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EMILY'S POV.

When I woke up the next morning, I was sore all over. Bad dreams about Sadie had plagued me. The most memorable had been one of her somehow managing to make me go to her school in my underwear.

I had been laughed at by so many people, and classmates of mine that we went to high school and college together, all saw me, and mocked me.

They wanted to know if that was the future I had been planning with John for years. The dream left me with a bitter feeling, and I woke up with a pout.

I sat up, and snatched my phone. It was still quite early, but Katie had sent three messages already, asking if I was awake. Who was she to boss me around just because John wasn't around?

I was going to make sure I used the best of my John-free month, so she was to expect opposition if she tried to take that from me.

Then I saw a video message from an unknown number. I clicked on it, and saw a screen-recorded video of me on Instagram, as the little mermaid.

Sadie had done professional editing. I looked like I was in a movie, but the annoying thing was that it had gotten ten thousand likes. Anyone was bound to recognize me. I had no makeup on.

"Damn Sadie!" I muttered, slamming my phone onto the bed, then I picked it up hastily, and moved to lie on my belly.

I was going to call the one person who could make my day better in an instant.

"Good morning, Dahlia." I greeted, cheerfully.

"What made you so happy this early in the morning?" She asked, and I could hear noise in the background.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Trying to vacuum the space behind the shelf."

"Dahlia, the shelf is quite large. How can you do that all by yourself?" I asked, and heard her chuckle.

"I've been doing this since forever. Are you just reacting to it now?"

"Since when? When I was still with you?" I asked, and she laughed again.

"Look at you. You were so obsessed with John, and making new dress designs. You were always buried in those things." She said, and I sighed.

"I gave attention to the things that wouldn't stay with me in my hardest times, instead of the one person, who had been sticking by my side."

"Wait. So, we're agreeing John's an object now?" She asked, and we both laughed.

"Okay, okay, the good news is…! John's not going to be around for a month!" I squealed, and she gasped.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes! It's a month of freedom, and a month of him not working me till I break down."

"Wait, wait, wait. He works you till you break down?" She asked, and I bit my lip.

"It was just once."

"Once, Emily, once! Once is enough to kill. What are you going to do if he continues that when he returns?" She asked.

"I'd like to say when I get to that bridge, I'd cross it, but he has been a little careful since that incident. He does give me tedious, impossible, totally unreasonable, and unneeded tasks to complete, but I can take them on. It's totally better than going to work with him." I explained, and she sighed.

"Just be careful, okay?" She asked, and I smiled.

"Trust me, Dahlia, I will."

After Dahlia and I talked, I bathed while singing, feeling a thousand times better. John being gone for a month was worth celebrating. I ought to go out for some good barbecued chicken, and maybe a bottle of Pinot Noir, but I was tight on finances. I wondered if John was going to pay me, or if he wasn't since I was entitled to work for him.

After taking my bath, I put on a Lavender suit, and a white satin shirt.

My clothes depicted the light mood I was in. I was about to make my way to my tiny office, but from the mezzanine, I saw Katie in the living room. She had placed two chairs, and two tables side by side in front of a wall, behind the sofas in the farther part of the living room.

The half wall separating the large living room made them seem like two different rooms because while one was a little dark, the other was flooded with light. For some unknown reason, I preferred the darker part of the living room.

I bounded down the stairs, and walked towards Katie where she sat in the brighter part of the living room.

"You're quite late." She said, punching in numbers onto a telephone.

"John didn't give me a specific time to be awake, so I don't see why you would try to control the time I wake. It's not like I'm doing anything real anyway." I said, going to sit in the desk and chair she had prepared for me.

"Today we're doing something real." She said, softly, and stopped punching in numbers to explain to me.

"Something real?" I asked.

"John didn't know he'd be gone for a month, so he had to break off a lot of appointments without warning his business partners in advance. Some of those appointments are pretty close, and the people have prepared a lot for the appointment. Some of them are angry about breaking it off without at least a two-week notice, so you have to write letters to them, based on their different causes, locations, and personalities.

"Some of them will not settle for a random official apology letter, so we have to make it a little personalized." She explained, and brought out a folder of handwritten letters. "You only have to type these out, and if I'm not done calling them by the time you're done, I'll like you to join me in calling them, and rendering apologies too." She explained, and I sighed. Due to the fact that she had said 'I'll like you to join me…' in such a polite way, it made me inclined not to say more opposing words.

I turned on the laptop before me, and began to type.

Thankfully, her handwriting was really neat, and clean, I was able to see without problems. Katie picked a call, and began to speak eloquently. I could hear the voice of someone speaking angrily over the phone, and I wondered how Katie was able to keep her voice calm.

"We deeply apologize. This unforeseen circumstance was beyond our control." She said, but the man threatened to cancel the contract-signing.

I continued to type, but couldn't help getting distracted by Katie's soft, and smooth tone.

Deep inside of me, I wanted to ask why she did it. I wanted to know why she slept with him. Was it because she wanted to, or did he force her to, and for how long had they been doing it? Did John continue with her even until recent times? Not that it was my business, but I was still curious.

To me, Katie was a mysterious, and gentle person, who didn't like trouble, and all things chaotic. Her reasons for sleeping with a man about to be married kept me intrigued.

"Ma'am!" Katie exclaimed, sharply, and I was surprised that she could have such a harsh tone. "That is Slander. We can sue you for that."

Just then, Lucas came down looking jaw-dropping handsome. I couldn't tear my eyes off him. He was in a black suit, with golden buttons, and his hair had been styled in the usual taper fade for when he was going out. His brown hair was in smooth curls at the center of his head, and they looked well-oiled, and unlike his hairstyle when he was going nowhere, his hair stayed away from his forehead.

His green eyes studied the time on his watch, and when he looked up, I looked away. It was then I realized Katie's voice had become softer and smoother.

"Please rethink your decisions ma'am. Slandering is an act punishable by law." She said, tucking her hair gently behind her ear.

Lucas passed by, seeing we were both busy, and when Katie ended the call, she did it hastily, and opened her mouth to call for him, but he had already gone into the foyer. She watched him f or a while, and a blush crept to her cheeks. That was when it hit me.

Katie had feelings for Lucas!