Emily let out a snort. "If you keep going on about this, I'm really going to get annoyed—and then I won't answer any of your questions at all."

Tristan parted his lips, his voice a little rough. “Emily."

She replied, "Yeah?"

He looked down, his voice barely audible. "...Did you ever have feelings for him?"

The question had been eating Tristan alive, haunting his days and keeping him wide awake at night. He was desperate-almost to the point of madness-to know if Emily and Andrew Lane had ever been more than just family friends. Had their relationship ever crossed that line?

Emily was silent for a moment, not giving him an answer.

Tristan could feel his heart sinking, a tightness gripping his throat. He could hardly breathe.

Then, after a pause, he heard Emily's answer as clear as day.

In that moment, Tristan almost wished his hearing wasn't so sharp-wished he couldn't make out her words.

But he'd asked the question. No matter how much it hurt, he needed to know.

Emily said, "Yes."

Tristan felt his heart plummet, hitting rock bottom.

He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat. He just stared at Emily, dumbfounded, for what felt like an eternity.

The truth he'd been dreading was now undeniable.

After a long silence, Tristan forced a smile. "...Is that so? Then did you two ever—?”

"No," Emily cut him off, her tone crisp and certain. "Nothing happened between us. We never dated, never crossed that line. Liking him was just something from the past. You don't need to overthink it."

Tristan tried to play it off, joking weakly. "Well, that's a relief. At least he didn't get the upper hand."

The silence in the car grew heavier. Tristan wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel or what kind of expression to wear.

Every time he thought about Emily having feelings for Andrew-even just for a while —about the years she'd spent with the Lanes, about all the things that happened between them, things he'd never know and didn't want to know... it drove him crazy with jealousy.

He wished none of it had ever happened.

But he couldn't deny that the Lanes had helped Emily a lot in those years, had given her a kind of support that was real, no matter how things fell apart later. And that made it all the more frustrating.

Emily managed a small smile. "What's with that look? You look like you just lost your soul."

Tristan gazed at her, his eyes dark and shadowed with a sadness he tried to hide. Emily blinked, a little taken aback.

Why did he look like this?

She frowned slightly. "Tristan, what's wrong with you?"

He took a breath, and just like that, the sadness vanished. He flashed his usual cocky grin and said, half joking, half serious, "I'm just thinking you've got terrible taste. You could fall for Andrew Lane, but you can't even see a handsome guy like me standing right in front of you."

Emily rolled her eyes, speechless.

There it was—Tristan being Tristan. As infuriating and impossible as ever.

She couldn't believe she'd actually been worried.

Emily shot him a glare, then turned and got out of the car.

Suddenly, Tristan grabbed her wrist, his voice a little rushed. "Where are you going?"

She sighed. “The car broke down. I'm going to check it out. What did you think, that I was running away?"

Tristan could still see Andrew Lane standing nearby in his peripheral vision. “I'lI come with you," he said.

Emily pulled her wrist free. "Suit yourself."

As she turned away, Tristan couldn't help glancing quickly in Andrew's direction.

Andrew was still standing there.

The car was parked right in front of him, the restaurant valet had already opened the door, but Andrew hadn't moved to go inside. He was still watching them.