Kali hogged the groceries out of her car and inched up the staircase towards the house. One of the maids came out to help, taking the paper bags and following a bustling Kali into the kitchen. Doing small chores like cooking and going out to buy groceries occupied the times she had little to do in the house or needed something to distract herself. After spending the day job hunting, she decided to stop by the supermarket and buy a few things she was missing from the fridge.

It took a while, and she ended up staying longer than planned. So, after helping her get the products to the kitchen and sorting them into their respective areas, the maid said her goodbyes and left for the night.

To keep herself entertained, she sat in front of the television while she worked on a few pending projects she had from work. Job hunting wasn't going as well as she wanted, so she let it take a back seat until something concrete came around. It was because she was being picky, looking for well-paying jobs.

There was a plan, one of her more secretive ventures. Kali intended to use most of her time as a married woman to save all the money she owed before she met Ysabel. Even though things with Ember moved at a snail's pace, she knew there was valuable information to be found. Once she had her hands on it, she needed to be prepared in case Ysabel set the brokers after her.

As she once said, the brothers dealt with money. If she had their money ready for them, with interest, there was nothing Ysabel could do. It didn't mean she would be safe, but her home and business would be.

Still, it wasn't easy to save millions, which was why she needed the high-paying work. One way or another, she would find a way to extract herself from the board and stop being a pawn for her mother-in-law to manipulate. Until then, she saved the little she got from her freelance work while trying to set more money aside for her sister.

"Oh, come on." She grated, scratching her pen down on the page. It had stopped writing.

After it failed to write a few more times, Kali ventured into the study to pick a new pen. She walked in and stopped short when she spotted Samuel. He was slumped over the couch, his head resting on a pillow, his legs spread apart. She didn't see his car when she came in, so he must have parked it in the garage. Since she made a lot of noise while working with the groceries, she was surprised he hadn't woken up. He must have fallen asleep after returning from work.

"Samuel? Come on, let's get you to bed."

"I am not asleep." He announced grumpily before clearing his throat and opening his eyes. "I wanted to rest my head a bit."

Worried, she squatted beside him, gently rubbing his knee as she pressed a hand against his neck and cheek. "Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to make something for you? Soup?"

"No. I am not sick, I was thinking. I had a difficult day at work."

"Want to share? If it's weighing on you, you know you can share it with me."

"Flora came to the office today."

She tsked, moving to sit beside him on the couch. "Finally had the talk, huh?"

"Guess you can put it that way."

"Did you fight?"

"No. We talked. Flora said she wanted to be free of me. When I asked how she wanted this done, she told me she wanted me to break her heart. She wanted me to say how you were better than her."

"Why?"

"According to her, hearing it from me will solidify it as truth. She still thinks I am hiding something because she doesn't believe I would cheat on her, and move on so quickly."

"So telling her all the things you saw in me that drew you to me will help her get over it."

"Apparently."

"And?" She curiously inquired. "Did you?"

He solemnly shook his head, staring at the window. "I couldn't."

In an attempt to lighten his sinking mood, she slapped his arm. "I hope you didn't because you wanted to spare her feelings and not because you didn't have anything good to say about my finer qualities."

Her attempt worked, and she got a fleeting smile followed by a chuckle.

"The former." He replied before his face fell again. "I couldn't sit there and hurt her. I refuse to do that."

"Then you don't have to."

Kali was learning a lot about him. She knew how kindhearted he was. Of course, she didn't think this was the earlier weeks of their marriage. They fought most of the time and ignored each other often. But afterwards, she saw more understanding versions of him.

"Something else. I want there to be some honesty between us. Like we promised that day in my apartment."

"Okay."

"We kissed."

Kali's brows raised, and she snickered. "I remind you that you are a married man, Mr Madden. Your kisses and caresses are only for me."

"I am being serious."

"I know you are. It's just I can't be jealous of anything, you are nothing of mine, nor do you have any duty to be faithful to me."

"That's not how it works in my mind. Choice or not, you are still my wife."

"I am grateful." She assured him earnestly. It was a sweet gesture that he felt like he owed it to her to respect their marriage. "Also, I am sure it wasn't something you went looking for. I don't believe you kissed her first?"

"No. I didn't, but in the end, it's what happened. I can't explain it. We were talking and then she kissed me. I forgot she wasn't my girlfriend anymore, I forgot my mother, and for those few seconds, we were us again."

"You miss her. I imagine you must after being together for so long. It understandable that your heart and mind want everything to be as it was, but your mind also knows that it's not possible."

A moment of thoughtful silence passed before he asked, "is that how you feel?" She stared at him in silence, and he clarified. "About Richard."

"No."

Since his first ambush, Richard had not tried to contact her again, and Kali didn't broach the subject with Samuel. She didn't expect that he would particularly care when it came to her, but she suspected he wouldn't want his mother's lover hanging around his home or his family. To prevent a fight, she kept the issue to herself. But with his trust in her, sharing the details about his meeting with Flora, she wondered if she should do the same.

"Didn't you love him?"

"Maybe I did. Maybe he was important to me, but I can't remember now. When I think of him, all I feel is anger and disappointment. When I think of the things we did in the past, I can't conjure up any warmth, just distaste. Everything we shared feels bogus to me now."

"That's what Flora wanted from me today. She wanted me to destroy every memory of our relationship and make it easier for her to move on."

"Moving on is easy when you can't love the past that is causing pain. She loves the past. It makes it hard for her to move to the future."

"So, you think I should have done it? I should have lied and destroyed her?"

"Of course not." She assured, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "It's not in your nature, and I have no doubt it tore you apart to do it the first time. Give her time. When the pain ebbs, she would start to think clearer."

"Until then, I cross my fingers and toes, hoping she also doesn't cross my mother in her anger. Undoubtedly, she would take immense pleasure in making Flora's life miserable."

"Don't think about it too much. You'll do more harm than good. Flora can't understand your choice, but you know why you did what you did. You only acted to save her life, and you chose to cause her less pain. No matter what she feels now, you did what you believed was right."

"Yeah, well, it sucks."

"It's not supposed to be a party." She reassured, pulling on his arm when she stood. "Come on. Let's get something in you. You'll feel better when you've had something sweet."

"I am not a foodie like you. Food does little to me in terms of emotion."

"So, if I give you a tub of ice cream to devour and order pizza, it wouldn't do anything to lift your mood?"

A smile flashed as she finally tugged him to his feet. He towered over her, still considering her offer before relenting with a long sigh.

"Fine. You call the pizza after leading me to the ice cream."