It was mom’s idea to make Victor the hot pot. But I’d been surprised by how Victor had responded to it. He slurped down what had to be at least five bowls of the DIYish stew. And that super nice compliment he gave us afterward about it being one of the best things he’d ever tasted…

I had forgotten that about him. How sincere he could be about the little things in life. He’d ordered around his security guards, Han, and Phantom like he was entitled to their service. But both times I’d given him a drawing, he had acted like it was the most precious thing he’d ever received.

I hated the conflicted feelings inside of me as I watched him eat. Hated that I loved seeing him enjoy a meal my mom and I had made, especially with him in mind. Hated that it still felt like he was hanging on my every word as I made small talk with my mom.

Not true, not true, not true. Dawn, girl, it is not true. We weren’t who we were in high school anymore. We weren’t even a real husband and wife.

And now, we’d be sleeping in the same bedroom, even though it wasn’t an anniversary night.

I stalled as long as I could after mom left, watching “the YouTube,” as my mom called it while Victor continued to type nonstop on his phone. But eventually, he put the phone away in his suit pocket.

“Come, we should go to bed.”

Not wanting my mom to overhear us, I switched to sign language. “Okay, but you know we’re not going to have sex, right? It’s not our anniversary, and this isn’t a hate fuck kind of situation.”

His eyes, which had been so unusually relaxed all evening, suddenly went hard as stone.

There he was.

The husband who hated me. The one who would try to punish me for daring to command him.

But then he raised one hand to sign a simple “O” and “K.”

Whoa…

Cue the awkward situation music. He followed me into the guest bedroom, and I wondered when was the last time he’d slept in a room this small. Had he ever?

“I’ll use the bathroom first,” I told him. “And then you, OK?”

I grabbed my toiletries bag out of my backpack before he could answer and escaped to the bathroom.

I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and changed into an oversized nightshirt. Then it was time for an Issa Rae-style pep talk in front of the mirror. You got this, Dawn! I assured my reflection.

My reflection did not look like she believed me. And eventually, a soft knock sounded on the bathroom door.

I found Victor on the other side, looking irritated about having to wait so long.