HI EVERYBODY! I know...It's the latest update ever. Please know I have plans to finish this story, but with work and life just getting busier, it's hard to find time to write. But please read this latest update and review! Enjoy :)

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

She silently watched him turn away, curious as to who was calling. Noticing his rigid stance made it all too clear the caller was no friend. But the tense actor didn't say a word as he turned the corner and quickly disappeared out of her sight, leaving her alone with her chaotic thoughts. Kyoko felt a rush of cold air fill her lungs, gasping in surprise as she realized she hadn't taken a breath in the last two minutes. She shakily lowered herself onto the leather couch and clutched her hand to her chest, silently willing her heartbeat to slow to a safer rhythm.

Her lips trembled in memory of how close they were, how much she wanted to lean in and taste temptation in the flesh. She could still feel the way her body craved to be back in his arms, to be cradled as if she was the most precious thing in the world. The smell of his cologne wafted around her, trapping her in a fantasy that was as shameful as it was provocative.

Kyoko dropped her head into her hands and mindlessly moved it side to side in a futile attempt to undo time.

But even though her wanton actions were unbecoming on a woman, his admittance that he knew her closely had changed their dynamic in an instant. The only question now was exactly how close they were…

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

Desperate for any kind of distraction, Kyoko raised her head and looked around in hopes of finding something that will hold her interest until he returned. Her gaze dropped to the coffee table, seeing the half-drunken glass of amber whiskey, his car keys, a stack of outdated magazines, and then-

Kyoko blinked once before her body moved on its own, arm outstretched as it picked up a small circular ring. She held it nimbly between her fingers, careful not to leave any oily smudges on what appeared to be a very expensive piece of silver. Kyoko recalled seeing a band of white on his ring finger before, the very night they had dinner together. She thought he was married, but…

Kyoko glanced around the room and found no traces of a woman in his home. There was just something about this place that emanated a sense of loneliness, as if he had been alone for quite some time. Feeling her heart crack at the thought, she was about to put the ring down, uncomfortable with the wave of sadness that washed over her, when suddenly she saw the markings of an engraving on the inner edge of the band.

With her curiosity piqued, she brought it closer to her face and read the names-

The ring fell onto the floor.

A heavy silence blanketed the room, draping her in a frozen moment of time. Her body grew impossibly still, immobilized except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She could hear the silence ringing in her ears. Her hand remained outstretched before her until she slowly retracted it back to her chest, holding it against her erratically beating heart.

Kyoko's vision blurred as her mind raced like lightning. There was no thundering of emotions as her amnesia dissipated like a clearing cloud of fog. There was no wave of memories that washed over her like some sort of spiritual awakening.

It just clicked. The answered fell into place as if she had somehow stumbled upon the right switch, as if she had never lost her memories in the first place, as if she had been the same person all this time.

How could so many things happen in such a short span of time? So many answers, so many realizations suddenly came roaring back that it almost felt impossible for her to understand it all. ALMOST.

She blinked once and the living room came back into view. This had been her safe haven for so long, a place she came to for comfort and love, but now it only served as a reminder of the Hell she had been living in, the Hell he had left her in. Reaching down, she gripped the ring upon the floor tightly until she could feel the band cutting deep into her tender skin. A fierce and strangely familiar fire erupted deep within her. Kyoko embraced it like an old friend. For so long she had felt like a stranger in her own skin, but this fury, this all-engulfing fury had always been a part of her. She had no reason to set it free for a long time, but now...now it begged to be released.

The timidness of not knowing who she was had disappeared. All that was left was a raging woman, desperate for retribution.

Pain that should have crippled her, pain that should have reduced her to nothing but tears, yanked her up to her feet. Her eyes glowed bright as she turned towards the hall. Anger flashed in white bursts behind her eyes. The ring felt heavy in the palm of her hand. She wanted to hurl it across the room, to rid herself of the horrid truth that had never been so clear.

Her heart pumped angrily as she made her way down the hall. Her fists tightened as she heard his voice coming through the crack of his bedroom door. She pushed it open slightly, staring at his hunched back. Kyoko's jaw clenched.

"I'm not going to lie to her anymore," he murmured into the phone.

She swung the door fully open.

Ren whipped around in alarm with a wide-eyed gaze that only infuriated her all the more.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" she asked in a calm voice that surprised even herself.

"Mogami-san?"

Her heart twisted painfully. She hated how he said that. She hated how easy that name fell from his lips. It only proved how willing he was to lie to her. Even when her eyes blazed with blinding rage, he continued to feign innocence. No more. NO MORE!

Kyoko stepped forward and held out her hand, the crushing weight of the ring like lead. "Once a liar, always a liar. Isn't that right...Kuon?"

His eyes rounded in alarm as his gaze fell to the ring. She watched confusion mar his normally handsome expression. She watched him try to make sense of what was happening and when he finally looked up at her, she witnessed the moment he knew.

Ren didn't say a word when he dropped the phone onto the floor. He silently rose to his feet, keeping his eyes on hers. "K-k-kyoko?"

She smiled dryly. "Is it 'Kyoko' now?"

He couldn't catch his breath fast enough. She was standing right in front of him, the woman he had been pining for all this time was right in front of him, and yet he couldn't reach out. The look on her face was something he didn't recognize, the hatred so strong he was afraid of what to do.

"Let me explain," he stammered.

"Explain?" Kyoko backed up a step and held the ring between them, an impenetrable barrier. "I think this says more than enough, don't you?"

"Kyoko-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES!" she shouted, throwing the ring onto the floor as if scalded. "I don't want to hear what you have to say! There is nothing you can say that will make this right!" Kyoko spun around and nearly ran for the door until she felt him yank her back.

"Kyoko!" he grunted as she thrashed against his chest, her hands pounding at his heavy heart.

"LET ME GO!"

"Not until we talk! Not until you listen!"

She furiously raised her eyes to his. "Listen? LISTEN? What gives you the right to demand that of me? What gives you the right to ask anything of me? Not after what you have done. Not after your lies!" Kyoko shoved him away, unable to be so close to the man she thought she could trust more than anything.

Tears pricked at her eyes. Sobs crawled up her throat. This wasn't how she wanted to do this. This wasn't how it was supposed to be!

Ren reached for her and felt his heart crack at her recoil. "Kyoko, please," he pleaded. "I know it was wrong, but just let me explain!"

"Explain what?" she asked with glistening eyes. "You want to tell me why you left me in that hospital? While I was lying there with fragmented memories, you walked out and pretended that I was nothing to you? Is that what you want to explain?"

Ren didn't answer. He couldn't find the words. He didn't know what to say to take away the pain in her eyes, the betrayal that left a bitter taste in his mouth. There was no explanation that would ever be good enough.

It was too much. The fury, the confusion, the bitterness overcame her control. Tears streamed hot down her face, but she didn't even have the strength to wipe them away. She could only stare into his brown eyes, feeling the sadness she had so tried to dampen blow out her rage. It would have been so much easier to stay angry. It would have been so much easier to scream and yell than to have her heart shatter, jagged piece by jagged piece.

"How could you do this to me?" she sobbed.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Kyoko. I was only doing what I thought was best."

"Best for who?"

"You! Always you," Ren implored, taking a small step closer to her.

"Leaving me was the best choice?"

Ren shook his head. "No! It's not like that. I never wanted-" He sucked in a breath, unable to explain to his own twisted reasoning.

She wrapped both arms around her torso, a hopeless attempt to keep herself from tearing apart at the seams. "I have been abandoned by so many people in my life. I have watched person after person walk out on me. You would think I'd be used to it by now. I shouldn't feel so betrayed, but you…" Kyoko couldn't catch her breath. She couldn't say the words that burned like acid on her tongue. A grim smile curve at the corner of her lips. "Could you have been any more cruel?"

It felt as if she was digging a knife into his stomach, twisting it deeper and deeper until it became a part of him. Her words rang true. There was no denying what he had done, but the intention was wrong. She was misunderstanding him, and yet there was nothing he could say. He could see it in her face. Her decision was already made. Ren could only watch as the pin dropped...

"Maybe this was your way out," she murmured. "You didn't have the courage to end things between us and this was the cleanest break." She lifted her gaze, her cold eyes boring into his. "But unlike you, I won't hide. Unlike you, I won't turn tail and run." Kyoko walked up to him until they were only an inch apart, but his proximity didn't matter. They had never felt so far.

"You want to forget, Kuon? Then consider it all forgotten."

She turned away and walked out of their broken paradise. No more tears. No more whispers of why. Even when her heart thumped to a painful stop in her chest, even when her hands shook like leaves at her side, even when she could barely catch her breath, Kyoko kept walking.

She was so tired of being the victim. She was so tired of watching a retreating back. She was so tired of love.

And without a single look back, Kyoko slammed the front door behind her.