Chapter 26: Chapter 26

"So, did you get it?" Liam asked as he sipped on the glass of Martel Cole poured for him.

"Get what?" Cole asked.

"Stop playing innocent, Cole. You know what I'm talking about. Did you get the hair strand from Tris for the DNA test?"

"No," he said and sipped his own glass of alcohol.

Liam couldn't help but groan in frustration. He was tired of his friend's stubbornness.

"I thought we agreed that you were going to get it on your way back from the park? What happened?"

"I told you I'd do it another time, Liam-"

"You can't afford to have another time, Cole! Why can't you understand that?! Do you want to lose everything you've worked so hard to get, all because of a connection? Do you have any idea what will happen to you of the mother of that child finds out that her son has been involving himself with a stranger without her consent? Do you know what you stand to lose?" Liam questioned.

"I know, Liam. I do have an idea, but I just want to see him one more time before I get the hair strand. I... I know that boy is my son."

"There you again," Liam raised his hands and let them fall in frustration.

"I can't help it, Liam. I've tried to stop myself for talking to Tris, but I see myself do it over and over, each meeting being better that than the previous. This is too much of a coincidence for us to just look alike," Cole argued.

"No one is arguing that with you, Cole. All I ask is for you to be sure of your assumption, and need to do it as soon as possible! It's risky enough that you're sneaking a boy out of the confines of his school. If you get caught, you will not be redeemed"

"I hear you, buddy. I'll make sure I get his hair next time we see. I promise that. Are you okay with it now?" Cole teased.

Liam sighed as he began drinking his Martel again.

"So how about you?"

"What about me?"

From the corner of Liam's eyes, he could see the mischievous smile on Cole's face.

"What about the girl you didn't want us to talk about, the last time I visited your office?"

Liam sighed and for a moment, he considered not giving him a reply, but he couldn't help it.

"So there's this girl-"

"I knew it! I knew there was a girl in your life - you just didn't want to admit it! Who's she? What's her name?" Cole questioned with a freshly rekindled attention.

"Her name is Amy. She's the same girl I talked about when we were in high school. The same girl that helped me get my grades up"

"Wait a minute... That Amy?! The one whose features you wanted to rotten my ears with?" Cole teased.

"That too much, Cole," Liam rolled his eyes.

But was it?

He vividly remembered how he talked about Amy for hours on end. If it wasn't about how smart she was, it was about how beautiful she was.

Unfortunately, Cole didn't have the opportunity to meet her because he was trying to solve his matter with Shantel.

Or rather, run away from it.

Liam said so much about her, that Cole had a vivid image of what she looked like. Liam talked about how she wouldn't accept any food from him, despite the fact that she hadn't had anything for the day.

Cole couldn't help but wonder how a poor nerd managed to capture his heart like this, but Liam always argued in her defense that she was different from the other girls. She was real. She never faked her feeling. Plus, he owed her his life, for helping him get his grades up.

Cole remembered when Liam told him days before their mating party that he was going to ask her on a proper date after graduation.

But somehow, he never saw her again after graduation party.

"So after seven years, you finally get to meet her again? Isn't the Moon Goddess wonderful?" Cole clasped his hands together in an overdramatic way, and Liam couldn't help but laugh at his friend's funny gesture.

"So how did you guys meet again? And where's she now?" He asked.

"Funny story. So I almost hit her with my car on my way to work, some weeks ago. She was mad initially, but on seeing me her mood changed immediately. We were happy to see each other. We talked and I found out she was actually looking for a job in my company, so I gave her job there on the spot"

"Wait... So she's working in your company now?"

"As my secretary, yes,"

"So how come I haven't seen her?"

"You'll see her later. There's still time."

"And have you asked her out on a date?"

"Well, no"

"And why is that?"

"I don't want to rush things, or scare her. I don't know how she's about dating me. Hell, I wasn't even sure if she liked me back in highschool. The last thing I want to is to make things awkward between us, you understand?"

"And other hand, you'll never know if she actually has feelings for you if you never ask-"

"I forgot to add that she now has a son,"

"What?!"

"You heard me right. Some days ago, she asked for a leave because her son was missing. Thankfully, he was later found,"

"Is she a single mum, or she's an actual wife? Is the father of the boy still in her life?"

"I'm not even sure. I haven't asked, and I don't want to ask personal questions,"

"Still, that's not enough excuse to not follow your heart. You still need to ask her. The worst that can happen is for you to find out she's married. So what? Big loss, but you move on. For a girl that made you fall so hard in love in highschool, you better go after her. You need to make sure you don't mess it up, now that the Moon Goddess has brought you both together. She might be the one to take you off the streets, bro,"

"That's enough from you, Cole," Liam laughed his head off at his friend's enthusiasm.

He got away from the mini bar and found his way to the living and settled on the sofa.

"Where's the remote?" He muttered rhetorically, his eyes scanning for it.

He finally found it on the edge of another sofa and picked it.

He settled down and switched on the TV, only for him to see Shantel on the screen.