The Secrets Hidden In The Scars

      Two hours later, Daniel and Terrence went to the PR agency “Dark Side Management” to meet George Smith. Before doing this, Terrence said goodbye to his car and agreed to the repair. And Daniel kindly agreed to drive his friend to the studio and even home.       “I don’t doubt George wanna make us explain the situation of Peter,” Terrence assumes confidently, taking off the safety belt. “I forgot that the photos of the blond getting brought to the hospital were published everywhere.”       “Yeah, I think so,” Daniel agrees, leaving the car in the parking lot and switching off the motor. “And I don’t doubt George saw them.”       “And he’s gonna start another scandal.”       “But I don’t know what we’d tell him,” Daniel quickly gets the key out of the switcher, leaves the car, and locks it after Terrence leaves it.       “We won’t hide anything and will tell him the truth,” Terrence goes to the entry to the high building along with Daniel, who leaves him behind but catches him very quickly. “So, he knows our problems don’t have to do with our alleged reluctance to work.”       “You think he’ll care?”       “Honestly, I give a fuck,” Terrence says confidently. “But I’d know I wouldn’t find excuses and would tell him the truth. We can’t lie now. And I believe George does have a right to know what happened to Peter.”       “I agree with you,” Daniel aggress, opening the glossy hall door and entering the building of the agency, ending up in a large hall where there are fewer people. “And I give a fuck about whether Smith cares about that situation. We’ll tell him everything, and he may do whatever he wants.”       “Exactly! He can even disband this fucking band! If he cares only about the result and gives a damn about feelings and personal problems, it’s his problem.”       “I feel he’s gonna piss us off earlier. Not waiting for the twentieth two.”       “I won’t get upset if he does it. That man presses so strongly that I feel uncomfortable. And I didn’t get better after we got off him for a few days after that meeting.”       “I won’t get upset, either. Of course, I’ll feel sorry for the wasted time, but if he wanna stop working with us, it’s his business. And we’ll think up something if we have the full band.”       “Now I care about the band much less,” Terrence comes to one of the elevators along with Daniel and presses the button to call it. “Now the important thing is that Peter survives and explains his action, letting us know how to behave and what to do not to hurt him again.”       “Yeah…” Daniel glances aside for a second. “If not for Smith, I’d forget about the band and the term he gave… After what happened to Rose, I think the band is no longer important to me.”       “Same. But since our manager made us come here, we should explain everything to that man.”       A few seconds later, the elevator opens its doors. Daniel and Terrence quickly enter it, press the button of the floor they need, and keep talking, waiting for them to end up in the right place.       “Hey, aren’t we late?” Daniel asks. “Smith is gonna cut off our heads if we don’t come in time!”       “We have five or seven minutes to go,” Terrence replies, looking at the watch he is wearing on his hand. “Don’t worry, nothing will happen to your head.”       “But our brains are gonna be well washed.”       “It’s okay, we’ll take it. It’s not the first time when we talk to him. It’s unpleasant, but not mortally.”       Daniel says nothing and just exhales sharply, raising his head and leaning on the wall of the elevator with his back. And some time later, it stops on the right floor and opens its doors. Terrence and Daniel quickly leave it and go to the office of George Smith down long halls. And after taking some distance, the guys come to the door they need, and MacClife looking at Perkins and nodding, quietly knocks at the door.       “Come in!” George’s loud voice rings shortly.       After looking at each other, Daniel and Terrence quietly open the door and look into the office. At this moment, George is standing opposite and watching the young men with his arms crossed over his chest.       “Erm, good afternoon, Mr. Smith,” Terrence greets quietly.       “Hello…” Daniel pronounces.       “M-m-m, Mr. MacClife, Mr. Perkins…” George nods, quickly looking at Terrence and Daniel from head to foot. “Jesus! This is the first time when you agreed and brought your asses here just in time.”       “We were not far from here, and the roads were free…” Terrence says hesitantly. “So, we came quickly.”       “Are you trying to find excuses? Oh, holy shit…” George quietly moans, running his hands over his face, then sharply exhales and waves a hand. “Alright, I give a damn! Move on! Come in and sit on the sofa! Now, I say! Why you are standing like idols!”       Terrence and Daniel silently come into the office and sit on the sofa placed in front of the writing table and a leather office chair of their manager, who definitely has a bad mood. George, glancing at them, quickly fixes his tie, sits on the office chair, and puts his hands on the table, folding them in front of him.       “Well…” Daniel stutters, folding his hands on his laps. “We kind of came… As you asked… Do you have problems, Mr. Smith?”       “Me? Problems?” George wonders truly and laughs quietly, shaking his head. “No, Mr. Perkins, your band does have problems, not me. I mean, you had them, but I did not think they would be so serious.”       “If you mean the conflict of the band, we are discussing the future of our band,” Terrence says quietly.       “Yeah, and we do not forget about the term you gave us,” Daniel adds.       “I am glad your heads are not empty and are filled with something,” George throws coldly. “So, what about your discussion? What are you planning? Put yourself together? Or did you start saving your money for paying for the liquidated damage? Huh, young men?”       “Sadly, we have not made a decision yet,” Terrence replies coldly, tightly locking his fingers of his hands. “But we are trying to talk about all ways and looking for a compromise.”       “So, trying?” George nods energetically and clears his throat. “Alright, I will pretend that you are really trying to do something to save the band.”       “Trust us, Mr. Smith,” Daniel says quietly. “We have something to do.”       “You know, my dears, I have worked with many people for the years of my work. But nobody was as irresponsible as you and the two pals of yours, one of who is now sitting next to you. You want to do nothing and just play with me, making me sure you are working hard.”       “No, Mr. Smith, it’s not true” Terrence protests. “You know well that I’ve done my best to save the band.”       “You did nothing good, Mr. MacClife. You believe, just because you are famous, you have to do nothing to become a musician. You just need to sing, so everybody falls at your legs. No, my sweetie! I advise you to put your great pride as far as possible and start WORKING. And take off your FUCKING crown that is the reason why you became too arrogant.”       “You are unfair to me, honorable. I worked much, and you saw it well. So, please, do not underrate my work.”       “You know, I think I would have much fewer problems with your friend if I worked with him. He was never late and worked for you three, creating the stuff that none of you tried to get. I do not doubt Mr. Lockhart would be my wonderful ward if I took him under my control. That guy does LOVE music and CAN create masterpieces. And I would have the pleasure to make him famous. He would work too hard and never betray all of us.”       “Do you only make conclusions after he worked for two or three hours per day over a few days and wrote a couple of songs?” Terrence asks gloomily, barely holding himself down not to get nuts because of the mention of Edward, who George definitely praises.       “But he worked very hard and wrote as many excellent lyrics for songs as you, Mr. Rose, and Mr. Perkins did not write for ONE MONTH. ONE MONTH, boneheads! For one month, you could write tons of songs for two or three albums. But you barely started only one song!”       “Do not praise him, Mr. Smith. Edward did nothing special to deserve this praise. You treat the one, who does not have to do with our band and just visited the studio for two hours to work his tongue, too well. He is nothing!”       “I understand you disliked the fact that I praised someone else, not you,” George says confidently. “You have always resented that people dare not to notice such an allegedly handsome guy! But excuse me, I’m telling you the truth. Yes, Mr. Lockhart does not have to do with the band, the studio, and the agency. But comparing his work and the work done by you, Mr. Perkins, and Mr. Rose, your younger friend, as the youth loves saying, kicked your asses. And you should not get hurt by the truth. You better think about what I say. You must be ashamed that one man works better than three men.”       “Indeed, Mr. Smith, you treat us unfairly,” Daniel notices, while Terrence growls quietly and crosses his arms over his chest with his eyes rolled up. “I don’t deny that Edward helped us well, and we have a good choice of songs for the album thanks to him. But do not act as if we did nothing. Even if we could not do that, we tried to do it anyway.”       “Oh, alright, I am not going to waste time and argue with you,” George sharply waves a hand. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something different. Though I will be back to the future of your band during the talk.”       “Well, alright…” Daniel shrugs. “We are listening to you… Do not waste time and say what you want.”       “Alright, Mr. Perkins, as you cannot wait to know everything, I will not waste time especially for you.” George falls into silence for two seconds to clear his throat again. “So, I would like to talk to you about one thing that got me horrified.”       “Speak…” Terrence shrugs without emotions on his face.       “I will not remind you of the conflict between Mr. Perkins and Mr. Rose, who is not with us now, and try to find out the reason.” George glances aside. “I do not care about it right now.”       Daniel and Terrence throw each other a short gaze, while George is nervously wrapping a pen in his hands.       “I do not know how serious everything is, and what made Mr. Rose do such a desperate thing,” George says coldly. “But I would like to know it and make you explain it.”       “Desperate thing?” Terrence frowns slightly.       “Erm, what are you talking about, Mr. Smith?” Daniel wonders. “What did Peter do to get you so shocked? And what do Terrence and I have to do with it?”       “As if you do not know it, Mr. Perkins!” George hums, rolling his eyes. “Why are you asking me what you have the answer for?”       “Listen, Mr. Smith, we would like…” Terrence tries to take a word.       “So, don’t you know? Alright, as you lost your memory when you saw me, I will show you something and make your freaking brains work.”       George sorts out some papers on his table for a few seconds, finds something he needs, and gives a glossy magazine to Terrence and Daniel.       “I think you two would be interested in reading what’s written here,” George says and locks his fingers tightly, starting to look at Terrence and Daniel sitting in front of him with interest. “And then you will share your impressions with me.”       Even though Daniel and Terrence guess what is written in there, they take the magazine and start examining its content, slowly turning pages that are bright but do not catch their attention. But then they see a short article about Peter, who tried to kill himself, read everything written in it again, and view big-sized photos of users of social networks. A few seconds later, Terrence and Daniel, understanding that George really knows what happened, look at each other and move their eyes to their manager, who is amazingly looking at the guys with his hands folded on the table.       “Why are you looking at me so amazingly?” George wonders. “Did you forget how to read? Or are you waiting for me to open the page and read something?”       “Erm…” Daniel stutters. “We…”       “Do you have nothing to say? Want to explain something? Or are you still wondering, ‘Why did this man give us a magazine with bright pages?’”       “Mr. Smith…” Terrence pronounces hesitantly.       “How are you going to explain it?” George sharply gets up from the chair and claps on the writing table with his hands, looking at Terrence gloomily. “How do you explain the fact that Mr. Rose tried to kill himself?”       “Please, Mr. Smith, let us explain everything,” Daniel says quietly.       “Do not try to play the fool with me and pretend that it’s a lie. It’s not a lie! Fewer people saw the doctors placing him on a gurney and bringing him to the hospital. And these photos are not fake! There are both of you in them! Do you not recognize yourself, irresistible handsome boys? The fucking rooster tales of who must be cut off, so they do not show off too much!”       “We don’t deny it, it’s really Peter,” Terrence says confidently. “He really tried to kill himself. Daniel and I arrived at the hospital along with the doctor, and someone saw us and took photos. I found it out this morning – my fiancée showed me the magazine, in which those photos were published.”       “My gosh!” George exclaims, clapping his hands. “You did confess it! I thought you’d deny everything, and I would have to scare you to make you tell me everything.”       “We saw no meaning to deny it,” Daniel pronounces. “You’d find that out, early or late.”       “Oh, what words!” George sits in the office chair. “Then, maybe, you also tell me, how it could happen?”       “Daniel and I were trying to find out what happened to Peter since you asked us to come here and gave us two weeks to discuss the band’s future,” Terrence explains. “We saw he was in a horrible condition and got shocked by what we saw. We thought we’d think up something, wake Rose up, and tell you our band would keep working in two weeks. But everything was much harder.”       “As if you didn’t know Rose was not fine for a long time!” George rolls his eyes.       “We didn’t, before a certain moment. But every day, it was getting harder to hide it. And one day, he started letting us know something was wrong with him. We lost hope and thought we should’ve told you about the band’s breakup. But yesterday, we met two girls, who introduced themselves as Rose’s friends and asked us for help. Daniel and I were looking for one of them since you mentioned the girl, who talked to you. And we met her.”       “The one, at the home of whom your pal allegedly forgot his phone?”       “He didn’t want to talk and asked her to answer the call.”       “You don’t have to have a good brain to understand she did what that guy wanted.”       “But he tells you the truth,” Daniel meddles. “After talking with those girls, we agreed to go to Peter’s home to talk to him. But Terrence and I had to go together because Rose called him and openly said he was going to die.”       “He apologized to us and the people he betrayed and hurt,” Terrence specifies. “We quickly realized we couldn’t waste time and decided to go to Peter’s home without his friends. Getting into his apartment was easy because the door wasn’t locked, and we didn’t even have to break the lock.”       “We quickly searched the whole apartment and barely broke the door of the locked bathroom, where we found the unconscious Peter with open veins. He lost so much blood that he was literally drowning in it…”       “Daniel immediately called an ambulance, and we were doing what the operator told us to do before the doctors came. Luckily, we came in time, and he was alive. So, we had a chance to save him.”       “The doctors came quickly and rushed him, and Terrence and I followed them and were by their side to know the news and give them some data.”       Daniel finishes to speak and glances down, tightly locking his fingers and thinking about something unpleasant.       “My gosh…” George pronounces much quieter, frowning strongly and stroking his chin. “Did he do it on purpose?”       “I think, yes,” Daniel nods. “When Peter called Terrence, he sounded true and did not doubt his decision.”       “Also, he wrote a death note that we read and a couple of messages for his friends to say farewell,” Terrence adds. “Peter apologized to us and let us know he no longer wanted to live and suffer.”       “How awful…” George shakes his head, looking quite tense and excited. “You know, you got me surprised… I’m shocked after what you told me.”       “We can’t come to ourselves after what we saw…” Daniel sighs quietly. “It was a horrible thing…”       “Oh, God…” George thinks for two seconds, running his hand over his head. “So, there is no doubt it’s true, and you are in the photos…”       “I didn’t think someone would recognize us and spread the news about Peter’s suicide attempt the next day.”       “Did you think you would hide it? You will no longer be able to be silent because people have proof. And yeah, I carefully examined the sites on the Internet and gave special attention to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I found out that the photos were quickly spread on the entire Internet: the media publishes articles, and everybody wants to know what happened. Moreover, some famous sources tried to contact your team and get a comment about that event. But we say nothing yet and decided to check everything before saying something. But trust me, you will have to say something to your army of fans.”       “We know,” Terrence nods. “But we didn’t care if we got recognized or not. We cared about doing our best to help Peter.”       “But now, gentlemen, it’s late!” George throws his hands up. “You are recognized and photographed. You, Terrence, must have been recognized. And I’m sure those people spread the news just because they recognized you.”       “It doesn’t make sense for us,” Daniel says quietly. “Excuse me, Mr. Smith, but now we care only about Peter’s condition. We don’t want to lose our close person and let him die.”       “I swear, Daniel, I understand you well,” George replies with sadness in his eyes. “Nobody wants to lose him. I’ve gotta confess that Peter is a wonderful drummer. Fans love him and only say good things. Now they got obsessed with a wave of panic: everybody is worried about him and wants him to get well soon.”       “Yeah, but I’m afraid they will have another reason to worry…” Daniel notices quietly. “After we three left your office, Peter said he wanted to leave the band. We could do nothing, and he didn’t change his mind. We tried to be nice and soft to him, but he refused to say something.”       “Oh, my gosh…” George runs his hands over his face. “None of my wards committed a suicide attempt… This is the first case…”       “We didn’t also think everything would be so hard that Peter decided to kill himself,” Terrence says tiredly. “We didn’t pay attention to some things…”       “Listen, guys, it changes the situation,” George says thoughtfully, starting to feel a little guilty for Terrence, Daniel, and Peter. “You didn’t mess around! You just couldn’t work because of that guy, who had depression for a long time! Though, I thought you wanted to do nothing and believed that fame would find you. Moreover, such a famous persona as Terrence MacClife sings in your band.”       “If we had been aware of Peter’s problems before, we would have surely told you,” Terrence assures quietly. “But how could we know he was going to deprive himself of life? He said nothing to us and pretended that everything was fine. Before a certain moment…”       “Yes, I get it… But you should’ve seen some hints or suspected something. You must have told me everything for me to find a way instead of pretending nobody knows who and making everybody think none of you wanted to work hard for fame and confession.”       “I’m sorry, Mr. Smith… We started noticing some things but didn’t want to tell you because we thought you wouldn’t believe us and would think it was a lie.”       “That’s very bad you didn’t do it! Yes, I’m not a psychologist and don’t know how to behave toward those, who want to die. But together, we could solve this problem so that everybody was pleased, and nobody left. You are guilty of bringing the situation to it. You could’ve solved everything, but you preferred the silence and made me think you were brainless idlers.”       “Will you refuse to work with us?” Daniel asks hesitantly.       “With you?” George falls into silence for two seconds, frowning slightly. “No! No, I don’t want to do it at my wish! I’m ready to sink my teeth into any chance that might save your band.”       “Yes, but everything is coming to this,” Terrence notices with sadness in his eyes. “If Peter doesn’t survive or doesn't want to come back in our band, we will not be what we want to be.”       “We don’t want to see anyone but Rose as our drummer,” Daniel adds. “Yes, many bands constantly change members, but we want to keep everything the same. Though, it will be impossible if we lose Peter.”       “I know, but I don’t want to say goodbye to you,” George confesses. “You are talented guys that could reach much. I personally found our videos on the Internet and attended a couple of your shows to hear you singing. You showed yourself as such bright personas that I thought missing a chance to promote you would be my mistake. But I must confess that you are missing a spice. To make your band wonderful, we need to add something special. To polish slightly, so it's very good… But I’m ready to promote such talented guys, even without the spice. If you keep working, you will become stars someday.”       “As Daniel said, we don’t want to work without Peter,” Terrence shrugs. “If ‘Against The System’ keeps working, it will do it with only one drummer.”       “I get it.” George falls into silence for two seconds, glances aside, and looks at Terrence and Daniel with sadness in his eyes. “And I’m really very sorry about being so rude to you all this time and not being shy about swearing. Don’t get mad at me for going too far. I just wanted you to work and use your talent. But I didn’t even think of humiliating you and making you think you had nothing to do in the show business. So, accept my true apologies, guys. I’m really very sorry.”       “Erm-h…” Terrence stutters, slightly biting his lip and being a little shocked. “It’s alright, Mr. Smith, it’s alright…”       “Yeah, it’s alright…” Daniel says a little hesitantly, scratching his temple and locking his hands tightly.       “Understand me, guys,” George says quietly. “I work like crazy and always look for new talents on the Internet or travel around America. And when someone, on PR of whom you spend much money and energy, starts messing around and suffering from a star-struck, it makes you madly irritated. Your case is the same: I spend a lot of time and money on you and hope my effort will be worth it, and I will get something as a reward.”       “Sure, we understand it’s hard work,” Daniel says amicably with a slight smile.       “It’s something like your own business,” Terrence adds. “You spend everything you have on it and want to get something back. But the business may go wrong, and you may go bankrupt.”       “Sort of,” George smiles shyly, feeling much better after giving Daniel and Terrence apologies. “I am glad you understand me. And I hope we’ll no longer have misunderstandings from now.”       “We will do our best not to disappoint you.”       “Good.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Terrence and Daniel throw a short gaze at each other, and George takes his mobile phone, looks at the screen, and puts it on the table again.       “Hey, what do the doctors say about Peter’s condition?” George asks, slowly fingering over. “Did they tell you something?”       “Yes, the doctors diagnosed him with massive blood loss,” Terrence replies. “Since the loss was serious, he must get a transfusion. And he also has hypovolemia and breath issues.”       “Hypovolemia?”       “A state of decreased blood volume,” Daniel explains. “And the doctors are afraid that even if Peter avoided the complications of this thing, something bad might happen later.”       “And they are not sure his heart might take such a great load as compensating for the lost blood,” Terrence adds.       “Oh, how awful!” George gets horrified, shaking his head and putting his hand on his forehead. “And will he get a blood transfusion? If he needs it, they should immediately look for a donor and do that thing!”       “Yes, yesterday, Terrence, Peter’s friends, and I made a test that could detect the one to be able to give blood,” Daniel replies.       “Today, we got the results, and they showed that one of Peter’s friends became the donor,” Terrence says. “The doctor said they’d take some blood tomorrow in the early morning.”       “I hope that girl will help him,” George expresses hope.       “Yeah, that’s the girl, who talked to you on the phone.”       “That one?”       “Yes. She’s worried about Peter too much. She got strong hysteria when we told her about his suicide attempt, and she became speechless after she was told her blood would be good for him.”       “My gosh… Isn’t she his girlfriend?”       “Nope,” Daniel denies. “But the fact she’s worried too much makes us think she is not indifferent to him. It seems that she would kill herself if Peter didn't survive.”       “Is that girl worried about him so much?”       “If you had seen her face, everything would’ve been clear,” Terrence replies confidently.       “Anyway, let’s hope her blood will help her.”       Daniel and Terrence say nothing and just shrug, while George frowns strongly and strokes his chin, thinking about something for two seconds.       “Yeah, but I don’t understand why Peter did it?” George wonders. “He always seemed positive and was never sad! Looking at him, I wouldn’t have thought he’d love to kill himself.”       “We thought so,” Daniel says with sadness in his eyes. “But as it turned out, Peter was hiding his real feelings and didn’t want someone to know about them.”       “I must confess that when he came to our latest meeting, I disliked his appearance. But I thought your friend just drank too much and suffered from a hangover. We know well that Peter had regularly gone to clubs and drank much before you stopped being available for me.”       “I think he wanted to distract himself and, so to say, drink his grieve with strong alcohol,” Terrence assumes. “Though, it won’t help him. Checked by me…”       “Yeah, it’s very sad… He’s such a young guy, but he destroys himself by drinking.”       “We told him to stop, but he listened to nobody and kept doing that,” Daniel notices. “And yeah, we forgot to say Peter was probably drinking at home because there were many empty bottles of alcohol in his apartment: from light bear to strong wines and cognac.”       “Not far from alcoholism…”       “We know,” Terrence nods. “But it’s too late to talk about it. Peter has already tried to kill himself and is now between earth and heaven.”       “Gosh, I don’t understand these people. Peter is such a talented guy, who could reach so much. He brilliantly plays drums, cajon, and even guitar! And he writes incredible songs! My favorite one, ‘Right Here, Right Now’, is worth much! It definitely must become a part of your album and a lead single. That guy is so multitalented! I believe I even saw him sitting on a mixing console, with which he worked as if he had experience.”       “Yes, when we were working with one man at his studio, Peter spent a lot of time there and even recorded a couple of songs by himself,” Daniel confesses. “He wanted to send them to someone, who was related to the music business. But sadly, one mean girl deleted the tunes, on which Rose worked for a very long time.”       “I think he could also work as a musical producer and be a part of a team that creates music. The sound producers from ‘Five Seconds Records’ said Peter was doing that well.”       “It’s true, Peter perfectly knows the machines for writing songs and could create music by himself.”       “Not only that, but he also writes wonderful lyrics,” George says confidently. “As I said, that man is madly talented. And if I miss a chance to make that guy a celebrity, I will never forgive myself for not letting them discover him.”       “Agree, Peter is incredibly talented at it,” Terrence replies with a slight smile. “As he had written a few songs before the tour with ‘The Loser Syndrome’ and created music for them, we had some stuff, which the people accepted warmly. He can write songs much better than Daniel and me. Even if we put our hand to that process.”       “Well, Terrence…” George frowns slightly. “I don’t think you write songs worse than Peter. I saw some of the songs you wrote when your band didn’t work, and I liked them. Yes, many songs don’t fit the style of your band, but any one of them would be wonderful for a solo career.”       “I just suddenly got inspiration. But then I ‘deflated’ and stopped writing songs at one breath.”       “It’s quite fine. You can’t always write fantastic songs. Sometimes a person creates only one masterpiece in his life.”        “I know.”       “Now your inspiration is gone, but some time later, it will be back again, and you will write more songs. But if you do not have it, you should not force yourself to write songs by force. These songs would hardly become hits and get the love of fans. You can easily see what’s created by force, and what you give your heart and soul.”       “I know, Mr. Smith,” Terrence nods.       “Well, as for you, Daniel, I haven’t read a line of your songs and can say nothing,” George says thoughtfully, looking at Daniel. “So, it’s hard for me to judge you and say how talented you are.”       “If you want, I can show you what I have,” Daniel shrugs. “I have a folder with all the songs I tried to write alone or with Terrence.”       “I wouldn’t mind examining it. Take the folder here one day. Who knows, maybe, I could pick up something that would fit your band.”       “Alright, I will do it somehow.”       “Good.”       George falls into silence for two seconds and quickly clears his throat, while Terrence leans back in the sofa, and Daniel slightly pulls down the sleeves of his coat.       “Yeah, but you haven’t explained why Peter did that,” George says. “You’re his friends and should know something.”       “We only know that the people from school considered him weird, and he was worried about that,” Terrence replies. “The guys constantly bullied him and called him a reject and a loser. And since that, Peter has believed it. He noticed it when talking to us after meeting you and in his death note and messages.”       “But it’s been very much time since he graduated from school,” George throws his hands up. “Peter is supposed to forget his school years and not to think about them. Especially if they were awful.”       “It could hardly be forgotten,” Daniel says thoughtfully. “His friend, who studied with him, said that the guys were mocking Peter very cruelly because he didn’t want to be like everyone and never reacted to attacks. Well, you know how it happens: a big crown finds the weakest one and starts bullying them. The guys saw Peter couldn’t stand for himself, and began to press on him much harder.”       “Do you think he has had a mental trauma since that time? Do you think it could make him kill himself?”       “The doctor of Peter, who knows psychology, thinks it’s one of the reasons.”       “Are there more problems?”       “Well, for example, the problem in his relationship with girls,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “We believe there is a reason why Peter refuses to date someone but gets mad that everybody is happy around and in love, but he is not.”       “One-sided love?”       “Maybe. But we can’t even imagine who he could fall in love with. Even if Peter speaks with girls, he calls them just his friends or familiar ones. But we can’t exclude that he might have a crush on someone we don’t know.”       “Well, it might be the reason… Because it often happens… Teenagers and adults might kill themselves because someone doesn’t answer their feelings. Peter is probably one of those victims.”       “Peter’s doctor asked us much about it and even tried to find out what he felt for the girl, who would give blood for him,” Terrence confesses. “But even if he likes that girl, he has never hinted at that and always said she is just his friend.”       “Gosh, is the problem with the love for a girl?” George exhales sharply, slightly pulling the belt of his watch on his hand. “Didn’t he try to kill himself before?”       “Nope, this is the first attempt,” Daniel replies with sadness in his eyes. “Peter was just cutting his wrists regularly. He did it since school times. I don’t know when it started, but one of the girls found it out at a high school.”       “What? Cutting his wrists?” George rounds his eyes. “And were you silent all this time?”       “I swear we heard yesterday from his friends. Peter was hiding his cuts so hard that we didn’t notice even a hint of them.”       “But how? How couldn’t you see that? The guy was literally cutting himself before your eyes, but you didn’t see it! Do you understand that it’s very serious? When someone harms themselves at their wish, it’s not fine!”       “But we really knew nothing!” Daniel excuses with pity in his eyes. “And if we had known, we would’ve immediately done something. I don’t know what, but we wouldn’t have left it unnoticed.”       “If it’s so, it happens that something always provoked him. Something always reminded him of the pain and pushed him to the wish to cut himself so that the doctors have to fight for his life.”       “Excuse me, Mr. Smith, but what do you think could provoke him?” Terrence frowns slightly. “Peter was in sight of us all the time when we were traveling around America with ‘The Loser Syndrome’ during their tour for one month.”       “Well, all the time is literal… There were moments when he wasn’t in your sight…”       “Yeah, but…”       “Of course, I sometimes saw that Peter looked tired and broken, but I didn’t pay attention to that,” Daniel confesses. “That tour got us exhausted… While Liam, Nathan, Zachary, and Bradley got used to the plan, Terrence, Peter, and I went on the road for the first time and weren’t ready for literally having no time to eat.”       “But at first, everything was fine,” Terrence throws his hands up. “Peter seemed funny, talkative, and cheerful, and he was getting ready for shows with pleasure. Everything changed closer to the end of the tour, when Rose began to do everything literally by force and spend more time alone.”       “Wait, do you want to say he got problems some time before the end of the tour with the band, ‘The Loser Syndrome’?” George frowns slightly.       “At least, we began to notice his strange behavior at that time,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “Peter really became withdrawn, but excused it with a wish to relax and sleep for one more hour. And we believed him and found nothing suspicious about it. Moreover, ‘The Loser Syndrome’ and we could always sleep due to the terrible exhaustion instead of coming all together when having big breaks, playing something, going somewhere, or watching something.”       “You noticed, not us,” Terrence specifies. “You said you were the first one to notice Peter’s weird behavior and tried to ask him about it after returning to New York.”       “But as you know, he refused to explain something.”       “You shouldn’t have just reminded him of his failures with girls and laughed at them again.”       “Laughed?” George frowns slightly. “Daniel, is Terrence telling the truth?”       “It’s true, Mr. Smith. If you wonder why Peter and Daniel fought, it happened because Perkins started laughing at Rose, who didn’t like it and just broke down.”       “Yeah, but I swear I didn’t know it was a pain for him!” Daniel excuses himself. “And I didn’t want to insult and mock him! I just tried to joke a little and make the atmosphere less tense!”       “Hm…” George folds his hands on the table in front of him. “Can you tell me more about your fight?”       “Well…” Daniel shrugs. “Three days later, after the end of the tour, Terrence and I went to Peter’s home to work on new songs behind the studio.”       “At some moment, I left for two minutes…” Terrence continues. “We wanted to invite Edward to join us and help with writing, but I didn’t manage to call him after a few attempts. And while I was trying to call, the fight happened between Peter and Daniel.”       “I just wanted to know why Peter was so depressed and tried to make him funny, starting to joke about his failures in his relationship again. He had always joked, but on that day, Rose suddenly went insane and broke down. I will not say how he insulted me, but I had to hear a lot. I even got nuts and started to answer him back. And I eventually said what made him finally lose his temple… I hinted that the reasons for his failures were hidden in his inability to please a girl in bed.” Daniel exhales slowly. “Then Peter slapped me in the face very strongly. Well, I slapped him back and advised him to go to a doctor if he had mental problems. Then he attacked me with fists and started beating me. I had to protect myself and answer not less cruelly. But that’s good it wasn’t happening for a long time, and he left somewhere. He came back when Terrence returned and said he didn’t manage to find his friend.”       “I suspected nothing because Peter and Daniel didn’t show their emotions but couldn’t work anymore on that day,” Terrence says. “I noticed weird things the next day. They couldn’t work and see each other. My attempts to find out something gave us no results. But I knew something happened between Daniel and Peter.”       “That’s why the work on the album was corrupted. For one month, Peter and I were fighting like a cat and a dog when we were in the same room. Someone started provoking another, and it led to something horrible. He started a fight, and I could add fuel to the fire… So, we are both guilty of framing everybody and making you waste your time on us.”       George exhales slowly and shakes his head, reflecting on what he hears for a few seconds. Then he takes a pen from the table and starts to wrap it in his hands in the hope of calming his nerves down.       “Bad business…” George pronounces. “Yeah, Mr. Perkins, it happened that you provoked that guy for such a desperate thing. By your alleged jokes, you brought your friend to the hospital.”       “Yes, Mr. Smith, I know I’m guilty and recognize my fault.” Daniel inclines his head. “Even if Peter said he was guilty of everything.”       “So, here’s the guess! The provocation was near him! That’s what always provoked Peter and eventually made him so disappointed in himself that he took a blade and decided to kill himself.”       “I swear I didn’t want to hurt him and have never wanted him to die,” Daniel excuses with pity in his eyes. “But if I had known how much these words hurt him, I would have stopped talking with him about them.”       “I guess you were too stupid or too blind to realize how hurtful it was for the man to hear it. I’m sure Peter did ask you not to talk about it many times and let you know it was madly hurtful for him to hear that.”       “Yes, he did…” Daniel inclines his head. “But I didn’t want to notice it…”       “Of course, I defend none of you in this case, but you, Daniel, are more guilty than Peter is. We could probably help that guy avoid something like this, but you almost brought him to the grave with your behavior.”       “No, don’t say that!” Daniel exclaims with widely open eyes. “I did tell you that I had never wanted Peter’s death. I’m really very sorry about what happened. Do you think I would’ve gone to his home after his call and done the test for comparing blood, being ready to become a donor and help him get well?”       “I would like to think you did it with all your heart, not for dropping the charge.”       “I swear, Mr. Smith, I’m ready to forget about the conflict if Peter wants the same. And I wouldn’t be his pain and provoke him again. If I had a chance, I would use it and wouldn’t make the mistakes that led to such a sad result.”       “I would like you to find a compromise. Even though you haven’t released your debut album, your band has some loyal fans, and those, who got sympathy for you after the tour with ‘The Loser Syndrome.’ I think if you release the album, you will have much more fans. Thanks to your talent, you can conquer the musical Olympus and get tons of awards in various nominations.”       “Yeah, but honestly, we began to doubt our dream would come true,” Daniel confesses hesitantly. “Without Peter, – and one of us three – the band won’t be the same. And someone else wouldn’t give us the energy that every one of us has. When a new person joins a band, everything may change. And it doesn’t always happen for the best.”       “Daniel is absolutely right, Mr. Smith,” Terrence agrees. “We don’t want any other drummer, but only one that can make our band what every one of us wants to see.”       “Do you think I want to let that guy go and start searching for a new drummer?” George wonders truly. “No, guys, I don’t want to lose such a talented man, who could become a great artist of this century and add his name to history. If only he worked hard and loved his business, of course.”       “I must confess that we even thought about not waiting for the time you gave us to make a decision about the band’s future,” Terrence confesses with sadness in his eyes. “Before Peter tried to kill himself, we two had wanted to pick up a day, come to your office earlier, and say our band would be disbanded. We had only two ways: getting Peter back to the band or, pardon me for my rudeness, pissing everything off. No third way.”       “Think I didn’t give you the time,” George says confidently. “Forget about the two weeks you had.”       “So, will you not demand an answer on the twentieth two?” Daniel rounds his eyes.       “No, I will not. Now I understand what kind of situation you have and believe it would be unfair to refuse to work with you at this moment.”       “Peter’s doctor doesn’t say Rose will one hundred percent survive,” Terrence notices. “He doubts. So, there’s a chance we might lose our friend and… Disband our band, which will not exist without our drummer.”       “Let’s guess nothing and just wait for pieces of news about Peter’s condition. I will surely talk to your management team, and we will give an official comment about Mr. Rose’s condition on your behalf to the media. We should tell your fan the truth.”       “Yes, of course, do what you think is right. Confirm the news for the media and publish a message on social networks. We would do that, but we have so much to do that we don’t have time to check Twitter or Facebook and post something.”       “I get it. Keep me aware of his condition and believe in the best. And when Peter gets better, I want to personally talk to him and, first of all, apologize for being rude to him. At the bottom of my heart, I really like that guy and want to help him and let him know he can count on my support.”       “Thanks a lot, Mr. Smith,” Daniel thanks.       “Ah, yeah…” George falls into silence for two seconds and puts a finger on his lip. “I would like you to come to the studio and work on songs at least sometimes, so I can see your work. I no longer want to make unsuccessful attempts to call you and make you do just something. Yes, you don’t have a drummer, but I want to see you’re working. Being in the studio all day long isn’t required – two or three hours would be enough.”       “Alright, we will come to the studio and work on the material,” Terrence shrugs with a shy smile.       “Yes, we will no longer disappear,” Daniel promises. “You can call us at any time. Will come after the first command.”       “Wonderful then!” George says with a slight smile. “I’m glad we agreed on everything. And forgive me for treating you so badly and thinking you were brainless idlers.”       “And you forgive us for framing you,” Terrence apologizes truly. “We didn’t want it to happen. I was doing my best to save the band and reconcile Rose and Perkins. But sadly, I got nothing.”       “I believe, Terrence. I believe that you truly wanted to save the band.”       “Even if Peter is not with us, Terrence and I will keep working together,” Daniel promises. “Besides, we will not be working on songs alone. Many people from ‘Five Seconds Records’ will help us.”       “Of course, they will do. You signed a contract, so those people helped you record your first album.”       “We know, Mr. Smith.”       Silence settles in the air for some time, during which Daniel and Terrence either look around the whole spacious office with a perfect view of the city, look at their hands, or finger over.       “Alright, I think we can end our talk,” George suggests, putting the pen he was twirling in his hands all this time aside. “Thanks for making this situation clear. I will be doing everything that depends on me.”       “Thank you for listening and believing us,” Daniel thanks.       “You may be free and go home. Your girls are probably waiting for you.”       “Well, unless they decided to walk somewhere together… What if one calls another, and they agree to walk to a store and buy a couple of new dresses.”       “M-m-m, they are friends,” George smiles slightly.       “I will tell you more: the girls had known each other and befriended before I met Daniel and Peter,” Terrence notices. “They’ve been friends since school.”       “School? Wow! Excellent!”       “It happens!” Daniel shrugs with a shy smile.       Silence settles in the air for two or three seconds, during which the three just smile at each other shyly.       “Oh, alright, you can be free,” George says quietly, exhaling quietly. “If you know something about Peter, call me or send me a message. I will see it and call you, even if I’m busy.”       “Sure,” Terrence nods.       Two seconds later, Terrence and Daniel slowly get up from the sofa and go to the exit of the office.       “By the way, you may call me just George,” George says amicably. “And I can call you by your names.”       “Alright,” Terrence shrugs. “If you don’t mind it… George…”       “Let’s treat each other less formally than before. You are my wards, but all my artists are my close people. So, don’t fear and get embarrassed.”       “Thanks, George, we will remember,” Daniel replies amicably.       George says nothing and just smiles slightly and nods.       “Goodbye, George,” Terrence and Daniel say almost at the same time.       “Goodbye…” George pronounces. “Terrence… Daniel…”       Terrence and Daniel leave George’s office and close the door, being a little shocked by how much their manager changed after he found out what happened to Peter. That’s what the guys start talking about, as they slowly start to go down the long hall and want to come to the elevator.       “You saw that!” Daniel exclaims loudly, being a little excited. “Smith apologized to us! My yawl felt on the floor when I heard it!”       “And my eyes popped out of my head,” Terrence confesses. “When we told him the truth about Peter, he changed his mind and became a good man.”       “Yay, what a twist! I did begin to think George would never change his attitude toward us and would always think we’re idlers.”       “Maybe, he doesn’t really have anything against us? George said he considered us idlers because we stopped working on the album and thought fame would come to us.”       “Yeah, but he mustn’t have gone down to open insults. Did he think he’d get what he wanted by insulting us?”       “Oh, who cares now?” Terrence comes to the elevator and presses the button to call it. “The important thing is that we survived the talk and can fear no evil from that man.”       “And stop fearing he’d start another wash of brains of us and insult enough on the twentieth two,” Daniel adds, crossing his arms over his chest. “Smith said we might think he didn’t give us that term.”       “It won’t give us any relief if Peter gets much worse, and he is closer to death.”       “Cut your tongue, MacClife! We must believe Peter will survive.”       “Lewis said nothing would depend on us, and Helene wouldn’t do a grandiose thing by giving her blood. She’ll just help him a little, no more.”       “But I believe that girl would become his lucky charm,” Daniel says confidently. “She’s his close person. So, he must start fighting for her.”       Two seconds later, the elevator opens its doors. Terrence and Daniel enter the spacious cab, in which there is a young man and a girl, and wait for them to come to the first floor, standing with the back turned on the couple that does not pay attention to them.       “Nevertheless, we shouldn’t easily trust George and say he’s good,” Terrence says quietly. “We can’t exclude that he'll forget about this talk next time and start humiliating us again.”       “C’mon, Terrence!” Daniel waves a hand. “I ain’t also gonna trust that man easily. But I’m ready to give him a chance. And now I’m less categorical to him and the question about canceling the contract and looking for a new manager.”       “I have nothing against George, but he changed his opinion about us too suddenly. Some time ago, that man pressed on us and called us idlers, but now he suddenly got a great love and recognized Peter as a wonderful drummer and talented songwriter. Though we had heard nothing like that before.”       “Not only him, buddy. He did also recognize we’d be good for the show business. Though I never heard praise from him and always got kicks on my ass for allegedly doing nothing.”       “I don’t know what about you, but I will watch him for some time. I don’t wanna easily trust him after he treated us so horribly.”       “But he didn’t know the reason why we behaved like that.”       “Who cares!”       The doors of the elevator open. Terrence and Daniel leave it along with a couple of the young people, who sharply outrun them and quickly go to do their business.       “You shouldn’t listen with your mouth open and believe everything he tells you,” Terrence adds. “What if Smith starts another scandal?”       “Well, I dunno…” Daniel shrugs. “What if George is not the type of person, who shows their real emotions? What if he’s quite a good man but doesn’t like showing his love to everyone? What if the reason for his behavior is not only the fact that we were silent about the situation of Rose?”       “It doesn’t make sense. The important thing is that we should be careful with that man for some time. Of course, I’m glad he admitted he wasn’t right, but I don’t wanna trust him completely.”       Terrence and Daniel quicken a step at some moment and leave the building of the PR agency some time later.       “Damn, since when have you been so distrustful?” Daniel frowns slightly.       “But you believe everything you hear like a stupid idiot,” Terrence throws gloomily.       “Huh!” Daniel claps Terrence on his forearm with a sly smile. “Hey, Terry, it seems like I know why you’re so gloomy! You just disliked the fact that George didn’t praise you and said that you were a small potato, saying softly, despite your celebrity status. You’re used to hearing only praises, but you got your ass kicked!”       “Smith didn’t just appreciate my work as highly as he should’ve done. Though he knew well that I gave all my strength and did everything to save the band.”       “So, you did confess that you don’t trust Smith just because he hurt your arrogance.”       “As far as I remember, he didn’t also have any warm feelings for ya and didn’t get embarrassed by swearing when talking to you. And he didn’t like Rose, either. But now that man suddenly got love for us and started literally calling us his very close guys.”       “Everybody gets wrong, and nobody’s perfect, my dear friend. Even such an important and all-favorite man like you. Trust me, you aren’t perfect, but your self-rating is so great that it keeps your eyes closed and doesn’t let you see what others do.”       “Oh, alright, Perkins, shit up, please,” Terrence moans tiredly, coming to the car along with Daniel, who takes the keys and unlocks it.       “Here we go again!” Daniel smiles slyly and clears his throat quietly. “You refuse to hear something bad about you and want everyone to praise you!”       “You know well that I am perfect. Handsome, smart, provided… Brilliant at sex… I can be tender and show my claws… Just a dream of any girl! You wouldn’t find a second man like me!”       “Yeah… When I met you for the first time, I didn’t even think you’d be a peacock with a tail that was so big that it could barely get through the doorstep. I thought, ‘Damn, he’s such a serious man! He does know what he wants!’ But I couldn’t assume you had a big crown on your head.”       “You know, buddy, when we met for the first time, I thought you’d be very insolent and self-confident,” Terrence says confidently. “And I’ve never doubted my opinion. Because you’re too sassy and shameless.”       “Oh, I’m so far from you, the hard-to-reach star that nobody can get,” Daniel chuckles kindly, opens the door of the driver, and sits on the seat.       “That’s what my perfection is about.” Terrence sits on the passenger seat with his head proudly raised. “Nobody can be better than me and become the second Terrence MacClife.”       “M-m-m, as I remember, you behaved like you were literally gonna hang yourself two hours ago,” Daniel puts on the safety belt. “And now, when George, that fucking scumbag, dared to say something about such an irresistible man, you recalled the times when you had a big rooster tail and crushed all ceilings and chandeliers with your crown.”       “Ah, Dan…” Terrence leans back in the seat with a slight smile. “Remember none one thing, brother: even if I feel fucking bad and dream of hanging myself, it won’t make me doubt myself and become less confident even for a second. I shall never stop loving myself and doubting something isn’t right with me.”       “Are you like a girl that wouldn’t refuse to have bright makeup, dresses, and heels even when she’s meeting a pizza guy or accepting a box from a delivery guy?”       “Not a very good comparison.”       “Why? I mean, principals: you wouldn’t believe if someone called you ugly, and a girl wouldn’t refuse to have makeup and dress up in case she can give a damn about it.”       “I don’t know anyone that would dare to say it to me,” Terrence replies with his head proudly raised, putting on his safety belt. “When someone like you starts playing a joke on me, I don’t doubt these people do actually recognize my authority and wouldn’t dare to give a fuck about my opinion.”       “Oh, yay, MacClife, nobody can get some stupid things outta your head even with baseball bats,” Daniel exhales sharply and starts the motor of his car. “You know, I’m bowing down before Raquelle ‘cause she has enough patience to take such a rooster like you.”       “Raquelle just loves me too much and can’t resist my strong charms. I need to just look into her eyes for her to do anything for me. Of course, that bitch will resist a little to pretend to be cold and play on my nerve, but I’ll eventually win and get what I want. I am used to getting what I want, and I don’t give up in the middle of the way.”       “You aren’t the only one to have strong charms, bro,” Daniel says confidently. “My charms aren’t weaker. It’s very hard for my lovely and tender girl Anna to resist them. Just one look is enough for me to make her obey me.”       “And these charms impact not only Anna,” Terrence laughs shyly. “Because if not for them, I’d kick your ass for getting me irritated sometimes. But I can’t the fuck do it!”       “Same thing about ya.”       Terrence laughs shyly, shaking his head, and leans back in the passenger seat.       “Oh, okay, stop talking!” Daniel exclaims. “It’s time to get you, Mr. MacClife, back to your lovely fiancée, Raquelle, safe and sound. And to make sure you don’t hang around the whole city, I shall personally drive you home and leave when I’m sure my friend is where he should be.”       “Aw, gosh, Daniel Christopher Perkins, you’re so generous!” Terrence exclaims with a wide smile, putting his hand on his heart.       “I'm doing this for you, Terrence James MacClife. Since you stayed without your old broken horse that’s gonna be just the old horse soon, I’m now responsible for your safety. Moreover, I’m driving the celebrity. The actor from one of the episodes of the TV show that I watched many years ago.”       “If you need an autograph, I can sign something with pleasure.”       “Leave it on your forehead. So, people know the real celebrity goes by them. That sometimes must be brought back to earth.”       “Oh…” Terrence sighs tiredly and closes her face with his hands for two seconds. “Alright, go! Start on! Or we will go to a petrol station. Because you will spend all the petrol, and we’ll have to push your cutie to the right place.”       “Calm down, buddy! It’s gonna happen now.”       Daniel turns on the first speed and slowly presses the gas pedal, leaving the parking lot and reaching the highway to drive Terrence home, so he does not wander somewhere alone and think of bad things again.       

***

      It's a day in New York. Raquelle did not stay at home and decided to visit her grandfather, Frederick, whom she had not seen for a long time. Whom she wants to tell everything that has happened in the past few days.       “By the way, honey, you look exhausted,” Frederick notices, turning pages of a new issue of the newspaper. “It makes me think you’re not okay.”       “Ah, Grandpa…” Raquelle sighs quietly, sitting on the sofa next to Frederick, and runs her hand through her hair. “So much happened for the days we didn’t meet.”       “Good or bad?”       “Bad… I mean, what got me exhausted.”       “Don’t you want to tell me something?”       “Oh… Honestly, I don’t even know what to start from…”       “Start from the beginning. Or from what happened after our latest talk when you said something about problems in Natalia and Edward’s relationship.”       “Sadly, their relationship doesn’t exist anymore,” Raquelle sighs quietly with sadness in her eyes.       “Doesn’t exist?” Frederick frowns and puts the newspaper aside, staring at Raquelle amazingly. “What do you mean? Did they break up?”       “Yes, they did… As it turned out, they did it one month ago.”       “One month ago?”       “We discovered it yesterday. As well as many interesting things…”       “But wait, Raquelle…” Frederick thinks for two seconds. “How could they break up if they were at your dinner two weeks ago and pretended that everything was fine?”       “It was just an act. Quite a weird story, the meaning of which I will never understand… But as it turned out, those two really tried to make everybody sure everything was fine.”       “But why did they need it?”       “I dunno, Grandpa, I’d also like to know it… But I can only say it was Edward’s idea.”       “Edward? Did he decide to pretend everything was fine after the breakup?”       “And he made Natalia play along with him.”       “But why? Why did he pretend and prove to everybody that everything was fine in his relationship with Natalia?”       “I don’t know right, but I think he just wanted to torture my friend, whom he actually never loved.”       “Oh…” Frederick scratches the back of his head. “Of course, I have nothing against Edward. But after your words, that guy started to seem suspicious.”       “And you aren’t wrong,” Raquelle replies confidently. “Edward turned out to be a nasty man, who is ready to do a lot for money. Even to betray his family.”       “Honey, what are you talking about?” Frederick gets horrified, looking at Raquelle questioningly. “You treated him well before. Did he do something terrible?”       “Now that betrayal will no longer dare to cross the doorstep of our house.”       “Excuse me, Raquelle, but I don’t understand you. Explain, why do you say it? And what’s Edward’s fault?”       “As it turned out, Edward was just pretending to be a good man. He has never treated us well and said bad things behind us. But he pretended to be a shy and decent guy for us. We got a real snake among us. The poisoned snake that ruined the lives of all of us.”       “But what did he say about us?”       “You’ll understand me, I promise. I shall tell everything in order,” Raquelle exhales sharply. “So, a few days after the talk between you and me, Terrence and I received two letters at a different time, which were an addition of one another. We didn’t know who wrote them and got tons of guesses about who it could be.”       “Letters?” Frederick rounds his eyes. “They had threats?”       “They let us know we could discover many secrets if we knew what to do, and who to ask. It was clear – there was someone to be able to tell us everything. And first, I thought it was a greeting from Simon Ringer. Yes, it was a crazy thought, but I had nobody to suspect… Though, later, I thought that Edward could have to do with that. I thought the strange behavior of that guy and Natalia was connected with it. And I told Terrence that I suspected his friend. But he didn’t believe me and didn’t wanna think his friend started all of it. Terrence defended him and believed Edward wouldn’t hurt a fly.”       “And I see, were you right?”       “Yes, my suspicions got confirmed later. A certain man attacked Terrence and said his friend could tell him very much. And added that Edward had some information about the younger brother of my fiancé.”       “My gosh!” Frederick gets horrified. “Terrence was attacked?”       “Exactly! But luckily, he got a light scare and didn’t almost suffer. But he heard very much interesting that made many things clear. For example, it was confirmed that Edward really had to do with that.”       “So, do you want to say Edward sent you those letters with threats?”       “Not quite. But he is tightly connected with the one, who has to do with all of it.”       “But didn’t you blame the guy without proof? To blame someone, you need reasons. Not someone’s words, but clues.”       “Terrence and I planned something better, but I’ll tell you that later.” Raquelle falls into silence for a second to move some strands of hair off her face. “So, two days after Terrence was attacked, we nearly got attacked by some men when we were walking in the city.”       “Oh, Jesus Christ…” Frederick shakes his head.       “Don’t worry, Grandpa,” Raquelle softly takes Frederick’s hands with a slight smile on her face. “Thank God, we didn’t suffer. We ran away from them and got into the car, which they crushed slightly.”       “You know, honey, honestly, I felt pain in my heart a few days ago.” Frederick puts his hand on his heart. “I kind of felt something bad and couldn’t stop thinking something happened to you. If you hadn’t come here today, I would’ve gone to visit you and Terrence.”       “Don’t worry,” Raquelle replies confidently and kisses Frederick cutely on the cheek. “Terrence and I are okay. We got scared but didn’t suffer. They would’ve rather crushed the car than killed one of us.”       “But whose car did they crush: Terrence or yours?”       “Terrence’s. Yesterday, he left it for repair. He also said he decided to use a moment and change some details.”       “Okay… But what will he do without it?”       “He’ll take mine, his friends will drive him, or he’ll have to pay for a taxi. Or my handsome guy will have to proudly go to the subway or a bus and travel on a bus or a tram.”       “Remind your fiancé how to use a metro and common transport,” Frederick says funnily.       “Don’t worry, I often bring him back to earth and remind him that he sometimes should do what all people in the world do.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Frederick and Raquelle laugh shyly.       “Okay…” Frederick says thoughtfully and takes off the glass he puts on the sofa next to him. “What happened later? What about your plan?”       “The most interesting things happened yesterday. As I said, Terrence and I had a plan that would make Edward confess everything. It worked, and Lockhart confessed that the man had to do with the letters. But when Edward began to speak, Natalia came to us, and it made the situation worse…”       “It was a part of your plan?”       “Nope, we wanted to talk to Natalia face-to-face because we thought she was afraid to say something and played along with Edward from fear of him. But I couldn’t kick her out when my friend asked me to give her time with pity in her eyes. But I would’ve better asked her to leave because it led to a nightmare we’ll never forget.”       “But didn’t it prevent you from finding out who sent you the letters?”       “No, we found out everything. We found out those letters were sent by the uncle of Edward on the father. That man wants to get the inheritance of his friend, which is supposed to belong to his sons.”       “What do you have to do with it?”       “I dunno. But that man is determined to defeat all of us. Because of money…”       “Jesus Christ…”       “Edward assured us it never belonged to his uncle – it was kinda stolen from his brother, whom he hated all his life.”       “Hm…” Frederick, frowning slightly, starts stroking his chin. “But why do you find it suspicious? Edward wants to get the money that belongs to him by law. If his father left a will, he has a right to get the part that is specified in it.”       “Yeah, but we may be killed because of all of that. Even if we’re guilty of nothing and did nothing bad.”       “And why doesn’t Edward wanna reject the inheritance if you’re so sure that it would solve the problem?”       “Because he’s a greedy and calculated rat!” Raquelle throws coldly. “He’s always been jealous of Terrence because my fiancé is much more successful and richer, but he has no cent in his pocket. I said he lived with a certain woman, who found him on the street and let him live in her apartment for a few years. Though Edward recently moved into Mrs. MacClife’s house…”       “Yeah… They got a strong attraction to each other…”       “You’re right! Anyway, Lockhart is ready for everything to get not only what he wants, but also what will never belong to him. That man has never had much money and has always lived on someone’s account. He wanted to find his rich friend and played love for the girl, who got provided parents, for the reason.”       “Did Edward want to get what Terrence and Natalia owned somehow?” Frederick wonders.       “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true. Anyway, we know about his plans because Terrence and I got him caught when we left Natalia and Edward alone for two minutes.”       “And how did you do it?”       “We heard him starting to fight with her. They were insulting each other for a long time: Edward called her a prostitute, who allegedly betrayed him and slept with other men, and Natalia made him take off his mask, telling him he was a rag. But then that man began insulting Terrence and me, saying he’d always judge his friend for what he did to me. And he blamed me for the lie ‘cause I allegedly lied to everybody and always covered my friend. One prostitute covers another.”       “That stinker dare to call you so?”       “Yes, Edward went nuts. He even dared to blame his mother for never loving him and always thinking only of Terrence. And he also blurted out that Natalia and he broke up because of her alleged betrayal. She was getting more enraged and even slapped him in the face a couple of times.”       “My gosh… It seems like he outdid Terrence and behaved much worse…”       “I found him suspicious from the beginning for the reason. I kind of felt Edward would suck our blood and give us many problems. But now we know well what he did behind our backs and understand all his words were a lie and an attempt to pity us and wish to feel sorry for the poor, unhappy guy.”       “So, did he reveal himself during the fight with your friend?”       “Yup…” Raquelle sighs heavily and glances down for a moment. “It happened that Terrence and I got involved in Natalia and Edward’s fight. We made him explain it, and he started pretending to be an innocent lamb again and insulting Natalia with our pretense. He even tried to raise a hand at her… But Terrence and I went on different sides: I was calming my friend down, who got a nervous breakdown, and my fiancé was holding his friend, who started humiliating and insulting him. Edward turned into a monster and eventually got Terrence really enraged… They started to fight and beat each other strongly for two minutes.”       “My gosh!” Frederick gets horrified, shaking his head. “Terrence suffered much?”       “Not very much, but he’s got lots of bruises. Though he hides them somehow… Edward beat him quite strongly before the eyes of Natalia and me. We begged them to stop, but they were so insane that getting closer to them would lead to something bad.”       “And how did it end?”       “As it should’ve done. Terrence kicked Edward out of his home and banned him from getting closer to us. We thought we’d have to kick him out by force like a dog, but thank God, he left by himself after saying very much to us.”       “How awful…” Frederick pronounces, being deeply shocked, shakes her head and runs his hands over his face. “I’m shocked by what you told me.”       “But it’s the truth,” Raquelle replies with sadness in her eyes. “The bitten truth. And we’ll have to accept it. To believe we let the betrayer come into our lives.”       “At first sight, that guy seemed so sweet and decent.”       “Yeah, Lockhart probably relied on his pretty face and pity and hit the bullseye! We all succumbed to that and didn’t realize what a snake we had. The snake that was pretending that he was happy with living on someone’s account and having no chance to earn much money. I’m sure Edward didn’t even try to find a job because he believed he could rob Terrence, his mother, his uncle, and me. And even empty the wallets of Natalia’s parents.”       “Hey, how could Edward get the inheritance if everything belongs to his father?” Frederick frowns slightly. “And how is he planning to get the money from his family?”       “I don’t know if it’s true, but his uncle said Edward and Terrence’s father was dead…”       “Dead?” Frederick opens his eyes wider. “But how is it possible? As far as I know, his parents often speak with each other, and Mr. MacClife has been looking for a meeting with his elder son.”       “I don’t know, Grandpa, but I advise you not to take his words seriously,” Raquelle shrugs. “Because we didn’t see any proof of his death. Edward didn’t prove anything and just told that with a sad face.”       “Well, you know… I can assume someone could get rid of his body, so nobody finds it.”       “I thought about it,” Raquelle sighs quietly. “Edward’s uncle wants to kill not only them but also Natalia, me, and even Mrs. MacClife. But I think you know we can no longer trust Edward’s words. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of what he told us was a lie. And he actually agreed with his uncle.”       “Gosh, does that man want to kill all of you?” Frederick gets horrified.       “Yes, because that man somehow tried to kill Edward but didn’t do that. Some people attacked him, beat him, and wounded him with a knife. His condition was hard for some time, but he survived. And his uncle believed Edward was dead for some time. But, as they say, the truth would come to light. And he found out his nephew didn’t die.”       “Edward was almost killed?” Frederick frowns slightly.       “And he showed us the scars on his back that he got after the wound.”       “Well, if someone tried to kill him, Edward hardly agreed with his uncle. Why would someone kill their accomplices? Unless they betray them.”       “I don’t wish Edward death, but I will hardly cry if I know he is dead. I’ll never forgive him for doing a mean thing to all of us. For humiliating my fiancé so shamelessly and doing a disgusting thing to my best friend. Both of them were attracted to him, but that scumbag gave a damn about their feelings and showered them with mud.”       “Yeah… Although I’m sorry that he was almost killed, and I don’t want him to die, his actions are disgusting and unforgivable. I don’t even know what he would have to do to deserve forgiveness and get back the trust that he lost.”       “Nothing,” Raquelle throws coldly. “Edward is dead for us. If he doesn’t love us and is ready to cut our throats for money, we wanna have nothing to do with him.”       “Well, after what you told me, I doubt my good opinion about him. Besides, if he insults his granddaughter. But I will never forget it.”       “It’s okay, Grandpa, he can think what he wants about me. I’m hurt not because of me, but because of Natalia and Terrence. They did nothing bad to Edward, but he dared to do that to them. I don’t doubt his mother would be disappointed if she knew about it. It would be hard for her to accept the fact that her younger son is a scumbag.”       “Yeah, poor parents of him, they didn’t deserve this punishment…” Frederick thinks for two seconds. “Hey, don’t you know why he broke up with Natalia? And why did he start calling her a prostitute? Just because she had had many admirers before him?”       “Edward just believes she cheated on him.”       “Cheated?” Frederick rounds his eyes. “Natalia cheated?”       “Yes, but it’s not true! She was actually framed.”       “Framed?”       “I wouldn’t be surprised if it had to do with the story of Edward and his uncle,” Raquelle bites her lip slightly. “But I don’t wanna tell anyone about it. Because many people might think my thoughts are crazy. Though I wanna guess all possible variants.”       “Do you think that man could frame Natalia, so she breaks up with Edward?”       “I don’t know why, but if he knew about their relationship, he could find a way to make them break up. Yes, I may be wrong, but there are too many coincidences in this story. Dunno… I don’t wanna believe all these events just happened at a different time but aren’t connected. I can’t stop thinking Edward and Natalia’s breakup and the story of Michael are connected.”       “Yeah, but how did Michael make Edward sure that Natalia cheated on him? By words, as in the case of his father’s death?”       “No, Edward had alleged proof in this case. But he doesn’t know everything was otherwise.” Raquelle glances down for a moment. “I’ll tell you the truth, but please, don’t talk to anyone about it. Or you better pretend you know nothing. It's quite a delicate thing.”       “Okay, I will say nothing,” Frederick nods. “You can speak.”       “Oh…” Raquelle exhales sharply to get rid of the tension in her body. “So, five months ago, Natalia was walking in a dangerous place in the late evening. And later, a horrifying man began accosting her. She tried to run away, but he caught her and decided to rape her, kissing her, caressing her, and squeezing all parts of her body…”       “Oh, God!” Frederick gets horrified, opening his eyes full of horror wider. “Natalia was almost raped?”       “Yes… That sick stinker even undressed her and eventually left her only in her underwear. I mean only her knickers… You know… She was almost naked before him…”       “I get it, sweetie.”       “So…” Raquelle sighs too heavily. “Meanwhile, three more men were taking photos and recording videos of their friend trying to rape Natalia and undressing her before their eyes. I think you can imagine what horror and shame she felt…”       “But how did he get off them?”       “Luckily, the police going by stopped those sick stinkers, and they decided to leave. But before, that man said if she told someone about that event, he would kill her, and his friends got time to mock her a little and could have raped her.” Raquelle swallows up nervously, tightly locking her fingers. “The poor girl got so terrified… She really believed she’d better be silent. But the silence played an evil joke with her.”       Raquelle sighs heavily again and shakes her head, while Frederick looks at her with horror in his eyes and listens to this shocking story.       “One month ago, Edward went to Natalia’s home and showed the photos of her and that man, who almost raped her. She said the photos were taken so that it seemed that she didn’t resist and even got pleasure from what he did to her. That’s why Edward started to believe he was betrayed. And my friend got so obsessed with such a strong hysteria that she couldn’t stop crying and could say nothing. Natalia wanted to tell him the truth, but she was afraid she’d be killed. So, she eventually sacrificed her relationship with him. And she made him consider her a betrayer, who allegedly slept with men while dating someone. After getting no explanations, Edward got terribly mad and announced the breakup with Natalia. But he decided to be silent about it, kept pretending that everything was fine, and made my friend show that wasn’t true. And as she was horribly scared and didn’t want to resist or argue, she agreed to do this crazy thing.”       “Jesus Christ, poor girl…” Frederick pronounces, closing his mouth with a hand and shaking his head with dumbfounded eyes. “I can’t believe Natalia experienced this horror… Gosh, Natalia… Poor, unhappy girl…”       “It’s hard for me to imagine what she experienced when she was kissed and caressed, undressed and photographed by force,” Raquelle replies in a low, shaking voice. “You imagine what would happen to her if those photos and videos were spread on the Internet? She would be ashamed of the whole world! People would point at her and call her a prostitute! And friends and familiar people of her parents would hardly keep speaking to those, whose daughter is ashamed.”       “Those scumbags did a nasty thing to such an innocent, sensitive girl. Gosh, what kind of trauma she is gonna have…”       “My heart squeezes and bleeds when thinking of her face when she was telling us about that disgusting event.”       “Yeah, but how did Edward get those photos?” Frederick frowns slightly. “The event happened five months ago, but he got the photos one month ago…”       “Natalia didn’t say that. But that’s what makes me suspect that the man could be connected with Michael. How could the violator of my friend know Edward? If only he knows his uncle, who decided to ruin this relationship and eventually started to send her messages with threats. Yes, that man might know Edward, not his uncle. But I don’t wanna think it’s true. I prefer believing Michael and that man are connected with each other.”       “So… It’s quite possible… Otherwise, that man wouldn’t have found a way to send the photos to Edward and make him think Natalia was allegedly in the bed of another man.”       “That’s what I mean.”       “Hm…” Frederick falls into silence for two seconds and glances sharply at Raquelle. “Wait, darling… So, was it her secret she was hiding for so many months?”       “Yes, that’s what she was silent about,” Raquelle nods and glances at her hands. “And I’m shocked that she never hinted at what happened to her. I wouldn’t have thought it was what she was hiding… Yes, we saw Natalia shook when someone talked about rape and violence, but nobody thought it was the reason for her fears and anxiety.”       “I’m surprised she hasn’t wished to die after what happened to her.”       “She wanted, Grandpa… She tried to do it…”       “What?” Frederick sharply moves his widely open eyes to Raquelle. “Tried? How? When?”       “Yesterday. She broke down after Terrence and Edward attacked each other with fists. And when I started to calm Terrence down and fight with Edward, Natalia went to the bathroom and fell into hysteria.”       “Gosh, Raquelle, the more you tell me, the more horrified I get…” Frederick confesses, shaking his head.       “It was horrible, Grandpa!” Raquelle sniffs quietly, looking at Frederick with pity in her eyes. “I never saw her in such a horrible condition and got terribly scared. Natalia was so close to doing something to herself. I thought we’d lose her. She was crying bitterly, screaming and begging us to let her die, as she had no strength to take all of that.”       Raquelle swallows up nervously and shakes his head.       “Thank God, Terrence was next to me and helped me calm her down somehow. Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to control Natalia. Who had such a strong hysteria that she was screaming and trying to beat us.”       Frederick looks at Raquelle with sadness in his eyes, while she is literally crying but trying to hold herself down. Then he moves closer to the girl, hugs her around the shoulders, and presses her to himself.       “I completely understand you, my sweetie,” Frederick says softly and kisses Raquelle on the top of her head. “It’s hard for me to imagine what you had to experience.”       “Don’t worry, we’ll overcome it,” Raquelle replies quietly. “Though we still can’t calm down.”       “My God…”       “I’m not surprised Natalia broke down eventually. Though she says she doesn’t remember what she was doing during the attack.”       “Don’t remember?”       “When Terrence and I told her everything when she woke up after a faint, she had a misunderstanding and a shock in her eyes. Well, maybe, that’s even good…”       “I told you she’d give up and stop being silent, early or late. You should’ve waited for a while and slightly pressed on her.”       “And you were absolutely right. But Edward and she revealed themselves almost at the same time.”       “I knew they wouldn’t be pretending forever. And now very many things were put in the right places. Natalia has nothing to hide, and Edward showed everyone who he actually was.”       “And it’s so hurtful for me to realize it,” Raquelle sighs quietly. “Hurt by what happened. I wanna wake up and realize it’s not the truth, but I understand it’s not a dream.”       Raquelle glances down, feeling a tear slowly roll over her cheek.       “Why is it happening? And why does my friend have to suffer? She’s never done anything bad to someone. Natalia has always been a decent and good girl. Why did it happen that some cads decided to mock her, make her suffer, and ruin her life?”       “Ah, honey…” Frederick sighs quietly and takes Raquelle with his arms much tighter, caressing her head and kissing her on the temple two times. “If I knew what to say… But you know that good people, who can’t stand up for themselves usually become victims.”       “I wish everything ended, and we lived like before. At first, I tried to joke, but now I wanna cry without stopping again. Yes, this case is related to me much less, but I’m worried about my close people with all my heart.”       “Don’t give up, Raquelle!” Frederick encourages, tenderly caressing Raquelle’s cheek while her head is lying on his shoulder. “You’ve always been a strong girl! Even if you thought there was no solution, you had a little hope that everything would be fine.”       “No, Grandpa Frederick, when that stinker Simon ruined my life, I didn’t have hope for the best. I felt so bad that I sometimes wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. Swallow tablets and end the torture that I experienced when I was almost all alone. When those, who were turned against me by Ringer, wished to hear nothing about me.”       “Don’t think about that stinker, honey. He already paid for what he did to you, your mother, and your father. Now you have so many people that will always support you, be by your side, give you a shoulder, and help with a piece of advice. Terrence, Natalia, Anna, the guy from the band of your fiancé… Your auntie Alicia and I… We will never leave you and will be by your side, despite nothing.”       “Yes, I know. Sadly, someone does need support. For example, Natalia and Natalia. They suffer much more because of the cruel betrayal and the problems they suddenly got.”       “Agree, they’re having a hard time, but they won’t stay without support. They will always support each other because Terrence and Natalia are very good friends.”       “And I’m so glad they’re speaking so warmly,” Raquelle smiles shyly. “Terrence and Natalia are my very important people. I’d feel hurt if they disliked each other. I’m happy they became friends… And Terrence didn’t turn his back on Natalia and stood by her side. I would’ve resented if he had accepted Edward’s side and refused to believe his friend was a real scumbag.”       “I think your fiancé saw and heard everything well. And I think there could be no choice. If Edward said he wanted to get your money and was jealous of his friend, Terrence shouldn’t have kept covering him and pretended that everything was fine.”       “And I can’t go against him. Maybe, Terrence makes mistakes sometimes, but he did the right thing in this case. And… Although I got really scared when he and Edward attacked each other with fists, Lockhart deserved all those hits.”       “You know, although I’m not a lover of sorting everything out with fists, Edward asked for trouble and provoked Terrence. He knew well your fiancé had a hard character, but kept behaving disgustingly.”       “You’re right. And after that, Terrence and I will do our best to protect Natalia from such a horrible man. If Edward dares to come to our friend and insult her again, he’ll have to pay much for that.”       “Of course, it’s hurtful that he considers that girl a betrayer for no reason and doesn’t know the truth. But I think it would be better if it wasn’t revealed. A truly loving man would believe his girlfriend anyway and wouldn’t make conclusions only from photos, which, as this event proves, can’t always hide one meaning.”       “He hardly needs the truth. He needs only money, for which he’s ready for anything. Even to betray his family. Why he’d need love!”       “Sadly, sometimes money makes a person worse. It’s actually a very insidious thing. The more you have, the more you start to think it’s not enough for you.”       “You’re right.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Frederick keeps embracing Raquelle tightly and pressing her to herself.       “Hey, what about Terrence’s band?” Frederick asks. “Their business got better?”       “No, sadly,” Raquelle replies quietly. “Everything got much worse than we assumed.”       “They were disbanded?”       “Everything’s coming to that. And some time ago, something happened, and it might lead to this in the worst case.”       “Something very serious?”       “Yes, the band’s drummer is now in the hospital after the suicide attempt,” Raquelle confesses, exhaling sharply.       “What?” Frederick rounds his eyes. “Drummer? Suicide attempt?”       “He opened his veins with a blade.”       “God, I don't know what to say! How many problems!”       “Yeah, I didn’t think everything would be over like that.”       “Erm, wait… The drummer… Is the blond, who is a little lower than Terrence? Peter, probably…”       “Yes, that’s him – Peter. Before yesterday, Terrence and Daniel, the band’s bassist, found that guy in his apartment unconscious with open veins.”       “How awful…” Frederick shakes his head, thinking about something for three or four seconds. “Will that guy survive? What do the doctors say?”       “The doctors can’t say anything clearly,” Raquelle shakes her head with sadness in her eyes. “I know only that his condition is still hard, and he’s literally between heaven and earth. And today’s early morning, he was supposed to get a blood transfusion.”       “Oh, poor guy… Why he disliked his life! He’s a young, healthy guy, his life lies in front of him… Instead of valuing every second, he tried to kill himself at his wish.”       “Failures in his personal life and regular bullying at school made their business and led to this sad result.”       “Does he have a one-sided love?”       “Who knows. But it’s possible. There must be a reason why he always rejects all girls that wanna date him.”       “My gosh… But he’s not a little boy to kill himself because of one-sided love. Of course, there are teenagers, who can’t get over their emotions. But an adult man… I don’t get it…”       “Anything happens, Grandpa,” Raquelle slowly steps back from Frederick. “As if nobody from your circle tried to kill themselves because of a one-sided love.”       “Well, yeah… I had a familiar lady, whose daughter killed herself because her boyfriend left her. But she was quite a sensitive teenager and always took everything too seriously. But if she had been brought to a doctor in time, she would’ve avoided it.”       “Anyway, a one-sided love or bullying at school are the only reasons why Peter could do such a desperate thing. But we don’t know much. Maybe, everything is much harder and more horrible.”       “Oh… Anyway, I’m truly sorry for that guy. And I’m truly surprised that Terrence finds the strength to take such horrible things.”       “Erm… I don’t think he takes it quietly…”       “What do you mean?”       “Terrence has lately not been himself…” Raquelle sighs quietly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s clear he’s worried much… And everything is kind of fine with us, but sometimes we have conflicts. It may be hard for us to stop when we find a reason to fight. Of course, we quickly reconcile after coming down, but still…”       “Are you too nervous because of what’s happening?”       “Most likely,” Raquelle thinks for two seconds, biting her lip slightly. “But you know, the problem is not our conflicts. The problem is that he’s too depressed. Terrence says everything is fine, but I feel he’s worried much. He holds himself down… He doesn’t let himself get everything out of him…”       “I think that’s the aftermath of the stress he’s experiencing. Terrence knows he’s a man and must hold himself down and keep seeming a strong and unbreakable man. Though, what we see outside doesn’t always show us what’s inside. This situation makes him depressed, but he doesn’t wanna show it.”       “You know, I notice that he has woken up in the middle of the night and stayed in the living room until the early morning for two days in a row. I just woke up, but he wasn’t in the bed. At first, I didn’t pay attention to that and fell asleep quickly at the thought that he went to the bathroom or to drink water. But the second time, I got suspicious and decided to find him. But when I saw him in the living room, Terrence decided to go to sleep. And I… Didn’t ask him and pretended that I didn’t hear him leaving and coming…”       “My gosh…” Frederick frowns slightly.       “His mood changes very quickly. Terrence is fine in the morning, has a fighting spirit, and is ready for anything… Closer to lunch, he becomes playful and doesn’t mind going somewhere to have fun or just spending time with me. Well, by the evening, his mood gets much worse…”       “In this situation, it’s not surprising, sweetie. You know how much has rained thick upon him: the band’s problems, the letters with threats, Peter’s suicide attempt, and Edward’s betrayal. Anyone would be barely able to hold on.”       “I really wanna help him but don’t know how… I see he’s suffering, but I can’t do anything to make him feel a little better.”       “Talk to him and carefully ask him about what he’s worried about. I think he’ll tell you everything. Just let him know you’re ready to support him, despite nothing, and your fiancé will speak out.”       “I dunno, Grandpa, I’m afraid…”       “Why, honey? What’s wrong with coming to your fiancé and talking to him?”       “What if he accidentally takes it out on me?” Raquelle asks in a little shaking voice, feeling a tear roll over her cheek, and sniffs quietly. “You know that you can do anything in anger. But knowing Terrence has a very hard character and is full of negative emotions, it might make the situation worse.”       “No, Raquelle, don’t think so.” Frederick embraces Raquelle around the shoulders again, softly caressing her head and kissing her on the cheek. “Terrence is short-tempered – it’s not a secret to anyone. But he will not dare to hurt you. Because your fiancé really loves you and still regrets almost losing you. And he knows that Alicia and I would just strangle him if we knew he treated you horribly again.”       “But what if he doesn’t just wanna talk? Not because he doesn’t trust me and doesn’t wanna explain it to me! What if he doesn’t wanna be open and prefers being strong and unbroken for everyone, as cats literally scratch inside him.”       “He’d reveal it to you, and the others… Depending on how close a person is to him. And don’t forget, Terrence is a man. Men don’t almost show their feelings. Moreover, everybody considers him a strong man, who is very confident and doesn’t doubt that he is perfect, irresistible, and loved by literally all people in the world. Everybody believes he really has such a high self-rating, and he’s so confident. Imagine what would happen if someone knew he broke down. He’d be ashamed. Terrence would get horrified if his image of a fearless and confident hero was ruined.”       “But nobody’s gonna judge him for breaking down once! Terrence has wonderful friends that joke at him but are always ready to give him support.”       “Ah, Raquelle…” Frederick sighs with sadness in his eyes. “Even if someone has good friends and a loving family, it doesn’t mean they would share problems with these people. I don’t say Terrence doesn’t trust you. It’s just hard for him to talk about what he’s worried about and show his fears. At heart, he’s afraid someone will start to judge him. Because that man always praises himself and literally calls himself God. People see it and call him the one, who you can’t make feel humiliated, insulted, timid, scared, hesitant, and ugly. Terrence proves to everyone that he knows who he is. But if he lets someone doubt it, it will be very bad for him.”       “I know, Grandpa… But what do I do for him to speak out, at least to me? I’d tell nobody about our talk if Terrence asked me about it.”       “I think he’ll speak to you early or late. Now he needs the support of the closest person, without whom it’s gonna be hard for him to overcome difficulties and keep moving on. And the closest people, who can give support are his mother and you. He can tell you what he wouldn’t tell his friends. There are things that only the closest people must know. But he does trust you and Mrs. MacClife at one hundred percent.”       “I understand. But what do I do for him to tell me about his problems and not to take it out on me?”       “The most important thing is not to press on him. Be next to him, but don’t make him speak by force. Show patience and don’t rush. When you rush, something always may go wrong… So, when Terrence feels he can trust you, he’ll ask you for an open talk. I can say Natalia is an example: you and Terrence showed her your care, loyalty, and patience, and she told you her secret.”       “I dunno, Grandpa…” Raquelle says quietly, sighing heavily and inclining her head slightly. “I don’t wanna lose Terrence… If I make another mistake, fate will hardly give us another chance to save our relationship. And we’ll have to forget about our wedding.”       Raquelle sighs heavily again and looks around the whole living room.       “Besides, I feel a little awkward because Terrence always saves me and does something,” Raquelle confesses a little hesitantly. “I also should do something for him or save him somehow… So, he thinks I’m also ready for anything for him and didn’t lie when I swore to become a wonderful fiancée to him and love him like nobody else had done before.”       “Raquelle, stop always thinking you’d lose him. Believe me, Terrence wouldn’t be able to live without you because he loves you too much. You two can’t live without each other. I think fate brought you together and didn’t tear you apart for a reason. If none of you felt out of love with each other when you wanted to break up, you will never do.”       “No, no, I will never fall out of love with that man. No matter how hard he is, I love Terrence with all my heart and wanna be with him.”       “I believe, honey. I see he’s getting better with you. You’re one of the fewer people, who can make your fiancé softer, much quieter, and more caring.”       “I doubt I would’ve stayed with him if he was a horrible man and didn’t wanna get better.”       “He’ll be much better if you’re always next to him. Any loving man would highly value a girl’s care and thank her with touching love and infinite tenderness. No matter what, they need attention. They need to know they’re loved and waited.”       “Aw, Grandpa…”       Raquelle takes Frederick in her hug with a slight smile, and he accepts it with pleasure. But a few seconds later, she slowly steps back from the man, looking sad because she cannot solve this hopeless situation.       “Okay, my sunshine, let’s not talk about bad things,” Frederick suggests with a slight smile, caressing Raquelle’s cheek. “Let’s first eat and then think what we could do. If you decided to spend a whole day with me, I must help you relax.”       “Yeah, it would be great to swallow something…” Raquelle replies thoughtfully. “I literally drank a glass of water this morning.”       “That’s wrong, my darling. Do you want to bring yourself to exhaustion? Did you forget that I always taught you to have a good breakfast? You can eat a little within a whole day, but you must have a good breakfast in the morning.”       “I know… I just wanted to eat nothing in the morning. I’m still shaking from what happened yesterday… Got so excited that I literally lost appetite.”       “You will get it back now.” Frederick gets up from the sofa confidently. “Go to the kitchen! I shall not let you keep being worried about your problems. Bringing yourself to a nervous breakdown and doing something horrible would be too much. Come on, Raquelle, get up! While your fiancé is not with you, I will personally watch you.”       “Aw, Grandpa Frederick, what I would do without ya…” Raquelle pronounces with a slight smile.       Shaking her head, Raquelle gets up from the sofa and follows Frederick to the kitchen. The man distracts the girl with talks and does not let her think of something bad. And later, she relaxes and starts smiling truly, enjoying the pastime she is spending with her close person.       

***

      It’s about three hours o’clock. Edward is in the small, modest apartment of Christopher, who had to take his friend, who drank at the bar and got drunk, to make sure he will do nothing bad. The man has been sleeping deeply for a few hours in a small room. There is a one-placed bed with white bedclothes, a small closet made of brown wood, and a writing table with a black laptop, some papers, pens, pencils, a bunch of magazines, and cables from some apparatus on it. The walls of the room are dark gray, and a little chandelier is hanging on the ceiling. A big picture is hanging in front of the bed, on which Edward is sleeping with his back turned to the only window, which is closed with a white jalousie. And through which some of the daylight gets into this room.       At some moment, Edward makes a very quiet moan and slightly moves his hand. He barely opens his eyes and strongly winces from a terrible headache and pain in his whole body, and every single movement is very hard for him. A little later, the man grabs his head, which terribly hurts, and literally tears apart after trying to move it off the pillow. The thought of this pain is obsessed with his brain, which does not work fine because of the drunk alcohol. And later, he realizes that he feels slight nausea, dizziness, and a strong dryness in his mouth. Opening the eyes is a hard thing to do, as they start hurting because of the bright light that gets into the room through the window.       However, after lying for some time, Edward barely finds the strength to get up and sit on the edge of the bed. After quickly looking around the whole room with half-closed, hurt eyes, he realizes he does not know this place and cannot remember how he ended up here.       “Holy shit, where am I?” Edward wonders, quickly massaging his temples and still moaning at times because of the unbearable pain in his body. “What’s this place? How did I end up here? What happened? Why do I remember nothing? What was I actually doing yesterday? Why am I being pursued by the feeling that I screwed everything well? Oh, fuck…”       But a few seconds later, Edward cannot remember anything from what happened yesterday, and how it happened that he ended up in the unfamiliar place. That’s why the man decides to find it out. So, despite the terrible pain in his body, Lockhart barely makes himself get up from the bed but almost loses his balance, as he feels his legs immediately get weak under his weight and barely can hold him. Nevertheless, the wish to recall everything and find out what brought him here is much stronger. The brunet, holding by all walls, handles, and surfaces he sees in his way, comes to the light brown door by force, carefully opens it, and comes into the hall that connects a few closed rooms.       As he does not know what is what, Edward carefully looks into every single one, but does not find anyone to make this situation clear. However, after walking into the apartment a little, Lockhart finds a small bathroom and barely comes into it on his weak legs. He slowly turns on the faucet with shaking hands and washes his face, looking at his reflection in the mirror and seeing a black-haired man with quite a noticeable bristle on the white, little puffy face, dead red eyes, under which there are clear circles, and dry lips that are usually tender red but now almost white. Moreover, it’s possible to see many little bruises on his body, the reason for which he also forgot.       “Holy shit, what an appearance…” Edward thinks and looks at every single bruise on his face surprisingly. “Did I fight with someone if my face is full of bruises?”       Edward also throws his surprised gaze at his clothes, which look like he was very late and put them on in a rush. A light shabby shirt is slightly tucked in the same shabby light blue jeans that are ripped in some places. The fly of them is open, and they are literally put on his thighs. However, he does not care about it and slightly wets his black hair, which is disheveled like after a fight, and strokes it down. After getting a little fresh, Edward turns off the faucet, washes his face and hair with a towel, and leaves the bathroom, closing the door and switching off the light. Then the man keeps carefully examining the unfamiliar apartment, looking into all the rooms again as if he believes he would find someone in there.       And a few seconds later, Edward barely comes to the kitchen, where he finds a light brown-haired young shirtless guy standing in front of the cooker in light pants with elastic. He has a body that is not perfect but quite good. It has muscles, the abs are seen on his flat stomach, and the back looks well-trained. Now he is cooking something for himself and easily working with domestic appliances and ingredients that are placed on the kitchen counter, not feeling that he is not alone here and thinking about something.       At first, Edward does not recognize him as his friend Christopher and asks himself surprisingly who this guy is. With this thought, Lockhart slowly enters the kitchen, keeping one hand on his head, which is about to tear from pain, and moaning quietly. Morgan understands someone came into the kitchen, half turns, and sees his kind of sober friend, who understands nothing and looks very bad.       “Oh, look, who woke up!” Christopher exclaims happily and chuckles quietly, raising his hands in front of him. “Justin, what an honor to see you sober!”       “Chris?” Edward starts realizing something, barely moving his lips and tongue. “Is that you?”       “No, fuck, I am Santa Claus! I brought gifts to you before Christmas, which is only coming in three months!”       “Very funny!” Edward throws gloomily in a low voice. “You better tell me where I am. Where did I end up? And what time is it?”       “This is my home, bro,” Christopher throws his hands up. “Welcome! And yeah, it’s quarter past three.”       “Oh, so, am I at your home?”       “Where else, you, stupid bonehead? Thank God, you’re not at the police station. Believe me, they’d kick your ass enough and wash your brains for what you did yesterday.”       “Oh, Chris, don’t shout so loudly, please…” Edward moans quietly, energetically massaging his temples, sits on a high chair, leans on the kitchen counter with his elbows, and runs his fingers through his disheveled hair. “I feel bad… My head is tearing… Hurts so much that I wanna die…”       “I’m not surprised,” Christopher shrugs, turns on the cooker, and keeps doing something to the skillet placed on one of the burners. “If your head hurts, there is a pitcher of water, a glass, and a pack of tablets near you. I prepared it especially for you.”       “Oh, thanks for the care,” Edward throws gloomily.       Edward reaches for the pitcher of water, drinks much of it but then takes one tablet from the pack with shaking hands, swallows it up immediately, and drinks it, still moaning at times from the pain and a terrible weakness, which is the reason why he barely stands and sits. The man greedily drinks the full pitcher of water, trying to get rid of the strong dryness in his mouth and the feeling of bitterness in it, and moans painfully at some moment with the thought that it’s not enough for him.       “Fuck, gimme more water…” Edward says quietly.       “More?” Christopher wonders. “I did give you a full pitcher! Did ya drink it?”       “Look here.”       Christopher glances at Edward shaking the empty pitcher, sighs tiredly, takes this thing from his friend, quickly fills it with clean water, and gives it to Lockhart who starts greedily drinking it again, not being able to stop.       “Yay, buddy, you look terrible,” Christopher notices thoughtfully, crossing his arms over his chest.       “I do know it,” Edward grumbles, puts the half-empty pitcher aside, and grabs his head with a quiet moan. “Oh, fuck… How bad I feel… I do wanna strangle myself…”       “You know, I’m not surprised. If you had been able to control yourself and hadn’t drunk to the fuck, everything would’ve been much better.”       “Did I drink?” Edward frowns slightly.       “Huh, drink! It’s too soft to say! You drank to the fuck, my friend!” Christopher comes to the cooker, turns off the burner, on which the skillet is placed, and glances at Edward. “Two glasses of whiskey plus a glass of tequila.”       “Listen, curly, what happened yesterday?” Edward wonders, rubbing his forehead and leaning on the kitchen counter, at which he is sitting, with his elbow. “And how did I end up in your apartment?”       “Don’t you remember anything?” Christopher wonders truly, rounding his eyes.       “Anything. I hope I didn’t do something terrible.”       “Nothing special,” Christopher scratches his stomach with his nails. “Not saying that you drank THREE glasses of strong alcohol and were inadequate. After the first one, you relaxed and went the wrong way. But after the third one, you went crazy. You started the fucking affray! Screamed in the whole bar, sang songs, danced, and almost undressed to the underwear, along with shouts of young girls.”       “Me?” Edward rounds his eyes. “Undressed to the underwear?”       “Not me! And yeah, there were teenagers that recorded your drunk affray on a mobile phone, laughed at you when you wanted to dance, and screamed so loudly that the bar staff almost called the police but barely stood on your feet. So, if you check the Internet, don’t be surprised if you find a couple of videos of you. However, be happy they aren’t so terrible ‘cause it’s not porno, in which you fuck a girl when being drunk.”       “No, I couldn’t do that! Couldn’t!”       “But you did! You drank enough and turned into a moron. That began to say some bullshit after the first glass.”       “You must’ve confused me with someone. I would never start an affray and undress before people! I may get arrested for that!”       “At that moment, you didn’t care about it. You just wanted to drink to the fuck and start dancing on the dancepool, which you didn’t reach, and singing songs. You didn’t wanna leave and resisted so hard when I was trying to take you far from the bar and drive you to my home. I barely brought your body to my car, seat you in the backseat, and drove you away. And then I had to hear you singing a song about heroes for half of the way.”       “Fuck, it’s just madness…”       “No, sweet friend, it’s not madness. The madness happened when I drove you here, and you drank half of the cognac from my collection. Do you know how hard it was to take it away from you? You became a stupid moron after three glasses, a half of cognac turned off your brain. You went so insane that you even scratched my hand!” Christopher shows his hand, on which there is a slight vertical scar that he definitely got some time ago. “Look, Justin, enjoy! And finally recall what kind of things you did after you drank at the bar and at my home.”       “Oh, Christopher, close your mouth…” Edward closes his face with his hands with a quiet moan and runs his fingers through his hair.       “And yeah, let me ask you one interesting question: how did you get so many bruises on your body? I saw them shortly after you went outside, but I didn’t see them at the bar ‘cause it was dark. Who beat you so hard that you have lots of bruises on your body? It seems like someone beat you strongly. Not only one person did that.”       “Erm… I…”       A few moments later, Edward starts slowly calling the memories about yesterday and what he did when being drunk. The meeting with Terrence, Raquelle, and Natalia, the story about Michael, the fight with his ex-girlfriend… The serious fight with the three, the cruel fight with his friend, the talk with his uncle, and the meeting with Christopher, at the apartment of whom he ended up… The mind slowly starts walking up and helping the man put some things in the right places. However, Edward does not get better. Vice versa, he feels very, very ashamed of what he did.       “I wanna specify, you didn’t fight with anyone when being drunk,” Christopher specifies. “You had gotten into something before meeting me. Some time ago. Because the bruises are fresh. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had gotten beaten yesterday in the morning or the day before yesterday.”       “I…” Edward stutters, deciding not to tell Christopher the truth about getting beaten by Terrence. “I… Well… Protected me from lowlifes that almost stole my last few dollars. So, they beat me…”       “So, we’re calling the memories slowly… Yes, the star of the bar ‘Shake It Up’?”       “Erm… I…”       “Actually, I should’ve given a fuck about you and left you somewhere on the street like a homeless or long-time alcoholic,” Christopher says confidently, leaning on the kitchen counter with his hands. “But I didn’t do it and patiently stood all your actions, shouts, crazy dances, attempts to bite, start a fight and insult… I heard the senseless delirium that you said, and winced when you were sick all night long. And then I carried your body to my room after you passed out in the bathroom and stopped giving signs of life.”       “Ar-r-r-r…”       “You know, although you’re as slim as a sausage, you weigh literally one ton. Because I almost broke my back when carrying my unconscious pal to the bed. While I tried to sleep on the hard, uncomfortable sofa. And now my whole body hurts, and I feel disgusting.”       “Chris, please, don’t continue…” Edward moans painfully, grabbing his head with his hands. “Stop…”       “So, got ashamed? Do you remember the affray you started, and how much you got ashamed of people? And how you screamed like crazy at my home! You screamed so loudly that my neighbors came to me last night. They wanted to call the police ‘cause they thought I had started a party. But that’s good they are understanding people and believed when I said I just drove my drunk friend home and tried to help him wake up after drinking. If there had been someone else, I doubt they wouldn’t have called the police, who would’ve taken you to the police station and made me pay a great penalty for violating the order.”       “Oh, Morgan, the more you say, the more I want to be swallowed by the ground or die,” Edward replies gloomily in a low voice, takes the pitcher of water, fills the glass, and drinks it quickly.       “Do you think I didn’t want to strangle myself from shame when I had to watch you and get ashamed of everybody, calling myself the friend of one alcoholic, who believed yesterday was a cool moment to drink to hell and start an affray? As if I wanted to take your drunk ass to my home and wake you up! Listen to someone’s claims and feel disgusting when seeing you cleaning your stomach! Why the fuck I needed! Tell me, wh-y th-e fu-ck!”       “You could leave me. I didn’t make you watch me.”       “Yeah?” Christopher crosses his arms over his chest, looking at Edward amazingly. “So, you drink to alcohol poisoning or death? No, buddy, I do care about your fate! If you have no brain and lost it somewhere, I still have it and won’t let you bring yourself to the hole.”       “Oh, thank you, my generous one!” Edward throws gloomily with a quiet chuckle.       “You know, I advise you to check the results on Google by searching ‘Russian alcoholic.’ You’ll see what you looked like when you drank so much whiskey and tequila. Or just check out photos of Russian long-time alcoholics. I’m sure you’re gonna love it.”       “No, you’re lying! I didn’t look like a Russian alcoholic!”       “Oh, you did! You should’ve gotten ecstasy or drugs to go nuts and not to be able to wean yourself away from this shit. I’m imagining what would happen to you if someone gave you something to sniff. If you became inadequate after drinks, this shit will bring you to a mental hospital.”       “Well, I’m sorry about what you had to see,” Edward sighs tiredly. “That’s what you want to hear. Huh?”       “Sorry?” Christopher rounds his eyes. “That’s all? Is this everything you want to say to excuse yourself? Just ‘sorry’?”       “But what do you wanna hear? Ask me, and I’ll probably answer. But my head doesn’t almost work now, and I ain’t sure if I can give you an adequate answer.”       “Well…” Christopher sits on a high chair in front of Edward. “First, I’d like to know what’s happening in your life. Yesterday, you said many interesting things… It was so breathtaking that I’d listen to you again. But when you’re sober.”       “Erm…” Edward, looking at Christopher tensely with widely open eyes, gets straight sharply. “But what did I say?”       “Nothing special,” Christopher shrugs. “Not saying that you dreamed of being in your mommy’s arms. Nobody kind of loved you… Everyone mocked you all your life… I remember that you said your father never loved you, but your mother never thought of you for the years you didn’t meet. Though when we met for the first time, you said different things: you lived all your life with your mother but met your father very late.”       “But you know it’s the truth.”       “Yeah, but after the first glass, you started saying different things. You even mentioned some brothers, though you always said you had nobody.”       “Erm…” Edward bites his lip slightly and gets sharply white with a feeling of a stopped heart, starting to be afraid that he could say who he was when he was drunk. “But I don’t have brothers… I… I’m the only child in the family.”       “Well, you know, it’s not the most interesting thing. I got the greatest interest in your words about a girl, who betrayed you and showered with mud. And that’s why all the ladies were nasty whores for you. Though, you wanted to pick up a girl and feel her up, saying you didn’t have sex for ages, and your ex didn’t allegedly let you come to her, and her body never belonged to you.”       “Really?” Edward starts breathing heavily, while his eyes are chaotically running from one side to another. “Did I really say it?”       “Oh, buddy, drinking must be forbidden for you…” Christopher moans tiredly, running his hands over his face. “Yes, Justin, you did really say it! Sadly, I didn’t turn on a voice recorder to record your words and then play them for you. But you did say that!”       “Fuck…” Edward inclines his head with a quiet moan and leans on it with his hands, slightly pulling his hair. “I hate my life… Hey, Morgan, do you have soup and a rope? I shall go to strangle myself to the fuck! I’m sick of living and suffering! I wanna die!”       “Yay, Ledger, you didn’t say you had a girlfriend…” Christopher crosses his arms over his chest. “As it turned out, someone charmed you a long time ago, but left you.”       “What girl?”       “C’mon, man! Everybody knows that when people are drunk, they become much freer and may tell all their secrets. They become the opposite of themselves. You always seemed like a shy and quiet guy, but when you drank, you became a shameless and insolent man, who started the affray and accosted a barmaid, who did a stupid thing by giving you the third glass of whiskey. You see, you wanted to get her number.”       “Did you believe what I said when being drunk? Of course, I barely remember what I said, but whatever you heard, I swear it’s not the truth.”       “No, buddy, I already said alcohol would make any person freer and absolutely different. So, I have a reason to believe you betrayed all the truth about your life, in which so much has happened, as it turned out.”       “Oh, Chris, you understand nothing…”       “Why don’t I? I’m not so stupid not to understand some things. At least, no man would call all girls prostitutes without a reason. And say that nobody loves him. Maybe, you dreamed up only the fact that you try to be a hero for everyone and save someone from trouble. But everything about girls could be the truth.”       “No… I said you get nothing…” Edward hides his head in his arms folded on the table and closes his eyes for two seconds, still feeling disgusting and suffering from the pain in his whole body, a slight shake, and dryness in his mouth.       “Did you break up with a girl and decide to drink?” Christopher asks.       “Not quite because of a girl…” Edward replies hesitantly in a low voice, slowly getting straight and rubbing his eyes that he still cannot open.       “M-m-m, I wonder, what did you get into?”       “I got into trouble when I was a little puppy. When I was born in this world. Though, my birth made nobody happy. Because even my own parents didn’t need me.”       “Why do ya think so, dude?”       “I do, Chris, nobody has ever loved me. Yes, I had a mother, who took care of me and didn’t leave me hungry, cold, or undressed. But I never felt her love. She didn’t care if I existed. It’s like a job you dislike: it terribly annoys you and makes you feel bad, but you can’t leave it ‘cause you get money. Which you spend on your life. So, she took care of me just because she should have done it. Not because she loved.”       “You have a very bad opinion of your parents. They gave you life. You must be grateful at least for that.”       “I wish I wasn’t born.” Edward drinks some water from the glass that he fills fully. “Why did they give birth to me if they never wanted it? And I didn’t reach what they dreamed about. Yes, my father and mother were too young, but I’m sure they didn’t want the child they got.”       “I believe you’re just insulting yourself and saying it about your parents for nothing. I’m sure they loved you anyway. They just mightn’t have shown it openly. Would your mother have taken care of you if she hadn’t loved you? She would’ve left you in an orphan house and forgotten you!”       “I’m just a loser, Chris. The loser, who has reached nothing by the age of twenty-one: no money, no job, no home, no family… Nothing! I’ve been trying to understand what’s the meaning of my life for ages. But now I’m sure my fate is to be unhappy, suffer all my life, and be a bastard to my close people and a fucking barking puppy to others. And always bend under those, who wanna humiliate me and make me feel like an insecure boy that will get nothing good.”       “Alright, Jus, tell me what’s happening to you. You did confess that you got into something.”       “Oh, sorry, buddy, but I don’t wanna talk about my problems…” Edward replies gloomily, wincing strongly and often rubbing his eyes. “I don’t wanna talk about how I’ve been humiliated all my life…”       “Okay, I won’t insist. Then tell me what happened to your girlfriend.”       “She hasn’t been my girlfriend for one month,” Edward throws in a lower voice. “That person cruelly betrayed me, choosing another man, whom she fucked during our relationship.”       “Oh, I’m sorry, dude…” Christopher claps Edward slightly on the shoulder. “So, she did?”       “Do I look like the one to lie? That idiot did really have me wrapped around her finger and kept horns on me all the time we dated.”       “But how did you know it? Did she leave you? Or did you catch her with someone?”       “I caught. In the photos of her kissing an ugly deadbeat. And standing almost naked in front of him. NAKED, Chris! She showed him her fucking boobs and caressed his penis! She was probably impressed by the big size! Or that bastard knows how to bring her quickly to a crazy orgasm!”       “Wow! Did she really prefer being with that, as you say, deadbeat?”       “Yes, she did!” Edward exclaims a little louder, strongly squeezing the glass that he was drinking water from in his hands. “She insolently lied that she loved me, while someone fucked her. Though that nasty whore knew I would never forgive a lie and leave any girl, who lied to me at least in something. Getting happiness through a lie is impossible – it will come to light early or late.”       “Yeah, but how could she prefer someone else over you?” Christopher frowns slightly. “You’re quite a good guy that any girl could fall in love with! What did she dislike?”       “I don’t know what she disliked,” Edward puts the glass aside sharply and runs his hands over his face. “I always showed her my love, helped her somehow, took care of her, and did everything a loving person should’ve done. But she didn’t appreciate it, used me, and decided to forget me when she got sick of me.”       “Do you think that girl dated that man for a long time?”       “I don’t doubt they’ve been dating for a long time. That bitch suffers from nymphomania – she lacks the attention of men and can’t live without regular sex. But while she was fucking her lover, who wasn’t the only one for her, I was kept as a reserved player. That betrayal never belonged to me. She always rejected me, not letting me go too far and not letting me kiss her at times.”       “Well, as she left you and cheated with another man, forget her! There are many beautiful girls that would be better than your ex.”       “I’d give much for that scumbag to leave my mind and for me to meet a more decent girl. But sadly, there’s a problem…”       “Gosh… Do you love her after what she did to you?”       “Yes, Chris, I madly love her,” Edward confesses quietly, exhaling sharply. “But no matter how strong my love is, I’ll never forgive her for cheating. I’d prefer doing anything not to overcome my pride and not to come back to the one, who mixed my feelings with mud.”       “But it doesn’t mean you should grieve because you’re in love with her, but she played with ya like a toy! She isn’t worth it! You shouldn’t sit in bars and drink lots of alcohol! I understand it’s madly hard, but since that girl chose another man, why do you the fuck literally cry because of her? Piss her off and enjoy your life! You’re a young and hot guy, and you will meet lots of different girls! You should just show yourself before girls fall at your feet. Despite being drunk to the fuck yesterday, a couple of girls from the bar definitely put an eye on you and wouldn’t have minded seeing you performing a little striptease.”       “Do you think I’m not trying to enjoy my life without her? I have been trying to find a way to distract myself for one month! I even went to another city for a long time and agreed to hard work to get busy with something and have no time to think of her! And I held on somehow! But now I can’t do this! I’m sick of pretending that everything is fine, and I’d forget her and love another girl.”       “Listen, Justin, I completely understand your feelings and know what a breakup with a girl you love is. But trust me, it’s not mortally! Some time later, you won’t even think of her! And if you meet a good girl, you won’t notice how your heart will get free for new love and more unforgettable emotions.”       “Why was it me?” Edward wonders. “Why did I get caught in the webs of that girl and was deceived so cruelly? None of my exes did such a disgusting thing to me! I’ve hated myself for falling in love with the dirty prostitute, who has enough men for one month. I got a crush on her beautiful face, holy shit… Got so charmed by her beauty that I forgot I should’ve paid attention to her brain, character, and lifestyle…”       “Hey, you said the proof of her betrayal was photos,” Christopher frowns slightly. “Did you show them? Did you make her explain it?”       “I did, but that girl wanted to explain nothing,” Edward hums, looking at his hands with dead eyes. “She started hysteria and cried, trying to pity me… I got nothing out of her… And if it’s so, she almost confirmed the trueness of those photos and the fact that my ex-girlfriend cheated on me with a bastard, whom she definitely found in a dumpster.”       “She started hysteria?” Christopher rounds his eyes. “Hm… It’s weird… First, that girl used you, but then started hysteria and eventually said she would break up with you… People are right when saying feminine logic is impossible to understand. I guess, girls don’t also understand themselves…”       “I broke up with her.”       “You?”       “Yes. I’m not gonna keep dating the girl, who deceives me, doesn’t love me, and does use me. Moreover, she recently confessed that she dated me because of fear of staying single. The fear that all her lovers would leave her, and she’d have nobody to fuck and get such a long-awaited proposal. That bitch never hid that nobody wanted to marry her. It’s clear why! Because nobody wants to marry the slut that has fucked almost the whole of New York and charmed lots of men abroad when traveling around the world… France, Italy, Spain, Mexico… She’s been to many places! And many men have lost their heads from her beauty!”       “That’s how!”       “And you know, Chris, I don’t get jealous, I’m sorry. Sorry for all those men, who also thought they found their happiness but were betrayed by her. And now I understand why she is not lucky in love, and why she will never marry a decent man.”       “So, didn’t she even excuse herself after you’d shown those photos to her?”       “Nope.”       “And she said nothing like everyone’s favorite, ‘I can explain everything?’”       “She said nothing. She only cried without stopping. She thought it’d pity me, and I’d go to comfort her. But she met a failure! Because I told her what I thought of her disgusting act. I even wanted to open the eyes of her parents and tell them their lovely, innocent daughter had become a slut. They don’t know what that girl is doing, while they work hard for her to buy everything in stores for cosmetics and clothes. To get a thing from Gucci’s or Versace’s collection.”       “Oh, is she a girl from a provided family?”       “Yes. Since her parents don’t make her work and earn money for brand clothes, that major girl went insane from boredom and began fucking men. And she probably earns a lot of money on it. You know how much some prostitutes get. But if she worked all day long, she’d have no time to show everyone her naked boobs and caress men’s penises.”       “Something tells me you’re slandering her. This situation is kind of suspicious… Something makes me confused… A girl, who really wanna break up doesn’t behave like this.”       “Oh, who cares!” Edward waves a hand. “Now nothing connects me with that betrayal. I no longer wish to see and hear her. May she keep fucking her lovers and complain to her friends that nobody wanna marry her, and she can’t put on a wedding dress and a veil. That has been a symbol of the innocence of a girl for a long time. As well as white color. But in her case, there is no innocence. She lost it a long time ago.”       “No, Justin, the fact that you still love her connects you with that girl.” Christopher shakes his head. “And while the feelings are alive in your heart, you will be attracted to her. And it doesn’t mean the phrase ‘fight fire with fire’ would be right.”       “I shall fall out of love the way I felt in love! Meet another beautiful, decent girl that will be loyal to me, and do my best to love her. And yeah, I don’t ask for a virgin, who is literally afraid of everything about sex and has never been touched by a man. I’m not so critical about it. I need a little: a girl that would be only mine and wouldn’t betray me. That would truly love me, respect me, take care of me, and help me get better. I know I’m not perfect and have lots of shortcomings. But I’m sure there would be the one, who would help me change for the better. And turn into the one I want to be but can’t become yet.”       “Maybe, you’ll meet another girl.” Christopher folds his hands in front of him on the table. “But the question is whether you love her the way you love your ex. I believe you seriously fell in love with her and wouldn’t fall out of love so easily. And it’s probably the first case when the feelings are so strong. I doubt you’d had such a serious relationship by the age of twenty-one.”       “Well, you easily fall in love with a girl after you break up with another. So, I can also forget my ex and love someone else.”       “Want me to open one little secret?”       “So, am I not right?” Edward crosses his arms over his chest.       “No, Jus. I’ve never been so interested in the girls I’ve ever dated to be with them forever. It was something like a one-moment passion. So, that’s why it’s been easy for me to forget one and start dating another.”       “And have you never loved anyone much?”       “Not yet,” Christopher shakes his head. “But I’m sure I will meet the girl, who will conquer me with her beautiful appearance and brains.”       “I’m sure you’ll be lucky,” Edward cracks a smile. “Though I wish you not to burn the way I did.”       “Hey, Justin, don’t be so gloomy!” Christopher claps Edward on the shoulder with an encouraging smile. “That girl is not the last one in your life! Don’t rush! It would be okay if you had been too old or got pressed with the question about when you marry and become a father. But you’re too young and have a right to have fun and enjoy your life.”       “Listen, Chris…” Edward glances aside for two seconds and looks at Christopher again. “Maybe, you can introduce me to someone? Do you know a good girl that would fit me? Not for a relationship! Just for sex! Just to kiss and hug someone! I madly wanna caress a beautiful feminine body. I haven’t done it for so long that my fingers are itching.”       “Buddy, if you want casual sex, you have two ways – looking for a prostitute for money or going to a club, picking up a girl, and buying her a couple of cocktails. Then locking her and yourself in a restroom or going to the home of her or you. That’s all – you’ll get happy! You’d be happy that you finally had sex, and that girl would feel good. In case you agree that you wouldn’t date, marry, make children, and live happily after.”       “I’d go to a striptease club with pleasure, but I need money. What do I do there if I have no cent in my pocket? I ain’t able to give a striptease, at least some tip!”       “Then use your charm and go to meet girls at clubs. But don’t run into girls at an illegal age, ‘cause you might get into many problems if someone knew you had fun with little girls. One day, I met the one, who dressed and made makeup so that she seemed older and said she was twenty-one. But later, I met her mother, who kicked my ass for allegedly seducing her underage girl. So, I found out I almost got caught ‘cause that girl was only sixteen. I got really scared that I could’ve ended up in prison. And thank God, that girl didn’t get pregnant with me. Otherwise, I would've been eaten.”       “Well, it’s never happened to me. Everyone thinks I'm literally an underage boy. They believe I look much younger than I am because of my face. When I tell everyone my age, people say it’s not true, and I’m two or three years younger.”       “And I agree with it. If you hadn’t drunk to the fuck yesterday and put yourself in order, nobody would’ve believed you were twenty-one. But your current appearance adds you two or three years. Or much more.”       “At least, I haven’t had problems with security at nightclubs or striptease bars. I go quietly, sit down and start looking for beautiful girls. And my day ends with an unforgettable night in bed and a better mood the next morning. Well… In case I’m lucky… After starting to date that betrayal, I stopped going to those places. But since I’m single now, why not.”       “Sorry if I hurt you, but is your ex-girlfriend beautiful?” Christopher asks a little hesitantly.       “Yes, very…” Edward smiles shyly with sadness in his eyes. “Of course, she’s a bitch, but she’s fucking beautiful. A tall, long-haired blonde with incredibly beautiful blue eyes and the most beautiful smile in the world… And you must see her gorgeous body: the big and freaking attractive breasts and thighs, the slim waist, the long thin legs… Her hair was always as soft as silk… And her skin always had a madly nice smell of flowers or vanilla…”       Edward sighs quietly and folds his hands in front of him, leaning on them with his chin.       “It was so hard to resist those smells that made me go insane…” Edward adds thoughtfully. “When I breathed it in once, I couldn’t resist. That girl literally charmed me, made my legs weak, and got my heart beat like crazy.”       “A blue-eyed blonde?” Christopher smiles shyly. “M-m-m, judging by the description, she was really fucking good.”       “She became the first blonde among the girls I’d dated. I consciously avoided blondes ‘cause I thought they were stupid egoists, who thought only of themselves. Of course, it’s a stereotype, but it stuck in my head for a long time and didn’t wanna leave me. All my exes had dark hair. But ironically, I fell in love with the blonde… Imagine how fate decided to laugh at me!”       “Yeah, as they say, what you were afraid of, what you got,” Christopher laughs shyly.       “You know, Chris, everything happened so suddenly…” Edward confesses with sadness in his eyes. “I didn’t think I’d love her… At first, I was just speaking to her and getting pleasure… Such a strong one that I didn’t notice that I started inviting her to walk almost every single day. It was happening until I someday realized I started falling in love with that girl. Because… I felt madly good with her: she was very sweet to me and told me much, but I listened to her, supported her, and helped her if she needed it. I dunno… Maybe, I was just blinded by love and thought so… Because when you love, you may close your eyes to many things. In this condition, you idealize your object of love and see nothing bad about it.”       “How long did you date?”       “Three months,” Edward starts looking at his hands. “Three, as I believed, best months of my life… Oh… So sorry that those moments will be just my memories… That time has been the brightest one in my life so far. And I don’t know if I have something better.”       “But what’s the name of your ex, if it’s not a secret?”       “What’s her name?” Edward, falling into silence for two seconds, bites his lip slightly. “Erm… Emily… Her name is Emily…”       “Emily? Beautiful name. My first love had this name. I dated her when I was a teenager. It’s been so long, but I still remember her…”       “And I got the ex-girlfriend with the same name,” Edward sighs quietly and runs his fingers through his little matted hair. “Who did such a disgusting thing to me…”       “Come on, Justin, don’t get so upset,” Christopher says cheerfully. “I did say that Emily isn't worth suffering.”       “Yeah, but how do I forget her?” Edward throws his hands up. “I’ve been trying to get that girl out of my mind for one month, but I can’t do it.”       “Well, sadly, I can’t help you. Maybe, you just need to wait for a while, get busy with something, and fall in love with another girl. But again, don’t hope relief would come shortly.”       “I know, Chris… But you know how much I wanna end all of that and start living a good life. And focus on me. I wanna live well here or in another place.”       “Oh, buddy…” Christopher sighs tiredly. “I ain’t jealous of ya…”       “Don’t be… I’ll overcome it. Yes, maybe, it’s gonna be very hard, but I’ll find the strength to tear this page out. And live without the thoughts about that betrayal, who did such a cruel thing to me.”       “You know, your ex has a strong power of will,” Christopher frowns slightly. “She had you wrapped around a finger and pretended to be in love for three months. I wouldn’t torture a girl and give her hope for so long. If I don’t like a girl or consider her just a friend. I usually let her know we’d have nothing.”       “It’s disgusting to me. She would’ve rather told me we’d have nothing, and we would’ve better remained friends. But she decided to pretend to hve a great love. You know how it hurts to realize that a girl played with me so cruelly.”       “Was she pretending so truly that you suspected nothing?”       “Exactly! Emily was a wonderful actress without an Oscar and used her beauty that deprived men of their brains. And I, moron, turned them off, too, and even tried to close my eyes to the fact that she didn’t wanna let me get closer to her. I thought that girl didn’t get used to me and couldn’t believe she had a boyfriend. But now it’s clear why that bitch did it – she just had men, whom she let fuck her and feel her up.”       “Ah, Justin, girls are actually very insidious…” Christopher runs his hand slowly over his hair. “Sometimes they do something that doesn’t let you understand the reasons for it. And girls can’t clearly explain why they did that. I don’t personally understand Emily, and why she did that to you.”       “I’ll never understand it…” Edward slowly gets straight and glances at Christopher. “But I don’t want to… I have a rule – I never come back to girls, who cheated on me. And I won’t break it. No way. I’m too proud to become a wuss and bend under that scumbag, who betrayed me once and would easily do this again and again.”       “I think no man would forgive a girl for cheating. Everybody wants to be the only one and doesn’t wish to compete with anyone, being afraid to be much weaker and lose. It hurts your self-rating.”       “I mean it. I’d love a girl with any shortcomings about her appearance and character, but not the one, who could easily betray and cheat.”       Edward glances aside with sadness in his eyes, and Christopher looks at his friend, while silence settles in the air for two seconds.       “Hey, buddy, how do you feel?” Christopher asks. “Headache is gone?”       “Yes, I feel better,” Edward replies faintly, running his fingers through his hair. “But it’s still hard to swallow from dryness. I feel weakness and struggle with nausea in my throat…”       “Well, this hangover won’t be gone quickly.”       “I know. But recovering after drinking a lot usually takes a whole day. Today I’m gonna get tortured a little, but I will be fine tomorrow… I quickly get drunk and quickly come to myself…”       “If you feel too bad, let me call an ambulance or ask the operator what to do to make your condition better.”       “No, no, no ambulance,” Edward clears his throat quickly. “It will be gone soon…”       “Well, as you wish,” Christopher shrugs. “Then you’ll stay at my home for some time and go to take your car from the bar.”       “My car? Is that there?”       “Of course, your wreck is there! Did you think I’d let you drive when you were drunk? No, Ledger, I didn’t go insane to let you get caught by the policemen and get arrested for driving when being drunk. Hitting a person, going to prison, and getting a debt would be too much.”       “But where did you put the keys from the car? And where’s my coat?”       “The keys are in the hall near the hall door, and your shabby coat is hanging where all my outside clothes are.”       “Oh…” Edward exhales slowly. “Well, okay then…”       Edward looks around the whole kitchen, struggling with a strong weakness and feeling slight nausea in the throat and dryness in his mouth.       “Hey, thanks for not leaving me alone and not letting me do stupid things,” Edward thanks shyly. “I would’ve woken up in a cell if I’d been alone.”       “I would’ve gotten remorse if I’d left you in such a horrible condition,” Christopher replies amicably. “Since I invited you to spend time together, I’m responsible for your skin.”       “And forgive me for saying too much and being rude when being drunk.” Edward looks at his hands but then shamelessly glances at Christopher. “And I’m sorry about the scar on your hand… I know I behaved like a real moron and didn't think of the consequences. But I’m really very sorry about what happened.”       “It’s okay, don’t think about it,” Christopher smiles slightly. “Of course, you gave me many problems, but I agreed to it and got a responsibility at my wish. And yeah, you’re lucky that I have two more days before I go to work.”       “Anyway, I’m sorry. If not for me, you could spend time with a cutie and have some fun with her.”       “Oh, damn those cuties!” Christopher waves a hand with a slight smile. “Honestly, I’m a little sick of dates and casual sex. During my holidays, I got fed up, and I want to have some rest in the company of men… Not to drink, but just to sit and talk somewhere.”       “I thought we’d have a good time… But everything suddenly rained thick upon me… Sip by sip before I stopped watching myself, my words, and my actions. I should’ve gotten rid of the tension and forgotten everything, at least for a while. I got terribly sick of always thinking of my ex and asking myself why it happened.”       “So, I suggest forgetting about yesterday's confusion and going somewhere today or tomorrow? But if we agree on drinking nothing! I will no longer let you come to a bar and alcohol.”       “No, no, I don’t wanna drink like this anymore,” Edward shakes his head sharply. “I feel so bad that I wanna die. If I drink more, you will drive me to the hospital, not home. Because I’ll have the alcohol intoxication.”       “Even taking a sip is dangerous for you, knowing you got drunk after the first glass yesterday. I need at least two or three glasses, but you got loose and went insane after the first one.”       “Oh, okay, stop it!” Edward throws gloomily, sharply running his hands over his face. “I swear I won’t drink so much anymore! I never drank so much, and I don’t wanna do it again. Only one glass – no more.”       “I won’t let you drink even one! At least, until you finally come to yourself.”       “Thanks for the care, Morgan.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, after which Christopher looks around, while Edward drinks the water from the glass.       “Okay, buddy, let’s have some rest, and then I’ll personally drive you to the bar, so you take your iron horse and go to your home,” Christopher says. “To put yourself in order and stop looking like a homeless man.”       “Yeah, nice idea…” Edward replies thoughtfully. “I don’t mind…”       “And yeah, Jus… Yesterday, in the late evening, someone called on your mobile phone many times. There were five or six calls – I can’t say exactly. And I believe two or three messages were sent.”       “Really?” Edward wonders and looks around the whole kitchen. “Hey, where is my mobile phone? You left it in my coat?”       “Don’t worry, your phone is where the keys to your iron horse are. Of course, I would’ve answered one of those calls and said you were at my home but couldn’t come to the phone… Said I needed your help, and that’s why you stayed with me until two or three o'clock. But I don’t check anyone’s phones, and I just turned it off and put it in the hall.”       “Didn’t you see who called? Something was written on the screen?”       “I dunno, I barely looked but didn’t memorize.” Christopher bites his lip slightly. “But why? Should I have answered?”       “Erm… No, no… It’s okay… You did the right thing… It would’ve been awkward to tell someone I couldn’t come to the phone just because I was drunk to the fuck and passed out after cleaning my stomach.”       Edward exhales with relief, being happy Christopher did not answer the calls and messages on his phone. Because if his friend had answered one of the calls, Morgan would have found out everything that happened in his life and guessed Justin Ledger was not his real name but the nickname he uses to hide his real side.       “Thanks a lot, dude,” Edward says amicably. “I owe you for everything you’ve done to me.”       “Well, as you owe me, I can ask you to help me wash my car…” Christopher replies thoughtfully, rolling his eyes. “I haven’t cleaned my baby for ages, and it doesn’t shine as brightly as before.”       “Right now?”       “No, not now. After you waited for me to drive you to my home and didn’t clean your stomach in the salon, you can be free. But when I need to wash my babe, I’ll call you.”       “Erm… If you want, I can wash the toilet if everything is dirtied with vomit.”       “Come on!”       “I’m serious!”       “Relax, boy, I cleaned everything, while you were deeply sleeping and wouldn’t have reacted even to the perforator working to the fullest.”       “Maybe… But I really heard and saw nothing… After the memories of cleaning my stomach and your complaints about your life, I have a hole. I passed out and woke up in another room, not remembering how I ended up there.”       “Oh, yeah, carrying your body to my room and placing you on the bed was the ‘funniest’ test,” Christopher confesses funnily.       “Sorry… I’m embarrassed for giving you so many problems.”       “Alright, Ledger, forget it, stop apologizing!” Christopher exclaims cheerfully. “Now let’s have some rest and go to the car where your car is. Then you’ll go home, change your clothes, eat well, and sleep for some time.”       “I said I agreed.”       “Okay then.” Christopher gets up from the kitchen counter and comes to the cooker, starting to work with what is placed near it. “And now we better eat something. I’ve personally eaten nothing and recently decided to get up after unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep on that fucking sofa.”       “It would be great…” Edward replies thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair. “I dunno if I can drink during a hangover, but I’d have the pleasure to drink a big mug. Or better two.”       “You can probably do…” Christopher glances at the skillet that is placed on the cooker and finds out the scrambled eggs, the edges of which burnt slightly, got cold. “Oh, shit, the scrambled eggs got cold… Well, okay, I’ll eat it… It’s not time to be capricious… Otherwise, I will kill someone from hunger.”       And while Christopher puts the scrambled eggs on a plate and is going to turn on a kettle for strong coffee, Edward watches him with dead eyes, leaning on the surface of the kitchen counter with his hand and on his plate with his head. The story of the breakup between his friend and the girl makes Morgan have many questions. No, he understands that the one, whom he calls Justin, was insulted by the girl, who is allegedly Emily. But there is something that makes him confused. For example, the fact that she did not try to explain anything. On the one hand, Christopher believes Justin is right to some extent. But on the other hand, he asks himself if that girl wanted to leave him. The man kind of believes the story of the photos might not be true at one hundred percent. However, Christopher decides to say nothing and wants to help his friend overcome the breakup with Emily, after which he will not come to himself soon, even if it’s been one month.       

***

      Meanwhile, Natalia met Anna to go to the stores with her. The girl did not invite her friends to go somewhere for a long time, but she decided to fix it today. The blond would have been happy to invite Raquelle, but because she is at Frederick’s home and will stay with him all day long. Since Anna is absolutely free today, she agreed to walk with Natalia with pleasure, noticing that her friend looks a little better than she has done in the past few days.       “Hey, you’re funnier today than before,” Anna notices, leaving one of the smack cloth stores with a packet and a purse in her hands. “And you look much better… Amazing changes…”       “I just realized that I shouldn’t grieve because of my problems,” Natalia shrugs with a shy smile. “We get a life once and shouldn’t waste it on worrying.”       “Gosh…” Anna looks at Natalia suspiciously. “What happened to you for the two days that we didn’t meet?”       “Many things. But I can say something… I will now always share my problems with my best friends.” Natalia takes the belt of her purse that is placed on her shoulder. “No matter if I’m judged or get pity – it won’t happen again.”       “Yeah, it seems like you shook up enough,” Anna notices thoughtfully, frowning strongly.       “Well, I could say so…”       “Gosh, you said everything was fine some time ago. What changed now?”       “I will no longer deny what everybody sees. I have nothing to fear and can confidently confess that everything is not fine, as everybody thought.”       “Well, if you decided to talk about your problems, maybe, you tell me something? What we all would like to know.”       “What do you wanna hear?”       “Erm… Well, now I care about what’s happening between you and Edward. Only a blind one wouldn’t notice that you don’t have the feelings you had in the beginning.”       “Nothing is happening…” Natalia sighs with sadness in her eyes. “Edward and I broke up one month ago.”       “C’mon!” Anna slightly opens her mouth. “Oh, gosh… You broke up with Edward?”       “Yes, we broke up,” Natalia replies quietly.       “But why? Everything was fine! You were so happy you finally met a man!”       “Everything had been fine before he blamed me for cheating and announced the breakup.”       “What?” Anna opens her mouth. “Blamed you for cheating?”       “Yup…” Natalia glances down. “That man believes I cheated on him, got mad at me, and said he broke up with me.”       “But didn’t you cheat on him? Yes?”       “Of course, no! I wouldn’t have seen that in my dreams!”       “Damn, friend, but how could he dare to blame you for that? Why did the heck Edward dare to say that you cheated on him so easily?”       “He wouldn’t have done that if he’d really loved me,” Natalia says quietly, locking her fingers tightly and bending her arms at her elbows. “I was sure that Edward never loved me and played with me from the beginning. Even dating him, I was afraid that someday he’d say he had no feelings, and his love was just a freaking show.”       “Gosh…” Anna shakes her head, looking at Natalia with horror in her eyes. “Did he blame you for the betrayal so easily? How did it happen?”       “He went to my home one day and started blaming me for the betrayal literally on the doorstep. Edward was getting wilder and was literally red from anger. He wasn’t ashamed of insulting and humiliating me.”       “My God… But I always thought Edward wouldn’t hurt a fly… It was hard for me to imagine that man being furious…”       “But it’s not a lie.” Natalia glances at Anna sharply. “MacClife turned out to be a rag, who is ready to sell his own mother for money. A greedy and calculated bastard, who deserved the life he is living now! He’s now a beggar, and I wish he was always the one.”       “Gosh, Natalia, what are you talking about?” Anna wonders, closing her mouth with a hand with horror in her eyes. “I understand you’re insulted and humiliated for no reason, but…”       “Yesterday, that man revealed his real side. As it turned out, that stinker doesn’t wanna reject the inheritance, for which he’s fighting for his uncle.”       “Wow! I didn’t know he had the inheritance…”       “Yes, his daddy bequeathed a big account in a bank and some privileges related to his shipbuilding company to him,” Natalia throws coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. “So, his sonny opened his mouth, believing he would own the wealth and become rich.”       “Wait, did his father die?” Anna frowns slightly.       “Yes, his uncle said it… Lockhart showed a sad face and told us that his father was dead.”       “My gosh…” Anna shakes her head. “But how could it happen?”       “I don’t know, but it might be a lie. Edward could tell this lie to pity all of us.”       “Do you think he didn’t die?”       “No proof for his death. So, there’s no reason to believe that asshole.”       “Could that guy go down to that and lie about the death of his own father?”       “Oh, friend, you don’t know what that scumbag can do. Edward will give everyone bad surprises and make them believe that they should better stay far from him.”       “Honey, don’t slander him. You’re just mad and don’t understand what you say. What if his uncle could really do something to Edward’s father?”       “No, Anna, it’s not slander,” Natalia throws coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.       “Natalia…”       “May that idiot deal with his uncle alone! Well, why would he defeat him if they’re accomplices? Or… Michael believes so and doesn’t know his nephew is planning to kill him, to get all the money and get out of poverty, which he is terribly ashamed of.”       “Gosh, Natalia, your words scare me.”       “I swear, Anna, if one of us suffers because of him, I will personally kill that idiot. I will not let him and his uncle hurt my friends and the people that are very close to me.”       “Does that man really wanna kill all the MacClifes? Even if they are not related to Lockhart?”       “Since that cad Edward said, the money doesn’t allegedly belong to his uncle. It was stolen from his father. But I doubt it. Because the case is probably about the great amount if that kid opened his mouth so widely and wants to own it.”       “But what’s he gonna do to that?”       “I don’t know, Anna…” Natalia stares his look into the distance. “But now there’s no doubt that the guy, who seemed so sweet and kind, turned out to be a cad that was never pleased with living in poverty and depending on those he lived with. That idiot decided to get everything in a very easy way, even if he has to betray his family and even kill it.”       “Excuse me, Natalia, but I don’t wanna believe it. You’re just too hurt and wanna hurt Edward for slandering and betraying.”       “Yeah? Isn’t the fact that he personally said that proof to you? Lockhart confirmed that he wanted to own the money and not to be worse than his friend, whom he cruelly betrayed, and who he made hate himself. That stinker knew about Terrence’s wealth from the beginning and was terribly jealous, but didn’t show it and pretended to be a good boy. His friend. Our friend. But now it’s clear why Edward wanted to find his family so badly – to rob and kill it and become a rich man. Who has earned no cent from the wealth of those, who he wants to do such a mean thing with.”       “So, is he not going to reject the inheritance?”       “No, he refused to give his uncle everything, so he can choke himself with the dollars. And he wants to defeat everybody to become the only one to get the wealth. Michael hopes to get Edward out of his way, but Lockhart can’t wait for his uncle to be defeated.”       “What do you have to do with it?” Anna frowns slightly. “What do the MacClifes have to do with it? I don’t get it!”       “I guess there’s something about it. If Mr. Lockhart says I’m in danger, as well. But all of us got threats and were warned that we should’ve been careful.”       “Threats? Do you mean the letters Raquelle and Terrence received? They said something about the secrets they could discover.”       “Yeah, but not only them.” Natalia sighs quietly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve also gotten messages with threats on my mobile phone two times.”       Natalia and Anna sit on the bench they see not far from themselves to have some rest after a long walk in the stores, seeing very many people of different ages walking at the shopping center.       “You?” Anna rounds her eyes. “Messages with threats?”       “I believe the uncle of Edward did it. The number I got them from was unknown. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t him but his nephew, who got a SIM card with a different number and sent those messages to me.”       “Gosh, but why were you silent about that?”       “I didn’t just take it seriously and thought someone decided to joke. Lockhart wanted to annoy me. But now, when I’m aware of the situation with the money and the company, I don’t doubt that it’s all connected.”       “Yes, I understand it, but you should’ve told us that. Raquelle and Terrence didn’t hide that they received the letters from Daniel and me.”       “Sorry, Anna…” Natalia inclines her head slightly. “I’m really sorry about being silent about everything about it… A long time ago, one thing happened to me. It got me terribly scared and made me close my mouth. And yesterday, I found the courage to tell Terrence and Raquelle everything. Because I couldn’t keep being silent anymore… Moreover, I’ve got nothing to lose…”       “Really? But what happened to you?”       “Something that got me deeply shocked and shaken up,” Natalia sighs heavily. “It happened five months ago, when everybody started seeing something wasn’t right with me, but I denied everything and tried to make you sure everything was fine. But only a blind and lazy one wouldn’t have noticed that something definitely made me worried.”       “Don’t you wanna share it with me? I’m your friend. I worry about you and wanna help you.”       “Sorry, Anna, but I’m not ready to talk about it again,” Natalia replies in a little shaking voice. “Yesterday, I barely found the courage to confess everything to Terrence and Raquelle. But in order to quietly tell someone else about that, I need to put myself together and get control of my emotions.”       “Is that so horrible that you can’t talk about it?”       “You’ll understand me when you know it. But if you wanna know the details, you can talk to Raquelle. I won’t be mad if she and Terrence tell you and Daniel what happened. Vice versa, they’d help me. They wouldn’t make me tell you what happened.”       “But will you no longer deny that you’re not okay?”       “No, I won’t do it. And if they don’t tell you everything before I put myself together, I promise I will tell you everything. But I beg for one thing – don’t press on me and don’t rush. For me, it’s a huge psychological pressure. That’s what I can’t quietly think about.”       “Okay, I won’t rush you,” Anna shrugs. “Just remember that I’ll always be by your side, no matter how serious that event is. Even if I know you did a bad thing, I promise I won’t judge you and will do my best to support and help you overcome the pain and forget all bad things.”       “I know,” Natalia thanks with a slight smile. “Thanks a lot, Anna.”       Anna smiles shyly back, and silence settles in the air for two seconds. During which she and Natalia just look around, seeing many people with packets and bags visiting stores, going somewhere, and spending a wonderful time. While the friends are where there are mostly cosmetic, cloth, and shoe stores, it’s possible to see many girls and women having an interest in examining a range of products alone or with someone and buying what they like.       “Yeah, but still…” Anna says thoughtfully. “You haven’t said why Edward blames you for cheating if you didn’t do that. What kind of proof of your fault did he have?”       “Erm, what…” Natalia pronounces quietly, falls into silence for two seconds, and glances at her hands. “Kind…”       “Don’t wanna say it?”       “It’s gonna be hard to say it again. The situation wasn’t very nice, and I also should find the courage to tell you what happened between us. But I can swear on anything that I never cheated on Edward and didn’t think about it.”       “I believe you, sweetie, don’t worry.” Anna puts her hand on Natalia’s shoulder and softly caresses it. “But didn’t you try to prove that you were loyal to him? Why did you let him believe he was betrayed?”       “Meaning? To be called a false bitch that couldn’t be loyal? Besides, if Edward is really a scumbag and loves nobody but himself, I don’t wanna be with that man.”       “But you love him!”       “Sadly…” Natalia sighs heavily. “Loving such a mean man is my punishment… I’m an idiot… I naively believed that I had finally met my prince, who would make me happy. But I met failure again.”       “Maybe, he understands you if you tell him the truth? Edward also suspected that you were hiding something. So, you weren’t open to him. He knows nothing about your secrets that you were hiding for five months. Though we know that building a relationship on a lie is impossible.”       “He will never know it,” Natalia says coldly. “I’m not going to say anything to that egoistic scumbag that needs only money. Not only the money he’s supposed to get, but also the money that will never belong to him.”       “Wrong, friend. You must let him know he’s an idiot, who naively believes this slander. If he turned everybody against you and made them believe you’re an allegedly false betrayer, it would be too much.”       “I wanna tell him nothing. Edward can stay alone and continue to say terrible things about me, Terrence, Raquelle, and even his own mother. With the stolen money. I want him to wish to strangle himself after he starts to regret preferring dollars over the love of his close people.”       “Wow! But what did he say about them?”       “He reminded Terrence of being guilty of almost breaking up with Raquelle. He said he’d always remind him of that and judge him. And Edward added that Cameron was allegedly pretending to be good, meaning our fight. She was kind of terrible and mean and built her career by sleeping with someone.”       “What?” Anna resents, opening her mouth slightly. “How did Edward dare? Did he go crazy?”       “Exactly! They are guilty of nothing of him, but that cad insulted them like that and made them hate him and wish to stop calling him a member of their family. It goes without saying, Terrence couldn’t take those attacks and eventually attacked Edward with fists.”       “They fought?”       “Yes, they beat each other strongly. Terrence was kicked and got tons of bruises.”       “My gosh…” Anna closes her mouth with a hand. “That’s why Daniel said about bruises yesterday… So, his guesses were right. Edward was the one to beat Terrence so hard. He said that man got very many bruises on his face and arms.”       “It’s true. Terrence just lost his temple and decided to kick that scumbag’s ass. But I believe it led to nothing good, and Edward hardly understood something.”       “You know, Natalia, of course, I’ve never thought a fight is a good way to sort out a relationship, but in this case, Terrence did the right thing. If Edward really behaved so disgustingly, he should’ve washed his brains a little.”       “Raquelle and I got frightened when they started fighting. They were so furious that they could’ve brought each other to a hospital. So, meddling in their fight would’ve been a crazy thing. Sadly, there were no men, who would break them up. But thank God, they didn’t fight for too long, and Terrence eventually kicked Edward by force.”       “Yeah… It’s hard to believe that Edward became a beast because of a wish to get money. My God, I can’t get it… How could he be so mean to Terrence? Is that why he was imposing himself on MacClife and wanted to befriend him so badly?”       “And yeah, I also slapped Edward yesterday!” Natalia confesses with her head proudly raised. “That scumbag got me so mad by insulting me that I lost my patience and slapped him in the face as strongly as possible. And I tried to beat him many times. But I wasn’t lucky because he avoided it and twisted my arms around.”       “Really?” Anna wonders with a quiet chuckle.       “Yeah! Lockhart lost his temple, and I couldn’t be silent anymore. His friend got what he deserved.”       “I wish I had seen his face when you gave him a slap, and when Terrence attacked him with fists.”       “Oh, he was literally red from anger! And he screamed like a patient from a mental hospital. That scumbag would’ve slapped and strangled me, but thank God, Terrence was next to me, and didn’t let him do that.”       “He doesn’t probably want his friend to make the same mistake.”       “Maybe, but first of all, Terrence did it because he didn’t want me to suffer because of that egoist. And I’m madly grateful to that handsome guy for saving me from the wide animal. Otherwise, Edward would’ve killed me and wouldn’t have to spend time with me along with Michael.”       “Don’t you think the case of Raquelle and Terrence is happening again? To you and Edward! There are too many coincidences in both cases…”       “Yeah, I thought about it… But it’s just a coincidence. It just happened that Edward believes I cheated on him, and Terrence thought Raquelle betrayed him.”       “Very interesting coincidence, however.”       “Yeah, about these two…” Natalia thinks for two seconds, putting a finger on her lips. “I can’t say it confidently, but I thought the relationship between Terrence and Raquelle wasn’t okay.”       “Why do you think so?” Anna frowns slightly.       “You see, after I told them all my secrets, it happened that Terrence and Raquelle started reminding each other of everything that happened to them a few months ago. It started when Raquelle said she suffered from panic attacks and even ate nothing when living in the apartment of Mr. Cameron after that fateful fight with Terrence.”       “What? Raquelle ate nothing?”       “Yes… She said she couldn’t eat a piece. And she was so weak that she was lying on the bed for hours. And sometimes she had those panic attacks.”       “Erm… I heard something about those attacks… When Raquelle told me that Terrence recently brought her to a much stronger attack.”       “I’m aware. And when Terrence heard about her starvation and started asking her about it, our friend suddenly started blaming him for leaving her and not trying to help her. She even reminded him of cheating on her with a girl.”       “Erm… Yeah… I remember…”       “Yeah… While that sick idiot Simon Ringer was chasing her, our charming Terrence James MacClife decided to pretend that he didn’t have to do with Raquelle’s problems. And with the hope of forgetting her, he started to date a daughter of the man, who promoted the band, in which Peter and Daniel used to play.”       “Yes, yes… Daniel said about it… Her name was Rachel… Rachel Sanderson… But Terrence had an affair with her for the place in the band of her father, Albert, not for revenge on Raquelle. And later, he realized he couldn’t lie anymore, confessed everything to that girl and her father, and got kicked out of the band. Though, he wasn’t upset.”       “Raquelle kicked her ass and almost pulled her hair out when she saw Rachel kissing Terrence before her eyes.”       “Oh, yeah! I heard she was ready to kill her. And Terrence got mad and went to talk to Raquelle when Rachel told him everything and lied a little to provoke him much more.”       “But the girl couldn’t assume it would make our lovebirds much more excited. A crazy passion and burning fire got a victory and made their business when Cameron and MacClife almost locked themselves in a toilet and had sex.”       “To some extent, their fights help them support their passion. However, I’m not surprised it happened ‘cause both of them spread sex. They get tightly attracted to each other. Neither Terrence nor Raquelle could resist such strong charms.”       “That’s right! No claims by Simon about Raquelle cheating on Terrence with Hunter Lynwood stopped them.”       “I still wonder if Terrence believed that lie. If it hadn’t happened, Raquelle and he wouldn’t have had the conflicts that almost led to their breakup.”       “He said he believed it because Raquelle didn’t love him and didn’t let him get close to her. He was sure that her betrayal became the reason for her coldness. Terrence had a reason to doubt her. But you and I know well that our friend has never betrayed her. Yes… She wasn’t just ready for a relationship, and she barely knew what that was. But she would never betray.”       “But he’s really regretting not believing her loyalty and eventually bringing everything to her departure from his home. Even though it’s been a while.”       “Yeah…” Anna slowly shakes her head. “I don’t even know what to say…”       “Ah, Anna, I don’t get it, either…” Natalia sighs quietly. “But it’s too late to judge him.”       “But we must confess that Terrence did a disgusting thing. I treat him wonderfully and have never had anything against him, but he crossed the line. Though, life punished him and gave the lesson that MacClife would remember forever.”       “Hey, did you know he fought with Daniel and Peter because of that?”       “Yes, I did. But they fought mainly because of Rachel, who turned the guys against Terrence, lying he was allegedly beating Raquelle but hiding it, so they didn’t think he was a stinker. That’s why Perkins and Rose fought with him, and Mr. Sanderson kicked MacClife out of the band.”       “Oh, that girl…” Natalia shakes her head. “She added fuel to the fire…”       “But when they found out Terrence didn’t beat Raquelle, Daniel judged him for the clap but felt truly sorry for him. And he started to respect him much more when everybody found out what he did to save Cameron from Simon.”       “Everybody started to respect Terrence after he decided to help Raquelle. The media tried to keep the interest of people with articles about MacClife’s betrayal and photos of him and Rachel, but later started discussing the other thing and forgot about that.”       “Nevertheless, their canceled breakup was the main headline in all magazines. And articles on the Internet were featured on the home pages of sites for a long time.”       “That’s right! I’m surprised at how much everything may change: today everyone discusses an attack attempt, but tomorrow, the media gives new information to reflect on.”       “Yeah, about attacks…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully, pressing her purse, which is placed on her laps, to herself. “Do you know someone tried to attack Terrence and Raquelle a few days ago?”       “Yes, I do,” Natalia nods. “Yesterday, they told me that… That’s what brought Raquelle to panic attacks.”       “The poor girl thought she’d crush on the car as well as her parents and was terribly frightened when those men almost killed her and Terrence. And MacClife thought he was in a race competition and started a race.”       “I agree, he behaved like a moron, but Terrence understands he’s guilty and regrets bringing Raquelle to that condition.”       “I repeat, no matter how well I treated Terrence, there are many things I’d like to swear on him for. And I didn’t notice it, but I’ve lately thought that these two are kind of similar. Yes, they kind f have a different appearance, but they have something similar…”       “Yeah, Lockhart reminds me of Terrence a little.”       “It would be a shock if that scum turned out to be the younger brother, who Mrs. MacClife told us about. The one, who Edward knows something about.”       “Hardly. Yes, that guy’s name is also Edward, and they both have the same age. But there’s nothing else.”       “Anyway, that idiot has much more secrets. Which will definitely turn everything upside down.”       “I agree, but it doesn’t have to do with Lockhart. And for such a kind and decent man, who any girl wanna be with, as Terrence, it would be a punishment to have an evil, calculated, rude, and egoistic relative. Who is ready to reject his family and friends for money. They are absolutely different, even if they made the same mistake. Yes, MacClife is not perfect. But he would never betray his close people and make money the most important thing in his life.”       “Yeah… Stupid assumption…”       “Such a wonderful woman like Mrs. MacClife can’t have such a nasty sonny,” Natalia says with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes rolled. “She is the kindest and sweetest person I know. My parents often told me about their friends, who don’t get along with their parents-in-law. But Raquelle is very lucky, ‘cause her soon-to-be mother-in-law is just wonderful. Sometimes I think that woman is so kind and tender that she doesn’t know what evil, anger, irritation, and rage are.”       “Did that guy take something from his father?”       “Either he got the character of his daddy or took something after his uncle. But I prefer believing he’s similar to Michael.”       “Who knows, Natalia, who knows…”       “Oh, Anna…” Natalia sighs heavily. “I wouldn’t have thought I’d fall in love with an egoistic man, who would love money so much. Maybe, he was always the one? What if my brain was turned off, and I believed Lockhart was perfect? You know that I had a crush on the voice of Edward and his freaking charming smile. What if I was just too obsessed with it and noticed nothing bad? And others people couldn’t warn me ‘cause they were under the influence of his charm.”       “I completely understand you, sweetie,” Anna expresses sympathy, caressing one of Natalia’s hands, at which the blonde looks with her sad gaze. “I know how it hurts to be disappointed in someone, who seems like an angel.”       “Why have I never been lucky with men? When I think I've met a good man, he leaves me. I always thought those feelings were very serious, and I believed I’d get married someday, even though I made nobody do it by force.”       “And as I understand, do you still love that man?”       “Yes, Anna, I still love him…” Natalia nods, feeling a tear rolling over her cheek, and her eyes get wet. “Madly love… More than all my exes… I was ready to do anything for that man, and I thought he’d make me happy. But… Since Edward didn’t believe in my loyalty, I wasn’t important to him. He dated me a little, but decided to get out when he got sick of me.”       “Sorry for my curiosity, but why didn’t you tell him you never cheated? Why would he believe you’re a cheater and liar, when you are not? Why do you do it from harmfulness and keep making him think you’re a bitch for no reason? Whether Edward believes it or not – it doesn’t make sense! The most important thing is to tell him all the truth! And you shouldn’t care about what he’d think!”       “Ah, Anna…” Natalia sighs heavily and starts looking at the lines on her hands. “Even if I wanted to tell the truth on the day of our breakup, I couldn’t do that. I was so shocked by the charges that I could say nothing… And at some moment, I just banned myself from doing it.”       “And don’t you still wanna find the courage to tell him he’s a real moron?”       “What would change, friend?” Natalia throws her hands up. “We broke up! And he will not listen to my explanations. He’ll say I lied too much and blame me for something else. It’s too late to change something.”       “But at least, tell him to have a clean conscience. So, he thinks who he lost because of his naivety!”       “Knowing the current situation, I don’t wanna even try. I don’t wanna come back to Edward just because of the fear of staying single, not getting married, and becoming a single mother. I don’t need the one to be mad because people around him are more successful. He’d be the one if he aimed it since childhood, learned much, and worked hard. You can start anything from the beginning! It’s never too late! And my parents are an example! They made tons of mistakes but eventually got successful and started to earn a lot of money. But Edward probably thought Terrence would find him a job in the show business, or my father and mother would teach him something. He wanted to get everything easily, but he didn’t do it!”       “Oh…” Anna sighs heavily and hugs Natalia around the shoulders. “If it’s so, forget him. I’m sure you’ll meet and love a kind and decent man, who will respect you and will not act like an egoist, who loves only himself and thinks of nobody.”       “To meet and love one, you should fall out of love with another,” Natalia sighs quietly. “But sadly, I can’t do it… Even if I meet another man and try to date him, I doubt I will love him as much as I love Edward. This time, everything is much more serious, you see…”       “What if you can do it? What if you meet the man that could make you lose your head and leave Edward in the past?”       “Haven’t you forgotten what happened to Raquelle and Terrence? They tried to forget each other, but, as you see, they didn’t fall out of love with each other and didn’t break up. They saved their relationship that everybody thought was doomed.”       “Yeah, they were united by passion, but now they looked at each other differently and fell in love.”       “Don’t you believe in my love for Edward?”       “I’m sorry, but I never believed in your couple with Edward. Yes, you looked good and always spread positivity. But… I couldn’t imagine your future…”       “You thought we’d break up?”       “Yes. But it’s my opinion. I was sure you wouldn’t date that guy for too long. Of course, I thought you’d break up in two weeks or one month, but you held on for three months.”       “Honestly, I didn’t think our relationship would last for so long. When we were dating, I was waiting for the day it would end. I was afraid Edward was deceiving me… And that fear eventually came true.”       “He’s not worth your tears, Natalia. Nothing will change from crying over him and wondering why it happened. If he really loved you, he wouldn’t have broken up with you so easily. Yes, it’s hurtful for Edward to know you allegedly lied to him. But a loving person would let you explain everything and not announce a breakup so easily. Besides, he should’ve gotten real reasons to suspect you of cheating.”       “He had the reason… The proof… But they have a different meaning… Not the one he thought about. But I didn’t say it and did let him think the false meaning was true.”       “I don’t know what kind of proof it is, but since you aren’t ready to talk about it, I will ask you nothing. Anyway, don’t try to come back to him if you don’t wanna suffer all your life. Your fate is somewhere not far, and you’ll surely meet it. You just need to wait and believe your prince is still looking for you.”       “I’ve wanted it for one month,” Natalia replies quietly. “But it’s been unsuccessful so far… Though I promise to do my best to have a place for a more decent man in my heart. You’ll see, I’ll forget him. And someday I will feel nothing when hearing his name.”       “It’s gonna be hard – I must confess it. But I will be doing my best to help you forget that stinker.”       “I shall forget him, Anna! I swear I won’t let that scumbag ruin my life and deprive me of a chance for happiness! That man must know he really blew it this time. He ruined everything we could’ve had. I’m sure he won’t even need prostitutes. And they wouldn’t need him, even with money. If he’s pleased with it, it’s okay! I just want him not to meddle in my life!”       “I can’t believe Edward was looking for Terrence just to rob him.”       “Edward wants everybody to be jealous of him. He doesn’t want everybody to think the famous actor has a friend that lives like a beggar, doesn’t wanna work, and is happy with living on someone’s account. He must fix it somehow!”       “I believe he dated you just because your parents were provided.”       “No doubts about it.”       “It’s okay, when he has only his uncle, that man will kick his ass,” Anna says confidently. “I’m sure Michael will not give in and will do his best to get the money.”       “Oh, yeah, that man will eat him! One day, Michael tried to kill Edward when my parents and I were in Mexico.”       “He tried to kill him?” Anna rounds her eyes full of horror.       “Yup… As he said, he got a knife wound in the back. But I think that asshole didn’t lie ‘cause Edward got the scars, which he showed when telling Terrence, Raquelle, and me the story of the inheritance.”       “And you didn’t know it?”       “Nope. He called himself by a different name, so nobody knew it.”       “Wait, couldn’t it explain the reason why he disappeared for one month almost at the same time when you went to Mexico?”       “It’s true. He confessed that he was in the hospital all this time and coming to himself for some time. And when he realized he was ready to show up, he let us know about him.”       “Didn’t you contact Edward when being in Mexico?”       “No. I forgot to think about him… Well… Of course, I was worried at times but tried to hold myself down… I got busy taking care of Grandma and let my parents do their business. It helped me a little… But when I was back in New York, I got worse again…”       “Okay… Of course, I’m sorry he was almost killed, but since Edward became a scumbag, we should forget about pity.”       “Huh, I give a fuck about him!” Natalia says coldly. “I wanna know nothing about what’s happening to that man! No matter if he’s alive or dead – I don’t care! I swear, nobody will see even a tear on my face if something happens to that stinker. Michael can do what he wants to him! I’d even be grateful to him if I didn’t have to live in the same territory with him.”       “Ah, Natalia…” Anna pronounces, looking at Natalia with sadness in her eyes. “Everything I can do is to wish you great patience and much strength. It’s gonna be hard for you, but it will be gone. Yes, it will take much time, but it will be forgotten someday. In order to get better, your friends will always be by your side.”       “Thanks a lot, Anna,” Natalia smiles shyly.       Anna answers with the same smile and takes Natalia in an amicable hug that she accepts with pleasure. But ten or fifteen seconds later, the girls step away from each other, paying no attention to the alive atmosphere in the shopping center.       “Okay, my sweetie, stop worrying because of the idiot that loves only himself,” Anna encourages with a smile, softly caressing Natalia’s forearms while the blonde looks at her hands with sadness in her eyes. “Okay, wipe tears off your face and smile! You must show him that you feel good without him.”       “Ah, if only it was true…” Natalia sighs heavily.       “Alright, Rochester, stop crying because of the egoistic stinker! Nothing would be changed if you suffered because of that man.”       “Yeah, you’re right,” Natalia replies confidently with a wider smile and carefully wipes off tears under her eyes not to destroy her nude makeup that helped make her face much fresher and better. “It’s gonna be hard for me, but I should do my best to start enjoying my life again. Because I promised Raquelle and Terrence not to ruin myself…”       “Well, as you promised, then be pleased to keep the promise. Brace yourself, come back to the former life, and become the positive girl that you always were.”       “I’d love to. But after what happened, I will hardly be the same.”       “Alright, stop sitting here!” Anna quickly gets up, takes Natalia’s hands, raising her up from the bench, and looks around. “Let’s better walk at stores! There is so much interesting here, but we’re sitting here and talking about love issues. Let’s buy something cool! Look how many cute things I’ve bought! You should also please yourself with a purchase!”       “Did I say I minded?” Natalia, getting up from the bench thanks to Anna, takes her purse and places it above her shoulder. “Maybe, I’d really buy something…”       “By the way, shopping is a wonderful way to get rid of stress!” Anna also places her purse above her shoulder. “You buy a couple of new dresses or jewelry and get much better!”       “Not saying about dresses and cosmetics, I should also buy food. I have almost nothing from food at home, and I can’t spend all the money.”       “Oh, your parents transferred so much money to you that you may have no worries,” Anna replies cheerfully, takes her packet with purchases, checks something in it, and goes somewhere straight. “You have enough for food and lots of new clothes and cosmetics.”       “Aw, Anna…” Natalia laughs quietly, as she follows Anna. “It seems like love impacted on you in a very good way… You’re so funny and cheerful today.”       “You’re right, but everything isn’t always good about me.”       “At least you’ve got nothing to worry about.”       “Well, I dunno… I’d always find a reason to worry about my relationship.”       “I’m surprised Daniel still treats it quietly.”       “Kidding?” Anna rounds her eyes. “It became one of the reasons why Daniel and I fought yesterday. I don’t know what bite me… I attacked him with charges and then got terribly embarrassed… But thank God, we solved everything, and I apologized for the consequences of my period.”       “Don’t get infected by Terrence and Raquelle,” Natalia laughs shyly. “These two have also often found a reason to argue about something. Though their fights end well.”       “You know, any couple has conflicts, especially when they live together. Of course, nobody loves fighting with their sweethearts, but sadly, it’s life.”       “I know…” Natalia shrugs. “But it’s the fuck terrible… If you knew how much I dislike fighting with someone.”       “Hey, aren’t you gonna reconcile with your parents and tell them the truth? Or will you keep letting them think you’re an egoist?”       “We’ve already reconciled,” Natalia smiles shyly. “Yesterday, I called Mother. I went to their room, realized how much I missed them, and decided to fix everything. I apologized to her and swore that I’d tell them everything after the return of Dad and her. It took some time for her to understand me and forgive me…”       “That’s just wonderful!” Anna exclaims happily. “I’m so glad your parents understood you.”       “Ah, friend, you can’t imagine what kind of relief I felt when Mother said she forgave me. My mood got much better when Dad sent me a very cute message this morning and texted that Mother, Grandma and he madly missed me.”       “Yeah! You shouldn’t have been worried!”       “Damn, I do love the feeling when you start befriending and warmly communicating with your close people again,” Natalia confesses with a wide smile. “As if a stone fell off my shoulders!”       “Aw, Natalia…”       Anna embraces Natalia around the shoulders with a cute smile. The girls keep walking in the shopping center and examining the goods they see on window displays of stores that try to get clients’ interest. And the more time the blonde spends with her friend, the more she starts thinking of something nice, not recalling what has happened over the past few months that have not been the best time in her life.       

***

      The time is close to the evening. It’s about half past eight. Edward is now sitting at the table and talking to Rebecca, while they are having dinner together. The man still looks bad and suffers from the strong weakness caused by the hangover. Though, he tries to pretend that everything is alright because he does not want to tell his mother that he drank much and fell deeply asleep yesterday.       “Listen, Edward, I understand you’re an adult man, who doesn’t have to get permanent attention,” Rebecca says, sitting in front of Edward, carefully eating what is placed on her plate and sometimes wiping her mouth with a napkin. “But can you explain where you were last night? Why didn't you answer my calls and messages? I called you so many times, but you later turned your phone off!”       “It’s okay, I spent a night at the home of my friend, who needed my help,” Edward replies hesitantly, eating what is placed on his plate or just scratching it with a fork. “First, we went to one place, but then he asked me to help with something, and I agreed. Well… Since tis problem was quite serious… I had to stay for a night.”       “Friend? What friend? I thought you didn’t have friends here… Because you barely speak to someone and never stayed at someone’s home for a night.”       “No, Mrs. MacClife, I do have friends,” Edward replies with a slight smile. “I just don’t talk too much about them. And yeah, I know that guy well. He deserves trust. And he does nothing bad.”       “Okay, I got it… But was it hard for you to answer my call and just tell me not to wait for you and go to sleep? I’m not gonna make you give me a report! You just could say, ‘Don’t wait for me tonight, I’ll stay with my friend for a night and be back tomorrow in the morning.’”       “Sorry… I was too busy and couldn’t answer you… And I didn’t turn my phone off – it discharged. I forgot to charge it yesterday when leaving home.”       “And these bruises?” Rebecca looks at Edward’s bruises closely. “You haven’t explained, where you got them. Who beat you so much?”       “Erm…” Edward bites his lip slightly. “Well… I was going by one quiet place, and then some bandits came to me… Tried to steal my phone and money… So, I had to protect myself… And they eventually beat me. Luckily, they took nothing…”       “My gosh…” Rebecca pronounces with horror in her eyes. “They beat you strongly? Maybe, you should go to a doctor? What if they harmed something?”       “No, Mrs. MacClife, don’t worry, I’m fine.” Edward tries to seem true, moving a strand of hair off his eyes. “Nothing is broken, all bones are fine… Just a few bruises and a slight scare… They’ll be gone in two or three days.”       “Oh, Edward, you do love getting problems…” Rebecca sighs quietly, mixing what’s placed on her plate with a fork. “You know how scared I was when you answered none of my calls or messages! I started to believe something had happened to you and couldn’t calm down. And when I wanted to call those, who knew you, you called me.”       “Don’t worry about me. I’m not a little child that you should constantly watch.”       “It’s okay, honey, don’t worry,” Rebecca replies with a slight smile and caresses Edward’s hand that is placed on the table. “The important thing is that you’re safe and sound, and your bruises will be gone in a few days. Of course, you made me very nervous, but I understand I can’t control you.”       “I completely understand your feelings and wish to be near me.” Edward also caresses Rebecca’s hand and holds it softly for two seconds, smiling at the woman shyly. “But just because I didn’t spend a night at home doesn’t mean something happened to me. It’s just a wish to help my old friend. I don’t refuse when someone asks me for help.”       “I know, sonny. But I still have the wish to help you somehow. Because you’ve been depressed for a long time, and I can get nothing out of you. You always try to change the subject. As if you don’t wanna say anything…”       “Why do you think so?”       “Then, maybe, you tell me something? At least stop denying the fact that you have problems!”       “Erm… What do you wanna hear?”       “What makes you worried. Something makes you worried, right?”       “Ah, Mrs. MacClife…” Edward sighs quietly and runs his hand slowly over his hair. “Many things make me worried now…”       “Then tell me just something, so I can help you. Remember, Edward, a person can’t hide their real emotions for too long. They would explode like a bomb early or late and may betray all secrets.”       “I think only women and girls could do it.” Edward sets his gaze on his plate and takes some food with a fork that he eats.       “No, my sweetie, men can’t also keep everything inside,” Rebecca shakes her head. “Yes, it’s easier for them to accept disappointments and shocks, but it might be hard for them, too. It rarely happens that a man acts like a capricious little girl. Men usually hide their emotions and rarely show them. You should understand it.”       “Erm… Yes… It’s true… But…”       “You know well that you’re hiding very much from us. I don’t know why: either you don’t wanna make me upset or you believe that you should solve your problems alone.”       “I don’t deny there are things I can’t tell you. I don’t wanna make someone nervous and upset, and I try to solve my problems alone, not complaining that I can do nothing.”       “I understand, but nobody’s gonna judge you for confessing that something’s happening to you. Why do you pretend that everything is fine when everybody clearly sees something that makes you worried?”       “I don’t wanna seem a wuss. Some people love calling me a little capricious puppy, though it hurts me much.”       “Who calls you a little puppy?”       “Many people. For some of them, I’ve always been a little sucker that would never become an adult man.”       “No, Edward, don’t say that! Just because someone called you like this doesn’t mean you really are. Don’t believe what they tell you.”       “But it’s the truth. Everybody thinks so not only because I look much younger. But also because I act like a cowardly dog that barks on the corner is afraid to get out, and scarily shows up its face.”       “Gosh, what are you talking about?” Rebecca wonders, taking a sip of fresh pomegranate juice from a glass she puts on the table. “Call me at least one person to say it.”       “Everybody considers me the one… But only the bravest people say it to me personally.” Edward glances at the food on the plate, which he starts scratching slightly with a fork, running a free hand through his hair. “And I don’t deny that I have lots of shortcomings that don’t let me live. And my cowardice is one of them…”       “Edward, stop slandering yourself! The more you believe you are, the more you are sure of your insecurity. Why do you act like the opposite of your friend? Look how confident he is! He’s always known who he is. Be the same, honey! There is such a wonderful example of self-confidence and self-love.”       “You just don’t know much about me. I didn’t grow up with you.”       “Alright, my dear, tell me what’s happening to you,” Rebecca demands confidently. “Stop giving some guesses.”       “Mother, I…” Edward pronounces in a shaking voice, scarily looking at Rebecca with eyes running from one side to another and getting quite tense.       “Edward, what I said!”       “I don’t wanna talk about it.”       “How long are you gonna be silent? Until someone else says everything instead of you? How long you will lie and deny what everybody sees clearly!”       “It’s my personal business. I don’t want to talk about it with anyone else.”       “Edward!”       “But, Mrs. MacClife…” Edward moans tiredly.       “Alright, just answer my questions,” Rebecca says quietly, putting her fork on the plate and folding her hands in front of her. “So, first question: what’s happening between you and Natalia?”       “Oh…” Edward exhales sharply. “We broke up.”       “Broke up?” Rebecca rounds her eyes. “But why, honey? How long ago did it happen?”       “One month ago. One month ago, I ended the relationship that I no longer wish to continue and remember.”       “Why? I thought that sweet girl perfectly fit you!”       “But that sweet girl, as you said, turned out to be a betrayer and liar,” Edward says irritably. “And I’m not going to be with the one, for whom a relationship with a man means nothing. And who doesn’t need it.”       “My gosh, Edward, what are you talking about? Why are you insulting Natalia? What did she do to you?”       “She dated me and made me turn into a beast!”       “Did she deceive you?”       “She did!” Edward hums, leaning back in the chair with his arms crossed over his chest. “She cheated on me with another man. With one of her lovers…”       “What?” Rebecca gets sharply white. “Cheated?”       “She betrayed me, Mrs. MacClife! Rochester did what none of my exes did!”       “Gosh, Edward, but how do you know it? Who told you Natalia allegedly cheated on you?”       “I saw everything!” Edward throws coldly, looking at Rebecca gloomily. “I saw the photos of her kissing an ugly freak.”       “Photos? What photos? How did you get them?”       “Someone sent them to the home address of Mrs. Richardson.”       “But who did it?”       “Either your beloved Natalia or one of her lovers. Who she passionately kisses and hugs. And it’s easy to say! I think I won’t say what bitch was doing in those pictures, feeling comfortable in front of the man, who was feeling her up, licking all parts of her, and leaving her half-naked.”       “Half naked? Gosh, Edward, what are you talking about?”       “Truth, Mrs. MacClife. Only the truth. If everybody wonders why Ms. Rochester and I broke up, she is the one to blame. That gal preferred another man over me. And I’m not going to close my eyes on that and let her lie to me.”       “No… No, I don’t wanna believe it…” Rebecca shakes her head and swallows up nervously. “That sweet girl was so happy with you… She got affected to you with all her heart.”       “She pretended. Pretended until she got sick of me. And to get off me forever, she decided to send me those freaking photos and force me to get enraged. And I can congratulate her because she got it.”       “But Natalia seems such an innocent and good girl. She would hardly do that.”       “Is what I told you not enough for you? If you don’t believe me, go to the home of your lovely Natalia and ask her to show you those photos. But don’t be surprised if she says she got rid of them not to make herself ashamed of others. Not every single girl would love to show everyone her erotic photos.”       “Oh, God…” Rebecca puts her hand on her forehead, exhaling slowly. “I don’t know what to say… There is the proof of the betrayal, but my heart tells me she couldn’t do that.”       “You’re just shocked,” Edward says quietly. “I didn’t also believe my girlfriend showered me with mud. But I eventually made sure of it and found out how I was wrapped around a finger. And some time later, you’ll understand what a bitch that girl is.”       “But her emotions were so true… Could she play her role so well that nobody suspected anything?”       “She could, Mrs. MacClife, she could,” Edward says coldly, slightly clenching his hands into fists, and runs his fingers through his hair. “She betrayed me! Played with me like a toy! And when she got sick, she left me in such a mean way.”       “Something is not right… My heart feels something is not right about this story… My feelings never betray me. If I’m sure something is wrong, it’s really true.”       “It seems to you,” Edward replies in a low, rude voice. “But I saw all those photos of my former half-naked girlfriend, who was literally gonna sleep with that ugly man. Though she didn’t let me kiss her at times. Only when I said I doubted her feelings, she woke up and became much more open. She pretended to be an innocent virgin, even though she had actually become an experienced girl.”       “I would've told you she wasn’t your girl if I’d seen Natalia didn’t love you. But I saw how that girl was looking at you and feeling quite comfortable. Moreover, Natalia always said she felt good even when you were just friends.”       “It’s hard to understand women. Yes, when we were friends, she was really nice to me. But when I confessed my love to her and suggested to date, it was gone. She could quietly be with me and have nothing against my touches. But when we started dating, Rochester could sometimes turn her back on me and act like it was unpleasant for her to be touched.”       “You should find out the truth from her. Talk to her as soon as possible and ask her why she actually did that. You’ll remember me if you know everything is otherwise. The story of the photos is probably not what it seems to you.”       “No, Mrs. MacClife, don’t even dream,” Edward cuts off confidently. “I will no longer come to her! I’ll never forgive that false bitch. None of my girlfriends did such a cruel thing to me. Nobody.”       “But did you show those photos to her?”       “Obliviously!”       “And what did she say?”       “What did she say? What did she say?” Edward sharply gets straight and moves his gloomy gaze to Rebecca. “She said nothing! Rochester refused to explain it! She just started hysteria and pretended to be a victim! She thought her tears would touch me and make me comfort that scumbag. So, as she was silent, it means Natalia indirectly confirmed the betrayal. Everybody knows silence is a sign of agreement.”       “Yeah, but…” Rebecca thinks for a few seconds, frowning slightly. “No, something is not right here… I think Natalia wouldn’t have started hysteria if she hadn’t had a serious reason. We must find out what actually happened to her. If she had been really indifferent to you, she would’ve quietly told you she had met another man. Her tears were probably caused by fear…”       “My God, Mrs. MacClife, how can you excuse that poisoned snake?” Edward wonders, rounding his eyes. “She’s absolutely false! That type of girl, who tries to get what they want with tears. Attempts to pity you, make you feel guilty for blaming them for something. Rochester was crying because of that!”       “Honey, I completely understand you’re mad and feel betrayed. But try to think wider and find a few more reasons for this behavior. You could imagine that the reason for the tears was hidden in something else. Why do you think it has to do with only her wish to pity you?”       “Don’t defend her, Mrs. MacClife, she doesn’t deserve it,” Edward replies rudely. “How do you dare to think she is holy after I told you how she was running almost nude in front of one man, being in a relationship with another? And I know only about one case! But how many men have seen her like that? She’s never hidden that she’s always had lots of men, who, however, left her some time later.”       “Do you think a girl can have only one man for her whole life? You’d had very many girls before her! Should she be with only one man even if her feelings for him are gone, or she can’t actually take him or is afraid of him?”       “Don’t twist my words. I don’t ask for a virgin, who has been hugged only by her father. I just want a girl, who will be loyal to me and will not have fun with other men. Unlike that major princess, who went insane from boredom and began jumping from one bed to another. Her parents should’ve made her go to work, so she had no time for that. She would’ve gotten brains and learned to earn money by herself, thanks to hard work.”       “You do want to believe she jumps from one bed to another. You’re just mad she allegedly betrayed you and made yourself think Natalia is a nasty bitch.”       “Yes, I’m mad!” Edward throws rudely. “I’m very mad! That bitch got me enraged and turned me into a crazy, hysterical girl. My freaking worthless life would've been much better if I hadn’t met that girl.”       “Sonny, honey…”       “Now I understand why so many men have left her. Rochester terribly wants to marry but doesn’t act worthy, so someone wants to propose to her.”       “Edward, stop slandering that girl,” Rebecca says quietly. “First, you better find out everything and then start blaming. You started blaming her for all her sins after you barely saw those photos and made conclusions thanks to her uncontrolled cry. Though, you should’ve softly asked her for an open talk and persuaded her to tell you the truth. Maybe, Natalia was crying also because you attacked her with charges. I’m afraid to imagine what she heard when she had to see those photos.”       “Excuse me, Mrs. MacClife, but I don’t understand you. Stop the hell defending her! That girl is false to the bones and doesn’t value those, who love and take care of her. Let MacClife and Cameron defend their friend, as they’re defending her so hard and believe she’s holy and innocent.”       “I’m sure Terrence and Raquelle would be by my side if they knew how cruelly you behaved toward Natalia.”       “Sorry… I am very sorry that you all don’t wanna open your eyes and see the real side of her.” Edward drinks some orange juice from his glass. “Though… Someone is also not the holiest man and has also made lots of mistakes somehow. I’m not surprised that he’s defending his friend so hard.”       “Hinting at what Terrence did to Raquelle?” Rebecca frowns slightly.       “I’m surprised at how easily everyone forgot how meanly Terrence behaved somehow. He was literally beating his fiancée, but he was called God! Damn, what’s wrong with the world? Is violence going to be fine soon?”       “So, did you remind your friend of what he’s still regretting?”       “Someone should’ve told him the truth that everybody was silent about,” Edward says insolently. “But after he thought nobody would remember his disgusting act, that rooster puffed his tail again and began showing off, as if nothing happened.”       “My gosh, Edward, what are you doing?” Rebecca gets horrified, closing her mouth with a hand. “Why did you do that? He feels so bad after what he had to experience, but you make him suffer much more! The relationship between Terrence and Raquelle recently got better, and they barely saved their relationship. But you add fuel to the fire and do your best for them to think about it again!”       “Yeah, did Terrence think when leaving his lovely girl? When insulting her, humiliating her, and slapping her in the face strongly? When literally wishing to kill her after she hurt his honor? That idiot turned his brains off! Also, he cheated on his fiancée with another girl!”       “Close your mouth!”       “He always turns his brain off when doing something. But then he pretends to suffer and literally cries. Though, he doesn’t wanna reflect on his mistakes and learn some lessons.”       “How do you dare to say it about that man? Edward! It’s your friend! The friend that you must love and respect!”       “Respect? Why do I respect him for? How could I respect the one, who treats his fiancée like that? He is a sick psycho! The psycho, who must get therapy! His nerves got too weak due to the fame that he suddenly got too early. He must attend anger management classes. Maybe, they’d teach him to hold himself down somehow.”       “Stop it now!” Rebecca demands coldly and confidently.       “He even found the fiancée that fit him. The same psycho girl that can’t control herself, too. And she is so similar to her friend, whose tricks she has been covering from the beginning. Raquelle has always been aware of Natalia’s adventures, but decided to be silent because of women's solidarity. Because she got into the modeling business by sleeping with men, who helped her get famous worldwide quickly. I’m sorry all the little fans of that couple don’t know how they got famous. Don’t understand these two can’t be an example of imitation for the next generation.”       Rebecca opens her eyes wider and gets much whiter, being shocked by these words from Edward.       “My gosh, Edward, what bit you?” Rebecca wonders in a shaking voice. “How do you dare to say these things about your friend and his fiancée? You said how you loved them, but now you insult them easily!”       “I don’t insult them, I just tell the truth,” Edward replies quietly in a low voice. “I want nobody to forget about the sins they’ve committed. So, people think well before praising one of them to the skies and say they could be an example for imitation.”       “I don’t deny both of them made lots of mistakes they were judged for. But those people already regretted it and asked for forgiveness.”       “Huh, yeah!” Edward hums, crossing his arms over his chest and throwing a gloomy gaze aside. “Erasing everything from the memory is easier than getting tortured by remorse.”       “Do you think everybody should hate someone and judge them until the end of life if they make a mistake once? Do you think nobody deserves forgiveness, even if someone truly regrets their actions and asks for forgiveness?”       “You should think better not to let it happen. My friend didn’t think, and confirmed the media’s guesses about Terrence MacClife being an unstable egoist, whom everyone owes.”       “What are you talking about?” Rebecca cries. “What did Terrence do to you if you started hating him so much and blaming him for what doesn’t have to do with you?”       “Nothing, Mrs. MacClife, nothing. I just think it’s all unfair.”       “What’s unfair?”       “Everybody still considers him God after everything that was revealed. As if nothing happened! People are well aware of his mental issues, but nobody wanna notice it! How did he bribe everyone? Money? Who he paid, so everyone stopped publishing humiliating notes about him?”       “Jesus Christ, you got obsessed with a demon!”       “I’m sorry people don’t know Terrence raised a hand on Raquelle. They didn’t wanna make it public so badly that they refused to talk about their breakup. Ugh! I’m sick of them trying to pretend that nothing serious happened between them. But they weren't silent about my friend cheating due to the leaked photos of the blonde, whom he was kissing and hugging.”       “You’re acting like one familiar person of mine. Like that disgusting man, who always humiliates kind people and doesn’t know what pity and regret are.”       Edward falls into a stupor for two seconds and rounds his eyes running from one side to another, getting very nervous, swallowing up nervously, and sharply getting white from horror.       “Erm, what do you mean?” Edward specifies hesitantly. “Who is that?”       “The older brother of Terrence’s father,” Rebecca pronounces. “A terribly mean and disgusting man. The real egoist, who thinks only of money and himself. He has always hated Jamie and has been terribly jealous of him. He believes the birth of your friend’s father was the greatest mistake of his grandparents.”       “Do you know him?”       “Yes, since I met your father. I mean, since I met his family. I liked his parents shortly, but preferred keeping myself far from Michael. That man immediately seemed horrible, and I didn’t want to mess up with him. And Jamie warned me not to try to get closer to Michael.”       “That’s how…”       “I think that’s the nastiest and most insolent man that I have ever known.”       “That’s right…” Edward blunts under his nose. “Michael is an asshole…”       “What?” Rebecca frowns slightly. “What are you blunting under your nose?”       “Erm…” Edward stutters, hesitantly looking at Rebecca with running eyes full of horror. “Nothing, Mrs. MacClife, nothing…”       “What Michael are you talking about?”       “No Michael! I… I said for no reason…”       “Alright, stop lying!” Rebecca cries. “You’ve lied and done enough! First, I know about your breakup with Natalia and insults toward her… Then you openly claim you despise Terrence and Raquelle for their mistakes and forgot how you loved them some time ago.”       “I just have a conflict with the man named Michael. I thought about him when you… Mentioned Michael…”       “And what can’t you share with Michael?”       “Well…” Edward moves his eyes aside and swallows up nervously, tensing all his muscles. “He just… Erm… Wants to take what… Belongs to me by law…”       “What?”       “He just… He was robbing my father… For many years… Because of him, he… Lived on the account of my stepmother. She gave him a home, a job, and everything he needed. But if not for that nasty uncle Michael, everything would've been otherwise.”       “Robbing your mother?”       “When I was a teenager, I just suspected it. Many things that were always placed in the visible places disappeared from the house. But one day, I managed to meet Michael, who didn’t deny he did it but said no details. Because I was kind of a kid. But I knew Father could’ve been a very provided man. And Michael… He put an eye on… My father’s inheritance… Which is supposed to belong to me.”       “The inheritance of your father?”       “Yes, and the bank account with a great amount and some other good things. But the will says that I should share what he bequeathed with my brother and me.”       “Wow…”       “But what about the brother of Terrence's father? Why did Michael get mad at him.”       “Because of money. Because of the business that Manuel MacClife, Terrence’s grandfather, founded. But that stinker Michael got almost all the rights to it.”       “So, do you know that Terrence's uncle wants to rob his brother?”       “Yes, I do,” Rebecca says confidently. “I know everything Michael is doing now. I know which dirty things that nasty rat is planning.”       “And do you say it so quietly?” Edward shakes his head with widely open eyes. “My gosh, it’s very serious!”       “Alas, I can’t do change anything. Jamie should solve it all by myself.”       “What if he can’t do this?” Edward asks hesitantly.       “You should not care about it. It’s the business of my family and me that you do not have to do with.”       “I have a lot of my problems…” Edward bites his lip, moving his eyes to the hands folded in front of him. “Michael, who I’m having a conflict with, wanna kill not only me. He also wanna kill… Natalia…”       “What?” Rebecca gets horrified, rounding her eyes. “Natalia? But why? How is she connected with all of it?”       “I dunno, Mrs. MacClife…” Edward shakes his head, exhaling slowly. “But Michael threatens Rochester openly and sends her messages, in which he lets her know it… And he often tells me that he’s gonna defeat her, as well.”       “My gosh…” Rebecca sighs quietly and closes her mouth with a hand. “Poor girl… How did he know about her? Does she know him?”       “Michael doesn’t wanna say it yet. But he promises to tell me everything at the nearest time.”       “Yeah, what a situation…” Rebecca pronounces thoughtfully. “If it keeps happening, Michael will get what he wants.”       “Sadly, all attempts to end it are worthless in this case,” Edward replies with despair as he shrugs. “I tried much but got nothing.”       “Reject the inheritance!”       “What?”       “You must tell Michael you aren’t going to fight for the money and the company. If you do it, I think your uncle will leave you alone.”       “No, Mrs. MacClife, I’m not going to give that man what belongs to me!” Edward says confidently with a little arrogant gaze, raising his head proudly. “If that stinker gets at least one cent from my inheritance, he will do it only over my dead body.”       “What?” Rebecca opens her eyes full of horror wider. “So, don’t you want to reject it, as I understand?”       “There’s no meaning to that. He will kill us just because we exist and remind him of Father, whom he has hated all his life.”       “Gosh, Edward, what are you talking about?” Rebecca gets horrified. “Don’t even dare to sink your teeth into the inheritance! Reject the money! Don’t make it worse for you!”       “I said it wouldn’t help!” Edward simpers evilly. “Besides, why should I the heck give in what belongs to me by law? I’ve been fighting with that stinker for so many years not to give him everything! It’s unfair that fucking Michael uses everything that should actually belong to my father and his children.”       “You say it as if money is more important to you.”       “I’m just fighting for justice and want to do my best to get back what Uncle insolently stole. That stinker has no right to live in the big house of my father and give the stolen money to his people. I swear I’d do anything to get everything and put that scumbag in prison.”       “Stop pretending to be a hero,” Rebecca throws gloomily. “You messed up with the wrong man!”       “I want to take what belongs to me!”       “My God, can’t you live quietly? Why do you want to get in trouble? Why did you meddle in the conflict between Father and Uncle, which you didn’t have to do with?”       “Because I’m not going to give Father’s wealth to that stinker!” Edward replies crossly. “My father must not be a beggar and live on someone’s account. It’s unfair that the real owner of everything he got with the help of my grandparents, who spent their strength and money on it, can’t use it. If there’s justice in this world, that nasty bastard must give what he stole in.”       “Edward, stop doing stupid things, and don’t meddle in what does not have to do with you. Instead of doing something and starting to think about your life, you’re wasting time on the fight with what’s not worth it. You better get a job and start earning money. Or do you think you will get the inheritance someday, being happy your brother rejected it? Do you hope you will be sitting in the chair of the owner of the company and ruling it after defeating your uncle?”       “What if I want to open my own business? I want to get a lot of money for it!”       “You cannot do this. You need experience. But you’ve never had it! Besides, you should work hard. At first, Jamie also knew nothing, but he was lucky that his father taught him everything and prepared the fundament. But since you have nobody to learn from, you will bring the company to bankruptcy.”       “So, do you doubt me and my abilities?” Edward gets offended, barely holding his tension down and breathing heavily. “Do you think I’m a brainless, little puppy that reached nothing, as Michael does?”       “I didn’t say it!”       “But you just hinted!”       “You wouldn’t be able to rule the company because you need education and great experience. If someone put papers on your table, you would not understand what that was. And if someone knows it, you may be easily deceived and forced to declare the company bankrupt.”       “Who cares! You’re letting me know you don’t believe in me and my abilities.”       “Did I say you were absolutely talentless and would be able to reach nothing?”       “Michael was probably right when he said the people around me didn’t really value me. That everyone’s against me. That nobody cares about me”       “But you naively believe everything that mentally sick man says.” Rebecca simpers quietly. “My gosh, that’s what he made you think.”       “Is that why you got so mad at everybody and decided to get the inheritance so hard?”       “Maybe,” Edward says in a low, rude voice, looking at Rebecca with offense.       “What did you say?”       “I want to live beautifully, as well! Why do you all the fuck let yourself do anything you want while I’m like a homeless beggar? I’ve never had anything! Father didn’t want to give me at least a few dollars for the cheapest toy or take me to a store and buy good clothes. And now I’m wearing what I wore when I was a teenager. Because I have no money for something new. Though, I would have the pleasure to refresh my closet. But am I able to? No, I am not! Because I’m the fucking beggar! I have no cent! I don’t have my own home!”       Edward tightly clenches his hands into fists with a heavy breath.       “You know how it’s ashamed to tell people that I’ve gotten nothing by twenty-five years!” Edward exclaims loudly and irritably. “But now I have a wonderful chance to fix my situation! And I’m not going to reject it. I shall become a provided man and will not be worse than all of you. Don’t hope I will wear ripped pants and worn-out shoes and get at least eighty dollars for one-sided jobs. Do not hope!”       “Gosh…” Rebecca pronounces in a shaking voice after a short pause and sniffs quietly, barely holding her tears down. “Edward… Edward, sweetie… God… Do you understand what you’re talking about?”       “I do,” Edward replies confidently. “Since my father bequeathed the money and company to me, I will not reject his wealth. And if I get up on my feet and build a brilliant career, I will be grateful to him for giving me a chance not to die from starvation for the rest of my life. I will forgive him for all the insults and humiliations. Because he did think about me. He remembered that I existed.”       “I can’t believe that your greed and wish to become rich destroyed you.”       “I’m going to fight for what belongs to me by law. And be sure – I will someday stop calling myself a homeless beggar. I shall live as I want: emptying stores, buying houses, cars, and apartments, traveling around the world, earning money… And I will stop being worried that I could become a beggar again. Yes, I’m gonna have to work and spend much strength and nerves to get what I want. But since there is a foundation, I have only to build the carcass. And I’m sure I will do it. Moreover, I’m gonna have helpers that will always tell me what to do.”       “I can’t believe it…” Rebecca closes her mouth with a hand and sobs. “Edward, how could you do this to us? You’ve been pretending to be a good guy, but you are actually a nasty and mean stinker. Because of jealousy, you’re ready to betray your close people! Ready to let us die, so you live well!”       “I wish death to nobody. I just wanna make my life better.”       “If you want to make your life better, get a job and earn success through hard work. Or do you want to do nothing? Are you waiting for money to come to you? Huh! Other people would be working, but you would be sitting in the chair and getting bags of dollars! No, my sweetie! It can’t happen! Any kind of job requires hard work. Nothing will be given to you easily! You can’t become a boss easily!”       “Yeah, but Terrence quickly got famous and started earning money,” Edward notices irritably. “How much time did he spend to start earning the money for roles in movies and making little girls promote him? One year? Two? Or didn’t he have to wait? He slept with some girls – that’s all! The entire world discusses him!”       “Your friend has worked since early childhood to get what he has now. Even when he wasn’t allowed to work due to his age, he found ways to get money. A bigger part of which he gave me. Terrence rarely left his salary to him – only after I persuaded him. Your friend has always been hard-working and responsible. When he got his first minor role, he gave his everything and never complained about anything. The whole team admired his professionalism and responsibility for his work.”       “Yeah, did you see that? Or did you believe the stories of that man, who would not tell you very much because of the fear of disappointing you? Don’t you know the show business talked about his hysterics on the set, saying how much he annoyed everyone with his high self-rating? He didn’t become a superstar, but he began making his claims!”       “I agree, his character is not perfect. But your friend has never been as greedy and egoistic as you are. He does have a heart. Terrence would not choose money over his beloved people. He would prefer being a beggar to staying alone, without his family. And be sure – if your friend knew what his father really is, he would not turn his back on him.”       “Well, if it’s so, he should prove it! Terrence should reject his wealth, so everything is honest! It’s unfair that the man is living in luxury and bought such a gorgeous house for you! Why can’t I live like this? Didn’t I the fuck deserve it?”       “Did you believe Terrence would buy a big house for you? Find you a job, help make your life better, and regularly give you money? No, my dear, he will not do it! Because you must get it all!”       “Am I worse? Why are you living on his account and regularly getting a lot of money from him, while I have to live in poverty? Since Terrence decided to provide you and his fiancée, he could help his friend a little.”       “Aren’t you too arrogant, my sweetheart?” Rebecca resents. “Even if your friend is rich, it doesn’t mean he must provide for his parents, brothers, sisters, wife, children, uncle, aunt, friends, and all his relatives. Terrence is helping me with money at his wish, remembering who raised him, fed him, and dressed him. His wish is quite fine. When a son or a daughter helps their parents, it’s very good.”       “Sorry… He could at least suggest me material help or a job.”       “It seems like you were waiting for help from your rich friend. But when you didn’t get it, you decided to rob and even kill him! It seems like I am starting to understand that Raquelle was absolutely right about you. You were looking for Terrence just to get some money from him. You knew about his wealth. That’s why you left the house of your father and stepmother on purpose, and you wanted to get your friend’s trust and demand help.”       “Many people help their friends and relatives with money and housing.”       “No, Edward! If Terrence doesn’t want to help you, he is doing the right thing. You must not spend the money he earned by working hard and live on his account. You are not a child, and you are not incapable. Your friend must not give you a bag of dollars every month for your needs. He doesn’t have to buy you an apartment or a house and even give money for water, electricity, and gas.”       “Then he should stop proving for you!”       “I’m sorry you weren’t taught to work hard since childhood. You are a man! But a man must build a career, have his own home, and earn money to provide for his wife and children in the future.”       “You all consider me a little, talentless puppy that can do nothing. But I will be laughing at you when I have a bunch of dollars. I will be walking with my head proudly raised and confidently saying I’m rich. And nobody will dare to reproach me for being a homeless beggar. Everybody will fall at my feet and be ready to do anything for me.”       “God, who did Terrence mess up with?” Rebecca puts her hand on her forehead with a heavy sigh. “Why did he let a scum get close to him? How could he be so blind and never see that he was used insolently?”       “Sadly, only insolent and shameless people can survive in our world,” Edward says coldly. “Those, who are ready to step on others!”       “Who did you take after? Who, Edward? I doubt that your father was the one. I doubt that your mother behaved disgustingly and loved nobody. Good and kind people will never put money higher than their close people. But you are ready to kill anyone, who looks at you badly!”       “I have a right to live in luxury as well as you are all.”       “So, if you wanted a beautiful life so badly, why did you leave your father’s home? Why didn’t you stay with him? If you hadn’t meddled in someone’s business and had studied well, he would’ve given you a job. I think your stepmother was not lazy. She worked a lot to get the brilliant results.”       “I don’t regret living in that house. The house where everybody hated me. Father insulted and humiliated me, my brothers could easily beat me, steal my stuff, frame me, and turn everybody against me, and my stepmother gave a damn about me. She just tolerated my pretense and, thank God, didn’t add fuel to the fire. But the fact that is a fact – she gave a damn.”       “Is that why you wanted to get close to those, who had much money? Your friend, his fiancée, me… And your ex-girlfriend is from a provided family. You thought we’d help you materially and let you live on our accounts.” Rebecca shakes her head. “Your suggestion for Terrence to reject everything wasn’t just words. You really want your friend to have nothing. You want the career of his fiancée to be ruined. You want me to live in poverty. Just because you have no cent and haven’t provided yourself by twenty-five years.”       “You know, I’d see if Raquelle stayed with her beloved fiancé if Terrence had no cent. And whether he stayed with her if she wasn’t a supermodel. Or maybe, he does want to hide her from all the men that drool over her and make her a stay-at-home lady.”       “For Raquelle and Terrence, it doesn’t make sense how much money they have. Their relationship is building not thanks to their financial state, but because of their feelings, which passed a serious check. They will get married soon and give me grandchildren, who will be as wonderful as they are.”       “I hope they will not repeat their parents’ fate,” Edward replies coldly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I wouldn’t like their sonny to raise a hand on his girlfriend or threaten literally to stab her. I wouldn't like their daughter to betray her friends and become another prostitute.”       “Your friend will be a wonderful father. He adores children and has the instinct that all loving parents have. I think it’s been clear that Terrence would madly love his children. He has taken care of his close people since childhood.”       “Ha, he’d better become a good fiancé first,” Edward hums, rolling his eyes. “And not become a horrible hubby.”       “Raquelle is happy with him.”       “She’s too in love with that man to see things clearly.”       “If you loved someone else but you, you would understand it. But sadly, you will not do it because you love only money.”       “I loved. Loved! Very much! And I could have considered that girl as my future wife. But that betrayal killed my love once and forever by her betrayal. And I don’t wish to date and especially marry the one, for whom the status of a taken girl means nothing. If Ms. Rochester didn’t love me and, to your information, confessed that she dated me because of the fear of staying single, she can go to hell. But I shall meet a more decent girl, who will be better than that bitch is and make me think of marrying.”       “I doubt you will meet another girl, having such a disgusting character.” Rebecca crosses her arms over her chest, looking at Edward gloomily. “A hunger for money and power killed everything good inside you. You are a beast, Edward! Just a beast!”       Rebecca shakes her head with wet eyes, while Edward scratches his plate with the food with a fork with a gloomy gaze.       “How did you get so much evil?” Rebecca wonders. “Did the breakup with Natalia change you for the worse? When we started talking about her, you kind of lost your mind! And you gave me so much pain and disappointments… It’s madly hurt for me to realize that the friend of my son is an egoistic and mean man.”       “Do not praise him…” Edward says coldly. “I understood that you love Terrence much more. Praising him, admiring him, defending him, covering his tricks… But you’re insulting and humiliating me… As well as my dad. You two make me nothing!”       “Did you give me at least one reason to be proud of you? Did you do just something for me to praise you? You’re giving only disappointments and making me cry bitterly.”       “As if you didn’t suffer with my friend!”       “At least, your friend never did what you are doing now.”       “Oh, come on! Terrence is not better than me! He has never been a perfect son and has made you nervous thousands of times. And he has confessed it many times.”       “There are things that make me proud of my son. I love him with all my heart and can confidently tell everyone that man has reached a lot thanks to a huge work on himself.”       “So, are you confessing Terrence is more important to you than me?” Edward resents.       “I love both of you!”       “Stop lying! You’ve never loved me!”       “Do you dare to talk to me like this?”       “You probably never thought of your younger son for all those years! Your thoughts were only about one child! You gave a fuck about your second one! You didn’t care that he lived with his daddy, who was humiliating and insulting him! You only cared about your lovely and inimitable Terry. Your world has always gone around him. And he’s used to the fact that everyone must admire him, praise him to the skies and consider him the authority.”       “What?” Rebecca resents. “How do you dare, kid? How do you dare to talk to the adult, absolutely strange woman like this?”       “Confess it, Mrs. MacClife! Confess that you wouldn’t have thought of me if I hadn’t reminded you of him three months ago. And your thoughts will always be obsessed with the all-favorite Terrence.”       “Stop being jealous of Terrence and me! You two aren’t kids to fight and argue, so people pay attention to you!”       “I have a reason to be jealous! Many reasons to resent why that rooster gets everything, but I have nothing.”       “As I understand, does your wish to get all the money and rob your friend have to do with terrible jealousy? You are mad that he is much more successful and luckier than you, and you want to do everything for you to exchange your places.”       “Yes, I am mad!” Edward shouts rudely. “I am mad that you also treat me terribly! My father and you – you two care only about one sonny. The other doesn’t exist for you!”       “Stop saying delirium!”       “It seems that the Universe didn’t want me to be born. Everybody was waiting for Terry. Because he is the first child, the expected one! But I was made accidentally. Nobody wanted me. That’s why you’ve given a fuck about me all my life.”       “Close your mouth now!” Rebecca demands loudly.       “Now I understand that Michael was absolutely right. You didn’t just want me to be born, and you have hated me to death all your life. You are ashamed of calling me your child because I’ve reached nothing. But you and your ex-husband adore Terrence! You love him so much that you forget about the sins he has committed. You know that he was probably much worse than me, but you cover him and tell everyone to treat him well.”       “Who made you think so? Did Michael, who you should not have gotten in touch with, do it?”       “Nobody had to tell me anything. Because I was growing up with this thought. The thought that my family didn’t need me. Neither my father, who loved the children from my stepmother so badly… Neither Mother, who never wondered what happened to my life and didn’t try to find me at least to ask how I was doing.”       “What’s happening to you, Edward?” Rebecca asks quietly, looking at Edward with wet eyes and shaking her head. “Why are you acting like this? Why are you hurting me so much? Why do you believe a bastard, who wants to turn you against those, who loved you? And you believe his words like a naive idiot and are ready to become a stinker for money.”       “Sorry, Mrs. MacClife, but I can’t deny what’s clear,” Edward replies coldly in a low voice, leaning back in the chair. “Michael is right that I had a blind spot all this time like a guy in love and noticed nothing bad. But I woke up and see that he is right. My father treated me like a doormat and would’ve had the pleasure of kicking me out much earlier or actually sent me to an orphan house in my babyhood. And my mother cares about anyone but me.”       “How do you dare to say it to me?” Rebecca resents, clenching a hand into a fist and setting her wet but cold gaze on Edward. “You have no right to! You still have milk on the lips! When you have your children, you will treat them as you want. But you must respect older people! If your father was here and heard your words, he would beat you on your ass with a belt so hard that you would be afraid to say a word. And if you go too far, I shall start educating you. I am a very soft person, don’t like scandals, and do try to solve everything peacefully. But I may be cruel and make you obey older people.”       “Come on!” Edward laughs with mockery.       “It’s not a joke, Edward, if you keep behaving so disgustingly and insulting your father and me, I will have to take measures. And I don’t care about being a strange to you! Since your close people could not make you good, I can do this.”       “Here we go again!” Edward hums. “You’re acting like Father did somehow. He threatened to take a belt, insulted me, humiliated me, called me his punishment… Do you think I would be grateful to you if you beat me with a belt? No! Instead of giving me the love and care that I needed so badly, I was always made feel disgusting.”       Edward hits the table with a hand.       “Stop, Mrs. MacClife! I’ve been taking it for too long, and I am freaking sick of this fucking injustice. I get kicked and treated like a doormat, and Terrence, who has made thousands of mistakes for twenty-seven years, is getting admired and praised, called the center of the Universe, and made him feel so proud that he became too arrogant. That man is not better than me and doesn’t deserve everyone’s love and such great respect.”       “Sorry, but you are the one to blame,” Rebecca says coldly. “You’re doing your best for people to treat you like this. If you confessed that you wanted to get the inheritance and rob your own friend the way his uncle did it to his father, what should we praise you? What can we say if you’re insulting your ex-girlfriend, who couldn’t betray you so cruelly and send you the photos you talked about? Should we adore and support you when you say you’re ready to betray Terrence due to the terrible jealousy of his success? Do you think what happened between your father and uncle is right?”       “If you really loved me, you would never treat me so terribly. But the world of you goes only around my friend. And the world of my father goes around his children and his second wife. You give a fuck about me. And I see you’ll never love me as much as Terrence. If you like giving me pain and literally sticking my nose into what he has gotten, I should stop speaking to you.”       “You better ask yourself if you should’ve started ti all. Whether you should’ve imposed on Terrence so hard?”       “Yeah, you’re probably right… I wasted so many years reaching my goal. It was wrong! Nobody said they needed me. Nobody would cry if I died. Vice versa, you would be dancing on my grave.”       “You know, I think kicking you is worthless because you will understand nothing. Someone beat you, but you stayed the same mean man, whom your mother should be ashamed of calling a son. But I don’t regret knowing the truth. Knowing the bitter truth is better than thinking you may be a role model. Knowing all your actions, I could hardly say you’re doing the right things and make me feel proud. You disappointed me, Edward. You disappointed your father, who is also ashamed of you. You betrayed your mother and father, who are ashamed of you, too. You betrayed your family and showered it with the mud. Everybody accepted you with open arms, but you gave a damn about us. After all of this, you can’t be a role model.”       “Yeah?” Edward rudely throws the fork on the half-empty plate, sharply gets up from the table, and leans on it with his hands, setting his gloomy gaze on Rebecca. “Then hold up your lovely and imitable Terrence as an example. Who you will always love much more than me. If I find a place to run away, I will move to a different place. I will live far from the people, who give me pain again and again.”       Being hurtful, Edward sharply turns around, leaves the spacious living room, and goes upstairs to the second floor, leaving Rebecca all alone. The discouraged woman watches him until he hides, not being able to hold tears down and dreaming that everything is not the truth.       “God, what happened to that guy?” Rebecca asks with tears and sniffs quietly. “Why did he become a beast? Edward seemed like such a sweet and kind guy, but now he is acting like a rat! For the money, he’s ready to become a nasty bastard! Because of jealousy of Terrence’s success! My God… Has he always been the one? Did it hide it when we met for the first time? And the breakup with Natalia made everything worse?”       Rebecca inclines her head and sighs heavily.       “I guess that man washed his brain enough…” Rebecca thinks and makes a quiet sob. “Just like Terrence’s uncle… That scumbag Michael did ruin the lives of Jamie and me, and now he decided to drive us crazy by turning our children against each other. He is not done with everything he has done. He can’t calm down. It’s not enough for him. He always needs something.”       Rebecca carefully wipes tears under her eyes.       “Thank God, Terrence didn’t become so spoiled. I did my best to make him have the best features. Yes, he’s still got a hard character, but that man will never do a mean thing and betray his friends and close people. And if my younger son lived with us, I would never let them become enemies. My children would get on well and remember that they are not strangers..”       Rebecca makes a sob again and drinks some juice from her glass.       “By the way, I think I should talk to Terrence and tell him about the situation with Michael. Just in case… I don’t want some events to become unexpected for him. And who knows, maybe, he could tell me much more about Edward’s disgusting behavior. And I can also ask him what he knows about the situation with Natalia because I don’t like it. I don’t wanna believe that girl could do this to my son. I could not doubt Raquelle, knowing that she didn’t appreciate Terrence much and was busy with her career. But Natalia loved Edward with all her heart. She couldn’t do that, she couldn’t… And I swear, I shall find out what’s going on. Something tells me Terrence and Raquelle know much more than Edward just told me. I should find the answers to all the guesses. And I will do it tomorrow.”       Rebecca sighs heavily and sits on the table all alone for a few seconds. And when she tries to eat what there is on her plate, she understands that she has lost her appetite. That’s why the woman decides not to make herself, gets up from the table and starts slowly moving the tableware off, carrying it to the kitchen to wash it and put it in a special place. All this time, she continues to cry quietly because of the disappointment and the pain. She wonders why Edward suddenly became such a mean and greedy man. And stopped being the kind and innocent at first sight guy with a charming smile and a pretty face, whom she knew some time ago.