Beck didn't know what to expect walking into his house. On top of the earthquake earlier in the day, it felt like someone physically cracked between him and Diana, pulling them further apart from each other.

But now that he was standing in front of Diana, he knew this was not going to be a good conversation.

Diana had every right to be furious with him. He lied to her. Again. And betrayed her trust. Again. But Diana, unlike Jade, did not get riled up easily. She was always so calm. And that was the scariest part. He didn't know what to expect.

"I'm smart." Diana started. She didn't look at Beck. There was a box at her foot and she rummaged through it. Upon finding what she was looking for, she looked at Beck who was still standing across the room. "Like, really smart. I have a degree in chemistry from UC Berkeley. And I wasn't done there. Because I went to UCLA and got my Master's. You did know that, right?"

"Yes."

"And I was planning on going back to get my doctorate. I was working to pay off my student loans when we met, which means I also had a license to be a dental hygienist. Remember that day?"

Beck nodded. "Yes, I do."

"I had plans. Goals. Aspirations. And then I met you. Instead of becoming Doctor Diana Holloway, I became Missus Beck Oliver."

Diana finished her off drink. "I became the perfect housewife, the perfect trophy wife. I didn't mind it at first. I didn't mind at all, actually. All I had to do was look pretty, laugh at the right jokes, befriend the boring wives, and repeat. It was pretty easy actually. And I didn't even care at first because I loved you. I love you. I loved being with you and supporting you. I was going to do everything in my power to have your back, because that is what a wife is supposed to do. A charity event here, a movie premiere there. Do you know that is pretty much all I do now? I hang on your arm like a mindless robot and I smile."

"And somewhere in the middle of that, I let it consume me. But don't worry because I'm not blaming you for it. I blame myself."

Beck was still standing, practically speechless. He didn't really know what to say.

"Sit down, Beck. I'm not going to bite."

Beck sat down in a chair across from Diana. She slid the glass bottle and another tumbler across the table. He shook his head.

"No thank you."

"Trust me when I say, you might want to take a drink. It's honesty hour. A little liquid courage never hurt."

Beck caved. He grabbed the bottle and poured the clear liquid into his glass.

"You lied to me about Jade. You made me think you got rid of her."

"I tried to get her to leave."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "You tried? What on earth does that mean?"

"I told her that she needed to leave."

"Did you fire her?" Diana asked.

"No. But I couldn't fire her without her wanting to sue."

"I don't give a damn. You're the president of your company and you were afraid to fire your stupid little assistant. Do you know how ridiculous you sound? Or maybe you didn't want her gone, so you "tried" your hardest to get rid of her."

"That's not true."

"It is true! Darling, I've seen you threaten to fire your employees before they were eligible for retirement because they screwed up, so I refuse to believe you were scared to get rid of Jade. You just didn't want to. Stop trying to play me for a fool. Please. The whole point of honesty hour is to be honest."

"I did try. The last thing I wanted was to cause any more drama between us."

"But you had one measly, failed attempt, and then you just gave up, or gave in. You just threw your hands up in the air. You decided that lying to me by omission and whisking me out of the country without a moment's notice would be better."

"I did not-"

"That's exactly what you did. I've had a lot of time to think about this Beck, and ironically, I'm better at thinking when I'm a bit drunk. So just admit that's what the quickie vacation was about."

"Okay. I thought getting you out of Los Angeles would diffuse the situation. And help our marriage. Which it did."

"No it didn't. Because you can't just put a band-aid over a cut. Or makeup on top of a hideous pimple You have to fix the actual problem."

Beck sighed. He knew there was no point in trying to hide it.

"Fine. I suggested leaving the country because I didn't want to think about the shit storm I was leaving here."

"Thank you." Diana sighed to herself. Getting Beck to talk was like pulling teeth. "Thank you for admitting that. Anything you want to say to me?"

"No."

"That's another lie. You've been biting your tongue for at least a year."

"Diana, I don't want-"

"I promise whatever you say won't make me feel any worse than you've already made me feel during this marriage."

Beck's face fell. How was he supposed to reply when Diana says stuff like that?

"You think I'm a horrible wife." Diana stated. "You don't have to say it, because I know that you do. You think I'm mean and cold and uncaring. I don't cook, I don't clean, I spend too much money-"

"Is that why you married me? Because I have money."

"Contrary to what your mother thinks, I did not. I married you because I love you and you asked me to. I'm not going to lie and say the money isn't an excellent bonus, because it is. Besides, when I met you, you went out of your way to throw money at me. The spur of the moment trips, the extravagant jewelry, the personal shoppers. On my thirtieth birthday, you invited my family on the private jet and flew us to Rome because I'm half Italian and you wanted to experience my culture. You can't blame a girl for getting accustomed to stuff like that."

"Well you can't really blame me for asking. You seem to like my AmEx more than you like me."

Diana couldn't argue. Yeah, she liked money but, so what? He had so much of it.

"You got so accustomed, that you just decided to stop caring about me."

"That's not-"

"It's true. You simply don't care about me or you choose not to. Like you said earlier, you don't cook, you don't clean, you spend a lot of money, you forget my birthday-"

"That was one time! It was an accident and I'm sorry. I offered to make it up to you, but you didn't want to."

"Because it was too late. You spent the entire days with one of your friends, in Malibu. The day was almost over by the time you got it through your head that you forgot. Your lame attempt to make it up to me was useless."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me that."

"You spend more time out of the country than you spend with me. It's a hassle to keep you in one spot for a certain period of time. Does it physically pain you to spend time with me?"

Diana didn't reply right away. She kept her mouth closed and looked at the floor.

"You say that like I'm the only one. You're great at running away and hiding behind your work so you don't have to talk to me. I can think of multiple occasions right now off the top of my head."

"But I-"

"Like last year, for example. We got into a huge argument over your mother, and you flew all the way to the other side of the country. And you were gone for well over a week."

Diana took a deep breath and bit her lip in contemplation. "Hmm, I know something important happened that week. Something I was dying to tell you. Oh yeah, I found I was pregnant. Pretty big. But you didn't want to come home."

"Why didn't you just tell me over the phone?"

"Because that's not how it's supposed to be told. You're my husband. I wanted to be cheesy and dramatic. I wanted to buy the 'World's Best Dad' onesie, or frame an ultrasound picture for you. And I just wanted you to come home to me. Not everything is a business deal that needs to be scheduled through your secretary."

"Why didn't you tell me after the fact? You didn't think that I deserved to know?"

"No." Diana replied honestly. Her candor stung Beck a bit. "By the time you got home, I had already dealt with everything by myself. There was no use for anymore."

Beck pressed his thumb into his forehead. "You say that like you needed me to change a lightbulb or something. You didn't even give me a chance. You robbed me of that."

"Except I did! And you did not take the chance, so what was I supposed to do? Keep trying to track you down? You already made it clear to me that you were still holding a grudge, so I doubt you would've even answered the phone. Like I said earlier, I dealt with it."

Diana messed with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. She had a lot of nervous energy and didn't know what to do with herself.

"But why does Jade know?" Diana asked.

"I told her about it."

Everything about what Beck said, including the calm way he just said it, made Diana shake with anger. Did he not get it?

"And what gives you the right to tell your stupid little girlfriend anything about me? Do you not see how disrespectful you are?" In her burst of anger, Diana hurled her glass at Beck. The glass shattered into a bunch of pieces and one of them landed in the palm of Beck's hand. He hissed at the pain.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Diana said, faux sincerity dripping from her voice. "Did I cut you? Join the club because I have two of them!"

Diana held up her arm for Beck to see the white bandage covering it. He also noticed the Band-Aid on her cheek. "But Jade was in the room, so I doubt you noticed that I could've ruptured my radial artery, lost my arm and/or bled to death."

Beck didn't even think that far ahead. All he knew was that Jade, would did have a pre-existing heart problem, was on the floor, unconscious.

"I'm-"

"God, stop apologizing to me. Your words mean nothing to me at this point."

Beck didn't say anything. They stayed in complete silence for a few minutes, just staring at each other. Beck noticed Diana had puffy red eyes, like she had been crying. Diana never cried.

"When did you start cheating on me?"

Beck grimaced. He hated the way Diana said that. It sounded so...dirty. "Jade started working for me a few months ago. Tori referred her to me."

Diana scoffed. "Of course."

"Don't think I just saw her and instantly started sleeping with her, it wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like? Enlighten me please."

"I don't know! We were just spending a lot of time together and before I knew it-"

"Don't sweep anything away. I want details."

"Why?"

"Because I deserve them. When and how did this start?"

Beck sighed. Why was Diana so adamant on this? It would only hurt her feelings.

"I guess it started while you were off in Europe with your friends. One night, Jade took me out to a club and we were just drinking and talking, and I guess that's when I started to realized that I was attracted to her."

"And then a few days later on my birthday, in my office, I kissed her. We were both drunk and I was pissed at you for forgetting my birthday."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "So you did it to punish me?"

"No."

"Well that's what it sounds like. I did something wrong, so you kissed Jade."

"No, it wasn't to punish you. We were just caught up in a moment and I kissed her. She ran off. And our next encounter was in New York."

"You invited her to New York with you? While my parents were in town? That's what you were so busy with?"

"I did not invite to New York. She was there with Tori and André. It was completely coincidental." Diana rolled her eyes. "Yes, I realize how this sounds, but it's the truth."

"What happened in New York?" Diana asked.

Beck took a deep breath. New York was the turning point in his relationship with Jade. In Jade's exact words were, "Tonight is going to be magical." How could he make this explanation as smooth as possible?

He couldn't.

"I invited her to accompany me to Noah's wedding."

"You and I got into that huge argument while you were in New York."

"Yeah."

"She told me you guys weren't sleeping together, but you tried. Is that true?"

"We went back to her hotel room and yes, we almost had sex."

"What counts as almost?"

"We were in the process of taking our clothes off."

The thought of Beck touching another woman made Diana want to throw up.

"What made you stop? Did you suddenly remember you were married?"

"Jade did." Beck knew that didn't make him sound favorable to Diana. If it were up to him, he would've slept with Jade.

"Fan-fucking-tastic! Should I go thank her for being the one with a modicum of self-control and respect?"

"We didn't sleep together, and she kicked me out of her room. And I didn't see her until we got back out here to Los Angeles."

"So what happened after you guys got back from New York?"

"You know the rest."

Diana nodded. "Yeah. You filed for divorce, I got into a car accident, and we have tried and failed miserably to reconcile."

"Well that is the short version, yes."

"Do you love her?" Diana asked.

You could've cut the tension in that room with a knife, it was so thick.

"Di-"

"Just answer the question." Diana said. She was tired of beating around the bush with Beck. "Yes or no."

Beck nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Are you in love with her?"

"Yes."

It felt like someone hit Diana in the chest. The air was knocked out of her body and it felt hard to breathe. Why was hearing that so hard? Deep down she knew the answer, but hearing him say it still hurt.

"Why did you do this to me? I don't even get the luxury of trying to delude myself into thinking that she doesn't matter. I can't say, "Well it was purely physical. It doesn't mean anything," because that's a lie. She got you to fall under her spell and she didn't even have to sleep with you. God, that is so sad."

Diana lowered her head so she didn't have to meet Beck's gaze. "Why couldn't you just be honest with me?"

"Because we made vows and I owed it to you to at least try."

"But you haven't been trying! You haven't been pulling your weight for a long time, and I shouldn't have to feel like a burden to you. I shouldn't have to drag you along through this marriage. Sometimes it feels like it physically pains you to be with me. You should just want me."

"I gave you an out! I didn't put a gun to your head, I didn't manipulate you, I didn't force you to stay. You chose to stay. Why? So you could torture me? Make my life a living hell?"

"Of course not!"

"That's what it feels like. You're lying to me, keeping secrets, manipulating me. Is this how you wanted to start our clean slate?"

"No, but Jade-"

"Oh my God, can you for once just take responsibility? You were either not man enough to get rid of her or you didn't want to. I don't believe that she just bested you and your hands were tied. You can do anything you want because you're the fucking president of the company, but you just didn't want to. Stop trying to make her the bad guy in this situation, because that's on you."

Diana closed her eyes tightly. Arguing with Beck was harder than talking to a brick wall. He made her head want to explode.

"If I am being one hundred percent honest with you, I can't stand being here. This big house is so cold and empty. And it's just you and me, staring at each other. But that only happens if you're here for me to look at, because a lot of the time you're locked away in your office or away on business. And I don't like being alone here, so I leave. This house is...haunting and dark, and I hate it! I hate it! I hate-"

Diana stopped herself before she could continue. She literally bit down on her tongue to stop herself from talking.

"What?"

"Just forget it."

"No." Beck stood up. "This is "honesty hour," as you so wonderfully named it. And you've been berating me over my lack of honesty, so please finish."

"You. I hate you. That's what I was going to say."

That really shut Beck up. That wasn't what he was expecting her to say at all.

Diana put her hands over her mouth, as if that would keep the words from flowing. She couldn't believe she actually said that.

"I hate you for keeping me on this ridiculous string. And for treating me like crap. And for falling for someone who isn't your wife. And I hate Jade because she obviously has something that I don't. She has you. Well, at least all the parts that matter. You're here physically with me, but your mind and heart are obviously in that hospital."

"And I hate myself the most because I'm the idiot who stayed. I thought I could make us work, despite the fact that I should've left you a long time ago. I was willing to make myself miserable. And I don't know why. I'm really smart, and yet here I am, crying over a boy." Beck shifted uncomfortably at the dig. "What is it about you that has me so freaking stupid?"

"You're not stupid." It was a weak reply, but Beck couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't fix the unfixable, and I can't trap myself in this marriage with a man who so obviously doesn't want to be with me. You're freaking miserable."

Diana dug into her pocket and placed her ring on the table. "So you win. I officially quit, resign, wave my white flag, whatever you want to call it. I have no fight left in me, I'm exhausted." Diana grabbed the tall bottle of vodka off the table and stood. She felt unsteady on her feet due to all the alcohol she consumed.

"So, here's what's going to happen. You're going to leave. I'm going to polish off this bottle of vodka, and then I'm going to bed. Tomorrow after I've sobered up, I'm going to call my lawyer and tell him that the divorce is back on."

Beck was too stunned to actually speak. What just happened? According to Diana, they were really done.

"Goodnight, Beck." Diana said.

Beck turned on his heel and walked out of the living room.

A few seconds later, Diana heard their heavy front door close, signaling that Beck was gone. She let out a sigh she didn't even know she was holding in.

She turned around and walked up the spiral staircase that would lead to her bedroom. She plopped down on her bed, face first and reached for her cell phone which was sitting on her nightstand.

After dialing her mother's number, Diana held the phone to her ear.

"Diana? Are you okay? I heard there was an earthquake in Los Angeles. It was a 6.8!"

"I'm fine mom, I just cut my arm, but it's all stitched and bandaged."

"What about Beck?"

"He's fine. I'm just calling to let you know that I'm going to be in Chicago in a few days."

"Oh how wonderful! How long are you going to be out here?"

"A while. It's an extended stay."

"Is Beck coming with you?"

"No. Actually mom, the divorce is back on."

"What? What happened?"

"We shouldn't have tried to reconcile."

"I'm so sorry baby."

"Are you?"

"Yes. Despite my feelings for Beck, I love you and I want what you want. And you wanted Beck. I'm sorry it didn't work out."

Diana closed her eyes in fear she would start crying again. "I don't want to talk about it now. I'll call you in the morning."

"But-"

"I love you mom. I'll talk to you later."

And with that, Diana hung up the phone. She turned it off just to ensure her mother didn't call back. She didn't feel like talking anymore. And for good measure, she threw the phone on the floor.

"Now as nice as it is to see my eldest child, I doubt you're here for a friendly chat."

Beck closed his eyes as his dad entered the guest room. The light coming in from the hallway was harsh since he was sitting in a pitch black bedroom. "I can't just come to see my mom and dad?"

"Of course you can. But you seem extremely melancholy and in case you forgot, I was there at work earlier. And my office is right next to yours, so I got the pleasure of listening to Diana and Jade rip each other new ones."

Beck grimaced. He really did forget. "I sincerely apologize for what happened. Completely unprofessional and-"

"Apology accepted."

"Diana and I are over. We're done. And she kicked me out."

"Okay."

"I'm in love with Jade."

"I figured that much."

"And she went into cardiac arrest and now she might die." Beck continued. "And her brother hates me, and Diana really hates me, and everyone at the office knows my personal business, and I've royally screwed up, dad."

James nodded softly. "Yeah, yeah you have."

Beck rolled over to glare at his dad. "Gee dad, thanks for that."

"Well, what do you want me to say? Do you want me to coddle you? Hold your hand, tell you everything is going to be all right?"

"Would you?"

"Ask your mother for that. I'm not going to coddle my grown, philandering son."

"I wasn't sleeping with Jade."

"Really?"

"Don't act so surprised."

"Well, most affairs usually involve sex."

"The relationship wasn't sexual. Jade is just smart, and intelligent, and strong willed. But she is the most infuriating person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She pushes every button I have, and she does whatever she can to get under my skin."

"Oh yeah." James chuckled. "That's love. You want to light them on fire one minute and treat their burns the next."

"And I'm not saying I didn't love Diana. I wouldn't have married her if I didn't, but we just aren't right for each other. And it took Jade becoming my assistant to help me see it."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Get divorced and pray Jade pulls through. She hasn't woken up yet."

James put his hand on Beck's shoulder. "She's going to be okay. Spitfires like Jade don't just give up."

"Survival rates for cardiac arrest are shit, and that's putting it lightly. At best, there's a thirty percent chance of survival."

James tried his hardest to not react to that statistic. Beck was right. That was shit. "You have to be positive, no matter how scary."

The image of Jade being strapped onto the stretcher popped into Beck's brain. His chest tightened and it felt hard to breathe. He sat up. "If Jade dies-"

"You've had a long, tiring, stressful day." James cut in. "There's a lot to take in and digest. Why don't you get some sleep and we'll talk about everything in the morning. You're here which means mom is going to spoil you rotten."

Beck nodded silently and almost smiled. He could so easily picture his mother running around the kitchen, cooking him a huge breakfast.

"Okay."

James stood up and stretched his arms above his head. Something popped and he groaned. "Gosh, I'm getting old. These bones aren't what they used to be."

That got a smile out of Beck. "Goodnight, dad."

"Night, son."

Once his dad was gone, Beck thought about actually getting up and changing his clothes. But he was too tired to actually pull his three piece suit off and put on more clothes. Instead, he just rolled over and closed his eyes.

"I'm really glad Karen us." André said. He stuffed his hands in the pockets on his pants, a little nervous. He had never been in the ICU before.

"You have a flight to Atlanta to catch. Tori pointed out. "You don't have to stay."

"I can book a later flight. Jade is in the hospital."

"Jade went into cardiac arrest." Tori almost laughed. "Gosh, I knew Jade was go big or go home, but come on. She couldn't just sprain her ankle or get a concussion like a normal person, no. She has to almost die."

André chuckled. "You know Jade never does anything half-assed."

Tori sighs. She reached for the doorknob that would lead her to Jade's room and stopped herself.

André noticed the hesitation. "What's wrong?"

"I deserve the award for the World's Worst Best Friend. I lambasted her over Beck and I haven't spoken to her since. What right do I have to sit vigil at her bedside? We had our hugest fight ever, and I thought we'd never speak, considering we can both be really stubborn."

"Friends fight. You and Jade have been locked at the hip for years. One fight won't destroy you two. You love each other too much."

"Yeah, but-"

"Do you regret the fight?"

Tori nodded. "Wholeheartedly."

"Okay then. Just go in there, sit by Jade's side and be her friend." André kissed Tori's forehead. "I'm gonna get you some coffee."

"Thanks."

André squeezed Tori's shoulder as a show of support before walking off.

Tori finally grabbed on to door and slowly pushed it open. It was really quiet in the room, which was the first thing Tori noticed. It was different. Jade was loud and in your face most of the time.

She closed the door and sat down in the chair beside Jade's bed. For a long time, Tori didn't say anything. She just looked around.

"I wish you were conscious right now so you could see how freaking ugly this room is. The ICU is so depressing, how do they expect anyone to get better?"

Of course, Jade said nothing in return. The monitors just continued to beep every few seconds.

Tori inhaled deeply. "Can I just start off by saying that I'm really sorry. I was so out of line about Beck, but I have the ability to see when a train wreck is coming, and I just didn't want to see you get hurt. But you're a big girl, so I need to step back. You can sleep with whomever you want, as long as it's not my husband." She laughed anxiously.

"I want what's best for you because you're my best friend. And I love you one hundred percent of the time, even when we don't see eye to eye. So you need to wake up because I want to apologize to you, with your eyes open. And then we can have sleepovers and drink vodka martinis. Can you even drink anymore after this? Oh man, it's gonna be hilarious knowing a sober Jade West."

Tori reached forward and grabbed Jade's hand. "So just know that when you wake up, I'm going to be here for you. No stipulations, no strings. I promise."