Kali brightened when Samuel walked in the door. Giovanna had some friends over, and Kali decided to hole herself up in the room while she entertained her friends.

"Hey, you. How did it go?"

"We fixed the problem."

He dropped his bag and then his jacket, looking drawn and exhausted as he dragged himself to the bed. Kali crawled to meet him, managing a kiss before he collapsed on the mattress.

"Must have been tiresome."

He groaned, "Amongst other things."

Kali nodded. She helped him out of his sneakers and peeled his T-shirt off. When she got back beside him, he opened his eyes to look at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked, resting a hand on his chest.

"Flora knows everything."

"I don't understand."

"About our marriage and my mom's involvement in our break up. She knows everything."

"How?"

"Best guess is Christen."

"Christen?"

"Flora came by the office not too long after you left. She said she just found out the truth, and it doesn't take a genius to piece together who at that party would care to tell her."

"How would she even..."

"Probably at the garden." He grumbled, sitting up. Her hand fell to his lap, and he took it, gazing at her fingers. "We must not have heard her join us, or she had been there before me and didn't make a sound. One way or the other, she found out and told Flora."

"So what happened?"

"Everything. You were right. We can't have a moment of peace without something going wrong."

"I am guessing it wasn't an easy conversation."

"Not at all."

Even though she feared to know what happened and what he felt, she drew him into her arms. It wasn't easy for him. She knew that much. His head rested on her chest, and his arms went around her waist. She smiled, stroking his hair as she rested her head against his neck. He didn't speak, and she didn't push, only offered her presence.

As they sat there, she couldn't help but wonder what happened at the office. How bad it was, and how much it drained him.

"I am sorry." He whispered, pulling away. She touched his cheeks as their eyes met, and she noticed the pain in them. "I hate that I can't stop hurting you."

"You aren't hurting me."

"Yes, I am."

Kali kissed him swiftly. "I promise you are not. This is hard, and it only seems to be getting harder. Especially for you."

"Depends on perspective."

"Want to talk about it?"

He looked away, nodding. "I guess we have to. From what she said, we'll be seeing more of her."

"What did she say?"

"She forgave me for lying, said she regretted doubting me. She wanted us to return to how we were before, now that there were no lies between us."

Kali swallowed the panic that flared and drew herself together before he could notice her reaction. She couldn't be jealous, could she? He had warned her that things could get complicated, and she decided to start a relationship with him.

Well, then, Flora knew nothing. Now was a different story."

"It must have been hard to hear all those things."

"It was."

"And, what did you say?" She asked nervously.

"I told her I couldn't. That we were starting a relationship together."

"Oh." She lamely replied, surprised. "Really? Why?"

"It was the only option I had. It was best to tell the truth rather than allow her to believe things could be how they were. Things aren't like before, no matter how much she wished they were.

"Must not have been easy for you."

"I don't deserve for it to be easy."

"Don't say that."

"Have you never..." He trailed off and looked away again.

Kali rolled her eyes and turned his face to her. "Never what?"

"Have you ever wondered why you took the deal in the first place?"

"Everyday."

"No," he shook his head and squeezed her knee. "I mean, analyse all your other options and wonder why you chose what you did."

"Yes."

"I do, too. At the time, all I could think of was protecting Flora, right? But how have I protected her? My mother can still send her to jail even after all this is done. When she asked me to take this deal, she said I couldn't tell anyone, but I could. I could have told my dad."

"Could your father really stop your mother? I have seen them together, and it seems your mother pulls the strings harder than he does."

"It seems that way because it is. My father rarely puts his foot down, but he does when it comes to her treating us like puppets."

"And so you wish you hadn't kept silent. Your life would have been different now."

"It's not the difference that makes me think. It's the mess. I didn't do much back then to stop my mother's plan. Now it's like we are trying to mop up one mess after another. Day after day. Person by person. We built a house of cards, and each time we place one card down, four more crumble in their place. Flora has found out, and now I wonder who else Christen told, thinking of how much I need to cover up and who I need to goad into silence."

"Who else would Christen tell?"

Samuel glanced towards the balcony. "Vincent."

Kali blanched. "Vincent. Giovanna's Vincent?"

"The one and only. He, Christen and Flora are close friends. I have no doubt Giovanna has spoken to him several times regarding her dislike for you. All that's left is he tell her, and she...well, she tells everyone."

"That would be bad."

"Would it?" He scoffed, flopping back on the bed, his arms sprawled at his sides. "I think so much about the past because I wonder why I am still silent. Everything is falling apart. When I think I am taking the reigns, someone snatches it off."

"So you want to finally admit to everything? Tell your family what really happened?"

"Yes." He answered strongly. Then he wavered. He dug the heel of his palm into his eyes. "I do, but at the same time, I am afraid. I am a coward."

"Oh," she cooed.

She stretched out by his side, resting her head on his chest. Samuel took the hand that rested on him with one hand and held her around the shoulder with the other.

"We are all cowards in our own way." She whispered. "Sometimes I feel like telling the truth, too. But then I think of Ember, your dad, my sister, even Peter, and I get tongue-tied. Months ago, I wouldn't have cared. Now, I am afraid of what they'll think of me."

"Maybe one day we will stop guessing and go for it. One day when I am not afraid of the worst that can happen."

She felt him kiss the top of her head, and she smiled. She listened to the beating of his head while his rising chest rocked her head up and down. No matter the problems they faced, she realised she was increasingly more comfortable because she had him around. She trusted him so much that it scared her at times.

Giovanna knocked, and they pulled apart before she peeked in. "The girls are about to leave."

"Sure." Kali sniffed, wiping her cheeks. "I'll be right down."

"What's happening?" Samuel asked when the door closed.

"I told her to tell me when her friends were about to leave," Kali informed. She got off the bed and shuffled into her slippers. "I locked up the alcohol since I wasn't supervising, but I know teenagers will drink if they want to. So I asked her to let me know when they were leaving to make sure no one snuck alcohol in and intends to drive home drunk."

"Maybe I should be the one to..."

"No. No. She is treating me with some respect and giving me my place in this house. I want to take advantage of that. I'll be back."

"Alright."

She reached the door but stopped, turning back to look at him.

"Samuel?"

"Yeah."

"I think I won't be a coward in one thing."

Chuckling, he sat up to look at her. "What?"

"I won't be afraid to tell you that while I understand Flora. I don't intend to step aside."

She left immediately after that, closing the door on his frozen amusement before his expression had a chance to change.