Hi, again! I am flattered about the amount of followers my story is having right now. I never imagined so many people would find it! Thank you for the comments, too. I appreciate them dearly.

I hope you like this chapter!

It was dark outside when Andy finally stepped inside her empty apartment. Nate was long gone but it didn't really bother her anymore. At first she had felt weird and hollow but figured it was just because she was used to the company Nate provided. If there was something she missed, it was the feeling of someone else being there with you. What she didn't miss was the long nights listening to Nate being shitty about Miranda. Those moments, they were torture to Andy. She always wanted nothing more than to defend Miranda with all that she had but knew it would not end well.

Things had changed between her and Nate already long before Paris but after that there was literally no longer "them" left. Not that Andy minded. She had seen a totally new, different and beautiful side of Miranda in Paris and she hadn't been able to think of anything else than her boss. Not a thing.

Then it all had became too pressuring, too hard to handle, too heavy to even think of and that's why she had walked away. She had walked away from the woman she thought of as the love of her life but just hadn't had the strength to take the final step and take the cab to the airport. She had returned after a couple of hours sitting in a café. She had needed to regain control of herself because there had been no way she had wanted to go back being the mess she had been.

When she had finally showed up at Miranda's suite, it was odd. She had knocked, waited patiently until Miranda opened the door and was truly, honestly surprised at what she saw. It had seemed like Miranda had released a breath she had been holding. She had also looked crushed. Her eyes had been red-rimmed and it had looked like she had been crying - not that Andy hadn't. She had been pretty sure they mirrored each other's expressions and that was the moment when everything had changed between them.

"Miranda" was the only thing she had gotten out of her mouth.

The older woman had stared at her with wide eyes. After a while of just looking at Andy there had been a flicker of something Andy thought was relief. She had given Andy a subtle nod and had closed the door. That had been it.

When they came back to New York, it was like she never went away... It was more like she had stayed in more ways than one and when she thought about it, that's exactly how it was. Miranda was even more of an open book to her. She would alway be a complex to Andy, that she was sure of, but she felt like she had really started to get to know her boss better after that trip that could've turned out horribly. Miranda was sweeter and less colder. Andy felt like she bothered the others more than she did her... For example Emily still worked her ass off after that lapse she had had before the Paris Fashion Week.

Andy couldn't remember the last time she had been feeling so happy. Yes, things were really foggy and weird between her and Miranda but the fact that she could be close to her made her feel content in a way she couldn't think was even possible. She wanted more than just the occasional glances and touches and what happened at the office but still, she felt like those things combined was a start of something amazing. She could sense it.

"God, the office..." she murmured to herself, burying herself in her thoughts while walking to her bedroom. She still couldn't believe that what happened was real and still kind of doubted it. It felt almost too perfect... Wasn't it supposed to be hard? Even just a little?

She crawled under the covers and tried to think of something else than the perfect woman she worked for but couldn't even form an idea of thinking something else when her phone buzzed. It was a call from Miranda which made her pick up instantly.

"Hi, lovely" she said in a quiet voice.

"Andrea... This, it needs to stop" said Miranda in a voice at least as quiet as Andy's but it held a different tone to it. It took Andy completely off-guard. Miranda sounded almost panicked.

"Bu-but, what happened?" Andy was confused. Hadn't Miranda been thanking her at the office and it for sure had sounded sincere. Was it just some post-coital blabbering?

"We just... I can't let this go any further. What happened at the office, it shouldn't have. I shouldn't have. Neither should have you. I'm thankful and I really do feel more alive than I've felt in a very long time and it feels so good being myself in a prensence of someone I am fond of. But I can't do this to you. It can't happen. We can't happen."

Andy didn't know what to say. She felt pain in every part of her body. It was like a major shock to her existence.

Miranda was definitely blabbering now which was so out of character for her it would have been funny if the situation wasn't what it was. Andy had been waiting for this "talk" and had been going crazy over Miranda not saying anything on the subject but now that it was there...

"Andrea? Please, say something..." No answer. "God, I can't believe that I'm talking to you like this. That we're even having this conversation. I just, I just want the best for you, Andrea. You need to understand. I care about you, a great deal. I have seen how you look at me at the office. At first I didn't want to understand what your looks meant but when they grew more intense I, I didn't have a choice. I had to accept them. I had been trying to ignore them and instead just be nicer to you and... I think I even let my guard down for you. I'm not saying you took advantage but of course this happened. What did I expect? A friendship? My God..."

"What if you are the best for me?" Andy finally abruptly asked. That left another silence hanging in the air, but this time it was Miranda who wasn't talking. "What if you are? You obviously feel something for me and you know that I have feelings for you so what is it that's keeping you from this? Is it that guy? It thought you weren't with him anymore-"

"Stop it, Andrea. Stop. You don't understand. Sweetheart... I can't ruin your life. I'm old, you are in the most amazing age. I'm not beautiful anymore. You need someone who can be there for you after many, many years. You deserve better than me. I just... I am sorry. I also think you should leave your notice not later than tomorrow. After all this we can not work together. I will, of course, write you a recommendation letter which will get you any writing position you desire." Nearer the end of the sentence Miranda's voice got a little strength and she sounded like the boss again. "And just so you know... I'm not with him. I never was. He was just there so I could be seen with someone" she added.

Andy was dumbfounded. She heard every word Miranda uttered but wanted to keep them outside of her consciousness. Instead she just wrapped the covers around her tighter and squeezed her eyes shut while letting the tears fall.

"Good night, Andrea." The phone went off.

Andy wanted to sleep and to just forget all this but forgetting Miranda was not exactly an easy thing to do for anyone. Instead she just laid in her bed, stared at the ceiling and wondered how something so amazing could turn into a disaster in such a short time.

It was only a couple of hours ago that she was getting up from Miranda's desk with Miranda herself, thinking how cheesy and cliché it must have looked like. But she didn't care! She couldn't have cared less. She loved Miranda, or at least thought she did. The feelings she had couldn't be described with anything less than that. She was in love and knowing that Miranda shared her feelings even in the slightest way but didn't act on them, made her incredibly devasted. She felt so anxious, like her chest was going to explode but this time, not in a good way.

She felt defeated. Like there was no power in the world except Miranda's that could get her up and make her happy again.

The last thought she had before falling asleep at 2 a.m. was Miranda in the car, touching her cheek and the word "sweetheart" said by Miranda echoing in her head.

Oh, and this chapter is definitely not the last one. Reviews make me happy!