My first appointment with Dr. Wilson went much better than I anticipated. She told me that it was the first session so I could talk about whatever I wanted and she could tread the topics from there. So I just talked about my life — about my family, my marriage and about the nightmares.

I know James said we could always look for more therapist but she just felt... right. At least in the first session she did. She had a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Duke University, and had been practicing as a therapist for ten years now. I mean, her office was filled with framed diplomas and degrees.

She was a beautiful woman with olive skin, her hazel eyes more captive than anything else about her, well maybe apart from her voice. She had such a soothing voice, like it was funny how much you could get lost in how smooth it was. Being a professional, she assured me about the confidentiality ethics and I think I really needed to actually get a little comfortable to begin with.

"You still haven't told me if I should dress up casual or fancy." I say into the phone, standing inside my closet space as I look through my clothes.

"Anything you're comfortable with." James replies. "You do know that I'm picking you up in half an hour, right?"

I think the last time we went out was when he told me about getting his CEO position. Today was Saturday, hence the date night. It felt different than all the other times we went out, because this time my feelings were involved, this time I knew he had planned something that I had no clue about.

Last couple of days hadn't been easy. I realised that it took a lot from James to actually speak his mind out, he had all these thoughts trapped inside of his head. It didn't help at all that I didn't have very good people skills either, but he just needed a little push to talk.

We talked in office and over dinner table but he always went back to his thoughts after a while. It would take a lot of time for both of us to let loose around the other, especially me because of how intimidated I feel in his presence.

"Yes, I'm aware." I sigh, looking at the dresses in front of me.

James hung up after telling me to meet him in the driveway in half an hour. It's three in the afternoon, and while it was supposed to be night plans, he said he would change plans a little and rather have us leave early. I have absolutely no idea where we are going so I was a little nervous, but also a little excited.

I finally decide to wear a warm yellow dress with button downs till my upper waist and an elastic belt separating it from the rest of the material as it flows down just a little above my knees. I let my hair loose, because I washed them and dried them into bouncy waves.

By the time I'm ready and have packed my bag for the sleepover it's almost been half an hour, so I decide to go downstairs and wait in the living room. I've started using elevator more often since it's convenient. And I think Mrs. George would agree to that. When I reach the first floor, I make my way down the hallway to the living room.

I haven't spoken to Chloe since the kitchen incident, but something tells me James did because she hasn't really bothered me for a few days now. Just as I reach the living room, I notice Carrack sitting on the couch, reading a book.

"Hey." He smiles, looking at me. "We live in the same house yet I haven't seen you in almost a week now."

"Well, Carrack, I think you should eat dinner with us more."

It was true though, he hadn't eaten with us in almost a week now. When I first got to know that James had a living arrangement like this, I was honestly a little weirded out. But when I first visited this mansion, I understood why. It's huge, so huge that you could go days without running into three other people who live here. It was like a huge frat house with everyone instead of a separate room, had separate wings of the house.

"I'll try, I have missed the house cooked meal." He pauses, "Are you heading out?"

Just on cue my phone rings and I notice that it's James. I don't receive the call as I look at Carrack. "Yes, James is probably waiting for me outside."

A huge smile splits on his face as he hears me say that. "You know I was scared initially when I decided on getting you two married, but I just knew in my heart that something about you is good for my son."

His words warm my heart and I don't even know how to respond to him. James and I have put up a very good image in front of everyone, so no one even suspects that we didn't get along until a month ago. I don't want to burst his bubble so I just give him a smile.

"Thanks, Carrack. I'm going to head out now." I say as my phone starts ringing again, making me roll my eyes as I reach the foyer.

His car is parked in the driveway with him leaning against it. Sometimes I genuinely forget how filthy rich he is to be driving around a Tesla. I haven't seen him since morning, because when I woke up, he was already gone and called me just a while back.

He's wearing a rugged dark denim jeans and a black button down with sleeves rolled up. His outfit makes me realise that I'm really glad I went ahead with this casual dress and didn't overdo anything. When he looks up from his phone, his eyes meet mine and I walk towards him.

"You didn't pick up." He says, gesturing towards my phone.

"I ran into Carrack."

He nods and then gets his weight off the car as he walks towards the passenger seat to open the door for me and I slide in as he walks towards the driver's door and gets in.

"Are you still not going to tell me where we are going?" I ask as he takes my bag from the lap before putting it in the backseat.

"Nope." He smirks and I try to hide my smile. He looks so cocky when he smirks but I actually absolutely love any expression on his face as long as it's not him getting pissed.

"That's not fair, you know?"

He shakes his head at me amusedly as he backs out of the driveway. I give up trying because I know he really wouldn't tell me where we are going.

"You can connect your phone if you want to put on some music, or use mine, it's already connected." He says, making me take a mental pause.

He's trusting my choice of music? Wow. I nod before connecting my phone and look at him. "Any particular demands?" I open the apple music in my phone as I look at him, waiting for his response.

"Mmm, not in particular. Play whatever you wanna play."

I put one of my favourite songs on play and he immediately smiles, looking at me, "Classic, huh?"

There's something so casual yet pleasant about the way he gave me that look it warms my cheeks. The Way You Look Tonight plays in the background. My playlist continues to play on shuffle as James drives for another fifteen minutes.

He finally parks his car and I look at our surroundings. It looks like a driveway of huge house and there are some old people sitting in the front yard. I know by now that he likes to open the door for me, so I look at him as he gets out and makes his way to passenger door before opening it for me.

"Where are we?" I ask, my voice quiet because people are already looking at us by now.

"Patience isn't your best streak, is it?"

I can't help but laugh a little as I respond to him, "Says the man who called me twice in two minutes."

He just grins at my response, not saying a word as he takes my hand in his. We enter the house and I realise that there's a small reception area in the foyer with an asian man behind the desk with black hair.

"Roger, hey!" James extends his hand and the guy shakes it with a smile on his face.

"You haven't visited almost in a month." He says and James shrugs in return.

"Got caught up with work. This is my wife Lillian." He gestures towards me.

I'm still so confused about where we are so I just shake his hand as James introduces us. Rogers manages the place around a little, although I have no idea what the place is about. But when we further move inside there's a huge room, like a hall with couches in the middle, a huge dining table on the right and different circular and coffee tables on the left with chairs. The back is filled with different window panes and sunlight is pouring in the room.

It clicks almost immediately as I take the sight in front of me. It's an old age home. The entire hall is occupied by different old people and some young ones who seem to be catering to their needs. My eyes move to James but he already seems to be looking at me, as if he's waiting for me to react but I just really don't know how to react. My heart is just so filled by seeing some groups laughing amongst themselves as they speak animatedly.

"Are we visiting someone?" I ask and he shakes his head at me, almost looking nervous.

A nervous look on James's face never sits well with me so I just wait for him to respond. "I just visit here a lot, we give a lot of donations here from the company. Basically as soon as I joined the company, even before MBA, Dad asked me to pick four foundations I'd like to set up a charity fund for. This is one of them."

I take in his words, processing them as I look around. I must've missed the name on the reception but a smile takes place on my face to know that James brought me somewhere he visits a lot, it has a personal meaning to him. It's not just another fancy lunch date out at some fancy diner.

"Do you know these people?" I'm just so curious to know everything.

"I know a lot of them, I've tried to know them all over the years but usually there are so many new people who come in, or so many who go back to their homes after making mends with their children." He explains and I nod, still taking in everything. "You don't mind this, right?"

I meet his eyes and move to stand a little closer to him, "Not even one percent."

He smiles at me, nodding before guiding me to a round table before he slowly taps a woman's shoulder. When she looks behind, her gray eyes shine, looking surprised by James's presence. She has the lightest of blonde hair, with silver hair making appearances.

"Jimmy!" She literally squeals, standing up as opening her arms for him. "Oh boy, I have missed you."

James chuckles before bending down to her height wrap his arms around her. "I missed you too, Gigi."

They part ways and the woman immediately sets her eyes on me. "Ah, you must be the wife."

I nod, "Hi Gigi." I give her a smile, not knowing what else to say. This isn't a corporate situation where I can fake that I've known the person for a long time. She has this warm vibe about her that just makes me want to give her a huge hug.

"Sorry honey, my old brain doesn't remember the names too well." She gives me a sheepish smile.

"I'm so sorry. I should've introduced myself, I'm Lillian. It's so nice to meet you." I tell her and she takes ahold of my wrist before pulling me into a hug.

When she lets go, she looks at James, "Has she met my lazyass grandson yet?" She asks and I frown at her words, looking at James for an explanation.

"She's Hale's Nana." He explains and I can't help but immediately smile.

"You are? Hale is one crazy person." I say and she laughs at my words.

"Runs in the blood, child. Now I'm not going to keep you two. Your boy here has lots of admirers around here." She smiles at us. "But after you're done meeting those other buttheads, you better find me."

I bite my lip in order to restrain from laughing at her words as James nods, before pulling me to the couches. He introduces to me everyone, so many new faces and names that my brain tries to catch up with. I remember most, but some easily slip. James and I interact less with each other and more with others and I see how everyone honestly loves him so much here. There are recreational activities going around here with people playing carrom, chess and what not. After just half an hour I have smiled so much that my cheeks start to hurt.

"Is this awkward for you?" James asks as he leads us down a hallway where there are different doors. I'm assuming these must be the bed rooms.

"Like the last five times, it's not. I'm having a really good time." I tell him, not because it's a lie but it's so true. I don't have a lot of memories with my grandparents because they all live in different states but there's something about spending time in the company of old people.

They are all so young at heart, just with words that are so wise. Half of them have that sparkle of a child in their eye. This is definitely the best date idea he could've come up with. James stops in front of a room before knocking on it.

"It's open." A groggy male voice sounds and James turns the doorknob to enter inside.

His hand is resting on my lower back as we enter inside. I can see an old man sitting on a rocking chair facing the windows with knitting needles in his hands and lots of wool surrounding him. When he looks up at James, I notice how he smiles a little but his hands don't stop knitting.

"Jim! What are you doing here?" He asks and James just shrugs.

"Thought I'd visit your grumpy ass." He replies, making him laugh loudly.

"We both know who's grumpier than the two of us, boy." He says before his eyes set on me, and I notice how he actually studies me, like really studies my entire face with those squinted eyes, a gold rimmed pair of glasses sitting on his nose. "And this is?"

Something that scares me a lot of is judgement of other people. Especially when those people are related to James, so while he studies me, I stand there almost too nervous. He's obviously important to James, so there's a part of me that wants the approval.

"My wife, Lillian." James says, "Lil, this is John Donovan, a veteran who's been here since, how long now?"

John chuckles, shaking his head, "It's been ten years, Lilly. It's nice to meet you dear."

His words and the calm in his voice immediately makes my shoulder relax and James start rubbing circles on my back, which helps with the nerves too. He pulls me to the couch at the back and we take a seat.

"So, how is the arranged marriage in this century working out for the two of you?" John asks, obviously knowing James's life well and I wonder how did he become such an expert at knitting.

"It's fine." I reply because I know James wouldn't have an answer to that. "Do you love knitting?"

He smirks, clearly amused, "What does it look like, girly?" He chuckles, making my cheeks heat up in embarrassment but then speaks again, "I picked it up when I first came here. My shrink told me to find something to help with the nerves, I really couldn't find anything. Until these things landed in my hand."

I nod when he explains it to me, a small smile playing on my features. "Will you teach me?" I ask, making James arch an eyebrow at me.

"Of course! Open that drawer, there must be a pair of needles in there, and get that chair over here." He points to the desk and the chair in front of it.

Wow, I didn't think learning how to knit could give me this much excitement but I happily oblige to his command. James stands up to move the chair near John's rocking one and I take a seat on it, thanking him.

John picks up a wool ball from the side table before throwing it at me and I catch it. "Now, I'm a very bad teacher. So keep up." He instructs, making James snicker, only to earn a glare from him which makes him straighten up his expressions. "Why don't you go meet others?"

James scowls, "Are you seriously kicking me out?"

"Yes, get out of here now."

His stern voice makes James eyes widen a little, making me laugh before he gets up from the couch and starts to move out. "I'll see you in fifteen minutes." His words make John rolls his eyes.

As soon as he's out of the room, John turns to me, "Now see how I wrap the string around the needles, follow my hands, and ask me if you stop anywhere."

I nod, trying my best to keep up as I look at him. "What made you come here?" I ask, curious and hoping that nothing I ask offends him.

"I served the military for so long, Lily. Had a girlfriend when I first joined, and she got married by the time I came back. So I took up another service, didn't feel the need to stop, you know? Until they literally told me I couldn't serve anymore. Retirement and all." He shrugs and I nod. "Didn't have a family to fall back on. A friend of mine had been sent here through his children so he asked me to come along. I did."

His words sadden me, to think that he has spent his whole life almost alone. I can't even imagine how that must be like, or how he would be coping with that. I immediately feel glad that he found his way here, among people who support each other.

"Where's the friend now? Still here?" I ask and he pauses from the knitting.

"He passed away in his sleep five years ago."

My heart hurts for John. I have never met him before this but I can't help the hurt I feel for him. "How do you cope?"

I didn't want to say I'm sorry, because I felt that's the worst thing to say in such matters. I wanted to keep the conversation going. "Well, I made more friends. We are all like a huge happy family, kid. Of course we all bicker a lot too, but we manage."

"That sounds nice." I tell him honestly before looking at his hands and down at mine. "I don't think knitting is my forte at all." I laugh, making him chuckle when he looks down at the knots in my hands.

"Practice will make you perfect, don't you worry. Now, tell me honestly how is that butthead treating you? He can be too far up his ass to recognise his arrogance."

His words make me laugh so loud that I almost choke on my breath. I have never heard anyone talk about James like that, but that's actually a very accurate description, which is why John laughs along with me.

"He's okay, we're managing, I guess. You can say that this is our first date-date, apart from those fancy restaurants." I shrug.

"And that dumbhead brought you to meet us? What an idiot." He grumbles under his breath.

"Hey! I actually think it's amazing. He's opening up a little part of his life to me, John. I know this must mean a lot to him if he's brought me here. I don't want to be taken on fancy dates, you know? I just want to know him better."

It is true. Today is by far the best day I've had since the night of our engagement. James introduced me to a part of him that holds value in his life. I could've never imagined him spending his Saturday afternoon in this place but now that I've experienced it with him, I can't imagine it otherwise.

"Well, when you put it like that." John grins at me. "Really like him, huh?"

Before I can respond, the door opens with Gigi standing with her hand on the hips and James behind her, amusement clear on his features as he looks at us.

"Well, grumpy. If you're done with that shit, we're starting with the show soon." Gigi looks at John and I look between them, confused.

"C'mon now, Gigi. Don't be a meany in front of the kids." He says, putting his knitting material on the side table and getting up from the rocking chair. "Did you meet Lily?"

Gigi rolls her eyes, "If you think you'll ever meet anyone in Jimmy's life before me, you're so far up your ass." She scoffs.

I can't help the amusement that fills me, making me realise why James looks so entertained at the moment. John rolls his eyes, looking at me and I stand up. He extends his arm and I immediately put my hand on his forearm as he guides me out of the room.

"What show are we talking about?" I ask, curious as we move out of the room. James and Gigi walk in front of us as John guides me down the hallway.

"We have entertainment show every weekend. You can act, play an instrument, sing, recite poetry basically do anything." He explains to me and I nod in understanding, excited to see it because it honestly sounds fun.

"If it were upto him, he would knit for half an hour, making everyone doze off." Gigi says from the front.

"I didn't see you complaining when I knit that cardigan for you." John says and my eyes widen.

James looks back at me and I can't help looking at him with shocked expression as I mouth, "Oh my god!"

He chuckles at me but he must already know it. John and Gigi definitely have a thing for each other. I can literally imagine these two bickering back and forth the entire day. John shoots me a look that makes me bite my lower lip in order to stop smiling but I fail miserably.

When we reach the hall I notice how the couches have been moved to face the back wall where there's a lot of free area with a mike in between.

"Alright, now you two. Enjoy the show. C'mon Gigi." John says offering his other arm to her and I remove my hand from his forearm before turning to James.

He immediately takes my hand in his. "What did John and you talk about?" He asks, guiding me to a love seat almost in the front. We both sit down and he pulls me a little closer to himself.

"Nothing you would wanna know." I smile at him. "Could've never guessed Gigi and him are an item though."

He laughs at my words. "Life works in mysterious ways, love."

I look at him, my eyes reading the calm on his face because I've never really seen him this relaxed before. There's always some stress covering his expressions but right now he looks so much at ease.

"Thank you for bringing me here."

He doesn't respond, he just leans forward and kisses my forehead. The gesture makes my stomach flutter and I cannot help the grin on my face at all.

"At what time do you have to be reach your friend's place?" James asks as Roger approaches the mike in the front.

"What time is it?" I ask because I didn't wear my watch and I left my phone in the car. I didn't want it with me when I was spending time with him.

He taps on his apple watch and I notice how numerous notifications starts pouring in but then he looks at me, "It's quarter to six."

"You think we can leave after the show?" I ask and he nods.

With such an amazing day that we've had, I honestly want to spend the rest of the time of with him, but I don't want to cancel on my friends last minute. I look in front of me and focus my attention on Rogers.

"Good Evening, people! Welcome to the entertainment show at Beautiful Souls. The first person we have amongst us is Roy who would like to show his magical talent."

Everyone claps as Roy, a short black man I met just an hour ago takes the stage. His wife and him live here after being pushed out of the family's earning in a fraud by their daughter. We live in a cruel, cruel world.

Roy actually does a pretty nice magic show, leaving everyone smiling by the end. Three more people come after him before Roger comes to announce again, "Now our very favourite duet, it's John and Gigi."

"What?" I ask, looking at James.

"Just watch." He whispers.

Both of them come to stand behind the mic and Gigi clears her throat. "Hello guys. Thank you for joining us." She grins.

She looks at John who nods before she starts singing and it takes me a few seconds to figure out that she's singing God's Plan and John is actually, like literally beatboxing along with her. What the actual hell? I can't help the laugh that leaves me and I notice James looking at me with nothing but amusement.

"Are they literally singing Drake?" I ask, still laughing and he nods.

"They're just cool like that." He laughs, and I shake my head.

Gigi isn't bad, but John has got amazing beatboxing skills though. When the finish, everyone applauds, including me as I cheer them. They are more fun than me, and that's just sad, really sad.

The next performance is a skit done by a group of people, and honestly I'm not sure what they're performing, but it's hilarious. By the time they are done, three woman are ready to take the stage. They do Jazz, with slow movements but my god, the beauty of the entire show is how everyone is just encouraging one another and having such a good time.

"We better leave, Lil. This isn't going to end for another hour." James tells me and I nod, standing up.

We make our way to the back and I'm so glad that John and Gigi are already sitting in the back chairs. I rush to give them both a huge hug. "It was so nice to meet you both." I tell them and they grin at me.

"Visit soon, you both." Gigi says, and John just smiles at us.

When we reach the front yard, it's empty, really empty because everyone is inside and James's car is parked in the driveway. He moves to open the passenger door for me but instead of stepping in, I take a step towards him and wrap my arms around his torso. He immediately freezes at my action, making my nerves jump.

"Thank you for today." I mumble against his chest, the warmth of his body pressed against mine.

His body starts to relax as he wraps his arms around me, engulfing me in the scent of his body as he tightens the hug. We have never hugged each other, ever but with his arms around me, I love how perfectly safe I feel.

•••

i don't know if this counts as double update but i've finally been able to write after a week of block so this is me rewarding myself and you guys out of happiness.

don't forget to vote and comment.

thoughts on James?

lots of love. t.