It was the stroke of 2 in the morning. The sky was gray with a hint of blue, unleashing the cold, crisp air to freshen the outer world. Emma looked out the window, and watched the glass fog up from the cold.

She still couldn't sleep. But she was relieved that Killian was still sound asleep. He often stirred a couple times between his soft snoring, but he never released her body from his arms, as if he's afraid someone might steal her away.

She closed her eyes a hundredth time once more and counted sheep in her head in hopes that'll help her fall asleep. But everything she did so far seems to be ineffective.

Perhaps she's jet-lagged from the long journey to London, traveling was new to her so it was understandable. Or perhaps she had a little too much to drink at that cruise and never detected it was too much of her to drink so much champagne. Or could it..could it be she is afraid of Neal's intentions of his mysterious return as much as Killian does?

She burst open her eyes and shook her head, abandoning the idea of counting any more sheep.

Maybe warm milk will help.

Emma grabbed Killian's wrists and slowly, ever so carefully, pulled them apart that gave her the advantage to get off the bed. By the time, her feet touched the floor, she placed his arms down and headed toward the door to exit the room.

~ It was nearly impossible to find her way down to the kitchen. She had to take a few laps around the first floor to memorize any objects that can help her remember which ways to go in order to return back to Killian's bedroom. After a few minutes of struggle, she trusted herself to remember enough, and headed to the east wing to find the stairs. When the stairway was fortunately there as she hoped for, she silently tiptoed down the stairway.

Finding the kitchen turned out not to be as difficult as finding the stairway. As she entered the massive place, she tiptoed toward the refrigerator and opened the right door open as quietly as possible. She found a pitcher of milk in the first shelf. She grabbed it by the handle and removed it.

While she poured a right amount into a small pot that sits on the stove behind her, she turned the gas on and allowed it to sit. The approximate time for it to boil will take only a few minutes. She pulled out an available stool and sat down near the stove.

Killian can't come with me on Monday. I have to go visit Milah alone. As for Neal, huh I'll deal with him later. I just wonder when these boys will man up and talk it out. Avoiding one another will only make things worse.

The worst scenario that can't leave Emma's mind is how everything will turn out when she visits Milah for the first time. It will be understandable if there will ever be any yelling and lashing for her. But the primary fear that Emma cannot bravely take in is how Milah looks now - eyes looking exhausted and bloodshot, her body thin and pale and her free curls all tangled up in a mess.

Never have she ever been in such a delicate situation as this. Relationships was, after all, the one obstacle she successfully avoided after Neal. With Neal, things were most highly stereotypical: he was a friend and a comforter to her who made her laugh, cry, and love. But the youth always ends like the blowing away the small flame on the wick of a candle. She was too traumatize to even please both her education and her boyfriend, so she made the decision to at least end one of those two which was Neal. She missed me from time to time for they never kept in touch. The fact she saw her dear friend at last, in the most inconvenient moment, it was wonderful to see him doing well, but painfully horrible that not only did she break the heart of another woman yet her own son as well.

Emma hoped things go smoothly in time. All she wanted was a little happiness of her and Killian in hopes their relationship will grow. But happiness and such beautiful peace are impossible for them.

The milk at last come to a slight boil. Emma stood from her stool and walked over to it. She turned off the stove and picked the pot up by its long handle. She walked to her left and opened the cabinet from above her head to fish out a cup. When she found one, she picked one up and carefully poured the milk slowly into the cup. As she got enough of it in, she placed the pot down on the stove and returned to her stool to sip on her warm milk.

But before she had the chance to sit down, a vibration started in the pocket of her dress.

She frowned. She reached her hand into her pocket and removed an unfamiliar phone. It was not hers and there is unfamiliar number written on the screen. But she decided to still answer it. She clicked the screen to answer and placed it against her ear.

"H-Hello? Who is this?"

"Still awake, little Madonna?"

"Neal? How did this phone get in my pocket? Does this belong to you?"

"I slipped it in your pocket without you knowing."

"Why? Is there something you have to tell me?"

"Yes, actually. Are you in your room?"

"No, I'm in the kitchen."

"Perfect, come outside and meet me near the gates. I'll be waiting."

"Wh-What? You're here. What the hell are you up to? Did you follow us?"

"Don't freak out. I didn't stalk you. I came here before for a Christmas party, Killian invited me when we were in college. I just happen to remember where it is."

What is he up to? This is not good.

"Neal. Huh..." Emma rested a hand to her temple and closed her eyes. "I can't. It's very late and you should go. It's freezing outside - you'll catch a cold."

"I know. That's why I want you to come out here quickly. I came here by a cab and I paid the driver already extra tip. My wallet will go empty if you don't come out now."

"Stop paying that man and just leave. Please, Neal, just go back to the hotel, or wherever it is you're staying at. I can't leave here."

"Emma, I'm not going to leave until you come out. Just come."

"Neal. You know I won't do it."

"And you also know I'm too stubborn to do as you say. So either come out, or I'll stay here no matter what it takes until sunrise. I'm pretty sure it'll be an awkward encounter if Killian's darling mother sees me and finds out about our relationship."

Her eyes opened and her hand dropped from her temple. "Are you threatening me now?"

"I'm just adding oil to the fire in hopes you'll be persuaded to make the right decision: come out and get in the cab with me."

"Huh. Where are you taking me?"

"You'll find out when you get in the cab."

"I'm not dressed."

"I don't mind you looking sexy for me. You've done it all the time in high school."

"Well this high school bitch grew up, okay? And I haven't got the chance to change because Killian wasn't-Well, I fell asleep."

"No need to explain. I expected Jone-sy to get a little comfort out of you."

"Neal."

"Hey, explain no more. Now what's your decision? Are you coming or not?"

"Give me two minutes."

"One. And hurry."

"Asshole."

He chuckled. "Bitch."

~ The silence in the car has separate opinions from each individual. For Emma, it was undeniably uncomfortable and quite strange for her to say that since she had known him from a good amount of time. But on the other hand, for Neal, judging through his body language, his opinion in this moment is the opposite of her – he appears to be greatly comfortable and deny it to be eerie.

Emma rested the side of her head on the cold window and gripped onto her seat belt. "Where are we going, Neal? We've been in the car for nearly half an hour."

"I want to you show something. Just wait a little longer. We're almost there."

"What is in your mind, Neal?" She lifted her head up and turned to face him. "Tell me now. Please. I don't like this game you're playing with me."

"This is no game, Emma. I promise you."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"I'm doing you a favor. You say that you love Killian, that you know he's right for you. So let me reveal something about your little boyfriend before you two commit to anything serious."

"Reveal something about him? I trust Killian, Neal. He's told me everything so far about his life. What else could there be?"

"That's the thing about people, Emma. We tend to only show the positive things about our life and hide all the ugly facts hidden, wishing for them to be never revealed. Well, I've been kept in the darkness for too long. I love you, Emma. And I'm not going to let you get lured into a terrible mess anymore."

"Neal." Emma reached for his hand and claimed it with both hands. "I love you too. You know I always will. You're my friend and like my brother. But I don't need any help on this. I trust him. And if there is some kind of ugly truth behind his life then I'll understand and accept it."

"You don't understand, Emma."

"You're right I don't. But sometimes there are some things people shouldn't know about. It's the only way to live with smiles and some laughter. It may sound very strange to hear this from me, Neal, but I'm ready to accept someone in my life. What I have right now may not be serious enough like my parents were before they got engaged, or how we were. But I do love him, and I know he feels the same for me. We've risked through so much. How could either one of us give it up now?"

"And my mother? Was that worth to risk?"

"I'm so sorry. Forgiveness or anything I say can never take back for my responsibility of breaking your mother's heart. That's why I tried to avoid my feelings for Killian and move on at first. But I..I couldn't, that's why we ended up this far."

"Emma, you are too blind to see who he is."

"I am not blind. I know what I feel, Neal."

"Not your feelings, Emma. Just wait and see."

"Why not just tell me? This is no movie where the scene has to be extended so long for the most convenient timing. This is reality. Just tell me straight right out."

He smirked and stroked her chin affectionately with his other hand. "I thought you would like that way. You have been working in a movie from quite some time. I thought you would be used to this."

"Neal, please stop." She turned her head away to dodge his touch. "Please tell me this horrible secret that Killian has that you are so willing to tell me. I'm ready."

"It'll make more sense if you meet her first."

"Her? Who is 'her'?"

"The bitch you ruined."

"Be a little more specific."

"Does the name Ellie Kings ring a bell?"

"Yes. What does she have to do with anything?"

"Well, to you she maybe some bad actress making money when she gets lucky, however there is a small flaw that you don't know about."

"Another flaw?"

Neal chuckled. "You know I'm surprised you never questioned about her. Did you actually think Killian would allow a horrible girl like that to be part of his films?"

"Well, now you mentioned it, no. I always thought she had some connections with people that helped her get the part."

"She had connections alright but with only one person. Killian."

"What? That doesn't make sense. Killian can't stand her. Why would he allow his producers to hire someone like that?"

"Because there was history between them, Emma, it lasted – well, longer than anyone expected."

Her hands dropped his hand. Her eyes narrowed, gazing at his with a firm expression. "History together? You mean they were together in the past?"

"Yes, it was a complicated relationship."

"Has he been with her even after he was engaged with Milah?"

"I don't know about that. Remember I left right after I found out mom was in a relationship with him. But judging with the fact he still continued to have Ellie around, it tells me things didn't officially end between them."

"That's not true. Killian will never betray Milah."

"Perhaps he remained loyal or maybe he didn't. But really, what he done to Ellie is still inexcusable. Ellie may seem to be the bad one through everyone's eyes. But in reality, she's the victim, Emma."

"You're just confusing me."

"Ellie was the one who made Killian famous. If it wasn't for her, Killian will still be struggling to earn his fame. Ellie was simply the shortcut to get him from what he is now. I tried to stop her when I found out what she's been doing all the time, but she refused to listen to me."

"This doesn't make any sense to me. How does Ellie and Killian know each other? And how is she responsible for the triumph of his career? This is too perplexing. Please explain."

"I think it'll be better if you hear it from Ellie herself. After all, this is her story to tell, not mine."

"I don't think I can believe her. I don't even know her, only that she hates my guts for taking away her job."

Neal shook his head. "That's not all she's upset about. She also hates you for being stupid enough to end up taking her place."

"Taking her place?"

"Taking her place as the girl who brings the attention to that selfish bastard."

~ The driver pulled over in the front of a hotel. Neal stepped outside of the car and opened the door for Emma. She got out and looked straight ahead at the hotel nervously.

Neal opened his hand out for hers. "Shall we?"

She turned her gaze back at him. "Why are we in a hotel?"

He curved a coy smile and snatched her hand in a quick move. "Don't worry. I'm not going to try anything. Ellie is waiting in there."

"What a smart place to put a celebrity in. Why couldn't you think of a better place to put her in?"

"I rented the place out for tomorrow so no need to worry."

"You did? How did you afford something like that?"

"Oh yeah, did I forgot to mention I'm rich now?"

"What?"

Neal chuckled and dragged her toward the entrance. Her eyes could not leave his face and her voice could not silence. She was by far intoxicated with curiosity first with this odd history with Ellie and Killian and Neal's bizarre wealth.

But he refused to answer any questions. As they reached to the elevator, Neal had enough of the questions. He turned to face her and backed her into a corner with his torso pressed against her. He smiled, pleased that she at last silenced. His mouth neared close to her, each other's eyes locked into a close meeting.

"I missed this."

She furrowed her brows. Her hands went to his shoulder and pushed him away. "Stop playing with me."

"Then stop asking me questions."

"Well, I am curious. I can shut up if you just answer them, damn it."

"Alright, alright."

"So what do you do for a living now?"

"Well, I'm a screenplay writer for now. But the problem is I don't like my name to be revealed in the credits, so I'm more of a ghostwriter for movies."

"That's terrible."

"Not really. I get hell a lot of money for each script I write. I don't give a damn if they take my work and use it for damn movies – I need to survive, after all."

"How many movies have you worked for, exactly?"

"In total? About hmm...thirty five."

"Wow. But that's terrible of you to give credit to other screenplay writers – those scripts are your work."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I never wanted mom or dad to find me so I had to keep my whereabouts hidden, so it was necessary to continue with my career cautiously."

"Why would you hide? They're your parents."

"They both are a disappointment to me. I gave them a chance to at least live happily in separate lives, but they just had to turn that all to flames. They tried to be together; it worked out and they renewed their wedding vows. Then it all ended with mom leaving him for my friend then dad met another girl and married her after three years who just happens to be five year younger than me. Do you have any idea how mortifying that is?"

"No. No, I can't."

"I still love them, though. That's why I'm trying to start fresh. You are coming to see mom, aren't you? I already called her that I'll be visiting. It'll do her good to straighten things out with you. Besides, with me there, she'll feel a little better."

"Of course, I will come, without Killian, though. I need to face her on my own."

"Smart choice. It'll do you no good if Jone-sy comes along and ruins everything."

Ding! The doors opened.

Neal reclaimed Emma's hand exited the elevator with her. She followed him quietly as he headed down the hallway of the third floor.

"Fuck. Where is that room?" Neal mumbled to himself.

"Where is she staying at?"

"She told me she's in room 305. It should be here."

"Neal?"

Neal's eyes focused on the doors from his left to right. "Uh yeah, what's up?"

"Just out of curiosity, how did your work turn out? Were they at least good?"

"Huh, well, you know the saying that a child is so much like the parent. I seem to have proven that old saying to be accurately true."

"What do you mean? Were they really good?"

"More than good. Five of my screenplays were nominated for an Oscar and only four won for Best Screenplay. Mom has four herself so I suppose we're even now."

"Shit. Are you serious? And you never did anything about that? Neal you deserve them. Not those other writers."

"I know. I'm planning on revealing my name on that work to court by the time I get to New York. Ah!" He stopped at the door of 305. "There it is."

He knocked on the door.

"GO AWAY?! I DON'T WANT ANYONE HERE!"

Neal smiled. "That's Ellie." He whispered to Emma.

Emma only nodded.

"Ellie! It's me, Bae! Don't worry! It's just me and Madonna here!"

Emma kicked Neal in the ankles and only earned an amused chuckle from him.

"BAE! COME IN! COME IN!" Ellie shouted back.

Emma arched an eyebrow. "She seems to be very excited to have you here. Is there something going on between you two that I don't know about also?"

"Nah. Ellie just like to toy with men. She can never allow herself to take things seriously with them."

"Understandable."

He opened the door and he entered with Emma. The room was not what Emma expected, but Neal did not look too surprised. The floor was covered with clothes that are hard to identify if they're clean or not. The bed was ruined with the sheets thrown to the floor and half-eaten plates left on the center. Ellie exited out of the bathroom with a robe on and a towel wrapped heavily on her head.

"Finally, I thought you guys will never make it."

"Um. H-Hi, Ellie."

In all moments as this, the meeting of an enemy with another rival is always awkward and highly unwelcoming. But other than a nasty look or rolls of one's eyes, Ellie did not do any one them instead did an unexpected action that Emma nor did Neal expect her to do.

She approached her and pulled her into a hug. Emma gasped as the tall actress crushed her in a tight embrace. Emma frowned and mutely mouthed to Neal 'what is this?' Neal only shrugged.

As Ellie released her, she raised her head to meet her eyes with Emma.

"I'm sorry."

"P-Pardon?"

"I said I'm sorry," Ellie repeated. "I know it was hard to believe but it was – "

"Ellie." Neal interrupted. "She doesn't know yet."

"Oh. Well, have a seat then. My plane leaves in two hours, you see. So I have to leave right away."

Emma looked around her surroundings. "Shouldn't you be packing first?"

"I have a maid to do that." Ellie walked over to her bed and sat down on the center of it. "Would you rather stand?"

Emma nodded.

"Okay. First, before I start, you should see this." Ellie fished out a photograph from underneath a filthy plate. She extended her arm out for Emma to take. "This is the picture Neal took for us – it's a picture of me and Killian when we were together."

Emma took the picture and looked down at it. In the picture, Ellie and Killian are seated on a booth with two tall pints of beer placed before them on a table. He has his arms around her shoulders with the side of her head rested on his shoulder. They did absolutely look very happy.

"So you two dated before? What does this have to do with me?"

Emma handed the picture back to Ellie. Ellie took it and placed it back on the bed.

"You see, I wasn't the best girlfriend in the world. Things went rocky between us to the point he wanted to end our relationship. I was ready to hear him say 'We should end this. I can't endure this no more.' But he never did.

"During my freshman year of college, I was doing a little modeling with this photographer my mother was friends with. His name was Paul Bierre – decent photographer, not really big. But my modeling career moved onto acting with his help. One morning, after my shooting, Bierre taped me doing a little gig as this character from a book – God I don't remember what book that was; it was so long ago – but he shared that take with a friend of his who just happened to be a director. I did my first movie with him. Killian found about my opportunity to try something new, and he even came to the set on my third month of working. I was.."

Ellie paused. She arched her back and rested her forearms on her knees. Emma took a step forward as she saw tears fill in each of Ellie's eyes. Bu she stopped when Neal removed a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Ellie took it with a quiet thank you. She dried her eyes with it and took a deep breath to try again.

"...I was so stupid, so blind. I thought I loved him, I cared for him too much, I believed he wanted to be with me. Of course, he didn't really show any signs he wanted us to be together again. But I helped him anyway to experience what it's like to work in a set, even introduced him to the director...For months, I helped him and he started to give me the smallest hope our relationship can survive – he drove me home, kissed me lightly on the cheek in the mornings, and even bring me in after I finish my scenes to joke around and talk with the director.

"After some time, there was only three months of filming. This was when I introduced Killian to the writer, who just happened to be Neal's mom. His mother always left in the middle of the day so none of us ever got the chance to talk to her. So I thought it was a nice opportunity to have him meet her...When things got serious between them, I stopped taking Killian to the set. He got mad at me for that.

"Neal started to come to the set, even offered to take me there. We became fast friends – friendship was really what I needed at the time. He was a lifesaver to me. But suddenly, Killian found out who Neal was and got more close with him. They were chums after like a week and I started to see Neal bring him to the set more often.."

"How did you start working with Killian then?" Emma asked.

"I'm getting there..I dropped out of school after that, leaving me heartbroken. And I traveled to Europe with my agent, I resided in Paris ever since. But many years later, I was working as a fulltime model. I had a contract with Cover Girl, so my life was getting together then. But one day, Killian arrived to Paris and interrupted this private shooting I was doing. I don't know how the hell he got in but he did. And I was just..I don't know why I did this next but I went over to him hugged me – smiling to myself with such pathetic triumph, thinking he returned to me – and then as I released him I said hi and he responded hi back to me. Then he pulled me out and went straight to business. He offered me a job for this role in a movie he was shooting called Kingdom of Hell. I wasn't interested in returning back to acting but I accepted it anyway because I wanted to be close to him, even though I knew he was with Milah."

"Milah won an Oscar for that movie."

"I know she did. And it hurt to see him propose to her so publicly before my eyes."

Emma went near her and squatted down. "Ellie, it is unforgiveable of what Killian did. I understand that. But this is a personal matter that you should deal with him instead of hiding it. If you asked Neal to bring me all the way here so you can ask me to help you talk with Killian and figure things out, I'll be willing to do so."

"That's not it, Emma. Milah didn't win that because of her talent, just not exactly."

"What do you mean? Milah is good at what she does, that Oscar was something she earned."

"Yeah, with my help. I overheard them while we were filming. He told Milah that he'd propose if the movie ever gets nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay. She never took it seriously and Killian started to get to work. He had very good connections with people than I never realized he was capable of. It took me three whole weeks to investigate of what was going on –I hired a private detective to follow him. I was shocked when I found out the truth. Killian was campaigning for Milah's work to half the members who vote for the nominations of the Oscar. One of them just happened to be Bierre's ex-boyfriend. He told me he heard many of the members to have me in the movie then they will consider on the idea of voting for Milah."

"I never knew you were that good."

Ellie laughed bitterly. "I wasn't. It was there way of humiliating me. They saw the first film I did – it grossed only have the amount of the budget so it was not that successful. But they wanted Killian to put me there for them to be amused, to see a horrible actress in such a well-written film. I was mortified and used, but..but I fucking still loved him. I never wanted to let him go. So when he asked me to star in a few other films, I agreed. I became the monster in everyone's eyes but really, I just liked the attention Killian gave me. He would never look at me or for a moment to talk to me if I remain to be myself, so I would tell myself everyday to be a complete bitch, at least that way he looks at me and talks to me – well, more like yell at me. It's all I can get out of him."

"Ellie."

She sniffled and reclaimed both Emma's hands. "Emma, please stop seeing him. He's just not worth it. Why can't you see he's using you right now?"

"Ellie, I can't imagine of the pain you went through. But I don't believe that Killian is doing anything to hurt m-"

"He is using you. Using you, for God's sake. Have you realized his attention from the media has died down after like three months of being engaged to Milah? Now that a whole scandal erupted between you and him, the media is just blasting their attention at you two. This attention is just increasing his success, Emma. It really is."

"I trust him, though. I don't believe he's using me to get a little more attention."

"He may love you, Emma. But success is one thing he can never let go. I even heard you have at least five offers for a movie, personal offers – that doesn't happen very often for an actress who just started."

"But the film was only premiered for just a little time."

"But the offers still hold, yet they went straight to Killian since you don't have an agent. This gives him the opportunity to ally with other directors and have them on his side. This is the easiest way for him to get an Oscar, to get the support and attention from these people – to become a successful director who Hollywood cannot back down on."

"I'm sorry. I just can't believe this."

Emma stood up to her feet and slowly pulled her hands from Ellie's grasp. Ellie stood at that point.

"Stop being so blind! Don't become like me! I've been humiliated, ignored and used! Don't let him do the same thing to you! Don't!"

"Neal." Emma turned to him. "…I..I can't endure this anymore."

Neal nodded.

"I think I need time to think things through, Ellie. Thanks for sharing this for me. I won't waste any of your time now. Have a safe flight."

Neal took Emma's hand and led her to the door. Ellie madly paused for a moment, tears rolled down from each cheek. But she suddenly took a surprising turn and darted toward the door. She madly tried to reach to Emma, shouting her name. Neal at that moment pushed Emma out the door and grabbed Ellie.

"Ellie, just stop," Neal warned.

"Has he ever told you why his mother even approved of Milah?! She called me and softened me up. I thought she was on my side, at least comforting me of what her own son did to me! That lasted for four weeks! But no! She just wanted one thing: my body! My body that can be used for surrogacy for her own son! Is your uterus firm and strong?! Because if it isn't there will be no future with you and Killian, I swear there won't be! His mother will never EVER approve!"

Neal pulled Ellie away from the door and shut the door with his foot.

Emma froze in place. Everything made no sense to her. She trusted Killian. She believed that everything will go well between them. But with his past revealed to her, she has no idea who this man is anymore. To whom should she believe? A girl who she thought despises her and was heartbroken by Killian or Killian himself?