Secrets In The Cupboards.

"Mark?!"

As his name echoed in his ears, Mark stopped on his track. 

Spine straight, as he tilted his head, it took him two footsteps to turn around as he came face to face with Leia. 

Leia's body convulsed as she stepped back with a deep gasp for air. 

Her eyes widened while her jaw dropped, exposing her teeth that gnashed upon each other, and although she did try to cover up her mouth, her trembling arms were of no use. 

Caught in a trance, she’s puzzled with absolutely no idea what to do, and her mouth runs out of words although she was the first to call out to him.

Others carefully watched her expression, she certainly didn't like the tall man before her.

"I didn't expect to see you here Leia, or should I say, Mrs Kasen Sky, it's been a while”, he said with a charming smile, mixed with a bit of mockery that most would overlook because of his looks.

"Are you that happy to see me, you looked like someone who just saw her husband after being away to war," he laughed. 

Her teeths gritted, and as if that was a trigger, Leia regained her mind as she flinched. 

She scouted the curious eyes around her that longed for a mistake and knew what she had to do. 

A smile was the best mask she could wear. 

"I could say the same about you too, I’m surprised you’re still single," she snickered with mockery, unwilling to show her fear.

"It's a surprise to see you, it's been a while, Mark."

"Yes, it has, especially since I had to put up with some extra chores to clean up a certain mess," he whispered with menace.  

Hearing his words made her tremble the most that she shivered. 

A glance at the man, she couldn’t help but curse the day she crossed paths with him.  

"I'm sure it must have been tiresome,” she answered with a crooked smile, barely able to maintain it as she switched between panic and fear.

“Ah Leia, still as childish as ever it seems, but thank you for caring."

As she heard his words she couldn’t help but maintain a safe distance, if she wanted to keep her sanity. 

“Hmm, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m here for a meeting with your mother in law,” he answered with a shrug. 

Leia took a deep breath to calm her nerves, “I can’t send him back now” she murmured to herself as she glanced at him.

Of course she couldn’t do anything about that.

Despite being in the family for a short while, Leia had come to understand what sort of a woman her mother-in-law was. Acting was her specialty, and causing a scene was her best friend. 

At her second glance at him, she couldn’t help but notice that face of his. 

“He’s changed,” she unfortunately murmured loudly to the hearing of a stunned Mark. 

“Of course I have, I look a lot more handsome don’t I?” He whispered into the rear of the absent minded Leia who jumped out of freight.

Embarrassed, she could only feign ignorance as she cleared her throat and looked away.

"Well, I’m heading out, I’ll see you later, maybe," she answered. 

"Of course, since you’re on your way out, I won't be holding you," he said with a polite bow.

Leia grinded her teeth as she stormed off.

Mark, who stood behind her, waved a good bye until Leia was completely out of sight.

Seated in her car, she looked back a couple of times, her heart felt troubled by his appearance and what this meant for her as she stared towards the path where she came in from. 

She could still see him. 

Mark patiently stood outside the entrance this time, his eyes never left her car even though her car was difficult to tell with her tinted glass window.

Nothing could shake off the ominous feeling she had as she stared at him from the inside, something told her she was in for a lot of trouble.

***

"I thought you'd be hungry so I made breakfast, feel free to eat as much as you want,” Leia said as she unpacked her lunchbox.

Alone in an empty reserved room, the tensed air clouded over the couple as they sat right opposite each other. 

Kasen’s gaze never left his wife as he stared at her with worry, and he had every right to be worried. 

As Leia unpacked, she battled with her tears that she blinked multiple times with sniffles. 

She couldn’t bear to look Kasen in the eyes but she was aware he was watching her so she couldn't afford to show him any sign of weakness that would make him react, however what she was missing was the fact that Kasen could see through her attempts.    

"Are you mad at me?" Kasen asked. 

Instantly her hands felt weak. She bit back her tongue to avoid her emotions getting in the way.

Leia took the brave step and raised her face and looked him in the eyes, but her husband's pitiful state was too much to bear that she couldn’t spare a second. 

“You promised you’d come home, I waited, but you never came,” she admitted in tears. 

She grabbed tightly onto her dress, and clenched them till they became all wrinkled and rumpled.  

She raised her face with anger and sadness written all over, as she stared at her husband’s pitiful state.

His hands were cuffed with iron, his clothes unchanged since the last time she saw him, and it pained her to know that even his family did not bother to bring him some clothes.

His hair had begun to grow longer and he was in dying need of some shaving, even his clothes looked a little too oversized now. Kaser was in a bad bad shape for a man of his status and it seemed like he had been abandoned by his family.

“Leia…” she heard her name being called. “Look at me.”

Kasen looked at her with a faint smile as it pained his heart to see his wife feel pity for him.

“Trust me, I won't spend the new year here, but with you, and that’s a promise,” he said boldly. 

Leia had a hard time believing his words, but she knew to trust the man she married.

"Can we eat now, I’m starving,” he laughed nonchalantly under the disguise of being alright as he helped himself to her cooking. 

In an instant Leia could read his expression, he didn't want her to worry about him, so she had to play along. 

Now that her emotions were in check, she braced herself before taking out a document which laid still beside her.

“Kasen,” she called him with a deep sigh.

“Did you know that your family was embezzling funds?” she asked him.

A stunned Kasen stops mid air, with the spoon of curry stew hanging mid air, just a few inches away from his mouth.

At first she wasn't sure how to question him, but now Leia had every right to believe, “you knew, didn’t you?"

The Sky family had much to hide.