Liliana's PoV

"You really need to stop showing up and demanding to meet me," I almost yelled at Sebastian as I got into the car for our nightly drives even though we've only done this once before. "Last time you did that, you almost fucked things up for good between us."

"No, I didn't," he said, completely denying it.

"Just shut up and drive."

"We're not gonna stay quiet. We're gonna get to know each other again so I won't shut up," he said with a smile. I let out a sigh.

"I'd much rather be asleep but..."

"Stop complaining."

"You still afraid of spiders?," I asked, trying to keep my laughter tucked away inside me. He glared at me for a second as he looked away from the open road. "What? I'm just trying to get to know you again."

"Fuck you," he hissed out. I couldn't keep my laughter in as it bubbled out of my throat.

"We did that around six years ago," I shrugged. He rolled his eyes.

"I want a bracelet," I spoke randomly. "I've seen it online. It's got a bunch of knots on it and every time you overcome something, you unknot one of the knots. For me, what I would try to overcome is all of my fears."

"Sounds cool," he mumbled, making me think he wasn't even listening to me.

"Yeah, I got the idea about unknotting the knots from a movie," I shrugged.

"You remember that house I was designing and actually building before you...," he spoke, trailing off at the end. I nodded my head, urging him to continue. "It's done and completely furnished."

"So it's just sitting there? With no one in it?"

"Exactly. I was wondering if you'd wanna move in there," he said slowly, looking at me worriedly.

"It's your house," I spoke. "I'm not gonna live in your house especially when we aren't even together."

"We are together," he spoke. "In my head, we are." I rolled my eyes.

"In mine, we aren't," I said flatly.

"New Years was last night," he spoke, randomly.

"Really? How did I not realise?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "You were always a heavy sleeper. You probably didn't hear any fireworks." I silently agreed. We're in the new year.

That means I only have one more week here before I go back to the UK as Elena.

Obviously, I'm not gonna stay there but I'm gonna have to quit my job and move my stuff out of the house and sell it.

That's too much effort.

"Oh my god," I said loudly, in shock, as I ducked in my seat in an attempt to cover my face. I seriously forgot he's a multi-billionaire and that the paparazzi follow him around like dogs.

"Fuck," he hissed out as he glanced in one of the mirrors seeing them chase after us in a car with the camera lights flashing every two seconds. He slammed his foot down on the accelerator making my head slam back into the headrest as we zoomed down the street.

He glanced at me worriedly before glancing in the side mirror again. "Your head okay?," he asked.

"Yeah. How the fuck did they know what car we're in?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"Fuck knows. Sometimes, I regret making the businesses legal," he muttered out angrily as he swerved through lanes, just missing oncoming cars.

I didn't say word. "Oh shit, there's more!"

We swerved through lanes and turned onto random roads and drove down narrow alleyways. Almost twenty minutes later, we lost them and the speed of the car slowly decreased as a relaxed atmosphere took over.

"That happens daily?"

He nodded his head. "When I'm out for fucking dinner or just driving a fucking car."

"I would say it's a shame I can't relate but it's really not," I spoke.

He let out a chuckle. "Wanna eat?"

"It's past midnight."

"So?"

~

"Make a mess in my car and I will personally clean it up using your body," he threatened.

"No, you wouldn't," I shrugged him off. He didn't say a word knowing how right I am.

He opened his mouth as he deliberately put two hands on the steering wheel. I looked at him strangely. He narrowed his eyes at me. "I bought you the food. Least you could do is put some fries in my mouth."

"And where are your hands?"

"Busy trying to keep you alive," he simply replied. I let out a sigh and grabbed a bunch of fries before shoving them in his mouth. He glared at me as his cheeks slightly puffed out, showing just how full his mouth was. He chewed on the fries, clearly struggling.

"Want me to feed you some more?," I offered innocently.

He flipped me off, making me let out a huge laugh. "That hand doesn't seem so busy anymore."

"Fuck you," he said with his mouth full, the words not coming out clearly.

"You said that before."

~

Sebastian's PoV

I watched Liliana stuffing her face with fries as she looked out of the window. Music played quietly in the background. I can't help but to admit that here, right now, with her next to me, I feel calm and happy for once.

But we're friends, for now.

And for now, if that's the only way I can be around her, then I'll take it.

I didn't realise she had started singing until it sounded like she was screaming. "-FUCK YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS THAT I'LL NEVER SEE AGAIN EVERYBODY BUT YOUR DOG-."

I turned the volume down. She glared at me before gasping. "Oh my god," she said, her eyes wide. "I forgot about Bear."

Our dog. The one we all bought her together for her birthday.

"How the fuck could I forget about my own dog?"

"He's fine," I shrugged. "He doesn't like Isabella much." We both let out a chuckle at that.

Bear has his own little dog room. He can walk around the whole house but he prefers to stay in there, probably because it's as far away from Isabella as possible.

"Who fucking wouldn't? He's got good senses."

"Agreed."

"Do you think he'll remember me?," she asked gingerly. I nodded my head.

"Probably. Dogs can remember scents and faces apparently." We stayed silent for a moment. "Have you even seen or spoken to your family since you came back?"

She stayed silent and looked out of the window instead. She let out a scoff, "You can't judge me. I can feel your judgeyness radiating off you. Stop judging me, I'm not the one who put my mom in a cage."

"Because she made me shoot you."

"She wasn't holding the gun," she spoke. And just like that, the once relaxed atmosphere had turned tense. It was suffocating me.

"How the fuck can you say that to me?," I spat out. "How the fuck can you say that especially when you know she threatened to kill you herself? If she shot you, she would have aimed for your heart."

"I'm just speaking facts," she spoke calmly. "I'm not trying to argue with you. I'm just saying she didn't physically force the gun in your hands and she didn't force your finger to press the trigger."

"I felt so fucking guilty. I thought I killed you. Turns out you faked your death and ran away." She stayed silent. "She would have killed you if I didn't do it. A little gratitude would be nice."

"Gratitude! For what?," she yelled, laughing sarcastically even though she was angry. I don't think I've ever seen her this angry. "You fucking put a bullet in me! I have a fucking scar on my shoulder that I'm terrified to look at!"

I stayed silent. What could I say? What could I say that would make her feel better? Absolutely nothing because I can't just say a spell and undo the past.

This is a conversation we're not ready to have but we know we have to talk about it. To be honest, I'm dreading it.

~

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