Waking up the next morning, Erik felt a wave of nausea overtake his senses. He knew the feeling wasn't food related but rather to do with the woman who was probably still lying asleep, only a few doors down from his bedroom. Despite coming to terms with the fact that Bianca was dealing with some severe guilt, he felt the need to have another talk with her this morning and to clear the air about their past, one final time. After that, Erik would promise to keep his distance from her and move on with his life and everything that was good and pure. Pulling the covers off and over his body, Erik walks to the ensuite to freshen up. After having a quick shower and brushing his teeth, Erik changes into a pair of beige slacks, a crisp white shirt and makes his way downstairs. On his way towards the kitchen, Erik hears some clattering and begins to wonder if his maid Agnes has decided to make an unannounced visit. Just as Erik steps into the kitchen, he is instead welcomed by someone else.

"Bianca? What are you doing?" Erik asks, taking note of her easy movements around his cooktop.

"Good morning Erik, I hope you slept well."

"Care to tell me what's going on?" He persists whilst moving to observe her at a closer distance.

Upon closer inspection, Erik sees that Bianca is frying off some bacon and eggs in a pan. Judging by the look of contentment on her face, Erik suddenly feels even more confused than before. Why would Bianca possibly be feeling comfortable enough to start cooking in his kitchen? Without wasting another second, Erik begins his long line of questioning.

"Bianca, tell me what it is you think you're doing?"

"I thought I might make you breakfast to say say thank you." She gently explains.

"I appreciate that, but it's not necessary." Erik replies as a way of warning.

"But it is. You opened up your home to me and I just want you to know how much that means to me." Bianca continues.

Erik pauses for a moment and simply watches as Bianca moves around his kitchen to finish assembling their breakfast. She plates up the food and looks to Erik for confirmation. Unfortunately, the look she receives from him is not one she was prepared for.

"What's wrong?" She timidly asks.

"Bianca, thank you for breakfast and you're welcome to have stayed but this doesn't change anything between us." Erik admits with a frown set between his brows.

"I wish it did." She quietly confesses, while staring down at her food.

Erik takes a deep breath and slowly makes his way around the dining table to sit opposite Bianca. She still hasn't made eye contact with him and that thought alone makes him feel particularly anxious. He doesn't want to upset her anymore than he knows she is already feeling but at the same time, he knows this is his best opportunity to be straight and honest with her.

"I meant what I said yesterday, we can't and never will be anything more than two people who once shared a difficult past together." Erik calmly explains.

"It wasn't always difficult was it?" Bianca questions, while meeting his eyes.

Erik takes a moment to ponder this thought. He can't deny that when things between Bianca and himself were good, they were really good but when they were bad, they were worse than toxic. Eventually, things came to a breaking point and Erik was smart enough to walk away when he seen the chance. For whatever reason, Bianca appeared to be clinging onto some kind of false hope. She seemed hellbent on rekindling some kind of relationship with Erik, which was exactly why Erik knew he had to put a stop to her delusions once and for all.

"No it wasn't, but that doesn't mean we should get back together. It was a hard lesson we both had to learn from. I won't make the same mistake again Bianca and I won't let you either. Staying apart is what's best, whether you see that now or in ten years time. You'll have a chance to be a mother again, but I can promise you it won't be with me. I'm sorry Bianca, but this is just the way things are meant to be."

Erik was almost positive that following the moment he stopped speaking he saw Bianca's heart break. As much as he didn't want to admit it, this wouldn't be the first time he saw Bianca look like this. The first time Erik saw Bianca look this shattered was when he first separated from her. Erik watched on as Bianca's smile dropped, he eyes sunk and her body began to softly quake. The last thing Erik wanted was to leave on a sour note for the second time. He instead hoped she might be mature about this and leave on her own free will. Sadly, it seemed Bianca might be leaving in tears. Just as Bianca opened her mouth to speak, Erik's phone went off beside him. Staring down at the caller ID, Erik saw it was in fact Rosaline calling. Offering Bianca an apologetic look, he took his phone in his hand and excused himself from the table.

"Good morning sweetheart." Erik warmly greets her, while walking into the lounge room.

"Good morning, how are you?" She sweetly asks.

"I'm better now that I've heard your voice." Erik admits on a sigh.

"You say the nicest things." Rosaline quietly replies.

"It's true though, you have no idea how much I've needed to hear your voice after the morning I've had." Erik finds himself saying.

"Why? What's happened?" Rosaline almost immediately inquires.

"Nothing that is worth having you stress over but I do have some bad news to tell you." Erik reluctantly tells her.

"What is it?" She sadly responds.

"As much as I don't want to, I'll have to break my promise to you today. I won't be able to see you later today." Erik regrettably confesses.

"Oh. Is everything alright, you know between us?" She asks, whispering the last part.

"Of course sweetheart, it's nothing to do with you. I'd love to be able to spend every waking moment with you if I could, but unfortunately something has come up that requires my immediate attention." Erik gently informs her.

"Will I be able to see you next weekend? She inquires with a hopeful voice that just about pulls at Erik's heart strings.

"Of course sweetheart, in fact how would you feel about coming over for dinner one night. I can have my driver Harold come pick you up?" Erik excitedly suggests.

"Oh. I'm not sure." Rosaline stumbles, clearly at a loss for words.

"Think about it and let me know now. I'd love nothing more than to enjoy a night of your company." Erik smiles through the phone call.

"I will." Agrees Rosaline, before promising to speak with Erik at a later date.

Hanging up his phone, Erik walks back into the kitchen to find Bianca already standing. Before he can even get a word in however, Bianca is quick to speak.

"I've just remembered that I have somewhere to be this morning Erik." She oddly tells him, whilst moving quickly past Erik and towards the front door.

"What?" Erik exclaims, clearly confused by her sudden need to escape, despite making herself feel very at home earlier this morning.

"I'll explain later. I have to go." She says at last, before swinging open the front door and running out to her car that's parked out front.

Erik watches as Bianca flees from his home. Tires screech down his driveway as she accelerates past the neighbouring houses down the street. Sweeping a hand through his hair, Erik closes his front door and leans his back against it. He closes his eyes for a second before moving back into his kitchen. Despite seeing the breakfast that Bianca made sitting there on the dining table, Erik simply can't bring himself to eat it. Instead, he grabs a bowl out of the cupboard and pours himself some milk and cereal. As Erik begins to chew through the crunchy goodness, he can't help but consider Bianca's strange and random mood swings. At first, Bianca appeared determined to overstay her welcome, yet as soon as Erik had returned from his phone call with Rosaline, Bianca seemed to have switched a flip and couldn't get away from him fast enough. Erik wondered for a moment, whether Bianca had been listening in on his phone call with Rosaline? And if so, what did she make of the conversation? Whatever the reason for her abrupt departure was, Erik just hoped it would in no way interfere with his steadily growing relationship with Rosaline.