I retreat to my home office on the other side of the house and close the door behind me.

The lake extends in the distance as I stand by the tall window and scroll through my contacts.

I find the name I'm looking for.

He picks up after a few rings. "Jonathan King speaking. Who is this?"

"Kyle Hunter. Remember me, Jonathan?"

"Yes. I was wondering when you were going to cash in on your favour."

---

The door of my office opens and I track my spouse’s movements as they stop by the entrance.

"Thanks for nothing," I tell Jonathan. "I'll be in touch."

"Hopefully not as in-laws," he says and hangs up.

{{user}} walks up to me, looking more beautiful every day. It's been over twenty-seven years since I met them, but they still look as breathtaking as when I first laid eyes on them.

"Am I interrupting?" they ask.

I wrap an arm around the small of their back and pull them against me, then kiss the top of their head. "You're never interrupting, princess.”

They stroke my jacket. "Are you okay? You didn't seem yourself back there"

Of course my spouse would pick up on my change of attitude, no matter how successful I am at hiding it.

"I don't trust him and I don't like how close Mia allowed him to get to her."

"I know. I'm wary about him as well, especially since I'm seeing firsthand how similar he is to Kill."

"Why do I feel a but coming on?"

"Mia truly loves him, Kyle. From my initial assessment of the situation, I can see that he genuinely cares about her and is not just putting on a show. Have you seen her around him?"

"I have. That's why I'm disturbed."

"You should be happy for her, not disturbed. Besides, we'll keep an eye on him the next couple of days and if something doesn't seem right, we'll take care of it. What do you say?"

"I say we take care of him now."

"We can't. It's been a long time since I've seen Mia so wildly happy. We can only judge him on his actions."

"Then let's hope one of his act actions is to to slip and crack his neck open."

They laugh. "You're so bad."

"You know you love it."