You knew it wouldn't last. But it was nice for a while. Thanks for making me feel what's it like to have a real friend. Thanks for caring. Thanks for everything, Alexander. Have a good life. – Emma

Alexander looked up, his jaw clenching, and on cue, Delilah raised her hands in surrender. "Don't shoot the messenger."

"Where is she going?" He grumbled.

"I don't know, she didn't want to tell me."

"But you took her to a bus station. You didn't see the destination?"

"I was too busy trying to convince her to stay." Delilah sighed, dropping onto the couch. "She's so stubborn."

Alexander didn't reply. It took him less than a minute to mature the decision that might potentially wreck everything he'd worked so hard for. He stood up abruptly, surprising his sister, and put on his leather jacket. "A woman named Nancy will come knocking," he said as he grabbed his keys, "she'll fix everything."

"Fix what?" Delilah followed him to the door. "Where are you going?"

"I'll get in touch when I can."

"For being a fugitive, you sure don't know how a GPS signal works."

The moment she heard his voice coming from the bus seat next to her, Emma's heart fluttered, but she masked it behind a deep sigh. "Once a stalker, always a stalker, huh?"

Alexander sat beside her on the bus. "Come on, you know smartphones make it terribly easy."

"Is that supposed to justify you?"

He scoffed, keeping his hands on his legs to avoid doing something rash, like grabbing her, pulling her into him, and begging her not to ever leave again. "The only justification I have for following you, is the one you won't listen to."

Emma sighed, turning her head to the window. "I hoped you would understand."

"Understand what, exactly?" He wondered. "That you ran away the moment I told you-"

"No." She cut him off. "You did not tell me what you think you told me. Less than less did you tell me what you wanted to. Because it's not real."

"You know I-"

"No." Emma argued stubbornly. "No, I don't know, and you don't either. You're still in time to drop off, the bus hasn't left yet." She knew it would take way more than her cold shoulder to make him change his mind after he'd driven all the way from New York to Connecticut just to stop her, but she had to try.

Alexander stared at her for a long moment, thinking it over. He could have picked a better place and time, but he had no choice. Hence, he grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn around, so that he could look straight into her eyes when he declared: "I love you, Emma Hudson. Whether you like it or not. I didn't choose to, I just do. And you need to come to terms with it, as well as with the fact that I won't give up on you, you stubborn, thick-headed, impossible woman."

She closed her eyes, a sharp pain erupting through her ribs the exact moment those words reached her ears. Emma forced every single tear to hold back, because she ought to remain true to her decision, the sincerity of his confession could not make her waver. Hence, she turned back to the window, muttering: "That's not even my real name."

He grabbed her chin, to make her turn again. "That's not the right answer, don't you think?"

"Alexander ..." she sighed, her heart racing.

"I don't care if your name is Emma or Marie Antoinette or Bloody Mary. I know there are many things I don't know about you, but that's the whole point, don't you see?" He moved a bit closer, enough to touch her forehead with his. "I don't care who you were, Emma, or what you've done. I just love you. Plain and simple. Your past is not my concern, your future is my privilege. So, you can either run, knowing I will keep on chasing you; or you can just accept that you're not alone in this fucked up world, because there's someone that cares deeply for you and wants you, no, needs you by his side." He paused for a moment. "That someone is me, by the way."

"Awww ..." the people on the bus cooed.

Alexander ignored them. He wouldn't have wanted to do it in public, he knew she hated this kind of thing, but there was no changing the odds at this point. He ought to follow his heart, no matter the certainty that Nancy would make him pay dearly for this.

For her part, Emma took a deep, shaky breath. Her heart thumped within her ribcage, trying to coerce her into saying it loud and clear, being honest for once. But she couldn't. She closed her eyes, stray tears streaming her cheeks as she freed herself. She was starting to hyperventilate. "Move." She said.

Taken aback, Alexander did as asked, and watched her head to the exit. Amazed yet happy, he followed her as she stepped off the bus and retrieved her baggage. Had his heartfelt confession worked? How was it possible? He'd prepared to another rejection, he'd never expected her to accept.

Emma grabbed her suitcase, and walked straight to his car, then waited. "Take me home."

"Yes, I'm still in New York," Alexander lied on the phone to his parole officer, winking at Emma. "No, I just fell asleep, didn't hear it ring." He went on. "Did she confirm it? All good then. Okay, see you next week." He chuckled. "Yeah, I will." Then he hung up.

"You're a born liar, huh?" Emma observed, bringing her knees up to her chest, to lean her chin on them after having hugged them. She'd walked fast from the bus stop to the first motel she'd found, hoping he wouldn't keep up, but of course, he was way too determined to let her go.

He shrugged, throwing the phone onto the bed, where she was sitting up against the headboard. "Comes with practice."

"You didn't tell me you were on parole." She commented, not really looking at him.

"I didn't tell you a lot of things," he sighed, going to sit beside her, "and maybe it's time that I do."

Emma hid her face behind her knees. "Why did she cover for you?" She asked. "She knows, doesn't she?"

Alexander sighed. "Yeah. I'm sorry I lied, but I was trying to find a way to ... tell you everything."

"What makes you think I want to know?"

"The fact that you're still here."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You forced my hand." She grumbled. "I had to get off that bus, you were making a scene."

He leaned in, caressing her cheek. "Don't women like that? A public, theatrical love declaration. Isn't that the epitome of romantic?"

"It was embarrassing."

He chuckled, pecking her lips. "Well, it brought us here, at least."

"We can't stay."

"The next check is in 3 days, we have some time." Alexander pointed out. "I'm on my last year and I've kept a perfectly clean record ... they're pretty lax, you know."

"What about Nancy?"

He tensed up, but didn't lose his good mood. "She covered for me, you heard."

"But she won't keep it that way for long."

Alexander moved closer to her. "Maybe it's time you hear the full story about me and Nancy."

Emma pursed her lips, pondering. Did she really need to? "Can't be worse than it is."

He sighed, then lay down. "What if I told you that, there is no relationship?"

She arched an eyebrow. "What?"

Alexander covered his eyes with his arm, not really keen on digging up the ancient past. "I told you I went to prison, didn't I?"

"And that's how you two met?"

"Parricide." He said, without moving nor letting any emotion transpire through his words. "It's when you kill your father. It's not just first-degree murder, it's willful murder of a person you're not supposed to turn against." His jaw clenched the slightest. "Not even when he beats your mother to a pulp every other day and in the end kills her."

Emma would have wanted to do or say something, but she felt like she couldn't move. Her eyes fixated on his lying frame – it was easier to stare at him now that he couldn't see it. "The phoenix." She said, as if suddenly realizing. "It's ..."

"No, it's not her." Alexander replied briefly. He turned to lie on his stomach, so that she could clearly see it – even though she hadn't forgotten a single line of it, she never could. "Touch it."

"Are you sure? Last time ..."

"I know. Touch it."

Uncertain, Emma extended her hand to brush the burning phoenix tattoo on his back. He flinched a bit, especially because her hands were semi-cold, but didn't pull back. Emma traced every line of the tattoo, and, as much certain as she'd been the first time, she was now: there was something underneath it. "This ..."

"When I was 16, he tried to set me on fire." Alexander explained in a flat tone. "I got lucky, but the scar on the shoulder remained."

"So you covered it."

"Not immediately. It wasn't for aesthetic reasons." He turned on his back again, this time looking at her. "He kicked me out. I wouldn't have left, I was my mother and sister's only defense, but my mom insisted." He closed his eyes, a stray tear streaming his cheek. "He killed her not long after."

Emma's heart skipped a few beats and she unconsciously grabbed his hand, squeezing it. Words weren't her strong suit, but with that simple gesture he would know what she would have wanted to say. In fact, he cracked a small smile, gladly entangling their fingers and welcoming her when she lay down beside him.

It was one of the things he loved about her the most. She seemed cold and unfeeling, but in the end, she felt way more than she would ever show, in every sense. She wasn't used to expressing emotions in words, but her actions spoke way louder. That's how he was sure she felt the same as he did. The word love scared her, but she felt, he knew she did.

Alexander cracked a small smile, kissing her forehead when she hugged his side, leaving her head on his chest, her arm draped over his torso. "He got 7 years, but was out after 3 and a half." The next part would be harsh to digest, even though she knew the general lines – he was well aware.

Hence, Alexander brought Emma closer, as if silently hoping she wouldn't run away again. "When I heard about that, I went to our old place, grabbed his old rifle, and waited for him. When he walked through the door, I shot him."

Emma squirmed a bit, not for the violence of the act and the lack of repentance, but for the simple fact that, the more she learned, the most she saw a different Alexander. One she should have been scared of, yet she felt closer to him.

Their crimes were hugely different, but, she was now sure, he could understand her more than she'd ever thought possible. In a way, he could even be inspiring: he'd turned his life around, making something out of himself despite his past.

"The point was," Alexander went on, not wanting her to think about his crime too much, afraid she'd decide she could not spend her life with a murderer, "I went to prison for that. It was a pretty straightforward sentence. I got 25 years to life. Then, about 6 years later, while I'm peacefully serving my time, at the same time getting the education I'd missed out on, this young lawyer comes to see me."

"Nancy." Emma whispered, as if needing to remind both of them who she was.

He nodded against her forehead, hugging her tighter. "Nancy." He confirmed. He feared the moment Emma would learn about the whole ordeal with his alleged girlfriend, but it was necessary. At the very least, it would mean she wouldn't run away torn by her good heart. Alexander took a deep breath. "Remember I said things between me and her aren't what you think?"

"If you owe her for saving you, it's even worse." Emma mentioned, yet unmoving.

"But that's the thing, it's not that simple."

"No?" She frowned, looking up at him for a moment.

"Nancy overturned my sentence, yes." He confirmed. "She managed to drop it down from first degree murder to manslaughter, going from 25 to life, to 9 years. And because I'd already served 6, I only had 3 more to go, which she made sure were on parole. All this in less than 4 months. I have no idea how she managed, honestly, but I'll always be grateful for this."

Emma opened her mouth to say something about their current predicament, and how cheating on her wasn't exactly a great sign of gratitude, but he swiftly covered her mouth before she could go on. "Grateful for giving me back my freedom, but the truth is, she didn't give it, she bought it."

"Bought it?"

"Well, basically yeah." Alexander said, slowly removing the hand from her mouth. She was too taken aback to say anything. "That day, when she came to see me in prison, we made a deal." He said, feeling nervous. "You see, Nancy is only child of a ... very prominent family. The Dorseys have been high level lawyers for generations, her grandmother legit broke barriers in a time when women were allowed very little." He paused, thinking of those rare moments when he and Nancy had actually been close. "And because she did tough stuff, she demanded a lot of her only granddaughter."

"What do you mean?" Emma furrowed her brows, confused.

"It means that the condition for Nancy to get her family money is that she follows her grandmother's footsteps. More specifically, it's all in 3 milestones: becoming associate of a prominent law firm, because no, she didn't get a shortcut to the family firm; becoming partner by the age of 28, which was the big promotion she is lined up to get in a few months – I'm sure she told you about it."

Emma nodded, remembering the way Nancy talked about this big event. It was one of the few times when she sounded ... genuine, no hiding behind words. Emma remembered being truly excited for the woman she'd deemed her friend up until a couple of days ago. That woman had now full knowledge of her past, and every hour she felt like she was on borrowed time. If Nancy knew where they were right now ...

"Well, the third milestone is a relationship." Alexander continued.

"What?" Emma gasped for the first time since his revelation had started.

"Yeah. Ms. Dorsey was adamant on that. Nancy needs to prove she is able to combine career and private life without having to either give up on one or leave an unbalanced life that focused only on one of the two." Alexander explained. "On principle, it's doable, for sure, many people do it. But at the pace her grandmother wanted Nancy to follow, it's nearly impossible." He sighed. "That's where I come in."

Emma pulled back for the first time, marveled. "You're telling me that your relationship with her was all ..."

"Fake." He admitted. "Or ... not the dreamy romance we made everyone believe."

"I don't understand," Emma stood from the bed, confused and disappointed, feeling betrayed even, "you ... all this time, we ..."

Alexander sighed, knowing this would come. "I'm sorry," he stood as well, "I couldn't tell anyone. Or rather, I couldn't ... I didn't know how to tell you, of all people."

She glanced at him, arms crossed over her chest. "Why me of all people?"

He sighed, walking over to her. "Technically, I'm sworn to secrecy about all this. But ... also technically, you are part of this deal."

"What?"

"Well, you see, when we met, I ... we hated each other, remember?" He let himself smile the slightest, hoping she'd follow, but she didn't. Emma remained impassive, and he feared she would once again put up those walls he was trying to desperately to breach through.

Alexander went to her, and despite her slight resistances, he pulled her into his arms, encircling her waist. The fact that she didn't move seemed promising, he thought. "Nancy realized before me that I ... that I had an interest in you." He went on. "So, she offered me an amendment to our deal."

"What kind of amendment?" Emma asked, albeit somewhat aware of what he was talking about.

"Well, the deal didn't mention anything about-uh ... sex. Nothing forbade us to sleep together, but nothing forced us either. We were supposed to be a couple only on paper – you know, all those stories she told you, too, probably, about how romantic I was, and all those dates we had ... all fake."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Alexander cleared his throat, afraid to disclose the next part. He sat at the edge of the bed, making her follow him, sit on his lap. Emma squirmed a bit, uneasy with the revelation he was clearly hesitant to admit. She straddled him, hands over his shoulders. "It was about us, wasn't it? The amendment." She spoke for him. "It ... allowed you to sleep with me."

"Basically, yes." He admitted, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry," he said, searching her eyes, "I ... I guess I did use you, at first."

"Were you allowed to have other women?"

He blinked his eyes, surprised, not because she seemed understanding, but because she clearly had read between the lines. "No," he shook his head, lowering it after, "no, it was ... well, her side of the amendment allowed her to sleep with whomever; my side ..." he caressed Emma's cheek, smiling slightly, "my side was only about you."

"Me?" She repeated, more to confirm than to understand.

Alexander's smile widened as his heart beat somewhat faster. "There was something about you I couldn't quite shake off. And when Nancy mentioned the amendment, I thought ... I thought it would be a chance to get to know you better. But stuff happened, and ..."

"So, you didn't use me." Emma rubbed the back of his head, her face inching closer to his. "And if you did, it was mutual."

"Mutual?" He chuckled slightly. "I was only a piece of meat to you? Wow."

She pressed her lips, wanting to say the whole truth, yet unable to. "You're a Lucifer tempting Eve, remember?"

Alexander grinned, then kissed her. Much to his surprise, Emma not only deepened the kiss, but she pushed him on his back, taking initiative for the very first time. Maybe there was hope yet, after all. Maybe together they could really get through the storm that was coming.