When the four of them arrived to the restaurant, Brandon was already there. He greeted Fitz and Georgiana and then hugged William for his birthday.

"Hi, Lizzie. It's a pleasure to at last officially meet you," he said and gave her his hand.

"Hello, Brandon, nice to meet you too," she responded and shook his hand. Brandon was as tall as William, but he had light brown hair and green eyes.

"Hey, Brandon, Lizzie wanted to ask you something," Fitz said, playfully.

"Oh, yeah? What it is?," he responded, grinning at her.

Lizzie hesitated before speaking. Fitz had caught her out of guard.

"Mmm... I loved you cheese cakes," she said, remembering what she had said during breakfast.

"Thank you very much," he replied, "it's my own recipe."

"Oh... would you mind sharing it? For Jane, she really likes cook and bake."

"Of course not, Lizzie. Let me tell you all about them," Brandon said and escorted her into the restaurant.

Once inside, Brandon sat next to Lizzie as he was relating how he had come up with the recipe. And Gigi, in order not to make things uncomfortable for his brother, took the other available seat.

"So, Lizzie, this place has really great salads, and since Kate is cooking dinner, you might want to leave some space," Fitz said after Brandon finished with his story.

"Okay, thanks of the advice," she responded, looking at the menu. She was not particularly hungry, and asked Gigi if she wanted to share something with her.

They enjoyed their meal and the conversation. Brandon was very much like Fitz, Lizzie realized. He liked to tease a lot, and she heard his funny stories that involved his boyfriend and William too.

William did not want to be embarrassed in front of Lizzie, but when he saw her smile and laugh, nothing mattered.

When they finished eating, they returned to William's house. Fitz drove back with Brandon, and Lizzie drove with William and Gigi.

As Georgiana had said, Kate had already returned from her bakery and as soon as she heard them in the house, she ran to congratulate William. She kissed on the cheek and hugged him tightly, despite the difference in size.

Lizzie was touched by the scene, and she was glad that William and Georgiana had another person in their lives who loved and cared for them as their mother would have. That made her think of her family and decided that she was feeling strong enough to tell them what had happened.

She took her phone and noticed a message from Lydia, hey Lizzie, where are you? George just called and he sounded worried because he does not know about you. You okay? Call me ASAP.

"Please, excuse me, but I need to talk with my sisters," she announced to the group.

"Of course," William said back to her.

Lizzie was going to get back to her room, when her phone made a sound and died.

"Oh, my battery is over...," Lizzie said.

"I'll give you my charger," Gigi said, "We have the same phone."

"Great, thanks," Lizzie replied.

"I have a better idea, let's go to the library," William suddenly added.

"Sure," Lizzie nodded and followed him through the house.

"There is a computer there and you can video call your sisters. And since Gigi always misplaces her charger, I have a spare one," he said.

"Thanks, William."

They finally arrived to a wooden door, and William opened it for her.

"This is… beautiful," Lizzie said as soon as she saw the room. Three walls were completely covered with books, and the fourth was a window panel, that opened to the garden. There was a desk with the computer, and two couches. This light coming through the window made a perfect ambiance to read and relax.

"This is probably my favorite spot in the house. I spent a lot of time with my parents here," he mentioned.

Lizzie just gave him a smile as a response.

"All right," William sighed to change the topic, "you can use Domino. And the charger must be here." He opened a drawer from the desk and found it.

"Here, you go. If you need anything else, let me know," he added before turning to the door.

"Thank you," Lizzie said one last time and sat in front of the computer.

She logged into Domino, and while she waited to establish the call with Jane and Lydia, she decided to look at George's last message.

It said that he was very sorry and wanted to fix things between them, that he loved her. But he gave no indication that he had left the apartment. Lizzie breathed several times to calm herself and deleted all his messages.

Lydia was the first to pick up the call and she appeared on the screen.

"Lizzie, where are you? George is worried about you," she immediately said.

"Lydia, let me get Jane first and I'll explain things."

"Is everything all right?," Lydia asked.

"Wait," Lizzie said.

"Lizzie! I'm glad you called. I was thinking about you," the smiling face of Jane appeared on the screen, "oh, hi Lydia! So nice to see you both!"

"Hi Jane. Now Lizzie, can you please explain what's going on now."

"What are you talking about?," Jane asked, puzzled, "wait, where are you, Lizzie? That's not your apartment."

"No, I am not there," Lizzie sighed.

"Then where are you?," Lydia insisted.

"I'm in William Darcy's house... with his family," Lizzie replied.

Jane's mouth became an "O", but Lydia spoke.

"Darcy's house? Why are you there?"

Lizzie breathed deeply before answering.

"I found out certain things about George, very bad things, and I ended our relationship."

"Oh, my God!," Jane cried.

"What?!," Lydia seconded her oldest sister.

Lizzie proceeded to relate everything that had happened: George's lies about William, her eye-opening conversation with Georgiana and her confrontation with her ex-fiancé. The only things she omitted were the details of her relationship with Gigi; her sisters did not need to know that.

"Son of a b…!", Jane yelled.

Lizzie and Lydia gasped. They had never heard her sister swear.

"I can't believe he would do all that! That he would fool us all," Jane said.

"Yes, I really thought he was true to you. And he even had the nerve to call me because he pretended to be worried about you. I'm so going to kick his stupid, sorry ass," Lydia added.

"I will kick his ass too, how did he dare to hurt my sister?!," Jane cried.

Lizzie was very grateful to hear her sisters' support.

"Anyway, if he tries to contact you, don't reply to him. I just hope he has not called Mom and involve her in this mess."

"He has not. I just talked to her, and she does not know," Jane said.

"Good, I still don't want to tell her, or Dad," Lizzie added.

"Lizzie, you still had not told us why are you in Darcy's house," Lydia said.

"Oh, yes... After I left my apartment, I went to Pemberley and ran into him. We talked for a while, and when I told him I was leaving, he offered his house."

"That's very thoughtful of him," Jane said, "I'm glad you are not alone."

"Yes, he has been very nice. All his family, in fact. Gigi is here too."

"I remember her from the wedding, she was super nice and fun," Lydia said, "I can't believe he hurt her too."

The Bennet sisters stayed in silence, for a while.

"So, what are planning to do next?," Lydia finally asked.

"Well, I can't stay here much longer, I don't want to be burden. I will stay in a hotel if necessary," Lizzie replied.

"Wait, today is William's birthday, right? Bing mentioned that this morning," Jane said.

"Yes, it is. That's why I don't want to bother him any more," her sister answered.

"Oh, Lizzie! I wish you haven't gone through this," Jane complained, "I wish I could be there with you."

"Me too. Stupid job! I am supposed to be in Miami tomorrow," Lydia said, "But it's just one week. When I am done, I'll fly straight to San Francisco."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, I know you both are here with me," Lizzie replied.

"I love you Lizzie."

"I love you too, nerdy sister."

"I love you both, a lot. I'll call you tomorrow when I am settled, okay?"

The sisters said their good byes and Lizzie finished the call. She had not cried but her eyes were watery and did not want to worry the others. So she stayed there a little longer.

When she felt more serene, she left the library and found everyone in the living room.

"Hey, Lizzie, we were just deciding what to do before dinner. Do you have a preference?," Gigi asked when she saw her. She wanted to ask her about her call with her sisters, but felt she would be intruding.

"No really. I guess it's up to William to decide, it's his birthday," Lizzie responded.

"Whatever you choose, it's fine with me," he said to all.

"We can watch TV," Fitz said.

"What about a movie?," Brandon suggested.

William's face illuminated.

"What if we watch Pemberley's mini series?"

"That's a great idea! I heard so much about it," Kate said.

"But it's not finished yet, William," Lizzie spoke shyly.

"I know, but I have the edited versions of the first three chapters, I guess that will be enough for now," he responded, "But if it bothers you, we won't watch them. It's your work after all."

Lizzie shook her head, "No, it's team work, our work, remember?"

William smiled at the recollection of that conversation.

"Okay, then…," Gigi said, "let's go to the TV room."

"I'll just get the DVDs," her brother said.

"William, can I talk to you for a second?," Lizzie asked.

"Of course."

Gigi shared an understanding look with Kate, and everyone left for the TV room.

"I read George's last text, and I don't think he has left my apartment. I was planning to get back there tonight, but with that, I don't think I can, at least for now," Lizzie started.

William closed his hands with anger. What did George need to get out of her life? Money? Whatever it was, he knew him and knew that he was not going to give up that easily.

"So, what I want to ask you is if I can stay another night," Lizzie's voice distracted him from his thoughts.

"Lizzie, you don't need to ask. You're welcome here as long as you want," William replied.

"Thank you, but it'll be one more night. You have done a lot for me, and I have to deal with my own problems."

As much as he did not want her to leave, he also understood how she felt staying in his house, with Georgiana gone. Yes, they were friends now; but he was still her boss and that probably made her anxious.

"As you wish, Lizzie, I won't force you," he said, "But can I ask where and what are you going to do?"

"I was thinking on getting some of my things and stay in hotel until he leaves. The lease is under my name, so there must be a way to make him go," Lizzie answered, "I think…"

William stayed silent for a second, thinking.

"This is what I propose," he finally said to her, "you can ask Brandon about the apartment, he must know what to do. And tomorrow, after dropping Gigi at the airport, Fitz and I can take you to your apartment and be there for you."

In that moment, Lizzie felt an immense gratitude towards him and got so mad at her for ever believing that he was a bad person.

"Yes, I'll appreciate that, thank you very much," Lizzie said and grinned at him.

"That's settled then," he finished and smiled back to her.