It had been the whole afternoon, and Mark was still in his room, stressed about his situation. It had only been a week since he got married, yet so many things had already happened.
He was overwhelmed by emotions he couldn't understand. Now he finally realized that people were right when they said, Loving someone isn't hard, but letting go of someone you love is.
Maybe I should stay away from everyone for a while. I could go to my friend's place. It's close to the hospital.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
He frowned.
Who could it be now?
"Come in."
The door opened, and Sara stepped inside with a mug of coffee in her hands.
Mark looked at her but said nothing.
"I noticed you haven't come out of your room since morning," she said. "So I brought you some coffee."
His eyes moved to the mug.
"I thought maybe you had a headache after the flight."
"I'm fine."
Sara walked over and placed the mug on the table.
"Drink it anyway. You might feel better."
Mark glanced at the coffee, then back at her.
"Thanks."
Sara gave him a small smile before turning toward the door.
She returned to the kitchen.
Thank God he has a coffee machine.Now I have to go to Fiona's place to learn how to cook.
She didn't want Mark to know what she was doing, so she quietly left for Fiona's apartment.
The house was filled with quiet activity as everyone prepared for the funeral.
Lilly sat alone in a room upstairs, surrounded by unfamiliar walls and unfamiliar faces.
She still couldn't believe what she had discovered.
The woman she had seen at the wedding, acting as though she were Caden's mother, was actually his father's mistress.
Surprisingly, Lilly wasn't shocked. She had grown up around wealthy families and knew that appearances often hid complicated truths.
What she couldn't understand was Caden.
He had shown respect to both women without hesitation, as if his father's complicated relationship with Nadia had never changed the way he saw either of them.
Maybe this is how he learned to deal with his father's choices.
Lilly glanced at the clock.
It was already dinner time.
She decided to go downstairs and look for Caden.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, she found the woman she had just learned was Caden's father's mistress in the kitchen.
"Are you looking for Caden?" Nadia asked.
Lilly hesitated. She wasn't sure what she should call her. She didn't want to get caught in the middle of the family's complicated relationships.
"Yes."
Nadia gave her a small smile.
"You can call me Miss Nadia. My son is speaking with the lawyer."
"Okay, Miss Nadia."
"I'll have someone bring dinner to your room."
Lilly nodded.
"Thank you."
Lilly returned to her room.
He must be really busy.
After waiting for a while, she began to feel sleepy. Without realizing it, she fell asleep.
Meanwhile, at Fiona's apartment, Fiona watched Sara attempt to cook.
She couldn't help but think that Sara was terrible at it.
Sara was trying to cook on the induction stove, but she had no idea how long anything was supposed to cook.
"Sara, I think it's okay. My brother married you, so you don't have to do anything to impress him."
Sara suddenly looked upset.
"I wasn't serious earlier."
Fiona noticed the change in her expression.
"What happened? Did he do something?"
Sara hesitated.
"I don't know if I should tell you this or not."
"You can tell me. My brother and I don't talk much anyway."
Sara took a breath.
"I've liked him since the first time I saw him. And, to my surprise, his proposal came to my house. So, without any hesitation, I said yes."
Fiona listened patiently.
"So I thought he liked me too."
"Do you think he doesn't?"
"He treats me respectfully. He's never said no to anything I ask for."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"But he doesn't..."
Fiona understood what she meant.
"Sleep with you?"
"No. Even I'm not ready for that."
Fiona looked at her seriously.
"Sara, do you think of me as family?"
"Yes."
"Then I think if you want to take your relationship further, you need to become physically closer to him."
Sara thought about it for a moment.
"I'll try."
Mark was in his room, getting ready to sleep, when he received a message from Caden.
He looked at the message. It was about his father's funeral.
Later, Mark came into the living room. The lights were still on.
Sara probably forgot to turn them off before going to bed.
He switched them off and started walking toward his room.
A moment later, Sara came in from outside.
It was dark, so she reached for the light switch.
The sudden light made Mark stop.
Sara noticed him and immediately explained herself.
"I had to go to work, so I got late."
"Okay."
"I might get late every day."
"It's okay."
"Tomorrow, we have to go to the funeral."
"Yeah. I got the message."
They were still talking when Fiona suddenly walked in.
Mark's expression immediately changed.
"Fiona? What are you doing here?"
"My apartment's lights aren't working. I didn't want to stay there alone in the dark, so I came here."
Mark glanced at Sara.
Sara quickly shook her head.
I didn't know she was coming either.
Fiona pointed toward Sara's room.
"I'll sleep in there."
Mark frowned.
"I'll book you a hotel."
"Why? Your wife is right here. Surely there's enough space for me."
Mark gave her a warning look.
"Fiona."
She ignored him and walked toward the room.
"Good night."
Mark watched her disappear into the room.
Sara lowered her voice.
"I didn't tell her to come."
"It's fine. You can sleep in my room."
Mark didn't really care whether Sara had planned Fiona's visit or not. He simply saw it as his responsibility to make sure his wife had a proper place to sleep.
Sara hesitated. She didn't want him to misunderstand the situation.
"If you're uncomfortable, I'll sleep here."
"That's not the problem."
Mark rubbed his forehead.
"If she sees us sleeping separately, she'll tell my mother. My sister has a bigger mouth than a news channel."
To Mark's surprise, Sara looked more nervous than happy.
"Okay."