Emily's Pov:

I was as shocked as a bull deprived of water after ploughing fields in strong sunlight all day!

I stared continously at Lara, who was still crying hysterically, hugging the album close to her bosom.

"You have a daughter, Lara?!!"

She nodded meekly, wiping her tears like a little girl with the back of her hands. My motherly love kicked in and without thinking anything, I pulled out handkerchief from my purse and handed it to her.

She looked at the piece of cloth and then at me and I smiled at her, encouraging her to take it, coaxing her with my sympathetic eyes.

"Here! Come here!" I made her sit on the sofa and immediately poured a glass of water for her which she drank it, her tears still flowing from her beautiful eyes.

"I won't ask anything else if you're hurting so much because of it!" I patted her back, assuring her of my words. Standing up, I attempted to leave when she stopped me by clutching the sleeves of my shirt.

"Emily!"

I turned around to see her vulnerable and miserable form, pleading for something.

"I want to talk about it! It's been years and I can't hide the truth anymore! I am hurting everyone because of my biggest mistake!"

Hiding my own surprise after listening her gentle words, I sat down beside her, pouring myself a glass of water and gulping it down in one shot before finally looking at her.

"So why didn't you tell me! About your daughter and all!? I understand Edward hid it for me for a reason and that's why he was eager to get married to you but atleast, you should have told me the whole truth! That way I would've understood why he was marrying me for fake so desperately!"

Lara looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Why would Edward tell you anything about my daughter!?"

"Because then I would've understood the extent of your relationship with him pretty well!?"

"But how can he tell you about her when he himself didn't know about it!"

My eyes widened in surprise.

"You didn't tell Edward yet! Why!? He deserves to know he has a child, Lara! That's unfair!"

She remained silent for minutes while I just stared at her, expecting her to say something.

"She isn't Edward's child", Lara whispered slowly, staring at the floor, too ashamed to even look at me.

"What-"

"Vivian is not Edward's daughter!"

My hands flew to my mouth to stop a loud gasp. But my heart relaxed much to see that Vivian wasn't Edward's daughter.

It would be a understatement to say that my heart broke into million pieces to learn that Lara had a daughter. And it took my whole strength not to cry out loudly in front of her after she asked me all those questions about me loving Edward.

But if Vivian is not Edward's daughter then what about her blue eyes and brown curls!?

"Who is the father then!!?"

Lara stopped wiping her tears from my hanky to look at me, putting the cloth over her lap.

"Vivian's father!?"

"Yes. Yes. Who is it?!" I snaked my head towards her mouth, too curious to know her answer but when she didn't respond, my face fell in disappointment.

We sat still in sofa for more minutes. I tapped my foot on floor in curiosity while Lara just fiddled with her fingers, maybe in nervousness.

I coughed deliberately. "It's ok. If you don't want to tell then I completely understand! Its too personal for it-"

"No. No. I will tell you everything. It's just that it's been years and I never talked to anyone about it!"

I nodded. "You can totally take your time in it! I am hell yeah fine with it!For now, how about you just tell me how did you meet... ummm... Vivian's father!?"

Lara looked spaced out for a moment, before a little smile broke out in her pretty face.

"Almost eight years ago, we both met each other in our high school! I was totally a different person back then! What you see me now is just my reincarnation after a certain bad turn of events!"

"Reincarnation!?"

"Yes. I was a total nerd back then, with my ugly braces, pigtails, baggy clothings and a encyclopedia like books in my bag! I used to study all day and night, scoring best of the best scores in our class!"

"And!?"

"And then there was him in our class, always hanging out with the popular ones, and always looking cool and handosme. Though he behaved like a jerk to all the girls confessing their undying love for him, he was considerably very warm-hearted from inside and always stood up for those who bullied the weak ones and nerds like me!!"

"Oh. So that's why you fell in love with him?"

Immdiately, dark blush adorned her cheeks,"Yes! He saved me from those scary bullying guys that day when I was staying late in the library to study for my midterms! I wasn't planning to fall in love anytime soon cause I had a long list of my successful careers lying ahead of me but you can't help who you fall in love with and before I realised what was happening to me, I suddenly started to catch a glimpse of him in a class, wanting to help him anytime even if it was giving him my notes or favourite pencil and getting jealous at any other girl who he used to save from any bully and the symptoms of falling in love continued for eternity then!"

"So what happened after?!" I asked, taking one sip of my now cold coffee, my interest in her personal life increasing more and more.

"Then one day he came and proposed to me!"

"Wow! Really! Then!?"

"I was hesitating at first to accept his confession, no matter how much I began to love him until then, because I was just a boring ugly nerd nobody would even dare to look at and then there he was, one of the popular boys of our school, asking me to become his girlfriend! I refused him flatly, feeling too unworthy and undeserving for his love and concern!"

"Then! What happened after!?"

"Well he continued to follow me everwhere, accompanying me everwhere without my consent, dropping me home late at night where I used to walk on dark streets alone and he would just follow me from behind until I get home safely. He saved me seats for cricket matches of our school and sat with me on the beach to watch fireworks when nobody was willing to watch it with me! These little things made me realise he really cared for me and I couldn't get anyone like him again, and so I accepted his proposal happily!"

I poured her a glass of water and offered her to drink which she gulped down quickly.

"So, When did you two... um... do it then!?"

Lara chuckled heartily. "You mean when did we have sex!?"

I nodded, quickly looking down at the floor, blushing profusely at her bold words.

"I opened up to him, told him all my secrets of life, about my family, about my favourite food, color, drawings, books, animals, clothes and all. We grew more close to each other, it had been four months of our relationship back then!"

Lara looked at me, to gauge my facial expression which was full of curiousity and interest.

"And then one day when he visited my house, in Christmas when my parents were outside to meet with my uncles and aunts, he gave me a gift!"

I scooted closer. "What was the gift then??"

"It was a phone, my first phone ever. It's still with me, in my belongings. I was so much touched my his feelings and his affection. We had a movie marathon that day and a movie situation made us to kiss each other. After that, one thing lead to another and we ended up having unprotected sex that day! We both gave in to our feelings, without thinking of the consequences!"

"Oh so, you got pregnant then!?"

She nodded her head slowly.

"Then what did he say!?"

I saw tears pooling in the corner of her eyes again which she tried to wipe it fast, but they ended up flowing on her lap.

"Lara!? What happened!? What did he do then!??"

"He betrayed me, Emily! He bloody betrayed me!"

"What!?"

"Yes, he left me all alone to deal with it myself. When I came to know I was pregnant with his child, I just wanted to tell him that! I never meant to kept the baby myself as I had a long life ahead of me and if he had told me once to abort the baby, I would have done it without hesitation but-"

Suddenly she stopped in the middle to break out into heavy sobs.

I grabbed her shoulders tightly, shooking her a little to make her look at me.

"Tell me, Lara! What the fuck did that bloody jerk say?? Tell me!"

"He sai..said that I.....way just the part of his stupid bet which he made with his friends to have me laid under him in just months! And I just stood there, staring at him speaking the whole truth smugly to me, while he continued to mock me and my neediness in my face! I wasn't...." she wiped her tears once more," And I couldn't tell him I was... pregnant with his child seeing that how much he truly hated girls like me in real life!"

"Oh Lara. I am so sorry!" I pulled her in a comforting hug, while she cried loudly in my shoulders, her pain breaking my own heart apart.

"Shh! It's Okay dear. We don't need guys like him in your life, right!? We need guys like Edward who can protect your pride whenever jerks like him appear to mess up your already fucked up life!"

"No. Emily. I can't fool him anymore. I never loved him in my life! I was just greedy and desperate to be loved after getting so much pain by my own one mistake!"

"Lara! Don't say it like that! You are much better than that! I know you! Let's just go and drag that jerk's fucking ass here with his damn bloody ears and don't you worry about beating, cause I am a trained martials and I have been saving my power to beat up the crazy ass of stupid jerks like him!"

"No. Emily! We can't do that cause he isn't here anymore!"

I opened my mouth to say something but I was too shocked to see he was dead already.

"Oh dear. I am so so sorry. I didn't know he would die so early otherwise I would have stir fried his heart to feed it to monkeys and then-"

"No. No. For god's sake he is very much alive, Emily! He is just no more in this country. He left for abroad a long time ago!"

"Oh don't you worry dear! I didn't read mystery thriller novels for nothing! Tell me your high school's name and I'll ask the principal his address to track him and his rotten dick down to this country again!?"

She didn't answer, instead chose to sit still in her thoughts.

"What was the name of your highschool again!?" I aksed again, in hope that she would answer this time.

"DreamCoastal High School!"

"Oh!? DreamCoastal High School!?"

Name sounds familiar though!

I pulled out my pen and a notepad to write it down carefully in my paper.

"Since you won't tell me his name, how about you tell me some of his things!? First, what was his favourite subject?"

"Maths!"

"Favourite colour?!"

"Grey!"

"Favourite food!?"

"Tomato, brocolli grilled sandwich!"

"That's a weired taste. Eww!"

"Favourite Friend!?"

She thought for a moment before looking intently at me. "You and Edward!"

I almost dropped my notepad, listening to her response.

Was it Jake?!?

Oh my god!

No!

No! No! He wasn't in DreamCoastal High School, that much I remember!

Wait a minute though!

DreamCoastal High School?

Tomato brocolli grilled sandwich? Maths was his favourite!? Saved girls from being bullied? Grey colour? Friends with me and Edward??

All colour drained out of my face as my notepad fell on the floor with a soft thud and my mouth opened, closed and opened again to say something before I didn't know what to say anymore.

"Oh my shit! Don't tell me Vivian's father is Him? Him!?"

She nodded her head. "It is the truth, Emily. I am so sorry!"

"But... but!"

"Yes. I am sorry Emily but Eric Jones is the biological father of my Vivian!"

"But he is Edward's cousin!"

"I didn't know that before until I met Edward in my college days!"

"Oh god. This is so.. How did you give birth to the child then??!"

Lara sighed loudly before looking at me. "After he left me all my myself to deal with that unwanted pregnancy, I was heartbroken and miserable. But I wasn't willing to abort my poor child who wasn't even born at that time. Giving a excuse of studying for better future to my family, I went to Europe to study where I gave birth to Vivian at my tender age of 19. It was hard raising her alone. So I returned home after 2 years, all changed and that old Lisa-"

"Lisa?"

"Yes. My real name is Lisa Williams! But after all that happened with me, I decided to change my whole self because I knew all along that it all happened because I was just a ugly stupid nerd! I changed my name, my attire, my behaviour and my everything. That old Lisa died 5 years ago in Europe and I returned all transformed like this with my infant child, once again to continue my studies after giving my daughter to my mother, telling her the excuse that I am doing my friend a favour by raising her child for some years until my imaginative friend starts earning her own money to raise her child!"

"Oh. And Edward!? Why did you date him then!?"

"I never planned on dating again! I hated love like shit after my first love betrayed me and my child but then one day Edward came and proposed to me and I became greedy and smug to see that changing myself was after all a good plan. When I learned that Edward was Eric's cousin, I was again scared that he would do the same to me as his cousin did! This time I refused him with a pure determination!"

She glanced at me while I tried to look anywhere but her.

"But once again history repeated itself and Edward also tried to pursue me everytime we would cross paths and in him, I saw glimpse of Eric and I couldn't help but get curious to get close to Edward thinking of him as Eric. But in these subsequent years, I came to know how both of them are so different from each other!"

I clapped my hands together.

"Of course they both are different! Eric is Eric and Edward is Edward! They are both two males of the same family but from two different mothers! They are bound to be different!"

"Yes. I know. I don't know what came over me but suddenly I became evil and desperate for being loved like a woman by some man and Edward was everything I would ever want in a man ! But still, I never was able to love him but only wanted to listen "I love you, Lara!" from his mouth and that way my life would end at peace but-!"she stopped suddenly to look at me.

I looked at her in pity. "But he never said those three words to you!?"

"Yes 'cause he was already in love with you even before he met me! It was just pure attraction between us!"

I chuckled at her words. "Oh please? Once again? Edward is in love with me!? He doesn't even think of me as some girl so how can he be in love with me!?" I said, rolling my eyes at the irony of my own words.

Lara laughed slowly.

"Really Emily? You think he never thought of you as a girl!? Then dear let me tell you this! He always thought of you as a girl and now thinks of you as a woman! It's just that he told me that you don't like to do feminine things or girly stuff so he stopped himself a lot from making you feel like a girl!"

"What!"

"Yes. And I still remember the day he told me he was just crazy about your cute little highschool skirt but didn't tell you that because he thought you might not like it so he would always shoo away those crazy guys who would just roam around you, peeking below your skirt!"

"How is this even possible? Oh, so that's why he himself had taken my skirt to get tailored long? But he told me that he doesn't want me to tan my legs from summer that's why he did that!?"

"No. No. And everytime your birthday would come, he would fight himself from buying you girly stuffs but he couldn't help but wonder how you would look in those butterfly or flower clips so he would buy all that stuff anyway but never got the courage to give them to you and so he always had to buy you manly stuff on your birthdays but if you would go and check his fifth brown cupboard from front, then you can see every girl stuff he had ever bought for you but never got the chance to give it to you!"

I covered my mouth to stop flies from entering in my mouth which was hanging low with surprise now. "Woahhh! I can't believe it! Really! It's first time I am hearing all of it!"

"I know. He never told you anything of it because he thought you didn't like to be treated as some fragile girl but he always liked it when he would fight the guys for you and you would hide behind him, clutching the sleeves of his shirt in fear!"

"Hey! When did I hide in fear behind him!? That's bullshit-"

"Don't take it in your heart! He just wants that! He told me he likes to protect you as his own. And the day he married to you, well, when he met the other day with me, even after we had this hot make out in my room, he was busy talking about his wedding and how, for the first time in his life," she briefly glanced at me, before continuing ,"he saw his best friend Lily dressed as a beautiful woman, like the one he he had always wished to see her once in his life, all dressed for him only, as his bride."

I coughed on my drink, spilling its contents over my shirt in haste. "What?!"

"Yes, Emily! That was the day I realised all my doubts were true and indeed he was in love with you but he doesn't realise it yet!"

I waved my hand at her, "No way Lis...Lara-"

Lara cut me off politely.

"Call me Lisa please! I want to hear my old name after such a long time! I miss my old self so much!"

My eyes softened looking at her, all beautiful but vulnerable. "Ok. Lisa dear!"

My phone rang and I took a deep breath to see who it was.

Edward!

Oh god!

What would I say to him now?

Should I talk to him thinking he wants me to talk like a girl!?

No, wait I already talk to him like a girl!?

But what if I say, "Hello Edward! How are you!? So I just want to tell you that accidently and it all happened so fast that before I could control myself, I opened the fifth brown cupboard of your closet and found some girl stuff hidden cleverly in it!? Are you secretly a girl or have you taken a part time job to dress like a girl to dance in bars!? Don't tell me you've been petting a girl in your office all along!?"

I shook my head violently! There is no way I could let him know I now know all his dark secrets now!!?

He would peel my skin alive!!

"Take the call, Emily!?"

I waved my hand at her, laughing nervously.

"No! I can take it when I get home! Hell no!! It's already past 10? When did we begin to talk so much!?" I screamed, seeing the time in my phone.

Lara chuckled. "It's nothing new! I always knew you were a great company but I never approached you for any sort of conversation cause I felt guilty and slutty after spending all those useless nights with Edward even after seeing clearly how much you actually love him!"

I feigned ignorance. "Hell no! I don't love him-"

"Stop it already, will you!? I wouldn't get fake married with my best friend just because he wants to keep his relationship with his girlfriend unless I love him too much to refuse his bloddy stupid proposal!"

I laughed at her choice of words after raising my hands. "Okay! Okay! Guilty!"

"Thank god you accepted otherwise I thought poor Edward would get friendzoned!"

I rolled my eyes at her irony before pulling her for a bear hug. Lara hugged me back, smiling widely and wiped her tears to see my smiling face.

"Hey! Why are you crying!?"

"Nothing! I am just suddenly feeling guilty of my deeds! Holy Jesus would never forgive me for coming in between you two and destroying your happiness with my own greedy intentions but believe me, Emily I never was this bad person. Circumstances made me slutty and I used a good person to satisy my need to get loved desperately and now-"

"It's ok Lisa. I understand very well. Eric was a fucking jerk to you and we.... me and Edward are as fine as a sunshine.! You don't have to worry at all! I am glad that you found me as a comforting person and shared your scars with me!"

Lara hugged me once again, "I am so sorry, Emily!I will leave this city soon after breaking up officially with Edward. Dragging this facade further is gonna hurt all of us and it's for the betterment of all of us! I'll come tomorrow morning to talk to Edward and clear out everything!"

I nodded. "Don't tell him anything about Vivian or Eric please I ask-"

"Don't worry I won't! I had been a villain to you two for a long time and now it's time I set everything right myself. I will break up with him telling him as little as possible!"

My phone rang again.. I sighed.

Edward!

I knew I was late to home but did he really need to give me like..... Oh hell.. 57 missed calls!?

"Err Lar...Lisa, I think I should get going ! It's late and I am not that much good at driving at night so-"

"Of course dear go ahead! Edward must be crazily worried for you and might have called a police force to search whole city for you by now!"

I laughed at her joke, smacking her playfully in arm.

I waved at her "Bye Lisa, hope to have more conversation with you in near future!"

"Of course!" she smiled at me, waving back.

I looked at her smiling face, she was happy as if she got an honest friend after million years and I couldn't help but wonder if I should tell her that Eric was coming back home after all those years of studying abroad.

Would she still smile after hearing he was coming back!?

I decided not to tell her, maybe it would be better for her not to cross paths with him after all!

But nobody knows what destiny had planned for you until it happens in such a unexpected manner with you in such unexpected places!

Just like Lisa happened so unexpectedly in my life!

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

When I reached home, it was already past midnight, and I just wondered what I would say to Edward after hearing about his side that I never knew of, from Lara.

I opened the door and saw him, sitting on the sofa, checking his wristwatch time to time, still in his office suit. I smiled genuinely to see him waiting for me so desperately.

I pulled out my phone to call him which he picked up as fast as I called him.

"Emi!? Where the hell are you?? It's already past midnight and this time I am not letting you off the hook if you must know! Seriously, you make me worry over you so much! Will you even speak a word for fuck's sake now!?"

He ran his hands in his hairs in frustration while I just stared at him from afar, standing at the door, tears falling from my eyes as I wiped them quickly.

We really was so fucked up sometimes and I didn't even know when that one metre space was created between our twenty years of friendship just because of that stupid fake marriage!

I wanted my best friend back so badly and I didn't care whether he loved me or didn't love me, anymore!

"Lily!? Are you crying? What happened! Tell me! Where are you!? I'll come to take you back right now?!" He grabbed his car keys from the table waiting for my reply.

"Lily! Where the hell are you?!"

"Behind you, you idiot!"

Immediately he turned around to see me while I just smiled at him, waving my phone at him. His eyes softened a little to see me all fine before he transformed all in a angry mode!

"Emi, have you seen the time!? Where were you!? Even if you were busy doing anything important, still you should have called me-"

I dropped my phone on the floor and lunged myself towards him, hugging him tightly while he just stood still and as shocked as ever. My arms encircled his neck, snuggling my head in the crook of his neck.

"Emi-"

"Don't say anything!"

"But-"

"It's ok if you don't want to hug-" I removed my arms around his neck, attempting to break the hug when he crushed me back with a bone crushing hug, lifting me off the floor, his arms wrapped tightly around my back.

"I never say no to your hugs! You're one lucky girl that I am letting you go this time! Thanks goodness you are fine! I thought you got into some accident that's why you weren't picking up my call!"

"Hmm" I rested my head on his chest, playing slowly with his tie.

"Hmm!?"

I thought about Lara and how she would come tomorrow to officialy break up with Edward. I already sympthathised with him so much! He wouldn't be able to bear the pain of losing his first love, and I didn't even know if he could endure it well or not!

"Edward!?"

"Yes!" he put his arms around me, pulling me closer, caging me securely in his arms.

"If ever, I mean ever, you experience something hearbreaking or painful in your life that you can't endure it alone, will you please do me a favour then!?"

He thought for a moment, "Yes!?"

"Come to me and tell me all about it! I'll listen to everything you have to tell me and you can ask for any help to me then! Even if I am not available at that time, don't do anything stupid because we all get fucked up once in our lifetime but it doesn't mean life stops for us, okay?"

He broke the hug to look at me, "Why are you saying all that!? Did something happen-"

"No. No! Nothing-" Just then my stomach growled loudly and I blushed in embarrasment.

Edward raised his eyebrows at me.

"You didn't eat whole day!? After I left you in morning!?"

"Well.. I was planning to... really... ermm.... but things happened and I couldn't so-"

Edward pulled me by arm towards dining table and made me sit forcefully on it.

"Wha-"

"Shut up and eat already, will you!?"

He took the spoon and started to stuff my mouth with food, and only god knows how much I ate that day!

"Enough! I can't eat anymore-"

"There are still these potatoes left-"

"No! You eat it, please! Have mercy on my-mmppph"

He put spoonful of potatoes in my open mouth while I glared daggers at him.

He filled his spoon again to feed me and I put my hands in my mouth, shaking my head, "No, I won't eat it anymore!"

"It's just one more spoon-"

"No! Have mercy on my bloddy stomach, will you!?"

He tried to remove my hands from my mouth and I took this chance to turn his spoon upside down, and the contents of the food fell proudly over his shirt and coat.

I looked at his stained shirt and then at him and again at his shirt and again at his now annoyed face before bursted out quickly, laughing hard.

"Hawwwww! I am so sorry, my dear!" I mimicked my favourite cartoon girl, batting my eyelashes at him, while laughing my jaw off staring at his angry face glaring at me.

"Come here, you!"

I ran from my chair to make a run for my dear life.

"Wait till I get my hands on you-"

He dropped a vase on floor to chase me around the house and I hid behind the curtains, waiting for him to find me.

"Sorry to disturb your little innocent husband-wife moment, but do you two happen to know this certain pottyhead guy!?"

Edward stopped to chase me and I came out of curtains only to stare wide eyed at the guy whom Rose was practically dragging along the carpet by his ears.

"He was trying to climb down the floors of your house and I caught him just in time before he could open your bedroom window and slip inside but he says you two know him very well! Do you!?"

I was still staring at the guy, not believing what my eyes were viewing in front of me.

"Eric!?"

He grinned nervously at me before glaring at Rose who was still clutching his ears rather firmly, "Could you please let go now!?"

Rose let him go but not before she kicked him straight on legs, making him fall slightly backward!

"Oww! "

"This is for entering my friend's house like a burglar!"

"But I was just planning to surprise them!" He turned towards me, still grinning widely, "Hello Emily, how have you been, my dear??"

Oh my bloody caterpillar!

Why the hell was he here?

Wasn't he supposed to come after two days??

Oh dear, Lara was coming tomorrow!?

This was bad!

So bloody bad!!