"So we are now moving forward to the post evaluation of the reports so we can come up with a conclusion for today's meeting."

"Agreed, so shall we start with the..."

Amidst the continuous chatters of suggestions and opinions, a woman looked at the papers in front of her. She swirls her pen around and around her fingertips l, trying her best to absorb all the data presented.

However, Lisa couldn't just bring herself to focus, especially when all she could ever think about was what happened yesterday.

"I've signed the divorce papers Lali... you're free to go."

Lisa grips harder on the pen, clenches her jaw as she controls her emotions. She remembered everything about yesterday, every detail, from the macro to the micro she remembered bit by bit.

And while she was trying so hard to forget that memory, she had also forgotten the fact that she was still inside the meeting, and her boss has been calling for her multiple times.

"MRS. PARK!" Her boss calls her attention once more. Jennie, who noticed that Lisa wasn't planning on moving kicked her friend underneath the table, causing the lost woman to be back in reality.

"Huh?" She shots Jennie a look before looking at her boss who was looking at her with such disappointment. "Uh sorry I was focusing on the reports."

"And how do you find the results, Mrs. Park?"

"I think that we can do better than this. Given the previous report, although there is a slight increase in our revenues, we shouldn't settle for a 'slight increase'."

She straightens her position and composes herself. "The market is looking good and I think it's good while to strike the iron is hot. We should innovate more, provide more promotions and advertise more you know? Do some brainstorming about how we could attract young professionals to invest in us."

The rest of the board nods their heads in agreement and Lisa thanked herself for reading the papers earlier before the meeting. She internally lets out a sigh of relief while facing back at Jennie who gives her a slight approval.

"Lisa? Can we talk?" Mr. Thomas, her boss calls out for her as soon as the other members left the meeting room.

"Sure Mr. Thomas." She answers politely and sits near beside him. "Was there something that you'd want to clarify with me?"

"A lot actually, you're lucky I have a meeting in a few." He speaks. "Lisa, having you here has been the best years of my company and if I am being honest, without you and your skills, I doubt I'd get this business to where it is right now."

"One thing I love about you is your focus and passion. When you want something, you waste no time and get it right away. You know what you want and you know how to get it. Other things become irrelevant once you've set eyes on the prize and as much as I like to see more of it- your focus and passion have been off the radar lately."

"Now I don't know if it has something to do with your personal life, with other things but your heart and your mind is not in the same place. It such a shame because I was planning to offer you something but seeing where you are right now made me realize that you are not ready for my offer just yet." He says with dismay.

"But worry not I am not planning to offer this to anyone else because I know you are the most fitting candidate for this position. You just have to sort things out on your life okay? Take the time off first- you need it."

Lisa comes back to her office slumping her medium-fitted self on her swivel chair as she thinks about the talk with her boss. It made her intrigued what kind of offer was her boss willing to give her, and how stupid she has been to allow personal matters to meddle in her professional career.

She loosens a few bottoms of her top as she sighs out loud to no one. Just as when she decides that she needs a little nap to clear her worries out- a knock on her office door catches her attention.

The doorknob turns and out came Jennie who looks at her with a mixture of pity and worry. Lisa stares at her best friend for a while and smiles timidly at her, before using her hand to usher her inside and welcome her.

"Sorry did I come at a bad timing?"

"No, no just-" Lisa shakes her head. "What's up?"

"I was just checking up on you," Jennie says and takes a seat in front of the latter. "You practically looked like shit earlier."

"Don't remind me of it." She scoffs.

"So what did Mr. Thomas want to talk with you?"

"He was noticing that something was off with me and he was about to offer me a thing but he felt that I wasn't ready for it just yet."

The latter nods in response. "Well, I'm sure you're going to figure it out soon."

"You're putting too much faith in me."

"Why wouldn't I? There are a lot of times that you have proven yourself, I don't see why you couldn't do that now."

"It was different back then..." Lisa trails off. "I had my family with me."

Jennie looks at her once again. "Lisa-"

"Has she been eating properly? Does she still stay over her friends' houses? What about her soccer practice?"

Her friend takes a seat in front of her- sighing to herself out loud. "She spends most of her time over at Lucy's and she has been taking extra hours of practice." Her best friend answers. "I sometimes need to force her to eat but she does eat whenever I give her the glare."

"And how is she in general Jen?"

"... I don't know how to answer that. You know teenagers these days." She says. "But I always check up on her that's what I can assure you."

Lisa nods in understanding. "Well, at least she listens to you."

"She has to- you should hear Jisoo nag though, I swear to God she sounds just like Ros-" Jennie closes her mouth immediately and mentally cursing herself for being so insensitive. "I'm sorry that was the insensitive ass that just spoke I swear. You know me and my multiple characters." She chuckles nervously.

"It's alright, I- I know she wouldn't be able to hold herself back especially with Ella."

"Yeah... Rosie is the best mother for me. I mean if I were to have a child- I want to be just like her." Jennie shakes her head. "Women like Rosie are fucking Painite."

"Pai-what?"

Jennie sighs and looks at Lisa with utter disappointment. "Don't you educate yourself? Painite is like the rarest gem in the world. Only two of them were found. If you ever find it- it costs you sixty thousand dollars per carat."

"... So your point is?"

"My point is! Women like Rosie are like the Painite because they maybe not as famous as diamonds but they sure are pretty rare to find."

"And all I've ever done is to treat her like crap."

"Lisa-"

"And now she's gone..." Lisa trails off as she plays the pen in between her fingers. "I guess what they say is true, you don't know what you have until it's no longer there."

"But is it really though?" Jennie asks her, making the latter look at her. "Are you sure that she's gone from your life?"

Hearing that made her friend chuckle with disbelief. "Jennie, she already signed the divorce petition. If I send this to my lawyer it'll only be for a matter of days before she and I are officially divorced. There's no use of putting that thought inside of my head."

"And did you hand it already to your lawyer?"

"No."

"Why haven't you then?"

"Because-"

"Because deep down, you're still hoping that somehow- in some romantic, chick-flick way- Rosie would take you back. Am I right?" Jennie was looking straight at her and for some odd reason- she felt uncomfortable under her gaze. "Well, why I think it's kind of a cute- cringy and yet disgusting thought- I need to put some reality rain all over your dreamland. Rosie is not going to be back in your loving arms by magic because your life is not a movie. This is the real shit and in this real-world Lisa- magic doesn't exist but words do."

"You have to actually say that you want her back actually, scratch that. You don't need words only but you need to act on your words. Match the way you walk to the way you talk so that she can know that you're totally sincere about your apology." She says. "You don't have to hide it anymore Lisa, you love her- you always have."

Jennie stands up, patting her friend's shoulder. "She's not gone, Lisa. She's not going anywhere unless you allow for it to happen."

__________________________________

"Left! I said left!"

"Throw the grenade! Throw it!"

"No!!!"

"Yes!"

One of them threw her headphones off of her head, groaning in annoyance whilst the other laughs in her victory, setting aside her controller before doing her victory dance in her bean bag. The victor turns to her opponent which was obviously sulking in one corner before she reaches out to the latter, ruffling the dark, rich black locks.

"Ugh, auntie- don't do that!"

"Why not? You clearly seem to love it." She chuckles.

"Oh, you just love it whenever I lose this game." Ella crosses her arms.

"Just admit it kid, you cannot beat me at my game." Jisoo laughs and ruffles her goddaughter's hair more.

"What is the consequence?"

"Hmm... let me think about it for a second." Just then, the doorbell rings and an idea pops into her head. "Aha, get the door for me and greet them with- what's up hot stuff."

Ella widens her eyes. "Auntie I am not doing that!"

"Then you have to win another game but for now-" She ushers the younger one with the use of her hands as she sees her statistics as an individual player. "And remember! Stay those words!"

She could hear the latter groaning, but nevertheless, she could hear what she had ordered the latter to do so. Laughing in her bean bag- she shakes her head until she could hear a familiar clicking against her oak wood flooring. Turning around she saw Jennie Kim's arms crossed with her stilettos tapping impatiently while Ella stood there right beside her- having a devilish smirk on her lips.

"Champ why don't you go and get your things ready, you're going to stay with me for the next three days right?"

"Oh yeah, sorry I forgot." Ella nods and leaves them all alone.

"What's up hot stuff? Really?" Jennie starts the conversation.

"I thought it was the delivery guy I swear." Jisoo raises her hands in defeat. "You came here early; I thought you were going to fetch her for late afternoon."

"Well, the meeting ended earlier than expected," Jennie says. "Plus, I think Lisa would want some alone time as well so I didn't bother her and just head here. Am I interrupting your game?"

"You came at a good time though; I need to prepare for the seminar anyways. Thank you for covering for me."

"No problem, you covered for me anyway so it's a win-win."

"How is Lisa by the way?"

Jennie sighs out loud as she removes her blazer. "The usual Lisa, always there but never really there..." She gives the latter a look. "And Rosie?"

"We haven't actually talked; I know she's just taking her time."

"This is so annoying and unhealthy." Jennie voices out her opinion for the first time. "I mean- look at the three of them, Rosie is out of the grid- Lisa is practically on her own world and Ella's acting like everything about her is falling apart."

"We all have different ways of coping with pain. Some prefer to cope with silence, some with distracting themselves and some prefer to fake it, hoping it will be okay one day."

"Can't you do anything about it?"

"I've done everything I could but at the end of the day, whether they decide to stay together as a couple or decide to separate is entirely up to theirs- that's no longer my shot to make," Jisoo says quite defeated.

"No, I completely disagree."

"I've done my part as their therapist. There's nothing more I can do for them."

"I'm not asking you as their therapist Jisoo, I am asking you as their friend. What are you willing to do to help them?"

"Jen-"

"They are going to lose one another why can't you see that!?" Jennie says and you could see in her eyes how frustrated she was with the situation. "Lisa told me that it's going to hurt to know someone's worth after they're gone from you're your life but what they don't realize is that there is one thing that's going to hurt more. And that is knowing someone's worth- doing everything you to make them stay but they still decide to leave anyways."

"That's fucking painful as hell! I mean- you try to do your best, you make effort but it's them who choose to ignore it, turn blind-eye and just walk away! Like it never happened-" She takes a breather before looking back at Jisoo's calming eyes. "Like you never happened."

Jisoo stares at her newfound friend for a moment before speaking up. "Jennie, any person who doesn't see your worth and anyone who walks away like you never happened into their lives, is a complete-fucking-prick."

Jennie looks back at Jisoo who was quite surprised with her comment. Their eye-staring contest was cut short when they hear the closing of the bedroom door. Jennie, who felt the blush creeping in her cheeks breaks away from Jisoo's intense stare and turned her attention to Ella, who was holding onto her handphone.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Aunt Jennie?" She looks at the two of them. "Can you call ma and tell her I would like to meet for her today?"

__________________________________

"Ella!"

Her daughter shifts her head to the left where she could see her mother waving enthusiastically at her. Lisa was all smiles as her one and only kid slowly approached her and when they were just a few feet apart- she no longer got control over her body and starts to kiss her daughter all over her face and pull her close into her arms.

Sensing that her daughter stiffened underneath her touch, she backs up a few meters and chuckles nervously. "I- I'm sorry it's just- it's been a while."

"It's alright," Ella responds as she takes a seat in front of her mother.

"Would you like to order anything? I mean, I already ordered your favorite but I don't know if it's still your favorite so-"

"You didn't have to; this talk is going to be short anyway."

Lisa's heart broke hearing that but covered her disappointment with a smile. "What is it that you want to talk to me mee noi?"

"I'm graduating this Saturday." She breaks the news. "And I'm going to have my final game right after that." Ella wets her lips as she continues to play with her fingers. "I... I also decided to go to the University of your Alma Mater. I am going to push through my Architecture course."

"Well, that's good mee noi." She smiles with pride. "I am happy that you're following your dream, that's all I ever wanted," Lisa says and reaches out to her hold onto her daughter's hand. "So tell me, do I have to bring tissues to save me from humiliation during your graduation?"

Ella immediately retrieves her hands. "That's why I wanted to talk to you ma..." She says in her soft voice, and Lisa could immediately tell that it wasn't going to be good news. "I kind of decided to not invite you and mom."

"W-w-wha-"

"Auntie Jennie and Jisoo will be attending instead."

"Ella- you can't do that to us, we are your parents."

"Parents?" The teenager lets off a scoff. "After what you guys did to me you still have the heart to call yourselves as my parents? You guys lied to me."

"And we did that to protect you."

"Protect me from what ma? From broken families? From marriage failures? From unsuccessful relationships? Ma, you don't have to protect me from it because it's the reality of the world. Instead of protecting me, you could've told me."

"You could've told me that you were no longer happy with one another, you could've helped me understand what was going on inside of the family. It may not be the news I want to receive and it may take a while to accept things but as your daughter- I deserved to know. I needed to know that some relationships do fail at some point because love was never enough in the first place. I needed to know that it was better to choose someone rather than to love someone, to go for something permanent rather than sugarcoating my life with entire make-up fairytales because that's just bullshit isn't it?"

"Mee noi just pleas-" Lisa bites her lower lip. "Your mommy will not agree to this and you know how-"

"I already talked to mommy over the phone." Her daughter cuts her off. "She already respected my decision and agreed to my request. Mommy told me it's the least that she could do for me."

Lisa was totally stunned when she heard the news. "You... You've talked to her?"

"She can be quite persuasive and you know how determined she is on something." Ella answers. "We talked a few times, including the recent ones. I told her about my future career and she was happy for me."

"Ella it's not like every day you're going to graduate high school. Your mother and I deserve to see you. Just allow us to see you, even when just from afar."

The daughter wipes away her tears hearing how desperate and heartbroken Lisa was as she finally spilled the news. However, she remains steadfast strong in front of her mother. "Until you can be honest with yourselves- I will not allow any of you to see me."

Lisa doesn't get her sleep the night after having her talk with Ella. She had probably twisted and turned multiple times around the bed. Deciding that this is no longer helping- she stands up and into the kitchen she goes.

Grabbing herself a glass of her favorite wine for some time now, the Cheval Blanc 1947 St-Emilion. After taking a few good sips, she opens the fridge, taking a good look at what was left (as if there was something inside) before shutting it close- forgetting that she has to do groceries the next day.

She looks up, her eyes closed as soon as it comes in contact with the chandelier found in their kitchen. Opening her eyes bit by bit, her orbs focused on the small lights and crystals dangling on the ends. Her mind drifts off to the memory at the back of her head- when she remembered that the chandelier right above her was just a plain, rustic type of light bulb that would have short circuit from time to time.

"Boo."

"Lisa!" A pink-haired woman gasped and slaps her wife despite wearing dishwashing gloves. "You scared the lights out of me! What are you doing here I thought you were going to do some last-minute changes about your work."

She stands behind the love of her life as she takes a glass of wine to her lips. "I was about to until I figured to make you jealous about this wine that I am drinking."

Rosie rolls her eyes and went on with the washing of the dishes. "Whatever, loser."

The blonde young woman chuckles. "Oh babe, you are such a whiny woman."

"When you have an unborn kid inside of you for 6 months, maybe you can understand where I am coming from."

"Oh, I can definitely understand." She places the glass down against their wooden- refurbished island counter as she wraps her slender arms around her wife's wide bump. "I understand the kind of sacrifice that you're making for our family and honestly- I am so grateful for it."

The washing comes to an end, and Rosie turns around to face Lisa. "And your sacrifice is no different from mine. You're working crazy shifts- accepting any possible side jobs out there." She caresses her wife's tired eyes- plump cheeks. "Between you and me- you're the one who's uglier."

Lisa smiles as she cups Rosie's cheek. "You should look at yourself in the mirror babe."

The pregnant woman widens her eyes as she continues to slap her wife's arm. "You! Are! Such! An! Ass! Sometimes!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! You know I was just kidding baby!"

"Kidding your face!" She huffs out as soon she was done with the slapping. "God, I wondered why I married you in the first place."

"Because you love me."

The crease in Rosie's eyebrows disappeared along with her anger about their petty fight earlier. Her face softens and now she smiles genuinely at her. "That I do."

"And that I do too." Lisa smiles.

Silence covers the couple for a while as they slowly swayed side to side having Lisa initiating the movement between them. "Lisa?"

"Yeah?"

"You think we're going to be good parents?"

"I don't know, what's your definition of being good parents?"

"Hmm... I think about being able to provide for their kids. Being financially stable, teaching the good ways of the world, and make sure that we're going to be there for them through each struggle they have. Be their source of strength and just be their safe haven."

Lisa nods in agreement to what she just said. "We also have to make sure that we're one of the reasons why they're happy."

"I'm scared Lali, what if we will never be good enough for our baby?" Rosie's voice was coated with fear and worry. "What if the time comes and she will hate us?"

They stopped swaying to the imaginary music with Lisa slowly leaning down until her face stops in front of her wife's bump. She grasps in warmly with her both hands, soothing the place where her current child is resting and as she was focused on her stomach, Rosie stands there- quite confused about what was going through her partner's mind.

"Hi there, mee noi."

"I just want to say that it's going to be a few weeks more before your mommy and I get to see you..."She trails off. "We have everything prepared for you, I couldn't wait to show you around our house. It's not much, but you can pretty much run around."

"I can't wait to lift you up and play airplane, we'll run around along with your two brothers Leo and Luca. I bet they too cannot wait to run and play with you, don't pull their whiskers though because they will bite the sh-"

"Ahem."

Lisa chuckles awkwardly at her wife before returning to her talk. "Anyway the point is- we all can't wait to see you. But above all mee noi- I can't wait to be a parent to you..." She soothes the front part of the bump. "We're going to have so much fun playing games and making sure mommy's annoyed all the time. We're gonna play by the park and then mommy can sing us lullabies to sleep. And in the morning, mommy can-"

"Hold up back it up for a minute why is it I do all the work?"

"Because my voice is not good and we need a full-functioning kitchen." She decides to argue. "We'll play soccer in the park or on holidays we can go by the beach. You're definitely going to be a beach kid I can tell you that and soon enough when your mama can get enough money, we will by a house by the beach. You'd want that do you?" A sudden movement inside of her wife's womb comes as a form of response and Lisa smiles in return.

"We may not be the best parents in the world but we are going to be the parents that you deserve. And I'm going to make sure that whatever happens- even without the glitz and glamour, you will have a complete and happy family, and that you will grow up believing that out of the seven billion people in the world- there's going to be that one person for you."

"And how are you going to make sure of that?"

The Thai-native stands up, cups her lover's cheeks and squeezes it as she would always do. "Because she will grow up seeing how much we love each other." She says before going back to their slow dance. "She'll wake up seeing you humming to a song while I sneak from behind. I'll surprise you and we'll probably make a mess of the kitchen and you're going to be mad but I'm going to bring your favorite sandwich and we're going to make up again."

"She'll come home witnessing our Nerf battle or us doing that Kart video game and maybe join us later on while we dine on some pizza or Thai food take-out or she can come inside our room whenever she has a bad dream and she'll see me getting comforted by you because I had a bad dream too or, during her teens she'll wake up in the middle of the night and see us dancing in our kitchen just like what we are doing now."

"She's going to look at us, and see that maybe despite not having everything in life- having a family that's going to make her happy and support her through whatever is enough." She continues to adore her wife's face while looking at her with her utmost sincerity... "She's going to look for that person who's going to be there for her life and she wouldn't settle for less, because she knows that true love waits because that's what she sees in us."

Lisa smiles as she leans in to kiss Rosie on the forehead. "And so my answer to your question is no Rosie; our child will never hate us because she will never have a reason to hate us. We are going to be the parents that she needs in this life and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure that it comes true."

Rosie ends up smiling too, feeling quite relieved with how her wife eases her worry. "You know you could've just said no right?"

The latter thinks for a moment before shrugging arrogantly. "Words didn't fail me this time so might as well use it to my advantage."

Both of them chuckle with the response. "Are you sure you're going to do whatever it takes?"

"Whatever it takes babe."

"Lies," Lisa says as soon as the memory in her mind fades away, tears forming on the tip of her eyes. "You're a liar Lisa..."

This is a bad day.

Lisa woke up feeling the soreness of her neck as she accidentally slept on the couch and she wakes up, realizing that she hasn't done any laundry. She tries to look through what was left of her closet but apparently- she really couldn't wear sweatpants and plain shirt in her office, especially when she's going to throw in the final pitch on one of their biggest clients ever.

So off she goes to the kitchen but then half-way through she realizes that she hasn't got anything left inside the fridge making her groan in annoyance as there was another added thing to do in her morning list. Nevertheless, she gets her car keys and leaves for another busy day.

She stops by her go-to clothing store to get her outfit for the day. Lisa didn't need much time skimming through the entire establishment as she already knows what she needs. Well- Rachel, her personal assistant and a good friend of hers knows what she needs.

Lisa takes a good look at herself, fixing her jet black single button blazer and adjusts her silk-white top, giving a swift turn to check if her ankle pants are doing their job exposing her asset which was her legs and after wearing black heels, she gives Rachel her card and a swift cheek kiss before running off to the nearest coffee shop, hoping it would be enough meal for the entire day.

But then she ends up waiting an hour to be entertained which meant that she was already late in heading to the office, she no longer has the time in practicing her pitch and she was just basically late for everything else on her agenda. What made her grumpy though is the fact that her assistant took a sudden absence today and Jennie had to call for her and tell her that her client has been waiting for half an hour for her.

To say that she was livid was an understatement. She makes a mental note on firing her secretary and texting Jennie back that maybe she could fill in for today before with such confidence as she invites her guests over to the conference hall.

The only good thing that happened was she didn't stutter nor showed any signs that she was nervous about the meeting. By the time she was done, her clients nod his head before whispering something in his translator's ear as he invites for Lisa to take a seat.

"My boss says that he likes your pitch. You were straightforward and you lay it out all on the line. Not only did you show the positive side of investing in your company but you showed the negative as well." He waits for him to continue speaking before translating the next statement.

"He also told me that he was surprised when you did that- but he figured out soon when you narrated and made the negative sides into something that we can still benefit from. He likes that you know what you are doing... That is why it is safe to say that we are willing to sign the contract right here, right now."

Lisa grinned wide as she shook hands with both the assistant and the boss as well, thanking them multiple times as this was another big deal for her. She asked for Jennie for the contracts. Both of them signed the copies and the papers needed making sure that they do not miss a piece of single information out and signed every part of the contract.

"Nice pen." The man finally speaks in his rugged accent. "Unique design."

Lisa smiles and thanks to him for the compliment. "It's my lucky pen. Ever since I got this pen, all of my proposals get signed."

"Why sunflower?"

"That's because I've always been fond of the brighter things in life."

The man nods his head. "From husband?"

"Wife actually but- doesn't matter she's not my wife now."

"I broke up wife too." He says. "She doesn't understand my busy schedule and always nag at me. My son- mad at me too. He stays with his mother."

"She doesn't understand mine too."

"She never realizes, all of this because of family. All of this, to give them lthe  ife. " Lisa immediately nods in agreement. "But- what if they do not want the life?"

"I'm sorry I don't quite understand." She answers unsurely.

"What if they just want a life? What if I was focused on giving them what they want and forgot to give them what they need? If I stop one day working to see my son plays sports or spend time with my wife? What if I just say oh I don't feel like going to work and just hang out with my family? Will I be able to have them?"

"But I will never know because I don't have them anymore. And that is very regretful... to be desperate to know what will be the answer to the question you've always wondered but never have the opportunity to know."

__________________________________

"Mrs. Park." Seulgi stands up from her desk and greets the woman in front of her. "You have an appointment with Dr. Kim?"

"Ah no." She answers the assistant. "Jisoo said she had some things for me to get."

"Okay, well can you just wait for a moment? She's still on the last minutes of her session with Mrs. Park."

Lisa was frozen ice-cold when she heard the last two words. "She's with who?"

Seulgi who probably realize what was Lisa assuming immediately shakes her hands. "It's Mrs. Lily Park, I think she's seeking last options to retrieve her dying marriage."

The moment the news left Seulgi's mouth Mrs. Lily Park exits Jisoo's office with tears in her eyes. She immediately lets the assistant swipe the card before leaving the office quickly. Lisa waits for the latter to inform Jisoo that she was outside waiting before going inside and greeting an old friend of hers.

"Jisoo."

The doctor looks at her former patient with tired eyes and stressed face. "Hey."

"I looked like I came at a bad time." Her friend waves off her statement and invites her to take a seat. "Was it that stressful?"

"She's one of the people that knew about my 7-week experimental therapy." She answers. "And she volunteered to try." Lisa stays silent and waits for her to continue. "What?"

"What do you mean what? Why didn't you let her?"

"Because it's a complete failure." Jisoo sighs. "I mean- I can't even get you guys back together, what's the point of trying?"

"Hey, I didn't mean it that way Jisoo. I hope you understand that I am an asshole most of the time and the words that come out of my mouth either come from my utmost stupidity or anger. I never meant to diss your therapy and call it an entire failure." Lisa explains. "My marriage failed because I allowed it to fail. It was my marriage Jisoo, not your therapy so you have to let go of that guilt."

"But-"

"No more buts."

"I love butts though."

Lisa and Jisoo stare at one another. "Do you like butts in general or do you just like Jennie's butt?"

"Dude what the hell!"

The businesswoman immediately dodges the crumpled paper thrown at her. "What! You really expect me to believe that Jennie goes home early? That woman doesn't even bother to look at the time!"

"I do that because we were taking turns in being a nanny."

"Yeah, sure." She chuckles and shakes her head. "I believe that."

"Ass!" Jisoo joins in the laughter seconds later.

"So... what is it that you want to return to me?"

"Oh yeah about that." Jisoo pulls out a notebook and two pieces on envelopes. "Here's your journal. I forgot to give it to you."

"But I thought you were going to use it to further improve your seven-week therapy?"

"I already did and thought that maybe you two would want this as a souvenir or something. I don't know I suck at words as of the moment but the point is-" Jisoo taps on Lisa's hand. "That's your journal and it's yours to keep now."

Lisa eyes her friend weirdly. "You're weird Jisoo."

"W-what? I'm weird? I'm always weird Lisa what are you talking about?"

"Huh, makes sense." The latter answers. "And what about these envelopes?"

"You left it on the box of the things that you loved about your marriage." She says. "I would've asked Rosie to keep them but she told me it was better if you did."

"Rosie... she came here?"

"She came by in the morning. I told her to get her journal too."

Lisa doesn't say anything else and just nods her head. "How- how is she Jisoo?"

"She was okay... she gave me a laugh here and there and extended her stay for a few minutes so we talked about some stuff." Jisoo looks at her friend. "But overall she looks like she was coping through with the entire process step by step."

The businesswoman wanted to ask more, she wanted to know if her wife's eyes were still the same, was she thinner from the last time they saw each other or does she even have the bright aura whenever she enters the room...

But all of those got stuck in her throat after realizing that all of this wouldn't have happened if she was only logical enough to listen first on what the latter had to say before she accused her of things that her wife never was so instead of spitting it all out, she decides to swallow it all back inside and remained silent and gives Jisoo a brief nod instead.

"Thank you for this." She says with a smile. "And again I'm sorry."

"We're cool Lisa, we've always been friends and it's going to take more than words out of anger to end our friendship." She smiles at the latter genuinely.

"I'll get going now, I- I still have somewhere else to be." The therapist nods at her so she waves back as a form of farewell before turning around and heads towards the door.

"There is something I forgot to say to you though..." Jisoo says, making Lisa stop in her tracks. "For week 7, you were supposed to say your vows to one another- the same vows that you guys spoke when you were married. And in that individual interview, I was going to ask both of you if you still feel the same saying that vow even after all these years."

"Oh."

"Such a shame we wouldn't be able to find out."

Since there was practically no one waiting for her at home, Lisa decides to head by the liquor store to grab onto her favorite Rum drink before heading onto the hills right about forty-five minutes away from downtown. She remembers that she and Rosie used to go there whenever they wanted some alone time with just the two of them or they just want to see the city from a different perspective.

Lisa looks at the passenger seat and sees the journal alongside with the envelopes. She grabs the thing, tracing its leather cover she removes the lock of her own thoughts only to find out from the very front page that this doesn't belong to her.

This journal belongs to

Roseanne Park

Out of surprise, she decides to put back to where it belongs and all of a sudden her breathing becomes uneven. It felt like she had run a mile and she was dehydrated. Immediately she fishes out her phone and dials Jisoo's number right away. On the first try, she didn't get any response so she tries again, and then again until eventually, she gave up.

But this doesn't make sense. Sure, she knows Jisoo is kind of a messy person just like her but she was never that kind of messy to exchange their journals because she has Seulgi for things like that and she knows how organized her assistant was unless-

"Here's your journal. I forgot to give it to you."

"But I thought you were going to use it to further improve your seven-week therapy?"

"I already did and thought that maybe you two would want this as a souvenir or something. I don't know I suck at words as of the moment but the point is-" Jisoo taps on Lisa's hand. "That's your journal and it's yours to keep now."

Lisa eyes her friend weirdly. "You're weird Jisoo."

"W-what? I'm weird? I'm always weird Lisa what are you talking about?"

"That bitch..."

Lisa closes her eyes and for a moment to try and internalize things. She knew Jisoo was slick but she never thought that she would do something like this. If what Jisoo said was true, then Rosie would've had her journal by now. Immediately her cheeks start to heat up making her groan in her seat as she leans forward to try and compose herself.

Then her mind brings her to the million possibilities of having her wife reading the contents of her journal. She knew that Rosie was never a person who hovers over things especially her personal belongings but I'm pretty sure she was curious enough to maybe read one or two pages. Taking the journal back into her hands she exhales loudly before opening the first three pages which had brought her to week 0.

Dear diary,

It feels weird writing here. Like I think I just went back to grade school or something but since this is a requirement, I hope Jisoo likes my opening remarks.

The therapy hasn't started yet but I feel very anxious. I wonder what's ahead of us, what kind of tasks would Jisoo make us do to try and I wonder if we're going to like it... however, the first assignment for us was to write a list of the things we hate about one another and the list of reasons why we should break up.

To be honest, it feels foreign to see all the words I wrote on the list. It somehow doesn't feel right and I could feel my chest tightening seeing all the reasons I wrote. I guess it's true what they say that the truth hurts.

But I hope, as the days and weeks pass by I get to crush out one by one until I find the person who I fell in love with years ago.

With high hopes,

R.

Lisa turns on the next page and promises herself that she wouldn't look any further but then the page turned into the next and then the next. She decides to entertain herself by opening the bottle of rum and continues on reading her wife's journal.

With every aching feeling, with every pain, every regret and every torment- Lisa chugged the bottle hoping that somehow it would ease her guilt and the tightening of her chest as she reads Roseanne's words. By the time that she was on the week 5- the bottle was almost empty, her vision was blurry yet her determination to finish reading the entire book was greater than her current drunken state. Turning the page once more, she finally arrives on one of the most memorable weeks of the entire therapy.

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow is the end week 6, and I know I usually write during the end of the week but I'm coming home to Queensland tomorrow and I don't know if I can find the time to write because honestly? I am nervous as hell... there's only one week left and I do not know what kind of task Jisoo has for us.

A lot has changed since then you know? I remember expressing my doubts before starting this process to my awkwardness down to my frustrations and pain from the past weeks. Especially week three... I remember writing about giving up because we can no longer salvage this marriage down to me writing about the fluttering feelings I feel once again whenever I am with her.

Week 6 was all about spending time alone and doing a little walk in the park, remembering all the things and the feelings we had throughout this entire journey. Now I have this internal battle with myself.

My mind is telling me things are better now, but for how long with they be better? A month? Half a year? Until Ella gets married? I know it's rude for me to ask but I don't want to wake up- look at you and fall back from the very beginning because I want this to work. I want to spend another fifty or even eighty-one years with Lisa but I can't do that if I won't have the assurance that things won't be fucked up because I didn't come all this way with her to go back from the starting point.

And then there's my heart. My heart who tells me that things are not always going to be better, there are days where our relationship is going to get hit rock bottom again and there will be times where it can get worse than that but it shouldn't matter because just like what my mother said to me that just because things are hard it also means giving up right?

One tells me to go for the assurance whilst the other tells me to hold on despite the uncertainties. My mind tells me to trust her this time because when I decided to marry Lisa I let my heart take over and reminded me of where I am right now. My heart tells me to trust her again because she believes in this. In my marriage with Lisa and that we will get through this.

I may not know the answer now, but one thing is for sure-

I can't wait to see and hug Lisa tomorrow.

With high hopes,

R.

Reading the last sentence brought Lisa to tears as she remembers what happened on that day. She remembered the pain that she caused Rosie, the accusations and the hurtful words headed towards the woman who just couldn't wait to see and hug her. Lisa grips hard on the steering wheel, continuously blaming herself for everything that has happened.

Maybe if she didn't let her emotions get the best of her, she would've allowed and had given Rosie the chance to explain, if she did- then she would've been able to explain about the divorce papers. They would've made right there and she wouldn't be in this hill looking over the beautiful city of their home feeling like shit.

But- maybe she can still turn this thing around. All she needs to do is go back to the car, call whoever in Pete's sake she should get in touch with Rosie. If that doesn't work, then she would have to pull an all-nighter just to look throughout the entire city. It's going to be tough but this is Rosie she's talking about. She has to do this for the love of her life.

Rushing towards her vehicle Lisa throws the liquor away not giving a single fuck about where it went and just dashed downwards the main road. She reaches for her purse to grab her phone and tries to call Jisoo once again but the latter doesn't respond. She tries Jennie too who also rejected her calls and texted her that she isn't allowed to talk as of the moment because of a meeting.

Lisa decides to be thick-faced and call for Rosie's workmates, trying her luck but Sooyoung- one of her wife's close workmates told her that she didn't come to the studio today and since Ella wasn't and cannot be included in the option, she tries to think of another person who might know Rosie's whereabouts. Groaning and slamming her fist hard on the steering wheel as she has come up to zero results, Lisa decides to dial Jisoo's number again which went straight to voicemail making her anger rise to the roof.

"This is Dr. Jisoo Kim's voice mail if you have something to say please leave the message after the beep."

"JISOO! I swear to God stop ignoring my calls okay?! I need you to call Rosie for me. Tell her she needs to come home because I have something important to say to her. I have to tell her that- WHOA!"

And the last remaining seconds was Lisa's car horn- making the longest sound ever before the voicemail line goes dead.