Take a seat, baby!

Miraj was finishing up his breakfast when he received a call from Dr.Mathews who had waited for a reasonable time to call Miraj. The doctor told him about the break-in last night and how the intruder had physically assaulted Tatiana in her room.

Miraj couldn't really focus because his brain kept thinking about his child and his wife at home. Did the intruder get into his house? Were they safe? What the fuck was the staff doing?

He heard the doctor say then, "There was no.. um.. sexual assault though. I think.. according to Tatiana's description, the intruder was a woman."

That's when it clicked.

"I see," Miraj replied. "How's she now?"

"She is resting. Physically, she'll heal in a couple weeks. Mentally, it might be difficult to deal with."

"You have the right contacts to help her there. I'll see what my staff can find out about the intruder."

Miraj hung up the call and called his wife immediately.

"Hello?"

Her soft voice came through the phone, Miraj felt the shivers go down his spine.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I am peachy. What's up?"

"What about Ari?"

"He is good too. We were just getting ready for breakfast. What's wrong?"

Miraj let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. He had his suspicions but one could never be too careful, knowing they were both safe was still a relief.

"There was a break-in at Mathews' place last night."

"Oh."

"Tatiana was probably tortured."

"OH?"

There was a significant difference in the two 'ohs' his wife uttered.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Speak, Eli" Miraj said through gritted teeth.

"Don't order me. I don't work for you, Miraj. My breakfast is getting cold. If there's nothing else, I would like to get to it."

"Eli, wait!"

There was something about the way he said her name. It sounded.. desperate. HE sounded desperate.. for her.

She didn't respond to him but she didn't end the call either.

"I.. you.." I am sorry. He couldn't say the words that were about to come out.

"What, Miraj? You what?"

"You can tell me, if you did something. Actually, you should tell me, if you did something."

"Is this because she was tortured? You think I care about your shitty ex so much I tortured her? Don't you think YOU care about her too much that you're going as far as to accuse ME?" She had started screaming at him at this point.

She was right. Miraj cared but not about his ex. That bitch could rot in hell. He cared about his wife though and she had mistaken his concern to be for Tatiana.

"No, Bee." He knew she liked that nickname and that's why he had started using it at all times when they were alone. Not just in the bedroom.

"I don't care if she was tortured but I care if you were the one who did it. I wouldn't want Mathew to have even a shred of doubt about it. This could be dangerous if it isn't dealt with properly. He already thinks the intruder was a woman based on what Tatiana told him about the intruder."

He could her breathe through the call. Soft and light breaths as she though about her reply.

"How much do you know about her stay in the US?"

The change in the subject was too abrupt to not notice. He chose not to question her on it for now and replied, "Not much, actually. Just that she went there for education and then got a job. Mathews avoided it because of our history. You saw my surprise when she mentioned Panache H&R."

"Well, your little girlfriend is hiding more than just that detail. Take a seat, baby. We might be in for a long hard ride, starting now."