What would have made that afternoon just a little better was one of Derrick's sarcastic, unnecessary observations.

Something dry, something annoyingly true, the kind that always cracked a reluctant smile out of me.

But Derrick wasn't around. Another meeting. Another long day.

I sighed, pulling my phone out of my pocket and staring at my wallpaper, Val's face filling the screen, sunlight caught in her hair, smiling like she always did whenever she caught me taking a picture of her without warning.

That smile had been the background of my phone for months.

It still made something in my chest ache.

My phone buzzed in my hand before I could even lock it again.

Incoming video call — The Love Of My Life ❤️❤️ Celestia Valentina Moreau

I hesitated for a second before swiping to answer.

Her face appeared, bright and soft and warm — that same smile that always made me forget whatever hell the day threw at me. "Hey, husband," she said, eyes flicking somewhere below the camera. "Did you take your lunch yet?"

I leaned back in my chair. "I'm... still working," I said, my voice coming out a little colder than I meant it to.

Her smile dimmed just a fraction. Not enough for anyone else to notice, but enough for me to feel it. The light in her voice faltered for a second.

"Oh. Uh... okay." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, forcing another smile. "Just... don't starve yourself, alright?"

"Yeah," I said, my tone flatter than it should've been.

She hesitated, I could tell she wanted to say more, but instead she lifted her phone slightly, her lips curving into that soft, familiar smile.

"Love you," she whispered, pressing a quick kiss to the screen before the call ended.

The line went dead, leaving me staring at my reflection in the darkened screen, and the weight in my chest heavier than before.

And that's what I hated most about the whole damn thing.

The guilt.

Because I'd made her smile flayed even though I didn't mean to. And right now, with everything that was going on, I wasn't just another employee whose project had gone missing. I was the husband of the woman they all quietly suspected of being behind it.

A walking conflict of interest.

A traitor with a wedding ring.

I shut my laptop harder than necessary and leaned back, running a hand through my hair.

---

By the time I finally left the office, it was six on the dot. Staying there any longer felt wrong, like every side glance and careful silence was a quiet reminder that I wasn't as trusted as I used to be.

When I got home at 6:24pm, Aline was the first to greet me.

] "Welcome home, Mr. Tanaka."

I gave her a faint nod, too drained to fake a smile.

She studied me for a second, then raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing I shouldn't prepare the table yet?"

That made me exhale something close to a laugh. "Thanks, Aline. I'll… be in my office. In case Val gets back and asks for me."

She smiled softly. "Of course, sir."

A quick shower later, I was in my office again, the glow of my monitor filling the dim room. The numbers and projections blurred together as I stared at them. Working with incomplete information was like trying to rebuild a puzzle with half the pieces missing. Guesswork. Blind faith. Frustration gnawing at the edges of focus.

I didn't even realize how long I'd been at it until a soft knock pulled me back.

> "Kai?"

Her voice.

Val

I blinked, glancing at the clock in the corner of the screen — 9:41 p.m.

Had she been home this whole time? Waiting for me to come out?

"Come in," I said quietly.

The door opened and Val walked in, holding a tray with dinner and a bottled water. She hesitated near my desk, her eyes flicking to the screen.

I didn't know why — maybe reflex — but I minimized the window.

Her gaze dropped for a second, a flicker of hurt there and gone again.

Then she said softly, "Aline said you haven't had dinner yet, so I decided to bring it here."

Guilt again. A familiar ache.

And she just acted like it didn't sting.

"Thanks," I muttered, clearing space on the desk and closing the open folders.

She placed the tray down carefully. "Can I… stay while you eat?"

Before I could reply, she added in a whisper, "I won't look at anything. Promise."

I frowned, meeting her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She was quiet for a heartbeat, then said plainly, "You minimized the tab as soon as I looked at it. That definitely means you don't want me to see what you're working on."

It hit like a sucker punch.

She wasn't wrong.

Before I could reply, before I could even think of an excuse, her voice softened. "I just wanted to be in the same space as you. That's all. You don't have to talk."

Something in my chest twisted at that, the kind of guilt that didn't need words to burn. She gave me a faint, knowing smile, one that made it worse and better all at once.

"Eat," she said gently.

And I did. Slowly. Feeling like a complete idiot.

Because this—this distance—wasn't who we were supposed to be. We were supposed to be a team. But all this paranoia, all this suspicion… it was turning me into someone I didn't like.

She sat quietly on the couch, scrolling through her phone, pretending not to notice how my fork barely touched the food.

When I finally finished, she stood and began gathering the plates.

That's when I said, "Uhm, Val?"

She paused, looking at me.

I exhaled, rubbing the back of my neck. "Do you… remember that night—uh, after we—" I hesitated, then cleared my throat, "after we… you know."

She blinked. "You'll have to be more specific, husband."

I took a slow breath and continued, "That night you went to shower after we had sex. I said I'd check a file on my laptop before bed, but by the time you came out, I was already asleep, and my laptop was still on, right?"

Her brows knit for a second. "Yeah. I remember."

"Did you… happen to see what file I was working on?"

She thought for a moment. "It was titled Phase I, I think."

My eyes widened. "Yes! That's the one."

She tilted her head. "Did something happen?"

I sighed. "I just can't seem to remember what I saved it with, and it's… very important."

I couldn't exactly tell her it was the Meridian Development Initiative Plan I was looking for, what if she knew about it, and decided not to help?

She stared at me for a long moment, eyes searching my face like she was weighing whether to say it or not. Then, finally, she said, "It wasn't saved when you fell asleep. You had like three tabs open, none of them saved, and I didn't know what you were doing. So… I saved it in a different folder."

I straightened. "Do you remember what you named it?"

Her lips curved. "Of course. I named it Sleepyhead Husband."

For the first time that day, I laughed. "You didn't."

> "I did."

I immediately typed the name into the search bar, and there it was. The folder.

My relief came out in a loud, breathless, "Yes!"

Val blinked at me, amused. "Found it?"

"You have no idea what you just saved," I said, turning to her with a grin that felt like breathing again.

"The Meridian Development Initiative plan for Gray & Milton?" she asked lightly. "I know what the government bid looks like. I didn't realize that's what it was then, but it looked… awfully familiar."

I froze. "Is that why you hesitated before telling me? Because you knew what it meant?"

She shook her head slowly. "No. I was just debating how long to let you squirm before telling you."

Her lips curved into a teasing smile. "You look kind of cute when you're panicking, you know."

Her tone was firm, direct, the kind that left no room for doubt. She wasn't hesitating, she was choosing honesty.

And God, after everything that had happened, after all the quiet guilt and suspicion clawing at me, I realized how badly I needed that.

"I'm…" I swallowed. "I'm sorry for doubting you."

> "You should be."

But her eyes were softer now, and she took a step closer.

"Kai," she said quietly, "I'm your wife. I've literally been your wife long before we even got married. If there's anyone in this world who wants you to succeed, it's me."

She lifted her left hand, the ring glinting under the warm office light.

"I might be a Moreau by birth," she said, voice steady, "but I'm Mrs. Celestia Valentina Tanaka. And that comes first. Don't forget that."

She closed the distance between us, wrapped her arms around me, and whispered, "We're a team, remember?"

And I realized, with that simple hug, how foolish I'd been.

Looking down at her face as she pulled back and met my eyes, I didn't need to say anything — because she already understood. She always did.

That's the thing about Val.

She never needed explanations. Just truth.

And this truth was simple:

I wasn't going to hide anything from her anymore.

No matter how impossible it looked from the outside — rival companies, competing bids, her father's shadow hanging over both our lives — we'd prove that we were still a team.

I didn't know how yet.

But like every other storm we'd survived…

we'd get through this one too.

Together.

---

To be continued...

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