Louis didn't like asking for help.
Especially not for something like this.
But here he was..standing in Raphael's room, arms crossed, looking like a man who had just walked into the wrong meeting.
Raphael glanced up from his phone.
"…You look like you swallowed a problem."
Lewis, sprawled lazily across the couch, didn't even look surprised.
"No," he said casually, "that's not just any problem face."
He finally sat up, eyes narrowing playfully.
"That's a WOMAN problem."
Louis shot him a look.
"Watch your mouth."
Lewis grinned wider.
"Confirmed."
Raphael leaned back, folding his arms.
"…So? What happened?"
Louis hesitated.
That alone...
Made both of them exchange a look.
Lewis gasped dramatically.
"Oh my God...this is serious."
Louis exhaled slowly.
"I just need… advice."
Lewis immediately burst out laughing.
"YOU? Asking for advice?"
Raphael smirked slightly.
"This I have to hear."
Louis rubbed his temple, already regretting this.
"I shouldn't have come here."
"Too late," Lewis said, leaning forward. "Start talking."
A pause.
Then Louis said it..
Carefully.
Measured.
"…Things are different now."
Raphael raised a brow.
"With you and Tabitha?"
He didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Lewis's eyes widened.
Then slowly..
A wicked smile spread across his face.
"Wait…"
He sat up straighter.
"No way…"
He pointed at Louis like he had just solved a mystery.
"You finally..."
"Finish that sentence and I'll kill you"
Lewis didn't stop.
"You consummated the marriage, didn't you?"
Silence.
Raphael blinked.
Then looked at Louis again.
"…You did?"
Louis looked away.
And that..
Was confirmation.
Lewis jumped to his feet.
"OH MY GOD!"
He started pacing like he had just won a bet.
"This is history! Someone write this down!"
Louis groaned.
"Sit down."
"No! This deserves celebration!"
Raphael chuckled under his breath.
"About time."
Louis shot him a glare.
"You too?"
Raphael shrugged.
"You've been married how long?"
"That's not the point."
"It kind of is."
Lewis leaned closer again, still grinning.
"So how was it?"
Louis stood up immediately.
"I'm leaving."
"Okay, okay!" Lewis raised his hands, still laughing. "Relax!"
Raphael stepped in, calmer.
"Alright. Jokes aside."
He looked at Louis properly now.
"…Why are you here?"
Louis paused.
Then spoke more quietly.
"I don't know what to do next."
That..
Surprised them.
Lewis tilted his head slightly.
"…You're serious."
Louis nodded once.
"She's… different."
Raphael smirked slightly.
"Or maybe you're just noticing now."
Louis ignored that.
"I don't want to mess it up."
Silence.
That line..
Was real.
Lewis exchanged a quick glance with Raphael.
Then dropped the teasing… a little.
"Okay," he said, sitting back down. "First of all...don't overthink it."
Raphael nodded.
"Yeah. Just… don't go back to how you used to be."
Louis frowned slightly.
"I wasn't that bad."
Both of them stared at him.
Unimpressed.
"…You were," they said in unison.
Lewis continued,
"You ignored her. Kept your distance. Acted like she didn't exist half the time."
Raphael added,
"And now suddenly you care."
Louis didn't argue.
Because...
They weren't wrong.
"So what do I do?" he asked again.
Lewis leaned back, thinking.
Then snapped his fingers.
"Easy."
Louis raised a brow.
"Take her out."
"…Out?"
"Yes. Romantic dinner."
Raphael nodded.
"Somewhere nice. Private. No distractions."
Lewis added quickly,
"Or shopping. Girls love that."
Raphael scoffed.
"Not all girls."
"Most girls."
Louis looked unconvinced.
"…What if she refuses?"
Lewis smirked.
"Then don't give her the option."
Raphael chuckled.
"He means ask properly. Not like you're giving orders."
Lewis pointed at him.
"Yes. That."
Then he leaned closer again.
"Or…"
His grin returned.
"Go big."
Louis narrowed his eyes.
"…Define big."
"Honeymoon."
Silence.
Raphael blinked.
"…That's actually not a bad idea."
Lewis nodded proudly.
"Thank you."
Louis looked between both of them.
"A honeymoon?"
Raphael shrugged.
"You never had one."
Lewis added,
"And now you actually like each other. Perfect timing."
Louis looked thoughtful.
"…She might not agree."
Lewis smirked.
"She will."
"How do you know?"
"Because you're finally going to try."
A pause.
Then...
Raphael added more seriously,
"And don't just do grand things."
Louis looked at him.
"It's the small things too."
"…Like?"
Raphael shrugged.
"Pay attention. Listen. Show up."
Lewis nodded.
"And gifts."
Raphael sighed.
"Not everything is gifts."
"It helps!"
Louis let out a quiet breath.
Taking it all in.
Then...
"…Alright."
Lewis grinned.
"That's my brother."
Raphael smirked slightly.
"Just don't mess it up."
Louis turned to leave.
Then paused at the door.
"…And don't tell people."
Lewis raised his hands innocently.
"I won't say anything!"
Raphael muttered,
" He's lying"
Louis shook his head slightly.
But as he walked away..
There was something new in his expression.
Not confusion.
Not frustration.
Something clearer.
Like he finally had a direction.
And for once..
He was actually going to try.
Jemima sat quietly in the lounge, the house unusually calm for once.
Her phone rested in her hand, screen glowing faintly.
She had opened it without thinking.
Scrolled.
Paused.
Her thumb hovered… then slowly dropped.
"No," she murmured to herself.
She had the sudden urge to call Tabitha.
Or even Summer.
Just to ask.
Just to confirm.
Because something had shifted.
Not loudly.
Not obviously.
But enough for her to notice.
The way Louis carried himself this morning.
The way the tension between them had… softened
And the way Lewis was grinning after Louis left
Jemima smiled faintly.
"…So it finally happened."
Her instinct was to call.
To hear it from someone.
But she stopped herself.
If she called Tabitha, she might say too much.
If she called Summer, she would definitely know something was off.
And Jemima wasn't ready to reveal that she had already figured it out.
Not yet.
"…Let them think they're subtle."
She locked her phone, placing it gently beside her.
For once..
She would just watch.
Upstairs, Tabitha sat on the edge of the bed, absentmindedly twirling her phone in her hand.
Summer leaned against the wall, watching her.
"You've been quiet."
Tabitha hummed lightly.
"Just thinking."
Thinking… and replaying everything.
Simon's face.
His words
The way he looked at her...searching for something familiar.
And yet…
He believed her.
Or at least...
He accepted what she gave him.
A small smile tugged at her lips.
She had handled that well.
Better than expected.
Even Louis...
She had managed to turn things around with him too.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
"…You're smiling," Summer pointed out.
Tabitha snapped out of it.
"Oh...nothing."
Summer narrowed her eyes slightly.
"That doesn't look like nothing."
Tabitha shrugged casually, masking everything behind ease.
"I just realized something."
"And?"
"…I'm not as bad at handling situations as people think."
Summer raised a brow.
"That's new."
Tabitha laughed softly.
"People change."
A pause.
Then she added, more casually...
"Simon came by."
Summer straightened slightly.
"He did?"
Tabitha nodded.
"Mm."
"What did he say?"
" He said things"
" What kind of things?"
Tabitha hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Then said lightly,
"He kept saying things like I don't remember things we usually do."
Summer froze.
Just for a second.
Then sighed.
"…Oh."
That tone..
Tabitha caught it immediately.
"What?"
Summer hesitated.
"…That's because I told him."
Tabitha blinked.
"You told him what?"
"That you lost your memory."
The room went still.
Tabitha stared at her.
"…You what?"
Summer stepped closer, calm but firm.
"I didn't want him worrying."
Tabitha stood up now.
"Summer..."
"He cares about you."
"I know that!"
"Then what's the problem?"
Tabitha ran a hand through her hair, frustrated.
"The problem is...he knows"
Summer frowned.
"He would have noticed anyway."
Tabitha paused.
Because..
That part?
Was true.
She exhaled sharply.
Tabitha looked at her again.
This time more carefully.
"…You trust him."
It wasn't a question.
Summer didn't answer immediately.
And that...
Was answer enough.
Tabitha's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Why?"
Summer looked away.
"Because I know him."
"That's not enough."
"It is for me."
Tabitha crossed her arms.
"No. It's not."
A pause.
Then she stepped closer.
"Tell me everything."
Summer blinked.
"…About what?"
"About Simon."
Silence.
Summer hesitated.
But Tabitha didn't move.
Didn't back down.
"Start talking."
Summer sighed softly.
Then sat down.
"…Simon isn't what you think."
Tabitha leaned against the table, listening.
"He's not some random guy from your past."
"…Clearly."
Summer ignored the tone.
"You two were close."
Tabitha nodded slowly.
"I figured."
"But not like that."
That made Tabitha pause.
"…Explain."
Summer looked at her properly now.
"He wasn't the one you liked."
Silence.
Tabitha blinked.
"…What?"
Summer continued,
"He was the one I liked."
That...
Caught her off guard.
Completely.
"You?"
Summer gave a small, almost embarrassed smile.
"…Yeah."
Tabitha stared at her.
"Wait… then why were we always together?"
"Because of me."
Tabitha frowned.
"What?"
"You were trying to help."
Silence.
"You knew I liked him," Summer continued. "But I was too scared to say anything."
Tabitha's expression shifted slowly.
"…So I stepped in?"
Summer nodded.
"You spent time with him. Talked to him. Pulled him closer…"
A pause.
"…For me."
Tabitha let out a quiet breath.
"…Wow."
"That was the plan."
Tabitha tilted her head slightly.
"Was?"
Summer's expression dimmed a little.
"Things changed."
"How?"
A long pause.
Then...
" You got cut up in a scandal"
Silence
"...with Simon"
Tabitha fingers stilled slightly
Summer continued,
" Then after that....everything became complicated"
"You disappeared."
That word again.
Tabitha felt it.
"You started leaving without telling anyone," Summer continued softly.
"Going on trips. Coming back different."
Tabitha looked down slightly.
"…And Simon?"
"He noticed, he tried to fix things"
"And?"
"He tried to get closer."
A pause.
"…But not because of me anymore."
Silence.
Heavy.
Complicated.
So the scandal wasn't just gossip, it ruined a lot of things
Tabitha processed it slowly.
"So let me get this straight…"
She looked up again.
"You liked Simon."
Summer nodded.
"I helped you."
Another nod.
"Then everything flipped."
"…Yes."
Tabitha exhaled slowly.
"…That's messy."
Summer laughed lightly.
"You have no idea."
A pause.
Then Tabitha's expression softened slightly.
"…You still like him?"
Summer didn't answer immediately.
Then..
"…I don't know."
Tabitha watched her carefully.
"You do."
Summer shook her head.
"It's not that simple."
"It never is."
Silence.
Then...
Tabitha sighed, running a hand through her hair.
Tabitha smiled faintly.
But her mind was elsewhere.
Because now...
Things were clearer.
And more complicated.
At the same time.
"…So Simon wasn't the problem."
Summer shook her head.
"No."
Tabitha's gaze drifted slightly.
"…Everything else was."
And maybe still is.
And she had walked into all of it…
Mid-chaos.
Then she stood up, stretching lightly.
"Well… whatever it was..."
She smiled casually.
"...it's over now."
Summer looked at her for a moment.
Like she wanted to believe that.
"…I hope so."
Tabitha turned away slightly, her expression fading the moment Summer couldn't see it.
Because deep down..
She knew.
Nothing was over.
She was just…
Playing her part well enough.
For now.