I'm so eager to end this because of other constraints going on in my life. While attempting to do this I didn't want to let down my readers so (unfortunately) it took longer than it expected. I'm telling you all this because I'm set for a long hiatus and I want you to all be satisfied with an actual conclusion instead fo leaving you hanging. Like I said, I urge you all to make up your own minds and decide what happened as things tend to be conditional as opposed to fixed and unchanging. That's not to say I don't enjoy it or appeciate all of you because I do very much.

Peace x

"Burning the midnight oil?" She asked over his shoulder. The computer was still buzzing and rattling at two in the morning but his drive was something she was attracted to because she saw it in herself.

"Hey stranger. I almost forgot what you looked like. What's up?"

"That night when you asked me if we can defend our family together, what did you mean?"

He started to close down the programs. "I don't want anyone to come between us. I've always known Antonio meant a lot to you but when it comes to us and our family; we should take precedence, not him."

"You don't have to compete." She locked her arms around his neck.

"I know that now." He didn't even have to look at her to know that the facial expression she wore demanded an explanation. "Antonio called me before the conference."

"He knew Landon was coming for me?"

He held on to her hand. "That's what he said and that's why I was prepared."

"You went back there that night; to kill him." What could have been a question came out as a statement of fact and she forced her hand out of his clutch.

"He was already dead Nikki."

"What if he wasn't? What would you have done?"

"I wish I knew. All I know is; I don't want to lose you and even the thought of that possibility is enough to drive me insane. I love you to death but that doesn't make me a killer." His fingers found their way in between hers again.

The morning after gave her a hangover that could only have been psychosomatic. It made her hug her precocious daughter with a touch of desperation when she dropped her off at school. Emotions overlapped inside her as she waited in the elevator. Angst was boiling in her stomach; she had never been to Harris' office before. Their previous meetings had always been in more plush surroundings. The subpoena she was wielding in her right hand was whipping against the air like a fan. Though whatever hopes she had of confronting him were thwarted by the piercing scream of Jovia Sable. Marlon Harris was dead.

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Nina sneered over lunch.

"Do you want to be right?"

"Antonio wouldn't lie." She replied casually.

"So you'd rather believe Antonio's conspiracy theories if they destroy my life than process the fact that he doesn't love me anymore?"

"He does love you."

"Get real. Life was better when we didn't talk at all; I was content knowing he had found what he was looking for. He deserved to be free of me."
"So what did you deserve?"

"To find someone who accepts me. He didn't. The greatest heartache didn't come when he broke up with me; I felt it most when all he saw in me was dissatisfaction."

"He wanted you back but you chose Rashad."

"I gained a beautiful life in the process. He's not worth breaking it apart."

"Oh? So if he means nothing to you, why can't you look him in the eyes?"

"What has he been telling you?"

"Nothing I couldn't have guessed. If you want to end it all you need his help."

"I don't need his anything. "

"More fool you."

His eyes darted around her office again. "Am I missing something?" She asked; annoyed that Nina made her eat her words and invite him back in a matter of hours.

"It's not very you."

"What does that mean, Queer Eye?"

"Cute. What happened to the Red, Black and Green colour scheme?"

"The fist was too intimidating." She tried not to laugh but a smile was cracked albeit unwillingly. "What are we doing here Antonio?"

"Working. The files will be up soon so…I don't know. Something in me wanted to see you and my better judgement tells me to…"

"Run like hell?"

"Walk away."

"That's what I want too. So let's just have it out."

"Okay, shoot."

"Do you resent me?"

"Much less than I used to. You made me feel I was wrong for loving you." He paused for a while. "Does he make you as happy as I think he does?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does he make you happier than I did?"

"Yes. If you…if we had the chance to do it all over again, would you?"

"No Nicole."

"Thank you." She exhaled. "You know for being honest."

"You've got to feel the same. All these years later you've proven you were right to say you didn't need me because you don't."

"I need you for forensics." Her light joke did nothing to reduce the tension.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. I wasn't irreplaceable; you were waiting for something new, someone to give you what you needed."

"You wanted that too; especially the last part. That's why you broke up with me, remember? So are you done?"

"There's one more thing; what will you do if Rashad's hands are unclean?"

"Honestly?"

"Please."

"What would you do? Would you leave everything you've built, walk away from someone you love so deeply it's second nature and deny everything you've come to live by?"

"I'm not in your place."

"Of course not. We have a life together Antonio; I don't get to fly back to Seattle to my undisturbed family."

"Are you blaming me?"

"I'm stating the facts; your family's not at stake here."

"I was watching your back because I care for you!"

"Well you've done a lot more than that in such a short time Antonio. I've known you again for two weeks and everything you've said has given room to doubting Rashad; for all I know you could've killed Landon. You've got as much motive as he does, maybe more. You're not innocent Antonio; stop playing the saint."

"You're impossible; you always were. So I guess he's the only man on Earth who can deal with you and your albatross."

"At least he doesn't bathe in my vulnerability; it doesn't validate him or give him purpose."

"Why did you bother?"

"Excuse me?"

"What was the point of killing Sam Lewis?"

"I wanted you to live. I figured you deserved that much with or without me." She finally got out of her seat. "After this is over; we owe it to each other never to speak again. Like you said; we have nothing good to say to each other anyway."

Hours later.

"This is ridiculous." Gail said with the grease in her hair was frying her ringlets into a disorganised matted mass of colliding waves. She and Nicole had been in the interrogation room for hours.

"I looked into your track record. The last two years haven't treated you well. Your sources on the East Coast dried up so you through you'd head west, start over, and rebuild that reputation of yours, but it's not the nineties. A sharp suit and a gimmick wouldn't get your Harris off this time."

"I don't use gimmicks."

"They why did you purchase an Aston Martin when you haven't made that kind of money in years? You live in the Hills but you're renting. It's not a good look Gail, is it?"

"If that's all the motive you've got then I'll take my chances in court. I'm sure I can withstand any false charges you hold against me."

"Are you sure about that? This isn't the first time I've been set up. You applied some pressure at our meeting that didn't work. I didn't back down from the case and Harris was unhappy; you weren't performing like your pay check demanded so you had a stroke of genius. You'd pay Landon to bump me off and put an end to your problems, the case would collapse and you'd win the graces of one of the most influential men in those circles."

"Prove it."

"I'm getting there. When Landon failed you, you couldn't let him tae the stand and expose you. So you killed him; shot him dead after our little altercation. It all makes sense. Desmond Walls, Landon Warfield, Marlon Harris, Nicole Williams and Rashad Williams; they all connect through you. Warfield may have died a free man but it's just a matter of time before you take his place. Maybe at Wise County; they miss you back east." Nicole got up from her seat.

"Give your husband my compliments, he was determined back then though I never knew how much."

What was once a bittersweet denouement to an exhausted love affair had been transformed into an effervescent, refreshing feeling of jubilance and relief. Though idyllic in former times the coupling of Nicole and Antonio was out of sync and had no chance of happiness. So with a formality that didn't reflect everything they had once endured, he gave her the answers she wanted, the truths that she needed and watched her walk back to a life without him. Where she was of if she was at risk was no longer his concern; she was no longer seated in the crevices of his heart, holding it together. It was Xiomara who made it beat.