"Fate really knows how to play games, doesn't it?" Kitty whispered as she rested her head on her husband's arms after an intimate moment between them.
They occupied the room next to Darius', who still hadn't come out. It was already dawn.
"Yeah. It's hard to believe that Gel ended up being the surrogate mother of Elle's and my cousin's baby," Lance said, shaking his head while stroking his wife's hair.
"It's all so messy. It feels so heavy," Kitty said quietly. "After years of hearing nothing about her, this is what greets us. We weren't even there for her during what she went through… and now, there's going to be a connection between us again because of a medical mistake." She sighed. "I don't even know what I'll say when we finally see her."
Lance was silent. He closed his eyes briefly. "I'm not even sure if I still believe in that saying 'everything happens for a reason,'" he finally said.
The tenderness of the moment faded. Lance felt the warmth of their embrace drift away. But he couldn't bring himself to stop Kitty from thinking. He knew that no matter how much time had passed, Gel was still part of Angela's life—and Darius', too.
Good thing Elle wasn't around. She was still in New York, busy with a project.
A little while later, the couple decided to go out and find somewhere to eat. They tried inviting Darius, but he didn't respond or come out of the room. So, they let him be.
Kitty was craving seafood, so she invited Lance to eat at Waterbar Restaurant. Fortunately, it wasn't too crowded. It was just a short walk from Hotel San Francisco, where they were checked in.
The restaurant wasn't new to Kitty—she had eaten there several times. But this was the first time she felt the weight of irony. How could they not have known that Gel—the person who meant so much to them and whom they had searched for—had been in San Francisco all this time?
Thankfully, Kitty had somewhat calmed down after the passionate encounter with her husband earlier. Unlike the past few days, where she'd been crying non-stop after learning the full truth from Dylan, Angela's cousin.
Almost two hours later, after finishing their meal, Kitty asked to go for a walk. She said she had eaten too much. Lance simply nodded and took his wife's hand.
As they walked, Kitty suddenly stopped.
"Babe," she said, pinching Lance's arm, "tell me I'm just seeing things."
"Huh?" Lance responded with a frown.
"Look over there." She pointed to a tree a few meters away where two people were standing. The man's back was turned, but the woman—there was no doubt. It was Elle.
She was feeding the man in front of her some ice cream, and she looked happy.
"That is Elle!" Lance said, surprised. "Good thing she managed to get my cousin to come out!"
He quickly pulled Kitty along to approach the two.
But as they got closer, they saw Darius kiss Elle. Gently. Without hesitation. As if… it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Damn, my cousin's something else," Lance whispered. "Just earlier he was totally shattered, and now? Like nothing happened."
"Only Elle could bring him back like that," Kitty said, her voice trembling slightly.
They looked at each other. Only a meter separated them now.
Elle looked up—and it was like she had seen a ghost. Her face went pale, her body froze, and her mouth opened in shock.
"Cuz!" Lance called.
The man, whom they assumed to be Darius, turned. He froze momentarily… and like Kitty and Lance, was at a loss for words.
Silence.
Elle dropped the spoon with ice cream she was holding. She stiffened in place. No one could speak.
"Sh*t."
"F*ck."
Kitty and Lance muttered in unison.
The four stood in silence. Only the sound of the wind and footsteps of passersby could be heard.
"W-when did this start?" Lance broke the silence. He was staring at Elle, who couldn't meet his eyes.
Her breathing was quick, as if she had just run a marathon.
Elle was quiet. After a moment, she took a deep breath.
Elle started talking. As they listened, Kitty covered her mouth, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lance sat on a nearby bench—stunned.
"I'm sorry." That was all Elle said after her long explanation.
They found out that Elle had reconnected with her ex-boyfriend in Paris two years ago. And after seeing each other again, her feelings slowly returned. She hadn't meant for it to happen. But she hadn't been able to stop it either.
Especially since she and Darius had barely spent time together—he was always busy at the hospital, being both a thoracic doctor and Vice President of the hospital. And she was constantly abroad for her modeling stints.
Elle admitted: even from the start of their marriage, she had felt that Darius didn't really love her. There were signs—little actions that proved it. But she chose to ignore them.
Lance was silent, but in his mind, he thought, "I was right… the way my cousin treated Angela was always different."
The couple returned to the hotel as if in a daze.
They didn't know how to break the news to Darius. Or if he could even handle another blow.
"OMG… I don't know what I'm supposed to feel," Kitty said softly.
"Babe, I need a drink just to sleep. I can't deal with this," Lance replied, sitting on the bed.
Lance was quiet. Staring off into the distance. Clearly deep in thought.
"How do you think my cousin will take this?"
Meanwhile, elsewhere in San Francisco…
"Don't worry, hon. I'll do right by you. I won't leave you—I promise," Aries whispered as he gently rubbed Elle's back.
He hadn't expected their long-hidden relationship to be revealed tonight, but he knew they couldn't keep it secret forever.
"Yeah, I know…" Elle replied softly. "I wasn't planning to tell him tonight—I was still waiting for something. But I've always known this day would come. Maybe this is really the right time—and there's no turning back now."