"I will not force you." He promised as he looked into her eyes and moved closer to her.

"I know." She met his gaze with a smile. She already knew that he would never force himself on her, which was why she Trusted him so much. She could even lie down on his bed, under the same covers and still be fearless about it. Besides, he paid so much attention to her feelings that he let her decide what she wanted to do, and when she wanted to do it, and when she wanted to stop. It was as though her feelings and comfort mattered to him more than his own needs did.

She had never received such respect from a man before. After what happened with Gabe, she had believed that men only cared about themselves and would never consider what women felt, until she got to know Desmond.

He pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I will not force you to do anything else either."

She nodded to his promise, which meant the world to her.

"You didn't tell me about yourself." She looked at him curiously as their fingers interlocked.

"What do you want to know? You already know about my family." He raised an eyebrow, wondering if she had something specific to ask about.

"How did you meet Natalie?" She asked, making him chuckle.

"That's not what I expected you to ask." He confessed. He had thought that she would ask about his love life, since she had just talked about hers. If not, he thought she would ask about confusing facts like how his grandmother was not part of his sister's farewell service and neither was his grandmother. He thought she would ask about his family or personal life, but Natalie was not one of his guesses. Was she perhaps jealous of her? He stifled a chuckle when he remembered how she snapped at him after Natalie's visit to Preston and Fort Group.

"Well?" She probed to get his mind away from what he was thinking. She was curious about his love life too, but although he had told her the truth behind the rumor about him switching girlfriends more frequently than he changed his clothes, she didn't think she was ready to hear it. What if she heard something that broke her heart?

He smiled at her attempt to run away from his past, and he didn't blame her. "Natalie and I were both in Annoix Academy."

"You were in Annoix Academy?" She was baffled. She had heard about the school before, which was famed to be a school for the wealthy. It was only natural that only the insanely rich could afford the astronomical tuition fees. However, it wasn't only wealth that mattered. The student had to be smart as well, which made it more difficult for anyone to secure a position.

Desmond nodded. He didn't want to go to Annoix Academy and wanted to go to a regular school instead, but he had to because his father wanted to hold onto his pride, rejoicing in the fact that his son had secured the highly sought position. Now that he thought about it, Marchal didn't love him—at least not in the ways that other men loved their sons. All he loved was the looks of envy he received from his friends for having a man as smart as him, and he had to keep entertaining those friends so he would not let his father down. Just the thought of it made him baffled at the fact that he never retaliated.

"I cried about it but eventually had to go to Annoix, where my father claimed was the best place for. I was the new student and had trouble getting along with the others. Natalie was my first friend in school."

She listened to him and was puzzled. "Then you two were really destined to be friends."

Otherwise, they would have long fallen in love with each other especially since they had such a beautiful past. "If I see Natalie, I will thank her again."

"Why?" He laughed, not comprehending her words.

"She didn't fall in love with a perfect man like you and let me have the golden chance." She smiled, and he tapped her nose.

"She thinks the only handsome man in the world is Devonte." She jokingly scorned Natalie's taste. "That, and the fact that we were destined. My father joked about betrothing me to Aunt Lucy's child if it turned out to be a girl, and you did."

She listened to him and frowned as she shifted her position to look at him clearly. "You knew my mum that closely?"

He nodded, making her understand why Lucy sounded like he knew Desmond in the past.

He teased her with a laugh. "What a coincidence that even though they didn't introduce us to each other as kids, we grew up and met under different circumstances which led to us falling in love."

"It's a beautiful coincidence." She had to admit. Though she wondered what their relationship would be like if they met in the past. Would they still be the same?

She couldn't help wondering how they would treat each other. She no longer believed in non-relatives treating each other as siblings so she would probably only see him as a friend, the same way she saw Ryan. And if they fell in love with each other or if it turned out to be one-sided, their friendship might just be destroyed like what happened with Ryan.

She closed her eyes for a second. Why did she suddenly think about Ryan at such a time? She was just starting to forget about him. Her eyes drooped. How could she easily forget about the man she had once treasured? He was once her best friend and it wasn't that she no longer treasured him, she was just unable to reciprocate his amorous feelings. She couldn't be with him against her will just to protect their friendship as it would be unfair to both of them. Not to mention, she had a boyfriend now.

"Did I say something wrong?" He carefully asked, noticing that she suddenly looked sad.

She shook her head. "No, it's just…" She didn't want to talk about another man right now so she shook her head. "I just thought about what would happen if I were to lose you."

"You will always have me." He promised and kissed her knuckles, pulling her closer to himself so he would hug her.

_

Meanwhile, Ryan was spending yet another night at Grand View Hospital.

Nina was having trouble falling asleep and it had something to do with how sad she felt lately. The doctors did not recommend giving her sleeping pills and neither did he want to ask for it, because it would gradually weaken her health if she were to take too many pills.

He stayed by her bedside and read her different stories which she barely listened to, and he couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you sad because of Zaria?" He eventually asked the question he had been avoiding.

She looked sadder even though she didn't say a word, and he took it for a yes. The girl thought of Zaria as the closest thing to a sister she could ever have, having known her for the better part of her fragile life.

Ryan took her small hands in his to soothe her. "But you have to know that everyone has their life. Eventually, they have to leave and live their lives which we are not part of." He didn't know whether the words were for his sister or himself, but they saddened him as much as they saddened Nina. He had been losing sleep too.

Only he knew how much he loved Zaria, how much he had been longing to have her beside him. He knew that she had suffered a trauma before so he remained her friend and waited for the right time to confess his feelings.

Who would have thought that while he waited, a self-centred, arrogant CEO would swoop in and steal her heart in one fell swoop?

While he, the man who had loved her for much longer than she could imagine, got shoved to the sidelines like he didn't matter.

He looked down at his sister who looked even sadder after what he had said, and patted her head.

"I told you, Nina. Only I am permanent. And that's only because I'm your brother. Other people have no obligation to be your friends—it is totally up to them whether they want to stay or leave. Do you understand?"

She nodded.

He hated to tell her the harsh truth so bluntly but it was the only way to extinguish her hope that Zaria would return. At least knowing that Zaria owed her nothing made the girl sleep, but he was restless.

Was it too late for him and Zaria? Was there really nothing he could do to win her back?

___

AN

Which team are you? Team Desmond or Team Ryan?