Surviving is probably the word she would use to describe her marriage.It wasn't a secret, people talk. The woman Declan was having an affair with was one of his employees. She was a high-rank manager in one of the companies he owns. A married woman too, it was convenient for them to have something on the side without the other person demanding more from that relationship. That's how it went on for 2 years.All the symptoms were there. Late night meetings, more frequent business trips, secret conversations on the phone, hidden text messages, he would be chatting for hours at dinner time and told her it was an urgent work matter he had to deal with. He wouldn't look her in the eyes when he told her about these things. Deep down she knew he wasn't truthful.But she had her own demon to deal with. Depression was lurking in the quietness of her mind, and not being able to get pregnant took its toll on her. She felt lost as if her marriage was aimless. Her life was purposeless. She lived d

"Do I look alright? How's my tie?" Declan asked in the car before stepping out in front of the venue."You look fine, here ..." she fixed his tuxedo collar and they were set to go.They walked into the venue with her arms looped around his. Some of the guests were already there. Declan had booked The King's Table for the night to entertain close to 60 guests. It was an upscale restaurant in the commercial district of Lancaster.He had arranged for the place to be closed to the public almost two months in advance. The King's Table was not an easy place to get into, and only those who are well connected and with excellent credentials can make such a booking.Declan has impeccable taste in everything. It was a lifestyle he was accustomed to since he was born in it. His taste for luxury rubs on her when she started dating him. The dress she was wearing was one of the results.She was wearing a long sleeve mermaid tail dress with Sabrina neckline, off-white with dark blue intricate embroid

"Brian is so excited about his son's gallery opening," Declan said at the breakfast table. "The prodigal son had returned," he chuckled.Olivia took a sip of her hot coffee, "How do you mean?""He left home before he was 18 to do his own thing ... well, obviously, art and photography is not the kind of thing Brian Murphy would encourage his sons to pursue ... he has too many companies for them to run, but then again ... not everyone wants to run companies like a workhorse."She bites on her croissant, "And now he's back to work for his dad?"Declan creased her brows, "No, he came back to prove his dad wrong, I guess, he's opening his own gallery, he's made a name for himself abroad ... he's been a working artist these past few years and Brian is actually very proud of him ... he put quite an investment on his gallery and artwork which his son insists on paying him back," he chuckled. "Which reminds me, I think it's a great idea to collaborate with him for your studio as well ... I mea

It didn't take him long to realize that Adele Leighton was not her real name. He searched for it on Google, and every social media platforms imaginable. He even searched for it in the Lancaster city directory. Adele Leighton was not the woman he was with on that ship.It broke his heart to even smaller pieces. How could she have lied to him like that? Leave him without a trail to find her again?He was a traveling artist. He worked freelance here and there and took him on an interesting journey for years. But Ludus had changed him profoundly. He went to Japan afterwards, that's where he learned the Kintsugi technique. The idea of The Heart of course came from his personal experience that left a permanent scar.Roman likes to think that the piece he made depicts his struggle to repair his broken heart. Mending the ceramic with gold took him two years to perfect, mending his own heart was a different story.While creating his masterpiece, he took on other adventures that led him back to

She'd been dreading the tour ever since she agreed to do it. A private tour means more time alone with him. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Is he going to bring it up? But she needed to know if he had told anyone about them, now that they are working and living in close proximity. Now that they have mutual friends. They're not strangers anymore. It was silent in the gallery. The only sound she could hear was the humming from the air conditioner and her footsteps walking into the spacious building. It was a little after 7 PM, the gallery was closed to the public and all the employees had gone home. A soft floral scent soothed her sense of smell. The dim lights made the place feel homier. Then she remembered that Roman actually lives there, and she was entering his home. She took a deep breath and hugged herself from the chill. She should've asked him to do the tour in the daytime when there are people around. The whole setting felt too private, she was getting cold feet. As s