't been any new text messages since the original ones, so it probably wasn't anything too urgent to him, which only increased Livia's intent to drag on not looking at the texts for as long as possible.

She lasted until midnight. Shortly after the clock hand struck twelve o'clock, with Livia lying in her bed after a few bad games, grumbling and slightly annoyed at how she'd played, she couldn't stop herself anymore, and she opened her phone and pressed on that damned chat.

How much do you know?

Followed by, I don't want there to be any misunderstandings there.

Also known as, I got angry at Veronica, but it doesn't mean I've forgiven you or anything along those lines.

Livia let out a loud snort, shutting her phone and slamming it down on the bed beside her. Of course. Of course he was here to clarify that. Why else would he want to message her? He just wanted her to know that it wasn't because of what she said that he got angry at Veronica, that all the little hopes and dreams that had been rearing in her head for the past forty-eight hours were false, that he hadn't screamed at Veronica because of Livia.

It was just enough to let Livia remember her current position.

Amphion didn't like her. The things he said to Zeth that night, he could put it off as something he didn't mean all he wanted, but they both knew that he did mean every single word that came out of his mouth. That was Amphion Calvert-Egerton.

Seventeen years of friendship hadn't meant anything to him, and that was more than enough for Livia to give up. There was no salvaging that relationship. It had always been over. In a way he was right, because their friendship had been falling apart long before that night, and Livia had just been too blind to see it.

Once upon a time she might have done everything she could to stop that. Now, she just felt exhausted to the bone. She couldn't even muster the energy to try.

She didn't want to respond to Amphion. There didn't seem like much of a point. But it would also be rude, and she was trying her best to be polite, so Livia picked up her phone again and typed, I just know Veronica asked you out and you screamed at her, and then Keith got annoyed and you guys got into a fight.

She sent that and paused for a moment, contemplating if she should say anything else. If she left it at that, there'd be no point in Amphion responding. It was the answer he sought, it was all he needed to know.

But she couldn't help herself. Maybe it was a habit. She added, after some hesitation, you really shouldn't have done that, you know.

That was something the old Livia would have said. The Livia who fancied herself a leader, who liked to take care of her friends and watch out for them, before she realised they all secretly loathed her for it. But she couldn't stop herself. It was just how she worked. She could try to change all she wanted, but part of her would always remain the same. There was absolutely nothing she could do about that.

She didn't expect Amphion to respond. She'd left him unread for over eight hours, and though she knew he wouldn't be asleep this early, she really hadn't thought he'd almost immediately respond.

When the typing bubble showed up on her phone, Livia swallowed.

That was unexpected.

But she stayed on that chat, waiting for him to finish typing. And when it finally did, she sucked in a cold breath of air.

You were right about Veronica. She really wasn't a good person. I should have believed you.

Livia clenched her fists, letting the breath back out. Damnit. It wasn't an apology, but... it was something. And she hadn't been expecting it. She'd expected something that would make her angry, make her fume, make her hate him again, but instead that was what she got.

She wasn't sure what to say in response.

A few moments later, a secondary message popped up. I know it's all behind us now, but I just wanted to let you know.

Livia chewed her bottom lip, and after a few long seconds, sent out a quaint and simple, Thank you.

That was all he needed.

He left the chat. Livia did too.

It wasn't an apology. But it was something. He'd admitted something in those few short chats. That maybe he did care more about this than he liked to let other people think, that maybe he wanted to save this too.

It was all a bit too late now, wasn't it?

Maybe if he'd said that earlier, they wouldn't be in this situation right now. But they were both stubborn people, and no one knew that more than Livia herself. He'd be the last person to ever admit he was wrong. The fact that he even admitted to this was incredible in her eyes.

And Livia wasn't going to bow unless he did first.

She wasn't the one who'd started that ugly conversation.

She'd reacted poorly, but it was in self-defence. Was she supposed to let them talk about her like that? Livia didn't think it was right, and she still thought her decision to stand up for herself was correct. Her choice of attitude and wording could have been improved upon, but she didn't really regret it either.

She laid there for a little while, turning around, thinking and contemplating and wondering all her life choices a few times over. She reached the same few conclusions.

Some things were bound to happen, one way or another.

It just happened a little sooner this time around, that was all.

Nothing she could do about it. And it wasn't worth her spending so much time thinking about it either.

Not that that was going to stop her any time soon.

—

"YOU HAVEN'T HUNG out with the twins at all this summer," her father murmured over breakfast the next morning. Pamela jerked upwards, sending a worried glance in her direction, but it was wholly unnecessary. Livia could handle herself fine.

"Yeah, we haven't really found the time."

"What on earth do you mean?" Livia's mother laughed, sitting down with a freshly steamed bun in hand. "You're sitting around at home all day. You've gone out with Lila and Brie multiple times now, but not a single time with the twins. Is something wrong?"

Livia feigned contemplation. "I think we've just grown a little apart, that's all. Besides, they have things of their own to do. And I'm content staying in and just writing on my laptop once in a while."

"We bring you out here every summer so that the two of you could get some fresh air," their father said, one brow raised. "Not for you to sit in front of your laptop all two months, and for Pamela to stare at her phone twenty-four seven."

"I know, ba," Livia laughed. "I don't spend all my time inside. Like, I do hang out with Brie and Lila. And I'm going to go out with Madi soon, don't you worry. I go for my morning walks, don't I?"

"I still don't understand why you don't hang out with the twins more," their mother said, looking slightly annoyed.

"We've grown up," Livia said lightly. "Sometimes, we just hang out a little bit less."

"I'd understand it after this summer," their mother huffed, "but this is your last few months all together and you're choosing to spend it by yourself?"

"Oh, hush," nai nai said, waving her hand in the air. "It's breakfast, none of that. You do what you want, Livia. You too, Pamela."

Their mother looked like she wanted to argue, but then she swallowed the words back and slumped into the chair. Livia glanced at her father, who simply let out a sigh.

Not the first time something like this had happened.

If Livia was a little braver, she'd talk about it. But she wasn't, so she didn't. Maybe someday, she'd mention that feud between their mother and nai nai, that mother-in-law/daughter-in-law strained relationships that seemed to exist in every Chinese family. It was practically tradition at this point, but Livia could tell that it still regularly brought down her mother's mood.

But it wasn't her place to say anything.

They finished breakfast in peace, and a little bit after they all headed off to do their own thing. Her father had more business meetings, since it was afternoon in China; and their mother went off with some of her friends (Mrs Calvert-Egerton included, Livia silently noted to herself, praying that her mother wouldn't mention anything) into town.

It left Livia with Pamela.

"So," Pamela mused, "haven't caught up with you in a few days, anything new?"

"Amphion fought with Keith because of Veronica, did you know this?"

With widened eyes, Pamela proclaimed that she had not, and so Livia quickly filled her sister in. At the end of it, Pamela fell silent. "Goddamn. Anya never told me this."

"Probably assumed you already knew," Livia murmured. "Lila thought the same too. It's not much of a secret, but they try not to mention it, I think. Amphion seems to get annoyed when it's mentioned."

She didn't mention the text messages from last night. That felt too intimate, too personal. She didn't want to share it yet, because it felt like if she did talk about it it would be nothing more than a dream. If she talked about it, it might all seem like it had never happened at all.

She was usually honest with Pamela, but that didn't mean she had to reveal everything. Some things, she could still keep to herself.

They were still their own people, after all.

"Well," Pamela huffed, "at least he listened to you."

"Yeah, that's the one nice thing to know about all of this. He did listen to me in the end. He did realise that Veronica wasn't a good person after all. I'm glad. Imagine if he came back this summer with Veronica as his girlfriend, I would actually just pack up and leave right there."

"Oh god," Pamela bemoaned, "and the two of you are going to the same university too. That would be actual hell. Imagine needing to live around Veronica for so long."

"Like she's smart enough to get in."

Pamela glanced at her, eyes narrowed. "Don't be arrogant now, Liv. But, well, it's true. It is very true. I don't think she could have gotten in even if she tried. She wasn't the smartest tool in the box when it came to academics. Or she was pretending to be dumb to get more attention."

"That is also a possibility I would not eliminate. I've seen it before."

"We both have," Pamela snorted. "I may not study at the same school as you, but I'd argue that mine is even worse. Anything you've faced, I've seen it too."

While Livia went to an international school, Pamela had remained at a local one. Her parents had offered to have her transfer, but Pamela had been adamant about staying. It was the same school Livia had once attended, a Catholic girls' one. Livia had despised it by the time she left. Pamela seemed to find some fun in it.

"Yeah, but our experiences are still slightly different," Livia insisted with a roll of her eyes. "Whatever. Either way, it was interesting to hear about, but I don't really care all that much."

"Hmm." Pamela looked pensive. "Any plans for the weekend?"

"Going out with Madi tomorrow. Nothing for today. Think I might head to the Fencing Club for a couple matches, I don't know."

"Sounds decent." Pamela sat up. While Pamela had been more interested in the arts and dancing, Livia had instead opted for fencing. She learnt epee, and while she wasn't amazing, she wasn't all that bad either. "Anya and I are going to go play badminton in two days, want to come with?"

"I don't mind," Livia said. "I'll bring someone with me, maybe. I'll ask if Madi is interested."

"Ooh, yeah, that would be fun." Pamela grinned. "I'm heading out with Ora and Hannah today."

Livia wrinkled her nose. "Who?"

"The one with freckles and the one with dyed purple hair."

"Oh, them." Livia tilted her head. "You don't usually spend time with them."

"They're interesting people," Pamela said with a shrug, "that's all I really care about, to be honest."

"That's fair enough," Livia remarked. "I'll see you in a bit, then."

Despite what she said, she had no intention of staying in the whole day. Instead she prepared herself for the real purpose of being here.

The morning water was still a bit cold, and Livia didn't like the beach nearly as much as she ought to. Instead, she preferred the private pool in her backyard. Nai nai never used it, so it was left empty for most of the year, but since they'd been here for a while now they'd found the time to fill it in.

Livia went upstairs to grab her swimsuit, and soon found herself hopping into the pool. The water was chilly but enjoyable. Livia gave a slight shudder as she adjusted to the temperature, and then began her laps.

"Livia!"

Her head snapped up. She glanced at the direction of the sound, and was greeted with Zethus Calvert-Egerton's smiling face. But despite that, she could clearly see the worry and nervousness in his expression.

He ought to be feeling anxious.

"Hi," he said, voice much quieter now. "Err, I was going to go for a swim as well. Can I join you?"

"No." Livia's answer came without any hesitation.

His expression crumbled. "Look. I know you're mad at me and Amphion about that, but that's no reason we can't even swim together, Liv. Come on. And for the record, I really don't dislike you. Amphion can be a dick sometimes and you were always the only one who could stop him."

Livia waddled over to the edge of the pool. "And?"

"Livia, I really do want to stay friends with you."

He sounded genuine. Zethus Calvert-Egerton always sounded genuine. Once upon a time Livia had thought he was innocent. Saw him as someone who needed to be protected, but then she'd realised that his kindness was a shield of its own. No one disliked Zeth. He was the sweetest boy you'd ever meet. He always knew what to say, always knew what you needed. He'd never let you down.

But just looking at him reminded Livia of his older twin. And that was enough for her to try her best to stay away from him.

It was dangerous.

"You have a pool of your own," Livia replied archly.

"Yeah, but it's boring swimming on my own."

"You have Amphion."

"He's coming in a bit," Zeth said, biting on his lip. The fence between the two houses was quite short, short enough that Zeth could see over it with no difficulty. If he wanted to, he could climb over, which was what he'd have done in the past.

"Then swim with him, then."

"But that's just so boring and bland!" Zeth complained. "I face him every day. Come on, Livia."

"Is he going to come to my pool too?"

"Probably?"

"Then no."

Zeth's shoulders slumped. "Come on, Livia. Look. If you swim with us now, our parents are in the house right now. They'll tell your Mum and Dad that we hung out today and they'll stop pestering you about it."

"How do you know they're bothering me about it?"

"Because mines are bothering us about it," Zeth shot back. "They're not blind. They know we're arguing. And if we don't at least try to put up the surface appearance of us being friends they're going to intervene. You don't want that."

"I don't. But I also don't want to breathe the same air as you two, much less swim in the same pool."

"Livia." His brows were creased now. "That's a little severe."

"I don't think so. Me, I've always been an extreme person. You know that, Amphion knows that. I don't forgive easily."

"Not even us?"

"I also don't have double standards. I view everyone the same way."

She casted him a cool glance. He was topless, and his hair was already slightly spiked up from water. Teenage Apollo in his prime. The sun seemed to glow kindly upon him. His features, conventionally attractive, the kind every parent loved, were tightly knitted together.

A few years ago, that would have been enough for Livia to start comforting him.

Now, Livia was past that.

There was ruffling from their side of the yard, and soon afterwards Amphion's head appeared. He glanced at Zeth, scowled, and then at Livia.

His expression froze.

Amphion's hair was dry, unlike his brother's. Livia rather suspected that Zeth had already been swimming for a bit when he'd heard the commotion from Livia's side and decided to use this opportunity to irritate her.

Similar to how Pamela was beautiful in a different way compared to Livia, despite the twins' similarity in appearance, the vibe they gave off was very different. Zeth was the guy next door, that friend you grew up with who you could always depend on. Amphion's was far more dangerous. An expression that always seemed to be thinking, an arrogant smile, an air of confidence that never left him even at his worst. And she'd seen that. It was what had initially attracted her to him, both as a friend and later on, romantically.

Now it was something she wanted to avoid at all cost.

Zeth turned to his twin. "She won't let me swim with her."

"Amphion Calvert-Egerton, tell your brother to fuck off."

"Actually," Amphion mused, recovering as his usual smugness returned, "I think this would be a great idea. We might as well swim together. Your pool's large enough, Livia."

"Go away."

"I don't think so," Amphion said, turning to his twin. "This was an excellent idea, Zeth."

"Thank you, Amphion." Zeth beamed at her brother, and then turned expectantly to Livia. "Can we?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Just go away, you're interrupting my swimming session."

"Livia." Amphion's voice was serious. "Come on. We don't have to be like this."

She shot him a glare. "You don't get a say in that."

He didn't say anything, just stared at her.

"No."

"Please?" Zeth asked.

They weren't going to leave her alone. The two Calvert-Egerton boys were even more stubborn than she was. She knew that. She knew that very well.

"Ten minutes," she snapped. "Then you slither back to the hellhole from whence you came."

"You crawled out of the exact same one," Amphion said with a stony face. Zeth didn't care. Zeth was already scrambling over the fence, quickly landing on the Wong's lawn. He kicked off his slippers and fireballed into the pool, leaving Livia spluttering out water in annoyance.

Amphion followed a moment later, albeit much more politely and without causing a massive splash. Livia glared at them for a moment and then returned to swimming her laps.

She forced herself not to look at Amphion. That would just be the start of an unfortunate series of events.

She was prone to making bad decisions about him, at least these two years. Being around him, it was like his hotheadedness transferred to her. She was usually so calm, so composed, yet he managed to undo all of that.

Zeth liked to say that Livia calmed Amphion down. No she didn't. They were just fire and fire, and until last year Livia had always burned a little brighter than Amphion's flame. It had always been Zeth who put them out and made them realise how ridiculous they were acting, but Zeth's powers of persuasion didn't work on her anymore. They'd lost their effects in the Hepburns' manor last August.

Livia ignored them, but they began to strike up a conversation as they waddled around the pool. Livia was the slowest swimmer out of all of them—she could survive in water, but it wasn't one of her particular talents. Exercise and sports never had been. The two of them, though, they were athletic. They'd always been athletic.

Livia's parents had requested they make Livia do more sports, but she'd pointed out that it probably wasn't the best idea to let her play rugby with them. She'd just get tackled and beaten up.

So instead they'd been forced to swim together. Livia tried playing badminton instead, but they were far too crap at it and it didn't seem necessary to ask them to learn fencing.

And swimming just made Livia miserable when she was forced to do it as an actual sport.

Which said a lot, because she was genuinely swimming laps around the pool right now. On any other day, she'd have been adamant in her refusal to do so. But it seemed the only way to avoid having to join in their conversation without being rude (though, really, she was still being rude, but it was justified so she didn't really care).

"I was thinking, yeah, we should definitely hit the beach soon," Amphion was saying. "Beachside picnic. All of us. While the weather's still good."

Oh dear. All of us probably encompassed her. And if Brie and Lila were invited, she'd have to go. It would be so absolutely rude and suspicious if she didn't.

And she could handle it, right?

She and the twins were at least on... talking terms, if you could consider that. Amphion was texting her. Somewhat. Zeth was obviously trying to befriend her again. If she wanted to, they probably could go back to normal. With Zeth anyways, Amphion clearly held some degree of a grudge, and the real conflict laid between the two of them anyways.

Was this worth carrying on? Was her pride worth the disintegration of something she'd treasured for so many years?

But what if the twins were right? What if it was meant to be falling apart anyways? Should she lay down her pride to make peace?

It wasn't in her character. All her life, Livia Wong had never been someone happy with being wrong, or being the one who bowed first. Her mother had exclaimed that it was her greatest flaw.

She was proud to the bone. She liked to be able to stand up straight when facing anyone and everywhere, and she didn't like to owe anyone anything. If she was the person in the right in a situation (or at least if she thought she was), she would not apologise. Not even if it was the smartest choice.

Her ego just couldn't handle it.

"Livia!"

She paused her swim, turning to glare at the twins. "What?"

"Do you want to go on a picnic with us in a few days?"

"No."

"We'll invite everyone, it'll be weird if you don't go."

"I'm busy for the next few days. I'm hanging out with Madi tomorrow and I think I'm going to the Fencing Club after that."

"That's two days," Amphion said, one brow raised, clearly not caring about her excuses. "We're planning it for next week."

"I'm sure something will come up then conveniently," Livia said archly. "I'm not interested in going."

"We'll make you go either way," Zeth promised.

"You can't make me. I can just leave if I want to."

"You're a bitch, you know that?"

"Thank you," Livia said with a roll of her eyes. "And you're the biggest prick I've had the misfortune of running into. Pot, meet kettle."

"You'd think you're used to that by now," Amphion mocked. "What, it's okay for you to be a bitch but you can't stand it the moment someone else does it?"

"I'm not a bitch."

Zeth repeated, "She's not a bitch."

Amphion glared at his twin. "Shut it, Zethus."

"Bro," Zeth whisper-shouted, "you can't call her a bitch and then expect her to become friends with you again."

"I can hear you," Livia deadpanned.

He turned to glance at her. "I know."

Livia decided that there was no point in dealing with this conversation. She dipped her head back into the water and continued swimming on her side of the pool. The boys remained more or less still against their side. If Livia just pretended they weren't there, all would be well.

Probably. Avoidance was never a permanent solution, but it would work for long enough. An hour, for example, or until those two got tired and returned to their own house rather than slumping in her pool.

It was outrageous. They had their own pool. There was no reason for them to come here except to annoy her. That was their only goal. What Livia feared right now was that Victoire and Aurelius would come hopping around too.

She emerged from the water then, turning to the twins. She opened her mouth, about to speak, but Amphion beat her to it. "Don't you worry, those two aren't in. They're out with our parents."

Livia clamped her mouth shut. "How did you know..."

Amphion gave a casual shrug, staring at her before glancing away, slightly embarrassed. Still he was mostly unaffected in that way that was indescribably him. "Just guessed it."

Zeth let out a loud, loud snort.

Without another word, Livia turned her back to them and continued swimming.

Just like that, they'd managed to break down that careful barrier she'd set between them and him.

She absolutely hated it.

She should have never agreed to let them swim here.

It was just a bad decision altogether.

A bit too late to do anything about it now, though. She already agreed. There was no taking it back.

She didn't say anything for the rest of the session.