New excerpt for NBR Group--added Friday, January 18, 2019. [Regular readers can skip to the next bolded section, and will find information there about where the current draft of the story actually begins.]

Note: Author's note and summary have been altered to match what's in the NBR book itself, as per new rules. Apologies to those inconvenienced by the changes.

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Author's Note: I'm currently working in reverse order here. Last cycle I introduced what is meant to be the third scene from my new opening for the novel.

And this time around, I've added in what's currently intended to be the second scene—Maya's lunch with Lillian. Next cycle I'll likely be highlighting the new Scene 1—which is NOT PRESENT YET; Scene 2 is not intended to be the very opening of the story.

And remember, additional notes and feedback that fall outside the questions' scope are welcome! 

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Summary:

Protagonist Maya Morales de Rouhani is the successful co-owner of an interior-design firm and is married to a man who does both military contracting and private civilian security. Our story opens with Maya receiving a video call from husband Dominic/Nick, informing her that he'll be back home from abroad soon. Soon afterwards, she receives an anonymous note warning her that her husband isn't who he seems to be and warning her to search the house.

Uncertain how to respond, Maya decides to consult Lillian Zhang—her best friend and also co-owner of the design firm—about the matter at the lunch date they have scheduled that day, which is what Scene 2 comprises. Side note: Lillian is also an attorney. 

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Author's Questions:

Question 1. I'm a little concerned that maybe we're spending too much time with Lillian right here. She does matter and we are going to spend some time with her, but she's a side character and we're only going to see her periodically here; Maya spends most of the story away from Miami and thus away from Lillian. Do you feel this scene gives the wrong impression and makes Lillian seem like she'll be super prominent in the story?

Question 2. Does this scene feels like it drags on too long? The scene matters because it introduces Lillian and also provides a basis for some of the anxiety we see in Maya later—because of the story about Kelly—as well as helping to explain why Maya didn't end up sharing the situation with her friend. But I don't know if readers will be patient enough for this or just be bored and wonder what the point of this is because it doesn't build a conflict in an obvious way. 

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Excerpt Starts Here

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Tugging at the heel of her sandal, Maya scanned the inside of the restaurant. A set of aquariums took up a large portion of the rear wall, and in between were murals depicting scenes of urban life. Created by a local artist, she'd heard. The contrast was intriguing, and it suited what she'd imagined upon first hearing of the trendy new place.

She checked her watch. *Right on time, so...* Upon scanning the room once more, she suddenly wondered how she'd ever missed her.

A woman with long, glossy jet-black hair sat at one of the tables, wrapped in a burgundy gown. A slash of matching lipstick adorned her lips as she languidly sipped from a wineglass, eyes fixed on her phone screen.

Maya swiftly wove around the interposing tables and slid into the seat across from the woman. "Aren't you a little overdressed?" she said with a smile and quirked eyebrow. She laid her purse on the floor between her feet and the near wall.

A few moments passed before the woman glanced up at her. "Do you like it?"

Maya rested her arms on the table. "I'd probably like it more if I knew why you were wearing it, Lil."

Lillian sighed. "I'm gonna be going on a date with Micah tonight. I wanted to see what you thought of it, and I figured this was a quicker way to show you. The setting isn't exactly right, but"—she waved her phone around at the place—"we work with what we have."

"Snob." Maya picked up the glass of iced tea that was waiting at her place setting.

"So you say as you're sipping from a drink I ordered for you."

"I didn't say you didn't have good taste," Maya reminded her. "But only you could act like one of the hottest new places in town is a disappointment."

"You know that's not what I meant," Lillian said with a small laugh, relaxing her posture and tilting her head to the side as she leaned back. "I honestly didn't like having so many eyes on me as I came—not a word!" She put up a hand as Maya opened her mouth to speak. "But I didn't think making a black-tie reservation was worth the trouble. Not even for me," she added with a mischievous smile.

"So"—she gave her hair a little toss and leaned forwards, pushing a menu towards Maya—"how are things going with you and G.I. Joe?"

Maya sighed a little. "You know how much he hates that nickname."

Lillian rested her face against her palm. "I don't see him here. Now...back on topic."

Maya continued scanning the menu for a moment. "I'm glad he's coming home soon," she said simply. She peered up over the menu to find Lillian giving her an expectant stare. "You remember what I told you last time...things were kinda tense before he left?"

She nodded. "You said he didn't seem himself."

"Maybe it was a good thing that he left again so soon. We talked earlier today and he seemed back to normal. We'll probably still have some stuff to talk about, but..."

A phone chimed and Lillian pinched her brows in annoyance before riffling through her purse. She pursed her lips after glancing at the screen and declined the call.

"Micah?" Maya asked with a smirk.

Her friend laughed. "I like him a little more than that. Telemarketers," she noted, tossing the device back into the bag, and swiftly zipping it up.

"How much more than that?"

Lillian sighed and closed her eyes. "Maybe a lot more than that. Don't get excited," she warned, placing a hand up. "But he's actually a really nice guy. Did I tell you what happened the other day? Nearly beat this a-hole up."

"I like how that's your proof he's a nice guy."

"Since when are you one to talk?" she asked pointedly.

Maya gave her a little glare as the waiter returned to take their orders.

When that was done, Lillian continued. "You didn't let me get to *why.*"

"I was prodding you."

Lillian put her fork down for a moment. "Do I look like a cow to you?"

Maya held her peace and took a sudden interest in the salad on her plate.

Lillian snorted. "As I was saying...he's in town to visit his sister, right? The two of them are supposed to have a fun lunch, catch up, all the usual."

"Mm-hmm...."

"Now, she had printed out tickets from online so that they could see this play. *Miss Saigon*, I think. Doesn't matter," she added with a flip of her hand. "But once she picked him up for the airport, she realized she had left the tickets at home."

Maya's eyes widened as she began to suspect where this was going.

"What choice do they have? They hike it back to the house so they can get the tickets. Well, when they pull up to a driveway, there's a strange car there."

Maya grimaced and let out a sigh before nabbing another forkful of roasted portobello.

"Kids are at their grandparents' place, by the way." Lillian paused to inspect her burgundy-glossed nails. "So they go inside, wondering who's over, but figuring it was probably one of his friends. The hubby had said he'd probably be hanging out with some of the guys that day. Bachelor time, you know."

"Uh-huh," Maya said, then pressed her lips into thin line.

"And guess where the tickets are? Upstairs, in one of the nightstands. Well, last Kelly—that's his sister—remembered seeing them, anyway."

"So, they trek their way upstairs and open the door to find...her husband. Screwing the daylights of out some bottle blonde that Kelly's never seen in her life." Lillian wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Maya mirrored the expression and picked up her glass. "I'm guessing this is where the near butt-whipping comes in?"

"Oh yeah," she said with an acidic laugh. "If Kelly hadn't held him back, Micah would've laid him out right there. Which reminds me," she added suddenly. "If that man of yours ever does something like that...you know who to call." She stabbed her fork into a piece of fish before delicately nibbling at it.

Maya laughed shortly. "I know...I know. So, um..." She raised her eyebrows.

"I'll tell you this much—she may have been holding him back, but Micah says Kelly looked like she was about ready to strangle that little wench."

"Where'd she come from, anyway?" Maya asked with a furrow brow.

"You mean what rock she crawled out from under? Some rat he met at the gym. Young, pretty on the outside, and you know the rest. Just flattered him to high Hades thinking that she'd taken an interest in him. Never mind that he had a wife at home who'd committed her life to him, borne him a couple of precious children, and honestly looked damn good herself, if you want to get that Goddamned shallow. At this rate, I'm gonna stay an old maid," she said grimly, shaking her head.

Maya shook her own head in return, heart squeezing as she picked up how unusually affected her friend was by this. "Don't let stuff like that—people like that—ruin your own future."

Lillian didn't answer.

But Maya knew she didn't need to remind her of what she'd had to overcome herself. So instead she simply said, "It's not like you, letting someone else's standards lower yours."

"True enough," she admitted. "This fish is good."

"So's this," Maya noted. "What happened after that?"

"Here's the funny thing—after a bunch of screaming, yelling, threats, and excuses—"

"Excuses?" Maya seized upon the word.

"You know. She was there, she was pretty, he's a guy. You can't help who you fall in love with," she added with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, I don't think that was love," Maya said in disgust. "And either way, the last time I checked, you can certainly help who you choose to f..."—she caught herself and shut her eyes for a second—"fool around with. Unless his argument is that he's actually some uncontrollable sex fiend who can't help who he has sex with. In which case, he'd be an assault waiting to happen."

"And would probably warrant institutionalization or other restraints," Lillian finished with a nod. "No, I don't think he would quite be willing to argue *that,* now would he? The colleagues I know would certainly advise against it. Anyway...after she told him to pack his bags and get out of the house, you know what he did?"

A small, sad smile spread across her face. "She got the freaking tickets and went to the play. She said she wasn't going to let him destroy her day any more than he already had. And guess what? They actually enjoyed it somehow."

"Maybe because it gave them a reason to cry?" Maya murmured.

"It's that sad?"

She half nodded.

"Remind me to tell Micah never to take me to see that. There's enough sad stuff in the world without having fiction depress you, too."

"It's based on some true events, actually. In general terms."

"So how are things now?"

"She thinks maybe they can still work it out, but it's going to take a lot of work on his part to rebuild that trust. Micah's going to take some time off to fly back down there, offer emotional support...help with the kids. He's leaving tomorrow, actually."

"Hence your big date tonight."

She nodded. "Looks like I'll be doing that long-distance crap right along with you for a while."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic," Maya said with a wry laugh. "Besides, some people think I've got it made—married half the time, single the other half."

"I don't who you think you're fooling with 'half,'" Lillian retorted. "You better hope that man even still remembers he's married."

"Lil! Besides...he spends most of his time stuck with sweaty, sandy, sand-encrusted guys. I think he properly appreciates having some female company to look forward to."

Lillian laughed gaily.

As the conversation turned to other matters, Maya was happy to have lightened her friend's mood. She just wished that the reassurances could've been solely for Lillian's sake. 

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End of Excerpt

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[New Section for NBR Round—added Sunday, September 16, 2018. My regular readers, please skip this until you come to the next bolded section of text; that's where the current draft of the story actually begins.]

Summary:

This is part of my revamp of the early chapters of my book. The opening scene involves our MC, Maya (an interior designer), video chatting with her husband Dominic/Nick, a military contractor who spends a lot of time abroad and is currently overseas. The second scene involves a lunch date with Lillian, Maya's best friend and business partner. Maya initially intends to talk to Lillian about a concerning anonymous note she was sent about Dominic. But Lillian ends up discussing an incident that took place with Micah—the man she's currently dating—and Micah's brother-in-law. Long story short, the brother-in-law was caught cheating, and with that topic in the air, Maya felt the normally calm but also protective Lillian was going to be too upset and emotionally charged to calmly give feedback about the note. So the topic was never broached.

Author's Note:

Hello all, and my thanks to you in advance for your time, energy, and contributions!

There's meant to be an element of surprise and mystery here (and at other points in the story), so I don't want to give too much away before you read it. If you have any questions or clarification still needed afterwards, feel free to ask! Also, feel free to give additional feedback and thoughts not covered by the questions—including reader reactions/comments. (In other words, feel free to laugh, yell at the character, make guesses, share anecdotes, etc.) Seeing how people feel and react as audience members is valuable in its own right. 

Author's Questions:

Question 1. Do you get an adequate sense of Maya's emotions here and the reasons behind them? One thing that keeps coming up is that people seem to think that she's too hard on her husband during their later interactions. Thus, I feel like I really need to get the audience to understand and empathize with how betrayed and upset she feels and how poorly this reflects on him from her perspective.

Question 2. Does this scene feel like too much of an info-dump? This is the third scene in the book, and the fourth scene is when the first big confrontation happens, so I feel some pressure here (though we do have some time left before the action in the story really starts). I'm trying to set up enough background information about the couple and their normal life without having the scene feel too crammed or breaking up the flow of the story too much. 

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[Chapter Begins Here]

1 a.m.

Maya blew out an annoyed breath at the clock's unblinking declaration, given in bright-green LEDs. Raking the messy hair from in front of her eyes, she sat up and scanned the darkness, trying to recall where she'd left her purse. Kicking off the covers, she padded over to the comfy chair in question and felt around for the zipper atop the bag.

It took a few moments of rooting around before she could extract the note that had been burning a hole in the handbag all night. Any thought of bringing it up to Lillian had evaporated as the conversation had taken its turns. Pragmatic though Lillian was, how could either of them pretend to be unaffected by the events that had taken place with Micah's sister?

I'll just have to handle this myself.

But what exactly did "handling" it even entail?

Maya walked to the nightstand on her side of the bed and flicked on the lamp. The warm light did nothing to dispel the coldness she felt upon reading the words again. She'd earlier considered crumpling the note and tossing it in the wastebasket—just neatly dismissing it as a prank. Maybe if she'd done so, she'd be able to sleep now.

Then again, maybe she'd be up in the middle of the night considering an impromptu and indiscreet visit to the office, she realized. At least I don't have that to worry about.

Refolding the scrap of paper, Maya returned it to her purse and sat on the bed again for a moment, pondering the room. She chewed her lip as she thought about Nick's behavior during his last stint at home. Something had been bothering him, and he hadn't wanted to tell her then. An anonymous note full of accusations didn't seem like the path to making headway. And now that he seemed to be in better spirits, it would probably be downright counterproductive to present him with something like this. Knowing Dominic, he'd probably want to launch a full-fledged investigation to find out who had sent the note. And that was if it were innocuous....

But I can't just let this slide. Rising to her feet, Maya made the decision. I'll deal with this myself. If I don't find anything, I'll let it go. If I do...then we'll cross that bridge. Calmer but still disquieted, she made a beeline for their dresser. If her husband were hiding anything, that would be the place to start, no?

Opening up the first few drawers, she found them desolate. He'd taken much of his clothing on the trip, she reminded herself. At least that'll make the search a lot easier. Then again, he probably moved anything he was hiding here.

What articles did remain were neatly folded—shirts, pants, even his underwear and socks. Maya smiled. Not the worst habit to pick up. Nestled in a corner of the t-shirt drawer she found a picture from their honeymoon. It was a favorite of theirs, and one she liked to look at during the more difficult moments of married life. It had been so peaceful out on that river, and the undisguised joy in both their eyes encapsulated what the early part of the trip had been like. Now Maya felt a lump in her throat as she thought back to Lillian's tale from dinner.

She scolded herself and shook the feeling off. It's not gonna be anything that dramatic. Heck, it's probably not going to be anything at all. I'm up at zero dark hundred like an idiot because some other idiot wrote me a poison-pen letter.

With care she tucked the photograph back into place and moved to another drawer. In this one she found an empty spare wallet, half a coin roll, and...? Brow furrowed, she picked up the clear plastic bottle and removed the lid, testing the scent. A grin broke across her face unbidden, and she chuckled at an entirely different set of pleasant memories. Coconut oil. Figures he would have a back-up supply stashed away. Maya let out a small sigh as she pondered what his last visit had been like.

Guess we'll just have to make up for lost time, she thought, cradling the bottle a moment longer before returning the item to the drawer. It took a few tries to get it back in its original position, and all the while Maya felt increasingly silly and annoyed over the burst of worry inspired by the note. If all she had to go on were an anonymous tip and some moodiness, she could afford to spare a little less worry. "There we go," she said, finally shoving the little container back into place.

Something rigid scraped across the back of her hand as she withdrew. Maya frowned and turned her hand palm-up, feeling along the space above the drawer itself. She found the object again, the sensation that met her fingertips quickly being identified as leather. As she traced along and around it, the outline she discovered swept all other thoughts from her mind. A holster. A gun holster.

The blood chilled in her veins like a fine wine, and Maya could've sworn she felt it slow to a crawl as it cooled.

It wasn't possible. He had promised her—promised her!

Trying to force down the lump in her throat, she took a deep and trembling breath before reaching into the drawer again, this time as though she were handling live explosives. Once she found the safe end of the gun—as though there were such a thing—she carefully withdrew it, forcing her hands to stay steady.

Pressing down the rising panic as she chill of the metal transferred to her skin, she went through her mental rolodex, recalling everything her father had made her learn about guns. She identified the gun quickly enough as a revolver, though the make and model escaped her. She was certain she'd seen the kind before, though.

Putting the thought aside in a hurry, she focused on checking that the gun was unloaded. Deep, steady breaths carried her through the exercise as she made sure to keep the muzzle of the gun safely oriented at all times. She checked, checked, and then checked again to be sure, as though a rogue bullet could've slipped into one of the chambers in the interval it had taken her to blink.

When Maya finally felt satisfied, she slowly laid the gun down on the nightstand, and eased down onto the bed. Her throat suddenly felt parched and a headache was building rapidly.

She was vaguely aware of tears building in her eyes, but she wasn't sure why. She was too numb to cry.

Numb...and shocked. How could he? How dare he? The gun wasn't just a gun...it was a broken promise. One that endangered not only herself, but more importantly her family. Their agreement had left no room for misunderstanding, misinterpretation, anything. She'd been 100% clear in what she'd asked of him, and he'd been 100% clear in agreeing to it. Now she knew what his word meant. And what her feelings really meant to him.

Not a thing.

Suddenly choking back a sob, she whipped a glance over at the phone which also lay on the nightstand. For a moment she considered storming over and grabbing it—timezones be darned—and dialing in his number. She'd chew him out before he could even think of speaking a word. Whatever excuses Dominic had wouldn't make up for what he had done and the scare he had just given her. He had a collection at his workplace that even by her own disinterested admission was duly impressive, and she hadn't asked him to touch it. Why couldn't he just keep the frigging things out of their home?

She's already compromised on the matter and had thought it was enough. What was running through that man's head? The note sprang into her mind again as if on cue. And a terrifying possibility took shape. She'd found what her husband had hidden...but what if it wasn't the only thing? What if it wasn't even the main thing?

Looking around a room that now suddenly seemed strange and forbidding as it lay steeped in shadow, Maya realized that the search was only beginning. [End of September 16th addition. NBR Readers—stop here, please.]

[Author's Note: After some constructive criticism from several friends, I've redone the intro; I've written some new material, and have added it to the material from the original intro, which has been edited slightly.]

Maya carefully unfolded the note, immediately scanning it for a name. Bradley? Kristen? Kristen was working on a design plan, and had been bubbling with excitement over how well things were progressing. Wait, no—it was probably Lillian. However, there was no name to find. Odd. Her staff almost always signed their names on things like this...

Her brow furrowed as she shifted focus to reading the message itself. As she read, she felt a sense of confusion and mild panic starting to rise. She almost ended up spilling her coffee all over the desk; she hadn't even noticed it being delivered.

After she finished reading, she stared at it blankly for a few minutes before finally shaking her head and crumpling the piece of paper into a ball. She was about to throw it into the trash, but something stopped her...so she stuffed it into a drawer instead.

When it came time to leave the office, her eyes immediately went to the drawer. That note...she didn't even know why she was keeping the stupid thing. It was probably just a prank from an employee—one with an axe to grind...or maybe a horrifically poor sense of humor?

She stuffed it into her pocket, telling herself that she would need to hang onto it if she wanted to find out who had written it.

***********

Maya looked around at the bedsheets on the floor, the emptied-out dresser drawers, the misplaced furniture, then up at the clock on the wall. 1:00 a.m. She still had plenty of time...though she wasn't sure she cared anymore. She had to care, though—or at least pretend she did.

Her gaze turned back to the torn-apart room, and then to the items scattered across the bed. Why? A sick feeling swept across her and she cringed, turning away.

Sniffling, she wiped her eyes and looked down at the picture that was gently pinned between her forefinger and thumb. She'd found it tucked in with his clothes. It was one of her favorite pictures from their honeymoon, a picture of happy, idyllic times that seemed far away now.

She was wearing one of her favorite summer dresses, swirls of red and orange with white flowers scattered here and there. There was even a matching flower in her hair.

Speaking of hair, Dominic's was much shorter back then. Same color as always, though—a glossy jet-black. Another thing that hadn't changed was his clean-shaven style.

He had tried a more "rugged" look a few times. It actually worked pretty well...except for the constant looks, comments, and sometimes even confrontations from random jerks who assumed he was Arab and let their underdeveloped brains continue the narrative from there. Clean-shaven, his ambiguous looks would more often be interpreted as Italian or Latino. Not really accurate, but at least it saved him the trouble.

Not that he couldn't have handled it; while he was a bit on the short side, his past work in the security industry and ongoing martial arts hobby kept him in top-notch condition, and he had more real-world fight experience than most. It's hard to gauge height difference when one fighter is already face-down on the pavement.

Of course, most situations wouldn't justify actions that severe. Plus, as any security expert knows, conflicts are better prevented than won. It was a mantra she'd heard several times over.

Wiping her eyes, Maya gently laid the picture down on the bed and instead picked up the tear-stained note. Hands trembling, she looked at it again and wondered if this fight was one that could be avoided.

*****

"Oh, my God. Don't do that!" Maya gasped, cradling her face in her hands. She'd yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of someone banging on the window of her car, but it turned out to be Lillian.

Lillian stared at her friend, then shook her head. "You left your cellphone at the office. Again."

"Sorry. And thanks," Maya said quietly. "I guess I was a little distracted."

"I could tell."

She rolled down the window and grabbed the phone, but Lillian held on to it. "What's going on?"

"I don't...I don't really feel like talking about it." Sighing, Maya tried to let go of the phone, but Lillian clasped onto her hand as tightly as she could.

"We're not doing this. You're not shutting me out like that. I had to walk all the way down here in these heels, so until you tell me something, you're not going anywhere."

Maya sighed and closed her eyes. "Look, you better let me go. I'm not in the mood right now." Her free hand was slowly massaging her temple, as though she had a headache.

"It's something with Dominic, isn't it?"

Maya's eyes snapped open and she whipped around to glare at her friend. "What makes you think that?" she snapped. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, and her caramel skin was taking on a subtle red glow.

"You mean other than the way you reacted just now?" A very slight smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Before that," Maya gritted. She tried to yank her hand free, but Lillian's grip was as firm as ever.

"Well, any other time you'd be driving me nuts right about now; talking about your dinner plans, telling me about his latest adventures and misadventures, and coming up with a million random activities...which—I gotta be honest—I don't even get how the guy can stand you. You seem to have him busier off the job than on!"

Maya couldn't keep a small smile from spreading across her lips, but it quickly disappeared on its own as Lillian shifted gears.

"You've been totally different this time, though; you've barely said a word about the man since he got back from that trip, and you seem to be spending more time at the office and on my couch than at home."

"That's none of your business," Maya replied icily, though she didn't really mean it.

"It is when your butt's taking up space on my couch!" Lillian replied, laughing. "The more time you spend there, the closer you are to sleeping there—and sweetheart, I love you...but I am not gonna have another person doing that." Lillian finally released her friend's hand. "And don't even think about sleeping at the office!" she added suddenly.

"So what do you want me to do?" Maya asked.

Lillian groaned. "Go home and talk to your husband!" she replied, frustrated by the half-hearted response. "I don't know what's going on between you two—and you won't tell me—but you need to fix it before things get any worse.
"And this," she continued, waving her hand in a circle, "is not fixing things."

Maya raked a hand through her hair. "How am I supposed to talk to him when I don't even know what to say? Why do you think I've been avoiding him in the first place? If I knew how to work things out, I wouldn't be here right now...or maybe I would...I don't know! I don't know anything!"

"Well, that seems pretty accurate right about now...." Lillian mumbled in reply, sighing. Maya shot her a look, but Lillian was lost in thought, chewing on a fingernail as she pondered the situation. "Alright, look," she finally said. "Why don't you take some time off? It'll help take off some of the stress. Besides...it's not like you're getting much done in this state, anyway. Two weeks mandatory, but take as much time as you need. You know I got this."

Maya's expression finally softened and she nodded slightly. "Yeah...thank you." She started to wipe at her eyes, adding, "But I still don't know what I'm going to say to him...or when...or how."

"Then go to the gym. You've always said that exercise helps you clear your head, and don't they have your Krav Maga class today?"

"Mm-mhn. Class is closed today."

"Ok, then go for a jog! And no, Maya—the sidewalks aren't closed today, too. I checked."

Maya rolled her eyes, but agreed to the plan. She knew it was a good idea, and she was desperate to find some way of quieting and sorting through the whirlwind of thoughts running through her head. Maybe things wouldn't seem so bad once she finally slowed down enough to see them clearly. "Okay. I'll do that."

Lillian smiled and folded her arms. "Hmm...'Lillian Zhang, Marriage Counselor,'" she said, cocking her head to the side, then nodding. "I think I like the ring of that. Maybe I'll add it to my resume sometime!"

"Ha, maybe!" Maya replied, turning the keys in the ignition as Lillian stood watching.

"You'll be fine," Lillian smiled, reaching down to squeeze her friend's hand. "Just don't hit anybody!"

"By accident or on purpose?" Maya asked cheekily.

Lillian rolled her eyes and put up a hand dismissively, turning to head back to the office. She turned back around, though, to wave goodbye.

"I don't know how that man does it..." she chuckled to herself, leaning down to pick up a wrinkled piece of paper that had fluttered out through the open car window and now lay in the empty parking spot.

**********

When Maya finally arrived home, she was surprised to see her husband's vehicle already parked in the driveway. It was lunchtime, and she knew he sometimes invited clients over to their house for lunch or dinner—they were both excellent cooks—but he normally would've called ahead to let her know.

"Great," she grumbled to herself, taking a moment to fix her long ponytail and make sure her earrings were straight. As she stepped inside, there was no sign of Dominic or anyone else, so she quickly pulled her shoes off and jogged upstairs as quietly as she could, hoping she would be able to change into her workout clothes and leave again before anyone could notice she was there.

She normally wouldn't have minded, but the absolute last thing she felt like doing at the moment was making small talk with yet another client.

When she walked into the master, she was surprised to find Dominic waiting for her. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, slouched forward a bit.

So much for clearing my head. She set her purse down on the dresser, but before she could say anything, he spoke instead.

"Why were you going through my stuff?" He didn't look at her as he spoke, but his voice and body language seemed relaxed, calm. Strangely calm.

Maya froze, searching for words.

Before she could find any, he added, "And let me say this: going through my stuff is one thing...but lying to me about it? That's something else."

"I wasn't about to lie," Maya retorted, folding her arms. "I don't have anything to lie about." Her tone was sharp, but there was still a slight shakiness in her voice.

After a long moment of tense silence, she finally unfolded her arms, leaning against the dresser as she spoke. "Someone left me a note the other day."

"Who?"

"I don't know; it was signed, 'Someone who cares.'"

"What'd it say?"

"It said, 'Dear Maya, I know how happy you are right now, and I know how great things seem to be going. But there's something you'll learn one day, and better sooner than later.

"'We never really know the people we're married to as well as we think. I've had to learn this the hard way.
I love you, and even if telling you this breaks your heart, it'll still make things easier for you in the long run.

"'You need to check your house. I can't tell you for what, but I can promise you—when you find it, you'll know.'"

Maya laughed slightly, running her fingers through her hair.

Dominic was looking straight at her now, but still retained the same unnerving calmness as before. "Do you still have it?"

"Maybe. Could be somewhere in my purse—I don't know. Doesn't matter anyway; I've already read it so many times I can quote it by heart. The funny thing is, I almost threw it away. At first, it just creeped me out...but you know something? Ever since we've been together, I've known there was something wrong...something you weren't telling me.

"So, you know what? Yeah—I did look. I looked through your stuff, I looked through this whole Goddarned house trying to find something!"

She was yelling now, and swept everything off the top of the dresser, glaring at Dominic as the floor was covered with shattered glass and porcelain.

Still that same stare. The only difference as his gaze returned to her after briefly glancing at the mess on the floor was that it was now not just calm...it was cold. His dark-brown eyes were somehow icier than any blue eyes she'd ever seen.

Maya's actions weren't driven by anger; she was too self-controlled for that. She had just wanted a reaction; something—anything—to show he actually gave a darn about any of this.

But he seemed completely unruffled by it all, and his lack of reaction further fueled her anger.

"You want to know what I found?!" She continued, heatedly. "Duct tape. Mm-hmm. Duct tape...and rope...and zip ties...and syringes.

"And you know what's funny? When I first started looking, I was terrified—terrified—that I might find a gun.

"Guess what I found instead." Her voice softened. "Three. Three. Oh, and you even had a couple of knives to top it all off, but by then I didn't even care, you know?"

Her bitter laughter had reluctantly given way to tears by now, and she took a few deep breaths, trying to compose herself again. As she did so, a photograph on the floor caught her eye. She knelt down, carefully sweeping the glass off before picking it up. She gazed at it for a few moments, then flipped it around so her husband could see. It was a photo of the two on a trip together a few months before the wedding.

She looked at it again for a few moments, then tilted her hand slightly and simply let it slip from her fingers, as though she was letting go of their memories together with it.

"I have been losing my mind trying to think of an explanation. Some way that you could have a good reason for all of this. Some way this can all be okay, and we can be okay." She spoke slowly and more quietly this time, but the heat in her voice was unmistakeable. "And, after racking my brain for days, you know what I could come up with? What I have to show for it? Nothing. I did finally figure one thing out, though: I'm a complete idiot...because it's not my job to explain any of this—it's yours. So, you go ahead, and you help me understand this—all of it."

************

[Theme Song]

https://youtu.be/a2RA0vsZXf8