Hi everyone! I'm so happy that you all responded positively to the previous chapter. I promise that I'm not going to string you on for long. Things WILL happen, but I don't want to rush into anything. So thank you for being patient! I really hope you enjoy the next installment! Please Read and Review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.

Sho was awake.

He had been awake for hours now.

Even when he had forcefully kept his eyes closed, he could not trick sleep into giving his weary mind a rest. It taunted him until the very last second, just as the sun began its slow ascent over the horizon. The day ahead felt excruciatingly long. Sho was never one to skip out on a day at the studio, but the temptation was stronger now. He didn't feel much like singing or recording. His mind was cluttered with concern, irritation, and guilt.

Sho turned to his side and stared at the opposite wall, a barrier to their conjoining rooms. The apartment was completely devoid of noise, almost as if he was here all by himself.

After last night's conversation, Sho couldn't stop thinking about her…about them…about the past. If he could take back every cruel thing he had ever said to her, he would. If he could erase the day he betrayed her, he would do so in a heartbeat. But a mistake like that wasn't so easily undone. Sho knew that. He accepted that.

For the last couple of weeks, he was doing everything he could to atone for his crime. And for a while it seemed to be working. Kyoko was happy here. He had seen her smile and laugh in his presence. Instead of eating out after work, he would come straight home to have dinner with just the two of them. She'd ask him about his day and he'd ask her about hers. They watched movies together, listened to music, and he even taught her a few chords on the guitar.

Sho was doing everything he could to make it right. So why did life force him to lie again? Why did it keep backing him into a corner?

She loved him before. Is it so wrong that he wanted her to love him again?

He remembered the way her lips tasted last night. He should have taken his time, explored her sensuous mouth until he had his fill. Sho recalled the tiny spark in her eye when he kissed her. Sure, his kiss surprised her more than anything, but there was a tiny part of her that enjoyed it too. He was sure of it. Sho wanted Kyoko back, even if he had to do a hell of a lot of wrong to get there.

Still, that didn't mean he was completely immune to guilt.

With a slight groan, he sat up and ruffled his bed hair. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he made his way into his personal bathroom. Sho could see the tiredness in his blue eyes, the loss of color in his normally healthy complexion. He turned on the faucet and splashed some water onto his face. It woke him up a bit, but it didn't wash away the turmoil he felt inside.

He walked back into his bedroom and changed into a fresh pair of jeans and navy T-shirt. He had to go to the studio today. Just missing one day of work will push the premiere of his album back and he couldn't have that. Besides, maybe he could crank out another new song to match how shitty he felt.

When he opened his bedroom door, he realized that her door was open. Confused, he stood at the doorway and saw her bed neatly made, the blinds pulled back to reveal the bright sun. A piece of paper was placed on top of the pillow with her neatly scroll:

Good morning, Sho-chan,

I'm sorry I'm not here to greet you, but there were some things I wanted to get done. I'll be home later today, so don't worry okay? I promise I'll call you as soon as I can.

Much Love,

Kyoko

He folded the paper in half and stuffed it into his back pocket. He sighed in irritation. After telling her to take it easy, she still went back to work. There was just no convincing her. Looking around the room, he realized that the guest room hadn't changed much since she stayed here a month ago. She didn't decorate the space to her liking. She didn't add any personal touches to the walls or furniture. The only change was the few belongings that were organized upon the tabletop. Kyoko still felt like a guest.

Oddly frustrated, Sho made his way into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of tea that was obviously freshly brewed before Kyoko had left. Spotting the plate of breakfast on the counter, he plopped himself down onto the couch in the living room and switched on the news channel. As always, there was the typical robbery, traffic accident, and protest about low wage. Nothing too exciting. He flipped over to the entertainment channel and felt his blood boil at the face that greeted him.

They were doing a segment on his latest movie, the hosts gushing nonstop about his phenomenal performance and talent. Sho rolled his eyes. Was he really that great of an actor? How hard was it to pretend to be someone else and say the lines another person wrote for you? At least for him, he had to come up with his own songs and the melody to match. Smirking at the idea of saying that to the actor's face in front of all of his adoring fans, Sho stood up and was about to put his dirty plate into the sink when something caught his eye.

The jacket.

The jacket she had worn home yesterday.

The jacket that had him seeing red.

It was gone.

He clenched his hands into tight fists, finally understanding just where Kyoko had gone.

"If you're so curious about how my night went," Ren asked in an uncharacteristically sweet voice as he pressed his feet on the gas pedal. "Why aren't you here to ask me in person?"

Yashiro's nervous laughter flooded the car, slightly warbled as it came through the speakers. "And incur your wrath? No thanks."

Ren shook his head. It didn't surprise him that his manager had called him first thing in the morning to tell him not to come by and pick him up. It didn't take a genius to know that Yashiro was trying to avoid him for as long as possible. But it wasn't like his weariness was completely uncalled for. Ren was more than ready to let his friend have it as soon as he laid his angry eyes on him. But much to the actor's disappointment, he had to do this without the face to face interaction as he said with a hardened expression, "That was low, Yashiro. Even for you."

"Now, now, Ren," the manager began quickly. "You know why I arranged for that to happen. You had to spend time with her eventually and since you refused to take initiative, I did it for you."

"How long is it going to take for you to stop treating me like a child incapable of making his own decisions?"

"When you start making the right ones," Yashiro answered matter-of-factly. "So really, it's all your fault."

Rolling his eyes, he turned on his left turn signal and smoothly maneuvered his car in front of a white truck. "You should seriously consider being a lawyer with that kind of logic. You're wasting your talent as a manager."

"Well, you're definitely the hardest case I'll ever get, so I think my talents are coming to good use," he parried fearlessly. "But no more idle chit-chat! Tell me how it went last night."

"It was fine."

"Fine? FINE? You went out to dinner with the love of your life and you tell me it was fine?" Yashiro quickly clicked his tongue. "I don't know how you're landing all of these romantic roles. You're as dry as cardboard."

"What do you want me to say, Yashiro?" Ren asked with a clenched jaw. "That I was having a wonderful time with her? That it made me remember all of the good times we had? That I was dying on the inside from the need to touch her? That every time she looked at me, I felt as if someone had their hands wrapped around my throat? That I—" He sucked in a sharp breath, trying to put a lid on all of the same emotions that threatened to pull him under just yesterday as he watched the black vehicle take her away.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, unable to say anything else.

"Yes," Yashiro finally began in a soft voice. "That's exactly what I wanted you to say. It means that you really haven't given up at all."

"What are you talking about?"

"How long do you think you can do this, Ren? How long do you think you can just turn a blind eye to her?"

Ren didn't reply as he carefully drove to the underground garage of LME. He smoothly parked into one of the spaces and moved the gear shift into park. Leaning his forehead onto his hands that were still firmly wrapped the steering wheel, he murmured, "I don't know."

Before last night, he actually thought he could do it. He thought he could suffer without anyone the wiser and live his life without her, slowly drowning in sorrow behind closed doors. He thought he was strong enough to honor his promise and let her be happy with the life she thought was real. But now after all that had happened, it was all too clear his armored restraint was beginning to buckle. Last night dealt him a blow Ren had a tough time stomaching: he was weak.

Holding her close like that poured oil on the flames he had tried so hard to suppress. Desire burned deep within his soul. It took every ounce of strength he had to let her go, to let her walk away from him. In a way, Ren was thankful that Shoko had come. If not, there was no telling what he would have done afterwards.

He didn't mind suffering for the rest of his life as long as she was happy. He had already convinced himself that he didn't need to find any other person to fill the void within his heart. Ren had his mind set. What he didn't plan was for his decision to come apart at the seams. This wasn't a matter of he wanted to or not. He couldn't. He COULDN'T do it. He couldn't stay away from her.

"You're right," Ren mumbled in defeat. "I can't do this forever. But that doesn't mean I won't try."

"Try to do something you know is futile in the end? Sounds like a waste of time to me."

"Yashiro, I can't—"

"Are you telling me that going out to dinner with her didn't make you feel happy? That being around her didn't make you feel whole again?" he cut in.

Ren sighed tiredly and raised his head. "That's the problem. I did."

"Remind me again, how being happy is a problem?" he asked.

"Yashiro, she's not mine anymore. Her heart belongs to someone else."

"And how is this situation any different than from five years ago, Ren?" he retorted angrily. "Back then, you decided to chase after her even though you knew her heart was filled with someone else! You persistently proved to her that you loved her, that you could make her happy, that you two belong with each other! This situation is no different! You're just back at square one. If you won her heart before, why can't you do it again?"

It felt like his breath was lodged in the middle of his chest. The pressure began to build as he replayed the words of his wise friend. He knew Yashiro was right. Everything Yashiro said was right. Five years ago, she dedicated her life to another man, the same man she loved right now. But that didn't stop him from pursuing her. In fact, it only fueled his motivation to try even harder.

"Ren," his manager began softly at his stunned silence. "You know she's trying to get her memories back. But you are ignoring the fact that she's not only trying to remember her career. She's inadvertently trying to remember YOU. She's working her way back towards you. By keeping her at a distance, aren't you just preventing her from healing? You say you don't want to hurt her, but in the end you're robbing her of the life she's so desperately trying to find."

Shame rained heavy upon his shoulders. Ren had no idea what to say.

Yashiro let out a tired sigh. "Just consider what I'm saying, alright Ren? At least...just think it over. I still have a couple more things to do here, but I'll meet you at the photo-shoot at around 2:00 pm."

He nodded. "Alright."

Then with a final click, the car was filled with deafening silence. Needing air, Ren switched off the ignition and placed his cell phone back into his pant pocket. He locked the car doors and made his way to the row of silver elevators, his shoes echoing in the desolate garage.

Yashiro's words pounded his head like a hammer, driving in the nail of guilt deeper and deeper into his chest. Ren thought he was protecting her from getting hurt. He thought staying away from her was right. But his manager had too easily pointed out his delusion.

Had he been wrong? Had he made the wrong choice all this time?

Yashiro made a valid point. Couldn't he just pursue her again? So what if she stopped loving him? That was how they started in the first place. What made this time any different?

The elevator smoothly took him to the floor of his dressing room. When he stepped through the open doors, he didn't see a single soul. The hallways were empty. Relieved he didn't have to mask the turmoil he felt inside, he slowly made his way to his dressing room. But when he approached the door at the end of the hall, something peculiar stopped him in his tracks.

The door was ajar.

He didn't come by here last night and nobody ever went into his dressing room besides him. It should be closed. Perplexed, he placed his hand upon the flat wooden surface and slowly pushed the door fully open. His eyes widened the minute he saw her.

She was standing at the far wall, gazing at a picture, but at the sound of the door opening she whipped towards the entrance in surprise. Her eyes grew ten times in size when she looked at him, her mouth slightly agape in alarm.

Ren didn't know what to do.

He couldn't say a word.

He could only watch as she nervously bowed her head low and stammered in a shy voice, "H-h-hello, Tsuruga-san."