"The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself." --Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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Roselle and Armani walked over to their lovers, who were kissing one another.
"Ahem," Armani said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.
Dylan and Lily hopped at the sound of his voice and untangled from each other.
"I KNEW IT!" Roselle bellowed.
"Armani," Lily said, tears in her eyes. "I . . . I can explain." She went in to touch his arm, but he pulled away from her as though she was a magnet that retracted him.
"Then explain," he said. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were cold.
"Can we go somewhere in private?"
Armani nodded, and the two of them went off into another corner of the rooftop, leaving Roselle and Armani alone together.
Roselle looked at the prime minister, pressing her lips together.
"I . . . I don't know what to say," Dylan said. "Are you upset?"
She shrugged. "I mean, I saw this coming."
"I'm really sorry, Ro. I don't know what came over me. It's just that we've been together so long and--"
"You don't need to explain yourself to me, honestly," she interjected. "You and I weren't exclusive or anything anyway. We're cool. Actually, I have a confession of my own to make."
"What is it?"
"Remember when I told you I kissed someone else?"
"Yeah?"
Here it comes. Breathe in, breathe out. "It was Eliot."
He raised a brow. "Yeah, I know. Was it supposed to be a secret?"
"Oh my God, was it the pilot?" She mumbled to herself. "He seemed cool but maybe he was secretly a blabber mouth."
"Eliot told me," Dylan informed her. "I told you he apologized because he felt guilty about everything, right?"
"He did? I thought he only apologized because he punched you in the face."
"He told me the whole thing."
"What else did he say?"
"He said that he really liked you, but he didn't want to pry too hard since you were dating me."
"Wow," Roselle said in disbelief. "Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all."
"Don't get me wrong, my cousin has problems and he likes to act tough, but he's really not like that. That's why he overcompensates."
Roselle took a brief intermission from her conversation to glance at Armani and Lily, who were probably talking about the future of their relationship. Armani still kept a poker face demeanor while Lily was sobbing her eyes out.
"Do you think those two will still be together after this?" Roselle asked.
"Maybe it's selfish of me to say so, but I hope not."
A thought crossed Roselle's mind, but it couldn't be true. Or could it?
"Dylan, after you and Lily broke up, did you ever . . . see each other in secret?"
The prime minister stumbled back. "How did you know?"
"It was just a question."
"Well, yeah. But she made it clear to me that it had to be kept under wraps, and that it was only physical."
"When was the most recent time you two have spent the night together?"
"Two months ago," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
It was all coming together now. Roselle figured it out. Lily was pregnant with Dylan's baby! The gears were turning in her head. Oh, how pivotal and juicy this information was, and yet she couldn't tell anyone. Grandma Scott would probably kill to have this information, but Roselle wouldn't give it to her. She was a cruel and vile woman that only thought of her own needs. There's no way she could team up with that woman. No matter how much it pained her to see Armani with Lily, she didn't want to be the one to get in the way of his happiness and ruin his life.
But still, it wasn't fair to Dylan either. He was going to miss out on the love of his life, and his own child. Did he deserve to know? Maybe, but it wasn't her call to say.
"Roselle," said Dylan. "Are we still going to date after this?"
"I don't think we can, Dylan. I honestly think that it's best we went our separate ways. Especially since we're both in love with other people."
"You told me the night we met that you came to D.C. to be with someone, but your efforts went to waste. Does a part of you still think it's going to work out in the end?"
She glanced at Armani, who was now hugging Lily. "No," she said. "There's no hope of it working out. None at all."
Dylan patted her on the shoulder. "I wish you everlasting happiness, Ro."
"You too."
Armani and Lily finally came back.
"We've made a decision," Armani said. He nudged his fiancée.
"I can't see you anymore, Dylan," Lily said.
The Prime Minister nodded. "Of course, I get it."
"I mean, at all. We can't be in the same room together anymore."
He widened his jaw, his eyes nearly beading out of their sockets. "What?"
"You can't come to the wedding, and if you and the president ever need to go to an event together, I can't go."
He was visibly distraught and hung his head. "I understand."
"You're really still going to marry her after that?" Roselle snapped.
"Mind your own business," said Lily. "Who even are you? You're just a random girl from Michigan that popped up and ruined my life."
"You ruined your own life!"
"Shut up."
Roselle was tempted. She was so tempted to out Lily right then and there. So tempted to tell Dylan she was carrying his child.
But she didn't. Instead, she stormed off into the elevator and hit the button to go to the building's third floor. She never did get to use the bathroom, after all.
* * *
Once Roselle got to the third floor, she peeped in the women's bathroom, but Michelle wasn't there. Instead, she sat outside the bathrooms, burying her head in her hands.
Eliot exited the men's room and caught her there. "Yo, where have you been?" he asked. "You, Armani, Lily, Dylan and Michelle all disappeared. Jeez, I kept calling and texting but no one answered me."
"Well, it's been one hell of a night for us. You wouldn't believe it."
He sat next to her. "Did you guys have a fivesome?"
She punched his arm.
"Ow! Sheesh, I was joking."
"Armani and I got stuck in an elevator, thank you very much. And when we got out, we caught Dylan and Lily kissing."
"That hoe," Eliot said. "I've always hated that girl."
"I know! Me too."
"She thinks she's so pretty and rich, but she cheated on my boy Dylan five times. Doesn't surprise me that she cheated on Armani too. Tried to warn him, but he didn't listen. Guess he had to find out the hard way. Oh well, least she's out of the picture now."
"Well . . ."
"Please tell me she's out of the picture."
"She's not."
"Seriously?!"
"I know right? I was mad too. I know Armani has a 'duty' to Warren Strobe or whatever, but that girl isn't not worth it."
He groaned. "Warren. Let me tell you, he's a scary dude. If you break a deal with him, I don't wanna say too much, but you'll regret it. President or not."
"Really? Can't the secret service protect him?"
"Armani may have the secret service looking out for him, but Warren can still snatch up someone he cares about and do something terrible to them." He sat and thought. "I don't know who he'd snatch though. Armani doesn't even have a family, and all his friends are business friends. His foster parents maybe? But Armani hates them. I don't know."
Roselle quivered. 'I wonder if he's doing it to protect me' she thought. She shrugged the thought away. She reminded herself it would be narcissistic to think thoughts like that again.
She got a text.
Grandma Scott: I saw everything, dear. It was almost perfect. I orchestrated all the events, but it wasn't quite enough.
Roselle: I had a panic attack because of you.
Grandma Scott: Oh yes, I saw the elevator security footage. He calmed you down though, no? Looks like you two were getting cozy. Were you playing it subtle? I like that. Give him a chase.
Roselle: You're insane.
Grandma Scott: What were you two talking about? Unfortunately, the footage had no audio.
Roselle: None of your business. I'm guessing you orchestrated Lily and Dylan being together on the roof too?
Grandma Scott: Indeed. And I was responsible for you and Armani going to the roof at just the right moment when they kissed. Unfortunately, it appears as though opportunity and even infidelity couldn't tear them apart. Don't you worry though. I haven't given up yet.
Roselle: If all that didn't work, I don't think anything well. Maybe they're afraid to back out of a deal with Warren. Someone told me that he's pretty scary.
Grandma Scott: So am I, my dear.