The Secrets Hidden In The Scars

      But this awkward silence does not last long. Edward is the first one to decide to say at least a few words, even if he does it very hesitantly:       “Erm… Hi…”       “Hi,” Natalia greets much more hesitantly, smiling with the corners of her mouth.       “Nice to meet you.”       “Me too…” Natalia glances down and starts shifting her weight from one foot to another. “Very nice…”       “I didn’t actually expect to see you here. There are usually fewer people here… This place is always… Unpopular.”       “I didn’t also think I’d see you here. I was just going by and saw you sitting here…”       “And I didn’t see you… I was thinking…”       “I see…” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds and glances at Edward hesitantly, still embracing herself with both arms. “Erm… And… Are you… Walking here?”       “Erm…” Edward stutters, pulling the sleeve of his coat nervously. “Yes… I’m walking… It’s been a long time. And I don’t wanna leave…”       “Because this place is beautiful and quiet?”       “Yup… It’s really very beautiful…”       “By the way, you disappeared suddenly…” Natalia says in a little shaking voice. “Too suddenly…”       “I’m not trying to hide. I just don’t wanna show up for anyone… Can’t come to myself after what happened…”       “But do you understand you won’t be able to ignore everybody forever?”       “I know, but…” Edward runs his hand through his hair and shakes his head. “I don’t just want… Ain’t ready to talk to anyone.”       “At all?”       “At all.”       “Even with me?” Natalia glances at her hands. “I’d personally like to put everything in the right places to know what to expect. We should make it all clear…”       “Well, as we met…” Edward shrugs and glances down with a quiet sigh, breathing a little heavily. “Honestly, I’d also love to make it clear. And decide what to do after the trial. If… I’m pronounced non-guilty, of course… Maybe, I wouldn’t have to plan anything because everything would be decided for me.”       “Do you have a plan for your future?”       “I do… To disappear and start my life over again.”       “Do you want to say you’re planning to leave the city?” Natalia frowns slightly.       “At least, I ain’t able to leave the city right now. And especially the country. I’m… Banned… Under the declaration of not leaving and being a suspect in the murder.”       “And then? What are you gonna do later?”       “I don’t know, Natalia… I can say nothing now… Unless one thing: when everything ends, nobody will see me anymore. Though, it won’t become a tragedy for anyone. Nobody will even think about me if I want to disappear.”       “Do you wanna leave everything so easily?”       “If you were instead of me, you’d love to do the same.”       “But you could at least try!”       “Why?” Edward asks with despair in his voice. “It’s too late to change something. And I don’t want…”       “Wanna stay a bad man for everybody because of deciding to run?”       “The people have a right to it. I don’t make anyone love me. If someone wants to judge and contempt, there’s nothing bad about it.”       “Oh…” Natalia exhales sharply with sadness in her eyes and glances down for a moment. “Okay, if you wanna disappear, I’m not gonna change your mind. It’s your life, and you can do anything you want.”       “Alas, it wasn’t what I wanted. And I’ll have to take it.”       “But I wouldn’t refuse to talk about everything right now. Moreover… We didn’t finish the talk the last time… We didn’t reach my home.”       “We can try to do it now,” Edward shrugs without emotions on his face. “I agree…”       “I think we two have something to say. Even if many things were discussed some time ago.”       “Sure…”       Natalia nods, glances down, and slowly comes to the edge of the bridge with her arms crossed over her chest. Then she and Edward sit on the edge, letting their legs down and setting a sad gaze into the distance. The awkward silence settles in the air first because the former lovers think about something, doubting if they should have started this talk. But a few seconds later, Edward moves his eyes off the horizon and moves them to Natalia, who keeps looking into the distance. He pays attention to her narrow face with perfect features and clean, shining skin and silently notices that the girl’s blue sky eyes are still beautiful but much sadder. But understanding that he can be silent and look at the one, who makes his heart tremble, MacClife, Jr., decides to talk about just something.       “You know…” Edward pronounces quietly, looking into the distance. “I’ve lately loved walking where there is nobody… I always loved being in similar places, but now I especially love them.”       “Don’t you like people?” Natalia asks, not moving her eyes off the horizon.       “There is a high chance that I’m not recognized. If I meet someone, people will start pointing at me and insulting me somehow. But I’m afraid I might not take it…”       “Has someone recognized you?”       “Luckily, no. But anything may happen…”       “When they start talking and commenting on the upcoming trial, we will surely be recognized.”       “Yeah…” Edward slowly glances at Natalia. “Hey, have you seen the reportage, in which they talked about Uncle Michael and all of us?”       “Many times,” Natalia replies quietly. “But they told just a half of what actually happened.”       “Right, but they mentioned the worst and most important things. Uncle’s arrest, the attempt to kill me and Father, my arrest, and the information about the murder of Father’s friend…”       “I remember.”       “It’s been one week, but the reports are still the same. I haven’t heard anything new: only talks about Uncle’s arrest and my arrest on the charge of the murder.”       “Hey, sorry for hurting you, but why did you hide that you were arrested?” Natalia asks hesitantly. “What was the meaning of hiding it if you were not guilty?”       “I thought nobody would believe me. Someone may not believe you, even if you tell them the truth. And I was ashamed to confess that I was in prison…”       “I understand that talking about it is a shame, but your family must’ve known that situation. It would’ve been okay if your friends hadn’t known it, but your relatives…”       “I was afraid to tell them much more. I could say it to any stranger and feel less ashamed. But if I’d told my family about it, I would’ve burned from shame. Just like I was when Uncle Michael made everybody doubt me, at least for a while.”       “Nevertheless, you shouldn’t have been silent about it. You should’ve known that the secret would be revealed early or late. Either you would speak, or someone to know what happened would do it.”       “I know, but I was scared… Everything was against me, and nobody believed I killed nobody. No matter how loudly I screamed about my innocence, I was put in prison alongside real criminals.”       “You said the investigator, who got that case, was a good familiar person of your uncle.”       “Yeah, an old one.”       “Do you think everything was planned?”       “What? My arrest and the fact that I was brought to the most dangerous criminals? No, I don’t think it was Uncle’s plan! The investigator hadn’t known who I was until he asked my name. And I didn’t know that sick man knew Uncle. I learned it from Uncle Michael, when he made bail and gave bribery to his pal, so the investigation was suspended.”       “It seems like that man put his nose in everything.”       “What’s right is right. There was literally nothing that Uncle didn’t know about.”       “And he didn’t hide it.”       “Exactly!”       “But that’s good the investigation has been renewed again. And the one, who’s gonna be honest and punish a real killer, not the one to stand in the way first.”       “And I gave him a tip. So, may they confirm he is a killer.”       “I hope it will happen. For you, it’s one of the small chances to avoid a sentence you didn’t deserve.”       “At least, I’m quiet because I told the police the truth. I have nothing to say about the murder. I will just repeat it all on the trial when I’m called to testify.”       “The most important thing is to stay honest and hide nothing,” Natalia smiles slightly. “And I’m sure you won’t hide anything.”       “Of course, I won’t. I’ll tell them everything I saw. I wanna do it as soon as possible and forget it like a nightmare. That event has kept me worried for many years. I’ve lived with the fear that the police will put me in prison.”       “Were you afraid to watch the person being killed?”       “Very,” Edward pronounces in a low voice. “That’s horrible… I never thought I’d run into something like that someday. I thought nothing could be worse than my terrible relationship with Father. But as it turned out, there were much worse things.”       “I wouldn’t probably take something like that.”       “I was only nineteen then. A child. A little boy, who hadn’t grown up and become strong in all senses. I was stupid… Headstrong… Rebel… Sadly, my stupidity played a cruel joke on me. Though, I could’ve insured myself if I hadn’t taken the gun and left my fingerprints on it.”       “You’re not alone,” Natalia cracks a smile. “When I was nineteen, I barely understood something, too… I was a little naive, a little timid, a little stupid… Maybe, I am now, but I wanna pretend it’s not the truth. I dunno… But I think everybody barely understands something at the age of nineteen and acts like a stupid child.”       “No…” Edward moves his eyes to Natalia. “I don’t think you’re stupid and timid. If you were stupid, you wouldn’t have thought about doing some things. Or you just wouldn’t have known how to do something even if someone had told you. It’s fine when someone is afraid of something. That’s good when someone fights with their fears and faces them. The worst thing is when they fear nothing and don’t think that some things might be dangerous. It means they’re not senseless robots and do have emotions and feelings.”       “I don’t deny it’s fine. Vice versa, I completely agree with you.”       “There are many things that you terribly fear.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds. “But even in the hardest situation, you can struggle with your fears and do what you should. You know how to ban yourself from fearing and to face your fear.”       “And you’re afraid of much, as well,” Natalia replies a little hesitantly. “But you’re trying to hide it. But you can also struggle with your fears and do what you should.”       “I don’t deny. I fear a lot. But I must fight my fears. Because men shouldn’t show they fear something. They shouldn’t show their emotions too openly. Sometimes it’s too hard, though… At least for me. Maybe, I don’t fit the description of a strong, severe man that wouldn’t shed a tear.”       “It’s just a stereotype. People are different: not all men are severe and stoned, and not all women are tender and obedient. Tears are something you shouldn't be ashamed of. You should be ashamed of having no heart and soul. Because it’s what makes you alive.”       “Maybe…” Edward sighs quietly. “I dunno… Maybe, I’m an exclusion from the rules ‘cause I can’t be a real man. I guess everybody was right when they said I couldn’t hide my emotions. Since I’m weak and too vulnerable, no mask will help me.”       “Keeping emotions inside is hard, even for the strongest man,” Natalia replies softly. “Sometimes men go from one extreme to another and show all their feelings. But it doesn’t mean they’re weak and can’t be called men. No! The one, who regrets something, doubts something, and does not hide it, is strong mentally… Who shows their weakness and talks about what they’re worried about, what they’re afraid of… That’s what the power of any strong man is.”       “No, I’ve never been stoned and rotted,” Edward shakes his head. “I may not talk about my emotions too openly, but I always live them inside. I always doubt the rightness of my decisions and think about whether I do something right too much.”       “And there’s nothing bad about it. Don’t hate yourself for that. Doubting, fearing, and worrying are quite normal things.”       “Probably, only a sense of shame can be worse. Fear to come to someone and say you recognize your mistakes and ask them for forgiveness.”       “Agree, that’s really a disgusting feeling…” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds, inclining her head. “Now I feel almost the same.”       “Erm…” Edward frowns slightly and looks at Natalia questioningly. “Do you have something to regret?”       “I do!” Natalia moves her eyes to her hands folded in front of her. “You won’t understand it, but there are many things that I’m ashamed of.”       “Listen, Natalia, if you consider yourself guilty of what happened between us, you shouldn’t worry,” Edward says hesitantly. “Because it’s just my fault. I thought you were guilty ‘cause I didn’t know the truth and started to treat you badly. But now I know everything and am really sorry about what happened.”       “I know,” Natalia replies without emotions, trying not to look at Edward, as she is sitting next to him. “But not only do I mean that. Because… There are also many things that I’m ashamed of. I’ve made lots of mistakes, for which I paid a too high cost. Because of which I nearly lost everything I had. I had to apply many efforts to save what I could’ve lost.”       “You shouldn’t blame only yourself,” Edward replies in a low voice. “I did act like a brainless moron, who didn’t think of demanding some proof. And tell someone about it, so they wake me up before I do what I’d regret.”       “I just should’ve told everything when it happened. If I hadn’t been such a brainless coward, everything would’ve been otherwise.”       “Don’t blame yourself, Natalia,” Edward says with sadness in his eyes. “I should’ve found out everything, not attacked you with charges after I got a reason to doubt you.”       “You shouldn’t blame yourself, either. I completely understand your feelings when you thought…” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds and bites her lip slightly. “I betrayed you…”       “But understand me. Understand what I felt when I saw those photos. I got furious and couldn’t control myself. A sense of jealousy is really disgusting! It turns off your brain and your ability to think adequately.”       “I don’t dare to deny my fault. I do know I’m not holy and innocent.”       “I know I should learn to hold myself down and not to let jealousy make me a monster. Yes, it’s normal that nobody wants anyone to steal what belongs to them. What you’re defending so hard. But sadly, I don’t know how to struggle with it. I won’t deny I’ve always suffered from this thing.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds and shrugs. “I dunno… Maybe, someday, I will stop being jealous of my girl and another man… If I have her, of course… If I have the one I’d like to be with…”       Edward’s last words make Natalia get tense and make her feel that her heartbeat is getting faster. The girl just felt awkward, but now she feels pain. From realizing that this is the end of their relationship. However, she pretends that she does not take these words seriously.       “Your brother learned not to be jealous of my friend,” Natalia makes herself say in a low voice. “And she isn’t jealous of him and other girls, ‘cause she knows that the man is only loyal to her.”       “I know, but remember that they had the same problem,” Edward notices. “He was somehow jealous of her and another man. And she almost killed him after seeing him hugging another girl.”       “Yeah, I know… Though, they don’t like talking about it.”       “Terrence didn’t give me details. He did it when Daniel and Peter, so to say, betrayed him. Though, he didn’t say much.”       “I think we shouldn’t know much. That’s good they just told us about Terrence hugging and kissing another girl before Raquelle’s eyes, who was so excited that she could’ve done anything to that girl. And about MacClife getting a reason to doubt the loyalty of my friend. But he had a reason… Because Raquelle put her career above him.”       “That’s good she realized it in time.”       “But these two didn’t forget what happened. Somehow, Cameron and MacClife decided to fight with my pretense and remind each other of past offenses. Raquelle recalled Terrence’s short affair, and he blamed her for almost ruining their relationship with her indifference.”       “That’s how…”       “I think if I hadn’t been with them, the two would’ve killed each other.”       “I don’t know if they told you about it, but when we were waiting for a call or message from Uncle with a term of your freedom, Raquelle and Terrence often argued about something. Yes, they forgot it kind of quickly and could start speaking as if nothing happened two minutes later. But they had a huge fight on one of those days.”       “Really?” Natalia rounds her eyes. “But what happened?”       “Well, they started with stupid things and ended with reproaches. I mean, Raquelle disliked something… She started some hysterics for Terrence, and he didn’t take it and got enraged, as well.”       “My gosh… But what wasn’t Raquelle happy with? Did Terrence do something to her?”       “I don’t know…” Edward shrugs, fingering over nervously. “I don’t know what she thought about… Maybe, she was just excited… Maybe, something else… I can’t say…”       Natalia, frowning slightly, sets her questioning gaze on Edward and starts looking at him, while he looks into the distance. Something tells the girl that the man does not say something and definitely knows what happened between Terrence and Raquelle. However, she decides not to talk about it and pretends she believed what she heard.       “I see…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully. “At least, now, they look like everything is fine.”       “That’s good if it’s true,” Edward replies quietly. “I wouldn’t like them to break up. Despite nothing, Terrence feels very good with Raquelle. She makes him feel alive.”       “No, they will hardly break up,” Natalia smiles slightly. “They support each other and get ready for the hearing together. Somewhere, one month to go.”       “The hearing starts in one month?” Edward rounds his eyes.       “It’s not exactly. Nobody knows the date. I do think so. But I can exactly say that we’re gonna have a meeting with a lawyer very soon.”       “Oh, do we have a lawyer?”       “Yup, the friend of your father found him. Well, who’s working in the police and was helping Mr. MacClife catch Michael.”       “I see… But could he do his best to win the case? At least do everything for Uncle to go to prison for many years?”       “Raquelle said that man was an experienced lawyer with many years of work. I think we aren’t supposed to have problems.”       “And what about Uncle’s lawyer?”       “She didn’t say. But there is a chance that nothing will save Michael because there are too many clues against him. Even if he finds at least one witness that would whitewash him, it won’t help him.”       “I don’t know what about you, but I’m terribly nervous because of that trial. Because… I’m gonna see that man again and hear his insults to me. I’ve heard them millions of times over the past years… And I get worse because of it.”       “He can insult everybody as much as he wants. But he will have to pay for all his tricks.”       “I really want the judge to give Uncle the sentence that he deserves. He has done too much and can’t do away with it.”       “We all want it,” Natalia replies thoughtfully. “That man ruined the lives of all of us…”       “Although I’m a little afraid Uncle’s lawyer may win this case, I’m sure about the good end of this story. At least, I try to believe. Believe that Uncle would be put in prison, and I’d be pronounced innocent.”       “I’m trying to believe in the best, as well,” Natalia sighs heavily. “Though, I can barely do this.”       “Why?” Edward asks quietly. “Are you also afraid we wouldn’t win this case?”       “Edward, what do you think?” Natalia hesitantly moves her dead eyes to Edward. “Of course, I’m afraid and terribly nervous! I’m gonna have to talk about what gives me unbearable pain. Though, I understand that I must do it. If I promised to do it, it will happen. No matter how hurt and disgusting I feel, I shall do it.”       “At least, you have the support of Terrence and Raquelle and many people.”       “I’m really lucky in this case,” Natalia smiles shyly. “Moreover, my parents promised to be in the courtroom.”       “Really?” Edward cracks a smile. “That’s cool!”       “I think with such strong support, I’ll overcome the excitement and tell the judge what happened to me.”       “Of course, you can. You’re strong, Natalia. Very strong. Just make yourself think that many things may depend on it. And remember that you have people, who will always support you. Especially at such a hard moment.”       “I’ve been trying to do it for a long time… I hope it will really help me when I have to testify and recall the horror that I experienced.”       “It’s gonna be okay. Uncle Michael and his gang will pay for all the bad things.”       “I wish it happened.”       “Oh…” Edward moves his eyes into the distance and squints slightly. “I’ll never forgive that man for what he did to my family and me. And… Many other people…”       “Erm, excuse me…” Natalia frowns slightly. “Who do you mean under ‘many other people’?”       “Erm…”       Edward bites his lip slightly and moves his eyes to Natalia hesitantly, getting the muscles of his body tense and not knowing what to do with his hands shaking from the excitement.       “Why are you looking at me like this?” Natalia rounds her eyes. “Something is wrong with me?”       “No, no, you’re fine,” Edward replies a little hesitantly, while his eyes are examining Natalia’s face closely. “I don’t…”       “Maybe, you will answer my question?”       “What kind of question?”       “Don’t pretend to be an idiot. You know what I want to hear.”       “Haven’t you realized it?” Edward asks quietly.       “Just tell me the truth.”       “Oh…” Edward exhales sharply with closed eyes. “Okay! You won! I meant you! Here’s the truth!”       “Really?” Natalia opens her eyes wider, looking at Edward questioningly and feeling how fast her heart starts beating.       “Why are you looking at me like I said something grandiose?” Edward asks, being a little confused because of Natalia’s close gaze.       “Erm…” Natalia glances aside sharply, tightly locking her fingers. “I…”       “Although there’s no point in talking about it, I don’t wanna hide that I’m still not indifferent to you. And I can’t change it. I… I can’t give a damn about you and pretend that I don’t care about your life. Vice versa, I do want to know what’s happening to you. And to know you’re happy.”       Natalia keeps silently looking at Edward with widely open eyes for a few seconds, not knowing if the man loves her, or if she is no longer the girl that could become his beloved and only one.       “Listen, Edward, I…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly in a shaking voice.       “Despite nothing, I’m kind of attracted to you,” Edward confesses hesitantly. “You’ll always be the special person, who will mean very much to me. And I’m grateful to you for what you’ve done for me. I’m glad I got the one, who would always listen to me, support me, and advise me on something.”       Edward swallows up nervously, while Natalia withdraws her head and looks at her hands.       “You may think I’m trying to make amends quickly and get out as far as possible with a light heart. But no! I’m telling you the truth. I mean… I really want to make amends with you. At my wish. Not to let people say bad things about me. And stopped hating me.”       Natalia says nothing again. Her eyes are chaotically running from one side to another, her body gets obsessed with strong tension, and she is cringing more and more with a wish to become small and invisible.       “I did a disgusting thing to you and confess it,” Edward adds quietly, not moving his eyes off Natalia. “Confess that all my actions were terrible. And I’ll never forgive myself for losing the one, who changed my life for the better. Gave me moments that I would never forget. That I would remember with a smile on my face. I’m very sorry there will be only memories, but I will have no negative emotions connected with the time you and I spent.”       “Please, Edward…” Natalia pronounces quietly, with pity in her eyes.       “That’s why everything seems hopeless. I see no meaning in trying to fight for something and trying to fix the situation after so many mistakes have been made. Everything went too far… My actions are terrible. I will never get forgiveness for them. No kind business will make everybody give me another chance to prove that I can be better.”       Natalia starts praying that Edward stops talking about it because he hurts her with every single word. They are like a knife that gets into the heart slowly but rightly. Like a blade, which leaves many scars on the bleeding body. However, the man keeps shamelessly hurting her tender heart, even if he does not guess it.       “I want to get everything back in the right places and start everything again more than anything,” Edward confesses, tightly locking his fingers. “But I understand it’s impossible. I doubt that you and I may have something. We gave each other too much pain. I don’t want to hurt you. But thinking soberly, I see only one solution for this problem – breaking up and letting each other go.”       Natalia has to apply many efforts not to release her emotions and cry from the pain caused by the words of Edward about going to say goodbye to her.       “No, God, please, no…” Natalia thinks, looking at Edward with a dead gaze. “I don’t want it! I don’t want to lose this man! I love him! Love! He can’t do this to me!”       “I apologize for saying it so openly, but it would be better if we didn’t torture ourselves and each other,” Edward says hesitantly, trying to look at Natalia less and nervously pulling the sleeves of his coat. “I… I can’t… I can’t make you as happy as you should be. Sadly, I’m not the one that’s destined to do it…”       Getting horrified by the thought that her breakup with Edward is final, Natalia feels that something starts pressing in her chest and not letting her breathe well. She is obsessed with a wish to cry bitterly and loudly say she wants to try to start everything again. And a few seconds later, Edward moves his scared gaze to Natalia. He sees that she is about to cry and feels awkward at the thought that his words could hurt her.       “Erm, are you okay?” Edward asks hesitantly.       “Yup…” Natalia pronounces in a low voice, looking at her boots and the water in a small lake. “Okay…”       “Oh…” Edward exhales sharply, feeling that his heart is squeezing painfully. “Listen, Natalia, don’t get hurt, please. I didn’t really wanna hurt you, and I ain’t gonna do. If something is not right, say it, If you want to talk about something, I’ll listen to you. If you… Think we could…”       “Nope…” Natalia swallows up nervously, deciding to lie to Edward and hide her real feelings. “It’s okay. It’s okay… You’re right…”       “Really okay?”       “Really,” Natalia barely pronounces and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, still looking at her foot. “I completely agree with you… And… I believe we could hardly fix something…”       “I believe we concluded a mutual agreement?”       “We gave each other too much pain,” Natalia replies in a lower voice. “Too much to… Forgive each other easily… I can’t… I can't forget everything you told me. Maybe, I will forgive you, but I’ll never forget… The pain you gave me is too strong…”       “Sure, I get it…”       “So, sorry, Edward…” Natalia moves her sad gaze to Edward. “But it’s the end… It’s all over… Since you don’t mind, I will not hold you… It’s our final goodbye…”       Edward swallows up nervously, getting much sadder and understanding he gets obsessed with strong tension, and it’s getting harder to breathe.       “It will be the right decision…” Edward barely pronounces in a low voice.       “But despite nothing, I’m also grateful to you for everything you’ve done for me,” Natalia puts on a smile. “You did even make me a little better. And you gave me the memories that would be the best thing in my life. I’ll never forget them… Even if I have amnesia.”       “Glad to hear it,” Edward smiles slightly with sadness in his eyes, feeling he is literally tearing apart from the unbearable pain caused by the thought everything is about to end.       “There were good and bad things. But I will regret nothing and will not say bad things about you. Vice versa, I will remember you with a good word. I will not think about the pain you gave me.”       “And you don’t blame yourself for what happened. Let’s think it should’ve happened.”       “Thank you so much for everything. You gave me the best time in my life.”       “I also thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I really felt very good with you. Better than with anyone else. But I think it’s time to say goodbye and start to live our lives.”       “But even if we’re breaking up, it doesn’t mean we can’t remain good friends, huh?”       “Yup…” Edward nods with a false smile. “We’re stopping being a couple, but we can keep our friendly relationship.”       “With pleasure. I would be happy to have such a good friend like you. And I know I could always come to you to ask you for help or a piece of advice.”       “But no matter how much I help you, I will never make amends for you.”       “It’s okay, don’t think about it,” Natalia says quietly, putting on a smile. “Just be happy. And… I hope you’ll be very happy… With another girl. Who would not disappoint you the way I did.”       Tears come to Natalia’s eyes, but she turns her face upon Edward not to let him see it. And the man barely holds down his emotions, getting horrified by making the great mistake.       “Thanks…” Edward thanks quietly. “I’m also wishing you to find a man, who would be by your side and not think of being jealous of you and everyone. And give you everything you deserve.”       “With God’s help,” Natalia says under her nose, putting on a false smile. “Thanks…”       The tense silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which the former lovers look around, at their feet or at their hands, struggling with a wish to talk about what they keep deep inside.       “Erm, Natalia…” Edward pronounces hesitantly, moving his eyes to Natalia, and bites his lip for a second. “Can you do something for me?”       “Yes, sure,” Natalia nods. “What should I do?”       Edward says nothing for a few seconds, and then he finds the courage to look into Natalia’s eyes confidently and ask her:       “Can you kiss me for the last time?”       Natalia getting sharply pale moves her dumbfounded, widely open eyes to Edward. She gets much more obsessed with great excitement, and her heart starts beating faster at just one thought that the soft lips of the man would kiss her lips again, and his warm hands would caress her face tenderly.       “Erm… Excuse me, what?”       “Kiss me for the last time,” Edward says shyly. “I… Want you to kiss me… So we… Remember this moment forever.”       “Kiss you?” Natalia pronounces in slow motion.       “It would be great to say goodbye in a good way. Without scandals… And… Do our best for our breakup to be associated with something nice… Not something terrible…”       Because of the excitement, Natalia gets obsessed with a hot flash, her body starts shaking strongly, and she understands that she lacks air. However, Edward feels awkward, as well, and is not sure if he should have suggested something like this. Nevertheless, he wants to feel the taste of the tender lips of this sad golden-haired beauty and breathe in the smell of her light brown skin.       “I know this suggestion seems crazy to you…” Edward says hesitantly, running his hand through his hair. “But… It would be better to give a good impression than say goodbye with a bad aftertaste and negative emotions.”       “Erm…” Natalia stutters. “I… Erm…”       “But if you don’t want it, I will not insist.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds. “I am not going to kiss you by force. Just say what you think about it, and I will get it.”       After sighing hard and tightly locking her fingers, Natalia glances at Edward slowly and hesitantly and looks at him silently, being under the influence of excitement and panic, not being able to say something, and feeling like something is squeezing her chest.       “So…” Edward pronounces hesitantly and shrugs with sadness in his eyes, moving his eyes down. “Okay… If you think it’s crazy, I’ll take it. I know I did a stupid thing when I said it, but…”       “No!” Natalia exclaims and sharply looks up at Edward. “I want! Want you to do it!”       “Erm…” Edward gets confused and swallows up nervously, setting his widely open eyes on Natalia. “What?”       “I won’t mind it. If you kiss me.”       “Will you let me do it?” Edward asks hesitantly and quietly.       “Yes,” Natalia nods with tears coming to her eyes. “Just do it, and we will break up in a good way. Please.”       Edward nods and struggles with great excitement for two seconds, getting much more nervous after this moment has come. But no matter how hard it is to start the goodbye kiss, the man understands that he should bring this case to an end and show confidence and determination, at least now. So, as Natalia is breathing heavily and literally afraid to move, he has to take control of it, slowly starting to shorten the distance between him and the girl. The shorter the distance between the former ex-lovers, the faster their hearts are beating. Its sound is echoing in their heads. The harder it’s getting to breathe. The body gets hot because of a hot flash. The white, half-alive Natalia does not try to hold down the tears that slowly roll over her cheeks. She tries to relax, at least not to ruin this moment. But the realization of the fact that everything will end after this kiss does not let her enjoy this moment.       When there are only a few centimeters between the young people, holding down all the emotions they immediately get obsessed with is getting much harder. Well, nobody is going to do it. Because of the lack of air, they start to feel a little dizzy. It seems like they need a little before the world goes sharply black. It’s very hard to keep calm not only because of this but also because they feel the forgotten feelings mixed with unbearable pain. Nevertheless, Edward tries to make this moment longer and does not rush to kiss Natalia. His eyes are closely examining the white but beautiful face of the girl. The vanilla smell of her skin clouds his mind. He cracks a smile for a moment after he breathes it in. Even if Edward and Natalia want to step away, none of them can do it. They get attracted like magnets. And they can do nothing with it. They are tearing apart from the wish to let themselves relax, let the situation go, and succumb to their greatest wishes and natural instincts.       The former lovers feel very good, while the nice warmth is spreading all over the body. Next to each other, they even forget about their problems and recall what it means to be happy, probably for the first time in a while. At least, for Natalia, this moment is like a strong antidepressant. Even a strong stubble on Edward’s face that tickles her sensitive skin does not make this moment worse. The dizzying masculine smell drives her crazy and makes her much more attracted to its owner. The soul leaves her body when he runs his fingers through her glossy golden hair. She takes her breath away when MacClife, Jr.’s warm, tender hands shyly caress the cheek of the girl. Natalia is ready to give herself to Edward and make any of his wishes come true. And even if one voice screams that it should not happen, but another makes her confess that she dreams about it more than anything, the strong affection is several times stronger than a wish to step away and leave.       A too short distance between them makes Edward and Natalia forget all their doubts and succumb to this passion, understanding that there is no way back. After he overcomes the fear of the kiss and tries to forget that everything is happening the last time, Edward touches the lips of Natalia tenderly with his open, relaxed lips and stays in this position for two moments. While she closes her eyes and feels that her heart literally stops when his hot breath burns her skin. A little later, the man inclines his head to the side and applies a little more pressure, checking the reaction of the girl carefully. Who looks timid and is literally afraid to move but does not resist, enjoys this moment, and inclines her head to the opposite side.       This hesitant and shy kiss is slowly becoming more confident, but it still remains tender. And the hands that were lowered get much more freedom. But while Edward caresses her forearms tenderly, runs his fingers through her hair, and caresses her head, Natalia keeps her hands in front of herself, just letting this man keep doing what he is doing. Actually, he thought their last kiss would be short. That it would be just one slight tough. But when their lips connected and started a kiss that made their hearts beat faster, everything went wrong. Edward cannot just hold down his wish to make this magical moment longer and feel happy next to Natalia, at least for a while. While she does not push him off and obeys him fully, being sure that he will not do what will make her feel discomfort.       By letting themselves relax a little, they do not notice how they release their feelings. It’s getting literally impossible to resist affection for each other. It’s getting harder to breathe, the heart is beating a crazy beat, and breathing in the incredible smell of the skin clouds the mind more and more and makes them feel a stronger hot flash, dizziness, and tension in the whole body. The problems are put in the last place, and the mind is focused on the kiss. They even forget that it’s going to be the last one. Natalia and Edward are just enjoying the moment. The man succumbs to his wish to caress the girl with his soft hands, warming the tender, white and cold feminine skin of her face and slowly running his fingers through her silky, long hair. He does everything so well that she makes a quiet moan at some moment and exhales sensually when he leaves a few short, tender kisses on all the parts of her face.       Maybe, Edward would go far, but he later realizes that if he does not stop, it will be too late to change something. That’s why the man leaves a couple of the last short kisses on the corners of Natalia’s mouth and gives her another continuous kiss on her lips. After this, they step away from each other with a heavy breath and hesitantly move their widely open eyes to each other. No matter how much they want to stay indifferent, they cannot hide a shy smile, and a slight blush shows up on their faces. The former lovers keep looking at each other for a few seconds. At some moment, the man runs his fingertips tenderly over the girl’s cheek, making her smile at the corners of her mouth and close her eyes for a second. They just realize that it was their last kiss. That’s what makes Natalia and Edward feel embarrassed, step away much more and move their eyes off each other sharply, still breathing heavily and feeling a hot flash and dizziness.       But because they decided to finally break up, a few seconds later, Natalia decides to leave without words. After sighing quietly, she slowly gets up, turns around, and leaves, not turning on Edward not to change her mind. Hesitantly stepping on the wood boards with the sole of her boots, the girl quickly goes over the bridge, steps on the ground, and hides somewhere on the turn. After staying alone and inclining his head slightly, Edward exhales sharply, taking off the mask that he had been wearing all this time. He feels much more depressed than he did some time ago. Especially after such a fantastic kiss that will never be forgotten. The man was so happy when he kissed the blonde-haired beauty with pleasure. But now nothing is left of the happiness.       “I can’t take it…” Edward thinks, setting his dead eyes into the distance, while the strong wind blows his hair and clothes. “I can’t… I can’t forget what’s still strong. Nothing changed for the worse while we were apart. I mean, everything got much stronger! I’ve never felt so happy and sad at the same time. I felt so good, but now I feel freaking bad. I can’t… I can’t… Fuck! I made much more sure I still loved her and couldn't love someone as much as her. It seems like I lost a part of my soul. A half of mine.”       Sitting on the edge of the bridge with his head inclined and his dead, half-wet eyes set into the distance, Edward is nervously shaking his leg, clicking his fingers, and slightly shaking from one side to another with the hope that something will help him relax his tense body.       “I can’t accept the fact that she’s single now,” Edward thinks. “Without support. Without protection. I do wanna protect her from bad things. Wanna press her to me and never let her go. She reminds me of a little, unprotected girl that must be protected by a tough man. I wanna protect her… Wanna hug her for nothing. I do like pressing her to myself. I feel much quieter and more confident. She spreads such a nice warmth that nobody has ever given me. I’ve always terribly lacked someone’s love, but she could give it to me. Give me confidence. Help me stop being a little, cowardly boy and become an adult, fearless man. One glance from her would be enough for me to feel like this. If she was next to me, I would become another. I can’t do this without her…”       Every second, Edward is starting to doubt whether he did the right thing and is regretting letting himself show hesitance and let go of the one, without whom he could not imagine his life.       “That girl has done so much to me,” Edward thinks with sadness in his eyes. “Even more than I could ask. I’ll never thank her enough. That girl has given me much more love and care than anyone else in my whole life. Natalia opened my eyes to many things. Made me think about a lot… And she gives me the confidence that I lack. She’s the one, with whom I feel like an adult brave man, not a little weak boy. That girl is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”       Edward swallows up nervously and puts his hand on his heart for two seconds, feeling it’s hard for him to breathe because something is pressing on his chest.       “And… She even risked her life to save me. Save me from the worst thing I could’ve done. Natalia didn’t let Uncle Michael say a bad word about me, and she protected me from his attacks. That girl believed I didn’t kill Nicolas. Thanks to her, I became braver, at least for a while, and piss that old sick bastard off. I needed a push – Natalia gave it.”       At some moment, Edward moves his eyes down, recalling his goodbye kiss with Natalia, which gave him a strong impression.       “I won’t be able to forget that kiss. It seems like I got a shocking wave through my whole body. Of course, I madly liked kissing Natalia, even if she was terribly tense and kind of afraid to get me scared or surprised. But it hadn’t been as incredible as it was now. That was magical! I’d be happy to do it again!”       Edward does not pay attention to the wind that is blowing his hair. Even if it gets into his eyes or mouth, the man does not react and keeps thinking of Natalia and looking at his hands or the horizon.       “On the one hand, I don’t wanna stop feeling it. But on the other hand, it gives me a great pain that could hardly be gone. But fuck… How cool it was! I’d sell my soul to kiss that girl again. Feel her smell… The taste of her lips… Her everything…”       Edward closes his eyes for a few seconds, thinking about how he was kissing Natalia. And later, his hand reaches his lips. After barely running his fingertips over it, the memories are getting clearer and making his heart beat much faster.       “Damn, why did I just say we would better break up? Why did I let my cowardice get obsessed with me? Why didn’t I even try to let her know that I wanted to get that girl back? I did see that Natalia got upset after my words. She tried to hide it, but couldn’t do it. Everything was written on her face. But Natalia had to agree with me. The coward that fears responsibility and judgment.”       Edward sharply runs his hands through his hair and pulls it slightly, breathing heavily enough and still feeling that something is pressing on his chest strongly. Moreover, his eyes are getting red and full of tears, little drops of which are slowly rolling over his cheeks.       “Fuck, I’m really starting to regret letting her go! Why am I so cowardly? Why did I the fuck become the one? Why am I sitting here and crying like a girl? What will happen to me during the trial? Will I also cry before the eyes of everybody? What will Natalia think about me? Will she decide that I can’t really be confident and fearless? Start to think that being with me is a shame?”       Edward doubles over and closes his face with both hands, cursing himself with the thought that he messed up everything and ruined it with his own hands because of his cowardice and insecurity.       “What an idiot I am,” Edward thinks with sadness in his eyes, starting to slouch much more. “I already gave her a strong pain, but now I naively thought I’d make her feel good if I let her go and pretend that I was never in love with her.”       Edward simpers contemptuously.       “What a brainless fool! Oh, brainless… I’m surprised that I had the courage to kiss her. But now I’m sure that Natalia still feels something for me. She didn’t resist and didn’t look like she wanted to end everything. Yes, that girl was passive. But she gave no negative reaction. I’m absolutely sure that everything could’ve been otherwise. If I’d hinted at my wish to get her back. But despite my strong love for her, I let that girl go. Idiot… A brainless bastard. Terribly cowardly and insecure one. Damn, I’ve gotta fix it somehow! I’ve gotta change! For my wish to make the one I madly love happy.” Edward slowly moves his eyes up and sets them in the distance. “Yes, I love Natalia, and I ain’t gonna deny it if someone asks me about it. I didn’t deny it before, but now everyone will hear it. I will be saying it without a doubt. Even if my breakup with her is final…”       Edward runs his hands over his face with a slow sigh, understanding that he is slightly shaking because of the coldness in the air or because of the strong tension.       “I really wanna get Natalia back. But I don’t think she will forgive me after everything that happened between us. We gave each other too much pain. And she has the right to be mad at me and consider me a nasty bastard that doesn’t deserve forgiveness.” Edward simpers contemptuously. “I messed up everything and paid much for that! I paid for all my actions. For my wish to get someone’s attention. For my wish to restore justice and play a hero that everybody would be grateful to… I really get people in trouble and make them suffer… It would be better if I wasn’t born.”       Edward keeps thinking about something, doubling over, closing his face with his hands, pulling his hair strongly, and sniffing often, while transparent drops of tears are rolling over his cheeks. But then he sharply exhales, gets straight, wipes his tears off, and looks at everything around him.       “Alright, stop doubting!” Edward pronounces confidently. “Stop the fuck being a pathetic coward that would get nothing if he was afraid of everything, sitting in the corner and crying. If I wanna get Natalia back, I must not act like a coward. I must do the possible and the impossible to reach my goal. I don’t wanna lose her and deprive myself of a chance to be happy. Even if I fail, I won’t be so ashamed because I will at least try. I’d better get a refusal than refuse to fight at my wish and literally reject her. Natalia needs a brave and confident man, not a pathetic softie, who cries for everything. After all, I am a man. I was born as a boy, not a girl. But real men must not give up because of stupid insecurity and some fears. I don’t know what I should do to get my beloved girl back. But I will not give her to anyone. She is mine and belongs only to me.”       After hesitating for two seconds, Edward gets up on his feet sharply enough, comes to the end of the bridge, steps on the ground, takes some distance, and looks at what surrounds him, breathing a little heavily and asking himself how far Natalia has gone and whether he has a chance to catch her.       

***

      Natalia feels broken and depressed, and the kiss made her happy while it lasted. The strong wind is blowing the sad blonde’s long, loose hair, a couple of thick strands of which are pinned on the back of her head with a little hairpin. Sometimes they get into her eyes or mouth. At first, she tries to move it off, but then she gives a damn about it.       “Nothing has changed,” Natalia thinks, still going on the straight path slowly. “My knees still shake, I feel dizzy, my heart beats like crazy, and the nice warmth is spreading all over my body. I still feel very good when this man is near me. I feel safe when he embraces me… With his strong but tender arms. I’d sell my soul to a demon to press myself to him… I’d become anything for him. I’d forgive anything. To be with him…”       Natalia is still not far from him and cannot make herself leave, understanding that tears are getting out of her eyes but trying to control herself not to cry before the eyes of people that go by her.       “It’s hurtful for me to see him in such a depressed condition,” Natalia thinks with tears in her eyes. “I wanna be with him. I wanna support him. I wanna take care of him. I wanna prove that I can be loyal and caring. Maybe, I could change him and help him become more confident…”       Natalia shakes her head, grabbing her throat with a hand.       “God, I don’t want Edward to bring himself to a horrible condition early or late and do something bad in despair…” Natalia thinks. “His mental health is actually bad after everything he’s had to experience. But if he doesn’t get help, everything might end badly. No, no, I’m even afraid to think about it. I want that man to be happy. I wanna help him reconcile with everybody and become his shoulder. I’m ready to sacrifice anything for him to feel good. My heart is bleeding when I see him being like that. That man needs love and attention that he lacked so badly…”       Natalia closes her mouth with a hand, sniffing quietly when she goes by a street dog with three puppies that are next to their mother and pressing themselves closely to her, while she is lying on the dirty ground and watching her children.       “Edward didn’t leave me when I needed his help. That man swore not to leave me – he kept his promise. I’ve always believed in him and knew he could do a lot for me. For example, Edward didn’t shoot at me when I literally begged him about it. If it’s so, he’s still got a kind heart and soul. The love is still alive in him.”       Natalia makes a quiet sob, looking into the distance and biting her lip slightly.        “Thanks to Edward, I believed everything would end well. Only thanks to the belief that he’d come and save me from Michael, I managed to overcome those terrible things. Even if that man wasn’t near me, I never stopped thinking of him. It helped me stay strong and brave, even if my legs were shaking from fear. With him, I felt the bravery that helped me fight ‘till the end.”       Natalia gives a quiet sob, looking into the distance with her wet from tears eyes, and bites his lip slightly.       “I was sure he killed nobody and believed he was slandered until the end,” Natalia thinks. “My intuition did not betray me. And I was right when I didn't believe what I heard. And when he's on a trial, I will be praying for everyone that he is found not guilty and is not put in prison for nothing. Thanks to Edward, I believed everything would end well. Only thanks to the belief that he'd come for me and save me from Michael, I survived all those terrible things. Even if that man wasn't next to me, I never stopped thinking of him. It helped me stay strong and brave, even if I had my legs shaking from fear. His pretense gave me some courage, which helped me fight with everything that happened to me until the very end.”       Natalia tightly embraces herself with both arms and recalls the kiss with Edward, which is the reason why her knees were shaking, and she got goosebumps on her body.       “This time, everything was otherwise. Much better… This kiss drove me crazy. I thought I’d feel nothing and easily take it. But no! My heart is crazily beating from just one memory… I hadn’t felt anything like that when dating Edward. And when I dated other men, I didn’t feel anything like that. It was cool, but no more. But Edward is different… I get much more attracted to him than anyone else. He does know what to do for me to feel good…”       Natalia throws a sad gaze aside, not caring about the wind blowing her hair strongly and the gold strands getting into her mouth.       “Damn, I won’t forget it!” Natalia sighs heavily, runs her hand through her hair, and carefully wipes tears under her eyes. “I’ll always think of Edward’s tender and warm hands and soft lips! That man drives me crazy with his dizzying smell. His voice. His eyes. His kisses. Shit! Shit! Shit! How do I forget what gives me pleasure, happiness, sadness, and pain? Why can’t we fall out of love with someone and forge everything about them shortly? How do I ban myself from thinking about that kiss and wish to kiss that man again? More passionately…”       At some moment, Natalia’s hand reaches her lips. Touching them with her fingertips, the girl understands that her heart stops when she thinks about how their lips connected tenderly, and they shared a tender kiss. A little later, she, keeping her hand on her mouth and embracing herself with one arm, starts to go straightly very closely, as if she believes someone would call her and ask her not to leave.       “What an idiot I am…” Natalia thinks and sniffs. “God, what an idiot I am… What was I thinking of when agreeing with Edward’s words? I did really lie to him! He’d never forgive me for the lie. Well, he probably understood that I was a false idiot. I didn’t even try to hide my emotions and wasn’t almost looking into his eyes.”       Natalia glances aside, still going somewhere as quick as a snail with her arms crossed over her chest.       “But if he saw, why did he let me go? Is the problem about fear and diffidence? Is his fear of being with me much stronger? Or doesn’t Edward just love me? Maybe, I stop hoping for something?”       Seeing there is a bench not far from here, Natalia sits on it, doubles over, and runs the fingers of her hands through her hair.       “I never denied it, but I said it with great reluctance,” Natalia thinks, still sitting on the bench. “But now I am ready to scream about what I actually feel. That I madly love Edward and can’t literally live without him. If I saw a falling star, I’d wish to get that man back and become happy with him. And make him happy…”       Natalia runs her hand over her face, wiping off tears under her eyes and sniffing quietly.       “Yes, once, that man already gave me great pain. But I was the only one to blame. I was cowardly and couldn’t overcome the fear of telling him the truth. Edward had a right to call me a betrayer, ‘cause I gave him a reason. My feelings are way stronger than my offense. I’d forgive him if he apologized and asked me to come back to him. I’d be happy to give him another chance to fix everything and prove that he loves me… I don’t have pride in the case of this man. I just wanna be happy. With the man I love to death.”       Natalia sits on the bench for a few seconds, looking into the distance and locking her fingers tightly. But then she gets straight sharply and wipes tears off, saying confidently with her head proudly raised:       “No! No, I can’t leave him! While my love for Edward is alive, I ain’t gonna give him to anyone. No girl will dare even to look at him. I will not let! That man belongs to me only! And I will not give him to anyone without a fight! I’ll be fighting for him until the last breath.” Natalia sniffs and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Why were we standing for each other as if it should’ve happened like that when we were at Michael’s house? Why were none of us shy about revealing our feelings? What has happened to us now? Nothing has changed! Can’t we talk about our real feelings now?”       Natalia shakes her head sharply, breathing heavily enough.       “No…” Natalia pronounces in a little shaking voice. “No, I don’t wanna leave him… I don’t want him to leave me. I wanna get that man back and make him happy. Show him that I’m not a stupid idiot, who needs just one thing. Maybe, I doubted if I should’ve done it, but now I know I wanna try. And if that man comes back to me, I will do my best not to disappoint Edward and myself. No more lies. No more doubts about loyalty. No more hesitance. I’ve gotta fight for my man as well as a lion fights for its territory.”       Two seconds later, Natalia gets up from the bench, looks around, and decides to come back to the lake, praying that Edward is still there.       

***

      Edward does not know where to go, or whether he has a chance to catch Natalia. The man tries to listen to his feelings, hoping they will help him choose the right way. And the intuition does its business later and tells MacClife, Jr., to go to where Natalia went. At first, he doubts it, but then he, putting his doubts aside and relaxing his shoulders, shakes his head to move his hair off the eyes and goes to the right place quickly and confidently. He takes some distance before he decides to move his eyes to the left. Then the man notices the cute blonde. He recognizes her as Natalia, who is trying to find him. When their eyes meet, they stop sharply, not being able to move off their excited gazes full of hope.       The knees start shaking, the body gets covered with goosebumps, and the heart is beating fast. But the former lovers stay confident: they keep their backs straight, relax, spread their shoulders and raise their heads a little. Edward and Natalia look at each other for a few more seconds, literally not blinking. But then, the young people move off at the same time and confidently come toward each other. And when they are close enough, they pronounce the same phrase, looking into each other’s eyes:       “Don’t go!”       The former lovers stop sharply and get frozen in surprise because they did not expect they would say the same. The excited Natalia and Edward look into each other’s eyes for two seconds and pronounce another world with a little bit of despair, giving their soul to this one:       “Please!”       Edward and Natalia gasp quietly and round their eyes, looking at each other surprisingly. Silence settles in the air again, but at some moment, the man decides to break it again, not noticing that he keeps his back straight, spreads his shoulders, and raises his head:       “Maybe, I don’t like when someone doesn’t say everything. But I was silent about much, too.”       “And I don’t say a lot,” Natalia replies quietly, keeping her head proudly raised and looking into Edward’s eyes without fear.       “What we said at the same time…” Edward glances down for a second and bites his lip slightly. “It’s… The truth? You really want it?”       “I can ask you the same.” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds. “Are you really asking the one, who lied to you, not to go?”       “Are you really asking the one, who insulted and humiliated you so cruelly, to stay?” Edward wonders.       “There are many things that pushed me to this. Maybe, I made myself forget about them for some time. But now, when everybody calmed down, I thought about it and realized that… That I don’t want what we… Agreed about some time ago…”       “But I’ve made so many mistakes! I was a brainless idiot that messed up everything possible!”       “I can’t deny it. But you also did many things that made you better. Made at least me think you have kindness and shame. Who regrets doing something bad if it happens.”       “You know…” Edward cracks a smile. “I can say the same about you… You did many wonderful things, too… They saved me from stupid things. You showed that you could be loyal to those you truly loved. You proved that love and friendship meant much to you.”       “But I had done many stupid things before. I was an absolute idiot and a terrible coward…”       “As one person told me somehow, there are no perfect people, who never get wrong. Every person has done at least one terrible thing. So, I think when a person regrets it and tries to get better, they deserve a second chance.”       “So, could you give me a chance to prove that I’m not so terrible and could be better?”       “I don’t doubt it.”       “Do you really wanna stay here?”       “No, without a fight!” Edward says more confidently. “While I have a small chance to fix everything, I am not going to give up. No more cowardice and irresolution.”       “But, Edward…” Natalia shakes her head.       “If you ask me about it, I will leave.” Edward takes a confident step toward Natalia, looking into her eyes. “Without looking back.”       “Erm…”       “I will not leave at my wish.”       “You…”       “C’mon, Natalia, tell me to leave,” Edward says confidently, coming much closer to the overwhelmed Natalia, who is looking at him with widely open eyes. “Tell me to leave you alone. I swear, you will never see me again. I will not prevent you from living your life and turn anyone against you.”       “Wait, are you serious?” Natalia asks hesitantly.       “Absolutely. One word from you before I do what you tell me. If you tell me to leave, I’ll disappear instantly. Just tell me you don’t want to see me anymore.”       Natalia hesitates for a few seconds and then shakes her head, saying:       “No…” Natalia sniffs quietly. “No… No, I will not do it. No, don’t even ask! No! I’m not going to leave, either. You can do this by kicking me. Only if you grab me by the collar and tell me to get out of here and never stand in your way.”       “Gosh, what are you talking about?” Edward opens his eyes widely. “Do you think i will do that? You think i’ll treat you so cruelly?”       “But you…”       “I don’t want to remember what happened earlier! Stop! I’m sick of burning from shame. I want everything to stay in the past. I want to fix all my mistakes. Otherwise, I won’t be able to live quietly.”       “Listen, Edward…”       “I don’t want to fight with anyone anymore and show the worst side of mine.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds and glances down, but then at Natalia with pity in his eyes. “Please, give me a chance to explain it all and prove that I madly regret what happened.”       “I don’t need your explanation. I know everything.”       “You can kick me out and say you don’t need me and don’t have to have a deal with me. But I’m asking you about one thing: give me a chance to make amends and…” Edward exhales sharply. “Establish our relationship…”       “Tell me honestly, do you want us to try to get our relationship back?” Natalia asks openly. “Or don’t you actually care about it?”       “Really want,” Edward pronounces with sadness in his eyes. “I want it more than anything… I want us to try to start everything again. I wouldn’t feel so bad if I just tried. I don’t wanna give up so easily and let you go.”       “I’d…” Natalia stutters, being nicely surprised by Edward’s confidence. “Also… Love to get our relationship back. Though, I understand it may be very hard… I don’t want everything to end like this – without attempts to fix something.”       “If you want, we will be fighting,” Edward replies confidently. “Together. And if it leads to nothing, we will have to say goodbye. But none of us will regret not trying.”       “I do regret. Regret making a terrible mistake…” Natalia shakes her head with wet eyes. “I regret agreeing with your words that our relationship is impossible to bring back.”       “But why didn’t you mind? Why didn’t you say you weren’t gonna accept it? You didn’t want it! I saw it!”       “I was afraid to mind. Afraid to say that it wasn't too late to fix everything. Yes, I still doubt something could happen between us, but my wish doesn’t get weaker. And now I’m not going to give up. Without a fight.”       “I understand why you did that…” Edward swallows up nervously, looking quite tense. “And I regret saying it.”       “But why did you say we’d better break up?”       “I was cowardly. Afraid you’d piss me off. So, I acted like a hesitant milksop. I forgot that nothing would come to us easily: you wouldn’t run to me if I was doing nothing.”       “What if I run?”       “Would you do it?”       “Maybe. Maybe, if I were a little braver, I’d protest and beg you not to leave me. I’d even sell my soul for you to stay.”       “Moreover, I thought you had no feelings for me. You didn’t kind of love me and were planning a future that had no place for me. That’s why I thought it would be better to let you go and let you live your life. I couldn’t insist if you had nothing for me.”       “But now I will be insisting,” Natalia says confidently.       “I’m serious. Despite nothing, I’m wishing you the best and want you to be happy. If I have to let you go, I’m ready to do it. You’ll be happy. Maybe, without me, but you will be.”       “No!” Natalia exclaims loudly with despair, feeling that tears are coming to her eyes, and shakes her head sharply. “No, don’t say it! Please, don’t give me stronger pain…”       “Natalia…”       “I wouldn’t get better if you let me go,” Natalia says in a low, shaking voice. “I wouldn’t be happy. I couldn’t bear it.”       “But…”       “Why did you think I could have no feelings for you? Just because I somehow said I never loved you. And I dated you because of fear of staying alone?”       “I believed it and…”       “That’s not true!” Natalia protests with despair. “It was a lie! I lied to you!”       “You lied?”       “And you can hate me. Because you hate someone, who lies. But I swear, Edward, everything I said then was a lie! A lie!”       Natalia inclines her head, burning from shame for Edward and not even thinking of wiping off tears that are running down her cheeks. But later, she finds the courage to look at the man, who does not even think of getting mad at her.       “I know you’re mad at me…” Natalia says in a shaking voice. “Hate me for another piece of a lie. I get it… And… Even if I have no right to ask you about something… I want to ask you anyway…”       Natalia falls into silence for a second and sniffs quietly.       “It seems like you said you’d leave if I asked you to leave… So… You will not hear it! I will not say it! Because I don’t want it to happen. I don’t want to lose you forever. I will feel awful…”       Natalia closes her eyes for a second and exhales quietly.       “I’m asking you to stay,” Natalia says with pity in her eyes. “I’m begging you, stay with me! Be anyone for me: a familiar, a friend, a brother… A boyfriend… No matter! Just don’t leave me! Please, Edward, don’t do this! I’ll feel very bad if you leave. You’re one of the fewer people, who make me stronger, braver, and happier. You’re the only one to give me what other people can’t. Please, don’t deprive me of your shoulder, in which I can put my nose to cry… A chance to feel protected… Beloved… Needed… To know that I have someone to say everything’s gonna be okay at a hard time… Who would always help me if I needed it… Who would just take care of me…”       Natalia feels that she starts shaking stronger from tension, tears are getting out of her eyes, and her voice is getting lower and more shaking.       “Don’t leave me, Edward, I’m begging you…” Natalia begs with despair and pity. “I’m ready to do anything for you to stay with me. You can use my vulnerability. For you, I’d do anything. Any sacrifices. I’d do anything you’d say, even the most impossible things! Yes, I am really weak! I don’t have pride and a sense of dignity. And I don’t wanna be the one! I can’t show my pride when I’m tearing up from thinking that it’s the end. The end of everything we had. The end of the wonderful time I spent with you. Please, Edward, don’t do this to me. I won’t take it. I won’t live without you. I do need you. Please, don’t leave me. Don’t leave… I don’t want this to be our final breakup. No… I don’t want… Stay with me… I can’t… Can’t…”       It’s madly hard for Natalia to say every single word, and she is literally choking from a lack of air and sniffs often with tears in her eyes. And when she says everything she was able to say, she pronounces something like “Damn!” in a shaking voice, turns aside sharply, and makes a couple of quiet sobs. But then she closes her face with both hands and releases her emotions, starting to cry bitterly and shaking strongly from the tension that she is obsessed with. After her heartbreaking speech, Edward’s heart starts squeezing badly. Seeing the girl being in despair and hearing her plea to stay, he does not find the courage to leave here in this condition. The man was not going to do it at his wish, but now he tells himself he will not leave this sensitive, fragile blonde now or ever.       Edward hesitates for a few seconds, looking at the crying Natalia with great pity. Then he determinedly comes to the shaking, crying girl and takes her in his hug, pressing her to himself as closely as possible but trying to stay tender not to hurt the girl. She does not resist it or try to break free, while his hands are caressing her shoulders slowly and carefully. The man’s warm palms on her body give her a feeling of something nice and warm. Natalia is happy to press herself as closely as possible to the wide, tough chest of Edward and snuggle her face in it. In his trustful arms, the girl feels like a little girl under the protection of the amazing man, who is not quite confident, but who has as much warmth as nobody else probably does.       They say nothing for a few seconds. But then Edward breaks the silence confidently but quietly, snuggling his nose on the top of Natalia’s head that he caresses and barely holding down his wish to cry, while she keeps crying bitterly with the fear that he would let her go and leave.       “I will not leave you, hear me,” Edward says quietly and confidently. “I will no longer make this mistake. No matter who I will be. You will not stay without my support, I swear.”       Edward falls into silence for two seconds, still hugging Natalia tightly and caressing her head or back to calm her down.       “But you stay, as well,” Edward continues to say in a soft, quiet voice. “Please, stay. Don’t leave me. I need you so badly. I need you like nobody else. I don’t want us to break up. I don’t want you to leave my life. Thanks to you, I hold on somehow. If you weren’t with me, I'd go crazy. You’re the only one to be able to make me strong and encourage me to keep fighting for my wishes.”       Edward softly kisses Natalia on the top of her head, while his hand is placed on the back of her back, and another hand is sliding over the top of her back.       “And now I understand my brother much better. When he felt the same agony… When he thought he had lost the one he loved… The same is happening to me… I’ll also be deprived of the meaning of life if I lose you. My biggest fear is not getting punished for my actions or going to prison for what I didn’t do. I’m afraid to lose my dearest people that I love… My family… And you… I’d give anything to get back their love and trust… To stop being judged… To have at least someone to be by my side…”       Edward snuggles his nose in Natalia’s shoulder for two seconds, being no longer able to hide his real feelings for the one, who is the reason why he literally lost sleep and appetite.       “I don’t care if I have money, my home, my apartment, a good job…” Edward says excitedly with a heavy breath. “I give a dam that I’m a pathetic beggar that lives on someone’s account and is not able to provide himself. One thing is important to me – having the people that I love with all my heart. I know nobody will forgive me so easily. But I must apologize to everybody and recognize all my mistakes. And I’m ready. Ready to apologize. Ready to start it now.”       Edward falls into silence again, breathing heavily enough and feeling that all his muscles are shaking from the tension. At some moment, he glances at Natalia, who still keeps her face snuggled in his chest and is crying bitterly. She is closely pressing herself against him and not wishing to let go of the one, whom she sees as a trustworthy protector.       “Please, Natalia, don’t reject me,” Edward begs with pity in his eyes. “Let me help you… Support… Calm you down… Let me protect you… Maybe, you’re no longer a child, but you’ve always reminded me of a baby… Especially now. Looking at you, I’m making much more sure that you’re like a little girl that is wanted to be hugged and protected from the whole world, which has too much evil and injustice. I will feel much quieter if you’re under my protection. I promise, I will not run away like a mean coward. At least give me a chance to protect you and give you my support. You can always count on me. Please, Natalia, don’t go… I need you…”       Natalia puts her arms tightly around Edward’s neck, still snuggling her face in his chest and pressing herself against this man as closely as possible, as if it’s really important to her. Just one thought about him leaving makes her feel a strong panic. Because a man like him is the only one in the world. And she would hardly find another.       “Be anyone for me…” Natalia pronounces in a low, hoarse voice. “Just stay… Don’t go… Please, don’t go… I fucking need you! I don’t wanna lose you! Don’t want… I will not bear it!”       “I will not go, I promise,” Edward promises softly and quietly, caressing Natalia’s head and hugging her with both arms much tighter. “Nowhere…”       “I can’t…” Natalia makes a couple of quiet sobs, while the fingers of her hand squeeze Edward’s hair on the back of his head, and another hand squeezes the collar of his coat. “I can’t overcome this nightmare alone… I have no strength…”       “You’re not alone, sweetie, I’ll help you. Do everything I can to help you survive it.”       “I thought I’d go crazy when I was trying to survive my problems by myself. That was horrible! Horrible! I don’t wanna be alone anymore! Keep everything inside! I can’t! I’m sick!”       “Quiet, quiet, it’s okay, I’m here, with you,” Edward replies in a half whisper, caressing Natalia’s back tenderly. “It’s okay…”       “Help me…” Natalia begs with despair, placing her hands on Edward’s back and pressing herself as close to his chest as possible. “Please, Edward, help me… I need you so badly… I can’t do this without you…”       Every single word is very hard for Natalia, and she is shaking strongly not because of the fall coldness settled in the air. Because of the fear of losing support from Edward. She, a tender, fragile girl, really needs a strong and trustful man, who lets her know that everything is going to be okay with just one gaze, and that she will be safe with him.       “It’s okay, Natalia, it’s okay,” Edward says quietly, caressing Natalia’s shoulder and running his fingers through her hair. “It’s okay…”       Edward closes his eyes tightly, barely holding down a wish to shed a tear because Natalia’s bitter cry is literally tearing his soul apart, and she is pressing herself to him like a scared child and is afraid to let him go.       “Please, calm down…” Edward begs quietly with pity in his eyes. “It hurts to see you in this condition. I promise, I will not go. I’ll stay with you as long as you need. Stop crying and shaking… Otherwise, you will make me cry… We’d cry and comfort each other…”       Edward has to blink his eyes several times because his vision gets unclear because of the tears in them.       “Okay, sweetie, okay,” Edward whispers, leaning on the top of Natalia’s head with his cheek and running his hands over her back, while she presses herself to his chest, on which she puts her palm. “I’m here. I’ll help you. I will not leave and will help you forget the bad things. It’s gonna be okay. I promise.”       Edward’s quiet, soft, low, and nice voice does magical things to Natalia. The girl barely braces herself and starts to calm down slowly, though, feeling a little better after she cried her emotions out. And as Edward promised to stay and become anyone for her, Natalia no longer squeezes him in her hug so tightly and just enjoys the warmth that he gives her. While the man is still tense. He does not know what it means to be absolutely relaxed because he has always been in this condition and never felt real easiness.       Much time is gone before Natalia comes to herself more or less and steps back from Edward to put her hair and face in order. At first, the man closely watches her and softly caresses her forearms, but then he asks anxiously:       “So what? You feel better?”       “Yup, I feel much better,” Natalia replies quietly, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and moves her red, wet eyes to Edward with a slight smile. “Thanks a lot.”       “Well, so…” Edward shrugs. “Since you got better… I think we should try to talk again…”       “And then, will we go our separate ways again?” Natalia chuckles quietly.       “Oh, no!” Edward replies confidently. “This time, I will go nowhere. And I will not let you go so easily.”       “I really want you to stay. It’s not an attempt to get your attention and pity you. It’s my true wish. My real feelings.”       “I believe you.”       “So, will you really go nowhere?”       “Nowhere,” Edward replies with a slight smile, grabs Natalia’s face softly, caresses her cheeks, and wipes tears under her eyes carefully. “Okay, don’t cry anymore. Wipe your tears off and relax. I said I wouldn’t leave.”       “That’s better,” Natalia smiles slightly and sniffs quietly. “I definitely felt a little relief.”       “I hope we’ll feel a much stronger one after talking.”       “Well…” Natalia quickly looks at everything around her, constantly fixing her hair. “In this case, I agree to take a second attempt to sort out everything.”       “Come back to the bridge we were sitting on?”       “Okay.”       “Let’s go then…”       With these words, Edward points to the side as if he is letting Natalia go further. And when she moves off the place, he follows her and embraces her around the shoulders, feeling some relief but not smiling with his twenty-two teeth yet. The girl presses herself close to him like something close and warm, smiling rarely with the corners of her mouth and feeling that she gets much better while this man is next to her and shares his warmth. The young people quickly come to the lake and reach the edge of the wood bridge, not caring about the sole of Natalia’s shoes making quiet sounds again. They do not also care that it got a little dark outside, and the wind is getting much stronger.       Edward and Natalia sit down almost at the same time and let their legs down. They kept a small distance at first, but now they sit down much closer to each other. The man embraces the girl around her forearms and caresses her shoulders, while she just presses herself closer to him and puts her head on his shoulder a little hesitantly and softly caresses his hand that is placed on his knee, not noticing him smiling with the corners of his mouth. Nobody says a word for a few seconds. Edward looks into the distance with sadness in his eyes, and Natalia closes her eyes and enjoys a sense of safety and the thought that she is next to the one, who she still truly loves. But later, the man breaks this silence, watching the kind of long lake and the gray clouds:       “I’m madly ashamed of all the terrible things I did. And all the words I ever said to someone. When I think about it, I start to shake.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds, softly caressing Natalia’s shoulder. “Now I’d give much to try to turn time back upon and fix my mistakes, or at least try to apologize to those I hurt. I wouldn’t feel so lousy if I just tried.”       “I believe you,” Natalia replies quietly. “And I completely understand you. Because there are many things I’m also really ashamed of… I also wanna do my best to fix my mistakes…”       “They say you can find good things about everything that happens. Although there’s nothing good about what happened, we at least know the truth. The only good thing is the fact that there’s no point in guessing what happened, and everybody knows the secrets hidden from them.”       “It’s kinda true. You don’t kind of feel any relief, but you feel kind of better.”       “And I think it united all of us for some time and made us stay together, despite the offenses. We became a team, at least for a while.”       “I think we united not only because we wanted to end that story,” Natalia assumes thoughtfully. “But also because we really love those we were united with.”       “That’s right. I think every one of us was worried about each other deep inside.”       “I wouldn’t help someone I couldn't take. I’d give a damn about them. I wouldn’t wish death – that’s bad. But wouldn’t save as well.”       “I wouldn’t also help the one I can’t take. I wouldn’t even think of protecting them. Because I help only those I love, respect, and consider important to me.”       “It’s about your family?”       “I’d sacrifice anything for it.”       “I got it. Remembering how you were protecting your brother when we three were at your uncle’s house.”       “You think I should’ve stayed aside when that old bastard threatened to destroy him? I was ready to cut his throat, at least for daring to insult Terrence!”       “Do you really still love him?”       “Of course! He is my brother! The one I was very attracted to. The one, with whom it was always good to spend time. Terrence understood me like nobody else and knew how to help me with a word or a business. All of his pieces of advice were very nice, and I must’ve listened to them.”       “So, wasn’t the fact that you were protecting him something like a situation when ‘trouble unites people?’”       “No, it was my wish. Helping him and protecting him was my duty. Despite what happened between us, I’ll always love him, respect him, and consider him one of my closest people.”       “Do you really regret what you told him that time?”       “I do badly…” Edward swallows up nervously. “I hated myself for going too far on that day. I didn’t actually fight with Terrence, and I never thought anything bad about him. I know it sounds like an excuse, but I don’t know what I was thinking about when saying it to him. And started to fight… Oh, shit… When I think about it, I wanna strangle myself from shame…”       “And I’m partly guilty of that,” Natalia says with sadness in her eyes. “You fought because of me.”       “I’m not blaming you for anything. But I must admit that the fight between you and me really made me furious. I was so wild that I turned off my brain and didn’t think of what I was doing and saying. And… I can’t be sure if I would’ve calmed down if someone had stopped me much earlier.”       “I know… Before I arrived at Terrence and Raquelle’s home, you had been quiet. My pretense sharply got you enraged. When I showed up, you immediately changed, but you tried not to betray yourself. Until they left us alone at their own risk.”       “No, no, I got excited not because of your pretense,” Edward shakes his head. “Yes, I felt terribly awkward when you were sitting in front of me. But I got enraged after our fight. I thought of your alleged betrayal and stopped controlling myself. In anger, I could’ve destroyed the whole house of my brother and his fiancée and made them much angrier.”       “We’ve fought only two or three times after the breakup. But I thought we fought literally for a few years every time we met… It got me mad and exhausted at the same time…”       “I could calm down only when I went aside and took a breath away. To come to myself, I mustn’t have seen you and even thought about something related to you. And I was mad at you. Cursed you, hated you, swore at you… Oh… In short, I experienced all the negative emotions. I barely held myself down when someone just called your name. I did want to take something heavy and hit that person against their head of that person, so they shut up.”       “And I'm very sorry I got you so furious. You always seemed a quiet, calm man, but I turned you into a monster that crashed everything in his way.”       “I should’ve just been less naive and smart enough to check the information.” Edward falls into silence for a few seconds and caresses Natalia’s head, which is put on his shoulder. “Everything could’ve been otherwise if not for my stupidity.”       “I can’t blame someone. I can’t blame you and anyone else for bringing everything to that condition. I couldn’t get rid of the terrible thoughts and kept them inside.”       “Hey, when you came into Terrence’s house on that day, I got horrified, honestly,” Edward confesses in a low voice. “Because you changed for the worse after our last meeting. You looked like you had a strong depression, and getting you out of it was impossible.”       “It was the truth,” Natalia sighs quietly. “But thank God, Terrence and Raquelle literally saved me. They got me outta the depression and helped me find the courage to tell them what I was worried about.”       “You did it because of me?” Edward asks with sadness in his eyes.       “Not quite,” Natalia protests in a low, quiet voice. “I did it because of what happened to me, and what it led to in the future. Erm… I mean… The rape attempt and… Our breakup…”       “Listen, I completely understand you felt scared and ashamed. But you mustn’t have brought yourself to that condition. You know that if you keep everything inside, it will lead to nothing good.”       “I know…”       “Look what Peter brought himself to. He wanted to die because of the problems that he told nobody about. That’s one of the examples of how important it is to open your heart to someone.”       “You know that I was just afraid of that man.”       “What if you someday decided to jump off the root? You’d give everybody a strong pain!”       “I almost did that… Well, I had said it before I was kidnapped by the people of your uncle. I said I wanted to talk to Terrence and Raquelle and then find a way to kill myself.”       “Yup, I remember…” Edward pronounces thoughtfully.       “So… If not for those two, I would’ve hardly stayed alive.”       “Hey, wait…” Edward moves his gaze full of horror sharply to Natalia. “Did you really wanna die on that day?”       “I seriously thought about it,” Natalia replies thoughtfully. “And after our fight, I wanted it much more.”       “No, no, don’t scare me,” Edward gets horrified. “Please…”       “It’s true, Edward. And I’m gonna say more: I started to get ready for death a long time before that day…”       “What? What do you mean?”       “Don’t worry, I didn’t cut myself as Peter did. I just stopped feeding well. I ate and drank almost nothing…”       “My gosh…” Edward shakes his head. “So, did you also start starvation?”       “I could say so.”       “Gosh, Natalia, did you really go crazy?” Edward wonders, setting his widely open eyes on Natalia. “Do you understand you could die from hunger?”       “I was barely creeping from a terrible weakness and suffered from pain in my stomach. And on the day when I was at your brother’s home, everything layered on one another, and… I felt bad.”       “You felt bad?”       “Yup. At first, I started a non-controlled hysteria for Raquelle and Terrence that was worse than the one you saw on the day of our breakup, and wanted to run away from them to die. I was screaming like a patient in a mental hospital. I gave them lots of slaps. And when I calmed down a little, I fainted right before their eyes.”       “My gosh…” Edward pronounces quietly, getting a little white from horror and feeling that his heart is squeezing badly. “I can’t believe it…”       “I’m still ashamed of Raquelle and Terrence for having to see that, calm me down, and wake me up.” Natalia sighs heavily and looks down. “And that’s good I can’t clearly remember what I was doing. Otherwise, I would’ve burned from shame every time I met them.”       “You can’t remember?”       “Well… I remember I said I had a wish to die and shouted about my hatred for myself… But I can’t almost remember other things. I’m saying what Terrence and Raquelle told me after I calmed down and woke up. They looked so dumbfounded that I had to believe I really behaved like a psycho idiot.”       Edward says nothing for a few seconds and just looks at Natalia with dumbfounded eyes, while she is still pressing herself against him and keeping her head on his shoulder.       “Oh, shit, I didn’t think everything would be so hard,” Edward says thoughtfully. “I didn’t know everything led to that…”       “Here’s the conclusion that you’re right: you must not be silent about what happens to you and take it on your own,” Natalia replies quietly.       “Listen… I would’ve understood it if you had been indifferent to everything and crying your eyes out all day long. But excuse me, having starvation and fainting is stupid.”       “I knew it, but I could do nothing. I… Didn’t feel hungry. At all. I barely swallowed up a little sandwich and drink at least half of a glass of water.”       “So, didn’t anyone try to feed you? Someone must’ve made you eat!”       “I didn’t tell anyone I was hungry. Maybe, the girls suspected something, but I tried not to show it and ate just a little with their pretense. And if they asked something, I blamed a diet or a wish to lose weight.”       “They would’ve hardly believed it, ‘cause you shouldn’t lose weight. You’re as slim as a stick, but after losing a few more kilograms, you will become an anorexic.”       “I think I was very close to that a few days ago, ‘cause I lost much enough weight.”       “I remember. And I noticed the clothes were hanging on you as if they were big.”       “But now I came back to my normal weight and got much better. I noticed some changes when Terrence and Raquelle heard about the rape attempt.”       “I prefer believing you. When we had met some time before your kidnapping, you looked much better. Comparing what I saw on the day of our fight and on the day of your kidnapping, the difference is colossal.”       “Maybe…” Natalia smiles with the corners of her mouth.       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Edward caresses Natalia’s head, embraces her around the shoulders, snuggles his nose in the top of her head, and kisses it, feeling a nice smell that her soft blonde hair spreads. The girl enjoys it for some time, and then she slowly tears her head off the man’s shoulder and glances at him, saying:       “Hey, why did you decide to come to me and talk? You understood that we could’ve fought and killed each other!”       “There was a reason,” Edward replies a little hesitantly. “On that day, I just met Raquelle and decided to talk to her about you. I wanted to understand why everyone started to hint that something wasn’t right about the story of the photos. She didn’t say anything, but said I should’ve asked you.”       “Ah, that’s why…” Natalia nods. “So, you didn’t want to talk about it…”       “No, no, not at all! I really wanted to talk to you. Especially after fewer people asked me what you said to excuse yourself after seeing the photos. And yeah, Raquelle was one of them… Uncle Michael also gave me hints that I didn’t notice.”       “You wanted to talk, despite the offense?”       “Yup. Though, I understood it would be hard.”       “Well, why didn’t you wanna talk earlier?”       “Erm…” Edward pronounces thoughtfully and chuckles quietly. “Well, knowing how ‘kindly’ you met me when I called you, I was afraid to come to you.”       “Yeah, as if you were nice to me! You insulted and humiliated me after seeing me one mile away from you.”       “I was just insulted because I thought you betrayed me. I wouldn’t have thought everything was otherwise. I could say the people surrounding me made me wake up, at least for a while, and understand that something wasn’t right.”       “You know, I wasn’t also ready to have peace with you after what you’d done to me. But at heart, I understood I shouldn’t have been mad because I messed up everything.”       “You never showed it and were aggressive.”       “I didn’t wanna show weakness. I was afraid to tell you the truth due to the threats from that man. So, I had to cover it with being tough and rude, insulting, and humiliating…”       “Is that why you were also often laughing nervously?”       Natalia nods silently in approval.       “You know, I suspected you tried to hold your emotions down,” Edward confesses thoughtfully. “You were afraid to show them. Whatever people asked, you always gave weird answers. Even if it wasn’t a question about your non-existing betrayal.”       “And you wanted to make the people sure that everything was fine between us. And we failed that mission. I mean, we didn’t especially try to pretend to be happy.”       “Yeah, I can’t deny it.”       “But why did you say we should’ve told everybody that everything was fine? Why didn’t you wanna tell everybody about our breakup? Wouldn’t it have been better to tell them the truth instead of starting the worthless show that was the reason everything got worse? Did you wanna kick me or prove something?”       “No, no, not at all!” Edward shakes his head sharply. “I did it because I thought it would be easier for me to protect you from Uncle if he wanted to deal with you. Despite the offense, I didn’t want you to suffer because of him.”       “Sounds stupid, you know…”       “I know…” Edward falls into silence for two seconds. “But I thought if you were in my view, I could do something for your protection. I’d feel… Quiet… Knowing you were in my sight…”       “Excuse me, Edward, but I don’t understand you,” Natalia replies gloomily. “Finding an explanation for some of your actions is impossible. As if you don’t also understand what you do. You do and think, then…”       “Yeah, I don’t deny that nobody the hell knew what was happening in my head because of anger. I could do what I wouldn’t have understood.”       “Yeah, I get it. But why did you wash the brains of Terrence, Raquelle, Daniel, Anna, and your mother? Why did I have to wash the brains of my parents, whose forgiveness I barely got because I told them nothing? Do you understand how much effort I had to apply?”       “Actually, the reason why I did it is a little different,” Edward confesses hesitantly. “And it might seem much stupider than the fact that I wanted you to be in my sight.”       “Which one?”       “You really wanna know it?”       “We decided to discuss everything about our problem. We should close this subject once and forever.”       “Erm…” Edward moves his eyes into the distance and bites his lip slightly. “I’ll tell you… But a little later…”       “Why? Starting to find stupid excuses again?”       “No, no, I’ll explain everything, I promise. I just need to think about how to say it. How to make it clear for you.”       “I’ll understand it anyway.”       “Just give me some time, and I’ll tell you everything.”       Natalia says nothing and frowns slightly, while her disapproving gaze is set on Edward. But then she slowly glances aside and starts to look at the horizons, breathing in the cold, clean air.       “Okay…” Natalia pronounces with a shy smile. “Maybe, that was stupid. But you behaved much more than just worthily later. I still remember how you were trying to protect me from the people, who wanted to take me away. They could’ve done horrible things to me if you hadn’t been with me.”       “Yeah, but sadly, I didn’t do what I promised,” Edward replies with sadness in his eyes. “Not at my wish, of course, but still…”       “The important thing is that you tried.”       “Don’t think I did it because I was madly ashamed of you. I mean… It doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilty. Vice versa, I’m literally dying from how ashamed I am. But I was doing that for just one reason… I just love you…”       “Love?” Natalia wonders, setting her widely open eyes on Edward.       “I will always love.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds and runs his hand over Natalia’s hair, examining her face with his eyes. “And I’m not ashamed to confess it. I’m not afraid to say it.”       “Edward, but…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly, shaking her head. “You said you didn’t love me anymore… The love was gone…”       “No, Natalia, it wasn’t gone,” Edward shakes his head with a slight smile. “The love is still alive… It’s always been… I said I didn’t love you just to make you mad. Because I was terribly hurt and insulted.”       “You loved the one, who you considered a betrayer?”       “With all my heart. Even when I believed in the lie, I continued to love you. Maybe, I didn’t show it, but it’s the truth… And I got much more furious when you said you never loved me and dated me just because of a fear of staying alone. I was terribly hurt and forgot about my love for you. I told everybody I hated you and regretted meeting you.”       “It’s hurt to hear it,” Natalia moves her sad eyes down.       “And it’s hurtful to say it. It’s hurtful to remember you said you used me and never loved me at all.”       “That’s not true!” Natalia shakes her head, looking at Edward with wet eyes. “I’ve already said I lied to you. I’ve always loved you! And I still do! Now there’s no meaning in hiding it. And I don’t wanna hide what I feel.”       “You were mad when saying it, as well?”       “Yes, I wanted to get you mad and show I didn’t care about you. I pretended that I let you go easily. But if only you knew how hurtful it was for me to do it. How my heart was tearing apart… The offense clouded my mind and made me do what I didn’t wanna do.”       “Understand, but you gave me a great pain, too,” Edward replies a little gloomily. “You literally killed me by that phrase. Not my love, but me. I was broken and depressed when I heard it from the girl I couldn’t be indifferent to.”       “That was what I wanted to get. I wanted to see you broken, unhappy, and lonely.”       “I can say the same about you…” Edward swallows up nervously and embraces Natalia around the shoulders that he tenderly caresses. “But now I understand Terrence better. I understand what he felt when Raquelle and he shared the same insults and wishes.”       “I also started to understand Raquelle better. I guess people are right when they say you should overcome something to understand it.”       “And I wouldn’t have been surprised if my brother had thought about doing something to him. Terrence is so attracted to Raquelle that he strongly shakes from thinking he might lose her.”       “You think he could?” Natalia frowns slightly.       “Sure.”       “Erm… Well… Knowing how broken he was when Raquelle and he were gonna break up, it’s possible.”       “It’s a rare case when someone falls in love so much that they can’t literally live without their beloved person.”       “And my friend hit the bullseye after the first time! She is gonna get married to the first man in her life. Of course, Cameron didn’t realize how lucky she was at first, but she opened her eyes just in time. Of course, MacClife is the pain in the ass, but he’s cool anyway.”       “Anyway, I was in Terrence’s skin and know what he experienced.”       “And now, I understand Raquelle and all the feelings she had.”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Edward looks at Natalia with sadness in his eyes, while she looks at her hands.       “Do you think you and I have a chance to try to reconcile?” Edward asks hesitantly. “Is there a chance that we can overcome the offenses, fears, and doubts? And… Become a couple again?”       “I want it probably more than anything,” Natalia replies confidently without hesitation. “At least try to put everything in the right places. And do our best for that not to happen again.”       “Me too…”       “And I’m not gonna hide that my feelings got even stronger. I wasn’t ready to accept the fact that it was over and dreamed of us being together again…” Natalia sighs quietly. “And the ‘goodbye’ kiss proved it… It proved that nothing died…”       “Oh, yeah, I madly liked that kiss,” Edward replies confidently with a slight smile. “And I ain’t gonna hide it.”       “I think there is no point.”       “I think it showed our real feelings. Not the ones that we tried to tell everybody and each other about.”       “Yeah, at this moment, you don’t think about a wish to insult and humiliate and pretend that you don’t care,” Natalia smiles shyly.       “I personally liked everything,” Edward confesses with a slight smile, moving his eyes to Natalia. “Even if you were tense.”       “Me?” Natalia rounds her eyes.       “Yes, again. You didn’t resist, of course, but you were passive. You did let me kiss you and never showed initiative.”       “But it doesn’t mean I disliked it and kissed you by force.”       “But you can be much braver and opener. That’s by far not everything you can do. You don’t look like a timid, shy girl, who is literally afraid of words related to love and wouldn’t even think about looking sexy. Vice versa, you always look stunning, try to be attractive, know you’ve got a beautiful body, and show it.”       “Maybe…” Natalia smiles shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “But you didn’t almost hold yourself down…”       “Didn’t I give you discomfort?” Edward asks hesitantly.       “Not at all! Vice versa, I felt good! So good that I felt dizzy and got goosebumps on my body. You drove me crazy with one kiss. And I’m sure you would’ve shown much more. And proved that you knew how to please a girl, even if you were a shy guy.”       “At least nobody has complained about what I do,” Edward shrugs. “All the girls were delighted.”       “Yeah, but…” Natalia thinks for two seconds. “I don’t understand… Why did you ask me to kiss you?”       “Well, to be honest…” Edward bites his lip. “I asked you about a kiss because I wanted to check which emotions it would cause.”       “So, was the explanation that it was a goodbye kiss an excuse?”       “Partly. And I also wanted to check your feelings… To find out what you actually felt. You would’ve been indifferent if I’d kissed you.”       “And how?”       “I don’t doubt your feelings now. So, if you try to make me sure you don’t have them, I will think it’s a lie.”       “And yours?”       “Mine…” Edward hesitates for a second or two and glances at Natalia with a slight smile. “Nothing has changed! My feelings are still the same. I still feel a strong hurricane of emotions and get attracted to you like a magnet.”       “Really?”       “Yeah. Though… No, something has changed… These feelings got much stronger and brighter. They drive me crazy.”       “Me too,” Natalia smiles shyly. “Now I shake much stronger and feel a greater excitement…”       “Sometimes I literally start to choke from all these emotions.”       “And I’d repeat it again. Many times.”       “You kind of read my mind.”       Natalia puts her head on Edward’s shoulder for two seconds and closes her eyes. While he hugs her around the shoulders with a slight smile and caresses her head tenderly. Silence settles in the air for a few seconds again, after which the man stops smiling and sighs quietly with sadness in his eyes.       “Oh, how lousy I feel because of what I did to you,” Edward pronounces in a low voice and kisses Natalia on the top of her head cutely. “My jealousy of that gorilla can’t be an excuse.”       “Please, Edward, let’s not talk about it again,” Natalia says tiredly.       “I gave you such great pain and left you with your problems, not even wishing it.”       “You had a right to. A right to leave me because I was cowardly to tell you all the truth.”       “Only a strong hit on my empty head literally made me start to open my eyes and understand I did a nasty thing.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds. “Don’t think I started to change after you told me about the rape attempt. It happened after everybody had started to turn their backs on me after knowing what happened between us. I lost everybody, who could support me. Because of my aggression and inability to control me… Reluctance to share my problems with someone… The thought that should’ve solved my problems.”       “I get it.”       “But I must not have given up. I should’ve gone ‘till the end. Moreover, a bigger part of the way was taken. My life has always been hard, and I had to count on myself. I’m used to being at war… Used to being in tension constantly… Though, I’ve lately felt I’m terribly sick of it and wanna relax a little.”       “Probably, we two are guilty of that situation,” Natalia replies with sadness in her eyes. “And I’m madly sorry about what happened… The silence was killing me. It almost ruined my relationship with my close people… If I’d stayed alone, I wouldn’t have taken it and would have preferred dying. And someone would’ve hardly known it.”       “No, please, don’t talk about death, especially yours,” Edward shakes, embracing Natalia around the shoulders tighter and pressing her closer to himself. “Never… I don’t want to hear anything about it!”       “Just telling the truth. I was such a terrible coward that I almost put myself in a grave.”       “Nevertheless, you got over yourself.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds and smiles shyly. “And I’m proud of you. You behaved more than just worthily, despite the situation that happened to you.”       “I had to put myself together,” Natalia sighs heavily. “What did I have to do when I stayed all alone and had nobody to count on?”       “I completely understand how it’s hard to overcome your fears and face them. Literally look into their eyes.”       “But you did it, too.” Natalia glances at Edward slowly with a shy smile. “I’m also proud of you ‘cause you recognized your mistakes and kept the promise you gave me when those men surrounded us. And you proved that the family was very important to you, and you never had any bad thoughts about them. You proved that your heart wasn’t poisoned with a poison of evil, and egotism.”       “My family has always been very important to me. I’d never even think of exchanging it for something. My war with Uncle was worthless, but I started it only for my close people. To save them and take what should’ve belonged to them. I didn’t wanna give Uncle the inheritance that belonged to my brother, my father, and me.”       “I believe, Edward,” Natalia says softly. “I know you wanted to get what was yours and had a right to fight. But now, when we found out that your father was alive, and your uncle got arrested, nothing treats the inheritance.”       “You’re right…” Edward replies thoughtfully. “Fortunately, my father is alive… So, the four million in the bank account and a part of the firm's stock belong to him. Despite the attempts of Uncle to get them…”       “So, I can think you kind of did what you wanted, ‘cause the inheritance belongs to the real owner now.”       “Maybe. And if Father gets the other stocks, he will become the owner of the company and be able to work there. And as Father said he could prove that Uncle Michael deprived him of the job of the manager, it could be a good card in his hands.”       “I’m sure he will do it,” Natalia smiles shyly. “Now it’s time to restore justice that we’ve been waiting for so long.”       “I believe Father will get what’s supposed to belong to him. He must.”       Natalia nods with a slight smile and glances down, thinking about something. And Edward falls into some thoughts, setting his gaze into the distance. Silence settles in the air for some time, during which they look into the distance, at their legs, their hands, or each other, while one does not see it. But at some moment, the girl decides to break the pause a little hesitantly after she looks at the man for a long time with sadness in her eyes:       “Do you know what surprises me a little?”       “What?” Edward moves his eyes slowly to Natalia.       “The fact that you and I haven’t sorted out our relationship for a long time. No insults, no humiliations, no charges for all sins…”       “What’s wrong? I no longer see the meaning in fighting! Now I know the truth, realized my mistake, and don’t wanna repeat it anymore.”       “I know. Just… Just…” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds and glances aside. “Honestly, I’m kind of used to our fights. The fact that I shake from anger after them. That I wanna either fret and fume or cry and say I’m bad… That I feel excited and broken at the same time…”       “But now we have no reason to sort our relationship out.”       “It’s just weird for me to talk to you quietly.” Natalia glances down as if she is guilty of something. “Still waiting for you to start mocking me again…”       “No, sweetie, don’t say it,” Edward protests softly, embraces Natalia around the shoulders, and caresses them tenderly. “I’ll no longer say anything like that. Now, I have no doubt that you’re a very good person, who would do anything for her close people. For me, you’re a role model that teaches us to befriend and love someone, who means a lot to you.”       “You wouldn’t have said it two weeks ago,” Natalia chuckles quietly. “I was a nasty prostitute, who changed men like gloves. Or a nymphomaniac…”       “Natalia, please, don’t think about what happened then,” Edward begs with pity in his eyes. “I’ve already said it’s madly hurtful for me to think about it…”       “I know… And I blame you for nothing…”       “But I do blame myself. And sometimes I think that the disgusting feeling will be chasing me as well as a sense of fault for Raquelle is chasing Terrence. Now I’m gonna have what I’ll regret all my life… Just like my father and brother.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds and frowns slightly. “I wonder, is it a family thing? Will this ‘luck’ be inherited? Will my children also have to suffer from a sense of fault?”       “Everyone makes mistakes, Edward,” Natalia sighs heavily. “Nobody’s perfect. I’m not also a perfect person and have made lots of mistakes. Not only in this story but also in my whole life. There was a time when I was a little egoistic and thought of myself and my comfort. I could do something bad to some people… I did many things wrongly. Though, I became different later.”       “I don’t know what happened then, but I rate a person by what they are in the present.”       “But if you rated the former me, you wouldn’t recognize me.”       “I don’t think so. You haven’t changed at all. For me, you’re still a good, sweet, kind, and smart girl, talking and spending time with whom is madly nice.”       “Yeah, maybe, I’m good now, but I’ve never been strong. All this time, I’ve been pretending. Actually, I fear everything and can be worried about something for weeks and months.”       “I think you haven’t just come to yourself after all those events. Though, you’re actually strong. As you said on the day when we were at Uncle’s home, you don’t know how strong and brave you could be.”       “You didn’t forget it?”       “Of course, no.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds and smiles shyly, while his eyes are examining Natalia’s face, and his fingers barely touch her hair. “Maybe, I’ve never told you that, but… Actually, I got love for you not because of your beauty… Not because you’re a beautiful, sweet, blue-eyed blonde that could drive anyone crazy. No… I got love for you mainly for your tenderness, brain… A wish to help a close person in trouble, a readiness to sacrifice something for someone… An ability to stay brave even in the worst situations. And you also make me feel more confident and beloved.”       “Really?” Natalia rounds her eyes.       “Gonna tell you a secret: I never had girlfriends with blonde hair before you. I ignored blondes on purpose because I thought they were stupid. All my ex-girlfriends were brunettes only. But when I met you, my opinion of blondes changed. I realized that there could be very smart, interesting, and nice people among them. You broke the stereotype that I lived with for many years.”       “Nice to know you don’t consider me a stupid idiot.”       “No, you aren’t stupid and can talk about everything in the world. But if you don’t understand something, you at least always listen closely and show interest in what you’re told.”       When Natalia wants to open her mouth to say something, Edward, literally reading her mind, continues to speak, while she is sitting with her head inclined and looking a little sad.       “Don't think about what I said before,” Edward says softly and runs his fingers tenderly over Natalia’s cheek. “Don’t think about what was in the past. We should live in the present and look forward to the future. Yes, we made lots of mistakes in the past, but they taught us a lot. You and I understood that hiding secrets might lead to some sad consequences. I realized it. And you should do it. Because you’re my smart and understanding girl.”       “I couldn’t disagree,” Natalia agrees quietly. “I’d like to forget the bad things, ‘cause they give me a strong pain. But I understand it won’t happen soon ‘cause we’re gonna experience the trial that’s gonna make us exhausted.”       “I know, but it will end, early or late.”       “I can’t wait for this moment.”       “Just remember that you’ll not be alone when we’re in the courtroom. Your friends and parents will be with you. Maybe, someone else will also wish to support you… And you can always count on my help. Nobody will dare to say I give a fuck about you and your emotions and feelings.”       “I don’t doubt,” Natalia glances at Edward slowly. “Don’t doubt you’re telling the truth.”       “Now I’m absolutely true.”       “I know,” Natalia smiles shyly. “Thank you for everything you’re doing for me. Now I really need your support. You find a way to calm me down much better.”       “Thank you for not rejecting me and accepting my help,” Edward thanks with a slight smile. “It’s really important to me.”       Natalia smiles slightly and thanks Edward with a cute kiss on his cheek, after which he cannot hide his slight, true smile. Then she takes his hand and locks her fingers with his fingers. At some moment, the man puts his head on the girl’s shoulder and laughs shyly when her fingers stroke his hair.        “I got kind of boring…” Natalia breaks the silence thoughtfully a few seconds later. “I wouldn’t mind walking and checking out what's here.”       “Me too,” Edward shrugs with a shy smile. “I’m sure there are many beautiful places here.”       “Let’s go then?”       Edward nods, gets up on his feet almost at the same time as Natalia does, looks at himself, and shakes some dirt off his dark blue jeans. The girl gets up too sharply and badly steps on the wood surface. That’s why her leg slides and sharply turns out, and she is about to fall into the water from the bridge with a loud shout. Luckily, Edward reacts immediately, grabbing the scared blonde and taking her far from the edge of the bridge. Natalia tightly grabs his forearms and looks at him with widely open eyes running from one side to another. She gets a little pale, gets every single muscle of her body tenser, and feels that her heart starts beating as fast as a scared bunny’s not only because of a scare but also because the man’s face is very close to her face.       “Are you okay?” Edward expresses anxiety.       “Erm, yeah, I think…” Natalia pronounces in a shaking voice with dumbfounded eyes.       “Didn’t you twist your ankle?”       “Nope, everything’s fine. N-nothing hurts…”       “Sure?”       “Yup…”       Edward lets Natalia go and goes two steps back, still looking into her eyes. The girl spends a few seconds calming down a little and relaxing, but even after this, she keeps breathing a little heavily and feeling a fast heartbeat.       “Thanks a lot,” Natalia thanks softly. “I wouldn’t like to fall into the water and get wet.”       “Oh, honestly, you scared me,” Edward confesses, putting his hand on his forehead. “That’s good I reacted just in time.”       “That’s right…” Natalia starts looking at her boots. “I just slipped, and my ankle got sharply twisted… So, as the sides of my boots are smooth, I got into the water… I mean, I would’ve done it if you hadn’t caught me.”       “Anyway, be careful, please.”       “No, I wasn’t planning to go to the beach and swim today,” Natalia replies funnily.       Edward says nothing and just smiles shyly, exhaling with relief.       “So, let’s go somewhere?” Natalia asks.       “Yeah…” Edward pronounces distantly. “Go…”       Natalia takes a few steps forward, but then turns around and sees Edward still standing in the same place and looking sad enough, as he inclines his head and thinks about something. The girl comes to him, closely looking at the man’s face covered with stubble.       “Hey, Edward, what’s wrong?” Natalia expresses anxiety and softly caresses Edward’s forearms. “Why are you so sad?”       “Erm, you see…” Edward exhales slowly, while his eyes are running from one side to another, and he is fingering over nervously. “I…”       “What’s wrong? Do you wanna say something?”       “Oh…” Edward falls into silence for two seconds, biting his bottom lip strongly. “Erm… Yeah… I want…”       “Speak then… I’m listening to you…”       Edward hesitates for two seconds, trying to find the courage or overcome some fear or doubts. Because of the excitement, his whole body is shaking, and his mouth gets dry. But at some moment, he exhales with closed eyes and takes Natalia’s hands a little hesitantly. Although the girl shakes and gasps with rounded eyes, she does not try to release them and looks at the man with a smile, while his eye starts shaking.       “Natalia, it’s…” Edward pronounces in a shaking voice, starting to breathe heavily with a feeling of a lack of air. “Gonna be hard for me to say what I want… But if I don’t do it now, I will not have a chance to do it anymore. So, I’m asking you to listen to me. Understanding is not necessary. As well as accepting what you’re gonna hear.”       “You can say anything,” Natalia replies softly with a slight smile. “I will understand you anyway.”       Edward falls into silence for a few seconds again, trying not to succumb to the panic and fear that get obsessed with him entirely.       “I wanna repeat that I’m ashamed of what you had to tolerate from me.” Edward starts to speak hesitantly, often making big pauses between words. “I don’t want anyone to judge me, hate me, or start to think money is more important to me than my family, and I’m jealous of those, who are rich because I have nothing. It goes without saying, money does matter, but it just satisfies our needs and can’t give us real happiness. You can always find the money. Even a very little. But you can get family and friends only once… I’d rather be a homeless beggar than become rich and lose those I love.”       Edward says nothing for a few seconds and swallows up nervously, squeezing Natalia’s hands tighter with the hope that it will help him calm down.       “I think I did everything I could. There are some things I’m going to pay for. But there is something I can still fix. Try to fix. And I want to do it…” Edward sighs heavily. “I want to do what I must’ve done a long time ago. To start fixing my mistakes now. And…”       Edward exhales with a shake, breathing heavily enough, understanding that his heart is beating much faster and struggling with a wish to succumb to the fear and get rid of the need to recognize his mistakes and ask for forgiveness.       “Natalia…” Edward pronounces excitedly, looking into Natalia’s eyes. “I want to apologize to you for the pain I gave you. For being so unfair to you. I know it was unforgivable, but I truly regret being such a brainless idiot.”       Edward shakes his head with pity in his eyes set on Natalia.       “Please, forgive me for blaming you for the betrayal. For all the insults of you… For turning everybody against you… For daring to call you a whore and charge you for having lots of men… I swear, I’ve never considered you a prostitute. I’ve always been sure you’re a decent girl. I’m madly ashamed of daring to doubt your loyalty. Please, forgive me for everything I told you and your close people… For almost daring to raise a hand… If only you knew how ashamed I am for not being able to save you from Uncle’s people… And when I think I almost killed you with my own hands, I want to shoot at myself… Please, Natalia, forgive me! I didn’t want it to happen! I didn’t want to break up with you, didn’t want to fight, didn’t want to insult… Didn’t want to give you any pain…”       Edward falls into silence for a few seconds to catch a breath, shaking slightly from tension in his whole body and feeling that his mouth gets much dryer, and his heart is beating like crazy from the thought that Natalia refuses to accept his apologies.       “I want you to forgive me more than anything,” Edward says in a strongly shaking voice. “But if you don’t forgive me, I will not be running after you. If you want to forget everything that happened between us, it’s okay. I will take it and live a quiet life… Everything depends on your wish. And… I doubt it would happen, but… I dare to ask you something else…”       Edward closes his eyes for a second with a feeling that his weak legs can barely hold him.       “If you can forgive me, I would really like to ask you to become my girlfriend again,” Edward says with pity in his eyes. “I want you to come back to me and give me a chance to prove that I madly love you. I want to make you happy and give you anything you want. Even if it were impossible, I would crush myself for you to feel good.”       Edward exhales slowly and squeezes Natalia’s hands much tighter, while she looks at him with wet eyes and sometimes cracks a smile.       “I tried to forget you and make myself think I was ready for a new relationship and would no longer think of you,” Edward confesses in a shaking voice. “But I met a failure and got much more attracted to you… Even though we were apart for more than one month. I don’t want to lose you. I need you! I need you like never ever! You’re the one to make me more confident and stronger and not leave the right way. I’m terribly afraid that I will not find myself if you leave. You’re the only one to be able to help me find the right way and become my foundation. Please, Natalia, I’m begging you, don’t deprive me of that chance… I don’t wanna go insane from pain and loneliness. Please… Don’t leave me… Stay… Don’t go…”       When Edward says everything he could say, he moves his eyes down and waits for the reaction from Natalia with a stopped heart, praying that it’s positive. And the girl herself barely holds down tears of happiness, and she began to smile widely when she heard the words of forgiveness. She says nothing for a few seconds, making MacClife, Jr., nervous, and then she squeezes his hands slightly and looks at him with much wetter eyes.       “Edward…” Natalia pronounces in a shaking voice with a true smile. “I… Can’t believe it…”       “Please, Natalia, don’t give me pain,” Edward begs with pity in his eyes. “I don’t wanna suffer anymore. I’ve experienced too many bad things in my life. Please, stay. Be with me. I won’t be able to live quietly if I don’t know you didn’t forgive me. If we aren’t together, just let me know you forgive me. I… Wouldn’t feel so lousy.”       “Gosh…” Natalia pronounces in a shaking voice. “I can’t believe I waited for this moment! I’ve finally heard it! I didn’t think… You can’t imagine how much I wanted to hear it…”       “And you can’t imagine how much I wanted to say it,” Edward replies more confidently. “You can’t imagine how I’m afraid to lose you. I’m shaking from just thinking that something happened to you.”       “Edward…”       “I couldn’t calm down when you ended up at Uncle’s house. I thought I’d go crazy… I was afraid that those stinkers would do something to you… I was afraid you’d die… Those four days seemed super long… I… I couldn’t sleep well… I was terribly afraid Uncle would call me someday and say that his pals killed you. That the hairy gorilla raped you. I never stopped praying that you stayed safe and sound. I swear, Natalia, if something happened to you, I wouldn’t survive it. You mean a lot to me. You became my wonderful friend that I could always count on. Became the girl that I love so much and want to protect. Please, let me love and protect you. I don’t want to lose you…”       Natalia cannot hide a wide smile and tears of happiness that are rolling down her cheeks, not being able to stay indifferent to Edward, who looks at her with such true pity that her heart is squeezing. Because of the excitement, she becomes speechless for some time and feels that she is shaking. But then the girl exhales sharply with closed eyes and bravely looks into his eyes, squeezing his hands tighter and bending her arms at her elbows.       “Edward, I…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly and raises her head a little, sniffing quietly. “I also want to apologize to you for all the terrible things that I said and did to you. I confess that I wasn’t right. I’m madly sorry for giving you a reason to be jealous of me by being silent about what you should’ve known first. Please, forgive me for insulting you and showering you with mud. For being guilty of the fact that you fought with your close people. For daring to slap you in the face and telling everybody you were a nasty bastard.”       Natalia sniffs quietly.       “I promise I will no longer do anything like that anymore and will completely trust you. And… I’m sorry for literally keeping you at some distance and not letting you get closer to me. I know it hurt you much and made you doubt my love for you much more. But I swear everything’s gonna be otherwise. And… I hope you can forgive me. If I had apologized first, I would’ve said I would be ready to wait as long as needed to get your forgiveness. Yes, I would be waiting… Because…”       Natalia exhales with a shake, breathing heavily enough and crying quietly.       “Because I love you like crazy… Love with all my heart. I couldn’t become indifferent to you and strike you out of my life. My heart still belongs to you. It will always belong. Though, I didn’t even think of trying to forget you. I need nobody but you. I’m too attracted to you. I would hardly be so attracted to another man. He would give me love, caress, care, and protection. But I would just let him give it to me. It wouldn’t give me pleasure. Because I want to get it all from you. You know what I need better than anyone else. I don’t have to say anything. You’d understand it without words.”       Natalia makes a quiet sob, shaking her head.       “I need you, Edward!” Natalia exclaims with despair. “I need you like never ever. Please, don’t leave me. Don’t hurt me! I’ll forgive you for everything! Forget anything! But please, stay with me. Please, Edward… Don’t leave me… I’d do anything you want. I’m ready for anything to have a trustful man, who would always support and protect me.”       Natalia swallows up nervously.       “You became the first man, who really cared about me. You were interested in what I felt, what I thought about, what I wanted… You needed me, not my beauty, youth, and body… At least someone saw me as a human, not a sex toy that they would throw off after getting sick of it. That’s why I got a love for you. With you, I feel safe. But if you’re not with me, I may become the victim of a stinker, who would love to rape me or actually kill me. I don’t want it, though! I don’t wanna stay alone!”       Natalia inclines her head for a second, pronouncing every single word much harder than Edward, who is looking at her closely.       “Please, Edward, don’t deprive me of your care, love, and protection. You’re the only one to be able to give me what I want… I won’t survive our final breakup! I will not! I promise I shall accept you with all your shortcomings and forget all my offenses. I’ll do anything you want. But don’t leave me… I need you… I can’t live without you…”       A wide smile shows up on Edward’s face for the first time. The man feels a great relief after he hears such desired words, even if he does not still understand if everything is real.       “You will not be disappointed in me,” Edward promises confidently. “What happened between us will not happen again. I will fix all my mistakes and make you happy. Give you the love and care that you need. Become your loyal friend and trustful protector. Next to you, I shall not let myself be a cowardly boy that must be protected and comforted.”       Natalia smiles widely through tears and comes closer to Edward, looking into his eyes confidently.       “Well, I will do my best not to give you reasons to be jealous,” Natalia promises shyly. “Even if you’re guilty, I will support you. I promise, Edward, your care, attention, and love will not stay one-sided. Because I will be giving my everything for you to be happy with me. I will give you no reason to doubt my feelings and do anything you will ask me about.”       “I believe, sweetie,” Edward pronounces tenderly and glances down for a second. “And promise me that you will never lie to me. That you will hide nothing from me. That you will tell me everything about you, no matter how terrible your act is.”       “I promise,” Natalia nods confidently. “You will be one of the first people to know everything. No more lies that could make anyone doubt my love for you.”       “And yeah…” Edward comes closer to Natalia hesitantly and grabs her face softly, looking into her eyes confidently. “Promise me that you will no longer start starvation and bring yourself to a terrible condition. I want you to be healthy and happy.”       “I will not, I swear.”       “And please, try not to cry anymore,” Edward says softly, carefully wiping off tears under Natalia’s eyes and moving some blonde strands off her face, while she looks at him closely with a slight smile. “I don’t want to see you cry because of something bad. Such a beautiful face must have only a true smile.”       “So, it will happen,” Natalia smiles shyly and softly touches Edward’s cheek. “But you also promise that you will find out everything before attacking me with charges. That you will not doubt me and my feelings…”       “Not at all,” Edward replies confidently, raising his head slightly. “I swear it will no longer happen. Now, nobody will make me doubt you. I swear, I will believe only you. And make conclusions after finding out everything.”       “And hide nothing?”       “Neither from you nor from others.” Edward caresses Natalia’s cheeks with both hands, while she smiles shyly through tears. “No more secrets. No more hiding the truth for a wish to keep my dignity for others.”       Natalia says nothing for two seconds and sniffs quietly, not believing it’s really happening.       “So, are we together again?” Natalia asks shyly.       “I hope we are forever,” Edward replies softly. “That we will no longer break up.”       Natalia smiles much wider, showing her white, perfectly straight teeth, while Edward looks into her eyes with tenderness. And two seconds later, they take each other in a tight, touching hug with a sigh of relief. Under the influence of strong emotions, much more tears of happiness start getting out of the girl’s eyes. She immediately feels good, warm, and quiet when the man’s strong and tender arms wrap her waist, and his hands caress her back. As well as Edward, who presses his cheek to her temple, while the girl’s arms are wrapped around his neck, her fingers end up in his hair, and her face is snuggled in his wide shoulder. When he hears her quiet sobs, Edward runs his hand over Natalia’s long golden hair, caresses her head tenderly, and puts his hand on the back of her head.       How long they have been waiting for this moment! Natalia and Edward think their long-awaited reconciliation is a real miracle. A gift that they could not dream about after everything that happened between them. The man cannot believe his happiness, as he is tightly holding the one, who he can call his beloved girlfriend again. He is literally afraid to let her go and lose the opportunity to feel the warmth that she is giving him. Because of an overabundance of emotions, Edward can barely breathe, feeling that he is shaking strongly from tension, and at some moment, a couple of tears roll down his cheeks. He gets pleasure from caressing the girl’s back, kissing her on the temple, and running his hands over her back, while she is literally choking with the emotions that get suddenly obsessed with her. She cannot believe it’s not a dream, pressing her body to her beloved man, stroking his soft black hair with her fingers, putting her nose in his shoulder or a curve of his neck, and breathing in the smell of his skin that clouds her mind and gives her a feeling of calm and protection.       Some time is gone before Natalia and Edward step away, but do not break the hug. The man is hugging the girl by the waist, and she is keeping her arms wrapped around his neck and caressing his head or face tenderly. They look at each other with wet eyes and a true, happy smile, feeling that they just got rid of the heavy burden, but breathing is getting much easier.       “It can’t be true…” Natalia pronounces in a little shaking voice. “It must be a dream… It’s all too good to be the truth.”       “Even if everything is happening in a dream, I want it to last forever,” Edward replies with a wide smile, grabs Natalia’s face in both hands, and caresses her head tenderly. “I don’t wanna wake up… Don’t wanna come back to the cruel reality… Where I have lots of problems I haven’t solved… Where I’ll have to pay for many mistakes.”       “Gosh, Edward…” Natalia makes a quiet sob and caresses Edward’s cheek with one hand and runs another hand over his hair, looking at his face with her wet eyes… “I can’t believe… I can’t believe I almost lost you… Several times!”       “I almost lost you several times, too… And I didn’t even know it… But if I knew it, I’d go crazy from grief.”       “I wouldn’t be able to live if something happened to you.” Natalia shakes her head with tears in her eyes. “Everything squeezed inside me when you said you got wounded and showed your scars. When you said you could’ve died. I didn’t show it, but your words really scared me.”       “I thought about you at that moment. You never left my mind. And I even wanted to type your number when those people wounded me and left me to die… I thought I’d die and wanted to hear your voice for the last time… But my phone got discharged at the last moment. And some time later, I passed out… With the thoughts of you…”       “Haven’t you deleted my number from your phone?”       “No, I haven’t deleted it. But even if I did it, I wouldn’t forget it. I would type it with closed eyes.”       “Sometimes there were moments when I wanted to call you just to hear your voice,” Natalia confesses shyly. “And it didn’t matter what you’d say…”       “And I madly wanted to survive for you. At least for the opportunity to look at your face from afar. Look at it secretly or openly… Use any chance to listen to your voice… I was mad, but wasn’t ready to accept the fact that I lost you forever.”       “I didn’t accept the fact that we broke up. I wanted to believe that you and I still dated.”       “Me too.”       “Although I didn’t know you got wounded, you didn’t leave my mind. I… Felt some kind of anxiety.” Natalia puts her hand on her heart. “My heart was kinda heavy… I banned myself from thinking of you, but I was powerless and suffered from a bad presentiment. I didn’t know why I felt it, but now I understand it.”       “Recovering took very much time. Because I was alone and took care of myself. Of course, I didn’t follow all the orders of the doctors and forgot about them when I got much better. But if you’d been by my side and helped me come to myself, I would’ve gotten well much sooner.”       “I wouldn’t have even thought about helping you. I got such a strong hit that I persuaded my parents to take me with them to Mexico and offered them my help in taking care of Grandma. Of course, it helped me well, and I didn’t almost think of you, but when the time to return came, I got sharply worse. Morally.”       “And I’m very sorry it happened,” Edward expresses regret. “If I’d known all the truth and what all my charges and insults would lead to, I wouldn’t have left you.”       “I know, Edward.”       “I swear I would’ve done my best to support you. Or maybe, I would’ve given a damn about the offense much earlier if you’d told me the truth.”       “I get it…” Natalia inclines her head. “I should’ve told you everything much earlier, but I was afraid that you wouldn’t believe me… Say that I dreamed it up and tried to pity you… Blame me for the lie and keep showering with mud. And I was terribly scared that Wainwright would’ve really killed me and buried me somewhere in the woods.”       “Please, Natalia, don’t explain anything. I know everything well.” Edward softly caresses Natalia’s head and runs his fingers over the golden strands of her hair. “We’ve talked about it many times.”       “I’m really ashamed of being silent,” Natalia replies with pity in her wet eyes and shakes her head. “Gosh, what an idiot I was… A stupid, brainless idiot that messed up everything…”       “It’s okay, sweetie, don’t swear on yourself,” Edward pronounces softly, hugging Natalia tightly with both arms, caressing the back of her head, and kissing her on the top of her head, while she puts his hands on his chest with quiet sobs. “The important thing is that you found the courage to tell us everything.”       “If you knew how many efforts I applied…”       “You’re my brave and understanding girl. You understood that the truth would come to light early or late.”       “Yeah… Only when I got a kick on my ass and was pressed to the wall, I told you the truth.”       “It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that I have no reason to be mad at you and doubt your feelings. And I’m madly grateful to Raquelle for encouraging me to talk with you. If not for her, I would’ve found out all the truth about you and realized I was such an idiot very late.”       “I think you understood it, too,” Natalia smiles shyly. “Your mind was just clouded because of anger that didn’t let you see something else. It didn’t let you think about everything better. Well… And my confession… So to say… Opened your eyes…”       “Not only your confession, but also the moment when Uncle’s people took you to his house. That was the moment, which impacted me much and turned everything upside down.”       Two seconds later, Natalia stops smiling because she recalls something not very good, moving her eyes down and swallowing up nervously.       “You know when I was much more horrified?” Natalia asks hesitantly.       “When you were almost raped?” Edward asks with sadness in his eyes.       “Nope… I was scared… But that’s not what scared me to death…”       “Really? But what were you afraid of?”       Before saying something, Natalia moves her gaze full of tears to Edward and sniffs.       “When you hit your head and collapsed on the ground unconscious,” Natalia replies in a quiet, shaking voice, feeling that tears are getting out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. “That was horrifying! I thought you’d die after such a strong hit! And I was terribly scared that I’d lose you forever. I wouldn’t survive it! For me, it would be a strong hit!”       “I’m sorry about scaring you,” Edward replies a little guiltily. “I distracted for a moment… And I ran out sharply… I only remembered a burning pain in my head…”       “That was the moment when I forgot all my offenses and only wanted you to stay alive. I was crying and begging you not to leave me and protect me ‘cause… I understood that if I lost you, I would be dead. I… I wanted to scream from horror when seeing your white face…” Natalia makes a quiet sob, embracing herself with both arms. “I seriously thought you died. But I was madly happy when I felt your pulse and realized you were alive. It gave me hope that you’d be okay…”       “You know…” Edward thinks for two seconds with sadness in his eyes. “Maybe, my words will seem something unreal, but… I thought I heard your voice… Heard it when being unconscious… That was something like a dream… As if I was just sleeping…”       “Really?” Natalia rounds her eyes. “You heard me?”       “Yup… I remember your voice begging me not to leave you, to get up, and to protect you… If I didn’t save you, something bad would happen.”       “Don’t you remember how you talked to me when you woke up for a few seconds after the hit?”       “I was talking? Was awake?”       “Yup. You apologized for not being able to protect me and said you felt very bad… That you couldn’t keep your promise…”       “My gosh… I don’t remember it… And I barely remember what you said… But I know that was a scream full of despair and plea… I believe your voice even said something about love for me… About a strong love…”       “Wow…” Natalia smiles shyly, while getting a slight blush on her cheeks. “Right… It happened! I really talked about my love for you when you were awake… I was obsessed with despair, but the confession of love was caused by real feelings. I was really worried about you so badly and didn’t wanna lose you… And if only you knew how frightened I was when you lost consciousness… I literally had hysteria… Seeing you were unconscious and bleeding… Thought you were dead!”       “I believe you, sweetie, believe,” Edward cracks a slight smile, running his fingers over Natalia’s cheek. “Although I don’t remember that, I don’t doubt it happened.”       “It doesn’t make sense now…” Natalia grabs Edward’s face and caresses his cheeks tenderly, looking into his eyes. “The important thing is that you’re alive and healthy…”       “When I barely woke up, I tried to remember what happened for a long time ‘cause I lost my memory. But when I realized that something had happened to you, I got overwhelmed. I didn’t wanna believe the people of Uncle took you away. I even tried to call you on your mobile number, but I forgot you lost it.”       “Raquelle and Terrence gave me the phone and bracelet that I lost. And I saw a few missed calls from you.”       “The first thing that came into my head that was tearing apart from pain was to go to the home of Terrence and talk to Raquelle. I thought she should’ve known what happened. I didn’t count on help, but I thought I should’ve kept her aware.”       “And didn’t you get kicked out?”       “Oh, yeah! When my brother saw me, he started screaming and demanding that I get out. Then he beat me a couple of times… My body did hurt after the fight with Uncle’s people, but after Terrence beat me, I could barely creep. Though, I had to forget about any discomfort, ‘cause I knew you needed my help.”       “And as I understand, Terrence calmed down later?”       “Yeah, Raquelle calmed him down… And I asked him for help… He agreed with reluctance, but gave me some claims that we followed before the meeting with Uncle.”       “Did you fight because of me and unite for the same reason?”       “No, we didn’t fight because of you, don’t think up. I went insane, asked for trouble, and got Terrence furious.”       “Don’t worry, I get it. You didn’t even think of fighting with your brother. But I annoyed you so much that you forgot about it and said such bad things.”       “Anyway, you shouldn’t blame yourself for being the reason why my brother and I fought. Everybody blames me, and that’s fair.”       “Anyway, I’m glad you united, at least for some time.”       “We did it for the justice that we were seeking for so long. To deal with Uncle, we should’ve been together. You literally united all of us. Your kidnapping made us become a team. Maybe, for a while, but we were the one.”       “Terrence and you were a team, remembering how you behaved towards each other at Michael’s house. While Raquelle stepped away from you… To reflect on her plan of saving all the MacClifes…”       “And I’m very glad Raquelle didn’t leave us in trouble and realized she should’ve done something just in time. If not for her, Uncle Michael would’ve killed all of us.”       “Yeah…” Natalia pronounces quietly, inclining her head and embracing herself with both arms. “And he would’ve given me to that terrible man, who wanted to rape me…”       “But luckily, it didn’t happen,” Edward replies softly, caressing Natalia’s head and shoulders. “Thanks to Cameron and the father of Terrence and me, who kicked Uncle’s ass.”       “Oh, yeah…” Natalia smiles slightly. “Your father was awesome! He beautifully knocked that stinker out and didn’t give in to you or your brother in strength. He was fighting with Michael like a young boy full of energy.”       “Yeah, Father knocked him out brilliantly,” Edward nods energetically. “And just made a wonderful surprise for everybody.”       “That’s right…”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Natalia and Edward just share a shy smile.       “Not only Raquelle and Father played their roles in this story, but also you,” Edward notices. “Your bravery… Your crazy decisions that saved us, though…”       “I should’ve become brave, at least for a while,” Natalia replies shyly. “And… Show my readiness to sacrifice myself.”       “Say, weren’t you afraid when you decided to point the pistol in my hands on… Yourself?” Edward shakes his head. “That was so risky!”       “I know…” Natalia swallows up nervously, looking too tense. “But I didn’t want you to become the same as your uncle. You to become a killer of your own brother and be cursed by your close people.”       “And weren’t you afraid?”       “Very much. But I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I hadn’t tried. I was obsessed with reluctance to see everybody suffering from Terrence’s death. See Raquelle grieving because of losing her beloved fiancé… I do know how she loves him, and how he loves her… She wouldn’t survive his death and would prefer following him… My heart squeezed at this thought. So, I realized I should’ve risked.”       “But you could’ve died!” Edward gets horrified loudly. “Died because of me!”       “I understood all the risks, but decided I would try anyway.” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds to catch her breath and keep speaking more or less clearly. “Looking at you holding a pistol and shaking, I realized I should’ve stopped you somehow. And I decided that I’d try to make you sure to stop by words and save the risk for later. I didn’t think it would be easy, but your uncle started to press on you… And all my arguments started to fade away…”       “But you said very right things. I would’ve said something, but I became speechless and… I became kind of stiff and speechless… Though, I didn’t want it…”       “I didn’t wanna risk and thought words would be enough.” Natalia sighs heavily. “But at some moment, my vocabulary was gone, and I decided to do more dangerous things. I had no choice. Otherwise, Michael would’ve won, and all my efforts would’ve been worthless…”       “I was thinking about giving up more and more…” Edward confesses hesitantly, getting tense enough from the memories that make him want the ground to swallow him up. “I wanted to piss Uncle off and let him say anything about me. But when you said more and more, Uncle pressed stronger and stronger… That bastard has always known my weakness and used it well, making me bend under him.”       “Do you mean the fact that he wanted to charge you for the murder?”       “Yes. He was blackmailing me that he’d tell everybody about the arrest on the suspicion of the murder that I didn’t commit.”       “I got it.”       “And…” Edward exhales sharply with closed eyes. “Every time you spoke, I wanted to give a damn about Uncle. And every time Uncle Michael spoke, I was afraid he’d betray me, make me kill, or put me in prison. Though, it would’ve destroyed me and my whole life… He knew how much I didn’t wanna go there from fear that they would’ve defeated me. Brought me to a wish to kill myself…”       “No, Edward, don’t say so…” Natalia begs with pity in her eyes, caressing Edward’s cheek.       “But…” Edward falls into silence for two seconds again. “Your risky step became the last drop of mine. I decided that I must’ve overcome my fear and lowered the pistol pointed at… You. And I was doing it when I looked at you and saw how scared you were. How you were begging me not to do that with your eyes, even if you asked me about different.”       “And you did it.”       “I swear, Natalia, I’ve never wanted to kill Terrence, Raquelle, you, and anyone else,” Edward replies with despair, looking at Natalia with pity in his eyes. “I can’t kill! Especially someone to mean so much to me. I’d better shoot at myself than kill someone!”       “I believe you, Edward,” Natalia carefully caresses Edward’s cheek with a tender smile. “You showed it when you agreed to shoot at yourself. And… Scared me to death…”       “If Terrence hadn’t meddled, I would’ve easily done it. I had nothing to lose.”       “Please, sweetie, don’t say so!” Natalia says with pity in her eyes. “You’re hurting me!”       “I could do anything except murder or robbery.”       “I just can’t imagine you killing someone with a pistol or a knife. And I didn’t believe such a sweet and innocent to look man could kill someone. When I found out that your uncle decided to blame you for the murder of your father’s friend, I didn’t believe him and was sure you were non-guilty ‘till the very end.”       “But I will be on the trial anyway. I’m still featured in that case as a suspect one.”       “I’m sure you will be pronounced non-guilty,” Natalia replies softly with a slight smile. “It would be unfair if an innocent person was put in prison for many years. At least, I will do my best to get you out if you go to prison. I promise, Edward, I won’t let you stay in a cell with sick people.”       “Thanks, Natalia, I’ve always known you’re a wonderful girl,” Edward replies with a slight smile. “But crazy!”       “Why?”       “Isn’t the fact that you decided to put yourself in danger by your wish madness?” Edward puts his hand on his forehead. “Gosh… You could’ve died if I’d been afraid and decided to shoot at you. Anything could’ve happened when I had a charged pistol in my hands!”       “I repeat, I was madly scared. But at heart, I knew you couldn’t kill me. You wouldn’t have done it if you’d really been as good as you tried to be. I told myself that if you felt something for me, you wouldn’t do what I wanted to suggest to you. It would show your real attitude toward me and prove your love for your family. You didn’t wanna kill Terrence and proved it with words and actions.”       “Terrence knew Uncle could make me do that. I confessed it to him on the day when I asked him and Raquelle for help in your salvation.”       “Really? Oh… Then I understand why he looked quiet and wasn’t deeply shocked.”       “Nevertheless, I’m madly ashamed of him. I literally betrayed him… Really… And I’m really surprised that Terrence didn’t get too mad and was still nice to me.”       “You just acted more than just worthily when we had to fight with Michael and his people. Yes, maybe, you showed weakness and succumbed to your uncle’s provocation. But your behavior gave us no reason to doubt that you regretted everything you had done and wanted to prove that everybody considered you terrible for nothing.”       “I can’t judge it. Although I don’t think someone could be proud of me after what happened, let people decide what to think about me.”       “I don’t deny that you were wrong and behaving badly somehow. But in some cases, we just understood you wrongly. We were too mad to figure out something. However, you showed what was more important to you. Proved that you didn’t even think of being by the side of your uncle. You got better for all of us. And it made every one of us reflect on everything that happened…”       “It’s mainly your merit,” Edward smiles truly, running the back of his hand over Natalia’s cheek and making her close her eyes from pleasure for a second. “You did wash my brains enough and opened my eyes to many things. If you hadn’t shown confidence, I would’ve hardly found the strength to go against the sick man and stand by my family.”       “Glad to hear it,” Natalia smiles shyly.       “Oh, please, Natalia, don’t be shy and pretend that you did nothing special.” Edward grabs Natalia’s face and kisses her cutely on the cheekbone. “You showed the risk! The courage! You totally changed the situation for the better and didn’t let bad things happen! How you can underestimate that act!”       “But I did nothing to become a hero,” Natalia shrugs. “Just acted like a real friend and loving person. I did what my conscience told me. Has doing a kind thing for your friends and close people lately become something like a heroic act?”       “At least I can’t be silent about it.” Edward looks into Natalia’s eyes with tenderness. “I’m conquered by your determination! The fact that you were fighting until the end, even despite great fear. You did a risky thing to save me and your friends. After that, there could be no doubt that you can be brave and determined when someone needs it.”       “It’s nice when people thank you for your noble actions,” Natalia smiles slightly, moving her eyes down for a second. “When you know it wouldn’t go unnoticed.”       “It just can’t go unnoticed. And disliked by someone. But the fact that you can be tender, vulnerable, and sensual but strong, brave, and determined makes me admire you much more. It’s one of the features that I madly like about you. You don’t pretend to be tough and brave. You can really be the one when you have to.”       “Well, you know, it has to do with you, as well. You also seem sweet, tender, and a little sensitive, but you can easily show the claws when you have to. I do really like people, who can be not only tender, caring, careful, and kind but also brave, resolute, and strong. I admire a person if they can protect weak people and are not afraid to put themselves in danger.”       “And I admire your crazy act. And I can’t calm down yet… It goes without saying, I’m proud of you and highly appreciate everything you’ve done for me and your friends. But literally begging about being killed…” Edward shakes his head, looking at Natalia with a shocked look. “I’m shocked! Moreover, I really believed you wanted to die when you began to beg me to kill you. I felt too bad, but your provocations broke me down. I really wanted to shoot at my head! And I would’ve done it if I had killed you.”       “As it turned out, dying for your close and beloved people isn’t horrifying. Now I know I’m ready for anything for my close people. Even to risk my own life.”       “Gosh, Natalia, you’re an amazing person…” Edward shakes his head with a slight smile and his mouth closed with both hands. “A-ma-zin-g! How lucky we are all to know such a wonderful girl!”       “Sweetie…”       “Gosh, I was an idiot when I believed that bastard Michael and that sick freak when they made me sure that you were a false betrayal! How could I be so stupid? How?”       “Don’t think about it, Edward,” Natalia says softly and grabs Edward by the nape of his neck, looking into his eyes with a slight smile. “I’m not mad at you, and I forgave you a long time ago.”       “I would’ve done a terrible thing if I’d lost such a wonderful girl. Who is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I never thought I could love a girl so much that I’d be ready to die for her. That I’d pull my hair out and pray to everybody that nothing happens to her, and she stays alive. Honestly, I didn’t wanna fall in love and have a serious relationship. Well… I got pleasure from dates, but I wasn’t ready for something serious…” Edward shrugs. “I dunno, maybe, I wasn’t ready for that or just should’ve met a girl that would become the one.”       “But I always believed I’d meet the one, who I’d love more than my life, and who’d love me back,” Natalia confesses shyly, shaking slightly on different sides with her hands locked behind her. “Even if I had failures, and men never treated me seriously. People are right when they say that if you wait for something so badly, it will come true early or late. Because I’ve finally met the man, who loves what I have inside. Loves me for my actions and what I am.”       “And I will not let you go anymore.”       “I shall not leave. And I think this terrible situation taught us much, and we’ll no longer make the mistakes we made before. I did understand everything.”       “You know, although I didn’t almost have hope for the best, I believed everything would get better early or late. I mean, I let myself dream about it… Dreamed of you forgiving me and coming back to me… Also, I did it because of the people, who always said I shouldn’t have given up and stopped believing in the best. I didn’t use to listen to them and didn’t believe a miracle would happen. But now I understand I didn’t listen to them for no reason…”       “Hey, stop reading my mind!” Natalia laughs quietly and hits Edward on his forearm playfully.       “What’s wrong?” Edward smiles shyly. “Don't you agree with me?”       “No, my sunshine: I thought the same. I thought everything was over, and our ways would go separated.”       “But a miracle eventually happened.” Edward tenderly caresses Natalia’s head and runs his fingers through her strands.       “And it’s hard to believe it.”       Edward hugs Natalia tightly and kisses her cutely on the top of her head, putting an arm around her shoulders and putting a free hand on the small of her back that he tenderly caresses. While the girl’s hands are wrapped around his waist, and she keeps her eyes closed, as she presses herself as close to his chest as possible.       “Hey, I’d like to ask you…” Edward breaks the pause thoughtfully. “You were often keeping a hand on your neck when we were at Uncle’s house. It wasn’t like it was hard for you to breathe… But otherwise…”       “Ah, you mean that…” Natalia understands it quickly and steps back from Edward with a shy smile. “I know what you mean.”       “Why did you do it if it’s not a secret?”       “I just had one thing that always gave me much more hope that everything would end well. It let me stay kind of collected when the people of your uncle brought me to that house.”       “One thing?” Edward rounds his eyes. “And what was that?”       Natalia hesitates for a second or two, and then she pulls the collar of her shirt slightly and tries to feel something. Later, she gets something golden and sparkle in the form of the letter “N” and shows it to Edward, asking with a mysterious smile:       “Recognize this thing?”       “My gosh!” Edward gasps amazingly and sets his surprised gaze on Natalia. “My necklace! The one that I gifted you on your birthday!”       “Yes, that’s it,” Natalia confirms.       “Oh, my gosh… Do you still wear it? Didn’t you throw this necklace off after we broke up?”       “No, I ain’t gonna get rid of what gave me luck,” Natalia laughs shyly. “And what my beloved man gifted me.”       “Do you like this jewelry, even if it’s just costume jewelry bought at a low-costed shop for a few dollars?”       “I don’t care how much it costs, and whether it’s made of gold or silver. The important thing is that I madly love it. I’ve always had this necklace on my neck or in my pocket. And I didn’t almost take this thing off when you and I broke up.”       “Really?” Edward rounds his eyes. “But why can’t I remember that? I’ve never seen this necklace on your neck! I kind of thought you disliked it and got a little upset! Upset because I wasn’t able to gift you jewelry made of gold and silver.”       “No, no, don’t say that! I just kept it safe at first and didn’t wear it at all… I put it in a box and admired it. But at some moment, I began to wear it. And after our breakup, I hid it underneath my shirts or t-shirts. Or I just kept it in my pocket…”       “Made everybody sure you were indifferent to me?”       “Sort of. This necklace became something like my mascot that protected me from evil… So, as you gifted it… No matter how stupid it sounds… I kinda felt a connection with you… This jewelry has a part of your soul…” Natalia thinks for two seconds and slightly squeezes the pendant in the form of the letter “N.” “It’s like having someone’s thing and feeling a connection with them… You see…”       “So, did this thing make you sure that you mustn’t have given up not for a second?”       “Think you did it… I thought of you when looking at my necklace… And every time I touch this pendant or just look at it, I always get a feeling that makes me believe in the best. Feel kind of better… Warm… Quiet…”       “And did you wear the necklace even after we broke up?”       “Even when I wanted to strangle you.” Natalia chuckles shyly. “Even on the day when I was taken away to the house of your uncle, I had this thing. And I was doing my best for nobody to notice and take it away from me. I could give them anything, even my phone. But not my necklace… And when I felt I had no strength to hold on, I just looked at this necklace.”       “And did you do it when you decided to sacrifice yourself?”       “Exactly!” Natalia bites her lip slightly. “It gave me hope that I could do it. That I could go and do it bravely. I know it sounds stupid, and it could be just my auto-suggestion. But I did really get better when I looked at the necklace or wore it on my neck.”       “I believe, sweetheart.” Edward softly caresses Natalia’s shoulders. “I just think the case is not only about it. The thoughts about me weren’t the only ones to help you hold on. You were bravely fighting until the end because you knew weak people wouldn’t survive in that war. By showing weaknesses, we would’ve hardly stayed alive.”       “It’s the truth. But thanks to the thoughts about you, I felt much better. While you weren’t by my side, I had to comfort myself with the memories of the days that we spent together.”       “Whatever helped you, I’m proud of you and consider you a truly strong and brave girl. For the people that love you. Love you truly. Not only your friends and parents. But also me. I will always love you and never refuse to help you and support you.”       “You think I’m proud of you less?” Natalia shakes her head with a slight smile on her face. “No, Edward, you’re deeply wrong. I am madly proud of you! Proud of the one, who can be brave, strong, and loyal… Be a wonderful protector… Be my beloved man… Even if I don’t say it too often, don’t forget it.”       “Really?” Edward dusts himself off.       “You’ll always be my hero, which I love so much. That is allowed to use my vulnerability and do anything to me.”       Edward smiles widely, looking at Natalia with tenderness, while she is closely looking into his big gray eyes. At this moment, the strong wind is blowing, the air is getting much colder, and the sun is still hidden behind the gray clouds. However, the young people do not care about it. They keep eye contact for a few seconds, sometimes glancing at each other’s lips. And at some moment, they let them connect in a tender, confident kiss. Edward hugs Natalia by the waist with one arm, sometimes caressing her back, and runs a free hand through her hair, but later starts holding the girl’s face and caressing it at times. And the girl lets one hand down MacClife, Jr.’s shoulder and holds him by the back, and runs another hand through the soft man’s hair on the back of his head.       This time, the kiss is more confident, mainly because Natalia became more confident and relaxed, and Edward stopped being afraid to do something wrong. For them, this moment is something like a breath of air, which they lacked so badly. They dreamed of breathing in each other’s smell and giving themselves to the emotions that they had missed so much all this time. And they finally got this chance. The girl becomes much more smiling and happier, while she is caressing his cheek with one hand and running another hand through his hair. And the man lets himself relax, hugging his sweetheart as tightly as possible, caressing her head, back, and shoulders, and running his fingers through the lady’s silky blonde hair.       Some time is gone before Edward and Natalia slowly step away, move their eyes full of bright gloss on each other, and share a wide smile, not even trying to hide their feelings this time. Probably, this is the first time when the man smiles so truly, showing his straight, white teeth. And the girl is as happy as never ever, understanding that her heart is beating fast now. One arm of Edward is wrapped around Natalia’s waist, and his free hand is tenderly caressing his sweetheart’s cheek, while she puts her hands on his collarbones, caressing the curves of his neck and the nap of it with her fingertips. At some moment, she runs her lips slowly over all the parts of his face, and then he does the same, holding her by the nape of her neck, breathing in the dizzying smell of her skin mixed with the smell of the perfume.       They look at each other with tenderness for a few seconds, enjoying these moments with pleasure. But then Edward breaks the silence, closely looking at every part of Natalia’s face:       “I missed you. Missed you so much.”       “I missed you, too,” Natalia confesses in a quiet, soft voice with a shy smile. “You can’t imagine how much.”       “I really lacked your pretense.” Edward tenderly runs the back of his hand over Natalia’s cheek. “Lacked the opportunity to caress and kiss you.”       “Now you’ll always have the one.” Natalia runs her fingers through Edward’s hair on the back of his head and rubs her nose against his nose playfully. “Just like I am.”       “It seems like a dream that is the reason why I never wanna wake up,” Edward replies in a lower, nice voice, smiling widely at his twenty-three teeth.       “Aw, gosh, how I missed your voice… Your smile, which I adore… Can you please smile more frequently? I wanna see you smiling. Much more often than ever. Because… You smile so rarely…”       “With pleasure, Ms. Rochester,” Edward exclaims with a wide smile. “Anything for such a beauty.”       “Edward…” Natalia gets a little blushed.       “And please, smile more often, too. Your smile drives me crazy, and I wanna see it every day.” Edward slightly touches Natalia’s small golden earring and caresses her earlobes tenderly with the fingertips of his hands. “Okay?”       “Alright, Mr. Lockhart,” Natalia laughs shyly. “As you wish.”       “MacClife. I am Edward MacClife.”       “Sorry, I can’t get used to it. Your real name. And your real appearance.”       “And I haven’t gotten used to the one, which all of you saw at first.”       “To be honest, I didn’t like it a lot.” Natalia runs her fingers through Edward’s hair, looking into his eyes confidently. “This hair color fits you much more. And your real eye color is much more beautiful.”       “I’m glad I can become myself now. To be honest, I’m a little sick of the wig. My head itched constantly. And I’m done with dealing with lenses. There are too many things. And I can’t wear them all the time. And at some moment, my eyes started to hurt a little.”       “Be yourself. What you were born with fits you much more than all of that. Your gray eyes are truly beautiful. Freaking attractive… And your hair is so silky… Even better than mine…”       “Thanks, my little star, you’re a gem.”       Edward kisses Natalia cutely on the tip of her nose and leaves a couple of short kisses on every single lip of hers, making her smile widely. At some moment, the girl puts her hands on his back and takes him in a tight hug, to which he answers with great pleasure, caressing the back of her head. But later, the lovers step away a little and share another tender gaze. MacClife, Jr., carefully wipes the rest of the tears off under the eyes of his girlfriend, who runs her hands over his prickly, dark stubble that makes him look much older.       “So, will we finally walk?” Natalia asks with a quiet laugh.       “If you don’t slip again,” Edward chuckles kindly.       “Standing so far from the edge of the bridge, I can only hit my head against the wood surface or break my nose.”       “I wouldn’t like it.”       “But if you’re near me, it won’t happen.”       “Sure, my sunshine.”       While Natalia smiles shyly, Edward kisses her cutely on the cheek, confidently puts an arm around her neck, and presses her close to himself. Then the girl wraps the small of his back with one arm and puts a free hand on his tough, wide chest. After this, the lovers go on the bridge, step on the ground, and start slowly going straight, not noticing that the time is getting closer to the evening, but it’s still light outside. Natalia and Edward walk silently for the first few seconds, but then the girl decides to break this silence:       “Hey, where have you been all this time? Nobody has known anything about you since you left Terrence and Raquelle’s house.”       “Well…” Edward pronounces thoughtfully. “I was just walking on the streets for the first three days ‘cause I didn’t wanna stay home. I didn’t wanna talk to anyone…”       “So, weren’t you at home at all?”       “No, I was home. I locked myself in my room and either was lying on my bed or playing guitar… In short, I was dying from boredom.”       “And then what?”       “And then I decided to visit my friend.”       “My gosh… You didn’t say you had friends.”       “Just fewer people. But good and checked.”       “And did you spend time with him?”       “Yes, after that day, I often spent time with him. Expect the days when he worked… That guy helped me feel temporary relief.”       “And how long has he befriended you?”       “Not very long. I met him some time before you and I fought. That guy just came to me outside and asked me to help him with something. Well, when I did what I should’ve done, we had a talk, introduced ourselves, and decided to talk with a glass of something strong.”       “Okay… So, don’t you have common familiars?”       “No, he doesn’t know anyone from my circle. And I didn’t tell him much about me… But I recently told him almost everything about me. It was kinda unfair that he told me everything about himself, but I told him nothing.”       “Is he a good person?”       “Of course, he is. He’s two years younger than me… A funny guy… I’ve personally never seen him sad… And he’s got no reason to worry: he has a job, lives alone in his apartment, has many friends, has fun with girls, and sometimes babysits his godchildren…”       “Godchildren?”       “Yes, twins. The children of his friend, as he said. My buddy always talks about them with great love, finds them very close to him, and has the pleasure to spend time with them.”       “Great,” Natalia smiles slightly.       “But he isn’t permanent in relationships. He reminds me of Benjamin in this case.”       “Benjamin? Terrence’s friend?”       “Yes. Parker changes girls like gloves, and my friend can’t decide who he needs. But both yell that they wanna marry and have a family.”       “Isn’t he in a relationship?”       “No, girls are just fun for him. A way to get rid of the pressure, so to say… He picks up a beautiful girl, who would agree to anything at a club or bar, goes to her home or invites her to his place, has sex with her, and rejects her the next day.”       “Womanizer?”       “Yes, I’d say so. Just like Parker, who treats girls in the same way.”       “Well, I dunno…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully. “I believe Ben is ready to stand on the right way.”       “Why would he do that?”       “Terrence said Parker liked his servant named Blair?”       “A servant? Blair?” Edward thinks for a few seconds and nods with a slight smile on his face. “Ah, yeah, I forgot about it… I was too busy with Uncle Michael.”       “It seems like everything’s more serious.”       “Why?” Edward looks at Natalia surprisingly. “Does he still like her?”       “I’m sure he began to feel greater sympathy for her. There must be a reason why Ben often sends Blair bouquets of flowers, does some little gifts for her, and invites her on dates.”       “Wow…”       “I bet that’s why Parker went to Terrence’s home today.”       “How do you know it? Were you at his home?”       “Yup, I left home for the first time this week. I talked to them a little, and then Violetta came to us and said Benjamin Parker was waiting for Terrence. So, Raquelle and I stayed alone…”       “Didn’t you come to him?”       “We only said hello and found out how we were doing, and then Ben left. But Terrence told us everything that guy confessed to him. Parker confirmed that one started feeling sympathy for Blair.”       “My gosh… Is everything so serious?”       “At least that girl is really in love with him.”       “She told you?”       “No, Blair said it to Raquelle, and Raquelle said it to me. But she asked not to tell Terrence about it, ‘cause she didn’t want him to be mad.”       “Mad?”       “He’s worried that Parker might play with that girl and leave her. And it’s gonna be hard for her to survive it ‘cause she is too sensitive, has never been in love, and has never dated a guy.”       “As if Terrence is gonna kill Parker if he really plays with Blair.”       “Knowing your brother is short-tempered, we better take care of his nerves. Though… He didn’t actually look mad when telling Raquelle and me that Benjamin confessed his love for Blair.”       “Who knows, but I think Blair and Ben shouldn’t be afraid to tell Terrence the truth. Early or late, he would’ve found out everything.”       “I think so, but I won’t meddle in their business. May they solve it, and I'll be happy if those lovebirds end up together.”       “Hey, I just called that I bet with Terrence about Benjamin falling in love with that girl. When you and I were at their dinner.”       “Ah-h-h…” Natalia nods with a slight smile. “Yes, yes, I remember! Right! Got out of my head!”       “I hadn’t also thought about it before you and I talked about Ben’s sympathy for Blair.”       “I wonder, does Terrence himself remember that bet?”       “I really doubt it!”       “But when you remind him of that, he’ll quickly remember everything.” Natalia smiles mysteriously. “Moreover, MacClife lost because he was sure nothing would happen between those people.”       “Right…” Edward smiles widely. “I did get a victory over Terrence! Right, right!”       “I can imagine how much his ego is gonna be hurt when he knows it.” Natalia chuckles quietly. “MacClife does think he just cannot meet a failure.”       “Now, when a part of the problems is solved, that pretty boy is gonna always remind us of how irresistible and unique he is.”       “Oh, yeah! When he was sitting with Cameron and me on the table, that donkey didn’t miss a chance to praise himself and give us a chance to joke at him.”       “My brother is incorrigible…” Edward laughs shyly.       “And when the trial of Michael is over, he’s gonna annoy us. And if the business of Terrence’s band gets better, his crown is gonna be higher than Shanghai Tower!”       “Oh… Is Peter still in the hospital?”       “Yes, Terrence said his condition got worse,” Natalia replies with sadness in her eyes. “The doctor made a mistake during a blood transfusion, and Rose got the infection or something like that.”       “My gosh…” Edward shakes his head. “Can’t he be saved now?”       “The doctors don’t kind of wait for anything. Though, they got Terrence and Daniel for it from the beginning. Well, get ready for the worse, hope for the best.”       “Oh, poor guy… If he doesn’t wake up, the guys will have to disband the band.”       “Terrence and Daniel are trying to do their best not to let it happen. Even if they openly say they won’t be performing without Peter. If he dies or refuses to return to the band, they will forget about their dream.”       “And what does their manager think?”       “At first, he was furious and insulted the two. But when he found out the truth, George got softer and supports them now. He tries to control the work when they come to the studio… To write songs, play instruments, get vocal lessons…”       “They’d hardly pull the band out together. They need a drummer. If Daniel or Terrence weren’t in the band, they would be replaced ‘cause Peter can play drums and guitar. But none of them can play drums…”       “And they don’t wanna find anyone to replace.”       “Yeah, I know…”       “Oh, okay…” Natalia sighs heavily. “No need to guess… Maybe, Peter will survive, tell us all the truth about himself and return to the band. If he’s still alive, there is a little hope.”       “You’re right. I think we should really wait. It’s been a lot of time since Peter ended up in the hospital. So, I think the doctors are supposed to say something at the nearest time. Give hope or… Get ready for the worse…”       “Let’s hope, sweetie…”       Edward smiles shyly and rubs his nose against Natalia’s cheek on the way, making her laugh.       “And how’s your family doing?” Edward asks.       “My family is fine,” Natalia replies with a slight smile.       “How are your parents and grandmother doing?”       “My parents are doing fine. They’re now in Mexico, taking care of Grandma.”       “I can imagine how it’s hard to tear between a job and that woman, for whom they have to go to another country.”       “By the way, Father and Mother are thinking of moving Grandmother to New York.”       “Here?”       “Yes, but not at our home, but at another apartment. It belonged to my father’s parents and has been free for many years after their death. It would be easier for them to take care of her. And the way there takes a little time – fifteen minutes from our home.”       “Can she survive a trip? Did she get so better that she would be able to take a flight?”       “Yes, there are positive changes, but talking about the full recovery is too early. But since Grandma has always been positive and has never let negativity impact her, I think she will get rid of this illness. She follows all the instructions of the doctors and asks for their permission for anything.”       “Great,” Edward smiles shyly. “I’m very glad she’s getting well.”       “That’s good my parents can provide the expressive therapy. If we were poor, Grandma Adriana would hardly live long.”       “I’m sure she’s gonna be fine. Because there are positive changes, there is a high chance of her recovery.”       “At first, I was scared ‘cause I only knew that fewer people could get rid of cancer. But now I hope that she'll get rid of this illness and live as long as possible.”       “They say that those, who worry about nothing and take care of their mental health, live much longer than those, who are always in tension.”       “Maybe. But the important thing is that Grandma has Father, Mother and me. She knows we'll always help her. Mother has always been very attracted to Grandmother, and Father gets on well with her and loves her with all her heart.”       “Oh…” Edward exhales sharply. “I’m still surprised at how your parents do a few things at the same time… Go to work, take care of your grandmother, and do something else…”       “Ah, Edward, if I knew a secret of their success, I’d be happy to share it with you,” Natalia smiles shyly.       “Do they have a good rest with such a crazy schedule?”       “At least my parents don’t complain. And they don’t look like they’re burned out emotionally.”       “I hope it’s the truth…”       Edward and Natalia say nothing for a few seconds and think about something. But then the girl breaks the silence with a mysterious smile:       “Hey, I thought… There is nobody at my home now… And I have nothing to do… So…” Natalia runs her fingertips over Edward’s chest. “I wouldn’t mind spending time in good company…”       “M-m-m,” Edward smiles mysteriously, biting his lip slightly. “Is that a hint that you’re inviting me to your place?”       “Inviting. We could drink coffee and eat something… Spend some time together…”       “Sounds very good…”       “Well…” Natalia rolls her eyes. “At least I’ll be happy if you just make company for me on the way home. Loneliness is good and necessary, of course… But sometimes you need someone. The man’s trustful shoulder… The man’s warmth… The man’s tough but tender arms…”       “So, okay, I got it!” Edward laughs shyly. “The hint is understood, Natalia Rochester! I will make company for such a beautiful girl with pleasure and visit her at home.”       “Excellent! So, I ain’t gonna have to be bored tonight.”       “Don’t think you’d get off me so easily.”       “I doubt I’ll want to. Especially now, when I wanna spend literally every second with you.”       “That’s good!”       Edward kisses Natalia on her temple and takes some distance along with her before the girl stops slowly and turns on the man.       “Hey, maybe, you answer the question that you didn’t answer before?” Natalia asks quietly. “Don’t you wanna explain why you made me pretend that everything was fine for everybody?”       “Do you really still care about it?” Edward asks.       “Just wanna understand you. To find out what’s hidden underneath this cute face…”       “Well…” Edward smiles mysteriously, rolling his eyes for two seconds. “Maybe, I knew Terrence and Raquelle wouldn’t stay aside and would love to help us if they understood something wasn’t right about us.”       “I’m serious, MacClife.”       “And I’m serious! I just thought they’d show an interest in it and wish to help us.”       “Yeah, couldn’t you tell them the truth clearly? You should’ve started a whole show to get their attention?”       “You think I could tell them everything quietly? I did barely hold myself down after the mention of your name! If I had begun to tell someone what happened between us, I would’ve started showering you with mud and turning everybody against you. And if it happened with the pretense of your parents! They would’ve banned you from getting closer to me!”       “You’re gonna try hard to get their trust back. They don’t know the truth yet. But when they do, they may do anything to you.”       “I know… But now I’m absolutely quiet and see no reason to get wild and show disrespect for you.”       “Nevertheless, your explanation about that show doesn’t sound true.”       “Maybe. But I was sure it would work.”       “Oh, yeah, he was sure!” Natalia nods with a slight smile and hits Edward in the forearm with a fist. “You could think of nothing but the fact that I betrayed you.”       “When you weren’t near me, I calmed down and could think more or less soberly.”       “You know, MacClife, you should’ve seen your face when you were fighting with me. How red it was from anger! And your eyes were about to sock out ‘cause you opened them too widely.”       “You must see yourself when you’re mad.” Edward crosses his arms over his chest with a laugh. “You were like a steaming oven or a boiling kettle filled with water.”       “Yeah, and you were like a psycho that ran away from a mental hospital! I thought you’d love to strangle me and have no regrets about it. And when I gave you a slap in the face, you got so furious that tying you up was worthless. No straitjacket would’ve calmed you down.”       “What should I have done? You know how hurt I was when you slapped me in the face!”       “You didn’t mind it! You said, ‘C’mon, babe, hit me!’ And you got what you asked for.”       “And that was unexpected. I would’ve never thought you’d raise a hand on a man.”       “Yeah, I don’t deny that I never gave slaps to men before. But you got me so excited that I couldn’t hold myself down.”       “Oh, if our fight had lasted longer, I wouldn’t have remembered that you were a girl and would’ve done something I’m even afraid to think about.”       “Same, I doubt you would’ve stayed alive if everything had lasted too long.” Natalia shrugs with a shy smile on her face. “So, we are even, honey.”       “And you were very lucky. Because I was barely responsible for my actions.”       “Oh, yeah, I’m so lucky,” Natalia laughs quietly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Very lucky…”       “You know, you’re funny, but I’m not,” Edward replies gloomily, crossing his arms over his chest again. “I would’ve killed you with pleasure then, but now I want the ground to swallow me up.”       “Better thank your brother for washing your brains when you kept attacking me with his pretense.”       “I am thankful to him. I am madly thankful to Terrence for not letting me do anything terrible to you.”       “Yeah… I don’t think I would’ve left Terrence’s home alive, ‘cause you were ready to tear me apart. You almost strangled before the eyes of your brother and my friend.”       “I know… And I’m really very sorry… For being such a brainless and aggressive stinker…”       Edward looks down with sadness, still keeping his arms crossed over his chest. Natalia watches him for two seconds, and then she softly caresses his forearms, saying:       “Okay, sweetie, don’t think about it… And I apologize for the slap… I lost my voice, but should’ve let my emotions go out somehow.”       “I get it,” Edward smiles with the corners of his mouth. “I also almost lost my voice because of screaming like a sick idiot.”       “Terrence was right when she said you shouldn’t trust a too quiet person ‘cause they might hide something… And you confirmed it…”       “Oh…” Edward comes closer to Natalia and caresses her forearms. “You know, Natalia, honestly, I’d like to forget what happened between us and never think about it again. It would be much easier for me if nobody reminded me of what makes me wish to strangle myself.”       “I’d like to forget it, too. But we can’t do this for one day. We need time.”       “I know. But if I don’t forget everything, I won’t be able to live well. I’ll hate myself all my life. And if I remind everybody of it, nobody will forget anything. I don’t want it, though.”       “I understand it, Edward. But the echo of the past is gonna be chasing us for some time. The echo of our conflict that led us to a breakup. And there will be the people, who will remind us that we broke up and…”       “Sh-h-h…” Edward softly puts two fingers on Natalia’s lips, while she rounds her eyes and sets them on him. “Say nothing…”       “Erm…” Natalia pronounces, being a little confused.       “Don’t talk about it…” Edward moves his fingers off Natalia’s lips and puts his hand on her cheek. “I would like to pretend that the breakup has never happened. That we just had a serious fight, during which I said I left you.”       “Wait…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly. “So, do you wanna pretend that we still dated when being in a fight, and the words about our breakup were just emotions?”       “That would be very good. Let’s really think we didn’t break up. Maybe, the others would also believe I said it in anger…”       “Do you really think so?”       “Yes. Moreover, I’ve never stopped feeling like I broke up with you. I protested when someone called you my ex-girlfriend. I didn’t wanna take it… I thought you were still mine…”       “Honestly, me too…” Natalia confesses shyly. “I refused to accept our breakup and thought it wasn’t true. That we just fought…”       “So, let’s pretend that we didn’t break up at all. And say we just had a fight, during which we said we were gonna end our relationship.”       “Erm…” Natalia bites her lip slightly. “I think… That’s the right decision… Let’s really think that was just our strong emotions.”       “So, did we agree?”       “Sure!”       Edward smiles shyly and caresses Natalia’s cheek tenderly with his warm, soft hand, while she closes her eyes from pleasure. And some time later, the man stops his eyes on the girl’s necklace that she no longer hides, takes the pendant in the form of the letter “N” and looks at this for a few seconds, slowly running the fingers of his free hand over it.       “You know, although I don’t believe in the existence of mascots, I can make an exclusion in your case,” Edward says thoughtfully. “At least because you always get better when you have a thing that belongs to the one you consider important to you.”       “Or just something just associates with a certain person,” Natalia shrugs.       “Maybe…” Edward moves his eyes off Natalia’s necklace, lets it go slowly, and looks at the girl. “Hey, I recalled that my mother has kept Father’s guitar for many years.”       “Guitar of your father?” Natalia rounds her eyes.       “Yes, she told me about it one day, and I asked her to show it. And after playing it a little, I felt a connection with my father. That instrument spread a very good energetic… There are things that make you feel good when you hold them.”       “Wow… I didn’t know your father played guitar.”       “I was also surprised when I heard it. I never thought Father could love it. But now I’m starting to understand why I like playing something on the guitar and singing. Why Terrence can’t live without music…”       “But your mother loves music and often sings something, as well.”       “Yeah, but she says it’s just fun. Just like for those, who sing something while doing some work.”       “And how do you think your father is talented at music?”       “Mother talked about his talents with great admiration. She says her heart literally stopped when she heard him singing and playing. And I’ve never caught him doing that.”       “Well, as you and your brother are so talented at music, your father could go far, as well.”       “Not talking about Terrence’s talent is impossible. He was born to be a musician!”       “And you? Maybe, you should also try to get into the music world? You’ve got an incredible voice! You can play the guitar amazingly! This talent must not be hidden!”       “If I got a chance, I would use it. But I will hardly have it. I will not reach something by myself.”       “Terrence did it! Why are you worse?”       “In order to get into the show business, you need good contacts. If Terrence knows many famous people, he can easily reach anything. I could do that, too, but I don’t want it. I’ve never wanted to use our family connection and ask him to help me get into the celebrity world.”       “You don’t have to ask Terrence for help. You can start with something. What if you start recording videos and publishing them on the Internet? Maybe, someone would watch them and wish, for example, to invite you to perform as the opening act of a famous star.”       “Thanks for the suggestion, Natalia, but my chances to get famous are zero,” Edward laughs shyly. “I’d be lucky as well as my brother just because Terrence is famous. He has lots of fans who have promoted him. And nobody’s gonna do it for me ‘cause I ain’t a celebrity.”       “But you are a brother of Terrence MacClife.”       “I don’t wanna use it. I can’t deny it and don’t want to, but it would be better if my successes depended only on me, not my relatives.”       “Nevertheless, think about it. You can’t hide your unreal talent. And I’m sure that when the whole world discovers you and hears your voice, you’ll get a lot of fans.”       “Now I think about it less than anything. At first, I wanna solve all the problems and then start thinking about what to do. I can’t plan something when I have lots of unfinished cases.”       “I’m sure it’s gonna be okay,” Natalia replies confidently with a slight smile.       “I’d like to believe…” Edward replies thoughtfully, playing with a thin strand of Natalia’s hair that he later tucks behind her ear. “Well, if it’s not, I’ll have something that gives me great happiness. At least, I hope I will have. Right?”       “You may not doubt it. I’ll be trying to give you much more than you ask. And be much better than I am.”       “You’ve already given me much,” Edward replies with a smile. “And the most important thing is that you made me very happy. By agreeing to come back to me, you did what literally brought me to life.”       “Anyway, feel free to ask me anything. I will do everything I can to give you what you want.”       “I don’t doubt it, beauty,” Edward replies softly in a lower voice and caresses Natalia’s wrists tenderly, while her hands are lowered. “My sunshine… My happiness… I’ll never stop thinking I’m madly lucky to meet such a wonderful girl.”       Natalia smiles widely with a sense of shyness and pride and looks at Edward for a few seconds. Then she confidently shortens the short distance between her and the man, puts her arms around his, neck, and gets him involved in a kiss, tenderly touching the man’s soft lips. Edward steps back in surprise but quickly gets used to the quick tempo, wrapping Natalia’s waist with both arms confidently and tightly and running his hands over her back softly. The lovers no longer hold their emotions down, get closer to each other without fear, and are enjoying what’s happening. It’s a little hard for them to stand on shaking feet, the clear sound of the heartbeat echoes in every single part of their bodies, and they sometimes forget to breathe and focus on each other.       At some moment, Edward softly leans Natalia back and, tightly holding her by the small of her back with both arms, keeps kissing her on the soft, pink lips. The blonde herself keeps her arms wrapped around his neck and runs her fingers through the hair on the top of his head. And when he brings her back to the vertical position, one hand of MacClife, Jr., starts sliding over her back, and another hand holds her by the nape of her neck. While his sweetheart just keeps her hands on his shoulders, but later she moves them to his chest, which she rubs tenderly, not holding down a quiet moan under the influence of feelings.       Although there are no people, who would look at them badly and judge them for showing their feelings in public, the lovers do not go too far. At some moment, Natalia and Edward break the kiss reluctantly, but they keep holding each other in a hug. They let their foreheads contact, close their eyes, and smile widely, feeling a hot, heavy breath from each other. It lasts for a few seconds before they step away from each other and look into each other’s eyes. Edward, taking Natalia’s hands, softly kisses her on the forehead and caresses every part of her face with his open mouth. Then he slowly brings his face closer to her ear and barely touches it with his lips, making the girl shake and exhale slowly with closed eyes. And her heart stops when she heard his low, charming voice:       “You belong to me and nobody else…” Edward runs his lips over Natalia’s ear and kisses the area behind it tenderly, smiling widely when he hears her quiet moan. “You’re mine…”       “Fully and completely…” Natalia replies in a little hoarse, quiet voice with closed eyes. “Completely, sweetheart…”       Edward and Natalia look into each other’s eyes with wide smiles for two more seconds. Then the reunited lovers take each other’s hand tightly and start to go straight slowly, sometimes sharing an ogle gaze full of admiration with each other. On the way, they meet people of different ages, who are rushing to do their business or walking quietly and enjoying the gloomy but warm weather. Someone is walking with little and big dogs. Someone is sitting on a bench with a cigarette or a newspaper in their hands. And someone is making the rounds and driving a bike or scooter. The further the lovers go, the more people they see around. And later, they end up in the large square where no car would drive because the way is closed with special signs and fences.       Natalia and Edward just walk in the square for some time, watching people with interest and talking about something. And then they hear the sounds of music that is playing not far from them. After looking around, the lovers notice a little crowd of people that surrounds someone not to be seen from here. They look at each other, come closer and see the unknown musical street musicians, who can win the hearts of people. The band consists of four middle-aged men, who are wearing old, little shabby dark clothes. One of them is well-fed and has a long beard and a bun on his head. He is playing an acoustic guitar. The other is wearing a black cap and confidently beating the rhythm on a small drum set consisting of two drums and cymbals. The third one is standing in front of a microphone stand with a microphone in his hand and singing something in a beautiful, sonorous voice, sometimes moving from one side to another. And the fourth one, with a beard on his face and an old-fashioned hat on his head, is playing another guitar, sometimes looking at everybody, who surrounds him and his friends. Near the musicians, there is a five-liter can, which is a quarter filled with coins and bills of a small denomination.       As a true lover of music, Edward does come much closer to listen to the song that he likes. Natalia follows him, but also rates the performance of the musical band. Many people are shaking with the rhythm, clapping their hands, and even trying to sing along with the talented performer that is singing into the microphone. Nobody pays attention to the lovers coming closer and starting to listen to the song with pleasure and clap their hands along with the others. Or they just embrace each other and sometimes share a tender gaze and a smile. Every new second, more and more people come here, and many of them use their mobile phones to record this performance. None of the members of the street musician band feels insecure. Nobody fears the public, which accepts them warmly. And when the vocalist sings the last lines, and his colleagues play the last chords, they get loud applause and many approving whoops and whistles from the people. Including Natalia and Edward.       “They play well,” Natalia notices.       “Agree, very talented people,” Edward agrees.       Edward and Natalia come to the can alongside many people and leave a few dollars that they find in their packets.       “Thanks!” the vocalist says into the microphone. “Thank you! Thank you! We’re thrilled you liked our performance!”       The people keep putting money in the can for a few seconds, and then the well-fed guitarist with the beard checks how much there is in it and gets nicely surprised.       “Thank you!” the guitarist takes the microphone from the vocalist. “Thank you, everybody, for giving us some money!”       “If you want, we will be happy to perform another song for you,” the vocalist adds confidently. “You want?”       The people from the crown start giving happy whoops, saying that they want to hear another song from these talented men.       “With pleasure!” the vocalist exclaims. “Everything for you, our listeners!”       “But we are asking you to give us two minutes to have some rest,” the guitarist says shyly. “We’ve been playing non-stop for almost two hours and got a little tired. So, please, let us catch a breath, and then we will surprise you with another song.”       The people shout something loudly again, and the men from the street band put their instruments aside and start greedily drinking water from the bottles that they have in a small box placed on the wide pillow, talking about something at the same time. Someone decides to wait for another performance. Someone leaves to do their business but has a nice impression. And Edward and Natalia are not going to leave, and they decide to stay.       “The vocalist behaves like he’s on the stage,” Natalia notices thoughtfully.       “Maybe,” Edward shrugs. “When I sing and play, I also imagine myself performing on a big stage in front of a lot of listeners.”       “I hope you’ll make your fantasies come true someday and be performing on the stage.”       “We’ll see, sweetheart, we will do.”       While Natalia and Edward keep talking about something, one of the musicians – the guitarist with an old-fashioned hat and a beard – takes his guitar, checks something, and glances aside. He sees MacClife, Jr., and starts to look at the young guy better, while the guy is cutely hugging his sweetheart with both arms. The guitarist starts to think that the tall brunet with black, little disheveled hair looks very familiar. At some moment, he says something to his bandmates and comes to the lovers, who do not notice anything or anyone around. But they have to pay attention to the guitarist when he coughs quietly.       “Lovers?” the guitarist asks amicably.       “Yes, we’re a couple,” Edward shrugs.       “I got it. I noticed you in the crowd when you just came here.”       “Your band plays well,” Natalia notices with a slight smile. “That was incredible.”       “Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. And thanks for the money you two left for us. It’s the main source of money for us now.”       “Don't you work?”       “We don’t stay in the same place for too long. We work a little and leave… At our wish or by someone’s order. And while there is no job, we earn money by playing outside. For your information, today, we have been lucky because we have earned very much.”       “I see. You deserve this success.”       “Thanks, Ms. You are very nice.”       While Natalia talks to the guitarist, Edward starts to think that he has already seen this man and, frowning lightly, looks at him better.       “Excuse me, sir, but your face seems familiar to me,” Edward pronounces thoughtfully. “Haven’t we met before?”       “You know, your face is familiar to me, as well…” the guitarist frowns slightly, looking at Edward closely. “Very familiar…”       “Wait, could we meet each other some time ago? I think I have met the person with the same hat as yours.”       “Ah, right!” the guitarist pronounces, stroking his chin. “Your name is Edward?”       “Erm, yes, I’m Edward…”       “I’m Vincent. The man that was playing at the underground and let you play my guitar.”       “Vincent?” Edward thinks for a few seconds, nods confidently, and clicks his fingers. “Right! Vincent! I remember you! That’s why you seemed so familiar to me! I met you at the underground.”       “Yes, yes, I remember you, too,” Vincent smiles slightly. “Glad to meet you.”       “Same. By the way, I didn’t know you had your own band.”       “They’re my good friends. They love music but can’t show their talents to the whole world. And as I’ve said, we should eat something. So, we play all day long in different places in the city. Of course, we sometimes take a break for one day or two if we are tired or want to play by one, but we travel in the city almost every day.”       “Great.”       “Hey, I see you have a good mood. But one week ago, you looked broken. As if you were going to hang yourself.”       “Yeah, many things changed…”       “I got it,” Vincent throws a mysterious gaze at Natalia, who listens to him and Edward a little surprisingly. “Excuse me, is this girl the one you talked about? Or did you find another girl?”       “No, no, it’s the one,” Edward shakes his head with a slight smile, hugging Natalia around the shoulders. “The girl that I didn’t want to leave.”       “Alright…” Vincent pronounces thoughtfully and glances at Natalia. “Yeah, girl, you did make this guy worried! He loves you too much that he was terribly worried about your breakup.”       “I know, but I’m ready to get better,” Natalia replies with a slight smile. “Ready to do my best for this man to be happy.”       “Try then. But remember that you two will need some time to work it out. I don’t know what happened between you, but I feel that it was serious. So, you will have to work on your relationship a little.”       “We understand it and know it’s going to be a long, hard way. That we want to take together.”       “God shall help you,” Vincent replies amicably. “It’s nice to see Edward much happier.”       “Much happier than ever,” Edward says confidently with a slight smile.       “I see you listened to my pieces of advice about how to get what you wanted.”       “And I’m truly grateful to you for that. Thank you so much, Vincent. For letting me speak out and giving me very good pieces of advice.”       “As I’ve said, I like talking with people and helping them. And it’s much nicer to get thankfulness from them. You know how it’s great when someone is grateful to you for something!”       “I understand. Thank you again.”       Vincent nods with a slight smile, and two seconds later, the guitarist of the street band turns on him along with his colleagues and calls him loudly:       “Hey, Vincent, come here! Let’s play something good for people!”       “Second, guys!” Vincent exclaims loudly, frowns slightly, strokes his chin, and glances at Edward. “Hey, Edward, I still remember how incredibly you sang and played guitar.”       “Wow, have you heard him?” Natalia wonders.       “Oh, of course! When I suggested he play my guitar, I didn’t think Edward would be so talented. So many people surrounded him and applauded at him for a long time. And I was also deeply shocked by his talent. How excellently he sang and played guitar! Much better than me!”       “Edward is really madly talented at music. His brother and he were literally born to become musicians.”       “I told Edward that he must have shown his talent to everyone. I am sorry that this guy is insecure and doesn’t want the whole world to know about him and hear his incredible voice.”       “I’ve already told you I would never be famous,” Edward replies a little hesitantly.       “You know, my dear, maybe, many celebrities did not also think they would get famous, but they did it when they showed everything they could do.”       “Nevertheless, I may not be so lucky.”       “Listen, guy, maybe, you repeat your triumph and sing along with my band?”       “Erm…” Edward opens his eyes widely. “Excuse me, what? Sing along with your band?”       “The guys and I will play on instruments, and you will sing. Why not? I’m sure people will love your performance much more than ours!”       “Indeed, Edward, sing something,” Natalia says with a slight smile. “I’d personally listen to you with great pleasure.”       “No, I don’t want,” Edward refuses, waving a hand sharply. “I will better stand to listen.”       “What’s wrong?” Vincent wonders. “Are you scared?”       “No, I…”       “Come on, Edward, don’t be shy. Be sure, people will love your singing. And I’m giving you a chance to earn some money. You can take everything the people leave during your performance. But knowing how talented you are, I’m sure you will earn a lot of money by the end of the performance.”       “No, thanks, Vincent. Your suggestion sounds good, but I don’t want to sing in front of people. And I am not going to earn money in this way.”       “Stop, honey, you’ve got no reason to fear,” Natalia says softly. “How you can hide your talent and be shy of showing it! Take an example from your brother! He fears nothing and nobody, and he uses his talent completely. You aren’t worse than him!”       “Listen, Edward, let me talk to the men, we will pick up a song and play it then,” Vincent says confidently. “Don’t worry, nobody will mind it. We often suggest people sing or play something. And today, you will be singing with us.”       “No, Vincent, thanks,” Edward shakes his head. “I can’t…”       “You can. Just stop being so shy and show everybody how talented you are.”       “Sorry, but no…”       “Please, Edward…” Natalia begs with pity in her eyes, taking Edward under her arm. “Do it, at least for me. I wanna listen to you. Please, sing… I believe you can do it.”       “Come on, Edward, let’s go,” Vincent says softly, making a calling gesture. “I shall introduce you to my friends.”       “But, Vincent…” Edward pronounces a little scarily and hesitantly.       “Go, Edward, go,” Natalia says softly. “I will be here.”       Despite his terrible shyness and fear of performing in public, Edward decides to do it for Natalia, who begs him to sing something so badly. The man sighs with sadness in his eyes, gets a cute kiss on the cheek from the girl, and follows Vincent, who takes him under his arm. The guitarist passes by the people glancing at him and the young guy with black hair. Who come to the drummer, vocalist, and the other guitarist, who are talking about something with a bottle of water in their hands.       “Vincent, finally!” the drummer exclaims cheerfully. “Where have you been? The people are waiting for the song!”       “We will play, guys,” Vincent replies confidently. “But I hope nobody is gonna mind if this talented young man sings with us.”       “Ah, yeah, we haven’t invited people to play with us,” the vocalist recalls. “So, I think it’s a good idea.”       “Be sure, when you hear how he sings, your yawls will be lying on the ground. This guy sings incredibly and plays guitar amazingly.”       “Oh, is this the guy, who you talked about with such admiration?” the second guitarist asks.       “Yes!” Vincent embraces Edward around the shoulders. “So, guys, it’s Edward. One of the most talented people I know.”       “Well, hello, boy!” the vocalist replies amicably.       “Edward, let me introduce my friends to you.” Vincent points at the vocalist, the guitarist, and the drummer by one. “It’s Tracey, our vocalist. It’s Laurence, our guitarist. And it’s Hayden, our drummer.”       “Nice to meet you,” Edward inclines his head with a slight smile.       “So, can you surprise us?” Hayden asks, crossing his arms over his chest.       “Slay at all?” Laurence asks.       “Exactly!” Vincent exclaims. “So, let’s give Edward a chance to play a song that he will pick up for us.”       “I think we can try,” Tracey shrugs and glances at Edward, putting his hands on his hips. “So, what will we play, Edward? Your suggestions?”       “Erm…” Edward stutters, while his eyes are running from one side to another. “I… Erm… I’ve got… A few ideas…”       Edward, Vincent, Tracey, Laurence, and Hayden decide which song they will play for one minute. All this time, the people watch them with interest, and someone goes by and decides to stop. Natalia is standing not far and waiting for her sweetheart to slay everybody with his unreal talent, not caring about those, who go by her. And when the band picks up the song, they wish each other luck and come to their instruments. MacClife, Jr., takes one of the microphones that Tracey gives him. He is still terribly shy about performing and is not sure if this decision is right. But the man does not want to give Natalia a reason to doubt his resolution. For her, Edward is ready to struggle with himself and his fear of performing in public.       “Hey, people, we are back!” Tracey says cheerfully into the microphone, raising his free hand up.       The people start to applaud loudly and make happy whoops, coming closer to the street musicians and Edward, who is looking at everybody scarily. But when he looks at Natalia standing in the crowd, he cracks a slight smile.       “In case you don’t know, the guys and I often invite people to sing with us or play something,” Tracey continues to say and comes closer to Edward. “And now we will be singing along with this young guy, who is supposed to slay you with his talent.”       “Be sure, I’ve personally heard this guy and do know how talented he is,” Vincent says confidently, coming to Edward and bringing the microphone in his hands to himself. “And we don’t doubt that you will love the performance of this creature.”       “So what, friends, are you ready to listen to us?” Tracey asks loudly and cheerfully.       Everybody pronounces, “Yes” loudly.       “Let’s go then!” Tracey exclaims. “One! Two! Three! FOUR!”       The musicians start performing the instrumental intro, while some people applaud loudly to encourage them. Edward is shaking his body slightly with the rhythm, squeezing the microphone tightly, watching everybody, and not forgetting about Natalia, who looks at him with a slight smile, looking forward to hearing the charming voice of the truly talented man for the first time in a while. And later, he starts singing into the microphone in a little low but piercing voice. Even if he is terribly shy and afraid, it does not prevent him from hearing the music and catching the rhythm. The people like this song and are nicely surprised by the magnificent, soft, velvet voice of Edward, who starts imagining himself performing on a big stage in front of the crowd whooping happily. It helps him become more confident and forget about his shyness.       Every new second, the man has to strike higher notes and control his breath, while singing the chorus. But MacClife, Jr., is doing this well and has not made anyone disappointed in him. Neither Vincent nor Tracey, Hayden, and Laurence, who highly rate the talent of this man. Nor the people, who are listening to this performance with great pleasure. Nor Natalia shaking with the rhythm with a cute smile on her face and sometimes closing her eyes from pleasure. By the second verse, Edward is getting more confident and keeps his head raised up and his back straight. It positively impacts his voice, which gets more sonorous and stronger, and he finally feels the music and only hears it. A wide smile shows up on his face, and his body gets more relaxed. The man has to take much higher notes and hold them at least for two seconds, but he does it well.       People are shaking with the rhythm, clapping their hands, and starting to take their mobile phones to take a couple of photos or record a video. Sometimes Tracey sings along with him as a back vocalist and does not forget to get the crowd excited and encourage them to clap and dance, moving from one side to another like a young boy. Natalia becomes one of the fewer people, who decide to enjoy the singing without recording it on a camera and smiles shyly at Edward to encourage him, and he answers her with a tender smile and sometimes sings as he looks at his sweetheart. When singing the second chorus, the bridge, and the end of the song, the man starts walking from one side to another, forgetting about all his fears and starting to get great pleasure from the fact that so many people pay attention to him and highly rate the unbelievably strong, charming and melodic voice of the young guy.       Sometimes he looks at Vincent with a slight smile, and the man looks at him as if he says everything is wonderful, and Tracey, Laurence, and Hayden, who start dancing and shaking with the rhythm. By the end of the song, MacClife, Jr., gets surrounded by a lot of people, many of whom start shaking with their hands up or even singing along with him in case they know the lyrics. They also like the fact that Edward sings the song with all his heart and shows different emotions depending on the lyrics. And after singing the last words of the song, the man starts clapping along with the others with his hands raised up, while Vincent, Laurence, and Hayden play the instrumental solo. Tracey still warms the crown up and shouts out some encouraging phrases.       When the instrumental solo ends, MacClife, Jr., sings a few lines of the chorus a cappella and shows how wide his diapason is by taking as high notes as he can. After this, everybody starts applauding loudly, making happy whoops and whistling. Someone even shouts some words of encouragement for Edward, who smiles widely with his head, being obsessed with pride. The musicians do not also stay indifferent and show their admiration with loud applause and slight claps on the back.       “Dude, you rock!” Tracey exclaims cheerfully. “That was a bomb!”       “I’m knocked out!” Hayden smiles widely. “Just incredible!”       “I’ve never heard such incredible voices!” Laurence confesses excitedly. “That’s unforgettable!”       “So, what I said!” Vincent exclaims with a wide smile, embracing Edward around the shoulders. “Edward is unbelievably talented! This guy would go too far if he wanted!”       “Hey, peeps, what do you think of this guy?” Tracey asks the people. “Do you think Edward can become a new star that will be loved by the whole world?”       The people immediately start making loud whoops and applauding loudly. Someone even tries to say something, but nobody understands what due to the too loud noise.       “Support this guy!” Vincent encourages, taking the microphone from Edward. “He does deserve it! C’mon, people, louder! Show that this guy is more talented than he thinks.”       The people keep applauding loudly and shouting encouraging words for Edward, who gets a little blushed from such great attention. He has wanted to get noticed all his life, but now his wish has come true. Though, hearing too much praise and compliments is a little weird for him. Nevertheless, MacClife, Jr., wants this moment to last as long as possible. And when the people calm down a little, they come to the can and leave at least a few dollars with coins or bills.       While Vincent, Hayden, Laurence, and Tracey are overwhelmed by how much money everybody has left, Edward cracks a smile and steps aside shyly, turning back at times and feeling something nice and warm in his soul while the can is getting filled with money. He does not notice how the happy Natalia runs to him at some moment and takes him in a tight, touching hug.       “That was incredible!” Natalia exclaims with a wide smile. “I have nothing to say! You were magnificent!”       “Did you really like it?” Edward asks shyly.       “You dare to doubt?” Natalia steps back from Edward and grabs his face softly. “Edward, c’mon! How can you stay so shy and hesitant when people are so surprised by your talent?”       “Just… It’s all just so… Unusual…”       “So, it’s time to get used to different things! It’s time to stop doubting your talent and being afraid to show it! You’ve got a voice! You can use it! You can earn money on it! You might get very famous if some people discovered your talent!”       “I don’t know, Natalia…” Edward glances at his hands for a second. “I’m not too sure about it…”       “Gosh, stop! If you were talentless, so many peeps wouldn't have surrounded you. You would’ve heard humiliations, not compliments… Nobody would’ve left a cent in that can. Which is gonna be one hundred percent filled soon.”       “Erm… I…”       Edward does not finish his thought because he hears Tracey says into the microphone at the top of his lungs:       “Hey, who wants us to play again? Raise your hand up and scream about it!”       Everybody raises their hands up and starts making loud whoops and clapping their hands.       “See, the people are asking you to sing again!” Natalia exclaims with a slight smile. “But you’re shy!”       “C’mon, he didn’t tell me to join them,” Edward laughs nervously. “That m-man means his band and…”       “Speak louder!” Tracey exclaims. “Who wants to hear this guy again! Who missed real talents that must not be hidden from everyone?”       The people loudly express their wish to listen to Edward again. That’s why he gets a little white and frozen with a scare in his widely open eyes.       “What?” Edward pronounces in a shaking voice. “No! No, I won’t go! I don’t want it anymore! I’m scared!”       “Stop, sweetie, you’ve got no reason to be afraid,” Natalia smiles shyly. “I don’t understand why you’re so insecure and afraid to perform for the public that liked you.”       “No, Natalia, I won’t go anymore… Let’s…”       “Come here, Edward!” Vincent calls to himself. “Let’s make the people happy and perform another song!”       “Go, sweetheart, fear nothing,” Natalia encourages softly, caressing Edward’s cheek. “You can. I believe in you.”       “Damn, what I did…” Edward laughs nervously again, starting to shake slightly and pulling the sleeves of his coat. “If I’d known I would get into this, I would have…”       Natalia makes Edward fall into silence, grabbing his face and kissing him tenderly on the lips before the eyes of many people. The excited crowd starts to applaud happily and make loud whoops. The man gets a little confused, but quickly relaxes under the influence of the emotions and literally stops hearing the people and feeling they are looking at him. And a few seconds later, the girl breaks the kiss, caresses her boyfriend’s face tenderly with both hands, and slightly fixes his hair while he looks into her eyes.       “Go, my sweetheart,” Natalia says softly. “You can do this.”       After hesitating for a few seconds, Edward decides to overcome himself for Natalia again and make the people happy with another song. He slowly turns around, goes by the big crown, and comes to Vincent, Tracey, Hayden, and Laurence. The last one slightly claps him on the shoulder and suggests the idea of a song first. Especially impatient people clap their hands and encourage them to make everybody happy as soon as possible. But when the musicians pick up a song, they go to their places. This time, Edward does not seem as tense as before, and looks at everybody without horror. To survive all of this, he sometimes looks at Natalia, who goes by the crown, and stands closer to the street musicians to see and hear her sweetheart better, encouraging him with a kind gaze and a tender smile.       After the countdown, the musicians play a short instrumental intro. Then Edward starts singing into the microphone, looking much more confident and not dreaming of running away from here as fast as possible. The people immediately start dancing, clapping their hands, waving their hands raised up, and singing along in case they know the lyrics, enjoying the amazingly charming voice of the young guy, the performance of who is getting recorded on the cameras of their mobile phones. This time, musicians picked up a more energetic song that causes a wish to dance. Even terribly tired people, who wanted to go home after a hard day at work, let themselves have some fun and relax. One guy really elevated everybody's mood, left a nice impression about himself and his talent, and got them quite excited. Edward conquers everybody with his strong and velvety voice, wide diapason, great dance skills, ability to get the crowd excited, inside charm, attractive appearance, stunning smile, and energy that he shares with the people, making them forget about their problems, have some fun and understand that life consists not only of bad moments but also good.