It was fun. More fun than Kage had had in years. And all they did was eat and talk the whole time. Simple conversation, genuine laughter – things he hadn't realized he had been missing.After the meal, he drove Johanna back to her family's sprawling estate. John was there, waiting, his face a mask of something that looked like barely suppressed fury.John didn't say a word, but his rigid posture and the dark thunderclouds brewing in his eyes spoke volumes. Kage knew he might be hearing about this later. Or maybe never. He was the boss. Who would dare question him?!When they finally got back to the mansion late last night, Kage went straight to bed, a genuine smile playing on his lips. It had been the best night he had had in a very long time. ********The next morning, Saturday, Kage woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. He went to wash up, grabbed his phone, and headed downstairs.The comforting aroma of Roseanne's cooking – a light and airy frittata filled with fresh herbs

Tuesday morning, 10 AM to be precise, and Clara was already slightly toasted. Curled up in her hotel room, still drinking with a pounding head, she stubbornly ignored the insistent blare of her school alarms.They can wait. They should.She had set them as a last-ditch effort to force herself to work on an assignment before the looming deadline. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, and the cool November breeze outside was already stirring up memories of things she missed, things she felt she would never have.Last Thanksgiving had been a stark affair. She had called her mom for a brief, stilted conversation. Kage, her ex-husband, had given her access to his debit card with no questions asked, and she remembered spending like a reckless fool, trying to fill her soul. If only she knew it was her body's way of tell her that Matt would not be able to fill her up.Buzz.Buzz."Shut up!" she whined, throwing a pillow at her phone as the alarm rang again.She should probably just accept that she

Meanwhile, earlier that same day, Kage was consumed by the usual fit at work.It was almost noon, and he had already completed a scheduled surgery. As he walked from the ICU to check on a patient, he noticed a nurse, Matilda, walking with another female nurse by her side. Her head was bowed low, so he didn't notice anything at first, until he spotted the droplets of blood on the floor.What the....He called her back, hesitating, trying not to sound too authoritative. "Let me see your face, Nurse," he requested gently.He was taken aback. Her face was swollen, her eyes bloodshot, and her nose appeared broken or badly bruised. Blood trickled from her nose down her lips and onto her chest. Not good."It's okay. I was going to get it checked now," Matilda mumbled, avoiding his gaze.Kage was astonished. She clearly had a severely bruised face, yet she was saying she was fine? The patient he was on his way to check on was stable anyway, practically ready for discharge. He decided to check

The weekend unfolded with a deceptive air of normalcy, a carefully constructed façade that barely concealed the turmoil beneath.Kage had met with Alfie, laying out the details of his encounter with Richard Ho and the orphanage committee. The donation had been made, the wheels set in motion for the sports court to be built by Monday. Yet, a gnawing sense of unease persisted, a feeling that something wasn't quite right.He simmered with frustration, the slow pace of progress grating on his nerves. But he knew he couldn't afford to rush things. Patience, a virtue he rarely possessed, was now his most valuable weapon.Damn it, he thought, the memory of the drugged and starving children searing itself into his mind. He couldn't shake the image of their hollow eyes, their frail bodies, their desperate cries for help. The thought of them being intentionally deprived, their innocence stolen, fueled a burning rage within him.Reporting the abuse seemed the obvious solution, but the fear of fa

Was it deliberate? Yes.Did he like it? Absolutely. Kage thrived on it.Tuesday evening, after work, Kage decided to squeeze in an hour with Matt. Just one hour, nothing more. He was supposed to see Johanna, but something "came up."It was so funny how she called him first thing that morning, practically tripping over her words as she explained. Poor, sweet girl. She was so considerate, Kage doesn't know how to feel about it.Was she the right one? Was his feelings real? What about her feels, was she playing him?! But he was patient.Kage found himself unusually patient with her. He had a feeling he would always be patient with Johanna.Moreover, Alfie hadn't come up with any concrete evidence about the accident—his accident. It was as if Matt had become a master of concealing the truth. Deep down, Kage suspected it wasn't a one-man job, but he couldn't make assumptions. Besides, it had been almost three weeks, and the forensic investigation was still ongoing.He had hopes.As John dr