Jessica woke up still unsure if last night truly happened and was not just a bad dream of hers. She found herself wrapped in a bedsheet, comfortable on the bed, with Liam nowhere in sight, for which she was thankful. It would make her more embarrassed to see him again, and her thoughts were all over the place just then.

It was seven in the morning when she had woken up, and headed over to cook herself breakfast. Then, she did what she would usually do on a weekend- cooking, cleaning, binging shows, doing some office work. By the time she finished all of that, it was already 3pm. Yet Liam was not anywhere in sight. She knew he could not have gone back without informing her. At least, that was what she hoped. It would sting worse than a bee sting if he had actually left without any words or explanation. Besides, she was pretty sure the man she was with was not the kind of coward who'd does not face his fears.

Jessica, however, could not be more cowardly.

She dreaded the moment he'd see her again. She hated the way he had treated her last night, even though he was drunk. She hated being scared of the place she loved. 

But no matter how much she wanted to delay things and not face them, it would only make the situation worse if not sorted quick enough.

She finally gambled and picked up her phone, fidgeting her fingers over the keyboard trying to form words that'd make the least of sense and convey what she wanted to.

"Where are you? When are you coming back..."

She quickly deleted the last part and rephrased it.

"...Please come back home."

The strong woman inside her debated on whether to beg him to come back or not. But that was how love worked. That was how being with someone worked. You had to take a step back, sometimes multiple steps back, sometimes you had to trample all over your own selfish needs, your own ego? She did it now, because Liam had done so, uncountable times in the past.

She sat in front of the TV in the bedroom, her legs covered with the quilt and stared at nothing on the screen. The movie played and the characters worked, but her mind kept going back to Liam and his impending reply to the texts she sent him, hours ago.

It was nine pm at night now, and her eyelids became droopy, struggling to keep awake. A light wave of sleep even passed over her, but she stirred awake when the doorknob unlocked and the man she had been waiting for, finally came back.

She smiled lightly at him, whereas he could not bring himself to look at her.

"We need to talk." Jessica stated the fact.

Liam looked at her for a second, and then nodded fervently. He climbed into the bed and sat next to her.

"What happened last night?" He had opened his mouth to speak something when the first in a long list of questions came crashing down at him.

"I-"

"Apologize." It was not a request, a pleading or some begging. It was a stern command.

Jessica let her eyes express the anger she had been holding in. One thing she had learned in all these years together with Liam was to never ever compromise on your dignity. Never, not to anyone. She could be vulnerable; she could be weak- but never would she throw the one thing that mattered to her the most.

"I am sorry. Jessica, I am sorry for my actions."

She bit her lip and nodded once in acceptance of his apology. Had he not known the man, she would never believe those words to be sincere, but right then- she could see through his orbs and tell the truth. Liam truly meant each word he said.

Softly, she placed her hand on his and asked, "What exactly happened last night? Whatever happened, why did you not talk about it? Why did you end up so drunk?" 

"I know..." He muttered under his breath. "I know I should not have reacted the way I did. I know I shouldn't have... but Jessica-", suddenly, he gripped her hand tightly. "It was something that has always bothered me. Bothered me for a long time now." 

Jessica waited for him to continue.

"What I have been holding back is not something I am ashamed of, but it is something that attaches importance to you."

"What is it? It is about Ryan, isn't it?"

Liam nodded firmly. "It is. I despised him from the time I became acquainted with all of you- Kiara and all of you."

Jessica scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"

"You don't remember it, do you? It was how he treated you before. Remember the time in the cafeteria when he along with his friends spread those rumors and accusations against you? That was when I made my first impression about him." He looked right into Jessica's eyes. "But somehow, the two of you ended up being friends? Dating? I thought it was all wrong for a young woman like you, back then, to be involved with someone who had treated you with such malice. I wanted to warn you time and again, but I had already hurt you enough. Later on, I knew Ryan had caught Larry's eyes. He started with having playful fun with him, but his feelings grew stronger as time passed by. Ryan was ashamed of his sexuality, and the first time he kissed Larry- it changed it all-"

"That was perhaps the time I saw him crying. You know, back then, I was somewhat thankful to whoever did that to him..." Jessica laughed. "It was new for me to see him break the way he did. Perhaps I had long wanted to take revenge for what he had done to me, but never could I become so capable on my own. Now that I think of it... I am not sure how to feel. The satisfaction is still there, you know." Jessica shrugged and looked down at her lap. 

"I wish Larry never engaged himself with the guy. Then none of it would happen. None of you... Ryan and you won't become friends. He won't change for what he is today. In your eyes, he would still be that selfish, arrogant asshole."

Jessica was astounded at hearing those words come out from Liam's mouth. She wondered if it was the anger that caused him to lose his cool, or whether he had been holding it all in for a long time now. If he had been, then she never truly got to know him at all. It was correct, you could never know a human completely. They are such mix of emotions, what new variant would drop out on a new day- no one could tell.

But she appreciated him being honest.

And she loved to see him being more human than ever.

Although there was no godly complex she attached to Liam like she did with Ryan, when she had a crush on him- Liam was still the guy who was too good to be true. Rarely did she witness him harbor negative emotions towards another human. That was why she was so on guard against Portia, believing he would take his usual neutral stance against her, compared to what Jessica expected him to- A completely negative one.

"But he is not." Liam continued. "Things happened and eventually things sorted themselves out. They fell in place. Larry was ecstatic to finally get the person he had liked for long, to like him back. You wouldn't believe how many times he would mention Ryan! Each time we met and spoke, every conversation... he was so in love with him." He chuckled. "Too bad, Ryan never felt the same way for him."

Jessica was quick to defend her friend, which was strange since she had agreed on keeping things calm while they talked it through. 

"That is not true. We have all seen how happy Ryan was when they announced their wedding, I-"

"What you saw was wrong."

"Liam." She took a deep breath and went back to her soft, composed tone of speaking. "I know it hurts you, but Larry's fate had nothing to do with-"

"Remember the time Ryan vanished for a good time after Larry's death?"

"That was because he loved him! He needed some time to heal, Liam."

"Stop bloody defending him all the time, Jessica." Liam finally raised his voice. The two of them had been dying to scream their lungs out, but thankfully, were mature enough to not let things escalate in the wrong direction.

Jessica did not say a word and let him continue. "You know what I found? The reason he came to see you that day was not because... the reason he went away from all our lives was not because he was sad over Larry not being with him anymore. That.. was not the main reason, at least."

"Then, what was it?"

"It was you. He was there to confess something to you. His feelings."

Jessica shook her head in denial. "No." Something stirred in her heart and it skipped a beat.

"Yes. Jessica, he came to confess what he felt. He had a guilty conscience. The reason Larry met what he did that night was because the two of them had an argument, and I am guessing it was over you. I found a picture..."

He need not say more.

Silence prevailed in the room for a good minute.

"So you blame me for it? I have given all I could to us. Liam- my heart, my feelings, my thoughts, my body, my actions- all I could, I have given it to us. Not once have I kept anything from you. All of me, I have put on the board. Even if he did have anything for me, I have never led him on. Larry.. none of it... do you blame me for it?" She searched for answers within his eyes before he could form words. Words were often deceptive, eyes, were not. Not if you knew how to read them.

"I do not blame you for anything Jessica. I have done the same, I too, have put all that I could put on stake. My feelings for you only grew stronger. I knew I wanted to spend a lifetime with you. I too, have given it my all. But that does not change the fact, Ryan is someone I have started to hate to the core, since last night. I thought I could let the past go, since he was your friend, since he was Larry's love interest. But last night-"

"We just danced. Besides, Portia was there too. She is the one he is dating, she is the one who he considers perfect for him. Was it simply because of a dance?" 

Crazy how frightened she got when she lied to someone.

"It was not the dance, Jessica. I am not that petty of a man. He is the guy who had robbed me of my brother. And now he is the guy who could potentially rob me of my girlfriend, and wife." He chuckled bitterly.

"What are you saying...?"

"I saw the way you looked at him."

"..."

"I know I have everything you could offer in a relationship, Jessica. But I also realized last night..."

"That I still have space for him?"