Until You Met Me

Molly could only blink in reply, hoping that closing her eyes for even a fraction of second would be enough to make Tiago disappear. She couldn’t believe that he was stood there. The last time they had seen one another, he had been so angry that she had moved on with Gerard, and the conversation that they had had had felt like a full stop on their relationship, and it jarred with the sight of him in front of her, looking worse for wear and sad.

Tiago let his head fall forwards, pushing a hand back through his hair, before he let out a soft sigh. “I’m sorry it’s so late” he said.

Molly let out a dazed sound, sinking against the door frame. “How...How are you here?” she spluttered.

“Felipe let slip which hotel you and Gerard had booked” Tiago admitted “I think he forgets that we used to...to be a couple, just like you forget that your brother-in-law is my cousin” he added, his lips quirking slightly at the confused expression that had spread across Molly’s face.

Molly just gaped at him for a few seconds until the sound of a door opening and closing further down the corridor caught her attention. Looking away from Tiago, she watched as one of her aunts made her way down the corridor towards the elevator, before she exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. Rubbing her forehead gently, she turned back to Tiago, her expression softening a little. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

Tiago stuffed his hands in his pockets, answering her question with a wordless shrug.

Molly shook her head, taking a step back over the threshold of her doorway. “I need to get some sleep” she mused “I’ve got a pretty big day tomorrow” she added, moving to push the door closed.

“I just wanted to talk to you” Tiago said, taking a step towards the door “Before tomorrow” he added.

Molly’s grasp on the door tightened a little, her stare surveying Tiago’s face, before she heard another door open further along the corridor, something which caused her to sigh before she stepped back, wordlessly inviting Tiago in the room. She knew what would happen if her parents or Poppy caught sight of Tiago outside of her room and she wanted to avoid it. He didn’t seem to be there to cause a problem, and if a short conversation was all it took to get him to leave, she was prepared to do it. Watching him step inside, she carefully closed the door after him before she turned to look at him. “You’ve got five minutes” she said.

Tiago’s answering smile was somewhere between sad and tired. “It won’t take that long” he said “I just...I wanted to ask you a few things before tomorrow. I know it’s stupid” he added, shaking his head ruefully.

It wasn’t lost on him. His relationship with Molly had been over for years, and he knew how strange it was that he had showed up on the eve of her wedding, but he couldn’t let her get married without talking to her first. He couldn’t change her mind. He had always known how Molly felt about Gerard, even if they had both denied it vehemently for the duration of his and Molly’s relationship, he knew that they weren’t the friends they insisted they were, but he needed to hear her say it. He loved her. If it hadn’t been for Gerard, Tiago was almost certain that he and Molly would have eventually found their way back to one another, and he needed to hear her say that it wasn’t going to happen.

“We’ve been over for a long time” Molly said, leaning against the closed door.

“I know” Tiago agreed “But I just…Was it ever real with us?” he asked.

“Tiago...”

“I won’t get angry” Tiago cut in “I promise” he added.

Molly eyed him warily for a moment before she lifted a hand, rubbing at her forehead again. “It felt real then” she said carefully.

Tiago nodded his head slowly. “When I asked you about Gerard…?” he trailed off.

“I wasn’t lying to you” Molly answered “At least, I didn’t know that I was” she added.

“You didn’t know?” Tiago asked.

Molly shook her head. “I have always had a lot of love for him” she replied “He’s been my friend since I was a kid, and I have always cared about him, but I didn’t think of him romantically until you insisted that I had to have big feelings for him. I thought about it a lot and realised that you were right, and that you were probably onto something every time you queried our friendship. I never lied knowingly to you, Tiago” she added.

Tiago offered her another slow nod. “Did you love me?” he asked.

“Every day for four years” Molly replied.

The laugh that Tiago let out was pained, something which caused Molly to take a step towards him, her hand gently settling on his elbow. “I’m sorry” he murmured “For...for a lot of things, but mostly for never just believing you when you said it. I loved you so much, and I am sorry that I messed it up” he added.

Molly squeezed his elbow gently. “You weren’t the only one to blame” she said “But I think it was for the best. Gerard is...” she trailed off with a soft laugh and a shake of her head. She doubted that Tiago wanted to hear anything about how wonderful she thought Gerard was.

Tiago glanced down at her hand before he met her eyes, a rueful smile on his face. “You don’t want to run off into the sunset together, then?” he quipped.

Molly smiled back at him sadly. “I kind of have plans tomorrow” she said.

Tiago nodded his head. “He’s not the worst guy in the world” he quipped “I hope two are happy” he added.

Molly squeezed his elbow again, offering him a soft smile, before she stepped to one side of the hall, allowing Tiago to step towards the door. Setting his hand on the handle, he lingered for a second before he turned around, tipping his head towards Molly’s small baby bump. “Congrats” he said “You’re going to be a wonderful mother” he added.

“Thank you” Molly whispered gently.

Tiago offered her one last sad smile before he pulled the door open and stepped out into the corridor. Pulling the door closed after himself, he took a couple of steps down the hall before his shoulder collided with that of a person walking in the opposite direction.

Letting out a noise in surprise, he took a pace backwards, but whatever apology had been on the tip of his tongue died when he looked up and met the eyes of the man he’d walked into. “Gerard” he spluttered.