A/N: This popped into my head and I ran with it. I don't own any of the characters.

Liza stood by the SeaGlass carousel and remembered the first time she and Charles had ridden it. They were just starting their relationship then. The last time they were there was when she told him that she didn't want to define their relationship and wanted to be happily unmarried to him. That didn't turn out the way she had hoped and they had parted ways. Did she still love him? Yes. Did she want to be with him? More than anything but she was scared. She was afraid that being married again would turn out to be like it had been with David but Charles wasn't David. She had been embarrassed by David's behavior at the Vassar function and Caitlin seemed to be too. She was surprised that he didn't try to start something with Charles. Charles hadn't said two words to her and she couldn't figure out why. He had confided in her when he assumed that Topher was his son and things had seemed to be like old times between them. She missed him so much and she really didn't understand what spell Quinn had him under. That vindictive bitch Quinn was really starting to piss her off. She hated that Quinn was using Charles and the girls. She hated that Charles moved on that quickly from her. Was she jealous? Very much so.

Liza dried the tears from her eyes and went back to Brooklyn. When she arrived back at the loft, Maggie wasn't there, so she kicked off her shoes, got ready for bed, crawled under the covers and got comfortable with Charles' manuscript. He had finally finished it and wanted her to edit it. She had fallen asleep while reading it.

The next morning, she had been woken up by a video call. She looked to see who it was. It was Diana.

"Hey, Diana.

"Liza."

"What's going on?"

"You tell me. You seemed a little off when I talked to you the last time."

"Charles and I broke up."

"What? Why?"

"He asked me to marry him at your reception."

"Liza, don't tell me you said no."

"I told him that I wanted to be happily unmarried to him and I didn't want to define our relationship. That didn't go too well. I'm afraid of getting married again because I don't want to have it end up being like my first marriage. He moved on a little too quickly."

"With?"

"Quinn Tyler."

Diana rolled her eyes.

"Oh, dear god! Not her. She's worse than Pauline."

"Yeah, I know. She's doing another book, which was apparently inspired by Charles and I edited it. I was doing my fact checking and she set me up to look like an idiot. Apparently it doesn't take much."

Liza told Diana everything that had happened.

"That definitely sounds like something Quinn would do. You need to fight for that man, Liza!"

"He's over me."

"I don't think he is. I saw the way he was looking at you when I was talking to both of you. He still loves you. Quinn doesn't care about anyone but herself."

"She said she loves him."

"And you believe her? That woman always has an ulterior motive for everything she does. If you think she's using Charles and the girls, she probably is. She will never change no matter how much she wants you to believe she has. Quinn Tyler cannot be trusted. Plain and simple."

"I wish you were here."

"I don't. I'm loving Italy."

"How's Enzo?"

"He's amazing! I'll let you go."

"Ok."

"Chao, chao."

"Chao."

Liza ended the call and then she got out of bed. Maggie had breakfast ready.

"Hey, girl."

"Hey."

"You're still bummed about Charles, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. I can't just get over him that quickly, which is why I'm not sure how or why he moved on with Quinn as quickly as he did. She has some kind of spell on him."

"She sounds like a real bitch to me."

"You're not wrong. I don't want her to hurt him any more than I already did. I don't trust her."

"You still love him, don't you?"

"Yes, Maggie. I do."

"How did that Vassar thing go?"

"Quinn of course brought Charles and we had to sit at the same table. David was there too. He made an ass of himself. As usual."

"That's nothing new. David has always been an ass."

"Caitlin was actually embarrassed by her father's behavior."

"You know, Charles isn't anything like David. I did notice that."

"I know he's not."

"Everyone is concerned about you lately. Even Josh."

"That surprises me though. At the wedding, he told me that he accepted Lauren's invitation to be her plus one just so he could see me and he wanted to talk to me about the tattoo he gave me after he tells me I wrote that letter to the wrong guy. He said my feelings for Charles weren't real and now all of a sudden he tells me he wants me to be happy. Josh is the one that said our relationship didn't have to be defined and I thought I'd try that with Charles. That didn't work too well."

"Do you want to get married again?"

"I do but I don't. I know I love Charles and I want to be with him but after the crap that David pulled, I'm just scared to start over again. I love his girls as much as I love Caitlin."

"He told me he didn't think he had your whole heart and I said he did."

"I do know I love him more than I ever loved Josh. Seeing him with Quinn is killing me."

"Maybe that was the whole point of it. Maybe he wants you to be jealous."

"I don't know. He actually started seeing her after I had spent some time with Kai, that Aussie surfer. I think he thought it was me in those pictures and we were together. I just wish I could get Charles alone long enough to talk to him but unfortunately, I don't think that'll happen."

Liza heard the doorbell, so she went to see who it was. It was Pauline and the girls. She buzzed them in.

"Who is it?"

"Pauline, Nicole and Bianca."

"Shit!"

They knocked on the door and Liza went to open it.

"Liza!"

"Hey, you two."

Nicole and Bianca hugged Liza.

"Hi Maggie."

"Hey."

"Liza."

"Pauline. This is my friend and roommate Maggie Amato. Maggie, this is Pauline."

"Marriage Vacation."

"You read it."

"I did. Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"Come on in. What's going on?"

"They needed to see you and honestly, I needed to talk to you anyway."

"Does Charles know you're here?"

"No. I wanted to apologize for what happened at the Ball. I should have confronted you about that alone and not in front of everyone."

"At least Diana now knows about and doesn't think I'm a total idiot like most people did when they found out."

"Liza, we miss you so much."

"I miss you both too."

"What happened? You two seemed so happy."

"He proposed. I told him I needed time and he wasn't officially divorced from you yet. He said to take all the time I needed and maybe I could propose to him when I was ready. I told him that I wanted to be happily unmarried to him and that didn't go too well. I love him but I'm not sure I want to get married again. My first husband was a jerk and honestly, I'm afraid of turning into you. He's with Quinn now anyway, so what does it matter? I don't trust her nor do I want to see him or the girls get hurt."

"That part of his life needs to be rewritten. The girls do not like her at all and they are capable of forming an opinion. Somehow you lying about your age is nothing compared to that witch using my girls. I told him that I don't want her around them. You stand up to him, which is something I never did. I should have discussed my feelings with him and told him that I needed time to think about what it was I wanted. Instead I just took off and left him and the girls. He seems like he really supports your career."

"Sometimes a part of me wishes I didn't love him but I do. I love the girls and always have."

"I know that. You were there for them when I wasn't and honestly, if there's going to be another mother in their lives, I would much rather have it be you."

"You both really feel this way?"

"Yes. We love Daddy but Ms. Tyler is not very nice."

"I don't know how to deal with this anymore. I'm the last person he wants in his life."

"We don't think so, Liza. We think he still loves you."

"Girls, we should go. Thank you for your time, Liza. I hope everything eventually works out with you and Charles. I mean that."

"Thanks."

Pauline, Nicole and Bianca left.

"You didn't expect that, did you?"

"Nope. As soon as I get ready, I'm going into work. I have a lot of work to do."

"Ok."

Liza finished her coffee and went to take a shower. Once she was out of the shower and got dressed, she left for the office. Lately she liked going into work on the weekend because no one was there and she could get a lot done without any distractions, mostly from Lauren. When Liza arrived, she went upstairs to her office. She had no idea that Charles was there but she ignored it. He saw her, so he came out of his office and went to hers. He knocked on the door.

"Hey."

"Hey. How's the editing coming?"

"It's coming. I should be done with it within the next few days."

"How bad is it?"

"I haven't changed a whole lot."

"Oh, good. I heard from Diana this morning."

"So did I. Where's Quinn?"

"She had to take a trip to California."

"Oh."

"So, that was your ex-husband?"

"Yep. That's the idiot himself."

"I think I'm beginning to understand."

"I'm glad one of us does. If you're with Quinn to make me jealous, then it worked."

"I thought you were with Kai."

"That was a one-time thing."

"What about those pictures?"

"The pictures are all he gave me to work with. Maggie drew them, so I had something to present to you and Kelsey. He had nothing else."

Liza was starting to become very uncomfortable.

"I wish I didn't love you…"

Charles had a shocked look on his face

"But I do. I never stopped."

"I love you too and I'm more my true self with you."

"I just don't know if things can ever go back the way they were between us but I also feel like I'm more my true self with you too."

"I'm not sure what I was thinking when I started seeing Quinn but I think you were right all along. I know the girls aren't happy with the situation and honestly, I'm not either. I think a part of me did want to make you jealous. I don't know how to get rid of her. She doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer. After I saw you with your ex, I started to realize that maybe that was why you didn't want to get married again. I was only thinking about my feelings and not yours. For that, I am deeply sorry."

"It's ok. Really. I was hurt when David cheated on me and if I'm being honest, Josh was just a younger version of David."

"I kind of figured that Josh was the reason you said no."

"Yes and no. I didn't say no because I don't love you. I do. I still do but I'm afraid of being hurt again and I am also afraid of becoming like Pauline."

"My intentions were just to have someone to grow old with. I support your career 100%. I always have. I know things have been awkward between us but in a way, I'm scared too. I already had Pauline walk out on me. I don't want to risk having that happen again."

"Do you want to marry Quinn?"

"Honestly, no. You're still the only one I really want in that way. That won't ever change. Were you at the carousel last night?"

"Yeah. I go there a lot. It seems to be my go to place lately."

"I go there a lot too. That's where our first official date was."

"It's also where we broke up, so it holds a lot of good and bad memories for me."

"Me too. I should let you get back to work."

"Thanks. I'll let you know when I'm done editing your book."

"Ok."

Charles left and went back to his office. Liza was glad that that had gone better than expected. She hoped things would start to improve between them and so did Charles. Once Liza was done working, she went home. Charles could not get Liza or the conversation they had had out of his mind but it had given him a lot to think about. He had gotten a text from Quinn asking if he wanted to meet her in California for a few days but he said he had a lot work to do, so he had to decline. He really didn't want to join her out there. He needed to figure out how he planned to end things with her.

Stay tuned for more…

Reviews are appreciated.