Samuel closed the box when Kali came into the room, and he set it down on the bed beside him.

"I was going to tell you. You know that, right?"

"Yes. I am not mad."

"You look mad."

"I am not. This is me being worried."

"Worried?"

"Doesn't this...I don't know, scare you?"

"That some weirdo is playing an expensive game of "who sent it?""

"That this weirdo is spending so much money on you. You haven't met this guy before, but he knows work is hard for you and how stressed you are with all the gossip. He misses your eyes, your beauty."

Kali stared at the box. "How many times did you read that card."

"Is that what matters now? Listen to me. This guy can be dangerous. If he is making fantasies in his head and convincing himself that there is a relationship between the two of you. He could do something dangerous one of these days."

Kali seemed to understand where he was going. She immediately shifted from sceptical to worried. He didn't want to scare her, but it was something that they had to address.

He trusted that she told him the truth when she swore she had no idea who was sending the gifts. That meant, somewhere out there, a man was constructing a life with her in his mind. Either that or someone was trying to make her look bad by creating the illusion of a wealthy lover.

If it was the latter, then they had nothing to worry about. But if it was the former, Kali's safety could be in danger. Especially if the person had access to money.

"Come." He took her hand, and they walked to sit at the centre of the bed. "You have no idea who could be doing this?"

"No." She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. "I mean, at first, I thought your mom or Richard. You know, to make me look bad. But I haven't gone through with investigating that possibility."

"Then we will do it. Hire someone to track who sent the gifts. It's better we find out than sit in ignorance and be wrong."

"And if it's your mom?"

"Then we let her keep spending her money to create waves we will never sail in. If it's Richard, then we'll do the same. But..."

"We have to prepare for if it's neither."

"We do. I have seen things like this on television, you know? Crazies that construct stories of people in their heads and form these unhealthy obsessions. Then, they stalk and even kill the people they obsess over. This looks like that."

Kali picked up the card and read it before saying, "I hate everything about this."

"As you should."

She groaned and dropped her face into his chest. "I can't catch a break."

Samuel chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "I'll pray that it turns out to be nothing. Alright?"

"Okay. What should we do about that."

Kali pointed an accusing finger at the jewellery box on the bed. Samuel reached to pick it up, opening it again to look at the piece.

"I could give it to one of the maids again," Kali grumbled into his shirt. "They could pawn it. Make good money."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"What if tomorrow they send a car or horse or the keys to an apartment in the city where he expects me to meet him for a passionate reunion. He seems to miss me that much."

"Don't worry. We will get to the bottom of things before it gets that far." He raised her head and kissed her nose. "Is that why you looked down when I got home? Is that all that's bothering you?"

"It's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing. You were happy this morning, and now you look like you have been dragged through the mud. Is it just the necklace, or is there something more?"

She worried the buttons on his shirt thoughtlessly. "Do you remember how much I wanted to ruin your mother when we were first married?"

"Not an easy thing to forget."

"I stopped caring about it. I don't know when I stopped caring about it, but I did. I forgot and started to enjoy this life that she constructed for me. I wanted to choose to be happy instead of bitter and vengeful, leaving the poison to consume her instead of adding myself to the mix."

"And that makes you sad now?"

"What makes me sad is how little happiness or peace I get. At work, here at the house, with you, the thing with your family. When I find something to be happy about, I am immediately slapped down with problem after problem. I just..." she kissed his hand. "It just gets exhausting."

"I guess the rumours haven't dwindled fast enough for our tastes."

"Your dad did a good job, but the damage was done the minute the prints went out. He can stop the magazines, but he can't stop the people from talking. Now, as well as a golddigger, I am also about to be painted as a cheater."

"No one knows about this except you and me."

"You are forgetting about Giovanna, huh? We'd be lucky if she doesn't bring this up at family dinners."

"I'll talk to her."

"Would it matter what you say? If she is determined, she is determined.

"I can imagine. I am sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. But, can you hold me?"

"Of course. Let's sleep early today. What do you say?"

"Sure. I am exhausted anyway."

She crawled up the bed and sat waiting for him. Samuel took the box to the dresser and stuffed it into one of the drawers before turning out the lights and joining Kali in bed. She pressed into his side, resting her head on his chest and holding his hand.

Kali fell asleep quickly while Samuel stayed up, watching the ceiling. He fussed with her hair, running his finger through it and twirling strands between his fingers. He felt her breathing slow as time passed until it was a gentle rise and fall in her chest. He waited until more time passed before extracting himself from underneath her.

She didn't wake up. He left the room, making as little noise as possible, heading downstairs to find something to keep himself busy. They had left the table without cleaning up, so he thought he could spend the night cleaning the dishes and working until he felt tired. It was better than staying up in bed wondering about the necklace in the dresser drawer.

When he got down, he was surprised to find the table was cleared. In the kitchen, there was no single dirty dish in the sink. Everything had been washed and returned to their rightful place. Giovanna was the only person in the house, so he figured she had done the cleaning.

"Samuel?" A broken voice called.

He looked and saw a shadow on the stairs. "Gio?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing back there."

"I heard you come out of the room and...I followed."

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"It's only eight."

"Right." He sighed.

"Kali?"

"Asleep."

He pulled one of the dining chairs out and collapsed into it. After some hesitation, Giovanna followed, sitting close to him as her fingers twisted around one another. He wasn't sure why she was nervous, but he could tell that she was. Her eyes moved everywhere, looking at anything but him.

"Are you going to ask me to leave?"

The question puzzled him. "Leave. Why?"

"Because you're angry at me. Because of what happened at dinner."

Samuel chuckled. "Giovanna, it's been years since you've been able to annoy me. I am not angry at you. Kali isn't cheating on me. Jim is the name of a stranger who sent a gift to the house not too long ago. I was annoyed to hear he had sent another. I wasn't angry with you. I wasn't angry with anyone."

"So, you're not going to..."

"You don't have to leave. I am not sending you back unless you are ready to go back. But, we had a deal. We had a deal that you'd not push Kali's buttons or irk her in any way."

"I know."

"Then why did you?"

"I don't know."

"I am guessing you thought the necklace was your big proof that she was all you said she was." He smiled, reaching over to wipe the tear he noticed streaking down her face. "You refuse to be convinced otherwise."

Giovanna moved her face away from his touch and sniffled, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. "I'll apologise to her tomorrow."

"If you feel it's right."

"But to you, please believe me when I say I am sorry."

"Okay. I believe you."

Giovanna inhaled deeply through her nose and then out her mouth. "Going to bed then."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."