The woman in the photos with Dominque at the Rimbaud seemed familiar. Lee Han lived in the same area as her. Kaede recognized Lee Han in the salon, where she went to get her hair straightened for the man she secretly wished to impress.

While the stylist did Kaede's hair, the model bragged about how she still trended on social media since the Rimbaud photos hit the internet. Someone then asked about the man Lee Han was with, and she proceeded to tell her night with a Latin hottie. Kaede lent an ear and listened to the Spanish Staillon tale. According to the woman, he was worth the ride. Kaede left the salon pissed off as she had the confirmation of what she already knew.

That's when the internal conflict began, Dominque was persistent, and every day he wore off on her. Kaede found herself wondering if he would come and see her. Whether his hair would be slicked back or leave it messy? How long would he stay, and finally, would he ask for her number again? The thought of being one step from surrendering and giving her digits tormented her. Lee Han broke the budding feelings that Kaede began to accept.

"Hey Kaede, are you listening to me? I'm not who you think I am. I fooled around, but when I am in a relationshipㅡ."

"Pff"

Dominque, "what's the pff? You don't know."

The woman crossed her arms; Kaede fought against her emotions. The guy wasn't hers, but somehow those few promised words got to her. Now she beat herself up for letting down her guard, "I don't want to know anything about you, Dominque. What do I have to do to get rid of you? This game has been going on for far too long."

Dominque wiped his hands, which stung with the outbreak of sweat on his knees. He looked about everyone turned their gaze away, but it was clear they all eavesdropped.

"Kaede, I don't intend," Dominque closed his eyes, hoping to find inspiration. "It's true at first; it was physical but, Iㅡ."

"Do you want to fuck me? I mean, if we do it, will you leave me alone?"

Dominque hesitated, not knowing where the conversation would terminate and the seriousness of the woman's inquiry. Embarrassed, he threw threatening stares at the neighboring tables, making some customers hold their breath of mocking giggles before saying, "Kaede, what the fucㅡ."

"I thought so," Kaede stood up, "all you want is sex. Have the guts to say it."

"No, no, no, Kaede, you are the one going there. I just invited you to lunch to get to know you, but you are so psyched."

Kaede began to stride away. Dominque got up; what was wrong with her?

The man's mind didn't give him time to analyze; instead, it sent an electrifying surge of adrenaline-fueled anger, "you're right, Kaede, let's fuck, let me fuck you right, and then let's see what happens."

Everyone looked at him as if he were crazy. The man let out a nervous chuckle and went to the counter.

The cashier gave him an empathic smile, "hard day with the girlfriend, huh. Hang in there."

Dominque bought a sandwich, a few pastries, coffee, juice, and left the café. He took a few steps when the man who sat with his wife stopped him, "excuse me, my wife and I overheard your conversation," the man handed him a name card, "if ever you and your friend are looking for other partners. Sometimes all one needs is some spice to fix things."

Dominque, flabbergasted, accepted the card that he threw away once he was out of view. Kaede made him look like a kinkster, and he hated it.

"Back already, Kaede?" Tara asked as the manager rushed inside the store like a runaway cat.

The woman didn't say anything, then she stopped, "if that guy, Marco's friend comes here, tell him I'm out of office."

Dominque followed shortly after, "where is she?"

Tara shook her head to alert him Kaede didn't want to see him.

Dominque put the bag on the counter. He tapped his fingers on the desk while he reflected on what to do. His glaring eyes pushed Tara to slide her head back as she took it for herself. The man softened his expression as he realized he scared her, "can you please give this to Kaede. She didn't have lunch," Dominque wished to leave a message, but it seemed inappropriate. He didn't understand why Kaede blew up. They took one step forward and ten more back. The angry man was now confused.

++

He looked at his watch and hurried; his appointment was a little far. Dominque arrived on time and went straight to the dialysis unit.

"Hi, I'm Dominque Miguens. I've got my dialysis at 2 PM."

The nurse registered him Domnque went to sit and waited for the nurse to call him. He wondered with whom he would be that day.

His turn came, and he followed the nurse.

"Hey, look who we have here."

"Mr. Jacob, Madame Zainab, nice to see you two again."

The older patients were already halfway through their session. Dominque was happy not to be alone. He disliked staring in front of him for four hours while introspecting and wondering if the fly in the room was satisfied with its purpose in life.

Mr. Jacob frowned with concern, "what's up? You look upset?"

Dominque sat and let the nurse install him.

"I'm ㅡMr. Jacobs, have you ever met a woman who rejects you for no apparent reason? I mean, you know you're her type, and she just throws you off."

Ms. Zainab laughed, and Mr. Jacob replied, "women who do that are usually crazy about you, but there's something that scares them."

"You're handsome. A beautiful man can be a source of permanent stress for a woman," Ms. Zainab added.

Dominque looked at the ceiling, "she's just so on the defensive mode as though I committed some sort of felony. Earlier on, her anger escalated."

"Then you probably committed a crime in her eyes. Are you sure you haven't done anything?"

Even if Dominque did, the man thought all Kaede said was vulgar and excessive.

Why was she vexed?

Dominque searched and played all the scenes in his mind; he was irreproachable. Since he began to conquer Kaede's heart dungeons, he had done nothing wrong. He hadn't even stared atㅡ.

The man stopped, Lee Han, was there some way for Kaede to know?

Dominque closed his eyes and attempted to piece things together. The outing at the Rimbaud left residues on the socials. The clichés could mislead anyone. It became clear Kaede believed Dominque just chatted her up for his scores board.

As always, his treatment's side effects got the best of Dominque, who didn't budge the following days. He was new to the patient's game and made a lot of mistakes concerning his health. There was no point risking his life to see a woman who could mentally terminate him. The man was still to learn how to prioritize himself before opting to care for Kaede in any way what's so ever.

++

It was the end of the month, and Kaede reflected on the past two.

So many things happened, the party, her promotion, and finally Dominque.

Kaede blocked out and evicted any thought of the man who took up too much space in her mind without paying rent. The woman could not get around the fact of the mental hassle Dominque was. As for her burnout, she had no parachute. If she lost it once more, Kaede would be alone with anxiety. Back then, Kaede was afraid of forever remaining a victim. Protecting both her mind and body was her only preoccupation. The woman preferred to cut off anything able to cause a mental conflict. As the week went by, the woman felt freed. Dominque no longer showed up at the store.

The woman persuaded herself Dominque got the message. All Kaede desired was mental stability, seeing him rebooted the Marco days. She detested imagining him flirting with other women or vice versa.

Yes, she had insecurities and trust issues sprinkled with a little paranoia powder; this made Dominque all the more dangerous for her health because she was madly attracted to him. He was not the man she waited for or the one she wanted, but he still reeled in her feelings.

Kaede attempted to convince herself the attraction base was his over-appealing, if not to say humanly illegal looks. In addition to this, she appreciated his speech, smile, and deep, reassuring voice. The woman liked how Dominque followed her around to tell her about the latest books he read. His puppy stare made her melt, and the obscure one he gave Steph made her smile.

These points juxtaposed explained why it frustrated Kaede to know that while Dominque did all these adorable things, he slept with another woman. It made no sense in her mind.

How could he expect her to believe the sincerity of his feelings?

Anyway, the end of the month signed the beginning of Kaede's leisure time. She registered for her dance class's summer sessions. At least she still had one haven left in Paris where there was no Dominque or Marco to spoil her pleasure vinyl.

The sun and the sky already promised a hot summer. Kaede looked forward to hers, which would be in the rhythm of an upbeat tempo. She hoped her turntable would not let her down, and all sounds would be vibrant and beautiful.