It was Saturday. On the previous day, they had taken the opportunity of it being a weekend to sleep long and uninterrupted as they usually did on most Friday nights. When they woke up on Saturday morning, it was 9 a.m. before they sat for breakfast, and from the beginning even before they sat at the table, it was clear to Leo that Mara was not in the best of moods.She seemed dull and sometimes deep in thought. He wondered if she had had nightmares during the night. Even though she was so young and looked soft and vulnerable on the outside, she was one of the strongest women he knew. She did not act her age at all and he wondered how she would be in about a decade. As far as he was concerned, any man that married her would be a very lucky man. And her son too was one lucky boy to have such a mother. He wished he had married someone like her in the first place, but instead he had been fooled by Dalia's beauty and "gentleness". It was only after the wedding that he began to get a hint o

They stayed in each other's arms for what seemed like forever until Mara remembered that her man was waiting and broke the embrace."Look," she said taking Angela's hands in hers. "I'm all confused now and I just can't think of anything, but I will surely come up with something as soon as possible... before Monday. Don't worry, boss. Everything will be okay. We'll get out of this together and you'll be stronger for it." And then she hugged her again and held her even tighter than she had done before. From the way her shoulders were shaking, she knew her boss was crying and she couldn't help but shed a few tears herself as she felt the older woman cry on her shoulder."I'll get in touch, okay?", Mara said when they'd finally dried their eyes and recovered their composure. Angela nodded in understanding. Her heart was full with gratitude, but she just couldn't voice it out. All she could do was grab Mara once more for a tight hug.After they had hugged and assured each other as many tim

"So... how did it go?" Mara asked warily when she felt Angela was composed enough to answer questions."Whew," her boss sighed. "It wasn't perfect, my dear, but it went quite well. I believe I tried my best to be as convincing as I could. I just hope and pray and wish he was convinced, otherwise I'm ruined.""I'm sure he will be. It will all be okay. Everything will be fine soon.""No, Mara,” Angela disagreed, shaking her head emphatically. “Look, you don't understand. At least, you have a boyfriend, but I have nobody. So many people have me, but I have nobody."Mara nodded in understanding, but before she could open her mouth to say anything Angela was already speaking again."If God forbid anything happens to you, your boyfriend will be there to console you at least. But if anything happens to me, my family… they'll simply forget about me and look up to the new breadwinner who will take my place.""That's not fair," Mara complained, her face showing her displeasure."Life's not fair

"I was given a few days leave," Mara announced with a grin as she stood in front of Leo. She had promised to surprise him and now, she had done so, successfully."Wow. That's nice," he grinned back at her. "I was wondering when they'd finally let you have some rest.""I just hope there is no ulterior motive behind it," she said, and her face fell as she recalled the CEO's decision to have her closely monitored."I don't think there is an ulterior motive, but then, those two are capable of anything," Leo shrugged, referring to Marks and his wife."I think they're in a romantic relationship of some sort," Mara suddenly blurted. She was surprised when Leo's face shot up to stare at hers. She stared back at him in surprise until he dropped his expressionless face and shrugged again."Who knows," was his seemingly careless response.Suddenly, Mara was weak at the knees. That was certainly not the response she had expected to get! What did it mean? Did he still feel something for his ex-wif

"Hmmm. Good food here," Mel praised, licking his fingers like what Mara felt was nothing but a wild animal. She quickly looked away from him and turned back to her food. After taking a few spoonfuls, she grabbed the plates and took them to the kitchen. Hers was still half-full, but she just lacked the appetite to eat a full meal.Getting to the kitchen, she dumped everything into the sink and exhaled deeply. Her head was so full of thoughts, wishes, hopes and so many other things that she was beginning to feel the early signs of a headache. If only she could just turn back the hands of time to about 24 hours before or even farther behind. Hell, she would give anything to be given the chance to start again; if not her whole life, then restarting the day would be the next best thing."Hey what's up?"Mara was startled and swiftly turned around, only to find that it was Mel who was now swaggering into the kitchen with a toothpick between his lips. She turned her back to him again and wan