Los Angeles.

"So it was enough to find the code and transfer all the money back to Dylan's account," Brandon said biting an apple "this story is amazing."

"It's unbelievable it's true"Brenda smiled.

"What about Erica?"

"The FBI intervened soon after, Christine never left us alone in all of this, and as Kevin and Suzanne had a nice load of charges they were arrested."

"Ed Erica?"

"Iris stepped up and asked for her custody and Dylan didn't object"

'To Hawaii?'

"Yes"

"I too would like to be adopted by Iris and go live in Hawaii"

"Jim and Cindy would be sad with this" Brenda said ironically "Anyway from this story Jonesy has made quite a lot of money and Valerie too."

"Mom told me Dylan gave her 100,000"

"Yes"

"What about Daniel?"

"Daniel nothing, he had fun, it was an acting test and he did it mainly for me."

"Or maybe not to leave you alone with Dylan," Brandon replied.

A few minutes of silence between the two followed.

"And now what are you going to do?"

Brenda didn't know exactly what to answer.

"I'm going back to London. With Daniel"

Brandon nodded.

"Listen Brenda... about what we said about you and me, and the last year of high school"

Brenda stopped her hands busy washing the dishes.

"I ask your forgiveness," Brandon said.

"Brandon... "

"No, please let me finish. When what happened happened I didn't really realize it. Neither of what was happening between Kelly and Dylan and not even after what was happening to you, and above all this I should have known, as I have always felt in every single thing we went through together. For this reason I ask your forgiveness, for not having had the necessary courage, despite this, never and not even for a second you must think that I do not love you, as a sister, as a twin, as a companion and as a friend, best friend. Never. I know that my relationship with Kelly is difficult for you and I get that, believe me. Tell me what I can do to make things easier for you too."

Brenda opened the tap again and continued to wash the dishes "there's nothing you can do sooner or later I'll get used to the idea of you and Kelly. Do you know what I'm most upset about everything?"

'What?'

"That all that pain was of no use, Dylan and Kelly never took responsibility for what they did and then broke up, and then I can only wonder, why? What was it for?"

Brandon thought about it for a moment "maybe you and Dylan weren't ready at the time, it served to understand this, not to drag too far a situation that had already deteriorated. Maybe it gave you the courage to say enough is enough. It gave you the courage to leave and start over for yourself."

Brenda sighed "I made love to Dylan in Mexico"

Brandon widened his eyes "what?"

"And it wasn't supposed to happen," Brenda said in a low voice.

Brenda closed the water and wiped her hands with a tea towel.

"Daniel doesn't know anything, and I feel bad every time I look at him, he crossed the ocean for me, I asked him to come to Mexico and he came with me without asking questions to help Dylan and on the other hand I cheated on him with Dylan. It's a thing."

"Maybe that's exactly why you should tell him," Brandon suggested.

"Am I a horrible person?"

Brandon smiled at her "you've never been a horrible person, but you're an honest person. I think you have to tell him but if you choose not to do it your secret will die with me."

"Valerie knows about this too"

"Valerie is able to keep secrets"

Brenda threw the tea towel on the kitchen counter "I hate still feeling so vulnerable to Dylan."

"You and Dylan are special, little sister, you always have been, and as difficult as the path has become, in the end you have found the way"

"No" she shook her head "my way leads to London. I was happy over there"

Brandon raised his eyebrow "are you sure?"

Brenda stared at Brandon without answering the question because she didn't have an answer, it was what she had believed until then. She had been happy, at least until she returned to Los Angeles.

"Let's change the subject," she said with a veil of sadness for not being able to answer Brandon's question "do you have any schedules for today? A romantic evening with Kelly?"

Brandon looked down and Brenda immediately noticed that something was wrong.

'What happened?'

"Kelly and I haven't been dating much lately, and I mean for about a week"

'Why?' Brenda asked.

"Since she follows that Professor Finley is totally absorbed by the professor's activities, I try not to impose myself, not to let her weigh anything, after the story of the fire and Emily I no longer feel entitled to anything, but if I have to be honest with you, it seems that I am losing her, i'm feeling it."

Brenda looked at her brother.

"Maybe you're wrong, it's not like that, she is just busy"

Brandon shook his head "something is wrong Brenda, I hardly see her, she always has something else to do, a research to do, an activity with this New Evolution, I initially thought it made her feel better, you know after the fire, but now she seems obsessed with it".

"I'm sorry Brandon"

"Yeah, me too," he said "I'm afraid...I'm afraid she doesn't love me anymore"

Brandon looked unered again, an unreleased version for Brenda. Brandon's emotional part didn't come out easily. He was always barricaded inside his granite fortress.

Brandon threw the apple core in the garbage and gave his sister a kiss on the forehead.

"What are you going to do?" He asked her.

"I don't know... I think I should clarify with Dylan and I should talk to Daniel"

"I believe that too"

"I'm just not ready. I'm afraid to go to Dylan's, I'm afraid I won't be able to let him go another time"

"... don't let him go," Brandon said, "It seems that everyone has to solve their own problems," he told him with a sadness that Brenda could clearly read in his eyes.

"I have to go to college, maybe I can talk to Kelly, do you want to come?"

"No" Brenda shook her head "I want to take a ride in the car, I want to be a little alone, I need to think. I'll come up with an excuse for Daniel"

"Do you want me to stay here with you?"

Brenda smiled with tenderness.

"No, I'm fine"

Belage Hotel.

Valerie had taken a room where she intended to live for as long as necessary. She could hardly stand the restrictions of Casa Walsh. She had not yet communicated her decision, she would have had to explain many things and she had no desire for it, for now she was enjoying her extra luxury suite.

They knocked on the door.

When Valerie opened she found David leaning against the jamb.

"I wasn't sure if you had received my message."

David looked at her with eyes of longing. His eyes were burning inside Valerie's bad, brazen ones.

"Can I come in?"

"I invited you for this."

David took a single step inside the room and Valerie put her hands around his neck. She opened her mouth and her tongue quickly slipped into his mouth.

"I missed you," he said and that made Valerie smile, hardly anyone missed her.

David undressed Valerie, he didn't care about anything around him, she had brought fresh fruit and champagne but David was so hungry for her that he didn't care about anything.

"I hated every minute of you in Mexico getting you put hands on by that Daniel or that Kevin"

"It was just work, a favor to a friend"

"I hate it when you do favors to friends, did they touch you? Did they get you?" David asked as he took off Valerie's bra and kissed her.

"No one had me"

"Because I wouldn't stand it"

Valerie smiled.

"You mean this evil witch doesn't scare you anymore?"

"You never scared me," he said as he retreated Valerie to the bed. Valerie unbuttoned his pants and took off his t-shirt. She too had had time to think, she liked having Daniel by her side although out of fiction, she liked to play the part of someone who was happy, and had a partner by her, Who was in love, and she was in love, she knew It.

She had some plans in mind now that 100,000 was hovering over her bank account.

She also had plans for David but she was afraid that he would say no, that he wouldn't want to become her boyfriend, she was afraid that David wouldn't trust her enough to give her his heart, she didn't want to be just his body for use anymore who used to fuck every now and then.

David and Valerie were already on the bed. One on top of the other. Valerie should have stopped him, not indulged in him again, asked him what in her heart had become a loud, almost screamed request.

David had become very sweet. Valerie wasn't sure what was going through in his head. He had no heat, he enjoyed every inch of her skin.

"David..." whispered Valerie trying not to let go totally.

"Mmmhh" he said instead he was already totally overwhelmed by her.

"I want more," she said.

David wasn't sure he understood "more? What's more?"

Valerie took courage, she wasn't going exactly as she expected.

"I wish we were together, we were a couple. Officially ."

David stopped completely and pulled himself up.

"I thought you liked being with me without commitment"

"I thought so too, but that's not what I really want. I thought about it..." Valerie didn't have time to finish.

David had been totally taken by surprise.

"We've never talked about it before"

"We're talking about it now"

David pulled himself up. He was confused. He got up totally by rolling to the side.

"I didn't expect you to ask me something like that"

Valerie felt humiliated, she wanted to be told yes. She didn't expect so many doubts from David.

"Valerie, I'm from a long relationship with Donna and I honestly don't want a relationship," he said, looking her in the eye.

Valerie felt unfeeling, she was there naked in front of him, naked in her soul and naked in her body.

She didn't know what to answer.

She pulled the sheets enough to cover her body.

"Why can't we stay like this?" David asked, trying hard to convince her but Valerie already felt the tears and anger running through her from side to side.

"I think you have to leave now," she said in a low voice.

David looked at her for a moment. Then he got up.

She saw him wandering naked in the room trying to retrieve his clothes.

She wanted to stop him, give in again, say that she didn't want anything and that they could go on like this, but Daniel, who didn't even know her, had shown her a different path. He had told her that she deserved more. Why, he wondered, why can't I deserve, why can't I have what Donna had with David, that Kelly has with Brandon, and that Brenda had with Dylan and even Steve had with Clare? Someone who loved her, someone of her own.

David finished getting dressed. He felt horrible. A scary person.

He walked out of Valerie's room without turning around, he couldn't even look her in the eye.

University.

Clare and Steve had now come out in the light of day. They were a couple. Not a classic couple with continuous effusions, between them it was a continuous struggle, between Clare's reason and Steve's heart, but they worked. They worked pretty well.

Clare wanted to introduce Steve to her father. He knew she was dating someone and was really curious about who stole his daughter's heart.

"Your father still hopes you get engaged to Brandon," Steve said in a funny voice.

"Maybe and think how shocked he will be when I introduce you to him" Clare laughed.

"Thank you so much," Steve replied.

"Anyway he's waiting for us in his office"

"Do you want to introduce me to your father in his office?"

"He practically lives in that office there's no better place"

"Maybe... I don't know.. I should put on a tie"

"A tie for what?" Asked Brandon who had arrived at the coffee shop in the meantime.

"A tie to look like you" Steve gave him an ironical smile.

"Just a tie was enough," Brandon smiled, "did you see Kelly?" Brandon asked with a little hope.

"Here's the one," Clare replied, pointing to Kelly in the hallway.

Next to her was the figure of Professor Finley. He was a professor who had a large following of students, he was convincing in his lectures, engaging. Brandon looked at her as Kelly walked alongside the Professor.

"Since she's been taking this Finley's courses we don't even see her anymore," Clare said without thinking.

"Don't tell me," Brandon replied with a little bit of sadness.

Brandon got up. His anguish was immediately received by Clare and Steve who showed a worried look.

Brandon took great strides towards Kelly.

"Hey Kelly," he told her under Finley's atrocious gaze.

"Hey" she smiled embarrassed "Professor Finley can I introduce you to my boyfriend ..."

"Brandon Walsh" Finley knew exactly who Brandon was "the student president. Your fame precedes you said the professor.

The fact that Finley knew Brandon made Kelly proud.

"Can I steal Kelly from her for a few seconds?" Brandon asked.

"Certainly," Finley replied in a serene but at the same time disturbing way.

Kelly seemed annoyed by Brandon's effrontery in front of her professor however she didn't give him to see and followed Brandon a few more steps away.

"Kel, I called you all day yesterday," Brandon told her.

She smiled "yes I'm sorry I was busy"

"Yes I know that, but I don't understand why you ignore me"

Kelly took a few seconds, trying to find the words to make Brandon understand her new urgencies and new priorities.

"Do you know they want to throw Professor Finley out of the University?"

"Yes, I heard something like that.." Brandon replied. Finley, always Finley, she doesn't talk about anything else. He thought.

"It's nonsense," Kelly replied.

"He has some problems with the teachers' council" Brandon said.

"It's really nonsense. The student council could do something"

Brandon was baffled by Kelly's request, he was asking for his influence to try to condition the faculty board.

"Kelly I don't think so..." Brandon said in a low voice.

"You're like the others, just because you don't understand something you reject it."

"Kelly wait! " Brandon gently took Kelly's wrist, his eyes were trying to grab her in a desperate way "why don't we go and talk about it in another place, not here" he suggested in fear of losing Kelly. Guilt and love for Kelly was diverting him to places he didn't even think he could go.

Kelly stared at him for a few seconds. Brandon didn't even recognize the person in front of him.

"Okay," she replied.

Finley's gaze was on them in a disturbing way. Brandon could even sense his sexual desire for Kelly. Brandon looked at her profile, her sweet nose, her blue eyes. Where was his Kelly, who had become of her?

Mckay's house

Dylan ended the conversation with his sister. It wasn't supposed to be easy for Erica to find herself in Hawaii with Iris but the alternative was to be the care of an unknown family and Dylan would lose her forever. She had asked several times to be able to stay with him but Dylan still had to put the pieces back together of himself he certainly couldn't take care of a teenager.

He looked at the clock, Brenda had promised him that they would talk about them, that she would give him a chance to explain, Cindy had told him that she had left the house, maybe it was at Daniel's, he thought, maybe she was making love to him just as his heart was going crazy to see her.

She hadn't shown up, she hadn't call him. It was an unspeakable pain for him.

They rang the bell. Dylan immediately looked at his glass door, the idea that Brenda had finally come to him blew his heart but what he saw was Antonia's unmistakable silhouette.

What is she doing here. He wondered.

He opened the door. Antonia was a beautiful woman with honey-colored and curly hair and very deep blue eyes.

"Hi," he told her

"Hi," Antonia began, "I was passing by and I thought I'd come and see how you were doing"

"Do you do home visits?"

Antonia laughed and looked down "no, but sometimes there are an exception".

Dylan realized he hadn't even invited her in.

"Come in"

Antonia looked at Dylan's house. It was spotlessly tidy and clean.

"I see you're a cleaning maniac"

Dylan laughed "you had to see this house some time ago, it wasn't exactly like that, I have friends who fixed it for me, otherwise what a new start it would have been"

"It's true" Antonia smiled. Now she felt the embarrassment of being plunged into Dylan's house, it was absolutely not professional and maybe it was totally wrong.

"Can I offer you some tea?"

"Thank you," she replied timidly.

Antonia looked at the amount of books Dylan had on the shelves, perfectly sorted by color and size.

"You're a reader," she said as he boiled hot water.

"The books have always kept me company since I was a kid"

"Yeah to me too" replied Antonia "my mother died when I was very young and my father always had to travel for work, I was alone with the nanny or with Bruno"

"Bruno?" Dylan asked

"The driver, for me is like a father"

"Yes, I get you, we had a very similar childhood, you know?"

"Yes I know" she said "don't forget that I witnessed your therapy in Rehab"

Dylan smiled "true"

"To what do I owe the visit," he asked as he pulled two cups out of the cupboard.

"I tell you, I wanted to see how you were, if your life was resumed... You didn't call me," she added.

Dylan felt flattered.

"I had an important thing to do," he said.

"With Brenda?" Antonia immediately realized that she had been indiscreet "sorry..."

"Don't apologize, yes even with Brenda, but not only... I've been out of the United States."

Antonia nodded. Brenda was always in Dylan's mind, she was even during the therapy stages, one of the things Dylan most regretted was Brenda.

"How's it going with her?"

Dylan shrugged, he didn't feel like talking about the night he had spent with Brenda, deep down Antonia was a perfect stranger.

"In small steps" he replied "but time is running out and I'm afraid she will go away"

"And you stop her," she suggested to him.

"I don't know if I have the strength and I'm capable of it"

"I think it's time to ask you," Antonia suggested again.

"Listen," she said, "maybe I was wrong to come here, we're both embarrassed and I just wanted to see how you were"

"I'm fine," he replied with a reassuring smile.

God how beautiful he was, Antonia thought. That boy had entered her heart without lifting a finger.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you," Dylan said in an attempt to make Antonia feel better.

She smiled.

She didn't touch the tea that Dylan had prepared for her.

"I think it's time for me to go," she said.

Dylan realized that he hadn't done anything to put Antonia at ease, he had been so caught up with keeping her at a distance that he didn't realize that he had probably made the situation worse.

"Listen" he said "did you eat?" He asked her "we could go get something if you want."

Antonia lit up in a smile.

"Well," he replied. Brenda is making love to Daniel, he tought. "He was mad at her for not showing up, refused to deal with him.

So Dylan and Antonia left the house.

He was hurt that Brenda hadn't shown up. She hadn't gone to him, what he didn't know was that Brenda's eyes were watching him and Antonia at the time. She was there staring at them.