Arriving at the hospital, the whole place is quiet and they are both grateful that they are no pressmen and reporters around. Cainan helps set Neriah into her wheelchair and rolls her inside.

He opens the door and pushes her into her ward, "Well then, thanks for taking me out."

"Should you be thanking him after everything he's put you through today?" Shawn asks, bringing their attention to him at the corner of the room.

"Shawn!" Neriah says with surprise, "what are you doing here?"

Neriah sees a bottle of vodka in his hand, looking almost empty. Shawn has never been one for drinking. In fact, Neriah has never seen him drink since they met and she wonders if she's the one who has driven him into it.

He moves, more of stagger to the centre of the room, still holding the vodka in full grip; "Didn't realise I needed a reason to visit my girlfriend, besides you're all over the internet and it's all thanks to him." He accuses, pointing to Cainan.

"Shawn I -" Cainan tries to speak, but he's cut short.

"Can you do me a favour and not interrupt me when I'm talking to my girlfriend?" Snaps Shawn with a raise of his finger.

"You're acting like a child, Shawn," Neriah points out to him.

"Am I? He's the one that took you out into that shit. Your face is on the internet and you're being painted a slut, whore and called things we both know you aren't and it's because of him. Because he wouldn't leave us alone."

"And that's reason enough to get drunk. He doesn't leave and you get drunk! And yet you don't think yourself acting like a child."

He asks pathetically, staggering forward, "What else do you want from me, woman?!"

"At this point, nothing." She rolls her wheelchair by herself further into the ward.

"I'm not the bad guy here, Neriah," he slurs, pulling his legs towards her.

"Then stop acting like one! I'll be dead in a month. And I don't want to spend any moment of the rest of my life fighting. I love you, Shawn, always will, but I refuse to be the one to ruin your life."

"I'm sorry, Neriah, it just hurts so much the things I read and I know that's not you, but it still hurt." He makes his way to her side and crashes down on his knee. "I couldn't take the fact that you are also dying. It just hurts so much." Tears run down his face and he covers it and sobs into his hands.

Neriah pulls him closer and his head lies on her legs, "It's okay, Shawn, it is okay."

Cainan moves closer to her before speaking. "He's very drunk, Neriah. Let him sober up, then have your discussion with him. I'll stay if you want me to."

She smiles a little but shakes her head, "No, go home and rest a little, I'll be fine."

"I'll be going now then, take care of yourself." He leans in and kisses her forehead and walks away.

"I will," Neriah says, then turns her head to look at him, "promise me you won't get into any trouble, Cainan, promise me."

He looks back, a mischievous smirk at the corner of his mouth, "Can't promise you that, love, but I'll try."

Once out of the hospital, Cainan calls Amanda, his receptionist. "Set up a meeting with the press. There are some things I want to clarify."

"Yes sir. What time should it be scheduled?"

He glances at his wristwatch, which currently says two thirteen p.m. before saying, "I think 4:30 p.m. today, my residence. That sound like a good time."

"Yes, sir, I'm on it."

"Thank you."

"There are press men inside the house. Did you know about it?" Ada asks as she opens the door and steps into the room.

"Next time, mom, try knocking first." He pulls his T-shirt over his head and goes over to the mirror to comb it. "And to answer your question, yes, I did," he replies with a nod.

"I'm sorry," she says because once again her eagerness has become an invasion of his privacy. "So why did you?" she asks, her eyes squinty and suspicious.

He tosses the comb in front of the mirror and goes to his bed to pick up his jacket and wear it. "I invited them? If you were on the internet today, you would have known why. There are things I need to clarify with them about my relationship with Samantha."

"Does one of those things involve telling them you were having a relationship with Clara even while she was married?"

Cainan remains quiet for a moment before nodding, "It's the truth." He says and walks towards his door.

Ada follows behind, "I'm not saying it isn't, just think you shouldn't expose it this way."

"Neriah was shamed, harassed, and humiliated all because of me. She's being called things she isn't while the guilty one is unknown." He says regretfully.

"I'm sorry Neriah got into all that, but what do you think will happen if the truth comes out the way you want it to?"

He signs heavily, staring at himself in the mirror and noticing how he hated what he sees. "I don't know, mom, and honestly I don't care."

She's surprised at his words. "I thought you've changed. Was I wrong to think that?"

"I have changed, mom, that's why the truth has to come out. What we both did was wrong and I see it now, but I will not let another take the blame for what she didn't do."

Giving up the argument, Ada says, "Fine, do what you think is necessary." Before leaving his room.

...

The interview was a thirty minutes interview in which Cainan clarified a lot of things, from business, his absence and personal relationship.

Interviewer: "What do you have to say about Samantha's claim that you cheated on her?"

After a long sigh, "She's right, I did cheat on her, many times, but it was never with Neriah." Cainan responds.

Interviewer: "With who, then?"

He opens his mouth to give out the name. It would have been the greatest payback for everything Clara had done to him. He can just call out her name and her marriage and a lot of other things will be over, but he remembers Ada's words, he is a changed man; he can't believe it, but he is, and he knows he can't hurt Clara even if he wants to.

"It would be wise if I don't say a name."

Interviewer: "Why not? Samantha was a faithful girlfriend, she deserves the truth at least."

"Samantha was anything but faithful. We stayed together for so long because we were horrible people. None of us was a saint. We were both sinners, but I'm ready to put the past behind me and move forward. I'd want to use this medium to reach out to those blogs and websites slut-shaming Neriah to please pull down those articles. I will not have the last few days of my good friend ruined because of you. Do it now while you can, I won't say more than that."

Cainan gets up, "Thank you so much for your time."

...

"You did great," Ada says, coming to kiss Cainan on the cheeks once she reaches where he is.

"I hope this sets things right a little. There's one more thing I need to do," Cainan says, bringing out his phone and scrolling through the list of contacts before getting to Clara.

He taps on the call button and waits a while and when the call comes through, Cainan speaks. "We need to meet."

"I don't think that's possible." She says, her voice shaky.

His heart immediately skips a beat at the thought that she might be in trouble. "Clara?"

"Don't call me again, Cainan, please."

"We need to talk. Meet me at Granville resort at 7 p.m."

There is no response from the other end of the phone before it goes off and Cainan wonders what could have set off this fear and terror in her.

At seven p.m., Cainan is already at the Granville resort at the corner end of the garden under the gigantic oak tree. He's seated and on the table in front of him is a bottle of blue wine and two empty glasses which he'd ordered on his arrival, thirty minutes ago.

Ten minutes later Clara is nowhere to be found and Cainan grows a little impatient as he glances at his wristwatch and checks his email, calls and messages that might be on his phone to see if there is any message from Clara declining their meeting, but there's none.

After waiting another extra seven minutes, he picks up his phone and taps on Clara's number, hoping to call her. He dials it and places his phone to his ear when it rings, but no one picks. This gets Cainan annoyed as he gets worried and he tries again.

"I don't see any reason picking up when I'm already here," Clara says as she approaches Cainan's seat.

He looks up and sees her in a beautiful, short, green gown reaching her mid-thigh and the gown seems to hold her in all the right places. Cainan can't help but notice that her curves are rounder and her chest is fuller. It appeared she'd gained a little weight in the last three months they last saw each other physically.

The veil on her head distracts as well as confuses Cainan. She has never been one to love hiding her skin under much fabric, so whatever is going on with her seems intense.

"Seven like you said it," she says, taking a seat.

He frowns at her. "You're late!" He doesn't mean to snap, but that's what he does.

"I'm still here," she says, her temper rising than it should.

She's right, although a little later, she's still here, which is the most important along with the reason behind his being here. "I guess you're right, I'm sorry I snapped."

"Apology accepted," she says with a smile, "I also apologise for coming late and snapping."

"No worries, I must admit you look good... great actually."

Clara picks up the bottle of red wine and opens it before pouring it for herself and then for him. "And you look like a changed man, she's changed you."

"She?" Cainan tries his best to mask it up and act dumb, but he knows she knows better.

"Neriah, you don't have to put up the act with me too, it's all over the daily gossip." She takes a sip of the wine and smiles because he still remembers her favourite.

"Everything they are saying in the blogs is a lie and I'm gonna sue them if those contents are still up by this time tomorrow."

Her brow raises as she glances at him. "Everything is a lie? Even the part of you being madly in love with her?"

His eyes drop instantly, realising that not everything written online about him is a complete lie, and also that Clara must have seen him and Neriah, "Clara I..." He cannot find the words to say.

"You don't have to explain that or deny it even, the way you protected her, the remorse in your eyes when she fell. I saw it in your eyes, the way you looked at her while she spoke to the reporter. She owns your heart and-" she is about to say something but Cainan cuts her off.

"And she's also dying." As much as he hates to admit it, it's true. "You can point that out cause once again I'm fucking going to have my heart broken in a million pieces with her leaving."

"I'm sorry, Cainan," she takes his hand on the table and gives it a small squeeze.

Cainan immediately pulls away before clearing his throat and picking up the glass of wine to take a sip.

"I came out with the truth to the media to help Neriah clear her name. She doesn't deserve to be crucified with tags that do not belong to her."

Her cheeks heat before she asks, "Tags like a gold digger, sluts and whore?"

"She is not any of the names those low-lives call her." He says through gritted teeth.

She drops the glass of wine in her hand, her expression neutral, "But I am and I'm guessing you want me to come out with the truth about our affair."

"You're not," he instantly defends, "but yes, I do. We both messed up and we both should receive the blame and punishment for it, not Neriah."

She shakes her head, "I'm sorry, I know you love this girl and you're ready to do what's best for her, but I can't do this." Clara answers, getting up from the chair and picking up her purse.

"If you don't come out with the truth, I will."

"Is that a threat?" She asks with anger in her voice, before turning and walking off.

Not wanting things to end chaotically, he runs up and after her. He catches up with her and takes her hand, turning her to himself. "No, it's not. Sorry I made it feel that way."

"I already risked a lot of things with coming here Cainan, anyone here could work with Hugo and if I'm seen with you, he'll have his proof. The reason I came late was not that I love being late, but because I was being followed by Hugo." She said, her voice quivering a little. She had always hated being weak and defenceless but as Cainan listens to her, that's what he hears in her voice.

Hugo having his wife followed is the last thing Cainan expected to find out, but he's more surprised he hadn't thought he would for a long time. He's old and insecure. She's young and alive, so the two don't match; but why now? What had he lost his confidence?

"Why would he do that?"

Clara gives him an absurd look. "Why else? He suspects I'm cheating on him."

His brow rises. "Are you?"

"No, I'm not, but I have."

"With who?"

The absurd look Clara had before returned and this time it stays longer on her face, "Who else?!" she exclaimed with her eyes widening in shock that he'd think that she would be with another beside him.

Cainan moves uncomfortably, even as he stands beside her and reminisces about their past affairs. Something that once brought him joy now brings him sadness. "I'm sorry about everything."

"I am too, but I can't tell him, there's so much at stake now." She confesses, her voice lowering at the last part, but not low enough that Cainan can't hear it.'

"What is?"

Her eyes drop to her belly and she rubs it a while before looking back up and her eyes lock on Cainan's. "Because I'm fifteen weeks pregnant, Cainan, and we both know who the father is."