17. The Truth

Three months have passed since the nightclub debacle and Emily has been dodging all Elizabeth's calls. She hoped that August didn't disclose what had happened that morning. She felt guilty enough already.

It was this particular afternoon after trying to call her again, that Elizabeth had enough and threw her phone down in frustration. Just then, Liza walks in.

"Everything okay, Liz?" She asks warily and walks into the office.

Elizabeth looks at her, exasperation clearly written all over her face. "It's Emily. She's been dodging my calls since the night we all went out and I don't know what I did wrong." Elizabeth hangs her head. 

After a minute passes and Liza not responding, she Feels a weird atmosphere between them, Elizabeth looks at Liza, whose head hung in shame and realizes, "But she's been talking to you..." 

Liza looks at her with guilt and nods. "But it's not what you think, Lizzy." She starts, but Elizabeth stops her. "I don't think I want to hear it." Now she realizes what Emily meant that night she was drunk.

"No! It's not like that, Lizzy! Please just hear me out." Elizabeth looks at Liza's admittance with sadness in her eyes.

Her best friend. And Emily.

"Em has been dying to call you after that night but she didn't want the Dereons to figure out that she was out with you that night because she didn't want to lose you as a friend or them to attack your business." Liza finishes off.

"And in that time you two have been getting close, " Elizabeth says and Liza nods. Disgusted at her best friend's behavior, she says "How could you two do this, Liza? Emily is engaged to be married in three months time!" She says while viciously running her fingers through her hair, frustrated at Emily and Liza as well as getting angry at her stupid mistake of kissing August Dereon.

Liza looks at her with tears threatening to fall.

 "Lizzy, you were right about Emily. She is miserable and lonely. But that's because she doesn't love August!" Liza continues and Elizabeth looks up at the mention of August's name. "She's gay, Lizzy!" Liza exclaims. Elizabeth looks at her with shock as she continues, "And her father promised her to the Dereons after she came out to them, making sure that she'll give them an heir one way or another." Liza finishes off.

Elizabeth takes all this in, and suddenly Emily's drunken muttering made sense. Why she and August were sleeping in separate rooms became clear. They didn't love one another, it was a business transaction between families.

That's why August kissed her.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth says, "I can't believe this. I thought August told her... Nevermind, I wished you guys would have told me sooner. I wouldn't be this unproductive ball of stress if you did." She finishes off, but Liza already caught on.

"What would August have to do with this?" Liza asks, and Elizabeth bites her bottom lip on guilt while looking down.

"Lizzy?! What are you talking about??"

Elizabeth looks at Liza with tears in her eyes. "That morning I left Emily's house, I met up with August in their kitchen. He was talking about my name and Libellule not getting mentioned to his family after the scandal in the online. I got so frustrated, I walked out. He caught up with me at my car... And he kissed me..." Elizabeth finishes and looks at Liza, who looks surprised. "The worst part is that I kissed him back! I've felt so guilty ever since, I've been calling to tell her, but she hasn't been answering." Liza goes to her and hugs her.

"Lizzy, Emily doesn't love August, August doesn't love her either," Elizabeth remembers Emily saying that when she was drunk, but now it all makes sense. "Em won't be mad at you. But our situations are anything but happy. They're fated to marry to keep their family's businesses going. So Emily and I are doomed anyway." Liza ends off sadly, with a miserable smile. And with that, she walks out of the office.

Elizabeth sits and processes the information just given to her. She picks up her phone, finger ready to dial Emily again when there's a knock at her office door.

"Come in, " she responds. Looking up from her phone, her heart skips a beat at the person standing there.

It was August.