"What are you doing here?" Jade asked again.

"I just needed to see you." Beck replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Why?

"Because you almost died and I couldn't help myself."

Jade closed her eyes tight. This couldn't be happening. "I had surgery yesterday. They cut me open, took my heart, and cut a few nerves out."

Beck grimaced at the layman definition of Jade's surgery. "So does this mean this won't happen again?"

"Nothing is one hundred percent. It could still happen, but the risk is significantly lower."

"That's really good to hear, Jade."

"Why are you here? You shouldn't be here. Don't you have a company to run and a wife to lie to?"

"Jade..."

"Beck..." She mimicked, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, what do you want?"

"Jill told me you had surgery, and before I knew it, I was here. I know it's stupid of me to be here, but I couldn't help myself."

"I'm upset with you right now." Jade said, messing with her IV line. "Diana didn't know I still worked for you?"

"No, I didn't tell her."

"You're a liar. You're a lying liar who lies. You lie with such ease, without a second thought. And that's a really troubling trait to have. In fact, it's downright scary."

"That's not an easy conversation to have. I didn't want to upset Diana who was coming off the heels of almost dying in the hospital. And we were in such a fragile place, and yeah, I choked and lied."

"How cowardice of you." Jade spat out. "I thought you had bigger balls than that."

"You don't-"

"Where is Diana? Does she know you're here, or did you lie again? Does she think you're at work?"

"Diana's in Chicago." Beck replied. "She left."

"Oh."

"She left for good. The divorce is back on."

Jade didn't reply immediately. She let the information sink in.

"Whose idea was it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Whose idea was it?" Jade repeated. "The divorce?" She watched as Beck shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Diana's."

"Good for her." Jade smiled. "I know I'd be devastated if I were in her shoes. To be married to a pathological liar, I know that's not easy. My mom was married to one for years." Jade sighed. "So am I the second choice. She dumped you, so you feel like it's okay to come here and sit vigil at my bedside? You are free to do whatever you want, without the pressure of having to keep me a secret."

"No, it's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

"I don't know." Beck bit the inside of his cheek. This wasn't going how he thought it would go. "I'm being nonsensical, like I always am when it comes to you."

"I'm really tired, Beck. Have you ever been in the hospital?"

"Not since I was born, no."

"Same. The last time I was in a hospital was when I got diagnosed with this condition. And here I am."

"You have no idea what it feels." Jade continued. "It's terrifying. Your heart is pounding so hard in chest, you think it might explode. And your pulse is so rapid, and you break out in a nervous sweat because you think you're going to die."

"This is the second time I've landed in the hospital because I was arguing about you, which is two times too many. I was defending my relationship with you. Why do I have to be the one who carries all of the weight and suffer?"

"All I've done is defend us, while you waffled back and forth with me and Diana. I can't do it anymore because it's not worth my life. I refuse to just stand here while you and Diana file for divorce, cancel, and file again."

"That's not going to happen."

"Why? Because Diana's leading the charge this time?" Jade knew this conversation had to end before her vital signs were off the charts. "I don't believe you. I don't trust you."

The heavy words hit Beck in the gut and he didn't have anything to say.

"Whatever we had, or whatever we started to have, is over. You ended it, and I cannot spend the rest of my life hung up on what never was."

"You don't mean that."

"I mean every word. You are toxic, we are toxic. Now I'm not supposed to be stressed out, and you are the quickest way to raise my blood pressure. I need you to leave. Please."

"Fine."

The door opened and in walked Jade's friend, Ryder. He was holding a giant teddy bear and a box of chocolates.

"Ryder!"

"Doll face." Ryder eyed Beck and then looked at Jade again. Suddenly the thick tension in the room was noticeable.

"I can come back, if I interrupted something." Ryder suggested.

Beck shook his head. "No, there's no need to do that. I was just leaving."

"Oh, okay."

Beck looked at Jade one last time. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he decided against it. "I hope you feel better Jade."

Jade wanted to say something snippy, but instead she stayed silent and kept her head down. Beck just walked out of the hospital room, the door softly closing behind him.

The room was silent. Ryder sat down in the chair next to Jade's bed and placed the teddy bear on her bed.

"Listen drama queen, if you want me to catch the first flight from New York to Los Angeles, all you have to do is ask. You don't need to knock at death's door to get my attention."

Jade was actually able to crack a smile. "Yes, I went into cardiac arrest because I was craving your attention."

Ryder chuckled before remembering where they were: in Jade's hospital room.

"But in all seriousness, you had me scared. Downright terrified, to be exact. Why didn't you tell me about your heart thing?"

"Only three people knew about it before this happened. Tyler, Beck, and my doctor. And I didn't think it was a big deal."

"Why did you keep it a secret?"

"I wasn't actively trying to keep it a secret. I just took my meds every morning and went on with my day. I never thought this would happen."

"We're buying you a medical bracelet."

"I think that's a bit much."

"I disagree. What if you collapse and no one knows about your condition? What if you aren't lucky next time?"

"There isn't gonna be a next time."

"You don't know that!" Ryder hissed. Jade was his best friend and the thought of her dying scared him. "Look at where we are, Jade! You're sitting in a hospital bed, for Christ's sake. You have wires and needles and monitors hooked up to every inch of you. How much more of a wake up call do you need before you finally freaking get it?"

Jade was taken aback by Ryder's outburst. He never yelled at her, he never got upset with her. She didn't know how to handle it.

After a long, awkward silence, Ryder reluctantly sighed. "Look dummy, you're my best friend and you're not allowed to die, so get it together."

"Don't call me a dummy, you ass."

Ryder broke out into a big grin. "There's my girl. Now scoot over."

"No!"

Ignoring Jade, Ryder climbed into her bed, forcing her to the right side of the bed. "There we go, much better."

"Ryder, you are so annoying."

"You love me."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Barely."

"You love me a lot, babe. Don't deny it."

"Yeah, I do."

Ryder leaned in closer to Jade and put his head on top of hers. "So...was that lover boy?"

"Yes."

"Wow, the great and powerful Beck Oliver. He looked super rich. Armani suit, fancy dress shoes, gold Rolex, the nice cologne."

"That's because he is super rich."

"How rich?"

"Rich, rich. But that doesn't matter." Jade grew up rich and spoiled, so Beck's money didn't phase her. She didn't care.

"I approve."

"I don't need or want your approval." Jade said. "But even if I did, it wouldn't matter. It's over, we're over."

"What happened?" It feels like yesterday that he was giving her (in his opinion, really good) advice on Beck. Now it was over.

"It's a long story."

"I have time, and it's not like you're going anywhere today."

"He dumped me." Jade confessed, her tone bitter. That little fact still pissed her off to her core. "He decided to stay with his wife, so I was left out in the cold. And then he tried to force me to quit my job, but I refused. Then after the earthquake, I got stuck in his office with his wife and we had an argument. A really nasty one at that."

Jade felt bad. She hit way below the belt with Diana, throwing her miscarriage in her face because it was a cheap shot just to throw her off. It was the worst fight she ever had with someone. And she didn't even have a problem with the woman. It was Beck who was lying to them both.

"We basically got into a pissing contest over him, while the entire office stood outside listening. Then I went into cardiac arrest immediately after that. Now that I think about it, it's so embarrassing."

After hearing all of that, Ryder let out a heavy sigh. "Wow. That was a lot to take in."

"Yeah, it was a lot to actually experience. I just don't have any faith or trust in that man. And I am not going to jeopardize my health for him, again."

Ryder nodded. "That sounds fair. I don't want you doing anything stupid."

"According to Tyler, I'm spiraling."

"Do you think you're spiraling?"

Jade bit her lip in contemplation. After a few seconds, she nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

"You need a clean break, West. Leave that fucking job and just take some time for yourself. It's not like you're strapped for cash, you're rich."

"My parents are rich, and I'm not too keen on begging, especially my dad."

"Whatever, you have money, I've seen your saving's account. The point is you don't need to work, your parents wanted you to. And let's be honest, you can't work in your condition."

"I can't wait until I recover, so everyone can stop treating me like an invalid."

"Oh please. Everyone is going to be treating you like a princess, waiting on you hand and foot and you're gonna love it."

Jade thought about it. "Okay, maybe I'll love it...a little bit."

.
.

"Isn't this amazing, Di?"

Diana was currently walking around the University of Chicago with her younger, Eva. The younger was recently accepted into the prestigious school and she wanted Diana to visit the campus with her.

Diana took in her surroundings. The campus was absolutely gorgeous. It was spring, and all the flowers and trees were in bloom. It was windy, but the sun was shining. And something about the architecture made Diana feel like she was at Hogwarts, so that was a bonus.

"This university is...breathtaking." Diana confessed.

"I can't wait until September." Eva said, smiling.

"What's your major again?"

"Psychology."

Diana nodded. "Good choice."

"What was yours?"

"Chemistry." Diana smiled. "I was nerdy."

"You were a smarty pants. You are a smarty pants."

The duo found a bench under a few trees. They sat down.

"Thank you. You're going to love college. It was the best six years of my life. You meet great people, join clubs, have interesting classes, and the parties are great." Diana laughed. "My friends and I drove all the way from Berkeley to San Jose State for a party once. I got so drunk off of cheap jungle juice, I threw up in my roommates car, and we almost had a fist fight because of it. She didn't speak to me for a week."

"Really? You don't seem like the partying type. You seem so...reserved."

"Well, I'm older now. And I got married to a public figure, so I couldn't be too wild. We had a reputation."

"That's true. Beck seems pretty...serious."

Diana nodded. "Yes, he is."

"Speaking of Beck, how long are you going to be staying out here? It's been a few days, isn't he going to miss you?"

No one knew about Diana impending divorce, except her mom because she swore the woman to secrecy. She wasn't ready to deal with her family just yet and she was too humiliated to go into great detail.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to say a word?"

That got Eva interested. "What?"

"Promise me. Not a word gets out to anyone in our family."

"I promise! If I'm going to be a psychologist, I have to work on my confidentiality skills."

"I filed for divorce." Diana admitted.

Eva's eyes got wide at the confession. "What, why?"

"Our relationship ran its course, and instead of dragging things out and being miserable, I might as well rip the band aid off." That was the truth without having to go into detail. She wasn't ready for all of that. "I was just really tired of forcing us to work."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Eva leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Diana's neck. "Really, really sorry."

"Thank you." Diana returned the hug. "But, I'll survive. If I can come out on the other side of a life threatening car accident, I can make it through this."

"You shouldn't have to be going through this all alone in Los Angeles. And are you even okay? Your accident wasn't long ago at all! You're vulnerable and I don't-"

"Evangeline, sweetheart, calm down." Diana had to chuckle at how worked up the younger girl was getting. "I'm the one who filed, I'm okay."

"I know, but it just...sucks."

That statement was true. Divorce sucked. To her, it means you failed at what you thought was a lifetime thing, but Diana knew it was the right thing to do.

"It does suck, but it'll be fine."

"Are you going to stay out here?"

Diana sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I just needed to get out of LA for a few days. I have to go back, I still have physical therapy and doctor's appointments."

Eva frowned, "I wish you didn't have to go back out there."

"Plus, you can't conduct a divorce from a different state."

"But what about afterwards?" Eva asked. "What are you going to do?"

Diana paused to think about the question. What was she going to do? It wasn't something she thought of.

"I don't know." Diana replied honestly. "But I'm on vacation and I don't want to talk about that anymore."

"Deal."

Diana wrapped her arms around her torso, squeezing her coat tighter to her body. After being in LA for so long, she almost forgot just how cold Chicago could be. She stood up. "Okay, I want to finish my tour. Point me to the science department."

"You really are nerdy."

"Touché."

.
.

Karen sat down in the uncomfortable plastic seat of the hospital cafeteria and let out a long sigh. Exhausted was an understatement. She had barely left this place in the past week, but now that Jade was doing better, she could actually breathe again.

Karen absentmindedly moved her coffee cup between hands. She wanted to go to Jade's room, but she knew her daughter was getting annoyed with her suffocating presence.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here."

Karen looked up and saw her ex-husband staring at her.

"How'd you know?"

"You eat when you're nervous." Richard pointed out. He sat down across from Karen and revealed a Starbucks coffee cup. He slid it to his ex. "For you. This hospital crap isn't going to cut it."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Karen tiredly rubbed her temples, hoping that would relieve some of the pressure in her head. It didn't work.

"How long have you been here?"

Karen checked the time on her watch. "I've been here since visiting hours started, of course. I've just wandered around the hospital, talking to nurses and orderlies. Jade hasn't been doing too much except sleeping, and Ryder visited her about an hour ago."

"I haven't seen Ryder in a while. Is he still in New York?"

Karen nodded. "Yes. He told me that he's only out here for a few days."

"It's nice that he came to see Jade. Those two used to be attached at the hip when they were younger."

Karen thought back to when Jade was in high school. If she wasn't with Tori, she was with Ryder.

"I'm sure you'll see him within the next day or two."

"Good."

While things seemed harmonious between the exes in the moment, tension still lingered below the surface. Not just because of their acrimonious split, but Karen couldn't help of think to when Jade told her about her huge fight with Richard. It left a bad taste in her mouth.

"What are you thinking about over there?" Richard asked, noticing Karen was in deep thought.

"You."

"What about me?"

"Some weeks ago, I was having breakfast with Jade and Tyler, and she told me something very upsetting."

"What?"

"You two got into an argument a few weeks back." Karen said. "And you said some hurtful things to her."

"Did she tell you why we were arguing? Karen, the girl is in a relationship with her married boss for Christ's sake!"

"Don't take up that tone with me, Richard! Yes Jade told me everything. She was scared at first because she thought I would look at her then she told me that she told Beck to end his marriage to his wife before they moved forward with their relationship, and he said he would. As for their current relationship status, I don't know."

"You see, unlike you Richard, my love for our children doesn't have conditions. I don't fly off of the handle whenever my fraudulent, manufactured picture isn't perfect."

"I want to know what gives you, my cheating, lying, son of a bitch ex husband, the moral high ground to condemn anyone for their choices. How are you of all people, able to not choke on your blatant hypocrisy?"

Richard scoffed. "Don't flip this around on me, Karen."

"No, it's always been on you."

"Oh really?" Richard crossed his arms over his chest. "Because this feels like another attack on me so you can get out all of your pent up resentment about the collapse of our marriage."

"Trust me Richard, if I wanted to come down on you for what you did to our family, if I fully released all of my anger towards you, you'd be in one of these hospital beds."

"But you were right, this is an attack on you. But we aren't here to talk about us. We aren't here to talk about why you decided to bully our daughter into damn near hysteria, we're talking about that event period! I know it happened a while ago, but it's taking all of my restraint to not throw this cup of hot coffee in your face."

"So you don't think what Jade did was wrong?" Richard asked.

"That's not the point, stop circling back to that. You are just so blind to your own disgusting behavior, it doesn't faze you. You don't get to hurt my daughter's feelings and make her feel inferior to you, I won't allow it. You're a mean bully, and you're going to have to find someone else to take that out on."

Karen stood up. "I'm going upstairs to check on Jade. I don't want you to come around her."

"You can't do that!" Richard argued.

"Yes I can. I'm in charge of Jade's medical affairs, and if I say you aren't allowed in her room, you aren't allowed. She's recovering and she doesn't need your negative energy, you've done enough damage."

Karen snatched Richard's coffee cup out of his hand and tossed it in the trash can behind him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check on my daughter."

.
.

When Beck's mother got home, the last thing she expected to see was Beck sitting in her living room.

"Beck!" Nora jumped when she saw her son. "Baby, what are you doing here?"

"I can't go home."

"You told me Diana is out of town. I'm sure you can go back."

"I don't want to go home." Beck said, correcting himself. "So I came here."

"How long have you been in here?" Nora asked.

Beck shrugged and looked at his watch. "I don't know, a few hours."

Nora took off her shoes and sat down next to Beck on the couch. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"I went to visit Jade today."

"Is she doing better?"

"She had surgery yesterday. I think she's going to be okay, but she didn't want to talk to me."

"Oh."

"I really messed up."

"Your dad gave me the cliff notes version of this drama. Why don't you explain it to me. No judgement, I'll still love you one hundred percent."

Beck bit his lip. He didn't want to tell his mother too much. She was his mother.

"Mom, I don't-"

"Start talking."

"Tori asked if I would hire Jade to be my assistant. I agreed, and we didn't get off to a good start. She's hard headed, stubborn, likes to argue, impulsive, she doesn't take my authority seriously-"

"-Okay, I get it. You two clashed. Keep going."

"I don't know how to explain it, mom. Jade and I just spent so much time together, and I looked up one day and I was in love with her. She rebuffed me, and told me she wasn't into married men. Her dad cheated on her mom, and she wasn't going to be a home wrecker."

Nora nodded. "That makes sense."

"I told her I would leave Diana, I promised her. And I did tell Diana that I wanted a divorce. But the next day, Diana got into her accident, and I chose to stay. And I told Jade she needed to quit. Jade was heartbroken and so mad at me. I made so many promises to her that I ended up breaking."

"Jade didn't quit, she continued to be my assistant and threatened to sue me if I tried to get her fired."

Nora chuckled. "Smart girl."

"Her dad's an attorney, I don't doubt she has extensive knowledge of the law on her side. So my hands were tied, and I decided not to tell Diana because she was in such a fragile state after the accident, as was our marriage. We were finally starting to get along again."

"So we fast forward to the day of the earthquake, and Diana comes to visit me at work and she ran into Jade. I got stuck in the elevator and by the time I got out, the ambulance had arrived for Jade. At that point, everything was out in the open. Diana wants nothing to do with me, and neither does Jade."

Nora didn't say anything for a long while. She just absorbed the information given to her. It was a lot to take in.

"Wow. All of this was going on under my nose? I'm usually so astute when it comes to my children."

"What should I do, mom?"

"You really want my advice?"

Beck nodded. "You're the smartest woman I know."

"Good answer. But I think you should leave both of those women alone."

That wasn't the answer Beck was hoping for. "Excuse me?"

"I know you want me to tell you to just rush to Jade and beg for another chance, but that would be stupid. Don't you think you've done enough damage, sweetheart? It's takes time to process and get through feelings and emotions. Rushing into something will only hurt in the end."

"Besides, you're going through a divorce. You have your own...junk to work through. It would be incredibly selfish of you to drag someone into your baggage and that's not how to start the foundation to a new relationship. Get closure on the Diana situation, grieve the loss of that marriage because I know you did love her. If you're meant to be with Jade, you'll be with her."

"Thank you, mom."

"For what?"

"For not yelling at me for being a bad person."

Nora rolled her eyes. "You're not a bad person, Beck. You just made some bad decisions along the way."

Beck smiled and kissed his mom's cheek. "Well thanks again."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. Now go upstairs, take a shower, and get some rest. I'm going to make you some dinner."

"Chicken noodle soup?"

"Whatever you want."

"You know, dad doesn't like that you baby me and Justin."

"Your father will just have to deal with it."