"This is insane! I am not getting anywhere!" Lia cried pushing the laptop away.

"What's wrong?" I asked sitting next to her on the couch.

"What sort of a stupid city is this? There is not a single affordable apartment here", she whined.

"Well, welcome back to New York. You should look for some more time. I am sure you will find something affordable", I told her.

"I have been trying for five days now, Amy! There is nothing. You know I am yet starting my residency years, right? So, I have to be close to the hospital and my budget is not that high", she pouted.

"I told you that you can stay here", I told her.

"I don't want to be a bother, Amy. Besides, this place is far from my hospital and I can't drive so much in middle of the night if there is an emergency. You know I am not scared of driving but, when you have to get up from middle of sleep, it is difficult. Your car can cr-"

"I get the point, Lia. Back to the problem?" I cut her off from wandering away from the topic.

"Sorry", she said sheepishly.

"Why don't you stay with Luke until you find an affordable place? His place is close to the hospital", I suggested.

"No, I am not staying with him. He just has one room and Connor is staying over most of the time. I don't want to crash on his couch and be the third wheel. They just got engaged. They need their privacy too", Lia pursed her lips.

"Hmmm", I nodded in agreement.

"I guess I will just stay in that apartment I went to see yesterday", Lia pouted.

"No! Absolutely not. That area is not safe at all", I scolded her.

"I don't have a choice and I am not scared. These men who think that women are their property haven't met me yet. I will punch them until they beg for their lives", Lia said scowling.

"Yes, of course. Because when they come to meet you, they will definitely not have any weapons on them and obviously, they will be alone against you, right?" I asked her sarcastically.

"Stop dissuading me", Lia pouted lightly.

"I am not dissuading you. I am telling you not to stay there at all. Period. Aaron's at the office right now. Let him come home and then you can ask him. He will probably have some ideas to help you", I told her.

"How are things between both of you?" she asked with a doubtful look.

I laughed nervously, "Good. Everything is good. Don't worry."

"Now, you are gonna to lie to me?" Lia asked me.

I sighed, "Things are...weird. Aaron hasn't spoken to me since that night. He is avoiding me. Today is Sunday. He left at eight in the morning and he is still in office at seven."

"I am sorry, Amy. It happened because I dropped like a bomb out of nowhere, right? I mean you would have told him eventually in a better manner if I didn't arrive suddenly like this", Lia said sadly.

"No, it is not your fault. It is mine. I should have told him earlier. But, I was scared. I was scared of his reaction. We didn't even know where you were. I told Luke to find you because I couldn't do it with Aaron being around. We decided to not tell him anything until we know for sure where you are. I didn't want to give him any partial information. That night right before you arrived, I was going to tell him. I guess he would have reacted like this anyways", I shrugged.

"You want me to knock sense into him for you? I am telling you, one or two smacks on his head and he will start thinking straight again", Lia suggested making my eyes widen in shock.

"Lia! Do you realise that there are better ways to knock sense into people, right? Besides, he is not wrong this time", I explained to her.

"I was just giving you an option. Anyways, forget it. He will talk to you soon. Maybe he is just a little slow like I had said. He needs time for things to sink in. Let's talk more fun stuff. Tell me, how did you both meet?" Lia asked me with a bright smile.

"At your da-Arthur Lawson's funeral. I didn't know he was such a..foul man-"

"Asshole, you mean", Lia completed for me.

"Lia!"

"What? It is true, Amy", Lia rolled her eyes.

"But, still, he is your..." I trailed off not knowing if she will like it if I call him her father.

"He is nothing to me. Why do you think I didn't come for his funeral too? I knew he was dead. I had seen it in papers. But, I didn't come because it didn't matter. He died for me the day I found out how he helped Marcus hide it all", Lia told me honestly.

I nodded my head as I continued, "Anyways, I was sad to lose him because I thought he had done a lot of good things for many people."

Lia scoffed, "That asshole did good things only for his bastard of a son."

"Okay, if you are going to keep interrupting me at every sentence, this is not going to end in forever", I told her.

"Okay, sorry. I won't say a word now, I promise", Lia pretended to zip her lips.

I just chuckled and I continued telling her Aaron and my love story. She stayed on mute for exactly eleven minutes, which is a record time for her by the way, until she spoke again.

"You did what?!"

"Hey! Don't yell, okay? Years ago, you played that beach prank on your ex-boyfriend too", I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yes, but not after sundown!" Lia exclaimed.

"Anyways, after I came out, Aaron pulled me out of water. He scolded me for a few minutes and then...", I trailed off for her to guess.

"You had sex on the beach?" Lia asked with her eyes widened.

"We kissed, woman! We kissed! My first kiss, remember? That's why we started talking about this part of the story in the first place", I told her looking at her unbelievably.

"Aww! You had your first kiss! That was so cute", Lia cooed.

"Yes, it was. But really? Sex on the beach, Lia? How can you just jump to that from a prank?" I asked chuckling.

"Well, you both are two hot people and were in love at that point", Lia shrugged and I shook my head.

Lia went back to her apartment search as my thoughts trailed once more. I still haven't told Lia about the truth of this marriage. I know I am committing the same mistake of hiding facts one more time. But, I want to settle things with Aaron first. One problem at a time.

What I told Lia was just a small gist of things between us. I haven't seen Aaron for more than three minutes total in last five days. He leaves for office even before I get up and comes back after I sleep. He ensures that I don't cross paths with him at all in the office. Things between us are worse than ever before. Even while we had the revenge between us, Aaron used to meet me at dinner every night. But, since last five days, he hasn't even bothered to do so. The Aaron, who once ensured that I ate all my meals properly and that I was sleeping well, now doesn't even bother to see if I reached home safe from work or not. It is like I have become non-existent for him. I get his updates from Peter and Daniel.

Daniel surprisingly took this revelation really well. He didn't care if I was Marcus Lawson's sister or not. For him, I was still his sister, Amy. I wish Aaron would see that too.

If not, I could make him see it. If only, he would talk to me for two minutes.

I blinked back my tears and closed my eyes. I wish he'd just come home right now so that I can finally see him at least.

Just at that moment, the main door opened making Lia's and my head snap to it.

Maybe someone just heard my wish because Aaron just walked in.

He shut the door behind himself and when he turned his eyes accidentally met mine. For the first time in five days, we were seeing each other eye to eye.

I took in his face which had lost all the glow it had since his accident. He had grown a light subtle and his eyes had lost the mirth in them. His hair looked disheveled as if he hadn't combed them since days.

His eyes left mine and fell on Lia as he took a step away from the door. He smiled at Lia and said, "Hello, Lia. Good to see you. I didn't know you were here."

"Hey, Aaron. I just came over to give Amy company. Hope I am not an uninvited guest for tonight", Lia smiled back.

"No, of course not. You can come and go anytime you want. Besides, I just came to drop off some files. I am leaving soon", Aaron smiled at her.

Leaving soon? Guess, I celebrated a bit sooner.

"Excuse me", I said and left to the kitchen as tears started to flow from my eyes.

I know I made a mistake. But, this is getting worse and worse. He had also hurt me bad but, I did give him a chance to explain, right? Then, why can't he do the same? Just avoiding me like this isn't going to get us anywhere.

And it is not like he is behaving rudely with everyone. He talks sweetly and smiles brightly at Lia, who he just met a few days ago. He just constantly avoids me and pretends like I don't exist. Even seeing me after days had no effect on him at all. He was looking at me as if he didn't even know me anymore.

I took a few deep breaths and drank a glass of water to calm myself down.

Two days. If I do not get a chance to talk to him in next two days, I will barge into his office and make him listen, if I have to. Peter can get me a free slot in his schedule.

I made up my mind scowling at the sink.

I went out of the kitchen and saw that he was still talking to Lia.

"Amy, guess what?" Lia said noticing me.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Aaron solved my problem. He said that since his brother, Dan is going in and out of the city a lot of times, he needs a flatmate to take care of his apartment and also, it is close to my hospital. So, he is going to talk to him and let me know. Also, if that doesn't work, he said I can stay at one of the Kingston Hotels for time being", Lia smiled happily.

"Great! I am sure Daniel will agree", I smiled at Lia and looked at Aaron from the corner of my eyes. He was just looking at Lia with a straight face.

Lia looked between us and bit her lip. We stayed silent for some time. Until Aaron finally broke it, "Okay, then. I will talk to Dan and probably, you can meet him here tomorrow afternoon, if he agrees. I'll...go back to office now."

He got up to leave to his room, probably to take a shower before going back. When he turned his back on us, I signalled Lia to do something to make him stop.

Lia signalled me back as to ask what can she do and that I should say something. I shook my head at her and signalled her to talk to Aaron.

"Aaron!" Lia yelled suddenly closing her eyes shut and bit her lip. Aaron turned around surprised and I looked at my hand pretending to be interested in something there.

"Aaron, why don't you...stay back for dinner? It is already eight. So, we can have together", Lia asked him with a fake innocence.

"I wish I could, Lia. But, there is work in office that needs to be attended to", Aaron shrugged.

"Come on, Aaron. It is Sunday evening. You can do it tomorrow", Lia told him.

"It is important. Besides, I will have to stay home tomorrow since, Dan and you need to meet", Aaron said averting his eyes and I knew he is lying.

"Please, Aaron. Amy will really like it too", Lia told him making my head snap to her.

What the hell? Why did she have to put me in spot? Now, he will never agree.

I gulped nervously saying, "I...I..it would be..nice if you can."

Aaron just looked at me expressionlessly as I avoided looking at him. Then, he just averted his eyes to Lia and said, "I'll change and talk to Dan."

He smiled at her and left to his room.

"Guess we have a party of three tonight", Lia smirked and winked at me as soon as Aaron closed the door.

"Are you nuts? Why did you put me in the spot?" I whispered running to her side.

"What spot? You are his wife. He is got to do anything if only it will make you happy. That is the lowest mark that he has to cut", Lia shrugged.

"But, we are in the middle of a fight right now, Lia!" I exclaimed.

"And yet, he agreed to stay without another argument, didn't he? It only means that his anger is waning off. I'd say try talking to him tonight after I leave", Lia told me pointedly.

"I doubt he will even spare me a glance after you leave", I scoffed.

"Seduce him, babe. Trust me, seduction is the answer to all problems when it comes to men. They always fall for it and never learn."

I just stared at her making sure she really said this and I am not just imagining it.

"You do realise what it makes you sound like, right?" I asked her.

"Well, I have had a few relationships in and before high school. Of course, not like those whores, Jasmine and her little group of minions. But, yeah, what can I say? I am hot", she shrugged.

I just shook my head and chuckled as Aaron got out of his room. He had changed into comfortable clothes and Lia shut her laptop as we got up to go eat.

"I already spoke to Dan. He has agreed so, you can see him tomorrow at around noon?" Aaron told Lia as we started eating.

"You told him about my budget, right?" Lia asked him.

"Yeah, about that. You really don't have to-"

"No, Aaron. It is not possible. I don't take favours without a price. This is enough help from your end anyways", Lia cut him off.

"I guess I'll just say it is between both of you then", Aaron shrugged.

"Thanks, Aaron", Lia smiled and the topic changed.

The dinner became really awkward towards the end actually. Lia kept trying to get me and Aaron to talk to each other while Aaron kept changing the topic each time so that he didn't have to talk to me. Eventually, Lia gave up and the dinner ended without any more awkwardness.

As the dinner ended, Lia got up after sometime and began leaving. She said she had to get up early for the hospital visit tomorrow morning.

When I followed her outside to see her out, she turned and said, "Remember what I said, okay? Try talking to him and if not, give him some time. Say a day or two more. He'll come around."

I nodded at her and the elevator pinged.

"If he really loves you for who you are, this shouldn't matter to him and if it does...well, let's just say that there are more men in the world", Lia winked as the elevator door shut.

I just smiled and shook my head. When I went back inside our home, I saw that Aaron was nowhere to be found. He had already left to his room without waiting for me to get back.

I sighed and I thought, 'Two days, Mr. Kingston. Two days and you better come around.'

"I had the worst morning in the history of mornings! What the hell has happened to the people in this city? Have they always been this obnoxious or they changed recently!" Lia yelled when I opened the door and she walked in.

"What the hell happened to your shirt?" I asked her noticing the huge coffee stain.

"That bloody ass of a jerk did!" she yelled back.

"Okay, why don't you change first and hopefully you will calm down a little and talk more than just abusive words", I suggested and dragged her to my room.

"Wow, you have got a nice room here!" Lia said as she saw the room for the first time. She hasn't seen the house yet except the kitchen and the living room so, she looked around as I grabbed a pair of my clothes for her.

"Here, this should work. There's the bathroom", I pointed and she went to get fresh.

The bell rang again and I shouted outside the bathroom door, "Lia, I think Daniel's here. I'll go check the door. You come out as soon as you are done."

"Okies", she yelled back and I went out.

But, by the time I reached, Aaron had already opened the door. It was the first time we had seen each other since morning and we just looked at each other briefly as Dan walked in.

"Hey, bro. Hey, Amy", Daniel said making us look at him.

"Hey", I smiled.

"Why are you in such a sad mood, brother?" Aaron asked him with a frown.

But, before Daniel could answer, Lia opened the door saying, "Amy, why are your-YOU!"

"YOU!" Daniel yelled back.

They both stomped toward each other meeting each other halfway.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lia yelled at Daniel.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Daniel yelled back.

"Why are you following me? I told you. You can shove that laundry money up your ass!" Lia yelled at him angrily.

"First of all, who do you think you are? Queen Elizabeth? I am not following you. I can come in and go whenever I want and wherever I want. Secondly, I am not paying you a penny after what you did!" Daniel yelled at her angrily.

"I didn't do anything! I was just doing my duty as a responsible citizen!" Lia told him.

"Responsible citizen, my ass! It was just revenge for you!" Daniel yelled at her.

"Have you both...met each other before?" I asked with confusion. Obviously, they did but, I had to say something to cut their argument short.

"Yes!" they both yelled at me in unison.

"Amy, this is the same bloody ass of a jerk who spilled coffee on me today morning! And he didn't even bother saying a sorry! Bloody idiot! Instead he, very arrogantly, fucking told me that he will pay for my laundry bill if only I'd shut up!" Lia told me angrily.

"Yeah, I did that because she wouldn't let me speak! She was on and on and on about what a stupid man I am. Me? Daniel Kingston! No one has ever called me stupid before!" Daniel cried.

"You were stupid enough to blindly walk into me!" Lia yelled at me.

"It was not just my fault! You were looking into your phone too!" Daniel yelled back and Lia just scoffed.

"Additionally, you started lecturing me about male chauvinism out of nowhere! Tell me honestly, Amy. Did I ever come across as a male chauvinist to you?" Daniel asked me.

I just shook my head in a no still confused on how to react.

"I think it is only a small misunderstanding between you two", Aaron spoke for the first time.

"Misunderstanding?! My date got messed up because of her misunderstanding!" Daniel exclaimed.

"What?" Aaron asked in confusion.

"Yes! This mad woman went and gave a lecture to my date about god knows what that she just decided to leave! I went to the restroom and by the time I returned, I was dumped!" Daniel exclaimed.

We were staring at him in shock for a few seconds, until Aaron broke into fits of laughter. Slowly, the fits of laughter turned into him bawling with laughter.

It is so good to see him laughing finally after days!

I smiled as I saw him finally catching his breath.

"Okay. So, now I get what all of this is about. You are angry because you got dumped for the first time in your life", Aaron chortled.

"I didn't get dumped! My girlfriend was manipulated into dumping me! By her!" Daniel yelled pointing to Lia making Aaron laugh harder.

"I was just making her see through the façade. I was doing social service!" Lia told him.

"Wait until mom hears this", Aaron laughed making me laugh too.

"You aren't telling her anything! She is already always behind my back", Daniel told Aaron.

"My mom's gonna love you, by the way", Aaron told Lia, finally controlling his laughter.

"That is if I ever let you meet her!" Daniel yelled.

Lia just smiled at him and glared at Daniel.

"Okay, I think you both just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you just restart?" I offered to them.

"Yes, I agree", Aaron said surprisingly, "Lia, this is my brother, Dan a.k.a Daniel Kingston and Dan, this is Lia Vasques, your new flatmate."

"What? No way!" Lia and Dan exclaimed at the same time.