Not edited.

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Tyler's POV

  I could hear the clock ticking, second by second, the time passed. But to me it seemed like it stood still.. Silence was dominating even though Lewski kept talking, continuing to explain his presentation to everyone attending the boring meeting. My own thoughts swallowed me from time to time, but I tried my best keeping up with as much as I could.

  "So, game on." Her voice repeated in my head, over and over again. It was unbelievable how she could go from 0 to 100 in seconds. She was trying to prove me something, I knew that, I just hoped she knew that the game she was talking about wasn't going to end well. I told her not to play with me, because I knew that either I would win, or something worse would happen. It was no kids game. She knew how much she could control what I felt with one look. But didn't she know that I could do that too?

  Even after the meeting was over, I walked hearing my assistant continuing to blab on about what Lewski had suggested and what not, and I was there muting her out from time to time and giving her an order to make me time even though she said there was no time left.. I just needed to get rid of her. Alexa was playing with my mind, and I felt like I would lose it if I didn't see her soon enough.

  At that point, all I wanted was to go back in New York. Being in that same damn house as that Alexa and that idiot she called her fiancee wasn't the best idea. I couldn't take it anymore. It was torture. She knew it was torture. I was planning on breaking up with Claudia once we were back in the city, because there was no escaping here.

  "I sent the contracts to Milan, and-"

  "Schedule a meeting with Deniz Alecto." I interrupted her through the phone as I opened the front door, walking inside.

  "Sir, your schedule for tomorrow is full, there's no time,"

  I answered almost immediately. "Then make time." And hung up the phone. New assistants were hard to handle. I had to keep telling her the same thing. There was never no time in the business world.

  The second I ended the call, Claudia showed up from the kitchen, walking towards me. In that moment, I thought of saying that right there, of ending it right there, but I didn't need more compilations in my life than there already were. I heard myself releasing a slow breath as she placed a kiss on my face, and asked basics about the meeting. There wasn't really much I could do. It was a mistake saying yes to this trip at the first place.

I never gave up on me and Alexa, but there was this hole in my chest all the fucking time since I saw her after so long. I was craving something that was no longer mine. No longer mine to chose, no longer mine to love.. She was no longer mine. I felt like a fool for trying, but I knew her better than she knew herself. It was not over. Not until I said it was.

  I asked Claudia to give me a glass of scotch, and when she went after it, I felt myself feel some kind of relief. I was lying to myself and to the her. I wouldn't really give a damn about a random girl I was dating at some point, but this was different. Claudia was somewhat part of Alexa's life. It was all connected. God brought me back the woman that I loved, but my brain was a mess. There was way too much bullshit in the whole situation. And I couldn't deal with it all the freaking time.

  I loosened my tie with my fingers as I walked towards the so called living room. I could hear muted voices, but I was definitely not expecting the picture I caught. No one else but the devil herself. Olivia Colt. The new designer on her way to fame, also famous as Liv. Same as so many years back, her hair was still blonde, now with that pastel white-ish color, and instead of mermaid waves, it was chopped a bit above her shoulder. Large brown eyes that seemed to swallow her whole face, and a bald red color on her lips.

  The few seconds of silence were followed with a large smile from the old friend Liv, and stood up almost immediately and walked towards me. "Well, Adams, last time I remember seeing you was seven years ago," And again that girly voice hasn't changed, filled with positivism and enthusiasm as always, yet changed with that confidence she was now proudly wearing. Whenever I saw her, I saw the female version of Jace.

  Surprisingly, before I could answer to her somewhat question, I got a hug from her. "I believe so," I said as she pulled away and eyed me carefully.

  "You haven't changed as much as I thought you would. I just never thought you could get taller than you already were." I let that tired laugh escape my throat as she continued to scan me. As much as us guys had bro codes, I knew how girls worked. There was no freaking way that Liv wasn't all informed about the situation Alexa and I were in. I could see something behind all of it, I just didn't have them all figured out yet.

  I looked back at Alexa seeing how she had her arms crossed firmly against he chest, but instead of a frown that I expected, she had a smile of her face, and I don't think she was even aware of it. She observed for a few seconds, and once she noticed me looking at her, once out gazes met for that one split second, she looked away. Like burned from something, the smile on her face disappeared. Mine did too..

  Seeing each other was just a reminder that there were too many things in the way for us to be together, and we weren't doing anything to solve them. Well, I was, but she just saw Claudia as a blockade, and it seemed like everything in her vision was plain darkness after that. She didn't even let me say that it was otherwise. She thought I was playing, enjoying a worthless game, when I was never more serious when I told her how much I wanted her back. Never wanting a woman so badly before.

  Effortlessly, Liv managed to change the subject into something different and the tension in the room seemed to disappear with every word she said. It was a good change having someone else in the room that knew our situation. This maze of emotions and the lack of solution were making me go crazy with how little I had on my mind other than Alexa. It was hard to focus. Hard to walk away from it when there was nothing else I was thinking of for days now. Liv tried to change that for both of us. And managed to succeed a time or two..

~

Alexa's POV

New York. Again, the big apple always gave me enough space to take a break from my problems at least for a moment. The city listened to my fierce footsteps, the clicking of my polished heels against its dirty pavements early on a Monday morning. But I though the coldness of this city was seasonal, that with the spring warmth it would transform and I could feel at home home again. I was mistaken.

It was different. Coming back after seven years, everything seemed different. South Hills of course was a smaller town near NY, but the big city still held as much memories. Perhaps it was the change my life has brought to me that made the gray busy streets different. It wasn't that good different, it was that different where the pictures before me seemed black and white.

The air seemed thicker than before, my life busier than before.. The trip we took seemed to change something inside me, not just the relationship between Tyler and I, but the whole perspective of my life. The only thing that reminded me of those old days was Liv. She was always like a ray of sunshine with her positiveness, and spending time with her took my mind off things. We hadn't talked about Tyler since she got back, and I had the feeling like she was trying to put my mind off things. It was working, and it never felt more refreshing.

She came in the company to pick me up for lunch, and continued with her long stories about Paris, and Milan, and all the other places we visited together a few years back. "It's not the same without you. You know my boss is obnoxious, but the fashion world never disappoints me. It's always fascinating."

I smiled at her. She was finally living her dream. "So, you're starting the fashion show here?"

"New York's the center of everything.." She sighed, the blonde curls on her hair slightly jumping as she sat up. "And when it's time for Europe, I'm taking you with me."

Taking my purse and jacket, I looked back at her. "I'm just glad you're back." As I walked around the desk, she threw her arm over my shoulder, and even though it was harder for us to walk in heels, we acted like the 19 year olds we once were. Even after 6 months of not seeing each other in person, we were the kind of friends that never lost contact, no matter how man thousands miles we were away from each other.

Once we were out of my office, we put on the so called 'business faces', at least how Liv calls them, supposedly to look like serious business women. Side to side we walked towards the elevator, even though I noticed Liv's gaze towards some of my co-workers told me that an extreme fashion gossip storm about them was about to flood me during lunch.

But I can't say that I didn't expect the conversation she started in the elevator. It was coming on way or another. "So, yesterday.." She looked at me, and I already knew where this was heading. "I saw you and Tyler in the same room after seven years." She seemed like she was expecting me to continue, but I just fixed my hair and kept quiet. "You could cut the tension with a knife, Ali."

That's when I looked at her. She really didn't know how many things happened after we saw each other. It was hard informing her with the details through the phone. I sighed. "A lot happened, Liv,"

A few beats passed, and even though I was staring in front of me, I could feel her eyes still on me. "A lot that can ruin your relationship with Damien?"

"Possibly." I heard myself say, and the conversation seemed to make the air colder. I hated having to repeat the situation I was in again, but I was desperate for her advice. I had no clue what to do. I looked at her, and saw that kind of compassion, that curiosity at the same time, and somewhat worry.. The elevator door opened as I said, "Come on, I'll tell you everything."

~

I felt guilt eating at my stomach every time I thought of him. Damien. He didn't deserve it. So I was going to tell him. I couldn't keep a secret as big as that. Tyler was now his business partner. He deserved to know. Either way, I knew that Tyler was going to be threatening me. It was just the way he worked. He wanted something, and he did everything to get it, no matter what happened in the way..

I talked to Liv almost all afternoon about it. I knew what I had to do. I had everything together, I had my thoughts together, and I was finally thinking straight. Perhaps sharing this situation was what I needed to get myself together.

I listened to the people greeting me from the side as I walked out of the elevator. Damien's company was on a slightly different market than ours, but the buildings were similar. I've spent more time with him in his office than I did in mine really. What surprised me though was walking towards his office with an empty secretary desk. I suppose the stars were on my side that day, 'cause I really hoped for privacy while talking to him about the whole Tyler thing. I barely gathered some courage.

I watched my feet take steps across the glossy marble floor, the velvet on my heels a complete opposite next to the shiny white heels every woman wore as they passed me. I found myself frowning slightly with the notice of the door slightly opened on Damien's office. He never let that happen. He had too many meetings for that. Once again, I glanced towards the secretary's desk, but the girl wasn't there.

It was a moment of sudden confusion, mixed thoughts taking control of me.. My mind going blank for a second or so as I walked towards the door. It felt as if someone else was controlling my body, my thoughts, and I wasn't even sure what went though my head in those few seconds. All I knew was that my steps slowed down as I got closer to the door, and my breaths were barely even coming out..

I stopped near the door, hearing voices from the inside. It didn't make any sense. Damien never had meeting with his door opened. He wanted privacy when it came to his job. Another slow step forward, and the curiosity started eating me from the inside. My steps started becoming unusually slow, almost robotically, as if my brain was struggling to tell each foot to take the next step. When I reached the door enough to listen to the voice from the inside, my first instincts told me to push the door completely open, but for some reason I stopped. I stopped and peeked.

The voice was quiet and feminine. It came out as a purr and her words weren't completely understandable to me. Finally my eyes managed to focus. I felt ridiculous at some point that I hadn't walked in yet, but the curiosity took over me. The picture before me had me motionless. From the small peek of the door, far deep in the room, on Damien's desk was sitting a feminine figure. I couldn't see him from the way she sat almost in front of him, but I could clearly see the skintight red dress and short brown hair that could belong to only one person. Claudia.

I frowned as I stared in front of me, like my brain couldn't exactly register what was happening. I was there, I was seeing it all, but something inside me refused to take it all in. To actually accept what I was looking at. It felt as if I had walked in some kind of other universe, or like I was living in a bad dream. I furrowed my eyes a bit more, like I was trying to make sure it was Claudia, but once I heard her voice, I was sure it was her.

The way she leaned, Damien's illuminated figure was exposed, sitting on his chair and looking up at her. He was listening to her intently, and once that confusion started fading, once I was actually aware of the whole situation, my hearing somewhat came back. Closer and closer she leaned, and something in my stomach turned.

My brain couldn't progress that fast and I was simply no longer aware that I was breathing. I was just looking at some kind of flash of pictures before me, voices coming and going, as I stared in front of me controlled by confusion and mistrust of the whole situation. The guilt that was previously built inside me suddenly disappeared and my body was taken over by something much stronger. Like someone had slapped me, and instead of thinking I was having a bad dream, I never felt more in reality than I did in those few minutes.

Her slim figure leaned down towards him, and I couldn't believe myself how calmed I was. I just observed, thinking 'Is that so?', like the anger was stronger than the surprise. Damien didn't move away, and perhaps that's what made me realize on what was actually going on. "I'm just asking you to say yes to this.." I heard her muted voice as I watched how she got closer and closer to the guy that was by chance my fiancee. My muscles tightened when she nearly pressed her lips against his while he just sat there waiting. "No one will know, I promise."

She kissed him. Claudia. Damien.. It was this strange force taking over my body. Anger starting to dominate so strongly that my head felt dizzy. I was clenching my teeth so tightly that I was nearly grinding them. My hand was on the doorknob the whole time, just waiting for me to push the door open, but instead, I felt heat under my cheeks, burning.. My pulse in my throat from the anger that washed over me. It was as if some kind of poison was suddenly filling my veins, and I felt furious with myself firstly.

Instead of opening the door and letting them know what kind of madness was about to slip my mouth, I closed it. So quickly, so loudly, that I wasn't even aware when I turned around and furiously marched back towards the elevator. I didn't know what to to think first. I just knew that I had to get away, because otherwise, there would be a scene in the center of this huge company, and the last thing I needed was publicity. Of course, it was no better than me, but that was the last thing on my mind at that point. I just connected two dots. Damien and Claudia.

Two damn questions. "When?" And "Why?"

***

To be continued? Well, there ya go guys! A new plot twist. The new update should be here soon enough, so be ready for an epic part 2 veryy soon ;) Kisses, :*