"I knew you would misunderstand me. That is why I was eager to hide the truth." She tried to explain, which fell on a deaf ear. Judging by Zaria's expression, she thought that it was yet another excuse to justify what happened.

"Do you believe your own words?" Zaria smiled sarcastically. "First, you tried to sow discord between my father and I. Now you want to turn me against my brother as well? It's as though you are trying to destroy me and you expect me to believe that it is all a misunderstanding? I'm not a fool."

She frowned deeply when she remembered that at some point, Lucy was against Desmond too. "What did I ever do to you? Did I destroy your life by arriving when I shouldn't and tying you to a man you didn't love?"

"What?" Lucy was taken aback by the sudden sharp comments. "Nothing of that sort happened, honey. You are my world—the greatest gift that life gave me. I really didn't ever intend to hurt you. What will I do to make you believe me?" Lucy was out of options.

"Turn back the clock. Or get out of my sight." Zaria challenged. She knew that she was too heartless when she saw sadness flicker in Lucy's eyes but it didn't matter. She couldn't go too easy on her without knowing what her purpose was either.

Lucy took a step back. "I cannot undo what I did, but I will do my best to make it up."

She looked determined when she left the mansion.

Zaria watched her leave and when she turned back, she saw Desmond who had just left the kitchen and had an apron around his waist. He looked puzzled, making it obvious that he had heard the last part of their conversation.

"What do you think she is going to do?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I couldn't care less. She could evaporate for all that matters." She shrugged and hugged him.

"If you would like to investigate her, I can…"

"I can't." She stopped him before he could offer his help. "It's not because I know that I will find something—I mean, that too—but the main reason is that I'm afraid. I don't know what I will find."

"Then let things unfold naturally. She might decide to tell you everything as a way of making up to you. If that happens, you are not obliged to accept her if the truth is something that displeases you." He kissed the top of her head.

"Let's stop talking about her. She's ruining my mood." She closed her eyes and tried not to wonder whether she really meant anything to Lucy or if it was part of her pretence. She held Desmond tightly. "Let's talk about more important things like you. You know, I never imagined you in an apron." She chuckled as she ran a hand down his chest.

"What? You think I can't cook, Mmh?" He nibbled her ear.

"I'd have to see it to believe it." She pulled away and headed for the kitchen, not believing that he could even tell the difference between sugar and salt.

When she arrived at the kitchen, she had to shut her eyes for a second to take in what she was seeing.

"Desmond?"

"It's perfect, right?" He rushed over to receive the praise he thought he was going to receive.

She was too stunned to say a word. She glanced at a dish with a raised eyebrow.

"Braised beef. I noticed that you prefer it to pork so I made some. Would you like to have a taste?" He joyously explained.

She shook her head. It didn't look like braised beef—or anything edible.

"And what's that?" She pointed at what looked like lumps of coal.

"Broccoli. It got slightly burned but it's still edible, right?" He nervously looked at her.

She facepalmed. "Have you ever cooked before?"

"Just a moment ago." He realized that the dishes were much worse than he expected, so he looked deflated.

She ignored the mess in the kitchen and turned to wrap her arms around his neck. "At least you look good in an apron. Besides, you tried your best to cook for me even though it is your first time. It means a lot, my love."

Although he had made a mess, at least he got a kiss for it so he smiled happily.

"I'm sure it doesn't taste that bad." She picked a fork to have a taste of the braised beef which made her immediately grab a glass and pour herself water to drink.

"Let's just order take out." He rubbed his hair in embarrassment. "The kitchen will be cleaned up in an instant."

…

Lucy took deep breaths to calm herself down when she left Desmond's mansion. She had expected this. She knew that Zaria would misunderstand her and that was exactly what happened.

How in the world was one supposed to turn back the clock? It was impossible. Was staying away from her really the only option left?

A thought suddenly crossed her mind. Perhaps Zaria didn't mean that she should literally turn back the clock? What if she meant that she should make up for the mistakes she made in the past? That was not entirely impossible…

_

F&P Media, the following day.

"Boss, there's a woman here to see you. Her surname is Roatta." Theodore's assistant reported.

Theodore frowned and his hand paused halfway through his signature on a document. Roatta? There was only one woman he knew who had that surname. But it was impossible, right? What would his ex-wife want from him?

She must be here to seek trouble with him, and he knew that she would merely look for him again if she didn't straight up barge in. He ran a hand down his face in exhaustion. "Let her in."

The woman came in within a minute. She looked unhappy—as expected—but the slap he was waiting for did not arrive. She merely stared down at him.

"What do you want?" He asked in annoyance.

"We need to talk." She breathed.

"I'm not in the mood to." He opened another document to read and ignored her, but he couldn't concentrate on work. All that filled his mind was the woman in his office. Why wasn't she causing a scene yet?

When he didn't feel any movement for a while, he looked up curiously.

"For the record, I'm only doing this for Zaria." She leaned against the wall with a glare. She would have long run out of patience if she wasn't trying to make up for the mistakes she made that were now tearing Zaria away from her.

"And you expect me to do as you say just because you asked." He laughed. Was she insane? He raised an eyebrow and ended up shaking his head. "You are no longer the old Lucy—or so you say. What a coincidence, I'm not the old Theodore either. The man who would do anything just to put a smile on your face has long been buried along with our wedding rings."

She shut her eyes for an instant. She didn't ask for that, okay!

"I'm sorry." She stated.

He frowned in surprise at what he had just heard. Was he dreaming? He looked up at her for confirmation. "What did you say?"

With her personality, he expected her to roll her eyes and stomp away. However, for some reason, she took a deep breath and went through with it. "I just apologized for hurting you."

Having confirmed that he had heard her right, he stood and closed in on her.

"When, Lucy?" He asked, pressing a hand against the wall to trap her. "When you made my remaining family estranged to me? When you threw away what we had? Or when you tried to turn my daughter against me?" He paused and waited for her reaction. Why was she still here even though he was pushing her buttons? Why was she enduring it?

"It's for the accident." She finally answered, trying not to punch a debt through his face. It's for Zaria, she convinced herself and restored her smile.

It took a moment for Theodore to understand what accident she was referring to. He frowned when he realized that there was only one accident she should be sorry for.

He let out a snicker. "Then you have a lot to be sorry for, Lucy. What about my heart that you broke? Are you sorry for that too?" He pushed.

"I did what I had to. Let go of me now, will you?" She demanded, running out of patience.

He noted how tightly her teeth were gritted to swallow down her anger. He smiled down at her. "You're amazing at putting on an act, aren't you. Pretending to be a weak, pitiful woman now, huh? Are you going to cry to Zaria and blame me for bullying you?"

She shoved him out of her way with a glare and stomped out of his office.

Watching her receding back, he burst into laughter. She hadn't changed in the slightest bit.