Samuel went out for his run before Kali woke up. His lungs burned as his feet pumped, pushing him forward faster and faster. The morning air nipped at his exposed skin, cooling the beads of sweat that formed on his face and neck. His breath came by harder and harder as he ran under the dark sky, the yellowish glow of the streetlight brightening his path.

After an hour and a half of running, he stumbled to a stop, bracing his hands against his knee to catch his breath. Running had always been a means of escape. Kali liked to gouge herself on treats, and he enjoyed running.

Dawn was breaking over the buildings, and colours blended into the dim sky, chasing away the darkness. Tired, Samuel sat on one of the park benches, looking at the sidewalk as other joggers walked by. On the other side of the street stood a tall hotel. Its flashing lights showcased the name with each blink.

The first and last time he stepped foot in that hotel was when he was sixteen years old.

"Samuel, son." His father began when they were seated in the room he had reserved.

Samuel questioned why they weren't eating in a restaurant, but his father argued that he wanted them to speak privately. Understanding that a serious conversation was about to happen, he quietly followed his dad's directions and listened to everything attentively.

"Yes." He answered, nervously preparing himself for a scolding, although he didn't remember doing anything wrong.

"I don't know if I say this enough, but I love you. I hope you know that."

"I do."

"I love you, and I care about you deeply. I worry about you. If there was anything I thought could remotely bring you harm, I would do anything to prevent it from happening."

"I know, Dad." Samuel smiled.

His father didn't smile back. His face was riddled with terror and pain as he stood from his seat to squat in front of him. "I need to tell you something."

At that moment, his heart dropped, and he felt the air around him grow stale. A hundred possibilities ran through his mind. What if he had cancer. What if there was a tumour or he was suffering from some dangerous disease. He only managed to nod, praying in the back of his mind that it was something mindless.

Nothing could have prepared him for the truth.

"I don't know any other way to say it." His father had said, holding him firmly on the shoulder. "I wish there was a way that would be less painful, but there isn't. You're...your mother...she...had an affair with someone else years ago. After Peter was born. That affair resulted in her getting...well...she got pregnant."

Even though the words took a moment to sink in, the implication did not. His father had singled him out. He brought him to a hotel room without his siblings to share this big news. There was no reason he was the only one to hear this unless he was the result of the pregnancy his father was talking about. Further meaning he wasn't his son. The man he called father for sixteen years was not his father.

After returning home, he spent the rest of the day in his room without speaking to anyone else. He didn't confront his mother or talk to his father when he came to check on him. He was just numb. The phrase, 'my whole life is a lie', repeatedly played in his head. Ember, Peter and Giovana were still his siblings, but only on his mother's side. He was an outlier.

He had grown up since then, but that building always brought back those memories. Especially when he wasn't having the best of days.

Sometimes he wanted to forget them. There were days when he wished he had never heard them. His life would have been so different if he only had one father. If he didn't know his mother was the way she was. Richard had never wanted to be a father to him, so sixteen-year-old Samuel didn't understand why he needed to know. At times he believed it would have been easier to not know.

But life wasn't that gracious to him. Despite his initial anger at finding out, he appreciated that his father did it out of love. And fear. Fear that his mother would take matters into her own hands and tell him with less care or thought for his feelings.

He had grown up since then and learnt there was nothing he could do to matter to his real parents. To his mother, he was another kid she had for whatever reason she had them. To his father, he signified a check that kept him living the good life for as long as he needed.

The things that didn't matter in the past suddenly felt like a heavy weight on his shoulder. His mother had him marry his dad's girlfriend because she needed extra assurance that he would never want anything to do with her. He didn't want any romantic involvement with Kali, but he knew the implications of one.

She still had no idea who Richard was to him. In his inability to share the truth, he was putting her in the same spot his father didn't want him to be in.

What if she found out from his mother. Every day of silence meant it was an opportunity for his mother to use that detail and embarrass or humiliate Kali. Samuel knew it wasn't bellow her to pull a move like that, yet he couldn't bring himself to say it.

His mind was still crowded when he jogged up to the doors of his house and pushed his way in.

He was in the spot his father was over twelve years ago. It was in his hands how the truth about his parentage unfolded, and he had no idea what he did.

"Long run."

He jumped, ripping his earpieces out in panic. "Kali."

She looked down at herself. "I was standing here when you came in. You looked right at me. How did I startle you?"

He chuckled, unzipping his jacket and stripping out of it. "I didn't really see you. Good morning."

"Morning." She walked down the rest of the stairs, stretching her limbs out. "You got up very early today."

"Yeah. I have to be in the office early, like someone else around here."

Kali beamed, mounting the head of the couch. "Now we have two working citizens in this house."

"How's the first day jitters?"

"Sending shock waves down my spine." Samuel sat down on the stairs, looking up at her. "I want to pack some lunch before I get ready."

"You don't have to."

Kali had started packing lunch for him months ago. He saw it as her being kind and never complained. She was a great cook, and it beat leaving the office to go to a nearby restaurant. He felt bad about her taking time off her morning when she had a long day ahead of her.

"I can do without the lunch." He tried to insist when she shook her head.

"Don't even bother." Kali jumped down from the couch and padded over to the kitchen. "Make use of the shower before I finish."

He washed quickly and was dressing up when Kali entered the room. She was dressed in her bathrobe, her hair loose and full, and tumbling down her shoulders.

"June has to go to her college today for registration, but I don't want her driving anywhere by herself."

"I have some time before I should be at the office." He offered, taking one of the long sleeves from the closet and shrugging into it. "Sebastian's, right?"

"Thanks, but I don't want you to do that. I was going to ask if you could get one of the family drivers to take her? Someone who will be comfortable watching her in case anything happens."

"Sure. I'll call someone I trust. He usually drove me and Peter around, but he has less and less to do nowadays."

"You're sure he won't drive Peter today? It is a working day."

"I'll check. I am sure Peter will drive himself. He does most days."

"You're the best."

He chuckled when she locked the bathroom door behind her and shook his head. Kali had sworn she would step back and allow June to live without breathing down her neck. She was trying, but she obviously had more work to do. June didn't go anywhere alone as long as her hand was still in the sling. She only agreed for June to do minimal work and return to her apartment only after the doctor cleared her completely.

As promised, he made the call and prepared the pickup plan with Moses. They agreed to give June his number so she would share with him the time she had to leave the house.

"I called Moses." He promptly informed Kali when she got out of the dressing room. "I'll give his number to June, and she can tell him when she'd be ready to leave."

"You are the best." She grinned.

"Now, please focus on getting ready for work. Let your sister face her own problems today."

"I know that tone."

"I am sure you do, but pay attention to what it's saying. Let your sister handle this. You have a big day today."

"Fine." She turned to the mirror where her clothes hung from the dresser. "I'll need to pack our lunches, though. I haven't put them in the flask."

"Don't worry about it. I am done. I am ready. I'll pack the lunch for us today. Just get ready."

He didn't wait for her to argue. He got his laptop bag and left her to change and prepare.

June was still fast asleep, so there was no one else in the kitchen as he got the flasks from the cupboard and began packing.

If Flora was with him, would this be their life? She liked to cook too and spent most of her day at her store. Would she wake up to prepare lunch for their day, and he would pack them up when she was running late? How would his life be if he had married the woman he wanted?

Kali prepared chicken salad and rice balls, an unusual combination for him, but that was how she usually cooked. He set his flask down and carefully dishes a healthy portion of the salad into the flask. He packed the rice balls on top before sealing them.

His fingers moved over the cold surface of Kali's flask. She had bought it after accepting the job offer. It was in her favourite colour, it was golden. If Flora owned one of these, it would be earth brown.

"Hey!" He jumped, feeling a hand caress his shoulder. "Second time today. Where's your head?"

"Everywhere, it seems." He grinned, picking up her box and showing it to her. "I think I packed it right."

"Yeah. I trust that you did." She took it from him and slung the strap over her shoulder. "I am ready."

"You look it. Should we wake your sister up before we leave?"

"I already stopped by her room while you were down here. I told her you would share the number with her. So shoot her a text. She's still tired, so she's getting some rest."

"Alright."

He got his bag and grabbed his lunch box and followed her outside the house. Before he got into the car, she stood by him, catching the sleeve of his jacket in her hand.

"Listen, I don't know what's going on, or what's happening with you but I want you to know that I am here for you."

"Kali..."

"You don't have to repeat the same thing to me. Just know that I am here and I want everything to be alright with you." She whispered. He turned fully to face her. Her eyes bored into his, trying to read him. Then she placed a hand against his cheek. "You know you can share anything with me, right? We are here for each other. To tell each other everything we can't tell others."

He nodded. "I know."

"I am your best friend; I'll always be here for you."

"I know." He answered truthfully.

She meekly walked into his arms, and his hands ensnared her shoulders. There was truth in that. She was his friend. The only one he didn't have to lie to, and yet he kept the biggest secret from her. How could he tell her? What would he tell her?

Was there a good way to explain that he was growing more fond of her by the day? And even worse, he was keeping from her the fact that he was the son of the man she hated most. A man she once loved.