Nadine moaned, stretching her limbs out with a smile creeping over her face. There was sleep, and then there was sleep. To go to sleep without any thoughts, any worries, any problems and to wake up completely recuperated and invigorated. Her legs stretched forward again and Dominic sighed his breath ruffling the hairs at the base of her neck as he moved to adjust himself. Nadine reached behind her, pulling his arms around her hips and nuzzling her face into the bracket of his arm.

Dominic slept like a corpse. It was the funniest experience of Nadine's life when she slept over at his house for the first time. She woke up early to prepare breakfast for them but when she went to wake him, she noticed he was barely breathing. Nadine chuckled at the memory, slowly drawing out of the haze of drowsiness.

With a little twist of her hips, she turned around, managing not to slip off the couch as she moved to face her husband. Dominic still slept like the dead, his chest did not noticeably rise or fall and she could barely tell he was breathing but she knew he was. Her fingers ran through his curls, pushing them back against his head before they settled back over his face. She smiled again, cuddling closer to him when her eyes fell on the clock.

She peaked, moving to push herself up on her elbows so she could get a better look, Dominic's hand slid down her hips. It took a second for her to realise which hand was on what number and she gasped in shock.

Moving too fast, she slipped off the couch and landed on the floor with a loud yelp. Dominic jerked awake, looking around in confusion until he noticed her on the floor. "Nadine? Babe, what are you doing?"

"We are late," she blurted. Reaching around the floor to gather her clothes. Hurriedly slipping the shirt over her head and shoving her underwear into its pockets. Dominic craned his neck at the clock, unfazed by the time. "Dom. Wake up. We are late for work."

He shook his head, turning to face the away from her, squeezing his massive height to get comfortable in the couch. Nadine hopped forward, slapping him against his ass and leaning forward to catch his ear lobes between her teeth.

"Wake up, you lazy bastard." She laughed, shaking him with all her might until he groaned and his eyes flew open. Dominic dipped, wrapping his arm around her waist and lifting her against him, pressing his lips hard against her face. She laughed, reaching over to dig her hands into his shoulder as she tried not to fall farther unto the couch, wriggling her legs around. "Stop."

"Morning." He murmured gruffly, his eyes still not fully open.

Nadine flipped her hair over her shoulders, leaning forward to kiss him, her lips sliding gently against his. "Morning. We have to wake up."

His hands stole underneath her shirt, rubbing his palm over her thighs and adjusting himself as he finally opened his eyes. "Am awake and I can see the time. Luckily, I planned to be in the office by ten today so I still have some time. Ah, my neck."

Nadine propped herself up and jumped off him, throwing her legs down and rushing to unlock the door while Dominic slipped back into his pants. In her hurry, Nadine collided with one of the maids running down the stairs and she stepped back to give a rushed apology.

"Ma'am! We thought you had already headed off to work."

"No!" she called back loudly, running up the stairs before stopping to turn around. "Please can you prepare some breakfast to go for me? I am late so I won't sit in."

"Very well ma'am."

Nadine rushed into her room, stripping down and hurriedly taking a shower before getting herself dressed for the day. She slipped into a floral gown, cinching the matching belt around her waist then looked up at the rows of shoes, trying to figure out what to wear. She picked out her hot pink, knee-high boots-she had not worn those in a while.

Dominic strutted out of the bathroom as she reached for her purse and she stopped to admire him. Her smile rose at the sight of his wet curls slithering across his skin before he ruffled them with a towel and killed the moment.

"Ready to go?"

"Very," she confirmed reaching up to kiss him while trying to keep a distance between her clothes and his damp body. "Call you when I get to work."

"Take care of yourself."

She blew him a kiss and breezed out of the room, running by the kitchen to grab her packed breakfast.

Jackie smiled in greeting, waiting by the car as Nadine approached.

"Morning ma'am."

Jackie's thick British accent always made Nadine feel like the queen of England each time they met. Jackie was good people, professional and comedic when the time called for it. A real threat without looking like it, Jackie had faced off so many paparazzi that they only came around Nadine when her faithful driver took her needed days off.

"Sorry for keeping you?"

Jackie grinned, her teeth flashing in amusement as she pulled the door open. "Not a problem ma'am."

Nadine smiled back, already enjoying the start of her day. She rolled down the windows, enjoying the breeze and gentle sun.

Honesty, it did something to the mind. Sure, she had not told Dominic the complete truth but they had time to get to that. Step by step as they had discussed. She was not sure if it was the weight off her shoulders, the night with her husband or the good sleep but something felt great about her day. She leaned back against the seat, her fingers digging into her shoulder; there was no ache, no discomfort.

"How was your night Jackie."

Their eyes met in the review mirror for a brief moment, "Fine ma'am. Went out for a long run, got my lungs working overtime. You? You seem quite relaxed yourself."

"I am. Trying to get up for the day as we speak." Nadine laughed, stretching languidly against the seat even with the discomfort of her seat belt strapped across her chest. "I feel like I am still dreaming, my legs are sluggish and my brain is a bit woozy."

"Would you like me to stop for some coffee? Jolt you into a rushed start."

"No thanks." Nadine eyed the road, reaching for her purse and unstrapping her belt when she realised how close they were to the restaurant. "I have so much to do today but coffee always makes me more paranoid than energetic. I am sure by the time I see some documents, the work would wake me up."

"Alright."

The car rolled into the parking lot of the restaurant and Nadine dropped out of the car, adjusting the sides of her gowns before waving goodbye to Jackie.

The restaurant was already buzzing with life, cars rolled in, people walked in and out of the doors, the umbrellas were open and Denise was already perched at her favourite table. Nadine walked up underneath the umbrella, stepping her legs apart and watching Denise type away on her phone. Denise crossed her legs, oblivious to Nadine's looming presences as she busied herself with swiping through photos.

"Are you auditioning for a modelling position?" Nadine finally spoke, pulling an earpiece from Denise's ear. "What's with the pictures?"

Denise looked her over then smiled. "My ma texted, said she wanted to see a picture but I don't want to take any right now cause of this cut I have on my face. Looking for an old one I took earlier this week to send her. She won't know the difference."

Nadine laughed. Denise stood and leaned closer to kiss Nadine's cheek. "You could just send her your right side, everything clear on that end."

"Nah, later. You are late by the way." Denise eyes Nadine, taking in her boots and gown with a growing smile. "Things get interesting back home?"

Nadine shrugged suggestively, laughing when Denise's mouth opened in a wide O of surprise. "Dominic and I talked and we are trying to get back to normal. It is going to be hard but I have my husband and I plan on focusing on the things I have instead of the things I don't."

"That's good. Trust me that is the best plan you have right now." Denise walked beside her, making a fast path for her office. "Dominic is a good husband, I told you, he would understand. Things are changing for you and you need a sound mind to appreciate it. Your business is growing, your marriage is strengthening, you are turning thirty-one in a matter of months, and anniversary is around the corner. Life is too short to look into the past."

"Thanks, counsellor," Nadine lovingly teased, sinking into her chair with a sigh. "I don't turn thirty-one for another ten months, not really a couple of months when you think about it. Enough psychoanalyzing my life. Did anything interesting happen around here this morning?"

"Not really. Found out that our contractors, Levana and Jordan," Denise made puckered her lips, mimicking the sounds of a kiss. "They are together. That's about as interesting as it got. Caught them making out before the restaurant opened, red as tomatoes, apologising to me like I cared. Aside from that, some new paintings are coming in later today, need to check them out and also I checked out the security cameras as you asked? Asked around to. No one has seen any strange man lurking around here."

Nadine perked up at the last statement, pushing the file she had been reading aside. "I guess I am just overreacting then."

"Maybe, maybe not. It could have been a wrong number or not. If they call again then you know that...sorry," Denise lifted a finger as her phone rang, answering it with a mumbled apology. "Okay? Why didn't you just call her? Mmhmm, you know she has a phone here in the office, right. Whatever, okay."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, that's Michael, said he was trying your cell but you didn't answer the phone." Denise groaned, jumping from her seat and shoving her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. "There is someone outside to see you. He thinks it's an investor, she looks loaded."

Nadine raised a lean brow, "Investor."

"He is sending her in. I am going to step out so you can speak to her."

Nadine nodded, reaching into her purse to look for her phone only to realize that she had left it at home. She didn't even remember the last time she saw her phone, she might have left in her bedroom before she went swimming the previous day. How many people might have called her since then?

She dropped her head into her palm and screamed. How could she forget? Dominic probably wondered if she arrived at work safely, what if he tried her number only to hear the phone ring in their bedroom.

She sighed, spinning around in her seat to face the large bookshelf she had behind her desk. Nadine drew her fingers against a few files, trying to find the file she had been working on the previous night. She decided it would be better to work, maybe send Jackie back home later on for her phone but it was not a big deal. With a sigh of frustration, she dropped to a squat to check the folders at the bottom of the shelve.

The door slipped open after a small knock and Nadine's ears perked up. "Come in, please. I'd be with you in a moment."

"Take as long as you wish."

Nadine's hand froze, disbelief clouding her vision and the files she held slipped out of her hands. Struggling to be nonchalant, she rose to her full height, turning around to face the woman who walked in.

It felt like she had been sucker-punched in the gut, her breath became harder and harder to push out of her nostrils. Nadine gasped, stumbling back with a hand pressed against her stomach. Tears welled in the woman's eyes as she stood by the door. A slight crinkle of skin at the side of her eyes the only visible sign to her ageing. Still as beautiful as the day Nadine last saw her.

"Won't you say something? Is that any way to treat your mother?"