66| HARD TRUTHS

Frema tried visiting Riley's ward which was in the same hospital, but she was told that Riley had been discharged. Arsen had actually let her know that Riley was surprisingly getting better and she had a long time to live, according to the doctor. Frema did not want to pay much attention to the announcement of a deadline, so she didn't. If she did, she'd be counting her last days with her bestfriend and even if it seemed like they had some more years, Frema had actually been banking on forever, so it was hard to settle for less.

Riley was back in her house, when Frema finally got home and she clapped her new nails in her friend's face as welcome.

"Your bitch is back." She mouthed and Frema could've burst with joy.

"Damn right, she is!" She replied, going in to hug her senseless. The two women shook with laughter, and then tears.. but they remained in the same position for long minutes, sapping a feel of comfort from each other. They reluctantly pulled away after a while and Riley cupped her friend's round face in her palms.

"Oh geez, I missed this cute face, not gonna lie." She gushed and Frema laughed heartily, then replied,

"Well, the face missed your compliments, too. We looove compliments from people below us." That earned her a smack on the head. They both snuggled against each other on a couch, getting ready for some gossip about the past days, but someone decided to knock right then.

"Ugh, I have so much to ask you." Riley complained, looking genuinely pissed. Frema just laughed and got up on her feet to open the door.

"Frem Frem!" Was the first thing Frema heard before Liam crashed into her for a tight hug. Her face morphed into a happy smile as she breathed him in, and basked in his embrace. Her eyes were still closed when she heard someone clear her throat in front of them. It was then that she broke out if her trance and opened her eyes, whilst releasing Liam. Her blues met the pitch black orbs of the woman before her and for a complete minute, both women just stared. Frema didn't just look at the woman's eyes though, she took in the whole image of the beautiful figure that stood before her. She was drop-dead gorgeous, wide hipped with a pale complexion and model face; she was the kind of woman people would want to see themselves as, she could totally understand if Liam had a thing with her. But first, who the hell was the woman? The question lingered in Frema's head but she couldn't ask it out. Scratch that—wouldn't. Liam was the one who broke the staring contest, placing a hand on Frema's shoulder and saying,

"Aha, sorry, should have done this firsthand. Frem, this is Eve, my fiancee, and Eve, this is Frem Frem, my ex." He was grinning so wide, Frema couldn't settle on what weapon she would use to wipe that smug grin off. They both knew that was a fat lie, but his fiancee didn't, so she glared at Frema like she was competition.. but only for the first few seconds. Frema outstretched her hand for a handshake and Eve took it, speaking first with a hesitant smile,

"Nice to meet you, Frem." She said and for once, Frema did not correct the petite looking woman that her name was infact Fremantle and only close friends could shorten it. She let it slide, and responded,

"My pleasure, Eve. You know, I really thought Lee would never settle down. Glad you were finally able to trap him with your charms. Oh, and by the way, I'm not Lee's ex, sometimes he just loves to snatch up unnecessary drama for himself. He can be an idiot like that." To that, Liam gasped dramatically, clutching his chest in mock hurt. Eve smiled wider now, but not before scowling at her fiancee.

"I know, right?" Eve started. "I can't believe I'm getting married to him." Everyone laughed at that and Riley coughed loudly, seemingly trying to make her presence known. They laughed again.

"Oh, hey! What's up, Riley? Wait. Riley, right?" Liam asked, genuinely unsure. She rolled her eyes, then nodded in agreement. They exchanged pleasantries with Riley all over again and then Liam announced his intentions to talk to Frema alone. On hearing this, Riley took Eve's wrist and helped her off the couch, before they disappeared into the corridors.

"If this is about Eron—" Frema started with a straight face but Liam cut her off mid-sentence,

"It's not about Eron. Okay, maybe it is." She groaned at that. He continued, "Frem, he's innocent of all your accusations."

Her face hardened as she replied, "Of course you would say that. After all, your loyalty lies with him first, doesn't it?"

Liam sighed, running a hand through his hair, continuing to speak, "Eron is not the father of Kayla's two children." Frema froze. The room froze too. Infact, the world froze, simply because of that information and she refused to believe it. So, she shook her head no. She would not believe him, she refused to. He was a liar, just like Eron.

"Stop lying to cover him up, Lee. Really, stop it." Frema said, her face set in a deep frown. But Liam just shifted closer to her on the couch, took her hand in his, and continued,

"Everything I'm saying is nothing but the truth, Frem. When I first heard about the signed documents about your father's properties, I was taken aback by only one thing. The fact that you believed Eron could do that to you. Do you really think of him like that? Eron would never do anything to hurt you."

Frema laughed, but her eyes remained empty from how shallow she currently felt. "Really? Then you of all people, do not know him. Eron Castile thrives on hurting me and as I have now discovered, he has not repented from the act." She snapped, getting up from the seat which had now become too hot for her to sit on. Liam stood with her and began to narrate,

"Kayla has the beauty and everything, but in terms of being smart, she's as dumb as a fish. Eron did not sign those documents to transfer your father's properties to Ian's daughter and herself, but she did. She forgot about surveillance cameras and signed the documents in Eron's office. I had to do proper investigations myself to find out, since the guards were slacking—" She held her hand in front of his face to stop his rant, her brain only trying to process one thing.

"Ian's what? Who is Ian's daughter?" She questioned and Liam replied,

"Titi. She's a Castile but only because Eron is her stepbrother, not her father."

Frema's mouth remained hung open until Liam reached out under her jaw and clasped it in place gently. Her jaw only dropped again and after a few seconds she literally barked out another question,

"Stepbrother? You're shitting me, right? How come he didn't know? Thought he said they did DNAS and all that, you're just lying, aren't you?" Liam shook his head and signalled to her to sit down on the couch. He was next to take his seat and then he took out his phone and showed her the first video; about the signature forgery. Frema almost cried when she remembered all she'd done because of this. He was innocent after all, she thought. But Liam was not done, he opened the next clip, and it was the one in which Kayla confessed everything to her daughter whilst drunk. A tear rolled down Frema's cheek.

"Oh my God, he was innocent." She breathed out. A voice came from behind them,

"Not so innocent if he still won't give back dad's properties." Frema turned around to see Arsen standing behind her in his work clothes, consisting of a black button-up shirt and equally black trousers.

"Michelson." Liam greeted with a bob of his head. Arsen looked at him now, with a raise of his brow.

"And who the fuck are you?" He asked, not bothering to sugarcoat anything. Frema elbowed him but he didn't react to it, instead he looked at her now and spoke again,

"Dad's lawyer has set the meeting for tomorrow morning. Nobody is allowed to miss it."