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"...What?" I breathed out, thinking I have heard wrong but the look on his face told me otherwise. "What do you mean it was burned down?" "Your dad sent us out here to see if we could get any leads, and we found it burned down..." "Take me there. I want to see it." "Elsa, we've already been here long enough, I don't want to risk your safety by staying here." He shook his head at me and I grabbed his arm, looking at him desperately. "Please, Asher ... I have to see it with my own eyes." "Don't look at me like that." He groaned and faced away from me. He was quiet as he kept looking out of the windshield. "Five minutes. No more than five minutes and then we leave." Just as we neared the boutique, my throat closed when I saw the burned building. I got out of the car, barely believing what I was seeing in front of me. The boutique my mother had worked so hard for, the long hours of drawing, sewing, and putting it all together... It was just gone. Gone like she was. "I'm so sorry, Elsa." Asher wrapped an arm around my shoulders while I still looked at the boutique in disbelief. "Why would they do that?" My voice was nothing but a mere, broken whisper. If there was one thing my mother truly did take pride in, it was how she had managed to make a name out for herself with her hard work, and the way she could be creative in the forms of gowns. And now, I feel like I've truly lost everything. "I don't know but I promise you I'll find out whatever I can, and let you know if something comes up. They're all going to pay for this." Asher reassured me but right now, it all felt like empty words to "Come, let's go now." "Do you want to take a walk with me on the beach? The sun is about to set and it's a beautiful sight to witness." I asked Asher . He decided to keep me company for the rest of the day, even though I hadn't said much since we came back. "Sure." He smiled and we made our way outside. He had made sure I got something to eat and tried to get me in a better mood. It did help that he was here. I had forgotten how goofy he could be, and I was happy that I was able to spend some time with him since it had been so long since the last time. "Are you sure you don't want to stay at my place instead of here?" Asher asked again, trying to convince me not to stay here on my own. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm just needing some time for myself." I explained to him as we walked down to the beach. "I don't like you staying here by yourself." "It's literally a safe-house. Do you really think they would send me out here if it wasn't safe for me?" I pointed. I rolled my eyes at him when he scoffed at my answer but didn't say anything else to it. We walked alongside the water, watching and enjoying the incredible view of the sunset. There was something so incredibly peaceful about watching the warm colors of red and orange in the sky. And with the water reflecting everything, it created an even more majestic sight. My hand reached up to touch the necklace that I always wore, only to be reminded again that I had lost it. I let out a sigh as it was a necklace I had received from my grandfather before he passed away. It was the only thing I had from him. I stopped walking, turned to face the water, and closed my eyes while taking a deep breath of the fresh, salty air. I loved it here... It was so beautiful and peaceful. I never knew I would like a beach house this much but the sounds of the waves made me feel calm. "Is it true...?" Asher suddenly spoke. I turned around to face him, seeing how he looked troubled while still facing the water. "What is?" I asked him, curious why he was suddenly wearing such a grim expression. He let out a breath and looked at me, his ocean- blue eyes looking intently at me. "You and him... Is it really true?" I faced away, feeling my heart ache at the mention of him. I wasn't even sure if he still wanted me... And I couldn't blame him if he wanted to leave me. I had lost a precious life in me. "Something like that..." I muttered and my throat went completely dry. Asher grabbed me and turned me around to face him. "Why him?" He asked firmly. He looked serious with his brows furrowed, making me look at him in surprise. He stepped closer to me, his hands slowly going up and resting on my cheeks. "Why him and not me?" He whispered. I was too stunned to say anything as he caressed my cheeks. "W-what?" I breathed out and my eyes widened in confusion. "Elisabeth... I've loved you since day one. I've always wanted you." My body was completely frozen in place, unable to say anything at all as I watched his face coming closer to mine. "Asher, I'm sorry but I don't..." I shook my head and tried to take a step back but he wrapped an arm around my waist, preventing me from moving away from him. "Don't say you don't feel anything for me either because I know you do." I swallowed hard at the way he was looking at me. Affectionately. "I'm sorry , but I don't... I-I love him." I said. Even if he didn' t love me anymore, my heart would still belong to him. I put a hand on his chest and slightly pushed him away from me while I took a couple of steps back. "You can't be serious. He's not good for you, Elsa!" Asher's eyes turned angry as he stared at me with a frown on his face. "He can't make you happy. I can!" His words had me completely shocked, making me drop my jaw in the process. "You don't know anything about him or anything about our relationship." I frowned, getting angry at his words. "I know what type of man he is. I've been around him longer than you have and trust me when I say that he's just toying around with you." He spat out. "Listen to yourself! You sound completely insane." My voice raised as I looked at him in anger. "It's the truth." He said with just as much anger as I had. "Stop it!" I yelled at him. He looked taken aback by my sudden outburst. "You don't know him the way I do... And I don't know what makes you think that but I don't feel the same way about you. I love you, Asher, but not the way you want me to. I'm in love with him." "All that time we've spent together when you came for the engagement party, all the flirting between us... Are you saying you never once felt anything for me? Because I don't believe it." "I'm not going to lie and say I didn't have a crush on you before because I did, and I know there has been flirting between us... But I don't feel anything like that anymore. Whether you want to believe it or not, he makes me happy. " I said to him softly, watching him as he looked at me with his still furrowed brows but he didn't say anything. "You're my best friend... I would hate to lose you over something like this, and you deserve someone who loves you, too. And it isn't me. Not the way you want me to." "When did it happen?" He masked his emotion with a blank expression. "It doesn't matter when it happened." I sighed. "It does when we suddenly found out that you were pregnant with his child. So, when the fuck did it happen?" I stopped breathing, my eart clenching at his words while he looked at me with cold eyes. "You carried his child. How the fuck could you be that reckless with someone you barely know?!" Asher erupted. Before I knew it, I lapped him hard across the cheek. "Fuck you, Asher." My voice was shaking in anger and unshed ears burned in my eyes. I turned around and walked away from him as fast as I could. "Shit! Elsa, stop! I didn't mean it like that." He ran after me and grabbed my arm, but I ripped it out of his grasp and pushed him away from me. "Don't fucking touch me!" I screamed at him, a tear falling down my cheek. "How could you say that to me? After I've lost.... How could you?" A sob escaped my lips. Asher looked at me with regret written all over his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't-" "Leave." I told him firmly, not wanting him to be here anymore. "Elsa, please..." He tried to reach out to me but I moved away. "Leave, Asher." He ran a hand through his hair. I was trying my best not to break down entirely. "I'm sorry." He gave a defeated look and went around the beach house to get to his car. I stood still, not going inside until I heard him drive away. I put a hand down to my stomach, feeling the loss even more now. I heard a knock on the door, and rage filled my body as I made my way to the front door, ready to scream at Asher for all the things he had said. I swung the door open, about to say something but clamped my mouth shut. "Arianna?" I said in surprise. She raised a brow at me and walked past me into the house. I shut the door and followed her into the living room. "Is there something wrong?" I asked anxiously, thinking something has happened to Nicholas. "Yes, there is." She turned around to look at me, and I felt my heart drop. "Did something happen to -" "It's best if I do the talking here." She interrupted me. Her whole demeanor towards me was different from what it usually was, and it didn't go unnoticed that she was talking to me in a cold voice. "I don't know what your game is but you begged Nicholas to let you go because you needed to be alone, and so he did. We put you in this house for you to stay safe, and do whatever healing you needed to do. Alone. But now, I find out that you invited another man over, and also went back to the house where you almost got killed without informing any of us. What if something happened to you, huh?" She snapped at me. "Asher was with me, and he made sure everything was clear before we even went inside the house." I said quickly, trying to let her know that I wasn't being completely reckless about it. "You see, that's what I don't understand. Why were you with another man?" Arianna tilted her head slightly to the side. I frowned at her accusing tone. "It's Asher. Someone I grew up with, and not a stranger as you're making it sound to be." I crossed my arms, not liking how I had to explain myself with whom I was hanging out. "So, you're telling me nothing is going on between the two of you? Because it sure did look like you were having a cute moment on the beach together." I had completely forgotten I was being watched, and it didn't strike me what it must have looked like from their point of view. "Nothing is going on between us. He's just a friend." "Right. Does he feel the same?" I glared at her, not saying anything as she already knew the answer to her own question. "Why are you here, Arianna?" I didn't like the way she was toying around with me with her words. "I came to see what was going on when I heard a man come over to visit you. You're lucky I'm the only one who knows about this because you know Nicholas would kill him on the spot if he knew what had happened." "Nothing happened between us." I clenched my jaw and she kept going on about it. "You know, I don't really understand you, Elsa. You wanted to be alone yet you invited someone over to keep you company. How is that fair to Nicholas ? You left him when he needed you the most." Arianna said sharply. "I didn't leave him!" I snapped at her. My breathing was coming out faster as my heart was pumping like crazy behind my chest. "Then what do you call this?" She gestured to the house. "I just needed some time alone. None of you know what the fuck I' m going through!" I exploded. She gave me a blank look in return. "You're right. I don't know what you're going through, but you're not the only one who lost someone." Arianna spoke calmly. "I know you're suffering from a greater loss, and I'm so sorry. But did it ever occur to you how Nicholas is feeling? He lost a baby, too, and every day I am watching him suffer." My lip started to tremble and my heart broke into a million pieces. Of course, I was constantly thinking about him and his feelings, but I had no idea how I was supposed to help him when all I felt was shame about it. "You know what, stay away from my brother. He doesn't deserve this,one who does not care about him at all." Arianna gave me one cold stare before she made her way out of the house. I didn't move from my spot in the living room, completely broken by everything she said. I fell to my knees when I couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down. Was this really it? Was it really for the best I stayed away from him? Did he feel the same? All these thoughts made me sob out loud, hiding my face in my hands as I cried hard, feeling completely shattered that I had failed to be there for him. The little process I felt had made vanished, and I felt myself getting sucked back into the deep, dark hole with no way out.

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