I was at the Guptas' house, and Arya and I sat next to each other talking.

        "I can't believe my dad is actually serious about this," she said. "He's pissed. Aarav being missing doesn't help either."

        Aarav withdrew some money from his bank account, and he left his car behind so he won't be tracked. He hadn't called anyone, and no one knew where he was. Tejal was freaking out.

        I knew I shouldn't have cared, but I was worried for him. I knew I was supposed to hate him because of what he did to Arya and his feud with Darian, but that time we were friends mattered. I was vulnerable and honest with Aarav in a way that I wasn't with Darian or anyone else.

        I ruffled my hair. "Arya, this is fucked up."

        "You think I don't know that?" She turned to face me. "I want to tell." My eyes widened as we stared at each other. "I want to tell my dad and Tejal what happened all those years." She sent me a sad smile. "But I don't know why I can't find my voice. Even when I want to scream it out, I'm silent. My voice doesn't work every time I wanna speak."

        "Don't feel pressured to," I made sure to remind her.

        "Darian's done so much for me," Arya said. "He's had my back no matter what. When everyone hated me."

        "We didn't hate you," I jumped in.

        "You didn't like me either," she said, and I couldn't refute that. "Darian gave me his bed and offered me his apartment for many nights. He put up with all my shit, but despite all this, I still can't say anything. If there's anyone I should speak up for, it should be Darian. He's been there for me so many times, and I can't even save him."

        "Don't feel like you owe Darian to speak up," I said. "He shouldn't have been a dumbass and attacked Aarav. Don't feel like you're obligated to talk. Even if you stay silent now, and even if you continue to stay silent for many years after this, I'm not gonna judge you." I rested my hand on top of hers. "You'll find your voice when you're ready, and you can scream it out all you want."

        Her smile widened, and she pulled me into a hug. "Thank you." She clung onto me as I wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you, Kenji."

        "You're welcome," I muttered.

        I loved Darian, but it wasn't fair to force Arya to come forward when she wasn't ready. Darian shouldn't have put her in this situation. This fucked up situation was about Arya, not Darian.

        When we pulled back, Arya released a heavy breath. "I just want this to go away," she said. "I want my dad to drop the charges, and I want Aarav to come home." I wanted Aarav to come back, too, and a part of me hated myself for it. "Am I stupid for caring about Aarav, despite everything?"

        The cut on her lip was healing, and her black eye was better, but not invisible. Aarav invaded her sense of autonomy so he could enjoy the power trip he never had before. He betrayed her in one of the worst ways possible, but she wasn't stupid. Humans did and felt things that wasn't always for their best interest, but that didn't mean they were stupid.

        It was just one of the consequences of emotions.

        Arya groaned and leaned over to grab her head. "I want my dad to let this go."

        "I'm afraid I can't do that."

        Arya and I looked to the side as Mr. Gupta emerged through the dining area's door. He made his way over to stand before us.

        Arya's eyes turned round. "Papa..."

        Mr. Gupta eyed the both of us. "I know Darian's your friend." He focused on me. "And your boyfriend, but he needs to become an adult." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "He needs to learn that actions have consequences, and sometimes, having a rich father can't help you."

        "Yes, because Aarav doesn't benefit from a rich father." I watched him, and he narrowed his eyes at me.

        "I like Darian," Mr. Gupta said, "but I like my son more. I'm not going to stand by and allow Darian to get away with battering him."

        I stood up, with my lips in a thin line. "Like how Arya got battered?"

        "Kenji!" Arya said through gritted teeth.

        "Have you even sat down to think of what happened to your daughter's face?"

        It was kind of hard to miss a black eye and a busted lip.

        "She hurt herself playing tennis," Mr. Gupta replied, and I scoffed.

        He bought that? Arya didn't even play tennis. Or any other sport for that matter.

        "When Arya used to complain about you loving Aarav more than her, I always thought she was exaggerating," I said, and Mr. Gupta zoned in on his daughter. "I guess not."

        Mr. Gupta glared at me. "You know nothing about our family."

        "And you know nothing about your daughter."

        "Kenji." Arya stood up and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Let it go."

        "I'm really seeing a new side to your friends, Arya," Mr. Gupta said with his arms crossed. "First, Darian acts like some thug and attacks your brother." I rolled my eyes. "Now, Kenji is verbally attacking me, my integrity, and my fatherhood in my own home. This is completely unacceptable. You need new friends."

         Arya was silent for a couple seconds. "Then I'll have no one."

        Confusion edged Mr. Gupta's face. "What're you talking about? You'll always have your family."

        Arya laughed, with no ounce of humor. "The only family I truly had died when I was ten."

        Hurt flashed across Mr. Gupta's face. I didn't know if it was because of the reference to his deceased wife or because of the shade Arya threw.

        "Arya..." He became speechless.

        "You're only my family by blood, and you sponsor me with money," she continued. "But when it comes to being a father, you don't act like my family. When have we sat down and talked? Like truly talk? When mom died, were you there for me? Or were you too busy consuming yourself in work and isolating yourself in your office when you were home? When Camila died, you barely even talked to me. I guess you didn't know what to say, but I didn't want you to say anything. I just wanted you to be there." Tears welled up in her eyes. "You've never been there, Papa. Because you were too busy being there for Aarav."

        "Arya." He grabbed her arms in his hands. "He's been through a lot."

        "I've been through a lot, and you don't even know any of it," she said. "Sure I didn't have a father who beat on me and raped my mother, but that didn't mean I needed you less. Aarav losing his father shouldn't have meant I had to lose mine, too."

        "You didn't lose me," he reassured.

        Arya freed herself from his grasp. "I didn't hurt myself playing tennis."

        Mr. Gupta arched a brow. "What happened?"

        Arya hesitated, and I rubbed her shoulder to let her know I was there. "Aarav."

        She swallowed, as more confusion spread on Mr. Gupta's face. "What about Aarav?"

        "He did this," she said, and Mr. Gupta went silent.

        Arya and I watched for his reaction, but he shook his head. "I'm sure it was an accident."

        Arya shook her head in what appeared to be disappointment. "You always wanna save him," she said as they held eye contact. "You wanna save him from his father, from the world, from Darian, and even from the truth."

        "There's no way Aarav hurt you, not on purpose." Was this man for real? No one accidentally punched someone in the face, head-on. "Someone has to believe in Aarav, not many people do."

        "Someone has to believe in me," Arya said. "Mostly my friends do."

        "I believe in you," Mr. Gupta told her. "You're my daughter."

        "Why don't we put it to the test?" Arya moved closer to her father. "There's something you need to know about Aarav." Her voice broke at the end as the tears welled up some more. "You can't save him from this."

        That was my cue.

        "I'm gonna head out, Arya." I patted her back as the two Guptas continued to stare at each other. "You two have a lot to talk about."

        She didn't respond, but I knew there were greater matters at hand. So I escorted myself out after grabbing my shoes. On my way to Honoka's Hatchback, I called Darian.

        "Hello?" he picked up.

        "Hating Aarav isn't the answer." He said nothing. "Beating Aarav isn't the answer. This isn't about Aarav. It's about Arya, and I think we need to remember that. We don't need to give him anymore power over the situation."

        This applied to a lot of things. It wasn't about my depression; it was about me. It wasn't about Darian being gay; it was about him as a holistic person.

        And it wasn't about Camila's death; it was about her life.

        "I love you," Darian said with a smile in his voice, "and it's always about love."

        I smiled.

        It was corny, but truer words had never been spoken.

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* Hey, guys! I almost waited until this weekend to update, but the guilt was too much and I updated now. I'm so behind on updates, but this book is almost finished. I can't believe it! Hopefully I still update this weekend, but no promises.