{TRIGGER WARNING! EXPLICIT CONTENT! DO NOT READ IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT, THANK YOU! Otherwise, enjoy!}



'Come on! We're late already!' Victoria says as she pulls me through the halls.

'It's because you wanted to watch the video.' she ignores my comment and pulls me down the stairs, heading towards the front door.

We finally make our way out the front door and notice all the others waiting outside.

'Look at you two!' Isabelle shouts, looking at us as if she's dreaming. 'Mommy and daughter vibes, oh my god!'

I roll my eyes and watch as Victoria twirls around for a second, before turning to the others.

Isabelle is wearing a soft-pink dress that falls just below her knees with a deep cut going down her chest.

And Brandon is wearing a black glittery top with matching black shorts and a dramatic belt to match it.

Victoria and I are wearing matching dresses, something Brandon picked out, so I don't get why he's so surprised.

'You two look amazing!' Leya chimes, circling around me like the others.

She's wearing a long white dress that's fitted just for her, making her hourglass figure pop out even more. It has an open back and she looks good as fuck.

'You guys look like models,' I say, looking at Brandon and Isabelle, before turning to Leya, 'And you look like a sexy boss.'

'And we're hot!' Victoria chimes, making everyone look at her and Brandon.

Because we all know he's the one who thought her to say that.

'We so are!' Brandon chimes in, taking out his phone.

'You guys look amazing.' Vincent chimes, walking out of his house.

He's wearing a grey suit and looks cleaner than I've ever seen him before.

All for a fancy dinner at Leya and Rio's place.

'Take some pictures please!' Brandon shoves his phone into Vincent's hands, before rushing back over to us and positioning everyone around each other.

We have a photoshoot for at least thirty minutes, before all turning towards Marco, who walks out of Rio's place.

'Why are you guys taking so long?' He asks, looking at all of us, before ending at Isabelle.

There's still some tension between them, but they're not acting on it anymore.

At least that is what they tell us...

'We're taking pictures, leave us alone!' Brandon sneers, making us laugh. 'I'm hungry!'

Victoria pulls on my arm, trying to take me toward Marco so that we can go and eat, but I stick with the others while she rushes inside instead.

'I'm not going to lie, we look good as hell.' I chime, hooking my arm around Leya's.

'I really like your dress.' She says as she takes another look. 'I think Brandon is trying to change my favorite color into green.'

At this point, almost everything I wore that Brandon made was green.

And I actually like it a lot more than I thought I would.

He gave me a mint green dress with a big slit going up my leg and a thin belt wrapped around my waist, the short sleeves hanging loosely over my arms.

'We should probably head in as well.' Isabelle chimes, basically dragging Brandon towards the front door.

'You guys can go in, I'm just waiting on my mom.' I frown at her and stay right by her side while the others head inside.

'Your mom's coming over?' She nods in response and turns back to the gate. 'So that means no drinking for me.' I joke as I follow her lead.

'You know you're allowed to drink.' Oh, I know...

I just much rather not when Ariana's around. It just feels wrong.

'Why is she coming over, I thought she wasn't supposed to get here until two weeks?'

She stills and her smile instantly fades, before she looks back at me.

'She said she had something urgent going on and it couldn't wait,' What? 'And I have to tell everyone something as well.'

'Is everything okay?' I ask, slowly letting go of her so that I can step in front of her.

'With me, yes, with my mom, I have no idea.' She nervously says, turning back to the gates that are slowly opening.

It's a long way down the house and the car isn't going that fast, but I can hear the front door open behind us.

'You guys are taking so long!' Victoria shouts while running over to us.

'You are very impatient, young lady!' Leya chimes as she puts a smile on her face. She's freaking out and she doesn't want the others to notice.

'Victoria, where are you-' Tiago stops in his tracks and freezes as our eyes meet.

Just like Vincent, he's wearing an entirely black suit and looks fancier than ever. And fucking hell does he look good in it.

'Go take her over there.' Leya whispers loud enough for me to hear.

Victoria chuckles as she grabs my hand and pulls me over to Tiago, who's still staring at me.

'Come on! I'm hungry!' She lets go of my hand as soon as we're at the end of the steps and rushes back inside.

'You- uhm-' Tiago dramatically clears his throat and I can feel my cheeks heat up instantly, 'You look beautiful.'

I can't help but smile like crazy at his compliment, feeling pride wash over me as if I won the best prize to ever exist.

'You look handsome as well, Tiago.' I chime, giving him a kiss on the cheek, before walking up the steps.

We promised to take it easy and slow while the months pass by, but god do I want to kiss him right now.

I can hear him trail behind me and can't stop smiling because of it.

Just as I make my way to the living room, I feel him pull my arm and spin me to the other side, entering the room between the kitchen and living room, which has two couches and a wall covered with books.

He presses me against it, locking me in between him and the books.

'What are you-' His hands swiftly make their way through the slit in my dress, to my panties, pressing against the slowly drenching fabric.

'Tiago.' It's supposed to be a warning, but it comes more out as if I'm begging for more. Shit.

I missed his touch.

I missed his touch so much.

No one will make me feel the way he does, and I know that, but I can't do this to him.

Not again.

It's- shit. He pushes my panties aside and rubs his fingers over my lips, gently putting more pressure on his finger. Shit.

'Talk to me, cara.' Everything becomes blurry as he tries to press his way between my legs, gently pushing me against the wall. 'Tell me what you want.'

My mind goes blank for a few seconds, allowing me to enjoy this heat and feeling that washes over me when his fingers stroke up and down my lips, taunting me by not touching me completely.

Every time he touches me like this, holds me like this, it's like everything I planned fades away.

'Cara...' He whispers impatiently, slowly drawing his hand back.

'Don't-' I say desperately, watching as his lips slowly curl up, almost getting lost in his eyes again.

He kisses me deeply, slowly teasing me with his fingers again.

A gasp leaves my lips and I grab his shirt, not caring about the wrinkles I'm leaving, trying to keep him close.

'Tell me.' He whispers against my lips, making me want to kiss him again.

'I need this, please...' I beg, hating that he has the upper hand somehow.

'Do you need this,' He slides one finger in, pressing me harder against the wall, 'or do you need me?'

And just like that, just as the words take all the air out of my lungs, just as his breath brushes against my neck and chest, it clicks.

It's the desperation in his voice that gives it away.

Fuck.

I can't do this to him.

Because to him, this is a lot more than just this.

And I know that I'll get dragged into this if I don't stop it now.

It will only hurt us both a lot more.

'Tiago.' I put my hands on his chest and try pushing him away, but he's too firm.

He knows what I'm trying to do and slips in another finger, making me gasp for air as my eyes roll back. Fuck.

'Sto-' 'Say it.' Shit. Shit. Shit.

His voice is driving me insane, but I can't- I need this shit to stop.

'Tell me you need me.' He whispers against my skin, slowly leaving a trail of kisses down my neck.

No. 'Thorns.'

He inhales sharply and sighs as he takes a step back, leaving me against the wall.

I suddenly feel cold. Not just because of the distance, but because of his look.

'Fucking hell.' He mumbles as he turns away from me.

'Don't be like that.' I say, feeling a lump form in my throat.

'I'm not doing anything.' He says, obvious annoyance in his voice.

'I told you-' 'And I told you a million times that you don't have to go.' He says, turning back to me again.

'Rio is fine with me leaving, and so are Celine, Brandon, Marco, and Cataleya.' I take a step forward and keep my eyes on him, trying to read his mind somehow, 'Why can't you be?'

He scoffs and takes a step forwards as well, closing the gap between us. 'If they're so fine with you leaving, why did we talk about finding a way to keep you here for hours straight this morning?'

What?

'When did-' This morning...

'It doesn't matter, Neveah. No one wants you to leave and I know you don't want to go either.'

I don't want to.

But I have to.

And he knows that shit too. I've told him a million times.

'This was a bad idea.' I mumble, heading to the living room.

He steps in front of me and shakes his head, pain filling his eyes.

'Don't say that.'

'I'm sorry for giving you the wrong impression.' I say, ignoring the words he just said.

Because it obviously was.

This was a bad idea, not just for him but for me as well.

Because if we went through with this, we would both be more attached than we already were.

If that's even possible...

'Stop saying that.'

He says, stepping closer to me.

I want to step closer, I want to touch him, but I can't do that.

Because it will give the wrong impression.

'It's the truth. We can't keep doing this.' I can't keep doing this to you...

'We clearly both want to.' He starts pacing in front of the door, 'so why are you being so hard on yourself?'

'I know this means more to you than just this.' He stops pacing around and looks at me in shock.

'So you're telling me that this is just pleasure to you?' He asks, frowning a little.

I try to look away, but I know he caught a glimpse of the answer in my eyes.

'Neveah.' He whispers, moving closer to me again, 'Look me in my eyes and tell me that this is just pleasure to you.'

I can't.

Because it's not.

That's why we need to stop this before it gets out of hand again.

'Can't you see how wrong this is?' I ask, looking up again.

His eyes are a mix of anger and pain.

And I don't know which one hurts most.

The fact that he's angry that I can't continue to do this to him or the fact that this shit is hurting him way more than I wanted it to.

'The only thing that's wrong right now is you wanting to leave even though we're in love with each other.'

There's this knife, a metaphorical one, and he's pressing it so hard into my chest right now.

Straight into my broken heart.

'I already told you why.' I say, taking a step back.

I can feel the tears forming in the corners of my eyes, but I don't want to cry.

Because then he'll feel bad, and I want him to tell me what's on his mind.

I want him to talk to me.

'You don't need to work on yourself, you're perfect the way you are Neveah!'

And just like that, the knife is gone, and my heart almost melts at his words.

'I'm not perfect and I'm not trying to be perfect, but I don't... I don't like the way my mind works sometimes. It scares the shit out of me to think that it all goes blank when it comes to decisions and I feel like-'

'Veah.'

'Everything that happened in the past, it's just too much and it's just not the way I thought it would all go. I mean, Cataleya got freaking kidnapped by Hunter, because you tried saving me! And I don't blame you anymore, I don't think I ever really did but-'

'Neveah...'

'It's just too much and Rio was right, I am selfish, I am annoying, but I'm working on both those things. And I- I realized that when you're around, my mind goes blank and the only thing I can think about is you and that's not good, but then again, I don't blame you or anything-'

'Cara.' He pulls me against his chest, stopping me from rambling on even more than I already have.

'I love you Tiago.' Again, I don't think it's a smart idea to say this now.

But I need him to know.

'I don't want to hurt you, but I feel like I need to work on myself first.'

For a long time, he doesn't respond to what I have to say, making me want to look at him, but I'm afraid if I'll move, I'll ruin everything.

'Two months...' He whispers into my ear, gently kissing down my neck again. 'Two more months and then I'll wait for you.'

I inhale sharply, leaning back to look into his eyes.

'You don't have to wait for-' 'I will.' He says, pressing his lips against mine, 'Even if you decide you don't want to come back, I'll wait Neveah.'

I keep my eyes on his, not knowing what to say anymore, and simply enjoy this moment.

He doesn't want to move on and he says he'll wait. I don't want him to wait, but I appreciate him suggesting it.

'Now let's go, before Victoria decides to eat us instead of the food.' He jokes, grabbing my hand before bringing it to his lips.

I smile as I lead the way back to the living room, straight through the back door, into the garden.

We have to walk up the little hill, past the pools lining up on our right, to get to the patio everyone else is already sitting at. The entire place is lit by a string of lights, making it cozy even though the sun hasn't fully set yet.

'Took you long enough!' My eyes widen when I see Celine holding little Leroy, 'He has been waiting for you.' She chimes as she walks over to me.

Kai sticks close to her and smiles at me while Celine goes in for a hug. 'What are you doing here?'

She was supposed to stay with her family for a week. It was supposed to be her week off, yet she's here.

'I told Rio it wasn't necessary to get her back already, but he didn't listen.' Leya chimes, walking up the patio as well, followed by Ariana and her boyfriend Theo.

'Welcome miss Velez, mister Hall.' Rio says, greeting them both with a firm hand.

He makes something like this, something that's supposed to be a family gathering, seem like a business meeting.

Ariana smiles at him, before turning to me. 'Ariana!' I walk over to her and almost jump into her arms, making sure I don't squeeze Leroy to death as I embrace Leya's mom.

'Hello, Veah.' She chimes, sounding a little tired.

She looks a little tired as well, as if she could use a good nap or something.

'Oh right, Ariana.' She looks at me and waits for me to continue, curiosity flashing through her eyes as I turn to Tiago. 'This is Tiago-' 'Leonardo Tiago Curzio, it's an honor to finally meet you.'

He holds out his hand, waiting for her to take it, but she simply blinks before finally taking his hand. A warm smile plastered on her face.

'You are indeed very handsome.' She chimes, taking him all in before looking at me, 'That beauty definitely runs in the family.'

'I have to say the same about you and Cataleya.' I almost roll my eyes when Tiago tries to flatter Ariana, but she starts laughing and gives me a little shove. 'He's charming.'

'Let's all take a seat at the table.' Rio says as he leads the way, taking a seat at the head of the table.

Leya takes a seat next to him and pulls Ariana into the seat next to her. I want to sit next to Ariana, but I decide to leave that spot for Theo and put Leroy with Kai, who's sitting between Marco and Celine, before heading over to one of the last seats left.

Between Victoria and Vincent.

'Leon kept this spot just for me.' Victoria whispers into my ear when everyone else starts talking about the drive here and work. 'Really?'

She nods proudly, turning to her right to look at Tiago, who's staring at us both.

'Right, Leon?' He seems too flustered to pick up what she said, making me smile.

A bunch of servants place some big plates on the table, all filled with different dishes that are still steaming as if they just came from the kitchen.

Everyone makes their plates, before looking at Rio, who's staring at Leya like he's obsessed. Which he clearly is.

'I wanted to thank you for coming all this way, Ariana.' He states, having a hard time turning to her as he speaks.

It's as if he doesn't want to take his eyes off Leya at all, but he doesn't want to be impolite either.

'Anything for my daughter.' She says, lifting her glass towards him. He nods with a smile, a geniune one, and looks at Leya.

She's blushing like crazy as everyone starts taking their first bite.

'So how is work?' I ask curiously, keeping my eyes on Ariana. She quickly places her glass on the table and smiles proudly. 'I got this deal closed for a five million euro mansion.' Jesus...

'Really?! That's amazing.' Leya exclaims, her eyes wide as she covers her mouth. 'I know, it was a hard thing to deal with, but I managed.'

'Congratulations, Ariana.' Celine says as she takes Leroy in her arms and keeps his bottle slightly tilted. 'Thank you, Celine.'

Those two seem to like each other just fine.

But for some reason, something changes in the air. As if a dark cloud hovers over the table- no, the entire garden, waiting for lightning to strike so that water can pour down on us.

'I love being around all of you, but why did I have to hurry over here?' Celine asks, turning to Rio and Leya this time.

I follow her lead and wait for them to answer, but they both stay silent. Rio tenses, not liking Celine's straight-to-the-point attitude, but Leya just looks at her plate, suddenly not looking so hungry anymore.

As if her stomach sank to the floor.

'Leya?' She looks at me and tries to smile her fear away, before taking a deep breath. She said everything was okay...

'Well... We're kind of getting married next week now.' She mumbles, making my eyes widen. 'What do you mean?' Isabelle asks curiously.

Everyone looks at them strangely, because this is something entirely new to all of us. All of us except the soon-to-be-wed couple of course.

Rio inhales before looking at Leya and nodding, probably taking it over since Leya is freaking out. 'Hunter is still alive.'

'What?' I'm not the only one asking that question, but everyone else just fades to the background as my heart starts beating rapidly.

That fucker's still alive?

'And since Rio thinks it's a smart thing to get married as soon as possible, we decided to have the wedding next week.' Leya says when everyone slowly processes what's going on.

'Do you really think that's a smart idea?' Vincent asks, looking at Rio now. 'It is, if we get this over with, we'll have time to find him.'

'Wait, you don't know where he is?' Kai asks, angering Rio even more. 'You have some nerve to-' 'Apart from the part that he's in Spain, we don't.' Leya cuts in, placing her hands on the table.

'Shouldn't we go look for him first? Just to make sure?' Tiago asks, making Rio turn to him.

Something goes through Rio's eyes. Something that looks a lot like pain or betrayal.

I guess he expected Tiago to be on his side, I guess he expected Tiago to support him in this, to let him get married before we continue this war, but it seems impossible.

They're making a mistake.

'Leya?' She looks at me and takes a shaky breath. 'I know, it sounds insane, but we'll up the security and make sure we keep it as small as possible.'

'Are you sure?' She nods and keeps her eyes on mine, making me smile nervously.

'So no family?' She shakes her head and grabs her mom's hand. 'Only you.'

She hadn't decided if she wanted to invite her whole family or not, but seeing the circumstances, I don't think it's a smart idea.

I honestly don't think it's a smart idea to get married at all, but knowing Rio, he won't change his mind.

Maybe Leya can change his mind?

'We're getting married next week, so we need to alter everything.' Rio continues, looking at all of us as some awkwardly continue eating.

I'm suddenly not hungry, feeling the exact way Leya probably felt two seconds ago, and force myself to take at least a few more bites.

'So the party is next week?' Victoria asks curiously, making everyone turn to her instead. But she's looking at me.

I take a quick look at Leya and Rio, hoping that they realize what a huge risk we're taking here, but nod nonetheless.

Their wedding is happening next week and the only person who can change that is Leya.

But wait... I was supposed to leave after the wedding... That means...

I look at Tiago, ignoring the hyped Victoria between us, and try to keep my breathing steady when our eyes lock.

But it's impossible.

'If you think it's a smart thing to do, we'll help you.' Marco states, making everyone look at him.

It's a stupid idea, but people who are in love make stupid decisions.

And we might be fine. We might be overreacting.

'That's what family is for.' Tiago mutters, lifting his glass to Rio, followed by everyone else.

I vaguely lift my glass of water as well, slowly taking a sip.

Water fills my throat, suffocating me in silence as the nerves inside of my body rip me apart.

Hunter Steel is alive.

And he's coming for Leya. Or maybe all of us, because we ruined his psychotic plan.

'I need a dress.' Leya mumbles, slowly looking at Brandon, 'And I know I didn't ask you at first, because I kind of thought you would be busy with everyone else's and-'

'I have something in mind already!' Brandon says, dramatically rolling his eyes as he grabs his plate and gets up from his seat, 'Now if you'll excuse me, I have a heavenly dress to make!'

'Don't overwork!' Leya shouts, slowly finding the urge to eat again.

I follow him the entire way to the house, feeling like something is hanging in the air still.

As soon as I see him closing the door in the distance, I turn back to the others.

'And about the guest list, Marcello was dealing with it, so we just need to make sure to deal with the location and catering.' She continues, looking at Celine and me.

She really wants this. She really wants to marry Rio as soon as possible. She really wants to be his wife.

And I want her to get what she wants, I want her to be happy. But Hunter...

'I don't know if it's a smart thing to do,' Celine says, 'But we'll help you.'

Hunter will come for all of us, making sure that we pay for what we did. And he might take Leya back and make her life more miserable than before.

'I want you to be happy and if marrying Rio next week makes you happy, I'm glad to help.'

'But?' She says, probably knowing that I don't like this at all. 'I think going for Hunter first would be a better idea.'

'Well, that's not happening.' Rio says, making the entire table look at him, 'If something happens, we'll all be there to deal with it.'

'What if someone dies?' We all know that could happen and I don't want to risk anyone dying at their wedding.

'No one will die.' Rio says, gritting his teeth. He's absolutely hating the fact that I'm suggesting someone will die, especially when he's trying to convince everyone that nothing's going to happen at their wedding.

But he can't predict the future. He can't know what's going to happen now that we all know Hunter's still alive.

'How do you-' 'We should split the tasks.' Isabelle intervenes, looking at me with a warning look.

She hates it when Rio gets mad and I think she's trying to prevent him from getting even angrier.

'Celine and I can focus on the food and you and Neveah can look at venues?' She asks, turning to Leya again.

'I'm down with that.' Leya says, turning to me instead. I sigh deeply, but nod, having a hard time swallowing my next bite.

'Everything foodwise should come by Leya too though, it's her wedding after all.' I say, making them chuckle even though I'm serious.

She's not having a wedding where she doesn't like anything on the menu.

'We will make sure she likes everything.' Celine chimes, saluting as if she's in the army.

I playfully roll my eyes and watch as the others start talking about a bunch of wedding stuff.

It all goes through my mind, but I don't pick up anything.

'Can I go and see what Brandon is doing?' I hear Victoria chime from my right. 'Of course, just don't touch anything he's working with, okay?'

She nods, gives me a quick hug, and runs back to the house.

My heart's pounding like crazy as I keep my eyes on her, waiting to see her run into the house.

As if I'm going paranoid.

'Ariana, I think you should tell them now.' Theo mumbles, keeping his eyes on her as if they're the only ones at the table.

Ariana takes a shaky breath and turns to Leya, grabbing her hand slowly. 'Everything okay?'

For some reason, even though they barely said anything, my heart starts racing again and I can feel my mood drop immediately.

That imaginary cloud...

'I have to tell you something.' The way Ariana says it just seems wrong. 'What is it?' Leya asks, frowning as she turns to the side, facing her mom.

She quickly glances at all the others, wondering if it's a joke or surprise, but it's not.

Not that I know of at least.

'I told you I wanted to talk to you about something, remember?' Ariana asks, her voice shaking like crazy.

'Yes?' Leya asks, her frown only deepening as she moves to the edge of her seat. 'Well, it's about my health.'

No. Please, no.

'I have leukemia.'

I drop my fork and actually hear my heart rip a little. 'What?'

Ariana looks at me and painfully nods her head, tears welling in her eyes. 'You- Please tell me you're fucking with us.'

'Neveah-' 'You do not have blood cancer, right?' I say, ignoring Tiago who's moving into Victoria's seat.

'I do, Veah.' She says, holding Leya's hand.

But Leya doesn't say a word. No one else does either.

I don't want to cry, but I can't help it.

'Could you guys give us a minute?' Leya finally asks, keeping her eyes on her mother's hand she's holding.

Rio gets up first, looking at the others to wait for them to get up as well.

'We'll be inside.' Celine mumbles as she follows behind, little Leroy almost falling asleep in her arms.

It's like everything just stopped.

Just like it did when I found Andrea's body.

Everything stopped for a second before all the silence turned into pain.

'I'm canceling the wedding.' Leya finally says, squeezing the shit out of Ariana's hand. 'No- You will not do that.' Ariana says, forcing Leya to look at her, 'I will attend your wedding and we'll enjoy your day.'

'Mom, you have cancer, I am not getting married until you're better.'

'That's the thing, mi amor.' She says, leaning across the table to grab my hand as well.

It feels like her hand is burning through mine, her soft hands that have helped me a million times before, 'I won't get better.'

'Don't do that.' I say, almost pulling my hand away. 'Don't say that you're dying, because you're not.'

She can't.

She won't.

'What do you mean?' Leya asks instead, making Ariana sigh deeply.

As if she has been over this a billion times before.

'The doctors have been testing and taking a lot of blood, but they say I have at least five more years.'

What. The. Fuck.

'Five years?' Leya repeats, her voice wavering at each syllable. 'It's enough time for you two to-' 'It's not enough.'

I don't care what it is she's going to say, I don't care if she already accepted this stupid disease.

She has barely lived. She has barely seen anything. She needs more time.

We need more time with her.

She sighs deeply, letting her tears flow out, too tired to keep them in anymore.

'How long have you known?' I ask as the tears prick behind my eyes and silence starts to fill my brain more than before. No-

I let go of her hand and make my way to their side of the table, taking a seat next to Ariana.

'A week, I just didn't know how to tell you guys.' She says as she grabs my hand again. 'I want you two to live, okay?'

'You're not dying, I'm going to-' Leya gets up from her seat and takes a shaky breath, 'You're not dying and you're going to live until you're over a hundred years old and I'm going to take care of you, okay. And- and you're- I'll deal with it, just wait-'

'Leya-' She leaves me with Ariana, rushing towards the house as if the answers are there.

'She's right, there must be something we can do.' Ariana looks at me with tears in her eyes and smiles a little. 'Apparently, I've been walking with it for a while.'

That's the scary thing about cancer, sometimes it's secretly growing and eating you up on the inside. No one would know about it if the doctors didn't detect it in the first place.

'I fucking hate this.' I groan, holding onto her hand for dear life. 'I do too.'

'But I need to talk to Leya, see if I can calm her down a bit.' She says, getting up from her seat and waiting for me to do the same, 'I need to go over some stuff with her.'

I get up and feel her arm go around mine, simply letting her lead me towards the house while allowing her to lean on me.

'We need to talk as well.' She says as I open the door for her, 'We have a lot to talk about now that I finally met your boyfriend.'

Her tone scares the shit out of me, making me wonder how she does it.

How is she not afraid to die?

According to the doctors, she still has five years, but she already knows she's dying soon.

'We have other stuff to talk about too.' I say, helping her up the steps.

She looks exhausted. As if she's able to fall asleep as soon as she's seated.

'But you have to talk to Leya first.' Leya's her daughter and even though she treats me like one, I know this hurts Leya more than it could ever hurt me.

And they definitely need to talk.

'So we'll talk tomorrow.' She chimes, giving me a hug and a kiss, before she heads up the stairs.

I take a deep breath and walk over to the door, hearing Leya mumble something upstairs, right as I close the door behind me.

Hunter's alive and Ariana has fucking cancer.

As if life couldn't get any fucking better...

Tiago's waiting at the front door to our place, his arms open as he awaits me.

I walk straight into his arms, letting myself slump down against his warm and cozy chest.

'This sucks.' I mumble, hearing my voice tremble. 'I know.' He whispers, brushing his hand over my back.

'But everything will be alright.' I slowly inhale, letting the air fill my lungs, and lean back a bit. 'It doesn't feel like it will.'

'I think we need to focus on the wedding now.' He says, trying to get me excited about it, even though it's only making me feel worse.

'Meaning I'll leave in a week.' He tenses and slowly lets go of me, looking at me with a frown.

'What?'

Please... I don't need this tonight, but I'm not going to lie to him.

'I'm leaving after the wedding.' The silence falling between us is suffocating me, making me feel dizzy all of a sudden.

'You said two months.' He says, grabbing my face to make me look at him

'I said I was going to leave after the wedding and-' 'You said two months, cara. It's not fair.' He mumbles.

'None of the shit that happened is fair!'

'Why do you want to leave so bad?' He asks again.

'I already told you.'

'There's something else, isn't there?' I look away because of his stare, wishing that he won't see it, but it's Tiago.

Of course he sees it.

'What is it?'

'Nothing.' I don't want to say it, in fear of ruining the last days we have together, but it seems like he's not willing to let it go yet.

'Neveah-' 'I feel like we need to air out, think about what we did and how we reacted to certain shit that happened.' I finally say, hoping that he won't make me elaborate.

But by the look on his face, he needs more.

'Meaning?'

'Meaning we've been acting like idiots. I mean, when Celine was on the verge of being sold, what did we do? We had sex!?'

He steps back as if I shove him, and I don't step closer to him again.

'Or after that tattoo, the same shit.'

He doesn't know what to say, but he doesn't seem to want to accept it

'I love you Tiago, but we're not good together. At least not-'

'What?' The pain in his eyes is killing me.

'Not right now at least. And I think-'

'You think we're not good for each other?' Oh god...

'Not like this.'

'How is being the happiest we've ever been not good for each other?' He asks as if I have just been talking about the stupidest thing to ever exist.

'Because in doing so, we've been neglecting the people around us.' Like Leya and Celine...

'Neveah...' he steps closer, reaching out for me, but I step back.

I need him to understand this.

'When I'm with you, I forget about anything and anyone else.'

'Don't say that.'

'It's the truth Tiago. When we're together I get selfish and I ignore everyone else and-' he turns to the door and slowly walks away.

'Let me talk to Adriano.'

What?

'Tiago get your ass back in here!' I shout just before he leaves this place.

He slowly turns around and looks at me.

'He put this in your head, didn't he?'

Rio wouldn't stop me from leaving, he didn't the first time, and even though things changed, he would still be a little happy if I left for a long time, maybe even forever.

But he didn't suggest it. He didn't put the idea of leaving in my head.

'No.'

He steps closer, quickly wrapping his arms around me before his lips brush against mine.

'Tiago, don't.'

'Let me be selfish then.' What? 'Let me be selfish and say that it's all bullshit. Sure we did some messed up things, but you don't have to go away to work on that.'

I try moving away from him, but I can't. He's too strong.

'Tiago let go of me.'

'Tell me that I'm wrong, tell me that there's no other way that we can work on our problems-' 'Thorns.'

Within a second, he lets go of me and steps away, granting me enough space to breathe again.

We both go silent for a few seconds, before finally looking at each other again.

'Fine.' He finally says, 'Go do what you want. I honestly don't care anymore.'

'Tiago, please-' 'You want to move on, go ahead. We're done.' And with those words hanging in the air, leaving me speechless, he leaves.

And after all of that, I can't help but cry.

Hunter's alive, Ariana has cancer, and Tiago hates me.

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A/N: SHORT CHAPTER I KNOW, BUT A LOT HAPPENED!

So maybe it's a good thing? IDK?

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT BABIES!

I will see you guys in the next chapter and please, don't forget to comment and vote if you enjoyed this chapter!

I hope you guys have a nice day/night!