Rhea paced in her room, her breath uneven as she tried to process what had happened last night. Valerie had pressed her lips against hers.
Why? Was that what she meant by wanting to be more than friends?
That didn’t make sense. Didn’t Valerie realize she was a girl? Sure, Rhea had heard of such relationships before, but she had never thought about finding herself in one.
Her heart raced in her chest as she replayed the moment over and over in her head.
She recalled the firmness of Valerie’s lips on hers and how she couldn’t even push her away when it happened. Instead, she had stood frozen until Valerie pulled away.
“That’s how I feel, Rhea. I thought you’d hate me for it, which is why I kept it in. But now I don’t care. You can make any decision you want, and I’ll be fine with it… I like you, Rhea. I like you so much,” Valerie had said before walking away from the party.
“Argh!” Rhea slumped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her emotions were in turmoil as she tried to figure out what the hell was happening.
Feeling frustrated, she pulled the sheets over herself, hiding entirely beneath them.
—
Ava’s face was pale, her eyes fixed on the unconscious woman in the hospital bed. She bit her lip and fidgeted with her fingers, trying to suppress the guilt rising in her.
“She knew?!” Klaus’s words rang in her head like a bell of dread.
“You f**king knew the whole time, and you never told me? I practically lived with you, trusted you, and yet you kept something this huge from me? She was sick-dying-and I, her only son, didn’t know?! The only one who didn’t know!
You couldn’t even find a moment to tell me, even if she refused to? You fking disappointed me, Ava. I can’t believe you’d break my trust like this. I trusted you, Ava. I fking did!”
Ava sucked in a shaky breath, recalling Klaus’s angry outburst. He was right. She deserved every word. She shouldn’t have agreed to Josephine’s decision to keep this from him, especially when Klaus saw her as a mother figure.
But Josephine was her best friend-a sister from another mother. Ava felt she had to respect her wishes.
Even so, the pain and hurt in Klaus’s voice and eyes had shattered her heart in the cruelest way.
“Does she have to go back to Washington?” Finn, who was in the room, asked.
“Her treatment has been ongoing there. She needs to complete her diagnosis so they can find a cure,” Ava replied without glancing at him.
“She can get the best treatment here… I have doctors-”
“She can’t afford to start another treatment. Time is not on our side.” Ava finally looked at Finn, her glassy eyes rimmed red. “You don’t understand brain tumors. And stop acting like you care-you don’t deserve to be by her side.”
Finn sighed, choosing not to argue. “I’ll make the arrangements,” he said before leaving Ava alone with Josephine.
Ava turned her gaze back to Josephine and whispered, “Why do I feel like you’re hiding even more in that heart of yours? Why do you always hide your pain, being selfish and…” She paused, taking a deep breath as tears streamed down her face. “Please don’t leave me.”
Ava held Josephine’s hand. “Wake up soon. I’m scared.”
—
Washington
Nica’s lips parted in surprise as she watched the news of Josephine fainting at the wedding venue. Though Finn had tried to suppress the story, it had managed to spread.
The comments were infuriating. Some speculated that Josephine had fainted because she couldn’t handle the news of her ex-husband getting remarried. Others hurled insults, questioning why she had even attended the wedding.
“Will Klaus be okay?” Nica mumbled as she scrolled through the newsfeeds. This was bound to hit him hard.
“Worried about your friend?” Old Evan asked, joining her at the counter.
“Friend?” Nica repeated, the word sounding strange to her. Was Klaus her friend? Despite his cold demeanor, she found herself worried about him.
“Yeah, I’m worried about him,” she admitted, and Old Evan smiled.
“The last time I saw him, he was worried sick about Vincent. He rushed in here to drag Vincent to the hospital when he was sick and refusing treatment.”
Nica chuckled. “They’ve been best friends since childhood. They’re always by each other’s side,” she said, her heart warming at the mention of Vincent’s name.
Old Evan returned to the back, while Nica resumed calculating the accounts.
Suddenly, a figure walked in, dressed in a black leather jacket. His blonde hair was slicked back as he approached the counter.
“One Americano, please,” he said.
Nica froze at the familiar voice, her face paling as she slowly looked up into familiar brown eyes. A month had passed, but he looked even more handsome, his aura as magnetic as ever.
“How have you been, Nica?” he asked in a deep voice, smirking at her shocked expression.
Her heart pounded against her chest, her eyes welling up as she whispered the name she had missed so much.
“Vincent.”
—
Klaus had been missing ever since the doctor revealed that Josephine had a brain tumor-a rare condition with only a 1% survival rate.
After yelling at Ava and everyone else who had kept it from him, he had disappeared.
Morticia wanted to follow him, but he warned her not to. Eventually, she let him leave, but as nearly 24 hours passed with no sign of him, her worry deepened.
Where was he? What was he doing? Was he okay?
Of course, he wasn’t okay. Morticia couldn’t imagine what Klaus was going through. She knew Josephine must have had her reasons for hiding her illness, perhaps to spare him the pain.
But this was worse. Knowing his mother was suffering without him knowing would break Klaus.
Unable to contain her worry, Morticia tried to reach him again, calling and texting repeatedly. Frustrated, she sank onto a bench, running her fingers through her hair.
“Please, Klaus, just let me know where you are. Let me hold you. I’m going insane here,” she whispered.
Her phone buzzed. Snatching it up, she hoped it was Klaus, but it was an unknown number.
Sighing, she almost ignored it but decided to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Bunnie, right? I saw your name and number flash on Klaus’s phone and decided to call you,” said a strange voice. The mention of her nickname-one only Klaus used-made her sit up. This person knew Klaus.
“Yes? Is Klaus with you?”
“Yeah, but I need you to come over right now,” the voice replied urgently.
In the background, she heard a crash, followed by the man snapping, “Shit! Klaus, you need to fucking stop breaking my stuff, man!”
“Where is your place? I’ll meet you there,” Morticia said quickly.
The call ended, and moments later, she received a message with the address. Grabbing her bag, she rushed out to find him.