Robert felt like someone splashed a glass of ice-cold water on his face. As if he was harshly woken up from a blissful sleep and dragged into the cruel pits of reality. He felt his body freeze the moment he felt Cora pull away from him. Her beautiful big eyes were twice their size, only this time they didn't have their usual twinkle, they were filled with horror, and the more he stared at them, the more he hoped that the floor would erupt so he could crawl inside and never return.

What the hell had happened? He immediately stepped back, hoping that it would undo what they had done somehow. He rubbed his eyes and face, wishing it was all a dream. But it wasn't. Before he could even begin to untangle the mess, he heard Cora cry out in horror and run out of the room. He watched her leave and tumbled back against the window grill. He turned around and took a deep breath and tried to decipher what brought them at this stage.

The New Year party brought him immense joy. Everyone he loved was around him and everyone was happy, which was a rare occurrence. The setup around him reminded him of the days his father handled everything and felt an immense sense of pride knowing that he had finally begun to achieve what he had achieved in his life. It was just a tiny scratch on the surface, but it was something and he was ecstatic. The party was wonderful, better than he had ever imagined and he never wanted the night to end. But the night did end, and he was filled with a feeling of gratitude and appreciation for each and everyone involved in the process. He had a little more to drink than normal but he was allowed a break after years of struggles to keep the hotel up.

After the party, he went to his office to grab his wallet and keys and the deafening silence after a crazy night made him uneasy. After every great high ended, he usually felt anxious and overwrought, so it wasn't something that alarmed him. He didn't want the night to end, so he decided to stay there for a little while with his feelings. Because he did, he did have a lot of feelings for everyone and everything that took place that night. He made himself a drink and thought of his sweet daughters; his resilient, empowered, and strong daughters. All so different but equally wonderful, kind, and ambitious in their own ways. He loved them to death and seeing their hard work pay off tonight thrilled him. Mary had been going crazy over the last year with him trying desperately to keep the profits up and retain the staff. Edith had worked non-stop on the marketing side, mostly alone and Sybil, sweet Sybil had given a hand in every possible area despite her tough hours at the hospital. Rosamund had always been his pillar of strength, and he knew he would have given up on the hotel if she wasn't on his side. She was his rock and her return to the hotel brought him so much peace and contentment. Mama, Isobel, Matthew, and Bates all had been super supportive and had gone out of their ways to help and assist him, both at the hotel and in private matters of his life. He often felt alone but he always knew he had a solid support system and one call from his end for support would gather everyone in front of him in a minute. But despite the great teamwork, they were struggling and then came along Cora who took the driving seat and guided them to the road of success. She changed everything for him and he was often left speechless at how kind and wonderful of a person she was.

The person in his thoughts then sneakily peeked through the doors of his office at the dead of night and it made him giggle. She was drunk, she looked exhausted but still so beautiful. So breathtakingly beautiful. She walked inside with her beautiful big smile that warmed his heart and as always they ended up talking. It was nothing new, they were now used to having spontaneous catchups at odd times and places.

She walked towards him wearing her beautiful black sequin dress, her hair slightly ruffled and her red lipstick now faded to a soft peach. She then called them her own and he took her hand. His heart feeling full looking at her. Their eyes met and his heart started beating a little faster, similar to how it beat when he danced rather enthusiastically a few hours ago. But this time there was no exertion or any kind of physical activity, but his body reacted otherwise. It always did when she was around. He had no explanation for it. She always took his breath away. Her beautiful blue eyes took a darker color and he felt himself going completely out of breath. He then moved to kiss her goodnight and somehow ended up kissing her lips. As if he had no control over his actions, their faces magically moved towards each other's lips and they kissed. No one initiated it, it just happened and he felt like he entered a warm bath. For that tiniest moment where they both were out of their senses, it felt right. It was beautiful and electric but at the same time deeply comforting. But it was wrong. It was so wrong.

He took a sharp breath again.

They kissed. He kissed Cora. He looked out the window and took another deep breath. He was too numb to think about it, his entire body was frozen and his brain was jammed. He rubbed his eyes again and floundered towards the couch, feeling the weight of the events on his body.

They messed up.

He really messed up.

Cora woke up to the ear-piercing sound of her alarm that immediately gave her anxiety. A wave of nausea enveloped her body and she already knew it was going to be a shit day. She quickly moved to shut down her alarm and took a deep breath. She moved slightly and felt her lower body cry out in cramps from all the exertion last night. The hangover gave her a splitting headache and she covered her eyes, trying to calm herself down. She knew she had to be up and about in twenty minutes for the meeting so she couldn't stay in bed for much longer. Her eyes snapped open as the events of last night presented themselves to her worsening her anxiety. Cora instantly sat straight up, feeling sick. Her legs screamed in pain but she didn't care.

She sighed. So it did happen, she thought. The kiss really happened and there was no way of undoing it. It wasn't a dream, it was the reality and she had to get up and face it in a few minutes. She groaned and struggled to get out of the bed to go wash her face. She looked around and saw her clothes and shoes from last night scattered around the room. What a mess, she thought, like her life was at the moment.

She entered her washroom and stood in front of the mirror looking at her reflection. She could see the eyebags under her eyes, and the poorly washed mascara from last night spilling across her lids. She sighed again and turned on the faucet.

Last night she ran straight to her room and shut the door. She was too overwhelmed to think and in the efforts of trying to stop herself from panicking she quickly changed, washed her wash in three seconds, and hid inside her bed, hoping it would all go away by the morning. Well, it didn't and now it was time to face it. She sighed again and shook her head. They crossed the line and that was it. Now they've ruined everything, from their friendship to how they work together. She shook her head and angrily splashed water on her face.

What a mess.

Cora tucked the file under her arm and walked towards the meeting room where everyone was supposed to meet to discuss the calendar shoot. She felt her heart race as she neared the room. A moment later she heard Phyllis's voice from behind her and she turned.

"Morning" sang Phyllis as she neared her with a big smile on her face.

If she hadn't fucked up at the end of last night, Cora would be singing too.

She forced a smile and nodded "Hi"

Phyllis giggled "My head is splitting, whose idea was to have a meeting the night after the party?"

Cora shakily took a breath and looked ahead. She could feel Phyllis staring at her for a response.

"Hey, you okay?"Phyllis asked.

Cora nodded and forced another smile "Yeah, I'm fine" she lied "I just have a bad headache"

Phyllis giggled again "Well you did drink an awful lot last night. You never drink this much"

Don't I know it? thought Cora.

They finally entered the meeting room where Edith, Mrs Hughes, Bates and Rosamund were sitting. All of them looked exhausted, but in the best way. Like someone would look after winning a battle.

A unanimous tired "Hello" greeted them at their entrance and Cora smiled at them.

Rosamund who was massaging her temples sighed "God, where is my coffee?"

Edith giggled at her as Cora and Phyllis took their seats next to her "I asked Molesley, he'll be bringing it any moment"

Rosamund looked towards Edith and sighed "How are you looking like a decent human?"

Edith chuckled and raised her eyebrows "I got up early to work out, so I am okay right now"

"You are a superhuman, my niece. I could never after last night" replied Rosamund.

Rosamund then turned towards Cora "How about you Cora?"

Cora who had vaguely heard the conversation looked at them when she heard her name "Hm?"

"How are you doing after last night?" Rosamund repeated.

Cora sighed thinking there were two possible answers to this question but she resorted to the easier one "Fine" she replied.

Rosamund nodded at her "I must be getting old then, I feel like death"

"You could never Ros" said Bates who was flipping through the file he had in his hand.

Rosamund winked at him and smiled.

"Where are Mary and Robert?" Rosamund asked.

Mrs Hughes who was setting up the projector behind Bates turned around and looked at Rosamund "They're just coming"

Cora sat a little straighter at the comment, she wasn't sure how to act normal anymore. She looked at the time on her phone screen and wished desperately that the meeting would just end already so she could run back to her room to think about what to do next.

Molesley entered the room with a tray in his hand, the smell of coffee filled the room and despite it being one of Cora's favorite smells, it didn't calm her one bit. He poured the cups for everyone when Cora heard footsteps nearing the room.

Mary entered the room first, looking gorgeous as ever.

"Hi sorry for being late" she said as she took her seat.

"Do you want coffee, Miss?" asked Molesley.

Mary nodded enthusiastically "Yes, please"

"Where's Robert?" asked Bates.

"He was just behind me" said Mary as she took the cup and saucer from Molesley's hand.

A moment later Robert entered the room and Cora held her breath in. She didn't dare look up at him. She heard everyone greet him while she stared down in her lap. Maybe he forgot that it happened? She thought. They were both so drunk, it was possible.

Cora looked up at him slowly and saw as his eyes landed on her. She saw him take a soft gulp, and his face turned a very subtle shade of pink. She knew this expression. She could read all his expressions by this point in their friendship. She looked down again and heard him take his seat. Who was she kidding, he remembered everything, of course, he did, just like she did and if his face was any indication, he felt equally embarrassed and ashamed.

"Coffee sir?" asked Molesley.

Robert who sat across the table from Cora stayed quiet and lazily flipped through the file in front of him.

"Sir? Coffee?" Molesley asked again.

"What?" Robert replied.

Molesley looked at him awkwardly for a moment, his big round eyes growing twice the size in confusion "Coffee?"

Robert dumbly nodded and waited for him to pour.

Cora saw Rosamund stare at Robert and knew that she was wondering what was wrong with him.

"It's set up now" replied Mrs Hughes, who had been struggling with the projector for the last ten minutes.

"Great" said Bates as he got up "Let's start"

Bates opened the presentation that was titled 'Calendar Shoot' and went over the slides with the team.

"Right, so as you all know we need to get eleven shoots done for the calendar this year. Luckily we were able to use the theme photos that PRIME took in November for our January cover since we were all busy, but we need to start for the rest of the months as soon as possible. According to the timeline, we need to get at least three shoots done for February, March, and April in the next three weeks so the printer could have at least a week for printing the required copies"

"Right, so we need everyone on board?" asked Edith as she opened up her notebook to make notes.

Bates nodded "That was what was discussed. Right Cora?" asked Bates.

Cora had zoned out ever since Robert had entered the room and struggled to keep up with the conversation. Her heartbeat had accelerated to the point that she needed to take a few deep breaths and get some fresh air, but she couldn't just leave the meeting and make a scene so she sat quietly hoping she could be left out of the conversation. This behavior was so unlike her, but so was kissing another man and she needed a minute to sort everything out and properly think.

"Cora?" repeated Bates.

Cora felt Phyllis elbow her when her eyes snapped towards Bates "Sorry, what?"

Bates looked at her for a second and continued "For the shoot, we need everyone right? The entire family?"

Cora opened her mouth and chewed her lower lip. She knew it was everyone but she somehow felt confused "Um yes" she replied opening her file where all the details were written. "Everyone"

Bates nodded "There we go"

"So three weeks, have we decided a theme?" asked Mary.

"We did have a few ideas before but then we got busy with the party so nothing is finalized yet" said Edith.

Cora sighed again and for a split second her eyes met Robert's and she could see the discomfort all over his face.

I kissed him.

She was reminded of it again. She shut her eyes but her mind kept drifting back to their kiss last night. That momentarily lapse that wrecked everything between them.

"Though for January, we did use a lot of blues and grays. Should we keep that up or switch to lighter colours for summer and spring?" added Edith.

"The January one was a huge success so we could continue with darker tones as well. The pictures came out terrific" added Phyllis.

The kiss was like the forbidden fruit. It was tempting and somehow they found the guts and the courage to cross the line and do it while being obscenely drunk, knowing well enough of the disaster it would bring with it. Sure they've had their moments. She thought he was attractive and she knew he found her attractive too. They enjoyed each other's company and harmlessly flirted occasionally but none of them ever meant to cross a line or ruin their friendship. It was too precious for both of them. She wished she could go back in time and undo it. But she couldn't. Her mind dragged her back to the feeling of his lips on hers and she shakily took a breath. She needed to stop thinking, her mind needed to stop before she pulled her hair out.

"Cora can tell us what theme we should go with. What say Cora? Lighter or darker?" said Rosamund.

Did someone call out her name? She wasn't sure.

She felt Phyllis's hand on her thigh and she looked at her, knowing well enough she missed another question directed towards her.

"Yes, Cora can tell if we should go with blues or move to lighter colours" repeated Phyllis.

Cora knew she repeated everything to save her from any further humiliation.

Cora forced a smile towards Rosamund "I think lighter would be better with the months, we can coordinate according to the weather and the festivals" she said.

"It's decided then" said Edith as she scribbled something on her book.

"So Papa when can we schedule the shoot with you guys? We need everyone together at the same time" asked Edith.

Robert who was slowly twirling the last few sips of the liquid in his cup looked up at the mention of his name "What?" he asked.

"What is up with everyone today?" exasperated Mary.

Rosamund looked at Robert and then looked at Cora for a split second and smiled at Mary "Everyone is still recovering from last night. I don't know how I managed to walk here without bumping into things"

Mary chuckled and shook her head "Anyway, so Papa when can you give us dates? I'll plan mine accordingly and let Granny and Sybs know"

"Don't forget your mother" added Bates.

"Oh right," said Mary raising her eyebrows "that'll be interesting"

"Papa? Dates?" repeated Edith.

"Um, Mrs Hughes?" said Robert looking towards his assistant.

Mrs Hughes looked at her phone and squinted at the screen "Nothing major planned on the 10th, 14th and 21st"

Robert nodded and Mary nodded back "Fine, I'll plan according to these"

"What about the clothes and theme by months, when can we decide that?" asked Edith.

"Cora and I will decide by day's end and share the details with you all, right Cora?" said Phyllis.

Cora nodded at her.

"Great then, I guess this is it" said Bates.

"Perfect! I have to rush to another meeting" said Mary getting up.

"I'm coming with you" replied Edith as she walked outside with her.

Cora grabbed her file and got up speedily dropping her phone on the floor. She shook her head and grabbed it quickly before walking out of the room.

Cora walked straight outside the room and sprinted towards her office. She needed a minute.

Cora unlocked the door to her office and sighed, shutting the door behind her. She shut her eyes and stood against the back of her door. What a mess. What a complete, utter mess.

After a minute, she moved and put her file on her desk, and covered her face with her hands. She wasn't dealing with this mess well and neither was Robert. Which made perfect sense since they weren't that kind of people. They had never strayed, never. They were loyal and family-oriented people. And now both of them had landed themselves in such an awkward position.

What will they do now? Will he fire her? Will she have to quit? How will she tell Simon? Will he tell his wife?

Cora shook her head at these racing thoughts all ready to consume her. A second later Phyllis entered the room and gave her a soft smile.

"Don't think anyone is handling the hangover well" she said walking past Cora, sitting in her chair, and opening her laptop.

Cora started walking slowly from one end of the room to another, trying to calm herself down.

"I liked the blue theme, but if we are going with weathers and festivals, I think we can break down according to the color wheel so the transition looks neater" added Phyllis who had opened Photoshop to start developing a mood board.

Cora continued walking slowly and nodded dumbly at Phyllis's suggestion. She rubbed her eyes and sighed shakily. What will she do now? She needed to vent or she would just erupt.

"Should we go with green for February? Stick to the cool tones till March?" Phyllis added again.

Cora continued pacing, a little faster than before. "Sure" she said shakily.

The events of last night fast-forwarded in her brain again. The moment they kissed kept replaying in her head. That beautiful kiss that just enveloped her for the few seconds that it lasted and had been making her feel like shit ever since it ended. It was so nice and so, so wrong.

"So like an emerald kind of green or pear? Let's avoid neons. Don't want everyone to start looking like highlighters"

"Okay" whispered Cora, her eyes brimming with tears now.

"So which one?" asked Phyllis.

"Hm" replied Cora, her throat clogging up at that point.

Cora heard no response from Phyllis and she could feel her staring at her "Cor, if you're unwell..just..wait" she said getting up. "Cora, are you crying? What's wrong?" she said reaching Cora and grabbing her by her elbows so she could see her face properly.

"Cora, what happened?" she asked.

Cora sighed and shook her head "I kissed Robert"

"What?" stated Phyllis in a confused tone.

"God" said Cora, glad that it was out of her system "I kissed.." she said taking a deep breath "We kissed"

Phyllis looked at her for a few seconds as if processing the information "When….and how?" she asked politely.

Cora shook her head and moved towards the window "Last night after the party, we were drunk and alone and I don't know what happened, one minute we were laughing and then we just…kissed"

Phyllis reached by her side and put a comforting hand on her shoulder "Did he initiate it?"

Cora shook her head "No, it wasn't like that, it just happened so suddenly, nobody initiated it, it just happened" she said wiping her tears.

"What happened afterward?" asked Phyllis.

"I just…I ran, as soon as I realized what had happened I ran to my room" said Cora.

Phyllis nodded and took a deep breath "So that's why he had been acting so strangely"

Cora nodded as another sob erupted from her throat. Phyllis put a hand on her shoulder "Hey, hey it's alright, relax" she said.

"How is it alright?!" exclaimed Cora "How is it…" she said again, her voice barely audible.

"Come on, come on sit down" Phyllis dragged her towards her seat and rushed to fetch her a glass of water.

She helped Cora take a few sips and rubbed her back.

Cora sighed and wiped her eyes "I kissed another man, Phyllis. What will I do now?"

"Cora, please just relax for a second" said Phyllis coming to sit in front of her.

"What will I tell Simon?" asked Cora. "God, I've ruined everything" she said shaking her head.

Phyllis took her shoulders and shook her slightly to make her look at her "You haven't"

"I have.."

"No you haven't, listen to me"

Cora nodded for Phyllis to continue "You were drunk. You weren't in your senses"

"That doesn't excuse it" replied Cora

"It does because I know you. You said yourself it wasn't intentional. You both were drunk and it just happened, the moment passed and you guys stopped as soon as you realized"

Cora shook her head slightly. It was very complicated for her to explain her feelings about Robert to anyone. Yes, it wasn't intentional on either side, but they had stepped on the blurred lines many times. At the back of their minds, they knew if they weren't careful they would jeopardize their unusual kind of friendship. They were both aware of that. But she also knew none of them wanted it to ever happen, they had always been very careful about that. But it was all too messed up to explain. So she just nodded. The main thing was that it was a mistake and they both weren't in their right minds at the time.

"But, I've ruined everything now, how will we work?" asked Cora.

"Cora, it was a stupid drunken mistake. And you said yourself he was equally responsible, so no one can blame the other. It's okay, shit happens sometimes"

Cora shook her head "And Simon?"

Phyllis sighed "I can't decide that for you. But I think you need to talk to Robert first and get things straight"

Cora nodded. She knew she had to.

Robert went straight from the meeting to his office with Rosamund to attend a Zoom call when one of their clients. The meeting ended and Robert was locking in the details on his laptop as Rosamund got readied to leave.

"Have you had breakfast?" she asked as she assembled her files.

Robert shook his head while typing "Not yet, didn't get a chance"

"I'll ask Andy to get you something" replied Rosamund.

Robert nodded and continued typing on his laptop. He knew what Rosamund was about to ask and he wasn't ready to have a conversation.

"Everything okay with you?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be" stated Robert dryly.

"Well, it's obvious" she replied.

Robert looked up at her and sighed "Ros, I'm tired and hungover, I am not in the mood right now"

Rosamund nodded and chewed on the inside of her cheek "Did something happen with Cora?"

Damn, she was good. Robert felt like someone stripped him naked in front of a crowd.

"What?" he said.

"Well, you both acted strangely today and wouldn't even look at each other" she stated.

Robert rolled his eyes "What, you're Sherlock now?" he said "Everything is fine, we are all just tired and didn't get a chance to sleep well last night"

Rosamund sighed and nodded "Okay if you say so. I'll go order your breakfast" she said leaving the room.

As soon as Rosamund shut the door Robert sighed and covered his eyes with his hands. He knew things were going to be weird but he didn't think they would be this weird. He had been nervous about the meeting since the morning and delayed going as much as he could until Mary came to his room and dragged him towards the meeting room. He was the last one to enter and he actually felt the breath leaving his body as soon as he saw her there. His knees went weak and all he wanted was to go back in time and fix everything up. Her scared, tensed looking face mimicked his and he couldn't believe they'd come to this point. Where usually he felt his heart soar at the sight of her, now it just plunged.

He looked towards his window from his chair and sighed, the scene replayed in front of him. It was bizarre and catastrophic but at the same time so beautiful. It truly felt like the calm before the storm. A beautiful moment of weakness that will probably cost them their peace of mind and a wonderful friendship. He touched his lips as if touching the evidence of the crime scene. The taste of her lips lingered there and he felt his heart race and his throat clogging up.

He hadn't had the easiest of marriages but he had never budged. Never. This time he had no control and he felt sick knowing that he would have to live with this for the rest of his life. He didn't know what he was supposed to do now, but he did know that he had to start the process for damage control by talking to Cora.

He sighed again and popped a painkiller in his mouth for the headache that his racing thoughts were giving him.

Robert pressed the button of the elevator to go out for a walk before his next meeting. It was only 11 AM and he had started work only two hours ago, but he felt like he had been slaving away at his desk for hours. He sighed as he looked at the little screen on top, witnessing the painfully slow journey of the elevator to reach his floor.

The elevator dinged open and once again Robert felt his heart drop down to his stomach.

"Yeah, we can discuss this later with everyone" said Edith to the person standing next to her.

Cora nodded at Edith and then looked ahead at Robert staring at them. Robert saw her expressions neutralize as she chewed on her lower lip.

"Oh hey, Papa" said Edith as she saw him.

Robert smiled as he made his way inside the elevator. Edith moved and stepped out of the elevator "Thanks again, Cora. You were amazing last night" she said and smiled before walking away.

The elevator shut before them and the only sound that could be heard was the fazed sound of the machine taking them down the floors.

Robert looked ahead towards the screen observing the floor numbers descend.

"Can we talk?" he finally asked.

"Yes" he heard a reply.

Robert nodded "Not here. Can you meet me by the lake in ten minutes?"

Cora nodded.

Robert nodded back as the elevator opened once again and they both exited it and went their own ways.

Cora quickly wrapped up her meeting with Isobel about the location for the coming shoots and nervously made her way towards the main entrance of the hotel. She knew she had to talk to Robert soon but as soon as she saw him standing outside the elevator, she froze. Luckily Robert expressed the idea to talk and she was glad. It hurt her to be so awkward and weird with him. She felt like the token in a snakes and ladder game who had just reached the top and gotten bit by the snake only to be thrown ruthlessly down the ladder. The far-off look in his eyes disturbed her but she couldn't blame him. She was sure he would be seeing the same expression on her face.

She made her way towards the grounds to the lake, where she would usually go to spend some quality time in peace with herself or with Robert. Now she made her way to have one of the most awkward conversations she would have in her life with a person she highly valued.

The grey London weather accurately depicted how she felt from the inside, she sighed as she reached the lake, bracing herself for what was to come. She wasn't even sure what they were supposed to talk about. Was it a mistake? Yes. Were they both responsible? Yes. Do they feel guilty? Obviously. It was all very clear and didn't need a conversation, however, the only decent way to wrap up this chapter was to have a conversation like mature adults.

She saw Robert sitting on one of the benches, scrolling through his phone. It was the bench they often used to sit on and talk endlessly for hours and hours. The associated memories felt too bittersweet and Cora took another deep breath before making her presence known. He sat there in a large overcoat, with a furrow up his brow – his typical face when he was upset. She had seen it many times in the last few months. He looked sad and she couldn't blame him. She was sad too. Very sad, and angry and emotional and upset and disturbed.

She walked a few steps further when Robert sensed her arrival. He got up from the bench and tucked his phone away.

"Hi…thanks for coming" he said awkwardly.

Cora nodded at him, unsure if her voice would stay stable if she replied.

This was harder than she had thought.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

Cora sighed. She knew Robert and she knew that he always cared for her. When he usually asked such questions it made her heart soar with happiness. Today, it just broke it.

She sighed "I..I don't know how to answer that Robert"

He nodded at the response.

"You?" she asked.

Robert sighed and let out another dry chuckle, knowing that it was a stupid question to ask "Neither" he whispered.

"Listen" they both said at the same time.

Cora stopped and shook her head "You go first"

"Look….about last night" he finally said, as if he was bursting to get it over it. He then stopped and sighed.

Cora looked down and put her freezing hands in her coat pockets.

"What happened…it shouldn't have happened" he finally said.

Cora looked at him and gave him half a nod "Yeah, it shouldn't" she stated plainly.

"I am sorry, Cora. I was drunk and I didn't know what I was doing" he said with his puppy dog eyes that made Cora want to hug him.

She resisted the sob in her throat and nodded, getting equally panicked and emotional "I am sorry too. We both were at fault"

Robert nodded at that and took a step towards her "We were stupid"

Cora nodded "Yeah" and let out a dry chuckle "I never meant to.."

"I know, I know" he completed the sentence for her "I know you didn't. Neither did I"

Cora gave him half a smile and sighed. She knew that he could sense her panic so he saved her from speaking the obvious.

"I really thought it would…never…cross a line" he expressed with a sad smile.

She knew it was time for the goodbye that she dreaded.

She nodded at him.

"I had hoped that too" she replied.

"I guess we can't have everything" he stated.

Cora nodded again "Yeah, I guess". She knew their friendship was too good to be true. The spark between them finally caught fire, burning them with it.

"What now?" she finally asked "What do we do now?"

Robert sighed again as if waiting for this horrible question to pop. Yes, exactly, what do they do now?

"I honestly don't know Cora" he replied.

Cora sighed "If you want me to quit, I can.."

Robert cut her off by putting his hand out "You know I don't. Don't say that" he said with the kind of firmness in his voice that lacked in the conversation up till now.

"Also how is it fair to fire you, when I am equally responsible?" he added.

Cora sighed and nodded. A part of her put at peace knowing that she won't lose her job.

"We'll…we'll figure something out, but that is not the right way. Unless….unless you feel like it's too difficult for you?" he added the last part in a hushed tone.

Cora shook her head "I don't want to lose this job. It's the only thing I have to keep me sane" she said.

Robert gave her a sad smile and nodded.

He waited a moment before popping another dreaded question "Will you tell Simon?"

Cora looked at him for a minute, a little uncomfortable at the question but considering the situation, it made sense that he should ask that and be kept in the loop. Cora let out a puff of air and shook her head.

"I haven't decided. I don't know yet" she said honestly.

She hadn't had the time to think about it. The right thing was to tell him of course, but she knew he would kill Robert and take her away from this job that she so loved. She wasn't sure if she was ready to lose so many more things along with this. It would do more damage than good.

"You? Will you tell our wife?" she asked.

"I don't know either. I should but…" he looked at her.

Cora nodded at him, understanding the hesitation.

"This will never happen again" he stated.

"Of course, of course. We were tired and drunk..it just.." she said and sighed.

"Yeah"

She closed her eyes and finally said "But…"

She opened her eyes to look at Robert who stared at her, with a knowing look on his face. She knew that he knew what she was about to say.

"But we can't carry on as we do" he finished the sentence for her.

Cora let out a sad chuckle and nodded "Yeah"

"We need to maintain distance, I know it won't happen again but we can't risk it" she said.

Robert nodded "Of course, I understand"

She could see sadness etched all over his face. It was a pity. A great loss. What they had was special but that magic had put them in a position of no return. They couldn't risk it again.

"I am sorry it had to happen this way" he said, and Cora knew he was trying to hold back his tears.

"Me too"

"I won't get in your way. We'll work it out somehow"

Cora nodded. Every word of the phrase tore her apart and she wished she had anyone to project her anger out on, but she knew it was her fault and his fault and they were equally suffering.

"Yeah" she finally said.

He looked at her for a few seconds before speaking again "Bye, Cora"

"Bye, Robert" she said as he passed by her, leaving her alone at the lake.

She turned away from his sight and wiped her tears "Fuck" she cussed and sighed, walking towards the bench to think about a life without Robert as her best friend.

Hi guys! How are you all. Happy New Year!

Here is Chapter 12. I am so exhausted at the moment because of work (to the point that I have working weekends, yes!) but you guys are so sweet and supportive. I had no intentions of updating this month but a sweet message yesterday made me so emotional that I knew I had to post an update for you guys, even if it meant only 5 hours of sleep this weekend. Love you all so much!

SO excited to read your reviews! Let me know what you think!