After breakfast, Tami curled up on the rug with her coloring book, and Kain stepped out for a meeting. Before he left, he kissed Naya again, his hand gently cupping her chin.
"I meant it last night. I'm not letting her come near you again. Or our peace."
Naya nodded. "Thank you, Kain."
"Rest. I'll be back by dinner."
Once he was gone, Naya finally allowed herself to breathe. Alone in the house, she folded laundry, tidied up, then curled on the couch with a book she hadn't touched in weeks. But her mind kept drifting.
The silence Clarissa had broken wasn't just about office drama. It had cracked open the fragile peace Naya had built inside herself. For months, she'd hidden her fear under a blanket of comfort. But Clarissa's words pulled it to the surface.
Gold digger. Homewrecker.
She wasn't those things. But deep down, the fear of being seen as them had controlled her choices. It was why she hadn't told her parents. Why she kept Zara in the dark. Why she sometimes questioned Kain's love even when he showed it a hundred different ways.
That fear had lived inside her for too long.
By late afternoon, she had made up her mind. She was done hiding.
She picked up her phone and called her mom.
"Hello?" her mother answered, curious.
"Hi, Mama. It's me."
They talked. Not everything. Not yet. But enough. Enough to stop pretending like she didn't belong where she was. Enough to admit that maybe—just maybe—she had found something good.
Around 4:00 p.m., she went to pick Tami up from school. The little girl's face lit up the moment she saw Naya waiting by the gate.
"You came today!" she shouted, running into her arms.
"I'll always come, baby," Naya whispered, lifting her up.
Back home, they settled at the dining table with Tami's homework. Spelling words for the week: adventure, sunshine, kindness, brave.
"Brave," Tami repeated slowly, chewing on her pencil.
"You know who's brave?" Naya asked.
Tami looked up. "Who?"
"You are."
Tami beamed.
After homework, Tami launched into stories from school. She spoke about her class, the boy who kept chewing paper, and how one teacher slipped on a spilled juice box and made a dramatic, flailing fall that left everyone in hysterics.
"He was like a fish out of water," Tami said, making flapping motions.
Naya burst into laughter. "Oh my God, I can see it!"
"Should we surprise Daddy with dinner?" Naya asked.
Tami gasped. "Yes! Let's make something special."
Together, they cooked. Simple spaghetti and meatballs, but with extra cheese and lots of giggles. Tami insisted on setting the table with her princess napkins, and Naya added candles—just to be playful.
When Kain returned around 6:30 p.m., the scent of home-cooked food filled the air. Naya met him at the door, grinning.
"You cooked?" Kain asked
Naya giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. "Surprise."
Tami ran over, wrapping her arms around both of them. "We made spaghetti!"
He lifted her in his arms, kissing her cheek. "Well, I'm starving. Let's eat."
Over dinner, Kain kept shaking his head. "I honestly thought you couldn't cook."
"I let you think that because you enjoy it so much," Naya teased.
He laughed, pointing his fork at her. "Sneaky woman."
After dinner, Naya took Tami to bed. They read a fairy tale—something about dragons and queens and magic swords. Tami fell asleep halfway through the story, curled into Naya's side, her bunny clutched to her chest.
When Naya returned to their bedroom, Kain was already in bed, scrolling through his phone. She climbed in beside him and took a deep breath.
"I talked to my mom today," she said.
He looked over, surprised. "Yeah?"
"And Zara knows now too."
He set his phone down, giving her his full attention.
"I'm done hiding, Kain. And I'm done doubting what we are. I just want you to know that."
Kain took her hand, kissed her knuckles. "That means everything to me."
She hesitated. "There's one more thing. I need you to know how much it hurt. What Clarissa did. How she made me feel like I didn't belong."
His expression shifted, his jaw tightening. "She doesn't get to treat you that way. Ever."
"I know. I just… I wanted you to know how deeply it hit me. But I'm not letting her win."
He pulled her into his arms. "Good. Because I won't let her either."
They lay there, wrapped in each other, hearts beating in sync. And for the first time in a while, there were no lies between them.
Just love.
And peace.