Dangerous Games

DRAWING LINES IN THE SAND

Kali Madden. Kali Madden.

It sounded foreign to her ears, but she was married now. The gold band on her ring finger was a reminder that her life had indeed changed. After weeks of anticipation, the worst part seemed to be over, which meant that she needed to move on to better things. Ysabel wouldn't have her knee on her back forever, and she wouldn't remain the docile daughter-in-law for the rest of her life. Still, if she wanted to go after the game master, she needed some ammunition. Ysabel was a well-informed woman. To compete or have any chance, Kali knew she needed to start getting herself acclimated to learning more about Ysabel.

She paced the floor, concentrating on her nude-coloured slides as she pranced about the polished flooring. The bathroom door opened, and she jumped. A fully dressed Samuel walked out. He was towelling his wet hair; water dripped off his head and stained his oversized t-shirt. He stared back at her for what felt like minutes before walking to the king-sized bed to take a seat as he finished towelling his hair.

Kali folded her arms and continued to pace, trying not to pay attention to him as he began to move around. They had ended the reception well before ten, and most of the family stayed in the rooms booked in the hotel. Tomorrow, they would all be downstairs to say goodbye before she and Samuel left for their flight to Bora-Bora. Kali didn't want to discuss the wedding or the honeymoon, but the silence was gnawing at her sanity. Before she could gather the nerve to speak to her sulking husband, a knock came at the door, and they both turned to stare at it as if it was a foreign object.

"Who is it?" Kali's brows flew up in surprise. It was the first time she heard him speak since they locked themselves in the room.

"Room service." A voice replied from behind the door.

Samuel opened the door. A tall man, dressed in black suit pants and a buttoned-up sleeved shirt, pushed a trolley in, stopping when Samuel laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We would take it from here. Thanks. It smells delicious."

The man bowed and left them alone. Kali closed the door while Samuel wheeled the food over to the small table and began to arrange them carefully. Kali only watched him, her back against the door. She wondered what was going through his mind.

Did the fact that they were married to her fully settle on him because half her mind couldn't wrap around the matter yet.

He set the last of the plates down and motioned for her to join him. "You barely ate anything at the reception. You would need food unless you want to pass out."

Kali sat and thanked him, tucking some loose hair behind her ears as she inhaled the aroma of the dishes. She was ravenously hungry. "This smells amazing. Didn't realise I was so hungry."

Samuel took the lids off the rest of the dishes, and she stretched her head to look at the shrimp displayed on one of the long rectangular plates. She picked one between her index finger and thumb, dipped it into the sauce and ate it leisurely. Samuel smiled, spreading the napkin on his legs and grabbed a fork. Kali cleaned her hands with a tissue and followed suit, drawing the plate of rice closer to her.

"And this is?"

"Shrimp fried rice." He supplied, opening the bottle of wine and filling their cups. Although he was polite, she could still sense his detachment, like his mind was thousands of miles away. "Heard this here is sous vide lobster. Haven't had that, but Holland assured me it tastes amazing when prepared right."

"Nice." She scooped up a bit of the lobster and dipped it in its sauce before eating it. "Yes, this hotel is definitely worth five stars. I need to kidnap their chef. As someone who is not a big fan of seafood, they are really tempting me to learn some recipes."