His phone's bell interrupted his thoughts. He looked at the screen.

'Hello?' he answered.

'Liam? It's me…' Hope said.

'Yeah, I know. I saw your name on the screen.'

Hope nodded on the phone. 'Is this a bad time?" she paused. 'You sound tensed… and kind of drunk.'

Liam chuckled. 'You can tell that I'm tensed just by listening to the sound of my voice?'

'I know you pretty well.'

'Yeah, you do.'

'You didn't answer my question.' Hope pointed out.

'Steffy is not here if that's what you want to know.' Liam answered.

There was a small silence over the phone until Liam spoke again: 'You could at least try to hide your joy.'

'Excuse me?' Hope said raising her eyebrows in incomprehension.

'I can actually hear you smiling.' Liam snapped.

Hope cleared her throat in embarrassment.

'Sorry.' She apologized. 'I'm not happy.' she told him. 'I'm just not… unhappy.'

He tilted his head half-angry half-amused.

'Hope…' he uttered in a warning tone of voice.

'Sorry…' she apologized again, with more sincerity this time, lowering her gaze.

'Liam, have you been drinking?' she questioned.

'Noooo.'

'Liam…' it was Hope's turn to use a warning tone of voice.

'Okay, maybe I had one drink.' Liam admitted.

'Maybe?' she repeated half-chuckling half-dazed. 'And one?' she asked, skeptical. 'How big exactly was that one drink?' she mocked him.

'I am not drunk, mother.'

'I am just looking out for you. Don't get defensive!' Hope defended herself.

'I know…' he paused. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.' She said with a smile.

He unknowingly replied with a similar smile.

'So Steffy's not with you, huh?'

There was yet another silence.

Liam didn't want to talk about this with Hope. Hell, he didn't want to talk about this with anyone. Besides, it didn't seem fair to talk to Hope about Steffy or conversely. The way he saw it, neither of them needed to know what was going on with the other. And until he made his choice, he had every intention to keep his business with Steffy with Steffy and his with Hope with Hope.

'Liam?' she called as he still didn't answer after a few seconds.

'Yes?' he answered.

'Is everything ok? What is going on with you? How come Steffy isn't with you?' she bombarded him with questions; however, concern evident in her low voice.

'She moved out.' Liam declared above a whisper.

The blonde's eyes widened and she didn't reply. It was her turn to be short of words.

'You mean you moved her out?' Hope asked not wanting to have false hope.

'Look, you were right…" He spoke. 'This is a bad time. I'll call you tomorrow, ok? I, I need some sleep.'

'Ok.' She waited a small moment for a reply but didn't get any so she offered. 'Are you sure that you're okay? Do you want me to come over?'

'No, thanks… I'm okay. Things just aren't really clear in my head right now. But like I said… I'll call you tomorrow.' He promised Hope.

'Ok.' The blonde said again. 'Have a good night.' She wished.

'Yeah, you too.'

After he rung off his phone, a picture of him and Steffy which was set as his screen background appeared to Liam's sight. He stared involuntarily at the picture: they were holding hands, with happy smiles on their faces; their complicity and the love between them evident to anyone looking at the image. Liam thought Steffy was so stunning in that photo she outshone the beautiful scenery around them.

He looked away, obviously distraught and utterly lost. Wanting, no needing to get Steffy out of his head, he headed for his desk.

"Work." he spoke to himself clapping his hands.

As he was about to sit and work a bit, Liam noticed the raven-haired woman's work bag at the corner of his desk and picked it up.

He tilted his head disbelievingly and made a face.

Was the universe trying to send him a message?

Steffy had already made it to her apartment. She was staring at the landscape through the windows next to the bathtub when her phone started ringing. She turned and saw Liam's picture on the screen. She went to pick it and answered.

'Miss me already?' the raven-haired woman asked Liam with a fake smile on her face and in her voice.

'Yeah, I do.' The latter answered.

And he did. God, did he do. She had been gone for barely two hours; yet, he already missed her like crazy. She might as well have still been in Paris: it wouldn't have made any difference. She still wasn't WITH him… and he could still feel every bit of her absence. She filled up the place. Her smile, her laugh, that light she had about her… Liam missed everything about Steffy.

'Listen, um…' he pulled himself together and tried to find his words to ease the palpable tension that had built between them over the phone. "I probably shouldn't be calling you but um, you left your workbag here and I just…" Liam had no idea what to say; he knew what he wanted to say though. "I um, I just needed to hear you voice." He eventually declared.

At that, Steffy faintly smiled. She had been desperate to hear Liam's voice as well, so had been their child growing inside of her. She just wasn't sure this would help her take a setback.

"Are you okay?' Liam asked.

"It could be worse." She honestly responded. Though, it could be way better too.

"At least I didn't have to move in back with my mom... Now, that would be depressing." She elaborated.

"Is she there with you now?" he asked.

"No." Her answer was immediate. "Are you alone?" It was her turn to question.

"Yeah. It's kind of the point." He responded.

"It's what's fair… And it's the only way to make the right decision. You got to tune everything out." She told him.

"I'm so sorry for this, Steffy. I wish I didn't have to put you through this." He apologized.

"Hey, don't be! She said. "It was my choice, remember?" she pointed out.

"No, not for that… Well, for that too, but…" he got confused. He sighed and brought a hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry for THIS… this situation, this mess, this… train wreck!"

"I know you are." The raven-haired woman spoke in a low voice.

Truth is Steffy knew exactly what she was signing up for when she went after Liam in the first place. She knew a part of his heart would always belong to Hope. Yet, somewhere in the back of her mind, she hoped she would gain more territory into his heart and eventually oust Hope.

"I, I don't… want to lose you, Steffy." Liam declared.

"I just…" he continued. "I love you and I hope… you don't forget that."

Steffy had her eyes closed. She was painfully taking in his words.

She reopened them. "YOU don't forget that." She told Liam causing him to half-laugh half-smile.

"This doesn't mean it's the end for us." He specified. "You know, I just… I'm trying to do right by everybody. I'm trying to make the right decision and there's so much to consider and I, I hope you understand."

"I do." Steffy replied. "I love you too." She took an instant. "I hope you make the right decision."

She brought a hand to her stomach and stroked it. "Don't let us down…" She demanded thinking about his baby she was carrying inside of her.

She hung up and Liam removed his phone from his ear.

She moved to the bathtub and sat at its corner still holding her stomach, a worried expression on her face.

/

Steffy was in her apartment drinking one of the three cups of coffee she was allowed per day as a pregnant woman according to a website relative to recommendations for pregnant women. At the same time, she was on her Yahoo account checking out her emails; a lot came from her mother's address –invading, much? –most were from Forrester Creations. Apparently, Eric, Rick, Thomas and Thorne were on on launching a new collection to increase the company's benefits and wanted her opinion on the subject. She had also received a report concerning FC's income… and the least one could say was that Hope For The Future's sales had fallen. Therefore, maybe a new collection to regild the company's image wasn't a terrible idea. At another time and in other circumstances, Steffy would have most likely exulted because of the blonde, her sworn enemy's downfall but right now, she honestly couldn't be more indifferent. No, right now, Steffy had more important issues like whether or not her child was going to be raised with its both parents living under the same roof in family bliss.

It had been a very long time since Steffy slept in that apartment: ever since Liam asked her to move back into their home in fact. It was extremely difficult for her being here now given the memories of her and Liam it held. Indeed, the bathtub in the entry wasn't only a reminder of how he saved her from drowning after her heartbreaking breakup with Bill… Every time her eyes lay on the bathtub, Steffy's mind would go back to her very first (thank you) kiss with Liam and the poor woman's heart would tighten a bit more in her chest. She remembered all too well…

She had spent most of the night thinking about Liam and had ended up drifting off to sleep due to exhaustion. And now, sitting at her dining room still quite flat, finishing her breakfast while checking her mails, she was still thinking about Liam. And to think she used to be a hardened single woman…

What had happened to her?

What had Liam Spencer done to Steffy Forrester?

As she brought a soft hand to her stomach, it finally hit Steffy: she would never be able to completely cut Liam out of her mind, and her heart was a much bigger deal… He was stuck there! She was carrying his baby for God's sake! And that child would be a constant reminder of their love story… which a priori was a good thing... She hoped it wouldn't turn out to be a bad thing. However, Steffy was pretty sure that no matter the decision he'd make, she would never come to repudiate neither Liam neither what they shared.

Tired of rehashing things and desperately needing to tear Liam away from her thoughts, the raven-haired woman decided she should focus on her work… And what better way to do that than to go to work? That's how Steffy Forrester worked up the strength to head for Forrester Creations at only seven thirty in the morning.

She finished her coffee and her bit of bread, put the crockery in the dishwasher, her bag on her arm, and grabbed her car keys. As she was about to pass the door-step to go out of her apartment, Steffy's phone buzzed on the counter and the latter realized she had almost forgotten it. So she came back into the apartment and went over to the counter to pick it up. She read the message she had just received first:

I miss you.

I love you.

Kiss.

A picture of Liam laying a kiss on the palm of his fingers was attached.

/

Liam was at the office trying his best to stay occupied and actually succeeding. He was working on an article for the next number of Spencer Publications. It dealt with Jackie M's new beach collection and promoted it praising the designs and the items as well as the arrangement between the colors. Jackie Marone had insisted on the number of pages granted to the article: she wanted a maximum of publicity. Indeed, Jackie M's sales hadn't been extraordinary lately and with this new beach collection, the CEO of the company certainly hoped to regild the image of her 'empire'; this was a last shot for her.

The reason Liam was there so early was that he had woken up and gotten up horribly early and had eventually grown fed up of thinking of Steffy: she was all he saw. Indeed, Liam hadn't spent such an agitated night in a long time; he had drifted off to sleep thinking about Steffy and he had woken up, thinking about Steffy. His whole place looked the picture of Steffy. The brunette had impregnated everything with her scent: the kitchen, the towels, the sheets… Thinking about his bed, THEIR bed, Liam couldn't help but feel guilty: after all, he had more or less betrayed her in that bed, he had soiled it.

He was going through some paperwork when the door opened and let appear his father.

"Liam!" Bill said, surprise dripping from his voice.

"Morning, father." He merely greeted him.

"Morning." Bill greeted back before he slightly turned to close the door. "What are you doing here?" he questioned approaching his son's desk.

"Same as you…" Liam responded. "Working." He made it explicit, removing his nose from his papers.

"Okay, let me do this again." Bill said. "What are you doing here at this early hour of the morning?" he specified his question. "Didn't you sleep yesterday?"

It was barely eight a.m. effectively. Yet, Liam wasn't used to come to work before at least nine thirty. Indeed, for as a very hard-working person he was, Liam was a big –not to say a huge –sleeper.

Liam briefly looked at Bill but didn't answer him so his father unlikely insisted.

"I thought Steffy was coming back from her trip yesterday."

"She was." He stated. "She did."

"Okay, so again: What are you doing here?!"

Liam dropped his pen. He let out a sigh, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of nose in annoyance. Wasn't it obvious he just didn't want to get into it?

"Why aren't you home taking care of your girlfriend?" the old man asked. "Enjoying her and telling her how much you missed her while she was away?"

It was in those moments Bill wondered if Liam was really his son: the guy had a wonderful, gorgeous, girlfriend at home who had just returned from a long trip and instead of making love to her and relishing in her; here he was working at the office on a Sunday morning at eight a.m. No, but was he made of steel or something?

"Because I can't." Liam answered.

"You can't." repeated Bill in a questioning way.

"Indeed." Liam stated. "Steffy's not home."

"But you said…"

"She moved out." He cut him off.

"She WHAT?!" Bill yelled. "Why would you do something like that?!"

"I didn't do ANYTHING!" Liam countered trying his best to remain calm. "It was HER decision!" he announced.

Liam's words echoed in Bill's mind: 'it was her decision'.

Now why on earth would she do something like that? What had gotten into her?

This was by far the most stupid decision she had ever made. She was merely letting the door wide open for that fake blonde! Where was the fierce and tenacious Steffy he had always known, respected and admired?

"And why would she do something like that?" he asked. "Surely because of something YOU did in the first place." He accused.

Liam let out a dry chuckle and shook his head.

He could have predicted just how the conversation would unroll. This was exactly why he didn't want to answer him to begin with. Liam knew Bill would immediately throw accusations in his face and assume he was the one to blame. Sure, he WAS to blame. But the presumption of innocence existed and a little bit of support from time to time coming from his father would be appreciated.

"She saw Hope and me making out on our bed just before her departure." He fessed up.

At that, Bill didn't say a word; he simply stared at his son surprising the latter who expected an outburst.

Mentally, the old man cursed his son. How was it humanly possible to be that stupid? How could a man normally incorporated prefer Hope to Steffy? Or even hesitate between the two? That was beyond Bill's understanding.

"You totally want to give me a slap right now, don't you?"

"That's an understatement." Bill responded.

/

Steffy was looking into the report relative to the six past months' sales. Apparently, their turnover showed a slight decrease. Thomas was right: something had to be done fast before things got worse for the company.

A knock on the door briefly pulled Steffy out of her papers.

"Yes?" she answered.

The door opened and Steffy lifted her gaze to see who it was.

"Oliver!" she exclaimed getting up. She turned round the table and got to him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked.

She gave him a quick hug and he responded rubbing her back.

"I'm fine, thanks! You?"

"I'm good." He responded simply with a smile.

"Is that for me?" she asked pointing at the file he was holding.

"It is." Oliver stated. "Coming from Madison." He specified handing over the file to Steffy.

"Thank you. I have been waiting for this." The brunette declared.

"So I've been told."

"So what are you doing here anyway?" she asked him. "Shouldn't you be basking on the beach?" she teased him imitating the scene lounging on her seat.

He laughed. "Probably same as you." He told her.

"Uh… I don't think so." Steffy said.

"I do." He stated.

"I couldn't sleep…"

Oliver stayed still… for a few seconds; and his face was just priceless.

"Okkaaayy…" he sniggered. "I am NOT here because I couldn't sleep."

Steffy laughed and Oliver immediately joined her.

"Your grandfather asked for a staff meeting." Oliver explained. "I thought you knew."

"I did." She told him. "I just thought it was more of a board meeting."

"Yeah, it probably is… but my presence has been required; Marcus' and Caroline's too."

Steffy nodded.

Things are worse than I thought, she mentally said to herself. Indeed, for her grandfather, Thorne, Thomas and Rick to call out a meeting a Saturday morning, things had got to be worrying. Either that or they had found an idea for a new collection.

"Very well. Well… thank you for the info." She said.

"You're welcome."

There was a small silent, rather uncomfortable, and Oliver headed for the door in order to leave but finally turned around.

"Do you want talk about it?" he offered.

Steffy who had put her focus back on her work looked up at him and creased her brows in confusion so Oliver elaborated.

"About what's bothering you." Oliver explained. "You said you couldn't sleep."

"Right. Um, no. I don't really feel like talking about it."

He nodded.

"But thank you for asking. You're a good friend." She complimented him.

"Apparently not good enough."

"No, you are. Please don't think that. It's really not you. It's just… I've been trying not to think about it and I don't want to get it back in my mind. I need to think about something else, anything else." Steffy confided.

Oliver nodded and gave her a smile; she smiled back at him.

/

"You don't intend to move Hope back in, right?" Bill asked his son. "You haven't completely lost your mind?" he made sure.

Liam just stared at Bill, keeping quiet. He loved his father, he did. But why did the latter feel like he always had to be so judgmental whenever his love life was concerned. And no offence, but it's not like his own home was a success.

"Excuse me, can you remind me why is this any of your business?" he rhetorically asked not really wanting an answer but knowing he'd get one considering who was his interlocutor.

"I AM your father." Bill pointed out approaching Liam.

"So that gives you the right to rule my life." Liam spoke more in a questioning tone of voice than an affirmative one.

"No. But…"

"Dad…" Liam cut him off. "… You already separated Hope and I once." He stated in the smoothest tone he could manage. "What am I saying? You separated Hope and I more times than I could count! You stood in our way! You schemed, you went behind my back." Liam enumerated. "Don't you think you've done enough?!" he paused. "Stay out of it!"

"Son, I just want to make sure you make the right decision. Don't let Steffy down." The old man advised. "She deserves to be treated like a queen, you know that." He declared.

"I respect Steffy. And I love her. I would never intentionally mistreat her." Liam stated.

"Good." He decreed. "Keep that in mind." He paused. "I don't want you to make a decision you'd end up regretting. I just want what's best for you, son."

"And that is to say not you." Hope commented stepping into the office.

Liam's eyes shot at her and followed her every move.

She walked towards the owner of the building. "And by that, I mean… NOT YOU." She stated. "Open your eyes, Bill: you're all wrong for your son. You are the ONLY thing that poisons his life."

"Hope…" Liam spoke in a warning voice.

Bill stared and listened at her intently, quiet before taking a step towards her as well.

"Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like this?! You ruined my son's life! You drove him crazy and made him miserable." Bill accused the blonde.

Hearing Bill condemn her like that, Hope's jaw clenched in anger; she had tried to get on with him for so long… She had put her pride aside to make it happen, to found a semblance of understanding between them… in vain. She did it all for Liam, so he would be at peace. But it had all been for nothing because HE had never been willing to get to know her and even less, accept her.

All he had ever seen was Steffy, he had always sworn only by Steffy: their understanding had always been peculiar. No matter how hard she tried, she'd never come close to Bill's image of the raven-haired woman.

"Dad…" Liam said in a tensed voice.

"You dragged and trapped him into your dramatic life. And now that he's found a WOMAN and that he's finally happy, you want to take that from him? Could you be any more selfish?" he kept on.

"Dad!"

"You know, Bill, I tried to get along with you. For Liam's sake, I tried… because I knew how important it was for him; because I knew how important YOU were to him! But guess what? I'm done trying: you are not worth the lesser of my efforts." The blonde declared. "Your son loves me and I love him and that is more than enough."

"Effectively, it's enough." Liam intervened getting up from his armchair. "Dad, can you please leave me and Hope alone?" he addressed his father.

Hope turned to Liam and brought a soft hand inside her blonde silky hair, she lifted her eyes to the ceiling waiting for Bill to finally leave the room.

The latter gave his son a talkative look which clearly said 'Do NOT mess it up!' and retired in silence, his hands in his pocket.

Liam moved away from his desk as Hope advanced towards him; they met halfway.

"I'm sorry about that." She apologized heaving a sigh.

"It's okay." He told her. "He's my father and still, there are times when I could actually kill him." He asserted half-jokingly.

She snorted. "I wonder how you haven't already. He just has this way of testing my patience!"

"I know, I know." Liam declared placing comforting hands on her arms. He rubbed them lightly. "It's okay." he reassured her moving his hands to each side of her face.

She sighed and brought her hands to his forearms. She leaned in to kiss him catching him off guard. He didn't reject her though. It was a soft, tender kiss. She lingered on his lips a bit longer.

"Good morning, by the way." She finally greeted him.

"Good morning." He said back to her, a smile on his face.

She continued smiling.

"So what brings you here?" he questioned.

"I wanted to see you." She responded simply and Liam started nodding. "And know what's going on with you and Steffy."

He looked back up at her and met her intent eyes. They stared at each other an instant until he broke the eye contact and moved away from her.

Hope followed him with the look. "You said Steffy moved out…"

"She did." He reaffirmed.

"Did you make her?" she questioned.

"Not exactly." He confided and turned around. "She, she moved out on her own."

"She did?" Asked the blonde, her eyes enlarged, surprise dripping from her tone.

"The day Steffy left for Paris…" started Liam. "… She made a detour back home to talk to me. She didn't enter. You guess why…"

"She saw us." Hope concluded.

Liam's brows had a rise and fall motion.

"How bad was the confrontation?" she inquired.

"Not that bad. It could have been worse. She was understanding and very mature."

"Is that why she left?" Hope asked another question.

Liam turned around to face Hope. He came back by her.

"She reckons I need air; so does she." He explained, lost in his thoughts.

Hope placed a reassuring hand on his face, bringing him back to reality.

She hated seeing him like this: so lost, so distraught, so… unhappy. She just wanted to make it better. She longed to make him happy, to see that beautiful smile of his cross his handsome features.

His eyes were looking at her but his stare was lost, empty: his mind was clearly elsewhere.

"Hey…" she pulled his mind back to her. "Maybe it's for the best. She's setting you free, you can…"

"No, she's not setting me free!" Liam instantly cut Hope off immediately. "She's not letting me go." He asserted in a calmer voice.

"I know. That's not what I meant; I didn't use the right words, that's all."

"I don't want to make empty promises, Hope. I'm not doing that to you anymore, either of you. Don't read too much into Steffy moving out." He advised.

/

"Stephanie Forrester, why have you been avoiding me?!" chided Taylor barging into her daughter's office.

"Good morning, mom. It's great to see you too."

"Let me doubt that." She said. "You haven't returned my calls or my texts or my mails for two days, Steffy!"

"I'm sorry, mom, I have been busy!" Steffy told Taylor getting up from her seat to get a file on the table next to the wall.

"So busy that you haven't been able to pick up the phone?!" she exclaimed.

Steffy sighed and dropped the file back on the table.

"What the hell have you been so busy doing anyway? Moving out?"

Steffy's eyes instantly shot back at her mother.

"Who told you that?" she asked her mother.

"Liam." The latter answered.

The raven-haired woman knit her brows in confusion.

"I called him last night since I couldn't get in touch with you. He told me you had just moved out and I'd probably find you at your apartment!" revealed Taylor.

"What else did he tell you?"

"Nothing more." She responded. "He thought it'd be better if you were the one to explain everything to me."

"You didn't talk to him, did you?" Taylor questioned her daughter.

"Mom…"

"Liam needs to know you're carrying his child, Steffy!"

"Mother…!" Steffy yelled. "I am not having this conversation now, okay? This is nor the time nor the place."

Taylor sighed. "Sweetheart…"

"No, mom, I cannot talk about such a bomb here!"

"Why? You're afraid it might come and blow up in your face?" asked Taylor.

"Yes!"

"And you're right…" Someone entered the office causing for two pair of eyes to turn towards them. "An explosion happens so fast."