With a strong inhale, Jayden's eyes immediately flew open. He stared at the roof of a room.

"Jayden," Kira grabbed his arm, her elation beyond words could describe.

He had finally awoken from his coma.

Just then, Lara rushed in with the doctor. The minute she saw him awake, she yelped, "Oh my God, he's awake!"

After a few tests had been ran on him, Lara and Kira had been allowed back into the room.

Lara held his right arm while Kira placed her hand in his left hand.

"You've always been a fighter," Kira commended with the brightest smile. He slowly returned her smile, then shifted his gaze to Lara on his other side. She had tears in her eyes.

"I," she hesitated, "I thought I was going to lose you. I couldn't bear it."

"Not that easily," a soft smile graced his lips as one graced Lara's as well.

After he explained everything that had happened in the coma with Lil Jay, he had asked to speak with Kira in private for a few minutes.

He would speak privately with Lara after, so Lara excused them, leaving the room to enter the waiting room right outside.

Things had taken such a rough turn, but when had life ever been easy?

"Kira," he began, placing his unoccupied hand over the back of hers which was still in his hand, "You're the purest soul I know. Looking back, I still wonder why you helped me through it all, after everything."

Kira smiled. She knew true love was when you valued the other person's happiness over yours and made their happiness your priority.

She joked, "I think it's no secret now that I'm drawn to broken souls."

He chuckled as she did.

"But on a more serious note," she said, "I couldn't be prouder of you. I'm literally so proud. Looking back to the moment I found you to this day, you've shown me the true definition of growth. You've made mistakes and you've learned from them. You've matured in a way that your past does not define you anymore, but your present does, thus clearing your path for a better future. And that's what matters."

"Anytime you tell me that you're proud of me, I can't help but want to be a better man. Better than what you're being proud of."

She smiled, "I know you'll continue to be that man. I've seen it."

Jayden's gaze softened, "I want to apologise for every pain I caused you. I am truly sorry for everything I put you through. I-"

"Jayden," she squeezed his hand, a grin adorning her beautiful features, "You've apologised a billion times. Let it rest. Please."

His face playfully twisted in agony and she went on, "When you truly care for someone, their mistakes hardly change your feelings because it's the mind that gets angry, but the heart still cares."

Adding on, she said, "Besides, I don't need your words to let me know that you're truly sorry." She explained, "Sorry is nothing. The real apology comes when you can look in their eyes and see they hurt themselves just as much. And every time I look into your eyes, I see it. I feel it."

Jayden's sincere gaze rested on hers as he murmured, "Thank you for everything, Kira."

Kira responded by leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on his forehead. He closed his eyes and appreciated her warm gesture. Her friendship was all he could ever ask for.

She withdrew from him and informed, "I'll go get Lara now." She knew he was unaware that she had begun to catch feelings for him, the matured renewed version of him, but she also knew deep down that they were better off as good friends. From today onwards, their friendship would only strengthen, blossoming into that exquisite flower in the land of the bland.

He nodded appreciatively, watching as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Kira held a special place in his heart. No one could ever replace it. His awakening had opened his eyes to several things, but the most important being that life was worth living. Bad experiences were inevitable, but maybe they happened so people could share their stories with others and impact their lives in ways they had never thought possible.

He would live his life and share his story to inspire others who went through similar situations.

In a few seconds, Lara pushed open the door. She laid eyes on Jayden whose eyes had found hers as well.

She immediately rushed to his side and crushed him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Ow," he chuckled as he hugged her back.

"It was really hard," she agonised after pulling out from the embrace.

"Lara," his voice soothed.

"You don't understand how much. I know we aren't together anymore but... the thought of losing you for good... I just-"

He assured, "I'm here. I'm not going anytime soon."

"Promise?" she begged, "When I realised I could lose you at any point in time, I nearly went mad. You mean so much to me, Jayden, I realised how much when you were lying in that bed, unmoving. Everything we've been through replayed in my mind, and I just couldn't let you go. I couldn't," she sobbed.

"I'm here," he repeated, joining his hand with hers and squeezing reassuringly, "I'm not going anytime soon."

She softly squeezed back, "That's good."

She had missed him, dearly. No matter what had happened between them, he was still the man she loved. Some of her actions in the past had not been a good representation of her love for him, but she was ready to rectify it all. Naivety had shed off her skin when Jayden had been left bedridden. This man was a pure gem and she couldn't understand why she hadn't realised it until now. She was ready to restart with him, to treat him like the gem he was, just like he had treated her. She was ready to make things right only if he'd allow it.

She informed, "D'you know that you'd been in the coma for two weeks?"

"Two weeks?" he was surprised. It felt like a day.

"Yeah. Your parents had just left the hospital for home this morning after staying at the hospital all night. They left a couple of minutes before you woke up. But they've been informed of your awakening so they're on their way back."

Jayden nodded.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, hand still in his, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

He groaned, "Stiff, but blessed to be alive. Sad too cuz I miss Lil Jay."

Lara flashed him a smile, "But that little boy is you."

Lil Jay had grown up. The little bubbly boy had grown into the man half-seated on the hospital bed.

"I know, and I can't help but feel like I've failed him."

"No, you haven't. This is real life. It's never rosy without thorns. You're pushing really hard and I know he's proud of you for that."

He's proud of you, the words replayed in Jayden's mind.

After a comforting moment of silence filled with simmering thoughts, Jayden broke the silence,

"We've been through a hell of a ride, and even though I'm sorry for the way some things were handled between us, I don't regret our time together," he looked into her eyes, meaning every single word he uttered.

"I don't regret it too," Lara confessed. "I don't regret being with you. If I'm being honest, it was the best time I'd ever had. In spite of the lousy way I had handled your father's issue at the lakehouse, I had the absolute best time with you during those thirty days of no sexual contact."

She softly added, "I'm sorry for the hell I put you through," which elicited a chuckle from Jayden's lips,

"If you call this hell-" he said, implying that he had been through much worse. What she had put him through had been nothing compared to what he had faced throughout his life.

After a brief moment of silent reminiscing, holding each other hand in hand, Kira knocked on the door and piped her head in informing, "Jayden, your parents are here."

"A minute."

After Kira closed the door, Jayden managed to sit up properly, comforting his back with a pillow against the headboard.

Lara commented, "So this is it." Her heart thrummed in her chest.

"This is it," Jayden repeated, gaze seizing hers.

"The end of the road?"

He repeated, "The end of the road..."

She paused, before confessing, "I... really want you to give me another chance. To give us another chance. I want us to restart. I want to make things right by you. Would you like to give us another chance?"

The big question.

Would he give their relationship another shot? Would he put the past aside to consider a future with her? Would he give her a chance to make things right?

These were questions he had been asking himself even before she had walked in. He couldn't deny it, he still had feelings for her. Feelings weren't toys one could just throw away when they felt like.

Closing a lid over their fallouts and reminiscing their good times, he could see them rekindling their relationship. A lot had happened between them, but they were meant to be life lessons and experiences to shape up their journey together. He could also tell she was very sorry for her past mistakes with him. Just as Kira had mentioned, he could see it in her eyes. He could feel the remorse oozing out of her lovely skin. He had already forgiven her. And maybe, just maybe, things would be different between them.

"Lara, it is possible."

Her eyes lit up. There was a chance to rekindle their relationship. He was giving them a chance. She would be the best girlfriend ever. She would make things right by him. She would hold onto him forever.

However, she froze when he had added a 'but'.

Her widened eyes urged him to continue speaking, which he did, "I cannot date you if you're my personal maid. I'm not doing that."

She questioned, "So if I wasn't your personal maid-if I wasn't working for you, would you date me?"

He paused, "Maybe," he chuckled when he saw her elated expression. The look of someone who had just gotten a weight lifted off her shoulders. For her, it felt like she had been forgiven for every wrongdoing in the past.

Jayden went on, "Maybe it would happen. Maybe not. Who knows? Let's just see what the future holds in store."

Lara nodded. It was better than a no. There was still a chance. In a murmur, she confessed, "I'll miss you. Are we going to be friends?"

"I don't see why not," he said, "With time, it'll all fall in place. And I'll miss you too."

A light blush crept into Lara's cheeks. She drew closer to him on the bed, and with a swift lean, her lips urgently met his.

Jayden held her chin between his thumb and index finger and deepened the kiss with her. Their lips melded in complete unison. How long it had been since they had joined lips.

Jayden's fingers latched onto her hair, tongue sensually dancing with hers as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss more.

They both knew what this kiss meant. What it was. A parting kiss. A lover's last. A passionate seal to wrap up their time together in a little box with a pretty bow on top. A hot goodbye. A long, 'till we meet again'.

Interrupting their unending liplock were his parents who had now barged in impatiently. His mother could not believe that she had been told to wait outside to see her son because he had been occupied with Lara. How on earth was Lara having more importance than she was?

"That's enough," his mother grunted, standing still at the door with the man she now loathed with her entire being. Her cheating husband.

Jayden and Lara then pulled out of the kiss. They held each other's gazes for a few seconds before Lara gave him a final embrace, and detached herself from the bed, whispering, "Bye."

Soft, calm but held so much meaning.

"Bye," he replied, a tinge of sadness worming its way into his heart, but the overwhelming feeling of freedom overshadowing it.

He and Lara were officially over.

His mother rushed to his side after Lara had left, saying, "Do you know how worried sick you left us? How could you do that to us?"

Jayden shook his head disappointedly. After getting hit by a car, and ending up in a coma, the first thing his mother could do after finding him awake was to blame him for it all? Blame him for his accident and coma?

When would she ever learn?

"I'm sorry for making you worried." Jayden apologised. His father approached the other side of his bed,

"How are you feeling?"

"Not bad. A little stiff, but it's good."

His father responded, "Good. Thank God you're safe and fine. When we get home, we'll have a very needed family talk."

"Count me out," Jayden advised. "When we get home, I'll be packing my stuff and moving out to my own space. I'm done with that house, I'm done with your never-ending secrets, and I am very well done with personal maids."

From Florence to Kira, to Josey, Tess, then Lara. His personal maids who had major influences on the structure of his life today. He was done with this personal maid saga.

His mother worriedly protested, "You don't have to leave. There will be no more secrets. If this is about what Tess and Josey told you- Honey, we are truly sorry for some things we did in the past. But the past is the past and we have to look beyond that."

"Don't worry, I forgive you for whatever you think you did wrong by me. But, this is about me. It's about what I need. And I don't need that house. I most especially don't need personal maids. I don't need you. I don't need the pain I get when I'm around you. I need to breathe. I need fresh air."

He finally added, "I need peace."

His parents remained silent as he went on, "I need to resonate with happiness and nurture my inner-peace. And I can't do that while living under that roof."

Jayden had already made up his mind. He was on a journey for inner-peace and self-love. He didn't choose his parents, he didn't choose Kira, and he most especially didn't choose Lara.

He chose himself.