7.00 p.m. The next day.

There was a knock at the door and Emily dropped the vegetables she was washing at the sink and ran off to get the door. She opened the door and felt like a bolt of electricity hit her, making her brain short-circuit. Henry stood there in his casual outfit, holding a bouquet of tulips in one hand and his car key in the other. Before he could say anything, Emily slammed the door at him and ran off to the kitchen, clutching her heart in a mock heart attack.

"Sarah, I think I'm hallucinating." She pinched Sarah's forearm, earning a yelp from her. "Does it hurt? Yeah, that hurt. So, it's real." She looked at Sarah's confused face and scratched the back of her head with guilty laughter. "I think Henry is at the door."

"And?"

"I slammed the door on him," Emily said, still in a daze.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know." Emily snapped out of her daze. "Girl, I freaked out. Why would he be here? This is Henry we are talking about; the filthy rich, super handsome, most eligible bachelor n the whole city. How was I supposed to know he'll show up at my front door? Unless..." her jaw slacked and her eyes widened.

Sarah held the stunned girl by the shoulders and guided her to the couch. Emily sat robotically while keeping her eyes glued to Sarah's face. Sarah stuffed a glass of water into Emily's hands, smiling. "Do you still remember when you asked me to go fishing?"

Emily nodded mechanically.

"I accidentally caught a big fish." She patted Emily's head. "Be good. I'll go get him." With that, she sashayed towards the door, blowing air kisses towards her stunned friend.

While Sarah was busy in the kitchen, Emily did Emily things such as changing her clothes ten times just to get the one that matched 'the vibe', taking photos of him, performing mock interviews, asking for autographs, and definitely not missing a chance to take numerous selfies.

Robert arrived right as Sarah finished laying the table and the four people sat at the small dining table. Delicious aroma filled their lungs, whetting their appetite while the beautiful sight of flowers hanging by the window nourished their souls. The dishes served contained a little of everyone's favorite and they wasted no time in digging in.

The food vanished at an alarming speed. Sarah dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin when she couldn't eat anymore and suddenly remembered her main purpose today. She cleared her throat to get everyone's attention and then interlocked her fingers with Henry's. "I wanted to tell you that Henry and I are officially together."

Clank!

Robert dropped his fork. "Tell me that's a joke."

Sarah gave him a puzzled look while still holding Henry's hand. "No. It isn't."

Bang!

Robert suddenly stood up, kicked his chair aside, and punched Henry squarely in the face. He walked around the table, lifted Henry by the collar, and punched him again. Hard. Henry wiped the traces of blood on his lower lip and looked at him without a word.

"Nope. Not today folks. No one gets murdered here." Emily shouted, snatching away all the cutlery from the table and hurling them out the window. She jumped between the two guys, and glanced at Henry, who looked fairly calm, then at Robert, who looked like he could explode at any moment. "Hold up guys!" She held up her hands and pushed Robert back until he stood a safe distance away. "We can talk about this without dismantling anyone's face."

Emily called out to Sarah while still pinning Robert against the wall. "Sarah, I take back my advice about fishing. I think small fish are better. These big fishes are too troublesome!"

The two men froze at Emily's words and turned to Sarah at the same time, eagerly waiting for her response.

Sarah shook her head and exhaled. She knew Robert was hot-tempered, but she did not know he was that hot-tempered. Her heart ached seeing Henry get hurt because of her. She took his face in her hands and traced her finger lightly over the bruise at the corner of his lips. "Babe, does it hurt?"

She looked at him with the purest and gentlest eyes he'd ever seen. Even a puppy would lose to her. Time stopped and nothing else mattered except the woman in front of him. The pain he felt earlier dissipated and he shook his head. He could endure a few more beatings if it would make her look at him like that.

Sarah stood on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on the bruise. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." He hugged her, pressing her face against his solid chest. "It's my fault. I should be the one apologizing." His voice was so gentle and at that moment, Sarah felt like the most important person in his life. "I'm sorry."

"There are still other people in the room!" Robert's angry voice interrupted their romantic moment.

Sarah turned around and glared at him. "And you, how dare you hit my man? Don't you have any respect for me?"

"What? Did you say your man?" Robert laughed but the tremors in his voice betrayed him. He pointed his shaky finger towards Henry, all warmth vanishing from his face. "Him? Your man? Are you sure?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course, I'm sure."

"How well do you know him?" Sarah went quiet and he threw his hands in the air. "See? You know nothing. You are setting yourself up for a disaster."

"I trust him!" Sarah declared confidently, catching everyone off guard. Emily nearly applauded, resisting the urge to go grab some popcorn and watch the show.

"Yeah, right. Trust. What else was I expecting." Robert dragged his palms over his face. "I don't know how you made it to 26 with this kind of naivety." He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling while speaking, "Do you know his ex is back in town with a 5-year-old girl and he might be the father?"

Henry's expression changed drastically at his words. He shot a deadly glare at him and wrapped his arms around the frozen Sarah, from behind. "Robert-"

"No. I won't shut up. She deserves to know." Robert's cold voice warmed up as he spoke to Sarah. "Sarah, use your brain a little. Think about it. He's been single all those years but gets into a relationship as soon as she shows up. What are the chances that he's using you to escape his feelings?"

"No. He won't do that to me," Sarah answered without faltering.

"Okay, my work is done here." Robert grabbed his jacket and headed to the door. "Thanks for the dinner. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." He yanked the door open and looked at Henry. "You and I aren't done yet. Meet me at our usual spot in an hour or I'll trash your office."

"Take care of him for me." Sarah shoved Henry to Emily and ran after Robert. "I'll go pacify that moving volcano over there. Who knows, he might jump off a roof."

"Robert..." Sarah caught up with Robert just as he was about to open the gate. "Let's talk."

"You've made your choice and I respect that." He clenched his fists and closed his eyes for ten seconds, forcing himself to calm down. "Screw it!" He opened his eyes and pulled Sarah into a crushing hug. "I'll give you an important reminder even if you don't have feelings for me." He backed up a little and held her by the shoulders. "Don't repeat the path your mother took years ago, foolishly putting your feelings on a man who may never love you. Today he might be the best for you but he will also be your deadliest wound." With that, he turned to leave.

Sarah grabbed him by the wrist. "Explain."

Robert folded his arms across his chest and leaned on the gate. He sneered, "Which sentence?"

"Everything."

"How dare you give your heart to a man you can't see through? I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

"Are you trying to provoke me?"

"You can think of it that way."

Sarah smiled. "Then I'll disappoint you because that day won't come. And even if it does, I've never been afraid of losing."

"I hope so," Robert whispered as she watched her departing back. His gaze softened and there was a hint of sadness in his voice. "But I'm afraid you'll lose."

Sarah returned to the house to find Emily leaning against the wall with her arms folded, watching over Henry like a hawk.

"I'll leave you two to resolve your issues," Emily announced and then glared at Henry. "You might be a prince and all but if you dare hurt her, I'll personally chop you up and feed you to the dogs. Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

Emily retracted her murderous glare and left.

Sarah didn't say anything. She sat next to him and lay her head on his lap. Henry silenced his ringing phone. The screen lit up as soon as the call ended and a message notification chimed. From her position, she read the contents before the screen went dark.

[hey love, why aren't you picking up? Layla wants to talk to you. Miss you. Smiley emoji]

A few seconds later, the phone rang again and he reached out to silence it. Again. Sarah stopped him. "Pick it up. Maybe it's important," she said, intending to get up and give him space. Henry held her hand and shook his head before answering the call right in front of her.

"Hello?"

"Daddy?"

Daddy. Sarah felt her world spin and she closed her eyes tight as a sharp pain shot through her heart. Her mind wandered and she did not hear the rest of the conversation until a tap on the shoulder brought her back to the present.

"Aren't you going to ask me anything?"

"I don't know how to ask you. Everyone has a past. I'm very curious but before you take the initiative to tell me yourself, I choose to respect your past."

Henry sighed and pulled Sarah into a hug, resting her chin on top of her head. "You are right. Everyone has a past, and no matter how good it was, it is just that. A past. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be overly concerned about it." He kissed the top of her head and continued, "If you have anything you want to know, just ask, okay? Don't bear it yourself, babe."

"Then I have only one question." she acted like a spoilt child and stuck a finger out.

Her reaction amused him. He put her finger down and held her hands in his. "You want to ask if that child is mine."

Sarah nodded.

"No."

****
One hour later at the fencing hall.

"Have you calmed down?" Henry asked Robert, who stood at the boxing ring waiting for him.

"Calm down?" Robert scoffed, "I want to shoot you to death and you are asking me if I've calmed down?"

"I'll give you a chance to vent," Henry said, entering the ring.

Uncountable punches later, Robert slipped out of the ring, panting. He took off his protective gear and sprawled on the floor. Henry took off his gear as well and glanced at the man lying on the floor before fetching two bottles of water. He handed one to Robert.

"Have you had enough?" Henry asked, taking a seat right beside him.

Robert sat up too and folded his knees. "Do I look okay to you?" he shot him a side-eye. "I'm seething with jealousy, okay?" he flipped open the cap of the water bottle and chugged half of it. He rested his elbows on his knees while holding the bottle barely above the floor. "But I'll have to hand it to you. You stole my girl right under my nose and you still have the nerve to ask me if I'm okay. All I want to do is to beat the crap out of you."

"Let's have a round two then."

"Nah." Robert waved his hand lazily. "I'm tired and I won't win over you anyway. If anything, I'll be the one who gets beaten." He took a sip and kept his eyes on the floor. "You and I need to talk."

"About?"

"Cynthia."

"It is a matter of the past. Why are you bringing it up?"

"You think Sarah thinks it is a small matter?"

"Seems like it."

Robert laughed and narrowed his eyes. "You are mistaken. She is not like Cynthia. Although she may look tenacious, she takes everything to heart and loves deeply. She won't endure emotional torture. Don't hurt her."

"I won't."

"Then how will you handle the situation with your family? You know your old man is hell-bent on you and Cynthia getting married."

Henry was quiet for a while, staring at a distance. "I don't know but I'll figure it out."

Robert exhaled. "What a pity. You two loved each other deeply and hated each other with passion. She was a topic we couldn't dare mention for a whole five years. And now you are acting so calm about it. Make it make sense."

Henry patted Robert's shoulder and smiled. "Buddy, there are things you and I can't predict by instinct." His smile turned a few degrees warmer thinking about Sarah. "Even I didn't know I could love someone else this much again."

"Then I'll give in this once," Robert said, and his earlier hostility faded. "I can rest assured. She'll be a spoilt princess." He nudged Henry with his shoulder, catching a fading pink at the tip of his ears. "I've seen what you can do when you really love someone."

"So, you won't try to murder me anymore?"

Robert laughed. "For now? Yes." He turned and looked Henry right in the eye. "If you dare hurt her, even a little, you are sleeping in a morgue."

"I got it. I won't."