Angela and Clark were in the middle of an emotional conversation when the doorbell suddenly rang.
They froze, falling into a heavy silence. No one moved or spoke. They both felt a deep, nerve-wracking tension fill the room.
"Do you think... it's him?" Angela asked in a shaky, uncertain voice, her tone trembling with confusion.
Clark glanced briefly at the door before turning back to her, a forced smile tugging at his lips. "I don't know... but maybe."
This moment mattered to Clark, but he couldn't leave Angela in that state. He stood up and left the room, while Angela tried to hold back her tears.
"Just stay here, wait for me," he told her gently.
Angela couldn't stay still. Her heart was racing, a tightness in her chest growing worse with every second Clark was away. She tried to calm herself, but it was no use. She closed her eyes even though sleep was far from her mind.
Minutes felt like hours. Still, Clark didn't return. She stood up, looked toward the door, waiting for any sound of his return. But there was none. The silence was deafening.
Should she go check? But she didn't want to see what she feared might be waiting there. She took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that if it really was Darius outside, Clark would've come back by now to tell her.
Eventually, drowsiness crept in. She didn't even realize she was nodding off until sleep completely took over—unaware that outside, Clark was in a serious conversation with her cousin Dylan.
Clark's brows were furrowed as he stared at Dylan. He knew there had to be a serious reason for this unexpected visit.
"Why do you want to talk to me without Angela knowing?" Clark asked, his voice tinged with irritation and concern.
Dylan sighed deeply. "I know you've been watching over her closely, Clark. And I also know it's because you've loved her long before either of you admitted it."
Clark clenched his jaw but said nothing.
Dylan continued, his tone heavy. "I'm not here to go against you. Honestly, I'm grateful. I know you're the reason she was able to find herself again after everything. And I don't blame you for keeping her from them... But the time has come for her to face it."
Clark's expression hardened. "What do you mean?"
"Kitty. Lance. And Darius. They want to talk to Angela. I know it won't be easy, but... we can't deny her this chance. I don't know how she'll feel or if she can handle it, but she needs to know. And you're the first one who'll know if she's ready or not."
Clark stayed silent, his mind racing. A part of him wanted to say no, but he knew Dylan was right. They couldn't protect Angela from her past forever.
Dylan saw the shift in Clark's face and added, "Don't worry. If Angela doesn't want to, we won't force her. But we want to give her the chance. And only you can help her decide if she's ready."
Clark exhaled, thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Alright. But if she can't handle it—"
"I know," Dylan cut in. "And I completely respect that."
They stayed outside the apartment for a while longer, trying to talk normally despite the weight of the conversation. In the end, they decided to go inside, and there they found Angela—already fast asleep.
They exchanged a silent look. Neither of them said anything. It wasn't the right time to wake her to the reality she would soon have to face.
***
Meanwhile, in a room far from them, Kitty was still sobbing. She couldn't calm herself after hearing the whole story from Dylan.
Lance sat beside her quietly, but the weight of what they had just learned was written all over his face. They stayed silent for a long time, both absorbing the pain of the past and the questions that remained unanswered.
"I didn't know... I never imagined she went through all that... I don't even have the right to be angry at her or resent her all these years," Kitty whispered, clutching her husband's hand tightly.
"If I had only known, I wouldn't have let her disappear from my life like that... Aunt... Uncle... Gelo—they're all gone. I didn't even get to see them in their final moments..."
Lance remained silent; eyes filled with sadness as he looked at his wife. "She's still important to you, isn't she?"
Kitty nodded, tears flowing again. "So much. I can't accept that while we were happy, she was... she was—"
Lance closed his eyes, pained by the sound of her voice. "We'll face her. We'll talk to her. If she agrees."
"What if she doesn't?"
"You know Gel isn't like that. She's always been understanding. Wasn't she even more mature than my cousin Darius back then?"
Lance still couldn't believe everything they had learned. It felt like a scene out of a drama series—but it wasn't. It happened to someone who meant the world to them.
He looked at Kitty, who was now quietly hugging herself, fighting back emotions she had been holding in. This woman—his wife now—once considered Angela her sister. And Angela? She was the reason they even ended up together. If it weren't for their friendship with her, he might never have had the courage to confess his feelings to Kitty. Without Angela, they might not be where they were now.
Lance suddenly smiled, remembering that night—the night he almost lost control because of one small, mischievous plan of Angela's.
"Babe, remember?" he broke the silence. "Gel was the reason we finally had the guts to confess to each other."
Kitty paused, then slowly nodded. "Yeah," she said softly.
"If it wasn't for her trick of getting us drunk, we wouldn't have admitted we liked each other."
Lance sighed. It had been a while since he saw even a hint of a smile on his wife's face, even though her eyes were still swollen from crying.
"Darius told me about it after we got together. I couldn't believe Gel had a mischievous side."
They both laughed, their laughter tinged with longing. But the sadness returned to Kitty's eyes.
"It hurts, babe..." she whispered. "She's the reason we're here now, and yet she's the one who's not..."
Lance's chest tightened again as he looked at his wife. He gently held her hand and gave it a light squeeze.
"Babe... even if she's not here, we know she's happy for us. And when she finds out we're married, I'm sure she'll be thrilled." He paused, then smiled a little. "Especially when she learns she's going to be godmother to baby number two."
Kitty jerked in surprise and immediately elbowed him.
"Ow!" Lance winced.
"Oh my gosh, you're unbelievable! We were having a beautiful moment, and then you had to say something like that?"
"Come on, babe! If I could carry the baby, I would!" Lance joked sweetly.
Kitty rolled her eyes. She knew he wasn't really joking. Her first pregnancy had been difficult—twelve hours of labor, full of fear and pain.
After that, she told him she didn't want to go through it again. But Lance's parents didn't agree. They wanted more grandchildren, so even if Kitty didn't want the exhaustion, they'd take their child whenever they missed their grandkid.
Lance grinned. "Just reminding you, babe... my mom only booked us that second honeymoon because they want baby number two. So, even if our Europe tour got shortened..." He glanced at her with a cheeky smile. "Maybe we can have a made-in-San-Francisco baby?"
Kitty rolled her eyes again, but this time, she let out a quiet laugh. Somehow, even in the middle of grief and longing, they still found moments to laugh and reminisce. And maybe, even though Angela wasn't with them now, she wouldn't want to see them drowning in sadness. If she were there, she'd probably be the first to crack a joke.
And for the first time since that night, Kitty breathed a little easier.