AN: I actually hadn't planned to update THAT quickly. But somehow I kept coming back to this story despite the fact that I had like a million others who request my attention. Writing proces for this chapter was strange, since my idea had been a fun and cute chapter, but my muse decided in the middle of it 'How about drama and self-doubt?" Gladly I only kept the drama and hopefully still a bit fun. But in all fairness, a confrontation fun and cute would have been .. odd. I hope you enjoy reading it as much s I did enjoy writing it :)

I let out a long and loud groan, looking at the card once more, followed by the picture of him on my phone. This was really not happening, was it? I paced the floor for a long while, card in one hand, phone and hoodie in the other, thinking what to do.

Four days later I still hadn't managed to call him, seeing as life happened and somehow every time I was about to dial the number some small drama started that distracted me from the task of calling him momentarily. And then Morelli was back and as angry and pissed of as I had been the previous days, the moment he was back I retreated to coward territory and rather made-up excuses why I couldn't see him instead of telling him to fuck off. I shouldn't have been surprised when he didn't even seem to question me not staying at his place for a while, blaming it on a flu I had come down with. He probably didn't need to question anything, seeing that he could use the time for rendezvous-ing with his other girl. Knowing that this only worked for so long, I needed to come up with a plan and simply get it over with.

I knew I needed time to sort this out and get my head straight, making sense of everything that was happening and my next steps. Luckily my conversation with grandma had gone well and she had agreed to move back to my parents for a while until we could come up with something better. I knew she was as keen as getting back to my parents as they were about having her back. But for the moment this was the best I could come up with until I sorted the Morelli-Catalina situation.

Every normal person would probably be looking at me confused, wondering what the hell I needed to think about in regards of sorting things out. I should probably just call him, yell a little, tell him what an asshole he is and that I know what he is doing and just get it over with. And while I wasn't worried about puppy dog eyes, promises of it never happening again, that she didn't mean anything and that he only loved me and any of that actually working on me, I knew I needed a few days to sort myself out and come up with a way of how to deal with it all.

I didn't want to be the mean and aggressive ex-girlfriend that needed to cause a huge scene, but I also didn't want to go quiet and easy. I wanted him to at least know what he did sucked big time and what a sorry human being he was, telling me about family and starting one and then screwing someone else behind my back.

A week had passed since I had come home from my shopping spree to a mysterious card. I still hadn't gotten back to him and he hadn't attempted another contact. Which in all fairness I didn't expect. I wasn't playing hard to get, I just didn't know what to do when calling him. "Hey, this is the girl you slept with last Friday. You know, the one whose boyfriend is sleeping also with your girlfriend? About that hoodie of yours…." Yeah, that was certainly not a conversation I needed to have. And in all fairness, I had packed the hoodie already in a box and written the label for sending it to him. I didn't want to get accused of stealing something else after all. Though, I still wasn't sure what made the hoodie so special.

And then I came home to a surprise. It had been a particularly crappy day and the office I was temping for as receptionist turns out to be more and more unpleasant each day. The people are unpleasant, the atmosphere is one step below toxic and the hours I keep slaving away there were starting to be unbearable. Every job that no one else wanted to do ended up being assigned for me. And I was mostly okay with it, seeing that it was answering the phones, making coffee or doing some filing. What I didn't need was the attitude people asked me to do stuff, like I was so beneath them that I should be grateful for the job. I had a business degree that I never had been able to put to use simply because things happened and the job I could have used it for didn't.

Slipping out of the heels that were killing me almost every day but which I was required to work, I let out a long sigh when the door to my apartment closed behind me. Throwing my heels in the furthest corner of my apartment, I slipped out of my blazer and made my way to the kitchen, stopping in my tracks when my eyes spotted something on my kitchen table once more.

I spotted the envelope right away, but instead of leaning against the cookie jar, it was popped up against a shopping bag in plain black. No letters, no indication what it was, but I had a fairly good idea who it came from. And the answer sure as hell was not Morelli. At least I hoped it wouldn't be.

Peeking only quickly into the bag, I only saw a box in black, with a black ribbon around it. I sensed a theme and went for the card. The same neat handwriting was displayed and I couldn't help but smile.

I realize instead of simply demanding my hoodie back, I should offer something in return. I think I owe you that much, seeing as you left your underwear with me.

Call me!

Underneath his repeated request for a call were the same digits as last time, probably making sure I would have them in case I threw the last card out. I put the card aside and opened the bag further, pulling out the box and looking at it as if to expect for it to tell me something. It didn't. It was plain black and seemed a little much on the effort for getting me my sports bra back, but maybe he was a visual guy that liked to wrap things nicely. I pulled the ribbon, opened the lid and was confused within seconds. This was definitely not my sports bra, seeing as I was looking at delicate black lace. Pushing the silky paper out of my way, I realized a second later this wasn't just delicate black lace. No, this was purchased in of the most upscale and expensive lingerie boutiques of the city at the other end of town.

Letting out a sigh, I realized now I really had to call him. This wasn't something you could just ignore or repay by sending a parcel back to him. I picked up my phone and started putting in his number when my phone all of a sudden rang, shocking me to the core and making me believe for a second, he could read minds. Then I realized that my screen knew the number and displayed that it was Morelli calling.

I debated letting it go to voicemail for a second, but realized that maybe this was a sign. First the expensive gift from the one guy I couldn't seem to get out of mind and then the other guy I really needed to have a conversation with calling.

"Morelli," I replied when picking up, probably two rings away from him hanging up.

"Cupcake, finally. Where have you been? I haven't heard from you all week?" he asked.

"I told you, I think I was coming down with something. But… I'm better now. And… I actually need to talk to you about something."

"That's good timing since I need to speak to you as well. Maybe you could come down to the precinct? It's a rather slow night so far, so I would have time for a conversation."

"The… precinct? I'm… In all fairness I would actually prefer your place?"

"Our place," he corrected me.

"That's what I meant. So… how about you tell me when you get off and I bring a late dinner and some beer?"

"That won't work seeing as I pulled a double. Due to sick leave I need to cover nights as well. So, I really need you to come down to the precinct. Tonight."

I let out a long sigh. This was really not how I had pictured any of that. But okay, I could still drag him out in front of the station and we could try to talk. Being down there meant he couldn't really go into rhino mode, though, in all fairness, he didn't have much reason. Though, I expected me telling him I was calling this off wouldn't go down too well.

"Alright," I said, starting my way to my bedroom to get some shoes and maybe also change into some clothes that weren't office attire. Ten minutes later I was out the door and on my way to the station, pep-talking me into being able to do this and being fine. Another ten minutes later I stood in front of Morelli, realizing I couldn't do this. Not the talking, but taking any more crap!

My plan to get somewhere private for our talk was intercepted when he was set on staying at reception, making this all a bit trickier. And a whole lot more uncomfortable when he shocked the hell out of me.

"I ran into Helen the other day and she mentioned your conversation."

"What conversation?" I asked confused and realized the only conversation I really had with my mother the past few days had been about him. "Wait… you knew that I know?"

"Look… I know how this looks but… it was nothing. She doesn't mean anything to me and you and I will get married and forget all about that," he said and I realized how he kept his voice low and down.

"I'm sorry, what? Are you delusional?" I asked and saw him stare at me. "After the crap you pulled you really expect me to still get married to you?" I asked, raising my voice slightly. He wanted to do this in public, assuming I wouldn't go mental and cause a scene, but oh was he wrong. Especially since I seemed to get more and more angry with each passing second. "You cheat on me. With some cheap… skank that also makes no secret of you and her fling. You also gift her my great-aunt's necklace which I had lost at your place and asked you numerous times whether or not you had maybe found it. And she calls me the loser-ex that you should be grateful of getting rid of. And now you wanna play pretend, as if nothing has happened and you didn't screw her behind my back when playing house and talking about wedding and family? Screw you Morelli and your delusional mind of you think I actually let you do this! Also, does she know it doesn't mean anything or do you keep telling her the same thing in regards of me? I know what you did last weekend. I know that you happened to be with her instead of being at some convention," I went on, realizing I had managed to draw a small crowd who looked curious ahead. Fun fact, I didn't know for certain he had spent last weekend with her, but…the pieces fit. And I was going out on a limb. It seems like I was spot on since he looked a little pale a second after I had mentioned his convention. "You can't seriously expect to be spending the weekend with her and then coming back, declaring it didn't mean anything. How stupid do you think I am?" I asked, having felt the need of walking a few steps while delivering my monologue and all of a sudden ending up against a solid something, assuming I walked further then expected and had run into a wall. Turning, I realized it wasn't a wall made of bricks, but rather a wall made out of muscles and I was staring in a rather familiar face.

"So we meet again," Carlos Manoso said, an odd smile accompanying his words.

"You two know each other?" Morelli asked somewhere behind me with an odd melody to his voice. Before I could confirm or deny his question, he was already going on. "How?" he asked a second later and managed to shock me once more over the course of a rather short time when he went on asking "Are you two screwing? Are you cheating on me? With him?"

For a second my brain and conscience were about to stammer some excuse and justification – maybe some sort of odd reflex.

"Are you kidding me right now?" I asked, a voice almost surprisingly calm. "You go and cheat on me with his girlfriend and now want to make me feel guilty for maybe or maybe not doing something you seem to be doing for god knows how long. Are you out of your freaking mind? Also it is none of your goddamn business what we did or didn't do."

There was silence for a long moment and I wondered whether I shouldn't have dragged him into this. It shouldn't matter who Morelli slept with in the end.

"Your girlfriend?" Morelli asked and I was about to strangle him. "I stole your girl?"

"Are you seeing this as some sort of accomplishment? Are you proud of the fact that you are engaged to me and screwed his woman behind both our backs? How low can you possibly stoop?"

"Clearly not as low as you," he almost sneered and it didn't need a rocket scientist to figure there was more between these two than just the same girl. Well, two girls when you counted me into it.

"I'd say sent all that is mine to me the next few days, but for once I'm actually glad there isn't much at your place that belongs to me anyway, seeing as you kept insisting on buying everything yourself," I said, realizing for the first time in a week that I was strangely enough still wearing my engagement ring. It wasn't like I was particularly fond of it and it had taken me weeks if not even months to get used to it – for nothing as it turns out. I straightened my hand, pulled the ring off and tossed it in Morelli's general direction, not even caring whether or not he'd catch it.

"You wouldn't have been able to actually afford anything with that crappy job as a temp you worked. Why did you go to college anyway, Cupcake?"

"Someone please stop me before I kill him," I said, and felt an arm wrap around my waist a second later.

"He isn't worth it," I heard Carlos' voice next to my ear. "Also, I believe you provided enough entertainment and gossip for one night." I looked around us for a second time and realized every single pair of eyes on us. Most of the eyes I did actually know and was already expecting that call from my mother where she was telling me why off all people, she needed to be the one with a daughter that caused scenes at police stations and was apparently sleeping with two guys. I also noticed some unfamiliar faces that looked rather curious at me with an expression that didn't match everyone else's. They themselves actually didn't match anyone else – except Carlos.

And here I thought this actually couldn't get any more humiliating, when it turns out, it could. By not just causing this scene in front of half the Burg and cops, but also Carlos and a few of his men.

Great doing, Stephanie Plum. Why did I always needed to exceed everything when it came to humiliation and drama?

Letting out another long sigh and deciding this was the end of tonight's "Stephanie Plum Show" I put my hand on Carlos' arm which was still loosely wrapped around my waist, removed it, sighed once more and walked towards the exit, ready to call this a day and be done with it!