Cora scribbled down the dates on a piece of paper, trying to make out a rough schedule in her head for the upcoming few weeks. She chewed on her lower lip and looked towards the door, anticipating Phyllis's return from the hotel any minute.

Things at PRIME looked optimistic, they had been bagging client after client ever since they were exposed to a new niche via Hotel Grantham. So far they had been managing pretty well, with her and Carson mostly being at the Hotel and Phyllis catering to other clients. So far it all had been good. Well, almost. Ever since that incident with Robert at the hotel, she had felt lost. In life and her work in general. That kiss really shook her system and had affected her far more than she had anticipated. Over the past few weeks, she had come to accept that. Her emotions towards the whole incident and him weren't normal. They couldn't be normal, because everything else around her had started to feel abnormal – her feelings towards her work, her marriage, her friends, and her life. It was as if she was having a confrontational session with herself every day and she was exhausted. She was so tired of trying to make sense of the mess her life had turned into. It was also much more harder to put on a neutral face and walk towards the scene of the crime every day. Her visits to the hotel had started to give her anxiety. She loved her work and everyone there, but she was reminded of what happened there and the whole ton of emotions that she had put away the day before came tumbling down on her and she had to work her way out of that over and over again. It was exhausting.

She had however come to terms with how her new days were at the hotel. She usually went and worked in her office there, and then usually met with Edith or Isobel before completing her shoots or edits and then running back home. Her days were now long since she came back home relatively early. The wait every day for the day to end was getting very annoying. It felt like she was living the same day over and over again. But she had made peace with it. There wasn't much she could do anyway. There were some instances where she would see Robert and then think about that moment for the rest of the day. She hated that. She sighed as she put her pen down. She also hated not seeing him. It was a loss for her either way.

Cora collapsed further in her chair and finished the last few sips of her now tepid coffee that Daisy had given her almost twenty minutes ago. She put her cup back down on the table and sighed. What happened a week ago at the restaurant really put a sudden halt at the roller coaster of feelings that she felt. She had been so confused but she wasn't anymore. She was sure. And the realization pained her much more than the anxiety the confusion had been giving her. Now, it was all rather quiet within her, the silence was almost painful.

"It is the other way around. Cora saved our hotel"

Robert's words from that day stayed with her. It wasn't anything she hadn't heard before, in fact, she struggled to remember the countless number of times Robert had thanked and appreciated her. It was the moment and the context of the conversation. She was so used to undermining her efforts – mostly because she had never been appreciated like that before. Maybe Simon didn't mean it in an insulting way, in fact, she was sure he didn't. It was his twisted way to make others feel more important so that they liked him. And his remarks did hurt, but she didn't even pay attention to them. It wasn't the first time it was happening anyway. But she did notice how Robert's jaw clenched, how his veins popped from the side of his temple, and how he gripped his finger a little too tightly. He was angry. He was furious. For her. Cora could tell he was resisting the urge to leave the table and she felt embarrassed, not for herself, but for him to be a witness to that conversation. She was counting minutes at that time, thinking of an appropriate moment to say goodbye and leave when he spoke in her defense. That had surprised her. Not because he was defending her, but in a moment where even she didn't feel the need to defend herself, he spoke up and took her side. And that was when it hit her, she was so used to being bullied and being undermined that it didn't even occur to her that the whole conversation was deeply insulting. It probably didn't even occur to Simon, because this was their norm now and she hadn't made many efforts in the past to correct that – maybe because that was what she was used to her whole life. First, her mother and then Simon, were the two people completely in control of her life, so she didn't get much time or space to really think about what was wrong with this attitude. But it was wrong, and Robert made her realize that. He spoke for her, and she could see that he was really trying to control his anger.

Cora sighed again, he was such an incredible person, he was so kind and loving and made her see things that she never saw herself. He made her realize things that never occurred to her. He genuinely really cared for her and she cared for him. So much. So, so much. There was no point in denying it anymore. Her feelings for him were definitely stronger. Much stronger than she had anticipated and what was appropriate.

Her train of thoughts got interrupted when she heard her office's door unlock. Phyllis entered her cabin with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Cora" she said as she entered the room and dumped her laptop on Cora's desk.

"Hi, you took a while" she replied.

Phyllis sighed as she sat down on the seat nearest to her. "Yeah, we got busy in editing and then Edith wanted to see the photographs from last week"

Cora nodded and smiled, "All good then?" she asked.

Phyllis nodded slowly and chewed on her lower lip. Cora knew something was up her mind.

"Everyone was asking about you," she said.

Cora raised her eyebrows slightly, she slowly scratched the paper in front of her "Everyone?"

Phyllis nodded "Yeah, I mean Edith, Isobel, Bates and all"

Cora nodded. For a moment she thought Robert had asked about her, which wasn't surprising since she thought about him twenty-four hours a day. "Oh"

Phyllis nodded again and then shook her head "Why aren't you coming nowadays again?" she asked, scrunching her eyebrows.

Cora sighed. Well, where was she supposed to start?

"I told you, there are so many new clients, I have to manage them as well" she lied.

Phyllis nodded "Yes, I understand, but I can manage them easily, you should be up there"

Cora sighed. Phyllis was right, of course. But she wasn't in the mood to explain her reasons. Mostly because they sounded almost sinful. Ever since the dinner, she had tried avoiding going to the hotel as much as she could. She needed time to think and deal with the growing anxiety within her. She had sent Phyllis and Carson there daily and stayed behind with the excuse that she needed to sort out the schedules. That was a lie, of course. Phyllis was more than capable to deal with the schedule on her own. But she didn't want to go and bump into Robert again. She felt the pity in his eyes for her the other day and she didn't have it in her to face that again. She didn't want him to feel sorry for her. She didn't need sympathy, and she wasn't strong enough to look him in the eye again. His eyes did things to her, they made her forget about her surroundings, they made her breath hitch, they mesmerized her. She wasn't strong enough to look in them again.

Cora nodded "I'll be back in two days. We have a new shoot coming up anyway"

Phyllis nodded again and looked into Cora's eyes again. Cora braced herself for another loaded question.

Cora counted the seconds in her head to see how long Phyllis would wait to ask the question she was probably phrasing in her head. It took her exactly seven and a half seconds.

"Cora…you told me everything was alright with Robert after that…incident. And I believe you. But are you sure you're not avoiding going because of him?" she asked.

Cora sighed. She had lied to Phyllis. Again. She hated lying to her. But she had no other option. She wasn't ready to tell anyone. She barely had it in her to admit to herself. She had told Phyllis that all was good with Robert and they had both decided to put it behind them. That much was correct, of course. But she did miss out on the major chunk of the emotional turmoil that followed her after that. Her anxiety, her feelings, and her dilemma.

Cora nodded "It's not that" Another lie.

Phyllis stared at her.

Cora couldn't lie completely, Phyllis was far too smart to get on board with it. So she decided to phrase her sentence carefully.

"It's just…" Cora sighed and looked down on her notes she had made earlier "I am trying to deal with it..my way. I just need some time too….well, deal with it"

Phyllis softened her gaze and nodded slowly after a few seconds "That makes sense"

Cora sighed in relief.

"But, otherwise…is everything okay with him? You guys don't talk anymore"

Cora chuckled dryly "And for good reason. Look what happened"

Phyllis smiled at her "But you both were drunk. It's not the same when you're sober"

Cora chewed her lower lip again. If only it wasn't the same for her. Sober or not, the thought of him carried on with her the entire day.

"Yes, but it was a shock for both of us…I just need some space" Cora said.

Phyllis nodded "Right, right"

She looked satisfied and Cora sighed again.

Phyllis got up from her chair "Anyways, I'm going to make myself some coffee, do you need it?"

Cora shook her head and smiled "I just had one"

Phyllis smiled and walked away "Let's discuss next week's plan in half an hour"

Cora nodded "Done"

Phyllis smiled and closed the door behind her.

Cora sighed loudly when Phyllis walked out. She hated not being able to talk about the whole thing. In the past two months, she had felt things she never thought she'd feel, she had done things, she never thought she'd do, she had lied more times in a row than she had ever. It was all getting too much. It just wasn't right.

She got up from her seat to go stand near her window. She slowly breathed in and then breathed out. It was time.

The truth was that he caught her when she didn't even know that she was falling, he soothed her when she didn't even know she was hurting, he took care of her, made her feel things she had never felt before. He cared for her. He made her feel good about herself. He made her laugh, he made her cry for good reasons, he made her see things clearly.

The truth simply was that she was falling for him.

She closed her eyes again and felt his lips on her. She opened her eyes and felt her eyes itch as tears accumulated in them.

Hell no, the truth was, that she had fallen for him. In a way that she never thought happened in real life.

And as overwhelming as the feeling was, this was no fairytale. This was real life, it was her life and it was on a road to ruin. Despite her feelings for him, she needed to remember that he was married. Hell, she was married. She had vowed to love and cherish her husband forever.

And he was married and had a big family. A family he was extremely close to. No matter what her feelings were and how strong they were, they were wrong and she had no right to involve him in this. It wasn't right or fair on him at all. She had no right to project it all on him. Even if it meant that she hurt for the rest of her life. She had no right.

There wasn't anything she could do about her feelings, but in order to let her wound heal, she needed to stop scratching it. She needed to remove herself from the picture. She had to go.

Robert rang his sister's doorbell at seven in the evening. He had had a long day and all he wanted was to go to bed early. But all day he had been thinking about Rosamund and was counting hours until he could go and see her. She needed him today and he promised he'd be there for her. So as soon as his last meeting finished, he rushed to Rosamund's house and hoped that she was doing okay.

The door opened and all his hopes were dashed, she clearly wasn't okay. Rosamund stood in front of him dressed in a very glamourous violet dress, but her eyes were bloodshot and her makeup had smudged because of the tears, leaving the evidence in the trail that slid down her eyes, ruining her eyeliner.

"Hi, Robert" she said with a soft smile.

"Hey, Ros" he replied as he entered the house to kiss her cheek. He scrunched his nose as he neared her.

"Have you been smoking?" he asked.

Rosamund rolled her eyes and walked further into the house as he followed her. Rosamund moved near the kitchen counter and picked up the lit cigar from the ashtray.

"It was the last one in his pack" she said as she took in a big puff of the cigar and grimaced afterwards. She hated it but Robert knew why she was doing it.

"It's his day today and I am doing everything that he'd do if he was here today" she replied to Robert.

He felt so sorry for his sister. Marmaduke's death had really shaken her and despite being the strongest person he knew, she had her weak moments and today being Duke's first birthday after his death was bound to upset her. He understood that.

Robert nodded and softly clapped, trying to lighten the atmosphere "So what else did Duke do, should I cook us his favorite dinner?" he asked smiling.

Rosamund smiled and shook her head "No, we always ordered in for his birthday" she said sighing softly.

Robert nodded "Okay, should I order the food?" he asked as he took out his iPhone to call.

Rosamund shook her head and brought the cigar close to her nose to sniff it "I already have, it's in the kitchen" she stated plainly.

Robert gulped and nodded. He already knew he wouldn't be able to do much, but the one thing he could do was to be with her and that was precisely what he had planned.

Robert walked closer to her and took the cigar from her hands "Okay, I'll go warm up the food, and then let's celebrate Marmaduke" he said with a smile.

Rosamund sucked the insides on her cheek and nodded. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. "Okay" she whispered and moved towards the couch.

Robert quickly warmed up the food and put out the plates for their dinner. Rosamund in the meantime sat in her living room, staring at the television screen without actually watching it.

Robert made a plate for Rosamund and handed her a glass of champagne. Rosamund took a big sip and raised her glass "To Duke"

Robert raised his glass as well "To Duke"

Two hours and two bottles of champagne later, Robert sat on Rosamund's couch staring at his sister dance to some foreign music that completely went past him. He simply stared at her as she sang along to the foreign language and gulp down her champagne. She was drunk and was completely off her face. He knew he couldn't stop her, not today, so he just sat there waiting for her to get tired enough and go to sleep.

Rosamund's wobbled from one end to the other and he got up several times to catch her in case she fell but she never did. Much like the person that she was, she always kept her chin high no matter what the situation was. She had always been the stronger one and Robert really admired that in her. Even when their Papa died, she was the first one to perk back up and get back to routine life. In fact, at the time of his funeral, Rosamund was the one who actively took part in making sure everything was going as planned. He was amazed at how she handled the situation and he was amazed now as well. Marmaduke was the love of her life, those two were inseparable. When he died, a part of her died as well, but she chose to remain strong and get back to life. Of course, there were days like today where she would flip and break down, she would either cry on for hours or get completely plastered to soothe her pain. She was only human after all. But his responsibility as her brother was to be there for her and take care of her without stepping on her boundaries. He let her cry, he let her get drunk, he let her go completely nuts. He knew she needed that, otherwise she'd go mad. So he sat there staring at his sister sing in her high-pitched voice and she stumbled across her living room.

Robert smiled at her as she grabbed the bottle placed on her table and used it as a microphone.

"What language is this again?" he asked.

Rosamund gulped and smiled "It's Swedish…he loved it"

"And you know all the lyrics?" he asked.

Rosamund giggled as she took a big sip directly from the bottle "I know everything that he loved, Robert"

Robert nodded. That much was true of course. She knew every single thing about him. All his likes and dislikes. She knew everything at the back of her hand.

"I don't understand what it means though" she said as she swayed "but it didn't matter, he loved it, so I loved it" she smiled as fresh tears escaped her eyes.

She walked towards the center table to grab her phone when she twisted her foot. Robert immediately got on his feet and grabbed her before she could fall.

"Woah! Easy, Ros" he said as he held her tightly by her arms and dragged her towards the sofa. He made her sit down on it before sitting next to her.

Rosamund hiccuped and closed her eyes. He could see that she was getting tired. She then leaned forward to grab her glass but Robert grabbed her hand and pushed it back "That's enough, Ros. You've drunk nearly two bottles"

Rosamund's intoxicated eyes opened fully and she nodded "Two, really?" her words came out slurry.

Robert nodded at her and Rosamund collapsed back on the sofa.

A few minutes of silence passed as Rosamund got lost in her thoughts. Robert didn't interrupt her. Today she needed to do whatever she felt like she had to do.

"I miss him, Robert" she finally said as she continued to stare at the ceiling. Robert tilted his head to stare back at her, one stray tear made its way down her left eye and plopped down on her shoulder.

Robert sighed and took her hand "We all do, Ros. We all miss him"

Rosamund didn't look at him, instead continued to stare at the ceiling. A few more minutes passed in silence before she spoke.

"But I am lucky you know" she said.

Robert tilted his head to look at her.

"I know what real love is" she added. She then tilted her head to look at him "Real…passionate love" she emphasized. "Just…" she hiccuped "Just the way he…. looked at me was more than what….most…. most people experience in their lives" she added.

Robert nodded at her. Rosamund continued to stare at him and then chuckled and moved forward to grab her almost empty glass from the table.

"You don't," she said.

Robert's eyes shot up at her. Rosamund struggled to grab the glass and she dragged herself on the sofa to reach the table "You don't know anything about it" she added before she fell on the floor on all fours in effort to reach her glass.

Robert immediately stood up and grabbed her arms "I think it's time to put you to bed" he said as he helped her up. Rosamund struggled to stand up and Robert had to use almost all his weight to help her up since she wasn't conscious enough to assist. When they finally stood up, Robert encircled her waist and dragged her towards her bedroom. It was more difficult than usual because he had injured his hand a week prior as he had punched a pole and broken and bruised his knuckles. The hand was now covered in bandages. He had to carry most of her weight through one properly working hand.

"But…but we haven't had the cake yet" she replied as she held onto his arms for support.

"We can have it tomorrow," he said as they moved to her bedroom.

"Okay..I'll" she hiccuped "I'll come to the hotel tomorrow" he said

"No, take tomorrow off as well" he said as he turned on the switch in her room.

Rosamund chuckled "Okay, Rob…or should I say boss" she laughed at her own joke before Robert dropped her down on the bed.

He sighed as he stood back up, sighing at the exertion and the effort it took to bring her there. Fortunately, Rosamund had thrown off her shoes earlier as they stopped her from dancing so Robert plumped her pillows and helped her lay down. If he learned anything from his daughters, it was that one should never go to bed with makeup on but it would be too difficult to make her go to the bathroom and wash her face so he hoped one night of makeup wouldn't do much harm.

Rosamund laid down on her bed and Robert covered her up with a blanket. She closed her eyes and then immediately opened them up wide. "Don't..don't go until I sleep" she said, her words barely audible.

"I'm here" he said as he sat down at the foot of her bed, his uninjured hand still entangled with hers.

A few minutes passed before Rosamund slowly opened her eyes, her pillow getting wet as few tears came in contact with it.

"You…" she said.

Robert looked at her as she struggled to speak in an almost unconscious state "You look at her like that…"

Robert simply stared at her, "how Duke looked at me" she added.

"What?" he whispered.

"Cora" she said.

Robert felt his heart stop at her name. He felt a pinch in his heart.

"She also…she also looks at you like that" Rosamund whispered, her eyes half-open.

Robert felt his throat closing up on him.

"You both are…both…" she said before she passed out without completing her sentence.

Robert stared at his sister's sleeping body and felt incapable of moving his own. He sighed and took the support of the bed to get up on his feet, suddenly feeling exhausted.

Rosamund had been completely honest with him for the first time regarding the Cora situation. She had finally said what she had hoped he would say. She probably wouldn't even remember it the next day but he knew now what she thought and what she felt. Robert felt his heart rate accelerate. He was afraid of this and now it finally happened. His feelings for Cora were different, they couldn't be categorized with any other feeling. It was different for her. Everything was different with her. And now they were obvious to his family. He felt ashamed, he felt naked in a way.

Cora, he thought. Beautiful, wonderful Cora.

The last time he saw her was at the restaurant, after which he had proceeded to break his hand. That meeting was nothing less than torture. He felt as if maybe he crossed a line, but he was so angry then, he was surprised that he didn't just get up and punched that man in the nose.

He missed her so much. He missed everything about her. He would do anything to fix things with her.

He sighed as he turned off Rosamund's room's light and walked out.

Cora exited the elevator on the seventh floor of the hotel and slowly walked towards her office. She had just wrapped up a meeting with Isobel and Mary regarding the next few shoots for the calendar. It was the first time in ten days she had come to the hotel. She felt a little strange, this place almost felt like home now but at the same time, it felt far from it. She felt peace and anxiety simultaneously. She had missed this place in the last few days. She had missed her work. She had missed him. She had missed how everything was a few months ago. She felt her heart beat a little faster as she neared his office. She gulped down. Was he still in there? She wondered.

Her question was answered within a second when she heard his door unlock and his voice from behind it. Her eyes grew wider and she immediately turned around and started to run her way back to the elevator she just exited. She didn't want to see him.

"Yes, we'll have it done soon" she heard Robert's voice as he talked to someone on his phone. She looked at his reflection in the big mirror in front of her as she continued to run towards the elevator without making much noise. Her distraction towards where she was going and focus on the mirror came back to bite her when she accidentally hit her arm against the jamb of the wall to her right and a loose nail cut down half an inch through her skin.

"Ouch" she yelped as she looked at her arm, out of which blood seeped out.

She looked in the mirror and saw Robert's head snap towards her at her cry. Yup, exactly what she was afraid of.

"I'll call you back" he quickly said on the phone and ran towards her.

"Cora" he said as he neared her.

He walked closer to her and Cora cursed herself internally for not being careful.

"What happened?" he asked as looked at her arm. His eyes grew twice their size as he saw blood coming out of it. "Oh my god" he said as he grabbed her elbow to inspect the wound carefully.

Cora sighed "There's a loose nail here, I didn't see it" she replied. Her arm started to hurt now.

"What?" he said as he moved his head to look at the nail. He furrowed in eyebrows in anger "When did this get out?" he talked to himself as he looked at the nail.

He looked at the wound again and furrowed his eyebrows "Come on, I have a first-aid box in my office" he said.

She didn't want to go but her arm really hurt at that point and she needed something immediately to stop the blood. Cora sighed and followed him to his office.

Robert opened the door to his office and helped her inside. Cora walked towards the seat that was her seat for a very long time until things got messy. She felt strange walking back in there. The last time she came inside, they had kissed. She took a deep breath to calm herself down as she sat down on the chair, covering her wound with her other hand.

She looked at Robert who hurriedly opened a few drawers and grabbed the items he felt were necessary.

"Should I send for a doctor?" he asked as he quickly walked towards her with a box in hand.

Cora shook her head "I don't think it's that deep. I'll get an injection later"

Robert nodded and came and sat down on his knees in front of her and opened the box "Yeah, we should stop the blood first" he murmured to himself as he took out the things from the box.

Cora stared at him, his perfume enveloped her nostrils and she had to constantly remind herself to breathe. She smiled softly seeing him sit on his knees. It reminded her of the first time she saw him when he had dropped his papers and she found him sitting on all fours in his suit trying to gather all the documents. This sight was similar, he was on his knees in his best suit. He was still the same person, the situation was just very different. When she had entered this room for the first time, she could never have imagined that within a year she would find herself in this state. Hopelessly falling for a man with whom there was only one destination – ruin. She sighed again as he carefully held her arm and wiped the blood with a plain cotton pad. She noticed the bandage on his right hand and wondered what had happened. Did he fight with someone? Did he fell? She sighed again and stared at him do his job, not bothering to look at her wound. Her internal wound was much deeper and far more detrimental.

He carefully wiped the accumulated blood and then took another cotton pad and drowned it in an antiseptic before holding her arm again. He looked up at her, his blue eyes staring deeply in hers. She felt herself lose her breath again.

"This might sting a bit" he said.

She nodded as he slowly wiped her wound with the medicated pad. It did sting, but she couldn't concentrate on that. Her focus was on the tips of his fingers that unknowingly caressed the inside of her arm. A sign to give comfort, like someone would comfort a child after they scratched their knee. She felt goosebumps up her arm at the contact and cursed herself again as they were so obvious and she couldn't even move her arm away.

He looked up at her again "Does it hurt?" he asked.

She chewed her lower lip and slowly shook her head "No"

Robert nodded as he threw away the cotton pad now covered in blood. He then took another fresh piece of cotton and covered her wound with it before taking a bandage to wrap around it. He slowly wrapped the thin material around her arm, his eyes focused on getting it evenly spread around the circumference of her arm. Cora simply stared at him, thinking about the times when such a physical contact didn't pain her. It used to bring her joy and comfort.

Robert tied a knot to secure the bandage before clearing his throat. Cora looked at him as he continued to work on the bandage.

"Listen I'm sorry…if I crossed a line the other day" he said before looking up at her.

Cora raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to elaborate.

"At the restaurant, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you" he added.

Cora opened her mouth. She couldn't believe him. He felt like he embarrassed her when it was completely the other way around. She felt embarrassed for him. She felt ashamed for having him witness that conversation. She just shook her head softly. Blown away the millionth time by his care and kindness.

"No. You didn't" she simply replied and gave him a soft smile.

Robert's gaze relaxed and he gave her a hint of a smile. He put away the remaining bandage in his hand.

"Okay?" he asked gesturing at her arm.

Cora nodded softly and stared at him for a second. She chewed the inside of her cheek before speaking "You?" she asked.

Robert raised his eyebrows before realizing what she was referring to. "Oh" he said, before moving his injured hand away from her sight. He felt embarrassed. If she had any doubts, they were now cleared. It had something to do with her. She sighed again.

"It's nothing…my hand came between a door. Silly of me, really" he said forcing a smile.

Cora stared at him, knowing that he was lying. She felt so bad for him, she felt responsible for putting him in this situation, for messing with his head, for walking in this room that bloody night completely plastered off her face. He didn't deserve this. He had a beautiful life, she had no right to wreck it.

She nodded at him, her throat closing up on her. He stared at her and she stared back. This was the longest conversation they'd had since that day at the lake. She missed him, she missed his beautiful face and the beautiful person that he was. She felt tears gather in her eyes again and she clenched her jaw to stop them from falling. Robert looked at her with so much love and concern, she just wanted to collapse in his arms and cry her heart out. She couldn't still believe she had found someone like him and now she had to leave. For her sake, for his sake, for everybody's sake.

Robert sighed in front of her "Cora….how are you?" he asked hesitantly.

She forced a faint smile. She knew he was asking generally. He had missed talking to her and she had missed it as well.

She didn't have it in her to lie so she slowly nodded at him, afraid of speaking with a tear strained voice.

He understood her nod and slowly relaxed his jaw.

She cleared her throat "You?" she asked him.

He let out a dry chuckle and slowly nodded back, mimicking her way of answering. She didn't need to ask him, she understood.

They were both not okay. Far from it.

She looked him in the eyes again. She could see the worry in them. The sympathy for her. He wanted to protect her, to save her from something he wasn't even sure of. But she couldn't let him. It would only lead to more heartbreak and she didn't think she had the energy to deal with any more pain. She didn't want him pitying her.

"Cora, I-" he opened his mouth again and Cora shook her head.

"Robert don't" she cut him off, shaking her head. She gulped again, her eyes filling with tears.

Robert's eyes grew wider and he stared at her "What?" he replied.

She sighed "Don't look at me like that"

Robert stared at her for a few more seconds "Like what?"

Cora sighed loudly "Like that" she said staring him square in the eyes "Like you think I'm a glass doll who's about to break and you can pick up the pieces." She sighed, a tear escaping her eye "Please don't pity me" she said before getting up from her seat to walk towards the door.

Robert immediately stood up from his position and followed her "Cora" he said before grabbing her elbow and turning her around to face him. He stared at her for a few seconds, trying to understand what was going on with her. She could see it on his face that he was trying to figure out her emotions. She didn't want him to.

"I am not pitying you" he finally said "You know that" he sighed.

She looked him in the eyes. She knew that, deep down she knew that. She knew he cared and he was concerned but she was so afraid of him being able to read her face and ultimately understand what was going on with her. She couldn't let him. It wasn't fair.

"You don't need pity" he added "You need.." he stopped midway and sighed.

Cora looked at him, the pain was so obvious on his face "What? I need what?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

He didn't reply, instead, he continued to stare at her. A part of her was glad he chose not to answer, afraid of the words that might escape his mouth. It was a sensitive business, they both knew that.

He continued to look at her. She could see her reflection in his eyes. All she could see was hurt and pain. They didn't deserve this. Cora braced herself. It was now or never. It was time to rip the band-aid.

"Robert" she whispered.

"Yes" he replied a few seconds later.

Cora sighed, her heart beating ten times faster than normal "I think" she said "I think I should quit"

She stared at his face with bated breath. First, his eyes grew wider as he processed the news, then he opened his mouth before closing it again. He let go of her elbow and took a step backward.

"What?" he asked.

Cora took a shaky breath "Quit. I think I should quit"

Robert took another step back before turning around and cupping his mouth with his functioning hand. He stayed in that position for a while before turning around to face her again "Just like that?" he asked, using his hand to emphasize his words.

Cora could see the shock and pain in his face. She hated herself for hurting him, but she knew that they had to deal with this sensibly. She didn't know where Robert was, but she knew that he cared for her, he adored her and she didn't want him to be in a position she was in. It would lead to more heartbreak. They had to break the chain.

Cora sighed again, ignoring his question "I'll work until I find a suitable replacement. In the meanwhile, Phyllis can perfectly handle everything here" she stated, trying to stop her tears from falling.

Robert stared at her in confusion. She knew he was still processing the news. He walked a step closer to her and shook his head "There has to be another way, Cora" he said. He was serious…almost desperate.

Cora sighed loudly and shook her head. She chewed her lower lip. She couldn't look at him, it hurt to see the pain on his face. Another tear escaped her eye "Robert" she breathed out his name "Look at yourself" she said.

Robert stared at her in confusion until Cora pointed towards his injured hand. Robert gulped down.

"Look at me" she said, as her arms fell defeatedly and desperation leaked from her voice. She sniffed before speaking again "It's messing with us. It's not right" she added.

Robert clenched his jaw and sighed. His shoulders slumped and he gulped staring back at her.

Cora took another breath "As I said, I will work for the next month's shoot and find a replacement, so I-"

Robert cut her off "So you've decided then?" he asked, she could feel the anger and desperation in his voice.

Cora let out a shaky breath. This was so hard. "I hadn't planned, Robert…" she said trying to reason with him. "But it's not right" she added.

Robert nodded slowly, sucking on his cheek before letting out a breath. He put one hand on his waist and stared at her. He was angry. "So, that's it then? Are we…" he sighed "Am I never to see you again?" he asked, in a taunting tone.

Cora ran a hand through her hair and licked her lips, before shaking her head "How much do we see each other nowadays anyways, Robert?" she questioned back.

He simply stared at her.

Cora sighed "I am sorry about the work, but I will manage.." she said.

Robert rolled his eyes and took a step closer to her "It's about the work, Cora!" he replied. He walked closer to her and looked her in the eyes again. She felt her chest constricting and forced her nose to continue breathing.

He put a hand on her arm and Cora closed her eyes at the contact. "Cora" he said "Please, don't make a decision right now. It's not right for you to lose your job…to leave. Please think over it" he said softly.

His soft tone was enough to convince her but she knew it wasn't right. He wasn't seeing the bigger picture. What will happen if she stayed? They would continue to get hurt. They will continue to live with constant pain and anxiety and wreck just not their own lives but each others. It wasn't right. It was too difficult.

Cora moved a step closer to him and looked at him. Her tears now shamelessly fell down her eyes "It's too hard, Robert. It's not right, we played with fire and we got burned…..I can't do this" she said before removing his hand from her arm. She turned around and sniffed before walking away.

"No, Cora" she heard him call her out from behind but she continued to walk away.

She opened his office's door and walked out.

"Cora!" he called out again but she continued to walk.

She entered the hallway to walk towards her office as Robert followed her. She increased her pace when she heard another voice call her name again. She stopped in her tracks and looked towards her right as Anna giddily walked towards her.

Cora quickly sniffed and forced a smile towards her. Robert had reached her at this point but stopped when he saw Anna walking towards her.

"I am so glad you are here" said Anna.

Cora cleared her throat and smiled "Why?"

A moment later Bates walked behind Anna and smiled "Oh great, you're both here" he said looking at her and Robert.

Robert looked at Bates, Cora could see the annoyance on his face at being interrupted. "What's happening?" asked Robert.

"Wait! Let everyone get here" replied Bates as he put an arm around Anna's shoulder.

"Everyone?" asked Robert.

His question was shortly answered as Mary, Edith, Matthew and Isobel walked out from their offices one by one to assemble in the hall.

Mary looked up from her phone "What is it, Bates? What happened?"

Bates nodded when Isobel spoke "I just got your message Bates, what's the matter?"

"Message?" Robert murmured before taking out his phone to see a message from Bates that he had received five minutes ago asking everyone to gather on the seventh-floor hallway.

"Just a second, where is Rosamund?" asked Bates "Ros!" he yelled out when Rosamund exited her office and walked towards them.

"Yes, sorry sorry, I was on a call. What's happening?" she replied as she neared them.

"Now everyone is here. What is the emergency?" asked Edith.

Bates grinned and looked at Anna "Well, Anna and I wanted to announce that we are getting married!"

"What?" said Matthew before everyone exclaimed in joy.

"Oh my god" said Isobel as she neared Anna and took her in a hug.

The next few minutes were spent in everyone hugging and congratulating the newly engaged couple.

Cora saw Robert hug his best friend and Cora moved to congratulate Anna. She struggled to keep up with the number of emotions that transcended within her in the past few minutes.

"Wait, wait wait!" said Anna "There's more" she added.

Bates smiled as everyone was silenced "We are getting married…in a month"

Mary gasped "A month?!"

Bates nodded.

Robert finally spoke "What's the rush?"

"Anna's father is in town around that time before he has to leave for Canada. And besides, I can't wait any longer" he said as he took Anna in another hug. Anna smiled.

"We are sorry if it's too sudden" added Anna.

"No, I think this is exactly what we all need right now" smiled Rosamund.

Anna smiled back and then walked towards Cora and took her hands "Cora, Mr Bates and I would love it if you would photograph our wedding" she said.

Cora opened her mouth and then closed it again. This was exactly the opposite of what she had planned. She had hoped to leave as soon as possible. She sighed.

No, she couldn't say no to Anna. It was just a month. She'd manage…hopefully.

Cora smiled. She couldn't say no to them. "Of course" she said softly "I'd be honoured" she replied.

Anna squealed and took Cora in a hug. Cora stared at Robert who stood right in her view. He stared back at her.

One more month.

She sighed.

It'll be okay.

Hello everyone! Hope you all are well. Here is Chapter 15! I was very unsure of this chapter for various reasons and it took me a good eight hours to write it, even though it is shorter than most chapters. Please let me know what you all think! Do you like it? *nervously laughs* I hope you do!

Please, please, please do review! I want to know all your thoughts. Your reviews are the best motivation for me!

Love you all, thanks so much for the love & support! You guys are the BEST! Cannot wait to read your reviews!