The chaos of the day still clung to her like smoke as she entered her home. It was getting heated up with Don Khan's ambush, Justin's desperation, and the mounting pressure of secrets she didn't fully understand.
She wanted a shower, silence, and maybe a glass of wine.
But instead, she saw him.
Detective Caleb.
Leaning casually against the arm of her living room sofa like he belonged there, arms crossed, his sharp eyes watching her like a hawk who had been perched and waiting. He wasn't in uniform, but he didn't need to be; authority clung to him like a second skin.
Kalisa blinked, then sighed, long and tired. "What's wrong with men today?" she muttered under her breath, dropping her keys into the bowl by the door.
Caleb raised a brow. "Care to elaborate?"
She looked up at him, startled, forgetting she'd spoken aloud. Her lips pressed into a tight line.
"Forget it," she said, brushing past him toward the kitchen.
He followed, slowly, without a word.
"You have no right to keep showing up here unannounced," Kalisa said sharply, spinning around to face him. "This isn't the station, detective. If you come here one more time without my permission, I swear I'll get a lawyer."
Before Caleb could respond, a voice came from behind them; It was her mother.
It was Lisa, standing just outside the kitchen with folded arms and a sceptical look.
"A lawyer?" Lisa asked pointedly. "Why would you need a lawyer if he's your boyfriend, hmm?"
Kalisa froze. She almost forgot that she claimed that Caleb was her boyfriend when her mother asked about him earlier. Now she has to fix that. She has to keep up with the many lies she has been telling.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Her eyes darted to Caleb, who was already watching her, his expression unreadable. There was a pause, thick as thunderclouds, and then…
She moved.
Swiftly, impulsively, she crossed the room and grabbed Caleb by the collar of his jacket, pulling him into a kiss that silenced everything else, the doubts, the pressure, the truth.
It wasn't soft or delicate.
It was desperate and layered with a thousand unspoken emotions: fear, longing, confusion… maybe even a touch of guilt.
When she finally pulled back, she didn't meet his eyes immediately. But Caleb's lips lingered slightly parted, stunned for a moment. Then he smirked, voice low, brushing against the silence.
"So… I'm your boyfriend now?"
Kalisa's gaze met his gaze, it was sharp and burning.
She stepped closer, brushing her lips just near his ear, and whispered with a sly grin, "Please… just act the part."
He smiled. "You must have loved your mother so much."
"You keep showing up and you are a cop. It is either you are my boyfriend or I am in trouble, and I don't want the later," she whispered.
Lisa, wide-eyed, stepped away into the hallway, mumbling something about needing tea, clearly not expecting that kind of explanation.
Caleb chuckled under his breath, straightening. "You always this convincing under pressure?"
Kalisa gave a half-smile, hiding the storm behind her eyes. "You have no idea."
But behind that teasing tone, her thoughts were spinning. The danger of the key. The wallet is still hidden. Don Khan's shadow looms.
She kissed him to keep a lie alive.
But how long could she keep this game from spiralling out of control?
Immediately, they entered her room, and the door shut. Caleb brushed her slightly and moved away from her.
Kalisa leaned against the wall, arms crossed, deceptively calm. But behind her confident stance, her thoughts were racing.
"I don't get it," Caleb finally said, his voice low, tight with frustration. "Why won't you just return the damn wallet to Don Khan?"
Kalisa blinked, feigning confusion. "What wallet?"
He stopped pacing. "Don't start with me, Kalisa."
She pushed off the wall, sauntering toward him with deliberate grace. "I haven't started anything, detective. I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're lying," Caleb snapped, pointing a finger at her chest. "You stole something, and it wasn't even meant for you. Do you have any idea who you crossed?"
Kalisa met his glare with a steady one of her own. "You think I don't?"
"Then why," Caleb demanded, his voice rising, "Why won't you give it back? Do you think this is a game?"
"I don't have it," Kalisa replied flatly.
Caleb stared at her, something hard flickering in his eyes. "You're not just being stubborn, Kalisa. You're playing with fire. And Don Khan doesn't forgive. He doesn't forget."
She scoffed, turning away. "So I've heard."
He stepped closer. "You think you can outsmart a man like him? You think you're untouchable? He'll kill you."
Kalisa whipped around, her eyes flaring. "And you're the police. Aren't you supposed to protect people from men like Don Khan?"
That caught him.
He hesitated.
She saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes, then something else. Something darker. Caleb looked away for a brief moment, his hands balling into fists at his sides.
Kalisa narrowed her gaze. "Why are you so afraid of him?"
"I'm not," Caleb said quickly.
"You are," she whispered, stepping toward him now. "You're shaking, Caleb. You've been nervous ever since I mentioned the wallet. You don't even know what's in it, do you?"
He opened his mouth to respond, but shut it again.
"I told you I don't have it," Kalisa repeated, softly now.
"What is it you're not telling me, Kalisa?"
Kalisa's heart skipped a beat. "Nothing, I swear," Kalisa lied.
"You know I know you are lying," Caleb said softly.
She looked at him, her expression unreadable. "Then why are you still here?"
Caleb turned slowly, eyes narrowing. "Because I don't believe you. Because I have come to know you too well, Kalisa. And because something about all of this stinks."
She tilted her head. "Then trust your instincts, detective. Maybe you're asking the wrong questions."
He exhaled sharply, frustration thick in his breath. "I don't want to see you get killed."
Kalisa smiled faintly. "That almost sounded like you care."
"I do," Caleb said, and for a split second, the armour cracked. His voice wasn't laced with authority or suspicion, just raw, human concern.
That shook her more than any threat Don Khan had ever made.
"I don't need your protection," she said gently. "I need you to figure out who's lying to whom… before it's too late."
Caleb's eyes locked with hers. "I'm trying."
Caleb took a step forward. His voice was low, almost a whisper, but the weight of it hit like a gavel.
"Kalisa, listen to me."
She didn't respond.
He moved closer, frustration etched deep into his features. "If you don't tell me the truth, the full truth, I can't protect you."
She looked up at him slowly, her expression unreadable. "Maybe I don't need your protection."
She reached out for his hand, "I sincerely do not need you protecting me, I am capable of doing that."
"You do," he said, his voice cracking with something like desperation. "You're being hunted, Kalisa. By a man who doesn't give warnings twice. Don Khan won't stop. And I—" he paused, swallowing hard. "I can't help you if you keep shutting me out."
She turned away, silent.
Caleb took another step, closing the space between them. "Whatever's in that wallet, it's bigger than both of us. And you're standing in the centre of it with no backup, no plan, and a target on your back."
Those words struck Kalisa like a knife. If she is not giving back the keys she has, then she must have a plan. She must first know what the keys open.
She could also use the keys to her advantage. Her mother had a medical condition, and that cost money. She started to possess a feeling that she would use the key to bargain her position and eventually status in the dark world.
Kalisa stared at the window, raindrops racing down the glass like the blood trails of ghosts.
He waited.
Nothing.
Then he said it, quieter this time, but sharper. Final.
"If you lie to me again… you're on your own."
Kalisa blinked. Slowly. Her throat tightened.
Outside, thunder rolled, low and long, as if the world itself was warning her.
Inside, Caleb's eyes searched hers for something, anything.
Kalisa opened her mouth as if to speak—
And then she stopped.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Kalisa looked at Caleb. "Were you followed?"
"I came here before you. I think it was you who was followed."
Caleb reached for his holster.
Lisa went to open the door.
"I would advise you not to do that, Lisa," Caleb said.
Lisa turned and asked, " Why?"
"Go to your room and wait," Caleb instructed Lisa.
The knock came again.
Kalisa grabbed a knife and walked past Caleb. She opened the door carefully.
And there stood Justin looking very roughened up with blood-stained clothes.