The hug had lasted for about two minutes, which frankly, made her feel like she had just did a mistake serious enough to be illegal knowing that, by that time, he was probably already married.

She should've pushed him away, but she didn't, for almost the whole time she was in his arms, she was thinking of pushing him away, yet still, she didn't had enough power and control over herself to do so.

And, Vernon. He shouldn't have even been in close proximity with her and done it in the first place, right?

Liv's shoulders were moving up and down by how breathless she was, even if they have already broken the hug from about three seconds ago, she could still feel her heart trying to break her ribcage by how fast it was pounding.

"To set a few things straight with you.", He started, and hell was she so nerve-wracked by how unpredictable his next words were going to be. She just genuinely wish that it wasn't something like he was going to ask her to be his mistress. . or something like that. "I'm not married.", He stated, with a tone as if it was something normal to say after he had literally told it right to her face two years ago.

She instantly glanced up to look at him, her face bewildered. "Wait, what?", She was having second thoughts, and she wasn't sure if she could trust her ears at that moment.

"You seemed so tensed the whole time, so I was thinking that perhaps it was the marriage that I told you about, with Cath.", He explained, but it wasn't what Liv was looking for.

At that point, she couldn't take how perplexed her mind was. "What I meant was, why are you not married? When you are suppose to be by now."

She didn't expect herself to sound as if she had actually wanted him to be married and was disappointed that he wasn't.

Perhaps, it was just because she was completely baffled. Quite frankly, she was way more alright with him not married to anyone, like, she was devasted and had tons of regrets after finding out two years ago that he said he was going to.

"I called it off, about two months before our wedding."

The words he told her at that café two years ago went straight inside her mind, that from then, Vernon and her supposed to be wife, Cath, were going to get married in less than two months.

"What? No. You did just not— look, Vernon, if this is about you and me. . you were just probably confused that day and. . you weren't sure about it."

Vernon shook his head, and she wasn't really sure about what he meant by it.

"I only wanted to marry her again because my parents highly agreed of her, and after you left, I didn't think much about whoever am I going to get married with. It was so stupid that I regret even telling it to you. I shouldn't have acted so careless, and do know that it's not about the marriage with Cath that I called off that I did out of confusion, it's the decision of marrying her.", He breathed out, as if he had already taken a part of what has been weighing on him. "If I could turn back time, I should've waited for that day that we met again two years ago, that way, today and everything else would've turned out differently.", His smile was bitter. He appeared relived, yet at the same time, he had many regrets, so many of them for the record.

He could've chosen nothing and no one but her, yet he settled for someone else just because she still wasn't there.

Liv froze on her spot, and she felt like her heart did as well. She wasn't at all at ease that her heart wasn't beating uncontrollably anymore, but instead, it was a nauseous feeling that she couldn't feel something alive in her.

"But. .", How can there be always nothing for her to say. She wanted to tell him so many things, she wanted to rant to him, but when it comes to him and his presence, her lips are sealed.

"If you're going to tell me to go back to her and be with her again, I'm not going to.", He said, his voice deep, his tone ever so serious. "If you're going to run away again for the third time thinking that I'm going to end up happily married with her, that's not going to happen.", He took one step forward. "Even if you do choose to leave and we won't get to see each other again, I won't settle with anyone anymore. Do know that I'm not going to repeat the same mistake again.", He placed his forefinger on her chin and gently lifted it for her to meet his eyes. "Are you?"

She cleared her throat. She opened her mouth, but soon closed it when she, unfortunately, couldn't find any words to say.

He leaned his face closer to her, by every second, cutting the gap between them. It was totally unplanned, he only had wanted to see into her eyes, yet when his eyes scrolled down to her lips, he just couldn't resist.

"I won't. .", She said under her breath. And it made him stop from whatever he was trying to do, but she was much too late, his lips would be against hers by one last lean.

"You won't, what?", He said teasingly, his voice low and boy was so attractive. By the movement of his lips, it had a microscopic distance until his lips could almost brush hers. And the way how she felt his warm breath on her lower lip, it was the final thing to leave her have shivers all over her body.

". . repeat the same mistake again.", She said, quick but was almost as quiet as a whisper.

A smirk swiftly made it's way on his lips. The way she talked, the way she looked and the way she acted, it made him feel like all the time that he spent waiting for her was nothing.

He leaned in and pressed his lips on hers, smiling in the process as his hands trailed down to her back, making sure she would never, ever, run away again.

As far as fate could go, Vernon happened to be booked on the same hotel as her. And it got her into thinking that their chances of running into each other on a daily basis is as high as Mount Everest, possibly more higher.

But, oh well, after finding out that he actually didn't marry, and all those words he told her at the park, mostly about how she's forever going to be his choice, she couldn't make room for doubts anymore.

Perhaps those two years of them being on their own was enough time and space for them to know the right choices to make and not being able to repeat the same mistake all over again.

It took a lot of spirit and contemplations for Liv to ask Vernon if he could come over to her hotel room later at night, yet she still successfully did after they parted ways at the hallway infront of Liv's room door.

She could've let him in when he was already there, but the room wasn't still organized and she was a hundred percent sure that her friend was still there watching over her son.

From the moment he made her feel assured that they were never going to part again, on that day, she just wanted him to meet Leon. There was no point of dragging the moment of him finally meeting his son. She felt miserable enough for keeping Leon from him for more than two years.

She spent the rest of the afternoon tidying the place up. Her friend left when it was already sundown, and whilst she was seated on the kitchen counter, waiting for Vernon to arrive, she was also looking after Leon who was entertaining himself on the bed from where she was seated.

At some point, her heart once again started to beat uncontrollably fast as soon as she heard a few knocks from the door which she presumed was from Vernon.

Glancing back at Leon for the last time, making sure that he was still on the middle side of the bed, away from the probability of falling, only then she let herself have Leon out of her sight.

She hurried to the door and opened it to see Vernon standing there with a paper bag on one of his hand.

"Hi.", She greeted, nervously that is, knowing that any moment now, when he gets inside, he'll see Leon on the bed which she knows will completely baffle him.

He lifted the paper bag that was on his grip. "I brought dinner."

It was still only six, and typical dinner happens at about eight, but who cares, that could only mean that he was going to stay there more longer.

Liv welcomed Vernon in and made him walk first to the kitchen as she closed the door.

She was getting so anxious by every second. Perhaps it was better for Vernon to know sooner and just say 'here goes nothing.' than waiting for him to notice that there was a toddler on the bed.

The bed from the kitchen had a bit of a distance so it would take a few look around to notice every corner of the room.

Vernon placed the paper bag on the kitchen counter before turning sideways to stare at her walking towards the kitchen.

She would fidget the hem of her shirt, draw her lower lip between her teeth, she appeared nervous and he didn't fail to be aware of it. "Are you alright?", He asked, his brows lifting in worry.

There was really no point of dragging it, and so, heaving a deep sigh. "There's someone that I'd like you to meet.", She took a couple of steps closer to him and held his hand.

She was about to lead him to the bed, but Leon already beat her to it when he whimpered for her. "Mommy?"

Vernon, almost immediately, turned around and tend his eyes to where that whiny voice came from. He took a second to stare at Leon, and back to Liv with the exact look that she has been expecting.

Vernon instantly had a lot of things going on inside his mind and there was no way he was going to sort it all out on his own unless he hears Liv's explanations.

She felt so awful towards him, yet "I. . I'm sorry.", was the only words she could say, and somehow, with how anxious she sounded and how guilty she looked, Vernon had a slight idea of a possibility.

If the way how he interpreted her guilt was right, then he believed that there could be a possibility that, that child was something more to him.