"No, come on Kay! I can't go to him."

"But you should, or am I wrong?" Kay uttered, her eyes questioning Mr. Tim and his wife.

"Uhm.. I mean that's a good talk." Mr. Tim cleared his throat, his eyes looking everywhere apart from us.

Mrs. Kim hit him hard on the arm, making him groan loudly in pain.

"But honey, why?"

"I didn't hit you that hard so stop being dramatic." She rolled her eyes.

"Were you listening at all? Just be serious for once Timothy. Ria needs us now more than ever."

"Dante is getting married to someone else and that is clear enough. So why are we still on this matter?" He said angrily.

"So what do you say now?" Kay forced out, frustration evident in her tone.

"Ria, I say you move on darling."

With that said, he got up and we all watched him leave for his room.

Ouch. That doesn't hurt at all.

The room went still for a minute, we were all speechless. But I knew I had to say something.

Anything.

"I understand where Mr. Tim is coming from. After the whole issue with Cici and Ethan, I know a part of him wanted me to stay away from the Moretti's, the Ferrari's and away from all the drama." I sniffled, trying to hold back my tears.

Getting up from the sofa, I walked to Mr. Tim's door. I wanted him to listen and defintely wanted him to hear me out. After all, he was the only fatherly figure I had.

"I love him, Mr. Tim. I can't give up because I still love Dante. I've always loved him and I know, you know." I cried, my forehead resting on the door.

"I can't do this on my own Mr. Tim."

I saw the door open and there he was, with his arms stretched out wide.

"Come here, you little rascal."

I rushed into his arms, feeling relief and finding a new strength.

"Go, my child. Go find your love."

Saying yes to an idea is one thing, but actually doing that thing? Like how I'm currently in front of the building where Dante lives? That's something else entirely.

"What madness led me to this? I should have kept saying no for God sake." I gritted out in frustration.

Where are the balls when you need them? I need me some balls right now!

"You got this, Ria. You do."

Giving some strength to myself, I prepared myself both physically and mentally for this journey.

So the thing is, I've been staring at the gate for the past few hours and still couldn't take the first step.

I'm unable to..

I checked the time on my cell phone and it was already 12:30AM.

Looking at the bad decisions I've made in my life, it makes me think, it makes me ask questions. Questions like, why did I do it?

Questions like..

Is it too late to apologise?

"I better go home now, catch some sleep and then come back tomorrow." I made up my mind, trying to be positive.

"You did well today Ria. You can always try again tomorrow."

I looked at the building one more time, before turning around sadly.

Why do I feel like I'm about to lose the love of my life?

-----------------------------------------------------------

(DANTE'S POV)

"Am I done for the day?" I asked my Secretary, Ana, while signing the documents I needed to approve before the end of the day.

Ah! Sucks to be me, I know.

"Sir, there's a meeting with Mr. Castillo at 6PM. Also, dinner with your fiancee at 9PM."

I massaged my temple, relaxing in my chair before finding the strength to speak.

"Okay, thanks Ana."

She gave a nod before turning around to leave.

"Ana?" I called.

"Yes, sir." She turned around.

"You forgot the documents."

She apologised, picked up the documents from the table and left my office.

"Ugh, fucking migraine." I groaned.

I pulled the drawer and brought out medicine, popping two in my mouth. I opened the cap of the bottled water and drank enough before setting it back on the table.

Meeting with Mr. Castillo lasted for hours, I had to ask Ana to cancel dinner with Lilly but she insisted on having dinner together.

By 10:30PM, I arrived at the restaurant. Dressed in white, long curly blonde hair, bold red lip, I recognised her immediately.

"Lilly." I greeted, kissing her cheek before taking my seat opposite her.

"I'm sorry, meeting lasted hours. My sincere apologies Lilly."

"It's okay, Dante. Let's eat now?"

"Sure."

Dinner wasn't as awkward as I thought. We made small talks and I complimented her a few times.

Ria would blush each time I called her beautiful-

After all this time, why do I still find myself thinking of her?

"You okay Dante?" Lilly asked, seeing my furrowed eyebrows.

"Sure." I smiled.

"Let me drop you home now?"

"Dante?" She called, her voice coming out almost in form of whisper.

"Yes?"

"Can't we-" she paused, swallowing a lump in her throat before speaking again.

"Can't this be real?"

"You mean this fake relationship?" I raised an eyebrow.

She gave a nod and I rubbed my face before I could even process things.

"Look, Lilly, we had a deal and you knew. We let the media think we'll be getting married, your business benefits from this, and definitely mine too." I sighed.

"Eventually, you know we have to stop this."

She smiled, but it was obviously forced.

God knows I would never have done this if I didn't owe my father.

"You understand me Lilly?" I asked, holding her hand in mine, my eyes making contact directly with hers.

"Yes, I understand Dante."

By time I got home, it was 12:30AM.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I got to the gate, knowing I almost dozed off while driving on the road.

And it really feels like a dream when I saw that one backview I would recognise anywhere in this world.

Ria.

There was no doubt, it was her.

Did she come to see me?

When did she come back?

I felt the pool of anger I had locked away, wash all over me in full force.

Sleep was long gone.

I turned the car around and headed back to the office to bury myself in the one thing that had kept me sane for months, and prevented my frequent thoughts of her.

Work.