Adira spent the rest of the day in her room - just watching movies and trying to clear her head. At intervals, the thought of her family flashed into her head, making her restless. Was she to forgive them - she thought countless times. But thinking of how mean they had been to her gave her doubtful conclusions. Those people had treated her like slaves and never loved her - not once. What reason does she have to help them? By evening, she had cravings for noodles and decided to make some herself. Evans had already made dinner and left for the day, but she didn't feel like eating the meal he prepared just yet. She got downstairs, into the kitchen and began chopping her vegetables. She's always loved cooking, but working at the company takes too much of her time and prevents her from doing the thing she loves. It was for the best, anyway. It was preferable to be rich and busy, than to be poor and lazy around. 'Have you though of what your life would look like after the divorce?' a voice suddenly whispered in her head, making her hands freeze. Worry marred her face immediately, which soon turned into sadness. Growing up, she's always wanted to have a big family. She dreamt of getting married to the man she loved and having three - four kids with him. She dreamt of having a happy family she could travel round the world with. But it was obvious life was against her wishes. Lancelot couldn't fulfil it, and of course, Nikolai won't be doing same. When she divorces Nikolai, she wasn't so sure she'd want to remarry. She was tired of the marriage games and might just accept her fate of living a boring lonely life. "Making something?" A familiar voice broke into her thoughts, causing her to swiftly divert her attention and lock eyes with Na-ri who was coming into the kitchen. She was in a jeans short and a top that was short enough to reveal her tummy. Adira didn't like her dress sense. Her hair was parked in a ponytail, making her look simple but pretty. She walked over to where Adira was and peeped into her plate. "Hm. Chopping veggies, I see. What're you making?" Her crossed her hands behind her back. Adira hesitated a little before replying. "Noodles." "Oh! I love noodles too," she chuckled and went ahead to pick up the kettle. For a few minutes, silence stretched in the kitchen as the two ladies focused on what they were doing. Na-ri filled some water into the kettle, took out two mugs and began mixing coffee in it. This gripped Adira's attention; why was she preparing two mugs of coffee? "So, tell me, how does it feel being married to a man like Nikolai?" Na-ri asked while stirring the powders in the cup. Adira was already frying her veggies. "I get that question a lot," she sighed. "Well, it's great. I feel... very lucky." She paused to cast a glance at Na-ri and the lady didn't disappoint. Her eyes held a glint of envy. Swiftly, she covered it up with a smile. "I can imagine. And I bet you wish it could last forever." Adira was perplexed by her statement. Was she aware that her marriage with Nikolai was contracted? Na-ri smiled and poured in her steaming water to the mugs. The smell of cinnamon filled the air. "Nikolai loves coffee mixed with cinnamon," she looked at Adira and said. "It has always been our favorite." Taking up the mugs, she started towards the door. "Are you... giving one to him?" Adira asked, making her pause. "Of course. Why else would I make two cups of it?" She chuckled, winked it at Adira and finally left. Adira's heart shrouded in a weighty sadness. She was taking coffee to Nikolai? She's never had the chance to do so. She's never even had the chance to step foot in his room. *** "Nikolai?" Na-ri called for the second time, standing in front of the door. She couldn't knock as her hands were occupied with the two mugs. But what was taking him so long to open up? "Nikolai?!" She called again, her voice a little higher. And finally, he opened up. She smiled brightly - at last. He was on black pants and an ash colored shirt. And that moment his pretty eyes looked at her, she found herself tripping all over. His eyes moved from her face to the mugs in her hands. She prayed he'd look down at her hot legs, but he didn't. He stepped away from the door, making room for her to go in. "I've been calling you for some time now," she beamed, giving the room a quick stare. Guy was freaking neat and organized."I was working. Didn't need the disturbance," Nikolai responded brusquely, returning to his desk where his laptop was on. "Oh..." Na-ri went ahead to place one of the mugs in front of him. "Made your favorite." Nikolai stared at the cup for a few seconds before looking away, while Na-ri lowered herself to the bed just behind him. "What're you working on, huh? Shouldn't you be resting?" She took a sip from her coffee, but Nikolai gave no response to her. She rolled her eyes from behind. She could never get used to this grumpiness of his. Man was too cold and harsh. "I was actually hoping we could spend the evening together. You know, I have a lot to tell you about - so many experiences from Korea." Nikolai said nothing z his fingers dancing on his keyboard. She continued. "Just like old times... Remember those nights I'd lay on your chest and tell you all about my day? It used to be the best moments of my life." Nikolai's fingers stopped moving. He was still for a moment before picking up his mug and taking a swig from it. Na-ri smiled from behind. "Just the way you like it, huh?" "Mm," was Nikolai's simple groan as he dropped the mug and resumed working. After a while, Na-ri stood up and went to him, sending her hands to his shoulders. "You must be very tired," she cooed, massaging his muscles gently. She wasn't touching his bare skin, so he could put up with that. Na-ri smiled as her delicate fingers draped over his broad shoulders, kneading away the accumulated stress. She's missed touching him that way. "You remember I use to do this a lot, Nik," she spoke in hushed tones. "It became my favorite activity."It's still me, you know. I'm still the Na-ri you used to know, and I want to be the Na-ri you'll always know. I still love you. There was never a day I didn't think of all the beautiful times we shared. We can go back to the way we used to be, Nik. We can make it work." Nikolai had stopped moving. He stared at Na-ri's reflection from the mirror before him. Slowly, he turned around to face her, taking her hands off his shoulders. "There was never a thing between us, Na-ri," he stated coldly, looking into her eyes. "You should stop mistaking an accidental affair with something serious." His words hit Na-ri like a sledgehammer, her eyes glinted with pain. "Acc.... accidental affair?" She scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "How can you....how can you call what we had an accidental affair? I was your favorite, Nik." "You were only a distraction I cheated with, and you know how much I regretted it." "No! I wasn't a distraction. You chose me, Nikolai. You loved me more than you loved your girlfriend. You..." "I thought I did, but with time, I got to realize she was better." Na-ri's eyes welled up with tears that instant. One of them came slipping to her cheek, but Nikolai didn't act like he cared. "I don't care what you say," she sniffed. "I know you loved me. Those times in bed, you made it clear you loved me. Ophelia was the distraction, not me. She took you away from me!" Silence followed her last words. Right there, she saw anger flicker across Nikolai's face. "You don't get to say her name in that manner," he gruffed. "But it's the truth! I've always loved you, Nikolai, and I know you did. I can't afford to lose you again." Slowly, Nikolai rose from his chair, his gaze glaring a thousand daggers. Na-ri took a step back as he approached her. He didn't stop, neither did she. Her breath quivered with slight fear as she continued retreating until her body collided with the edge of the bed, causing her to stumble and collapse onto the soft mattress. Nikolai stopped right in front of her legs, and in his ever frozen voice, he uttered: "Back then, I was a playboy and you know it. Yes, we had an affair, but that happened because I simply wanted to cheat on Ophelia. How shameful you were, by the way - to let yourself get laid by your friend's man. You must understand that Ophelia was better than you, and I regret cheating on her back then. If it wasn't for my father, we wouldn't be engaged right now. So, stop acting like you mean the world to me." Another tear slipped Na-ri's eyes as she looked at him. Calmly, he moved away from her and started towards the door, but he suddenly paused and cocked his head. "I never wanted to say this to you, but you pushed me." Without a final glance, he went out of the room.