"Ha!...Ha.Ha." Miles rolled his eyes, eyes that, until recently, I found irresistible. "Do you expect me to believe you are ditching me for him?"

"Yes," I said, tightening my grip on Rob's arm. 

"Sorry, mate, but I'm not buying that. And if you think I will let you go without a fight, you are deluding yourself! Listen,"—he wet his lips—"if this is about me cheating on you, trust me, it was not my fault; I was drugged. Moreover, what we have is special. We love each other."

My heart felt caged, suffocating me. Miles was special. I owed him my life, but seeing him in throes of passion with first Derick and then Liam had broken my trust. Our bond lay in ruins. "Yes, what we had, or rather, did not have, was special. And, yes, we did love each other, but my love for you has faded."

"Then,"—Miles took a step towards me—"for the sake of what we had, the least you can do is give me a chance to prove my love to you." His eyes searched mine, pleading...hopeful.

Watching Miles try to convince me to get back with him, warmed my heart, just for a moment, but then I recalled his betrayal and my heart turned cold again. Anger washed over me. I wanted him to pay for hurting me. It was at this moment that it occurred to me that if I played my cards right, I could kill two birds with one stone.

Letting go of Rob's arm, I moved to stand between them. "You are right, a part of me is not over you"—my eyes darted between my men—"yet."

"Mick, he doesn't deserve another chance."

I shook my head and placed my finger on Rob's bow lips; letting it linger there for a second or two more than necessary, I spoke to Miles. "So, I have decided to give you one last chance." I glanced at my guardian next. "And Rob, since your confession, you haven't done anything to prove your love to me. Yes, I like you a lot, but you know me; don't you? I love physical declarations of feelings. Let's be honest, you are the most emotionally constipated person I know. If you truly want me, you have to prove it."

Rob's eyes widened. I had never seen such a comical expression on his face; it was like he was ordered to solve the hidden mysteries of the universe, and he was failing miserably at it. "I don't follow," he said, cocking his head like a child who had no clue why his parents had stopped fighting and were suddenly glaring at him. 

"Give it some thought. You will come up with something; I am sure," I said, smiling encouragingly at Rob. Yes, I was enjoying it more than I should, or had any right to; and yes, I was also ignoring the elephant in the room, aka, the cryptic text I had received barely a couple of hours ago followed by Rob's confession about not being my brother-in-law. From where I stood, it seemed highly improbable that he wasn't the man I had trusted since I was fifteen. I couldn't help but think that someone had put him up to it. Whoever or whatever it was, I was not ready to poke it yet. Thus, for now (at least), he was Rob. 

"As for you, Miles, believe it or not, I am tired. There are official matters I need to discuss with Rob. So please excuse us. I will see you at dinner."

My almost-ex threw a seductive smile my way. "I will hold you to it, hun. See you at dinner. Adios."

With that, Miles left, leaving behind awkwardness hanging heavy in the air. 

Rob fixed me with a calculating gaze. "What was that all about?"

I plopped my ass down on my favorite beanbag. "I want to torture him. God knows he has wronged me more times than I can count. I want him to woo me. I want him to beg me to take him back. Don't worry; I am not taking him back. I really have moved on. But I need your help."

"And how would I do that?" Rob asked, perplexed. "You are not going to ask me to compete with him in some weird-ass contest, are you?"

I shrugged. "Welllll…"

"Oh my God, you are. Fuck!"

"Hey, no need to react like that." I had to convince him. He needed to believe that his actions would be worth it. "Moreover, you always say that Miles is a terrible influence on me. Won't it make your life easier if you don't have to worry about Miles being around me? All I am saying is that it's a win-win for both of us." 

Rob resorted to silence: his best friend. But his face wasn't devoid of emotions like usual. He was definitely giving what I had said some serious thought. And after what felt like hours, he said, "Okay. I will cooperate, but you have to give me your word that you will not go back to him."

"Fantastic!" I twirled where I stood. "I am never going back to Miles, I promise."

Rob smiled. It was one of his rare, gentle ones usually reserved for Freya, his daughter and my favorite niece. 

Niece… The thought of her made me think of Maria. She was the best. Best daughter, best mother, best sister, and best wife… Rob's wife. 

For a moment, I thought about what I was planning to do. Was it morally wrong? It would have been if Maria were still with us. But it had been six years since her passing, and not once, in all that time, had Rob brought anyone home. Was he still in love with Maria? "Rob?"

"Mn?"

"Do you ever think about Maria?"

Rob avoided my gaze; leaving an exasperated breath, he said, "No. I don't. We have had this conversation before, Mick. The only memories I have are the ones I made with you and Freya after I returned… no, wait… I really need to talk to you."

"Can we please not do that today? Please?" I begged, realizing why I was avoiding talking about the message I had received in the morning. If it turned out that he was not Rob, there was a chance he would leave me. I couldn't let that happen, not after what I had felt last night with him pressing me down on the sheets and kissing me until I was out of breath. Every inch of me he had touched and the way we fit like two pieces of a puzzle was a memory imprinted on my mind. 

Rob's cold hand on my forehead brought me back to the present. "You look flushed. But you don't seem to have a fever." He glanced at the dining table and frowned. "You haven't had a chance to eat anything." Shaking his head, he pulled me to the table and sat me down, taking the seat in front of me. "It's almost lunchtime. Why don't you eat something till I order lunch?"

Activating his nanny mode, Rob nodded appreciably at the spread and started piling up my plate with my favorite fruits, just like Rob used to before the accident. 

Why are you saying that you are not him, Rob!? 

After getting lunch out of the way, Rob stepped out. Though I wasn't showing it, the fact that neither of us was able to contact my father or anyone at the Carlton mansion was worrying me. Uncle had visited us and informed us that he had received a fax from my father asking him to take care of us. It had taken quite a bit of lying to convince him that there was no need for him to take the message seriously. After he had left, I wondered about the day I had had so far and what was with Dad sending a fax…a freaking fax. In this day and age, who uses it anymore to send messages? It was not like there was no reception at Lamo.

"My phone is beyond saving, and it will take a minimum of twenty-four hours to get the SIM working again." Rob plopped down next to me on the smaller beanbag.

Great, more bad news!

"I haven't spoken to Freya since yesterday. I hope she isn't worried… or worrying Mrs. Carlton."

"You don't think something happened at home, do you?" I voiced my thoughts. "It has never happened that we couldn't contact them."

Rob's brows furrowed. He bit his lips and shook his head. "To be honest, at first that thought crossed my mind, but if you think about it practically, a man like Mr. Carlton can always find a way to let us know that he is in trouble. He hasn't done that yet. It makes me wonder if he is maintaining radio silence on purpose."

That could very well be the reason. Why hadn't it occurred to me? Anyway, I felt more relieved now versus when Uncle Vas informed me that he had failed to contact my father. "That has to be it," I said, checking my phone for the nth time in the past hour. With my mind now relatively at ease, the day's exertion caught up with me, and I let out a loud, obnoxious yawn. 

"Boss, why don't you take a small nap?" Raising himself to his feet, Rob held his hand out to me. 

Bobbing my head, I accepted his offer. 

"By the way, thanks for saving me from Mr. Vas," Rob said with downturned lips. "He is Freya’s granddad. I should—"

"Don't mention it. I don't blame you for not wanting to be around him. You guys have nothing in common, at least, not anymore. And he has hardly made an effort to be in Freya's life. If anything, he avoids her. I don't know why…" It bothered me that Uncle B never tried to bridge the gap Maria's death had created between them. 

'Thanks for understanding."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Don't mention it." I climbed into my bed and patted the side next to me. "Now come here." 

"Why?" Rob's eyes darted between the pristine white sheet and my face. 

"Because, my dear friend, in a few hours you will be competing with Miles to win my affection, and I don't want you to fall flat on your face and embarrass yourself."

Rob stepped away from the bed instead of hopping into it next to me. "But you said you won't go back to him."

"I won't, but he doesn't know that, does he? He needs to believe that he lost, or he will keep showing up in front of me and try to get into my pants."

Rob gulped. Sweat broke out on his temple, and a single oh of realization left his lips. 

*****
[Chapter word count: 1832]