401 To end all the agony

Diego's hatred resonated with himself. The more he watched his long-time friend with whom he had developed feelings and the girl who overtook him to confess, Diego understood he stood no chance. Despite knowing this truth all along, he had always believed, in the corner of his heart, that if he stayed loyal, his love would surely get noticed one day.

Time flew in the blink of an eye as Diego now hid himself to watch the scene unfold in front of him. If he never had those feelings for Lillian, he would have been the first one to cheer for his friend. Diego, for sure, would have had a friendly bond with Giselle so that he could tease them together.

If only his heart could understand their love!

Just imagining the alternatives made him realize how crazy he had become over time. And that is why his seething rage had burst to tears, but they never fell to his egotistical pride. Diego won't accept this. He knew it was pointless since Lillian was so far away already. Nonetheless, he wanted her to know what he had hidden for all these years. It is only fair that she knows. It is only acceptable that Diego doesn't end up as a fool. Maybe he wasn't trying his best to dazzle her or express himself clearly, but Diego realized he should have taken the first step back then. Now, it was too late for him to compete. No matter how long he could stay loyal, Lillian would never see him in a different light.

'This is unfair!' Diego thought. He still wished Lillian to be aware of his love. This was not his inner demon that whispered maliciously, but the young boy within himself who first fell in love with his quirky friend. The young Diego demanded closure to put an end to all this agony.

**

Diego stepped out to the long walkway. He stood farther from Lillian and Giselle, who never took notice of anything that went around them as they continued to embrace and wipe each other's tears of joy.

'Just walk up to her and admit that you had feelings!'

'Don't be so petty! That is your friend! What would she think if she learns that you had entertained these feelings without her consent.'

'It is only fair that Lillian at least knows.'

'We can no longer do anything. Lillian and Giselle just admitted their love.'

'I- I feel like I won't be able to give up unless I tell her.'

The voices inside Diego's mind wrangled until it devoured him all of his strength.

"God! I'm tired!" he muttered as he took a step forward.

***

Shane was determined to bring Giselle back to Lillian. And right now, he enjoyed his victory in all glee until he beheld someone obstructing that beautiful picture. It was relatively dark, but Shane could guess from the build and attire that it was Diego. Surprised at his presence, Shane waited to study his move. He remained still until Diego made a move towards them. Worried if he was going to bother them, Shane hesitated if he must step in to save the moment.

After seeing how Diego was unphased or stopping, Shane moved in light steps as he followed to catch the man. As soon as Shane's gaze fell on Diego's, he could almost believe his suspicions. The face exposed his story along with its limitless pain and hatred. Diego was startled to find Shane stopping him. There was a friction of physical force between the two men, battling against each other's pull, but Shane won easily against Diego's vulnerability.

"You don't want to ruin this for them!" Shane said to drag Diego to his hiding spot.

Whatever little confidence Diego carried was brutally beaten, and he grew exhausted. He put up with the fight to get away from this man, who replaced his spot in Lillian's life, a true friend, and when Diego got beaten up by Shane, all his life had left him dreary. He scowled as he followed Shane.

***

"We should go back!" Giselle uttered.

"I don't want to!"

Lillian remained leaned against Giselle's shoulder, unwilling to leave.

"We're in front of the house. Someone can come- let's leave?" Giselle insisted gently.

"Lillian?"

Lillian was reluctant to listen to her idea of returning, so she immersed deep and planted her head into her shoulder.

"Lillian!

I need to go to the bathroom and my makeup- look at me. I must look all messed up!"

"Why? You look pretty to me," Lillian casually replied and continued to fool around.

Giselle endured the tickle attack until she couldn't hold her restraint. She realized it wouldn't be easy to leave as long as she played it smart.

"I can look more pretty to you!" Giselle hinted secretly.

"No need!"

Lillian's blunt reply baffled Giselle, and she waited to think of another way to get out of Lillian's clutch.

"I don't want anyone else looking at your pretty face," Lillian shamelessly admitted her possessiveness to fuel Giselle's agitation.

"Only you would think like that! Now, let go!" Giselle said to shift away, but Lillian stuck like glue and refused to separate.

"No," Lillian disobeyed like a child.

"Lillian, I have to go to the bathroom."

Finally, Lillian rolled away to her spot, groaning as she did. Giselle resisted laughing. Instead, she kissed Lillian before standing up to wobbling legs.

"Wait for me! I'll be back soon, and then let's go back together!" Giselle said to walk away hurriedly.

Lillian saw Giselle leave. She remained seated on the ground, stretching her legs to ease the spasm. Finally, the weight in her chest vanished that night. She saw that there were no more fireworks in the sky. But it did matter. Nothing did because she waited this long, and it was worth. She smiled happily.

Finally, the heaviness in her heart erased to her confession, and she breathed in relief. The night sky above rested clear from the end of fireworks. For a second, Lillian fumbled from missing the action, but it didn't matter. Nothing did because she waited this long to express her love, and it was worth the pain. Now, there's only one path to happiness. No more detouring and struggling alone because, together with Giselle, Lillian was happy to spend the rest of her life together.

**

Shane had taken Diego somewhere around the house, secluded from both front and the backyard. He didn't want anyone to interfere or eavesdrop on his confrontation with this unsteady man. Just the look on Diego's face confused Shane. He held all his doubts to himself and tried to inquire calmly about his intentions.

"What were you trying to do back there?" Shane asked.

Diego remained still, except his eyes studying Shane's demeanor. This man, who casually stole his place in Lillian's life, is now defending those two. Diego quickly grasped that Shane also witnessed Lillian's confession, but he doubted how much this guy had heard.

"Why? Does it bother you?"

Diego's snarky response provoked Shane, but he held composure by repeating his question. Only this time, he hinted if Diego didn't have the conscience to give some privacy. After all, Lillian was his friend as well. More than disrupting her moment, he must be elated for her sake.

Diego's silence continued to taunt Shane's patience. There was no need to confront further as Shane could picture the story from Diego's intruding gaze. His theory was too ridiculous to believe yet assume at the same time. Simply because of the way Diego marched towards Lillian and Giselle screamed hostility. He wasn't trying to surprise them or congratulate them. If not these two, what else could Diego be there trying to pull off?

The more he wondered to himself, Shane began to believe in his theory. However, he had no evidence to concur. Right now, all Shane could do is to protect those two from this man's coercion, and he had the advantage here.

"You don't have to do this in front of Lillian?" Shane advised, directly hitting the nail.

To his triumph, Diego's expression changed as soon as he digested Shane's words. Nevertheless, he didn't want to display his terror.

"Who are you to say that?" Diego retorted.

"Because this is my party! And I don't want anyone to create a scene."

Diego and Shane shared a staring contest as Shane visibly warned Diego to calm down.

"If you can't control yourself, then you can leave. Please don't disturb my guests!" Shane warned strictly.

Feeling humiliated, Diego considered before walking out. Instead of heading inside the house, he left to get his car and leave this place at once. He couldn't stand staying there another minute with everyone turning against him or visibly ignoring his presence.

On his way out, Diego met Lillian, who acted surprised to see him roaming alone. The two stiffly spoke to each other before Diego abruptly walked past her to his car. Lillian tried to stop him, but she saw Diego getting into his car and driving out without a word. She wondered what happened to her friend to take off like that. He has been behaving strangely all night, and this attitude left a mark on Lillian's mind. She was puzzled by his actions yet couldn't seem to communicate about them.

'What has happened to their friendship?' Lillian thought.

In a state of worry, she sat down and continued to wait for Giselle.