Like Mother, Like Daughter (Season 4)

Chapter Eight: Fight Song

I'd left the function in tears, the second time and for two years' running, and felt a lump slowly but surely developing in my throat as I got into the elevator. The sensible thing to do, I knew, would be to talk to Uncle Lip and Aunt Mandy; however, I'd never been the sensible type, so I got out on the bottom floor and made my way towards my car. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I could feel my mascara running down my face as I stumbled through the darkness in my latest pair of godforsaken heels.

The drive to my destination was not a long one, and, when I arrived, I wiped my face as best I could before heading inside. I rode the elevator up and headed for the correct door before knocking, hoping beyond hope that I wasn't interrupting anything. When the door opened, and Axel stared at me in slight shock, I immediately began apologizing.

"Look, I'm sorry for just showing up like this," I said, my voice trembling. "I can't tell you how sorry I am..."

"No, it's okay," he said. "Do you want to come in?"

I nodded, shakily. "Yeah," I said, and allowed him to put an arm around my shoulders and guide me inside his apartment. "I'm sorry..."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," Axel said, his voice gentle. "Take a seat. I'll go get you some water."

"Got anything stronger?" I asked, and he hesitated on the threshold of his kitchen.

"Yeah," he said, turning to look at me, "but something tells me that it likely wouldn't be a good idea to let you have any."

I sighed, knowing he was right. "I'll take the water, then. Thanks."

He nodded. "No problem," he replied. He stepped into the kitchen, and I heard the fridge door opening and then slamming, before he returned a moment later with a chilled bottle. "There you go," he said, handing it over.

I weighed it in my hands. "Thanks," I replied, twisting the cap off and drinking it. After a moment, I lowered it and re-capped it, leaning back into his couch, doing my very best to focus on my breathing. "Look, I'm sorry for just bursting in on you like this. It was just a hell of a night, and I needed someone to talk to..."

"I get it," Axel replied, and, when I raised my eyes to his, he flashed me a smile. "Come on, talk to me. What's up? Wasn't tonight the Valentine's Day gala at Penny's?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it was," I said quietly. "Let's just say it didn't end well..."

"Liam and you got into it again, huh?"

I scoffed. "Oh, yeah."

"Why doesn't he just admit that he wants you as much as you clearly want him?" Axel asked then, and when I struggled to protest, he sighed. "Come on, Iana. I'm not stupid. The two of you clearly have feelings for each other; it's not just one half of an equation, it's both of you. You clearly made your feelings known for him on multiple occasions. What's stopping him from taking the plunge and just being with you?"

I swallowed then, the source of all my devastation resurfacing, just as I felt my eyes filling with tears once more. "He's engaged," I blubbered.

"Wait. What?!" Axel demanded. "He throws you out of his penthouse last June, saying that he's not a relationship kind of guy, and then, after summer, has another woman in his life?!"

I nodded. "Yeah..."

"Well, who is this person?"

I sighed, wiping my tears with the backs of my hands. "A business associate's daughter," I said with a halfhearted shrug. "She's from Italy, and looks like a fucking supermodel. She's blonde and has these beautiful brown eyes, perfect body, amazing tits, legs that go on forever... She's trilingual, too. Her father's Italian, her mother's Spanish, and she learned English when she went to this fucking finishing school or some shit..."