But the atmosphere at the residency was something else entirely — too different to ignore. Odd, at certain moments, but she acted like she hadn't noticed. Puzzled by the way her wife stared at her for no reason.
Watched her from one doorframe to another but never stepped inside — didn't matter if Kassan was in the bathroom, the kitchen, the garden, the balcony, or even the gym.
The awkwardness only thickened at the dinner table. "Alright. What are you trying to do, babe? Just — tell me if something's bothering you." Kassan said, patience finally giving way. No immediate answer came. No defensive response either. Instead, Sy dragged her chair closer and leaned forward.
"There's a lot running through my head — but just answer me one thing, Honey." She said, flat and calm.
Kassan nodded briefly, eyes moving over her wife's expression. "At the conference — were you trying to protect your company, or your wife?" A clean, straight question, landing just above the heart. Not through it. Not yet.
"Both. Both of you matter to me, babe." Kassan replied.
"Why not just one, Honey?" Kassan took a moment before answering. "Imagining my life without either of you is the hardest thing I can think of. I need to protect both my company and my wife — because I can't afford to lose either." She took a bite of lettuce, glancing at Sy. Sy's fingers had barely moved over her plate.
"What if you had to lose one someday? Who would you choose?" Sy asked, looking into her eyes. Kassan chewed calmly, and then said, "I'd rather lose both than choose one."
Her composure landed somewhere soft and strange. Goosebumps bloomed at the back of Sy's neck. She watched Kassan eat without the slightest hesitation.
Her mind stayed entirely fixed on the small things Kassan did. "The salad's good. I'd like it again for tomorrow's breakfast." Kassan said it as simply as she'd just sprinkled salt over the bowl — but for Sy, that pinch of salt told a different story. She knew Kassan reached for it only once in a while, the same way she kept certain feelings pressed down for days at a time. Quietly. Just like that.
Sy kept digging into her own thoughts. The weight of unnecessary overthinking piled up.
Kassan glanced over and caught a pattern that didn't sit well with her. "Aren't you going to say something?" Kassan asked — not sharp, not cold. Just even. Calm.
"It's been two years since we married. And when things got hard, you chose to leave — both me and your company — instead of choosing me?" Sy pushed back. Her voice burned as it came out. Kassan stayed unusually still. No raised voice. No fist against the table. She kept eating.
"You came into my life after I'd already built this company — but I never said I was choosing it over you. I said I was choosing both of you. And this is the argument you want to have with me?" Kassan said.
"Tsk." The irritation drained out of her. Sy pushed her plate aside and left the table.
Kassan watched the anger she'd stirred but made no move to stop her. "Ms. Kassandreau — should I go to Ms. Ngawang?" the maid asked hesitantly. Kassan shook her head.
"No. She's not in a state to hear anything right now. Just store the food — and leave out the blueberry pie ingredients. She'll find her way to the kitchen by midnight." She said, wiped her lips and headed upstairs.
She paused outside Sy's room for a moment, breathing in the familiar fragrance that lingered there. Then walked into her own.
"Proof that she's my wife," she murmured before going inside.
Meanwhile, Sy was enduring her hunger. She rolled back and forth on the bed, arms wrapped around her stomach. Obviously suffering. Before she could settle into any kind of peace, her eyes drifted to the clock above the door. Past midnight — two-thirty in the morning. Her right brow climbed.
"She must be asleep by now." she whispered. Excitement got the better of her. She slipped out of bed and crept downstairs, each step measured and careful — because she knew Kassan was a light sleeper, and the smallest sound would bring her down in seconds.
Sy looked at the dining table. Empty and tidy. "She didn't even leave me anything...?" A faint shadow of disappointment crossed her face. She let it go and opened the refrigerator. Her expression softened — dinner, neatly stored. "No. My wife is just unpredictable as always." she mumbled.
Her hand reached past the containers and landed immediately on the blueberry pie ingredients. That gave her a strange feeling — but she didn't linger on it.
Kassan came downstairs. Half-asleep, groggy, blinking against the light. She pulled her hand over her eyes, then gradually lowered it — and found her wife sneaking around the kitchen, assembling a pie. Kassan stood there, confused, rubbing her eyes.
"Babe — what are you doing at this hour?" Kassan asked. Sy jolted and spun around, heart hammering. "Ha — Ha — Honey?" The word came out in three pieces. "I — I was just—" She stammered, gesturing between Kassan and the half-made pie. Kassan tilted her head and pressed her fingers to her lips.
Right. "Just admit you were hungry. I knew you'd sneak down here." Sy groaned, tipping her head back in frustration. "Yeah, fine — are you going to lecture me for it?" she muttered.
"Not at all — as long as I get some of that dessert. Deal?" Kassan winked. Sy's expression broke into a smile and she launched herself at her. "I've told you not to do that, haven't I?"
"But I never listen. You go to the gym for a reason — if a hug is too much for your back, that's on you." Sy said, stepping back with complete innocence. She turned and mouthed, "Old woman." Kassan's brow furrowed.
"You really have no filter, babe. A little gratitude wouldn't hurt."
"Thank you! For saving me from losing my licence!" Sy called back, sarcastic, stamping her way out of the kitchen. Kassan narrowed her eyes after her. "Does that even count?" she mumbled.
She shrugged and leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, gaze completely fixed on her wife. Sy glanced at her then back to the pie. "I thought you were going to apologize and offer the refund with interest. But you rewrote the whole story." Sy said.
"If I apologize now, there's no future left for us. I won't let our enemies win while I'm still standing." Kassan replied — same steady, rough tone she always carried when it came to business and VERITAS HARMONY.
"What if they win one day... even while you're still standing?"
"They won't." She said, and dismissed the thought.
"Hey — I said, 'what if?'"
"They won't!" Kassan said, louder this time, already walking out of the kitchen.
"Fou." Sy muttered. She turned back to the pie, cutting it into slices. "I'd have had better luck talking to the wall."