I was sure she would have told him everything when she went back to his bed that night. Based on the fact he refused to even sit in the front with me while I drove us to Windeck the next morning, I was more than sure of it.

But when we turned into town, Ben suddenly said, "Can you drop me off with my dad?"

"You don't want to come to the facility?" I countered.

Two of us protecting her were better than one... as we planned.

But Ben said, "You two can go alone."

Is this his way of letting her go to me?

Did she tell him what I said?

What she said?

Did he not know that things only would have been different for her if she met me first and not him? That in the end, she still chooses him?

Nonetheless, it wasn't the time to pry. So, respecting his request, I turned off towards his father's house. The moment I pulled into the driveway, Ben bounded out of the car, not even glancing back at us.

Olivia hesitantly climbed out after him, watching the door to Stephen's house slam shut as she rounded the vehicle, climbing into the passenger seat.

Once she was buckled in, neither of us said a thing as I reversed out of the driveway.

· · ───── ∘ ☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

"Where are we going?" Olivia asked after five minutes of walking into the thicket of forest, far away from the walking trail.

"To the facility," I replied, as though it were obvious.

"In the woods?" she said back, a slight squeak to her voice. "Off the track?"

I struggled to stifle a laugh before I said, "Of course, Olivia. It's not just out in the open for anyone to walk into."

But she went quiet in response, not pressing further. And as I continued to walk on ahead, I realised her footsteps were no longer echoing beside me.

Coming to a stop, I turned back to look at her. Olivia's face was crestfallen, eyes glossy even in the shadow of the trees.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"What's wrong with you?" she countered.

My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't spoken to me all morning."

"You haven't spoken to me," I said back, a little bitter she was playing this game.

"You haven't even looked at me."

"I'm looking at you now?" To make a point, my eyes searched her face, as though the reason for her sudden despair would be hidden in the crevices somewhere.

Under the pressure of my watch, Olivia dropped her gaze to the ground, kicking at the foliage that crunched under our feet. "Forget it," she muttered, then she pushed past me, continuing into the forest ahead... and going completely the wrong way.

My hand shot out, grabbing her before she went too far. "I'm just... lost in thought," I said back to her. Wondering about whether Ben knows what I told you last night... wondering if you figured out... if you've figured out about our past.

Again, I studied her, searching for a clue.

But I came out empty.

A gust of wind blew at her copper locks, sending her watermelon and hibiscus scent my way, consuming me in her as she uttered, "I never should have said it."

"What do you mean?" I breathed, unable to figure out what she was alluding to.

"That things would have been better if we met first..."

My heart sank to hear she even regretted that.

But she was right.

This Olivia probably wouldn't have fallen for me.

This Olivia knew she was better off without me.

"That I would have fallen for you," she went on. "I didn't respect your feelings or our friendship when I let that slip."

My feelings? I wondered, examining her again. Did she know? Did she really figure it out? "Slip?" I pressed, hoping she'd be clearer.

"You're my best friend, Lukas," she breathed, emerald eyes slowly trailing up from their fixated spot on the ground. "I adore you. You mean the world to me. Which is why I shouldn't have put such a silly statement on you when you're already dealing with complicated love matters."

She must know... she must know that she's hurting me by still picking Ben. That's why she's saying—

"I don't want you to think you can't talk to me just because a part of me loves you."

Exactly. She would never... Wait. My eyes widened. Loves? Part of her loves me?

Her heart began to hammer in her chest, gaze starting to shift around my face, almost as though she were avoiding looking me straight in the eyes now. "What I am saying is, forget I said anything and just talk to me like before. I promise you, whatever you need to vent about regarding her or any other love matter, I'll think of you and your feelings first before mine."

Why is she so flustered about this? If she was saying those things yesterday because a part of her loves me... why would she wish we met first? "Are you... are you saying a small part of you has actually thought about being with me?" I asked in disbelief. "Even though you're with Ben?"

Her heart rate pounded impossibly faster as she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times.

Though after some time passed, she shook her head, crushing my hope that I had started to let stir again.

But then she said, "Maybe I did, but it was silly and it's fleeting. I'm just all confused because of course I love you, lukas. It's hard to not love your closest friend."

She loves me.

She still loves me.

My Ollie was right... even Ben's Ollie has feelings for me.

Even Ben's Ollie has thought about being with me...

"But when Stephen pulled me aside yesterday and confused me saying that he thought you and Ben were fighting over me..."

She trailed off, pulling me out of my thoughts, focussing directly on her now.

"I think I'm just leaning on you too much," she whispered without conviction. "Projecting my feelings that I've lost for Ben onto you."

Feelings she's lost for him... "That's it?" I confirmed, still too scared to run with the hope.

She shrugged. "That's all I'm going to let myself think it is."

Which means it's more. Which means...

"Just... can we go back to normal?" Her emerald eyes flickered up to mine, longingly, pleadingly, desperate.

Wanting to give her anything, wanting to give her the world as I became infatuated in her love for me once more, I breathed, "Of course, Ollie."

The corners of her lips turned up, causing my heart to flutter. And after a few seconds of getting lost in each other's gazes, I turned away, starting to move us ahead as my mind began to wonder... began to plan.

Ben really wanted to let her go to me...

Stephen thought it was okay...

I found her first...

She may be bonded to Ben, but... would it really be okay if I tried to steal her? If he was okay with it, if Ollie was okay with it, and if Stephen was?

Could I really do that to Ben?

"I think, when we get back to England," I started, causing Ollie to glance at me as we continued to trod along the unpaved path, "I'm going to tell her everything."

I'll tell this Ollie that I wiped her memories instead of giving them back.

I'll tell her about our past.

I'll tell her that I love her.

And then she can decide... Without being affected by the memories of us.

"That you like her?" Olivia asked.

"That I love her," I whispered.

"What about her bond?" she said back, voice a little deflated.

I shrugged. "She will probably still choose him," I said, setting my expectations up so that I didn't get too hopeful. "And he will hate me for it." Even if he said it's okay. "But I can't keep it from her any more." Not if you like me too, Ollie... even now. Despite everything. "I shouldn't have kept it from her in the first place. At least, then, when she hears everything and has the chance to think it through and still rejects me... then I won't have to hold onto that small shred of hope I have that she will eventually leave him for me. Or that she will remember us."

It felt cathartic to express these fears to her. To tell anyone really, but especially the woman I was pining over.

But then she asked, "What will you do if she rejects you?"

If? More like when... But surely this conclusion will feel better if I just... get everything out there and stop the lies before I let us go for good. "I'll pack my bags and head away for a while," I sighed. "Until the invitation breaks. However long that takes. I just... that small bit of hope is what keeps me near her, scared to let what we had go."

"Where will you go?"

"Anywhere and everywhere. Capital cities like Prague and Paris to smaller towns in Italian countrysides, like Valvasone and Mascioni. Then maybe venture over to Asia... visit Jeju island and get lost in the islands of Japan."

Ollie groaned in response before saying, "Take me with you. It sounds lovely."

I know... I thought. It would be an homage to you... your dream getaways. "I don't think taking you with me will help, Ollie," I laughed.

"Why?" she obliviously countered, evidently not getting it.

But as if on cue, we had finally reached the entrance to the facility, bringing this conversation to an end before I revealed too much again. "We're here," I said, pulling her back to our task on hand.

She looked around at the trees around us before focussing her gaze on the one building in sight: a small shed. "That doesn't look like a facility."

"It goes underground," I said.

"Right... of course it does," she grumbled.

· · ───── ∘ ☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

Meeting my parents went better than expected. Both mum and dad pulled her apart thread by thread, their gazes taking her in and then me in as though trying to determine if there was anything between her and I that they could use later. And when my mum seemed to clue on, I quickly hid the truth, throwing out there that Olivia was bonded to Ben and that should be that.

Olivia reacted as expected, recoiling in disgust as we walked the long corridor past the experiments. But even I felt my own stomach churn as I saw the made-vampire test subjects...

He's getting more and more fucking twisted, I thought.

Though when we finally reached the kitchenette area at the end of the hallway, mum turned to me.

"Lukas, Mein Sohn," she started.

"Ja, Mama?" I asked, eyes narrowing at her sudden saccharine tone.

"Can you go find your father and ask him if he would like a drink," she said in English, confusing me slightly... because speaking in English meant, for some reason, she wanted Ollie to hear. And my mother wasn't the most inclusive person in conversations... 

"I could just call him," I said back, eyes warily flickering to Olivia, scared to leave her alone with mum.

But my mother saw this.

Chin tilting upwards, eyes challenging me as though she was sceptical of my reluctance to go, she countered, "He left his phone at home accidentally today."

A part of me didn't believe her.

But the other, more logical side, knew that if I made a scene over this, she may start to realise that something was off. Either she'd figure out that my lie about me not liking Olivia earlier was wrong or... something was different about Olivia's mutations.

Not wanting her to find out either, I realised the best move here was to play along and hope that the few minutes I'd leave them... she'd be safe.

Forcing a smile onto my face, I said, "Be nice to her, okay, Mama?"

She grinned back, eyes filling with venom over the fact that I'd say such a thing before saying, "Of course."

At once, I took off out of the room, leaving the pair alone.

But I didn't wander slowly.

Running as fast as I could back down the corridor, I headed straight back into the waiting room, hoping that Katherine, the receptionist, could tell me where to find my father.

While I didn't believe my mother would do anything to hurt Olivia then and there... It had been so long since I had visited this town.

It had been so long since I had seen her and dad together.

And who knew if, in that time, my parents had grown closer together or further apart.

"Katherine," I said, doubling over the counter. "Do you... know... where my... father is?"

"Oh my gosh, Lukas," she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "What's so important that you're in this much of a hurry?"

"Please," I heaved. "Just answer."

Pressing her lips together, evidently agitated at my lack of politeness right now, thankfully she obliged, letting me know he should be in his office.

Before she could even ask why I was so urgently looking for him though, I took off once more, down the other hallway.

When I finally caught up to my dad, eager to turn around and head back to Ollie, to my surprise he already had his phone to his ear.

And my stomach sank.

"Lukas?" he asked, spotting me as I stood in the doorway to his office, slightly breathless. "What's wrong, son?"

"Mama... she wanted to know if you would like a drink."

"I'm... good thanks," he replied with narrowing eyes. "You could have just called."

"Yeah... Could have." And with that, I turned around before we could make any further awkward conversation.

Though the moment I was out of his sight, I ran for it again... back down the corridor, through the reception room, down the hallway past the laboratories, and finally back into the kitchenette area.

As I shoved the door open, scared of what I'd find in the room, mum and Olivia seemed to have just taken a seat on the couch, drinks in hand.

"He said he doesn't want one and he did have his phone, Mama," I accused, wondering what she'd have to say for herself. 

But she merely let out a giggle before covering her mouth in embarrassment. "My mistake."

Nostrils flaring, I walked further into the room and closer to Olivia, wondering if that whole stunt really was an accident or...

Picking up the drink they had made me on my way over, I immediately beelined for the space next to Olivia. Slumping in the chair, I glanced warily between the pair, though not without noticing that Ollie was inching slightly away.

My brows pulled together as I examined the increasing distance between us, though maybe mum had said something to her to make her this uncomfortable. So rather than jumping to conclusions, I immediately turned back to my mother to study her. Though she continued to act as though nothing had happened.