Samuel flicked the lights on as they entered the house. Kali walked behind him, pulling the band off her hair and massaging her scalp with a groan. Dinner had gone swimmingly. Exactly how they expected it to go. What was clear tonight was how enthused his mother was with whatever went on at the table. Throughout the dinner, he saw through her façade of disgruntled matriarch to the woman who relished the tarnishing of Kali's character.

"All that time spent on the road reminding me to be calm tonight, and you end up losing your cool." Kali grinned as they dragged themselves into the living room.

"Giovanna is so immature sometimes. I couldn't sit there for one second more, watching how her offhand comments entertained my mother."

"You saw that too, huh."

"I think everyone saw it, but we see it differently. To my family, my mother has always supported and allowed Giovanna's loud behaviour, but I know differently in this case. Giovanna is her mouthpiece, saying all the trash she wants to without turning heads. She gets to look like the worried mother while Giovanna takes charge, attacking you."

"It doesn't matter now. With the news and the magazines supporting Giovanna's ideas, I bet she'd be more vocal now."

On the way, they stopped by a newsstand, and lo and behold, the news was as his father said it was. The picture they used was one from their wedding, and the headlines were bold and in pink, "More to the June wedding than meets the eye." They weren't even trying to be creative.

"Looking at it won't make the words fade away."

"I am wondering why we even came back with this." He sighed, tugging off his shoes before crashing on the nearest couch.

"It's a good thing I don't have work tomorrow. I won't be in the mood to face another load of problems, much less the whispers of my colleagues."

"I am sorry about that."

"I can handle it. Truly. I did have to call June and warn her about everything. I don't want this to catch her off guard."

"What did she say?"

"She said she understood and asked if I was okay." She grunted, yanking her sneakers off and throwing her purse to the couch. "While most of Giovanna's argument made my blood boil, I can't get the part about her friends out of my head."

"Giovanna's friends are shallow. Why should you care what they think."

"Please, I don't. I am thinking about June. I don't want this to give her a hard time. June can become passionately defensive when it comes to our family and friends. She won't take anyone badmouthing the people she cares about. Especially me."

"You are worried she might get into fights at school?"

"Yes. Think about it. Anyone with doubts about our "rushed" marriage now has all they need to come out of the woodwork. More opinions will rise because people love to input on the personal lives of others. Especially people with a status and a name for themselves. Who is to say someone like that doesn't go to her college? They might try to use it to bully her or humiliate her. She'd stand up for herself, and if it leads to a fight, it might affect her at school."

"Hopefully it won't come to that." Samuel deflated on his seat, closing his eyes. "Are you hungry?"

Kali chuckled. "No. The mess at your house didn't put me in that much of a state. Are you?"

"Not at all. Right now, all I want is to get to bed and relax until I feel like sleeping."

"I hear that."

Kali went ahead while he stayed in the living room with his thoughts. What would happen if Flora saw the magazine? Would she also think he was fooled into marriage and ruined their relationship for a woman who only wanted his money? He had a

feeling she would believe he was getting what he deserved. She all but warned him that his hurried relationship would fall apart, and she would not have any pity for him when it did.

Since their confrontation at the resort, where she laid her accusations and bared her hurt to him, he had only seen her once, on the street with her father. He knew how determined she was to leave him in the past. And now, coupled with his

interest in Kali, his life had become one gigantic complication. Problems showed up faster than solutions. As someone who always wanted to do right by the people in his life, it felt like he was failing everyone simultaneously.

The woman he loved considered him the biggest traitor in the world, and while he wasn't for a time, he felt like one now. His father and brother stood up for Kali, defending her because they saw their marriage as a good and honest one. Once his father understood that he had no choice, Samuel knew his father would forgive his silence, but the extent to which he accepted Kali would hurt him more.

The same could be said about Ember. Since his relationship with Flora began, Ember never got the chance to befriend Flora. She only spoke to Flora when he was around, and they talked a few times in the years they were together. With Kali, Ember was around to build a relationship. They spoke to each other without him playing middleman. They went shopping every now and then. Ember even took charge of helping Kali settle into their lifestyle.

All of it was for a lie that didn't seem to have an end.

Samuel pulled himself out of the couch, feeling like lead weights had been set on his shoulders. He sluggishly made it up the stairs and into the bedroom.

"Did you fall asleep down there?" Kali wondered as she watched him enter.

She was already changed to her nightwear, sitting on the bed with her phone. When he noticed she had braided her hair for the night, he wondered if he had dozed off at some point. It wasn't that long ago when she left him down there.

"No." He replied, tossing his jacket on the couch. "I did close my eyes for a bit. It feels like another headache is forming."

"Should I grab some pills for you?"

"No." He shook his head before she could get down from the bed. "I'll change and come to bed. Some rest will do me good."

He got into his pyjamas and returned to the room. His usual bedtime novel was on his nightstand, but he didn't have the mind to pick it up. He got into bed, sighing when his head sunk into the cottoned embrace of his pillow. Through his barely open eyes, he caught Kali staring at him in amusement.

"What?"

"You look so tired."

"And you find that entertaining?"

"No."

She fell on the pillow, and that's when he noticed she was lying a little closer than usual. She was almost close to the centre of the bed. "When you get tired, you fall asleep in the most adorable ways."

He huffed. "I do not."

"You do." She insisted. "You push your face deep into the pillow, and the pressure makes it difficult for you to keep your mouth closed. You try while you're awake, but when you fall asleep, your lower lip slacks open. Your arms and legs are usually strewn out around you, and you just appear like a big baby.

He groaned and twisted his head to look away, muttering, "Bullying me."

"No. Never."

He stayed quiet for some time, drowsily looking out the balcony where the sheer cream curtains fluttered in the gentle breeze. He heard Kali drop something on the nightstand and begin to settle underneath the sheets.

"How are the plans for your birthday coming?" He asked without turning his head.

"Fine. June is handling everything."

Then he snapped around. "Everything? Doesn't she have school?"

"She doesn't want me involved. She claims I shouldn't be planning my own birthday party. I decided not to argue. It's nothing big, and she has help from some friends at school."

"I guess she has a point."

"You wouldn't like to throw your own birthday party?"

"Not really. I hate planning parties. Left to me, everyone would only have dinner and a few appetisers."

"Why does that not surprise me."

"Is she also in charge of inviting people?"

"Yes, but I get the final say on the list." She yawned into her hand and scooted further down the blanket until only her head was visible. "Hopefully, I can escape any drama."

"This is your party. That means we can kick out anyone that causes any drama."

"That would be something. What if it's your mom or Giovanna."

"My mother wouldn't come."

"How do you know?"

"I just do." He twisted the rest of his body to comfortably rest his head on the back of his hand. Kali did the same, turning herself to face him. "She'd find an excuse to not make it there."

"Why not."

"My mother doesn't like you. She will not allow herself to be there for anything that celebrates you unless she has no choice. She likes to make life difficult for you. But only does it on her own terms. Think about it, outside of the parties, dinners, and occasionally calling you over to assert her dominance, how many times have you spent in my mother's presence?"

"Not much, when you put it like that, but that's why she might come. To make me miserable on a day that's meant to be special for me."

"Trust me, she has better plans than ruining a birthday."

Kali bit her lip in thought. "I do hope you are right. I don't think I can handle faking niceties at the party."

"Oh, you might still have to do that."

"Why?"

"I said my mother wouldn't make it. I didn't say Giovanna won't make an appearance."

"That's not a problem."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mh-hm. At the party, Giovanna won't have her usual crowd. My friends will be there as will June and some of her friends from school. Anything Giovanna does will have consequences if it's against me. I don't know if you know this, but I am very well-liked."

"I noticed." She blew him a kiss, and he sluggishly grinned. "Let's hope there isn't any drama. I want a month of peace for once. That's not asking for too much, is it?"

"We can only hope." She whispered. "Get some sleep. You do look tired."

He was gravelly exhausted. So, with the image of Kali's warm face smiling in encouragement, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.