17

Ethan was back in New York after Jake's wedding and his little secret with Arthur was making him giddy. Arthur had saved his phone number in Ethan’s phone. He was thinking about the possibilities they would have to face if he gets back to Arthur. He definitely knows that things will change if they get back together, behind everyone’s back. Hurting Emily and Amity is not something he wishes to do. But he could no longer control his feelings for Arthur.

Ethan was in his office in the studio and there was some photoshoot going on and as always, Liza was managing the work well. When he had returned back from the wedding, Vanessa had called him to inform him that she would be stopping by the studio to see him. It was another thing Ethan had to worry about. Despite setting things straight with Vanessa, he had an ongoing guilt of hurting her, unintentionally.

There was a knock on the door which made him jerk from his deep thoughts.

“Come in,” he said, composing himself in his seat.

Vanessa walked in with packed muffins in her hand. Ethan eyed at the package and exclaimed, “Don’t tell me you cooked again.”

She shut him up by turning the package to show the label from the place she had brought it. Ethan sighed from relief.

She placed the package in front of him which he was quick to open and eat.

When she was about to pick a muffin from the pack, Ethan swatted her hand, “I thought this is for me.”

Vanessa scoffed, “Sharing is caring.”

“I have never heard of it.”

Vanessa gave him a look that roughly translated to don’t make me punch your face. He understood that look and took back his hand and let her eat.

“So,” She made an effort to begin a conversation.

“So?” he raised his brows.

“How was the wedding?” She asked.

Ethan took time to swallow the muffin but in his mind, the events of the wedding played.

“Wedding was nice... Good... Cool”

“That’s the most bizarre way of explaining,”

“Whatever,” Ethan wasn’t sure about how to explain.

Vanessa had not forgotten about Ethan mentioning about Arthur. Over the weekend when Ethan went to attend the wedding, she found herself constantly thinking about the possible scenarios that could happen at the wedding. She even considered what if Arthur had attended the wedding and these two resolved whatever issues they had between and got back together.

When Ethan noticed Vanessa being in deep thought, “What are you thinking? You went silent all of a sudden.”

Vanessa took a bite of the muffin and spoke, “Had... Had Arthur come to the wedding?”

After giving thoughts about whether he should tell her or not, “Yes.”

“Oh..” she placed the muffin on the table.

“Did you two talk?” Curiositybugged her now.

Ethan nodded, “Yes.”

“And?”

Ethan took the time to finish the muffin and said, “Actually, I have something to tell you and Liza. Wait for a second, I’ll call her too.” Before Vanessa could nod her head he was out of his office to call Liza.

Not long after that, Liza walked into Ethan’s office and took a seat next to Vanessa. She was tired from working since the early morning and had been putting in a lot of effort into this particular project.

“So... How was your weekend?” Liza asked not particularly to anybody.

“Fine,” Vanessa muttered and continued to eat the muffins.

Ethan looked at them and thought about how to begin his talk. He wanted to share about what happened at the wedding with them and ask for their opinion or suggestion or anything regarding contacting Arthur.

“So... The wedding...” Vanessa and Liza both gave their attention to the man in front of them.

Ethan continued, “The wedding was good. I met all of my old friends and also Arthur.”

“Your ex?” Liza asked for confirmation and got a nod in return which confirmed her speculation.

“Did you two get to talk?” she asked again.

“Yeah... And..”

By now, Vanessa and Liza had stopped eating and gave their complete attention to Ethan which made him more nervous and anxious than he already was.

“And we ended up in my... Bed.”

Vanessa gasped loudly, closing her mouth and Liza had no visible reaction on her face. It was like she was digesting Ethan’s words inside her head. They stayed silent for a few seconds, while Ethan switched between looking at both of their faces.

“Can you two say something?” Ethan begged.

“What happened later?” Liza finally spoke.

“He saved his number on my phone and said me to contact him. We didn’t really mean to have sex at that time. I was completely drunk and I had missed him so much that couldn’t control myself from being with him.”

Ethan’s confession had brought tears to Vanessa’s eyes. She controlled her best to not let them roll down and tried to stay composed.

“What do you plan on doing now? Will you contact him?” Liza asked.

“I don’t know. I’m confused.”

“Think about what would happen if you contact him and you both get back together behind his everyone’s back and when everything gets out with or without your knowledge, you should be ready to face the consequences.”

“I know. That’s the reason I haven’t contacted him yet. I’m thinking. I don’t know what to do.”

“If you both are ready to face all of the things which you didn’t do in the first place, then go for it. Call him.”

Ethan sighed and looked at Vanessa for her opinion. He knew she was hurt but she was very close to him and he couldn’t just ignore her and move on with his life like however he wanted.

Vanessa who was silent the whole time, finally spoke, “ If you love him, go for it. I can’t see you in pain.”

Liza and Ethan, both held Vanessa’s hand that was almost trembling.

“But only if you promise me to tell your love story.” That brought a smile on all of their faces.

“You sure?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about me. I will get over you. I should do it at some point.”

Liza gave a side hug to Vanessa.

“So... Shall I call him?”

“You better do it before she changes her mind,” Liza warned him referring to Vanessa.

Ethan chuckled and grabbed his phone and dialed Arthur’s number.