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Dakota didn't know how he got stuck at this lunch. As far as he knew, his mom had driven home and he had no plans on seeing her so soon. But of course, when she called and practically begged for him to meet with her, he couldn't say no.

Now, the two sat outside under an umbrella. Their food was half eaten in front of them as his mom rambled on about Liz.

"I just don't understand what she meant by that. I just wanted everyone to have a nice time together."

"Mom, I think that wedding was the opposite of a nice time."

"No, I know. I just meant that it would've been nice to see everyone together again considering how Susannah's dedication went."

Dakota took a bite of his burger and set it down. He chewed for a couple of seconds before swallowing, "Mom, you were guilt tripping her."

Megan frowns, "What?"

"She told you she didn't wanna go and instead of respecting it, you told her that if she didn't go, it would make you sad because Susannah loved seeing everyone happy together."

"She did."

"Mom."

"The whole reason Susannah would invite everyone to the beach house was because she loved seeing all of you guys and she loved the memories we all made together."

"Susannah is not here anymore." He says firmly, "It sounds harsh, but you can't use her to get Liz to do what you want. It's fucked up."

"I just want her to understand."

"You didn't even care to know what happened between her and Belly, you just focused on what you wanted." Dakota says, "Why do you think Liz got out of here as soon as she possibly could?"

Megan goes quiet for a second, "Do you think I was wrong?"

"Yes." Dakota says immediately, "You made her feel like shit."

"I didn't mean to."

"You probably didn't, but you did. And when she tried explaining that to you, you shut her down because "you didn't mean to". That's not an excuse."

"I'm gonna call her and apologize."

Dakota sips from his drink and then shakes his head, "Don't call her."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't think you actually feel bad for what you did. At least not yet."

"Of course, I feel bad. You guys are my kids. I never want to hurt you."

Dakota looks down before sitting up, "Do you think you were wrong for trying to get her to come to the wedding even when she told you she didn't want to?"

"I didn't mean to pressure her-"

"That's not what I asked, Mom." He says

Megan shakes her head, "I don't think I was wrong for going to talk to her. Susannah would've wanted everyone present on all of your guys' weddings."

"Don't call her." Dakota chuckles humorlessly

Megan sighs before sipping from her drink.

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Liz sat at her desk as she clicked through different emails she had missed. She looks over as someone leans on her desk.

"Haven't seen you in a while."

Liz smiles, "I've been out of state with family."

"Yeah, you left me here with all these people."

"They're not that bad, Olivia."

"Yeah, right." She scoffs, "There's so much I need to catch you up on."

"Okay." Liz laughs

"I'll catch you for lunch, okay?"

"Yeah." Liz says before Olivia walks off. She looks over as her phone vibrates. A smile takes over her features before she answers, "Hey, Connie."

"Um, not Connie."

"Oh, hey, Agnes." Liz smiles

"Yeah, um, when were you going to tell me you were pregnant?" She exclaims

Liz leans her head on her hand, "Conrad told you."

"Yeah. What the hell? Congratulations."

"Thank you." Liz laughs

"I'm so happy for you guys."

"Thank you."

"Okay, I'm gonna give the phone back, but we have to catch up sometime, okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Bye." She says sweetly

She then hears a bit of movement on the phone before a sigh she knew all too well, "Hi."

"Hi." Liz chuckles

"She stole the phone before I could even answer." Conrad scoffs, "I wanted to check in on you."

"I'm okay." She hums, "Apparently, I've missed a whole lot. I'm getting the run down at lunch."

"Oh." He says, "Nothing like workplace gossip."

"Yeah." Liz smiles, "It feels weird being back here. Everything's under control."

"Under control being weird says a lot about us." He laughs

"I guess I'm just waiting for something to happen." She says, "That's bad, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily, but we're back to our normal. You don't have to brace anymore."

"I know." She mutters, "Listen, I have to go, but I will see you when I get home."

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you, too." She smiles

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The work day just ended and with an exhausted sigh, Liz pulled her keys from her purse. Just as she gets the door open, her phone rings. She groans tossing her head back before pulling the phone from her bag.

She answers before properly reading the name, "Hello?"

"Hey, Liz."

She pauses, "Jere?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I'm rushing to get home." She chuckles, "I barely looked before I answered."

"No, it's cool."

"Everything okay?" She says as she sits in her seat and shuts the door behind her

"Everything's great. I called Conrad, but he didn't answer. I figured I'd call you."

"Oh." Liz hums, "He might be busy starting dinner or something. Last I talked to him, he was with his friend."

"Ah. Hey, did you know Belly went to Paris?"

Her brows furrow, "Uh, no, but I'm not sure why you would think I did. I haven't talked to her."

"That's right." He says and Liz's frown deepens, "You guys aren't on speaking terms."

"Right."

"Yeah."

"Um." Liz stammers, "Listen, I was just heading home. I'm trying to beat traffic-"

"No, yeah, I just wanted to talk a little bit, you know? You guys left before I could say anything."

"I'm sorry about that. We had to get back so I could be ready for work today. That's why we had-"

"Dakota." He interrupts, "Yeah, he came. Pretty much told me I was being an asshole."

Liz sighs, "He just meant the way you were acting when he was only trying to help."

"Well, I'm sorry that I found out my fiancé is in love with my brother." He chuckles humorlessly, "You know, your fiancé."

"Yes, I know. That doesn't give you an excuse to treat everyone poorly."

"She's not even coming back. She's staying in Paris. Isn't that great?"

"Jere-"

"How does it feel? Knowing that the wedding you didn't support or wanna be apart of fell apart?" He says, "Did it feel good?"

"No, it didn't-"

"Does it feel nice knowing that everyone is supporting you and Conrad even though you guys aren't that different from Belly and I?"

"It's very different, Jeremiah."

"Is it? Because you're 23 and pregnant. Practically throwing everything away for Conrad. Though it wouldn't be the first time considering how everything happened when my mom died, right?"

Liz blinks a few times, confused, "You're taking your anger out on me and it's not fair."

"Am I? Or am I telling the truth?" He asks, "You couldn't stay for two more seconds because you were so happy to see everything fall apart. So happy to know that Belly and I weren't gonna be happy."

"What do you want me to say, Jeremiah?" Liz snaps, "Yes, I'm angry at Belly for what she did, but that doesn't mean I wanted your guys' relationship to fall apart. As much as I hated Belly in that moment, I didn't want your guys' wedding to end that way."

"Right." He chuckles, "You can act like it, but you don't care. None of you cared. And I just want you to know that he's gonna hurt you. He always does to the people he claims he cares about eventually."

"No, he won't."

Jeremiah chuckles bitterly before a tense silence falls over them, "I hope you guys are happy in California. I don't ever want to see or talk to you again."

Before Liz can respond, the call ends. She pulls the phone away with shaky hands and sets it on her cup holder. Then before she can stop it, tears begin to fall down her cheeks. A sob escapes her lips before being followed by more tears.

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