A/N: Here's a new chapter. I'm so sorry for the long wait. I'll try to post more soon!

It was Wednesday afternoon and her flight was going at 8 pm in the evening. After John had left the evening before Elizabeth had gone to her room, had curled up in her bed and had cried. She wasn't sure why she had been so upset. When Julie had come back she had feigned sleep, she had needed to sort out things for herself.

"So, you're telling me he married, because his dad wanted to rule the world?" Julie asked and looked at her over the rim of her glass of water. They were sitting in a café, just a few blocks away from their apartment. Elizabeth had finally decided to tell Julie about hers and John's conversation.

"He apparently wanted to expand his company" Elizabeth said.

"And John helped him by marrying a woman he didn't love?"

"He said it was at a point in his life where he wanted to settle down"

"And what does that mean?" Julie asked and raised an eyebrow at her. Elizabeth sighed.

"I don't know. He didn't go into detail" she said and stared at her coffee. Despite the fact that she had had a proper talk with him, she didn't feel relieved at all.

"And all the time he was afraid to tell you?" Julie asked and Elizabeth nodded. "Men. As soon as it becomes serious they get cold feet. It's always the same" she said and Elizabeth laughed slightly.

"Yeah, it's always the same" she then sighed. Julie put down her glass and looked at her.

"That conversation wasn't what you were looking for, right? He's still in your head" she commented and Elizabeth looked up. She had spent the past night thinking, rethinking and thinking again about everything he had said to her and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She couldn't explain it though. "Do you believe what he said to you? Do you believe this whole marrying-because-my-father-wanted-to-rule-the-world-excuse?" Julie asked.

"I think I do"

"Ok, then next question. Do you still love him?" she asked and Elizabeth looked back down at her coffee. She had asked herself that question many times since the night before.

"Honestly, I don't know" she sighed. She couldn't say that she didn't love him anymore, but she couldn't say that she loved him either. It was confusing. He had damaged her. "I don't know anything. I expected once he gave me an explanation I could close that chapter of my life, but that doesn't work. I feel restless, I feel like I should do something, but I don't know what. It's driving me crazy" she said exasperated.

"Maybe the thing you should do is to forgive him. We're human, we make mistakes. He made a mistake. You're always telling me that everyone deserves a second chance. Maybe that's what you should do. Give him a second chance" Julie said calmly.

"How come that one day you take sides with me and then suddenly you're on his side?"

"I'm not taking sides with him, I'm always on your side. I just point out the options you have. I know you, Elizabeth. Sometimes you just need someone to nudge you into the right direction, that's all"

"And you think that forgiving him is the right direction?"

"I'm not saying it is, but it can be an alternative to bearing a lifelong grudge against him. You have to decide that for yourself" Julie said and took a sip from her water. Elizabeth watched the cars that were driving past the café on the outside.

"I'm not sure if I can forgive him" she said thoughtfully, her eyes slowly travelling back to Julie.

"You don't have to, it's just one of many different options"

After they had left the café Elizabeth had dropped Julie at their apartment in order to have some time for herself to think. She didn't know what made her do it, but only an hour later she found herself on the parking lot of the air field where John's flight school was located. He wasn't there though. She didn't see his car anywhere or the motorbike.

The flight school was closed, there were no courses today and Elizabeth strolled around the area until she found herself in one of the hangars. The plane John had taken her out with was slumbering in the back of the great hall.

"Can I help you?" a voice asked and she wheeled around. "Elizabeth" Evan said in surprise when he recognized her. She smiled at him.

"Hey"

"What are you doing here?" he asked and came over to her. He was covered in what looked like oil and was cleaning his hands in a stained cloth.

"I don't know" she said and looked around. She had just followed an impulse that had brought her there.

"I'm sorry" he said and she turned back to look at him.

"What for?"

"I should have told you. I should have told you the moment he asked me to keep it to myself. He's such an idiot. I should have seen it coming" he sighed. Elizabeth raised both eyebrows at him.

"Did it already happen before?"

"No, but he was trapped and when that happens he tends to do the stupidest things and unfortunately I tend to follow him" he said in a voice full of regret.

"What do you mean with trapped?"

"He realized that he had to tell you about Caroline, but he also knew that he would hurt you with doing that. God, he was afraid that once you knew you would turn tail and leave. He said he needed some time to figure out how to tell you and asked me to keep my mouth shut. I would have never thought that he wouldn't tell you. I'm so sorry" he said and rubbed a hand over his face.

"It's not your fault, Evan" she said reassuringly. It wasn't his fault. He had just trusted his best friend. "Did you know why he married?" she then asked and started walking around the hangar, Evan following her.

"Oh please, I tried to talk some sense into him, but he wouldn't listen. It was a clever move of Richard to ask John to get married at that time. We both came back from Afghanistan and we've been through hell there. John lost three of his comrades and then was almost court-martialed for ignoring an order in order to help them. He was sick of the military and he just wanted a quiet life. Richard took advantage of that and suggested the marriage. He and Caroline barely knew each other, but they both agreed. John agreed, because he thought a family was what he needed and Caroline did it, because she really was in love with him I guess. I tried to talk him out of it, but there was no chance for me to get through to him. And then a few months later he suddenly realized what he had done. I don't know what happened with Caroline, but they were starting to live separate lives. His father kept him from getting divorced because of his company. Everything was such a mess. It still is" he explained.

They walked in silence around the hangar and Elizabeth had time to think about Evan's words. He had told her the same things John had offered her as an explanation plus the details John had left out. It sounded all plausible. She had known that John had been in Afghanistan once, but he had never talked about what had happened there. And she had always thought of Richard Sheppard as a nice person. She would have never thought that he would be able to take advantage of his son like that, but then again she had only been the housemaid. She had never really gotten to know John's parents.

"Did you find the answers you were looking for?" Evan asked after a while and she looked at him in surprise. He smiled slightly. "You and John have a lot in common. You both have this talent for subtle interrogation" he explained and Elizabeth gave him a small smile.

"Sorry" she said and he laughed.

"Don't worry about it. So, did I say anything useful?"

"I'm not sure" she said and sighed. "Tell me an alternative to bearing a lifelong grudge against him" she said to her surprise. Evan thought for a moment.

"An alternative would be to forgive him" he shrugged.

"You think I should do that?" she asked and he shook his head.

"I'm just saying it's an alternative, nothing more. You have to decide that for yourself" he said. She sighed.

"Yeah, people tend to tell me that"

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you with making that decision. All I can tell you is that John is an idiot and sometimes he behaves like a 5-year-old, because he doesn't know it better" he shrugged. Elizabeth smiled.

"But you're still his best friend"

"I am still his best friend. It's a full time job. I don't want to justify his actions, but he's a good person, but I'm sure you already know that despite the fact what he did. He didn't hurt you on purpose, he wouldn't do that"

"But he did" she said and Evan sighed sadly.

"Yes, he did. As I said before, I can't make that decision for you" he said and she nodded.

"Thank you"

"Anytime"