It has been an okay morning. So far, I have just been bustling around the office, keeping my head in my work. Occasionally, I would answer a few replies that I got from Rogue, and I didn't make it a habit to answer frequently in case Robert caught me because he set a new rule of no answering personal calls or texts ever since someone messed up while receiving a personal call and ignoring what she was supposed to do.

Ever since then, work has been a little, if not more stressful than ever before. I kept it in mind that I needed to limit how many times I answered texts from Rogue and also keeping in mind that he was busier than me being the boss and all, and knowing him, he wouldn't ignore a call or text from me whether he was doing something important or not. With that in mind, the day was slower than I needed it to be.

Until Robert called me into his office and told me that I could go home early today. Normally, I would be happy and ecstatic to leave work early but early meant getting off work at three or four, not one in the afternoon. It was way too early, and Robert wouldn't have told me to leave work unless it was an emergency, but I didn't have an emergency. Either way, I was taking this as a blessing.

I told my colleagues that I was leaving, whose eyebrows shot up when I told them, and even Erica wondered if there was an emergency. After clarifying that there was none and today was one of those miracle days, I walked out of the office.

I ran into Veronica.

You know that feeling you get when you accidentally meet someone that you're trying to avoid? The moment when your heart lifts and drops from being cornered? That was how I felt when I saw her. And she smiled and waved at me, which made me want to turn around, go back inside and pretend that I didn't see her, but that wouldn't work because Veronica stood out like the plague. Of all days, today she dressed to impress. She wore red high knee boots and a thick fur coat. Her hair was side-swept and curled, and when she saw me, she took off her sunglasses.

I took a step as my heart continued to drop. There was no reason to feel guilty, but I felt guilty considering her husband admitted to having some type of feelings for me, and knowing that she knew about it but didn't hate me for it made me wonder who the hell she was because I would have felt differently. I would have hated me, but not Veronica. Veronica was a different breed. She seemed way out of this world and it was impossible to think she could ever want to be in the same room with me, but here she was, acting like she always does with me—caring and friendly towards me as if we had been friends forever.

"Beth!" She was a few feet away from me before I even realized she had gotten closer and it was too late now to pretend I didn't see her. She engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug. She smelled nice. She smelled so good and warm, and it was comforting. It irked me. I pulled away. She beamed at me. "So, what do I get for getting you out of work early?"

I blinked and registered her words. "This is your doing?" I asked, even more confused than her reason for being here.

She nodded as if she had accomplished something beyond her capabilities, but it was just getting me out of work early. It wasn't a great accomplishment and I suddenly got disconnected from my luck. Before I could blink, she had thrown an arm around my shoulder and seemed to be walking me to a brand new Porsche car.

"Your boss is so easy to bend," she continued as she laughed. "I'm so glad we're able to see each other today! We're going to have so much fun." She threw the other hand in the air with a hearty laugh that threw me off guard.

Suddenly, I dragged my feet to a stop when we reached the car. I untangled her arm from my neck and she shifted to give me a confused glance, sensing the lack of energy she was receiving from me. How could I? Her husband had somewhat feelings for me and she was acting like everything was fine between us. Like it didn't warrant her to feel uncomfortable or hate towards me.

I'm sorry, but I'm not a robot. I don't lock my feelings.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned calmly. "Why did you get me out of work early?"

"I will explain," was all she said before she opened the door and pushed me inside. I only caved because she was stronger than me and people on the sidewalk were paying close attention to us. I was not going to give them something to talk about, so I caved. I accepted defeat and stayed in my seat as she entered the car and pulled her seatbelt. I did the same.

As the engine started, so did my heart.

"I know you're wondering why I got you out today, but it's for a good cause," she stated as she pulled onto the road. "Trust me, it's something you will like."

"And you won't tell me what it is?"

"Nope."

I accepted her answer. I respected how frank she was.

As I looked forward at the road and the cars we were passing, I inquired, "Does Rogue know you're here?"

"Does he have to know everything?" She gave me an amused response. "Come on, Beth. Girls gotta have secrets between them, right? We used to have that secrecy between us. I loved that. Anything that has to do with keeping it from Rogue is exciting."

A blast from the past had me clutching my hands, but I didn't say anything. I could feel her gaze on me now. I didn't dare turn around to look at her.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" she suddenly questioned with a small chuckle. Her inquiry had me neither accepting or denying that fact. She was crazy. We had already established that. It was a popular opinion. Veronica continued with a light tone in her voice, "How could I be here, talking, and laughing with you, right? Pete told me he spoke to you about that." She emphasized on that, which had me whirling around to look at her.

She was still smiling, still gazing at the road ahead. My heart gave another kick start. She was amused. I wasn't. I didn't find this funny, but I guess you had to be at the same level of craziness as her to ignore the problem.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not worried. I have known about it longer than you. Actually, he told me what you did for him in London and Pete was very well clear on where his head was at. He was honest about it. When you live the way we did, you come to accept brutal honesty. There's no room for secrets or lies between us." Now she looked at me, peering at me through her beautiful brown eyes. "I was okay with it—for him to pursue you. I wasn't jealous or angry."

"I'm so sorry," I felt the need to blurt because I honestly was. It was not okay to be comfortable with the man you're married to or more importantly loved–to pursue another woman just because the two of you had an understanding with each other. There were certain things women should not be okay with and cheating was one of them. It wasn't right, no matter how much Veronica felt for Pete or how much she thought she deserved it.

Was this her own guilt?

While Rogue was okay with giving up the one he loved, Veronica was okay with letting the man she loved have feelings and pursue another woman. The more I continued to unravel her and Rogue, the sadder it got, and the more I wanted them to live a different life, where their feelings and choices were their own.

"No one should be okay with that," I muttered quietly, expressing my feelings. "And just so you know, even if Rogue wasn't in the picture, I would never be with Pete. I would never be with a guy who has someone in his life, and you shouldn't be okay with it, Veronica. There's a limit to what you can do for someone you love."

Her smile got wider. Her hands curled around the wheel.

"Does he love you the way you love him?" It was necessary to ask.

Veronica's smile got even brighter, and I wondered if that was her armor. To smile wide with each bitter and hurtful word or question so she couldn't face the truth.

"Pete loves me, Beth, the same way Rogue loves you. It's just that his heart is big enough to fill another person."

That was a statement no woman should ever be comfortable with enough to accept.

—-

From Manhattan to Brooklyn took us over thirty minutes. I expected a much longer drive, but I was glad for it to be over. Cobble Hill was where Veronica stopped the car, in front of a gorgeous house in a nice neighborhood. As soon as we got out of the car, I looked up at the house before I looked behind me at her.

"Whose house is this?" I asked in curiosity as she locked her arm with mine and dragged me up the stairs. We took a couple of steps before she led us to the front door, which opened before we even had the chance to knock, and there stood the man I didn't expect to see.

"You were supposed to be here an hour ago," he stated his complaint to Veronica, but his eyes were on me.

She whooshed past him, remarking, "You're welcome." with a pat to the back, leaving me with him alone as we stood outside.

His arms surrounded me before I managed to take my first step towards him. He pressed his body against my front and held me immobile. Rogue's arms were strong and warm, and protective. It was what I craved every day. To run into his arms where nothing hurts or stresses me. All I needed was his warmth and scent.

I burrowed deeper into his chest, my body relaxing into the familiarity of the arms it loved. "Mhm, why do I feel like I haven't seen you in a while?" I didn't expect to find him here, but it was something that I wasn't complaining about.

His body shook with his chuckle. He stroked my hair as he continued to hold me up. "It feels like it, doesn't it?" he asked. "What does that have to say?"

"That I shouldn't let you move an inch away from me." I gripped his arm, wrapped around my midsection.

With Rogue's hand at my back, he urged me forward and I stepped inside through the door. A low chatter of noise played in the background as soon as I walked in and I couldn't help but notice the house looked more lavishly than any place I had been. The floors were made of marble and used rich, wine-colored carpets. I kept close to Rogue, especially since I didn't know where we were and whose house it was.

I was so nervous I felt like cracking and dissolving into the fine marble, but I kept my composure and let him steer me past a staircase that was wound upward, ignoring the gnawing feeling that he wasn't telling me something, an emotion that was hard to distinguish from the fear that I was feeling.

We crossed into the living area, where Veronica was seated on one of the burgundy leather sofas, her legs tucked under her. As soon as we walked in, she looked up at us. She wasn't alone. As my eyes met the other stunning woman in the room, I froze at the doorway, unable to move.

Rogue's mother. This shook me to my core because I didn't know why the hell they would bring me here unless it was to be humiliated.

My memory of meeting his mother was fresh in my mind, so when she stood up as we walked in and began to approach us, I started to take a step back, but Rogue gripped me so I wouldn't be able to take another step. Her beautiful face stood in my view and I winced, awaiting more hurtful comments, and I swore that if she threw knives at me, I was going to either dodge them or catch them in my hands.

She shocked me when she hugged me. I stood frozen, immobilized and my hands rested at my sides, unable to believe that Rogue's mother was hugging me. I blinked and the room hadn't dissolved so this was not my imagination.

"I was worried you were not going to come so I told Veronica not to say anything about where she was taking you," Anna stated as she pulled away from me, giving me a warm smile that I didn't receive from her the first time we met, which was five days ago. I had not seen Rogue in four days, so what had changed in those few days for his mother to be so welcoming and friendly?

I looked at him for help, struggling to respond, but I had to say something. "It's...it's good to see you again."

"I know it must seem confusing to you, Beth, but I asked Veronica to bring you here. I wanted to extend my apologies for the way I treated you. You have to understand the position I was in. Veronica is like a daughter to me. I watched her grow up. I didn't know what was going on so I acted like any protective mother-in-law. I'm so glad I'm able to change how you feel about me."

"It's okay. I completely forgot about it."

"Nonsense. No one will forget what I did."

I was so confused. I didn't know what to say. I also didn't want to say the wrong thing.

Anna startled me by grabbing my hand. "Thank you for being there for my son, for loving him the way he is because I know it's not easy loving someone who changed his entire life to live as someone else."

My eyes widened. "You know....?"

His mother smiled, stealing a glance at her son. "Rogue wouldn't let me get away from how I treated you at the gallery. It's understandable since he cares so much for you. He knocked on our door at three in the morning. He was disheveled and he didn't want us to go back to bed until he told us the whole truth."

Several feelings rushed inside me. I caught Rogue's eyes and sent a smile his way. I wanted to hug him and kiss him. I couldn't believe he told his parents the truth for me.

"How did you feel?" I asked Anna in curiosity. I had been worried about how his parents would react if they came to know the whole truth.

"I was frightened, very frightened, and appalled by what he was telling us." The warm smile didn't leave her face when she clutched Rogue's arm. "But at the end of the day, he is our son. The son his father and I had mourned for years came back to us. Even if he doesn't carry his real face and his name, we still love him regardless of who he's become."

"You were not angry with him?"

"There's no point in being angry. It won't change the past. The best thing we could do as his parents is to accept who he has become and support him. We're very lucky people to have our son back. Rogue could have continued to pretend and we wouldn't have known we were in the presence of our child." She got teary-eyed all of a sudden, wiping the corner of her eyes. "He did it for you, so I have to thank you for bringing my son back to me. I owe you so much gratitude, Beth. I could never repay you for this."

I shook my head. "No, please. I didn't do anything. It was his choice, not mine. I'd like to think he would have still told you the truth with me or without me in his life."

"Charming, isn't she?" Veronica called out from where she sat. "I still don't know how he was able to get such an amazing woman."

Rogue slid her a glance in response. "That's what I tell Pete every day. Be careful or he's going to slip through your fingers. The only reason you still have him is because he knows I'm going to beat the crap out of him if he leaves you."

"Darling, are you taking credit for my marriage being intact? Could you get any more annoying?" She huffed while he rolled his eyes.

Anna dragged me to sit next to her while Rogue sat beside me. She looked at me with a hopeful look in her eyes. "Bath, will you stay for lunch? I won't be satisfied until I make it up to you."

I opened my mouth to respond when Pete entered the room. He stopped after a few steps, and I could feel the way his body tensed. I immediately became alert, my shoulders stiffening, and I wasn't the only one who noticed the slight change in me. Rogue was staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. His brow furrowed before his eyes focused above.

"How long was that phone call?" Anna asked as Pete laughed shortly and joined Veronica on the sofa. He wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her to his chest.

His eyes zeroed in on me. "Hello, Beth," he greeted warmly. "I'm glad you're here. Although they weren't sure you would have come if they had told you the truth, I was the only one who knew you'd have come regardless of how Anna acted towards you."

Anna snorted. "Oh, quit complimenting yourself." With a shake of her head, she rose to her feet. "And with that, you're going to help me in the kitchen."

Pete groaned a sound of protest. "You have the staff at your disposal, mum."

Pointing a finger at him, she added, "You're still coming with me. Get up."

He looked at Veronica. "Babe, do you want to come help me?" He nudged her a little, and Veronica smirked slyly, shaking her head. Leaning forward, he whispered something in her ear that got her laughing. Then without so much as a protest, she let him pull her to her feet.

"We're going to the kitchen," she announced, walking hand in hand with Pete. Now, it was just me and my boyfriend.

"Maybe I should help them," I trailed off, looking at Rogue. "I feel weird that they're in the kitchen and I'm here doing nothing. I want to go help—" I started to rise, but Rogue's hand shot out and pulled me back down, finding myself in his lap.

Wrapping his arms around my midsection, he hugged me to his chest, putting his chin on my right shoulder. "Trust me, my mother is going to kick you out so don't even bother. You're her guest. She won't let you work." He pushed an errant lock of hair behind my ear.

"Was Pete telling the truth? Did you not believe I would have come if you had told me your mother wanted to see me?" I shifted in his arms to make sure I could see his face when I asked the question. I met his clear hazel eyes and they appeared hesitant.

"It's not that I didn't think you would have..." He paused and stroked my hair with so much silent affection. "I was afraid to confront you about it. It would have been uncomfortable to ask you to meet her."

"That's in your head."

"I know that now."

"Then I hope in the future you won't assume anything. Ask me first."

"I will," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

I inclined my face into his hand and closed my eyes, trying to hold on to him. "I'm going to excuse you because you're clearly not educated enough on how relationships work," I remarked with a smile in my voice. "You've had flings, but none were bothered enough to teach you anything?"

He pressed his lips close to my ear. "We were too busy learning about the physical part." He chuckled when I pinched him in the arm. "Are you okay with Pete being here?"

"I can't exactly avoid him and we're okay with each other. Has he spoken to you?"

"Yes," he revealed softly and smoothed back my hair. "We had a chance to talk about things." He didn't clarify what that thing was.

"You seem to have done a lot of talking over the past few days." My eyebrows knitted together and a smile played on her lips. "Rogue, I'm so happy that you got your parents back. You told them everything and I can't imagine how hard that must have been."

"It was hard," he whispered, his hand still stroking my hair away from my forehead. "I didn't expect it to be this easy. If I knew it was going to be like that, I would have told them a long time ago. I'm just glad I'm not going to regret not being honest with them." He leaned toward me and kissed my shoulder. "Thank you for giving me the confidence to."

My heart seemed to swell in my chest. "It's all you." Rogue kissed me up higher toward my neck. "Your mum doesn't seem to hate Pete, so that's good." He kissed me higher. I closed my eyes and held my breath.