Shane's loyal interest

Shane stood dazed after watching Diego walk out of his party. He had expected him to stay, but his attitude proved otherwise. All of his behavior from tonight added to suspicions. It was no longer about him interrupting the two, and there was more to the story.

Shane couldn't simply ignore Diego's presence anymore. His instincts strongly believed he plays more than just as Lillian's friend.

Recalling all the moments tracing back to when Lillian had struggled with Giselle's absence, Diego was never there to comfort her. It either took Anna or himself who ran to rescue Lillian Grey. Nonetheless, Lillian often mentioned how she would meet with Diego at a bar. He was never seen comforting his heartbroken friend but remained curious about her relationship and who she was currently dating. For someone who stayed by Lillian's side since childhood, Diego's relationship remained distant yet close.

**

Shane's wild running insights took him straight to Giselle. He knew Lillian could be oblivious of Diego's questionable intentions, which leaves Giselle alone.

The lights were back on inside the house, lightening up the space for people to invade and use the bathroom. Post midnight celebrations had left everyone tired and in need of emergency. As his guests engaged all four bathrooms in his house, Shane went on a quest to find Giselle, who was nowhere to be seen in the first two attempts. She wasn't in the backyard either. With the lights returning, people went back to their posts. The band's music became louder and explosives with the band jamming to 80s rock and roll music.

Shane was getting exhausted from searching, and he was on the verge of giving up on satisfying his personal curiosity when Giselle exited the bathroom upstairs to his notice.

"Giselle!" Shane yelled to startle the woman, who stood arrested upon hearing her name. Giselle saw it was Shane who called out for her and exhaled with ease. She then waited as he approached her in a rush.

"I've been looking for you all over the place!" Shane informed wearily.

"W- Why?"

The two met upstairs in the hallway, and there were still his other guests who wanted to use the bathroom or openly stalk outside the spot to chitchat. Shane signaled Giselle to follow him as they moved to his home office. The huge space designed to serve as his personal office came with a balcony. It was Giselle's first time visiting this room. She was anxious naturally yet admired the beauty of this place. As soon as they stepped to the balcony, Shane apologized for requesting her privately.

"I haven't seen you or Lillian for a while! Where did you two disappear?" he casually inquired without wavering.

It was not Shane's intent to be brutally direct. But he instantly regretted opening his conversation with that question, especially when he knew where they had been and witnessed their glorious moment. Unlike Shane, Giselle's face turned beet red as she tried to come up with a reasonable excuse.

Realizing his blunder right away, Shane didn't give Giselle the luxury of time to answer. She didn't need to. Instead, he carried the conversation to his topic of interest.

"I- I'm sorry. May I ask how's your relationship with Diego?"

Giselle paused at once, staring at Shane and studying his loyal interest in the mentioned subject. She didn't know how to respond to this question either.

Seeing her fighting against the suffocating silence, Shane admitted to his guess that it must be complicated to respond.

"Why are you asking?" Giselle questioned.

"Nothing! I just want to know- you two never seem to spend time together, especially both being very important people in Lillian's life."

Giselle returned how her relationship with Diego is not particularly close. It was strange that Shane was curious about her and Diego, and it bothered Giselle from answering honestly.

"May I ask why? Does he not like you?" Shane insisted on knowing. He looked like he wasn't ready to take Giselle's rejection dutifully, and under his peer pressure, Giselle saw herself spilling the beans.

"He- doesn't approve me being with Lillian," she answered openly for the first time, which encouraged Shane to trust his assessment.

"Oh- so he resents you?" he probed, continuing to pursue his target with determination.

"Why are you asking?"

"Nothing! I just noticed something tonight."

Shane went on to add how Diego would usually stick by Lillian's side on any occasion and would never leave her, unlike tonight, where he acted distantly. Shane couldn't help but point fingers at Giselle, for her presence fostered suspicions with Diego's behavior tonight. Giselle recognized Shane doubting her and thus refrained from giving him the benefit. She denied associating herself with Diego's attitude tonight.

"I don't know anything!" she replied, looking away.

"You don't know anything, or do you actually know everything?" Shane asked.

He could see Giselle getting anxious around this topic. Nonetheless, he wished to press further, for this is his only chance.

"Giselle-" Shane called. He knew he shouldn't mention eavesdropping on their confession, so he tried to put it another way.

"You and- Lillian, you both are trying to do your best. You don't want to make the same mistake again, right?"

By now, Giselle's dread turned to provoke her. She didn't wish to participate in this confrontation anymore, but at the same time, a new voice spoke out for the first time within her. The trauma she endured years ago as a teenage girl considered trusting Shane's interest. Giselle contemplated to herself whether to speak out or continue to hide the pain. Under the helpless state, she got reminded of Lillian's confession earlier.

"You don't know anything!" Giselle replied heatedly.

"Then why don't you tell me?" Shane requested.

Giselle stubbornly refused, telling him it was not her place to speak about someone else.

Shane agreed. However, to get Giselle to talk, he had no choice but to provoke her directly. He confessed how he had heard from Lillian that she and Diego were actually getting along in the past before Giselle chose to disappear. Shane wondered if Diego had a hand in her leaving the country. It was a simple bait to rouse Giselle to respond, but seeing her quivering over the past all of a sudden, sweating all over from feeling numb, Shane cowered if he had touched something sensitive.

Like poking at an old burnt mark and asking for its story!

Worried about Giselle's worsening mood, Shane attempted to comfort her. He cursed himself for trying to go through provocation and focused on earning his trust back.

"Giselle, You should understand that I'm only trying to help you. You do realize that I did my best to convince you to return home after several years. If not, you'd still be living your life. Both you and Lillian would continue to think of each other as an old memory etched with a scar."

His words convinced Giselle from suffering irrationally. She stood still, pondering over his reasoning. After all, she was able to trust this man before. He had never shown any ill intention or had an immoral approach.

"I- just want to know if Diego hates you or something? Because I see him all enraged whenever Lillian's with you! Do you two have any beef? Does he resent your relationship with Lillian?"

Shane's relentless prying compelled Giselle to expose the truth.

"Yes," she replied, bringing silence between them.

"He never liked me," Giselle continued.

"He- He never liked me once!

Ever since I appeared in Lillian's life, he hated me. He never wanted me to stay by her side. He doesn't like if Lillian shows me any attention, and I thought it was because they were close friends, but-"

"But what, Giselle?" Shane whispered.

"But, he- he- Diego- has,"

Giselle stuttered crudely before disclosing Diego's secret.

"He has feelings for Lillian!" Giselle admitted to her discretion.