Tatiana nearly jumped out of her skin.

"What? No way!"

She avoided Alina’s eyes so fast that it was almost painful to watch.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Alina covered her mouth.

Her entire body trembled.

"Holy shit."

Tatiana’s ears turned red.

"Holy shit!"

"Will you stop saying that?"

"You actually have a crush on someone!"

"I don’t!"

"You do!"

"I don’t!"

"You absolutely do!"

Tatiana stubbornly stared at the television.

Two characters on the screen had started confessing their love to each other.

She suddenly found the decorative plant in the corner of the room much more interesting.

Alina slowly approached her.

Then she squinted.

Her expression became thoughtful.

"You’ve been acting weird for days."

Tatiana said nothing.

"You’ve been sick for two days because you broke someone’s hand."

Tatiana remained silent.

"You won’t go to the new pack house."

Tatiana looked away.

"You keep finding excuses not to go."

"..."

"You’ve barely left this apartment."

"..."

"You get embarrassed whenever someone mentions him."

Tatiana’s fingers tightened around the pillow resting on her lap.

Then Alina’s eyes widened.

"Oh my God."

Tatiana slowly turned to look at her.

"...What?"

"Is it Liam?"

Everything froze.

Tatiana stared at Alina.

Her expression blanked completely.

For one second.

Two seconds.

Three.

That was all Alina needed.

She screamed.

"OH MY GOD! IT’S LIAM!"

"It is not!"

"You just froze!"

"I did not freeze!"

"You looked like someone unplugged your brain!"

Tatiana immediately stood up.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

She tried walking away.

Alina grabbed her shoulders before she could escape.

"You like Liam!"

"I don’t!"

"You absolutely do!"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

Alina stared at her best friend in complete disbelief.

Then she slowly sat back down beside her.

She reached over and smacked Tatiana lightly on the head.

"I had my suspicions from the beginning."

Tatiana rubbed the spot with a scowl.

"Ow."

"I thought you just found him attractive."

"..."

"I mean, everyone with functioning eyes knows he’s attractive."

Tatiana’s face grew warmer.

"I just thought that was all it was."

She looked at Tatiana.

Then at the television.

Then back at Tatiana again.

"Who would’ve thought this?"

Tatiana hugged the pillow tightly against her chest.

The movie continued playing in the background.

The male lead had finally confessed.

The female lead was crying.

Alina wasn’t even paying attention anymore.

She looked at Tatiana with wide eyes.

"You know what’s crazy?"

Tatiana didn’t respond.

"Out of every man in the world, the first guy you’ve ever liked is the same guy whose hand you broke."

Tatiana’s face turned completely red.

"...I hate you."

Alina burst out laughing.

"You don’t hate me."

Tatiana pulled the pillow over her face.

"...I really don’t know what you’re talking about."

Alina’s grin widened.

"Sure, Tatty."

She leaned back against the couch with a knowing smile.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Tatiana didn’t answer.

Under the pillow covering half her face, her ears had already turned bright red.

The laughter that had filled the apartment slowly died down until only the television remained, its soft voices blending with the quiet hum of the city outside. The romance movie continued playing in the background, the couple on screen arguing over misunderstandings before inevitably finding their way back to each other.

Tatiana had lowered the pillow from her face by now, although the faint pink lingering on her cheeks refused to disappear. She sat curled up on one side of the couch with her knees tucked beneath her, pretending to watch the movie even though her attention had long drifted elsewhere.

Alina studied her for a while before finally sighing.

"Okay."

Tatiana glanced at her cautiously.

"What?"

Alina crossed her legs underneath herself and rested her elbow against the back of the couch.

"I hope you know Liam has like... an entire harem of women."

There wasn’t even a second of hesitation.

Tatiana nodded rapidly.

"I know."

Alina blinked.

"...You know?"

Tatiana nodded again.

"Yes."

"And you don’t mind?"

Tatiana looked down at her hands resting in her lap before shaking her head.

"No."

Alina stared.

Her mouth slowly fell open.

The silence stretched for several seconds.

Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"So you’re not denying that you have a crush on him anymore?"

The television remote flew through the air.

"You talk too much!"

Alina caught it with both hands before it could smack her directly in the face.

"Ha! You didn’t deny it!"

Tatiana looked away immediately.

The tips of her ears had turned red again.

Alina couldn’t stop herself from grinning.

For years she had known Tatiana.

Years.

She had watched this beautiful woman avoid every man that tried approaching her. Men who flirted with her were ignored. Men who complimented her got awkward nods before she escaped. Men who pushed too much discovered very quickly that Tatiana’s patience had limits.

At one point Alina had genuinely wondered whether Tatiana would live her entire life alone with her baking recipes and romance movies.

Yet here they were.

Tatiana had a crush.

A real one.

Eventually, Alina’s teasing smile softened.

She noticed that despite admitting it, Tatiana didn’t actually look happy.

Instead, there was worry.

Fear.

Something heavy hidden behind those beautiful blue eyes.

The remote slowly lowered into Alina’s lap.

"What is troubling you so much?"

Tatiana didn’t answer immediately.

She hugged the pillow against herself and stared blankly at the television.

The movie had moved on to another scene.

The male lead was smiling.

The female lead looked embarrassed.

Tatiana swallowed.

"He probably hates me."

The words came out so quietly that Alina almost missed them.

"What?"

Tatiana forced out a small laugh.

"You weren’t there that day."

Her fingers tightened around the pillow.

"If only you saw how he looked at me."

Alina remained silent.

"He was really mad."

The image replayed itself vividly in Tatiana’s mind.

Liam’s expression.

The shock.

The anger.

The pain.

Blood.

His broken hand.

Her stomach twisted.

"He reached out to touch me and..."

She stopped speaking.

The guilt sitting in her chest felt unbearable.

"He didn’t even do anything wrong."

Alina’s expression softened further.

"Tatty..."

"I hurt him."

Tatiana’s voice cracked slightly.

"And after that I avoided him."

She laughed bitterly.

"What if he thinks I’m some crazy woman?"

"You are a little crazy."

Tatiana glared at her.

Alina raised both hands.

"I’m kidding."

The apartment fell quiet again.

Then Alina leaned forward.

"What if you apologize to him?"

Tatiana blinked.

"Apologize?"

"Yeah."

Tatiana stared at her.

Alina nodded confidently.

"Liam seems like a very reasonable and calm person."

"..."

"...Okay maybe not calm all the time," Alina corrected herself. "But reasonable."

Tatiana still looked uncertain.

"What if he doesn’t want it?"

"What?"

"The apology."

"What if he reacts badly again?"

Alina opened her mouth.

"What if he doesn’t even want to see me?"

Her voice grew quieter with each question.

"What if I make things worse?"

The fear in her eyes finally became obvious.

For someone else, apologizing might have been simple.

For Tatiana, approaching Liam meant lowering every wall she had built over the years.

It meant willingly placing herself in a vulnerable position.

Alina moved closer until their shoulders touched.

"Relax, girl."

Tatiana looked at her.

"Relax."

Alina smiled warmly.

"You got this."

Tatiana remained unconvinced.

"I don’t know..."

"You bake."

"What?"

"You literally make the best cookies I’ve ever tasted."

Tatiana blinked.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Bake him something."

Tatiana stared.

"You can apologize and give him cookies."

"...Cookies?"

"Yes."

Tatiana looked horrified.

"What if he hates them?"

Alina nearly laughed.

"Then I’ll eat them."

"What if he refuses to accept them?"

"I’ll eat them."

"What if he doesn’t forgive me?"

Alina squeezed her shoulder.

"Then at least you’ll know you tried."

Tatiana lowered her eyes.

She didn’t know why the idea made her nervous.

The thought of standing in front of Liam.

Looking him in the eyes.

Trying to apologize.

Her heart immediately sped up.

Alina watched her silently before asking the question that had been bothering her from the beginning.

"Besides..."

Tatiana looked up.

"Why Liam?"

The question lingered in the air.

"You’ve only known him for a few days."

Tatiana slowly looked back toward the television.

Outside the apartment windows, city lights flickered beneath the darkening sky.

Inside, only the movie’s glow illuminated their faces.

"I don’t know."

It was an honest answer.

She really didn’t know.

She hugged the pillow tighter.

"But..."

She hesitated.

Then continued softly.

"I feel very safe around him."

Alina’s eyes widened slightly.

Tatiana’s voice grew quieter.

"When he looks at me..."

She pressed a hand against her chest.

"...my heart beats fast like crazy."

There was confusion in her expression.

As though she didn’t understand herself.

"I’ve never felt like this before."

Before Alina could respond, a ringtone suddenly shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

Both women jumped.

"Hmm?"

Alina frowned.

She reached for her phone sitting on the coffee table.

The screen lit up immediately.

Her brows furrowed.

"...Danill?"

Tatiana blinked.

"Why is he calling you this late?"

Alina stared at the screen for a moment longer before slowly accepting the call.

A strange feeling settled in her chest.

Something told her this wasn’t going to be an ordinary conversation.