Lara's eyes scanned the device while she rubbed his thigh. The minute she had laid eyes on a particular set of letters on the EpiPen, she froze.

Turning to Jayden, she shrieked, "Jayden, it's expired!"

"I know," Jayden responded.

"What?"

"I know it's expired. It can still be used."

The expiration date indicated the time at which the full potency and safety of the medication would begin to diminish. This meant that the epinephrine could still be useful long after it expired. Even though its concentration would decline, a single dose would still provide a beneficial pharmacologic response.

"Then why'd they bother to put an expiry date on it?" Lara started to ask, but he instructed,

"Tell Tim to get the car ready." Tim was his parent's driver.

Lara beseeched, "Where are you going in this condition? We-”

“I still need to go to the hospital.”

“Because it’s expired?” she asked in an 'aha!' tone.

“Expired or not, I need to go to the hospital,” he coughed. “Lara, just get my phone and call Tim. Quick.” Using EpiPen was only part of the treatment needed. Anyone who had experienced an anaphylactic reaction needed to be examined and monitored in the ER. This was because anaphylaxis wasn't always a single reaction: the symptoms could rebound.

Lara pushed herself to her feet as she implored, “Where’s your phone?”

“Bed,” he simply stated, a sense of relief washing over him as his body's itchness declined and his dizziness subsided, courtesy of the epinephrine.

Lara immediately retrieved his phone, but she scowled at the messages from different female names in his notification box;

‘jay we need to hang out. mu already’

‘u legit have his smile, im not evn playin’

‘YES!!<3’

‘dude ilysfm’

‘Awdi literally said the same thing #mindblown’

But there was one in particular that had caught Lara’s eye and it had been from Kira;

‘Maybe it’s for the best <3’

What had they been discussing? What was for the best?

Had Jayden told her about their break up?

Did she think it was for the best?

Lara hurriedly called Tim after glancing at Jayden’s dishevelled state on the ground and had informed him of Jayden’s request.

“He’s ready,” she told Jayden.

Jayden then managed to rise to his feet, putting on a pair of brown denim shorts and a black shirt which Lara had brought to him as he wore his shorts.

As he put on the shirt, he surprisingly felt Lara’s hands on his flap.

“There,” she said after zipping his flap and buttoning his shorts. “Let’s go.”

She grabbed the EpiPen, his phone and his wallet as he marched out of his room with strength and stability he feared he might lose in the next thirty minutes if he had another anaphylactic attack.

He occupied the back seat which Tim had held open the door. Lara joined him in the backseat, opening the door from the other side.

No Tim service for her.

She placed her hand in his during the entire drive to the hospital, her soft grasp ensuring him of her support.

***

Three days had passed and Mrs. Benson was finally home from the hospital with Mr. Benson. It had not even been ten minutes when she had abruptly summoned all the maids to the hall. She had brutally interrogated each maid and had had Rachel wrongly fired by courtesy of Brie.

Brie had planted some beta-blocker drugs in Rachel, Lara's roommate's, belongings and after Rachel's things had been searched, revealing the evidence of Mrs. Benson's overdose, she was abruptly fired.

"Brie!" Lara grabbed Brie's arm with Dana locking the room door behind them. Katy and Emma paced the room as well. "We know it was you! We know you're the one who tried to harm Mrs. Benson with the drugs."

Brie snarled, "We were all there when Mrs. Benson found the drugs in Rachel's things."

"You obviously framed her!" Katy snapped, "Now, because of you, Rachel has been fired! Do you feel good? This is the same thing that happened with Tess."

Brie lifted a finger to warn Katy, "I saved Lara's ass for that one, don't compare the two. Lara was responsible for triggering Jayden's memories but the blame was put on Tess. I put it on Tess because she was the one who twisted the story of his past to us."

Brie pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "As for Mrs. Benson, I could care less about her situation. Right now, all that matters to me," she latched her palms to her chest, "is that Mr. Benson is home. I'm going to see him."

"Mrs. Benson, his wife," Katy carefully reminded, "is home too."

"I don't care," Brie shrugged, strutting towards the door. Grabbing the door handle, she said to the four girls in the room, "She was never not home when Mr. Benson and I got freakiest."

Brie fearlessly marched her way to Mr. and Mrs. Benson's room. In her mind, Mrs. Benson's days were numbered.

She, however, had considered herself lucky to have successfully diverted the target from her back to Rachel's, and the poor lady had been fired in effect.

It didn't matter to Brie. The only thing she cared about was her time with Mr. Benson.

She knocked on the door and upon hearing a 'come in' from the voice that always got her weak in the knees, she pushed the door open.

When Mr. Benson laid eyes on her, his lips morphed into a thin line, brows now furrowed.

Brie, after scanning the room and noticing that Mrs. Benson was asleep, registered the unwelcoming look on Mr. Benson's face and inquired, "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Mr. Benson rose from the bed, "She needs her rest. Leave."

"No," Brie grimaced. "I have something to tell you."

Mr. Benson pinched the bridge of his nose. He had had it with Brie. Getting involved with her was a mistake he was now paying for. In what other language did he need to explain to this girl that they were over and done for?

"I have no business with you."

"Not after what I'm about to tell you."

Mr. Benson regarded Brie who now turned on her heel and walked away from the door towards the laundry room. He followed her, curious to hear what she had to say.

Inside the laundry room, he demanded, "What is it?"

Brie smirked at the man. No other man would do. Just no other. She had gotten a taste of Mr. Benson and assured herself that there was no other man capable of replacing him.

Younger men weren't her thing. They were inexperienced and lacked the roughness she craved. She had been with many of them to know this.

Mr. Benson was definitely not her first but he certainly would be her last.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she murmured, "I love you."

Shock twisted Mr. Benson's handsome but grown features, anger and tiredness now coursing through his veins. "Don't be naive. You don't know what that word means."

"I do now because of you."

"How many times do I have to tell you-" Mr. Benson paused when the door to the laundry room flew open.

Jayden locked his eyes on Brie who still had her arms wrapped around his father's neck, his gaze travelling to his father's, firmly locking with his.

"So, it is true," Jayden muttered, a pint of anger mixed with disappointment laced his voice and dimmed his eyes. "You've been cheating on my mother with... her," he muttered in disgust.

"Son," Mr. Benson pushed Brie away to separate himself from her, Brie wincing from the shove.

Jayden cut in, "How dare you do that to mum? After everything. After every goddamn thing."

"Nothing's going on. It's all over. It happened in the past. I'll explain everything."

"Save it for her," Jayden warned, "You owe it to her. You're willing to throw away twenty-one years of marriage for this fleeting..." Jayden fixed his gaze on a nonchalant Brie with annoyance. He couldn't stand the brat. She ignorantly stood there, feeling like the Queen of the castle as she grew a little smirk on her cursed lips.

Jayden wanted to wipe the sly grin off her face and punch the awkwardness off his father's face, but he decided against it.

Instead, he turned to the door to leave, but was halted by his father who firmly requested,

"Don't tell your mother."

Jayden turned to face him and his father went on, "I'll explain everything to her."

"When?"

His father seemed to dislike his tone as his facial expression hardened. "Soon. Don't forget, I kept your relationship with Lara hidden, as per your wish."

"Oh, you wanna go there?" Jayden inquired, surprised his father was attempting to use that against him, "That's what you want to hold on to. Don't worry, I wasn't going to tell mum. That's your job." Jayden clarified before adding,

"And if you must know, Lara and I aren't together anymore. We broke up a week ago. Even so, my relationship with Lara affected mum in no way whatsoever. But, I can't say the same about yours."

Brie finally found her snarly voice, "You're the reason Lara hurt herself. Don't go acting like a saint when you're not."

"What?" Jayden's confusion was very evident on his face, "What are you talking about?"

"She hurt herself. Her wrists are bruised. You didn't even care about her feelings. You could have saved your relationship, but what did you do?"

Jayden announced, "The last thing I'm gonna do is taking relationship advice from your pitiful self." Turning to his father, he advised, "You need to tell mum you've been a disgusting cheat and fire this lousy woman from this house."

With that, Jayden took his leave, but not before his father promised, "I will, but I can't at the moment. She just returned from the hospital. I can't give her news like this until she has fully recovered."

Jayden marched right into Lara's bedroom where Dana had been lying on the recently fired Rachel's bed, with Lara lying on hers as well.

"Lara, I need to talk to you."

Dana, upon hearing Jayden and from the way he had barged in, slowly rose from the bed saying,

"I'll see you later, chica."

She left the exes alone, giving them all the privacy they needed.

Immediately, Jayden walked in front of Lara where she sat and grasped her hands, earning a shocked yelp from Lara.

"What are you-"

He turned her hands over so her wrists came into view, the faint blueish hue discolouring her wrists.

"Why?"

Lara figured Brie must have unnecessarily approached Jayden in her defense. She mentally sighed. She didn't need any more drama with Jayden; she wanted everything to be fine between them.

"It's not because of you, so don't in any way blame yourself," she began as she withdrew her hands from his grasp and placed them on her lap, "It was mainly myself. You know that moment when everything that's bothered you in the past comes tumbling down overwhelmingly?"

"Yeah, but this is not the way to go," Jayden empathetically advised, taking a seat beside her on her bed, missing her presence instantly.

"I know, and it won't happen again. I won't hurt myself, ever."

Jayden nodded, "Good to know."

After a brief moment of silence, Jayden informed, "I found my father with Brie in the laundry room."

Lara's eyes widened, lips parting, but no sound coming out. Now, he knew with whom his father had been cheating on his mother.

"What happened?"

Jayden sighed, "I just can't believe it's actually true. Why would he do that? Especially with my mother's worker. I've never been more disappointed. I used to look up to him, use his lifestyle as a huge motivation to be a better man each day, but now I feel like an utter fool."

Lara wrapped her arms around Jayden in a warm embrace, "Don't say that," she cooed, "You're far from a fool. If anything, you're one of the best people I know. You're an amazing person."

And for the first time in a while around Lara, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I appreciate that."