"Kar

enDal y,thi
sismybankcar d,
and the passwordi
s131224,you
can use i t to buy anythi
ng
necessar
y.”
Afew hourshadpassed,butKar en
Dalywasst i
l
lthi
nking aboutwhat
hernew husband had said ashe
handed hera bank car d before
goi
ngoutinthemorning.
Honestl
y,sheknew ver
yli
tt
leabout
herhusband.
Apartfr
om thefactthathi
sname
wasKevinKyle,sheknew not
hing
els
e abouthim,noteven who hi
s
famil
ymember swer
e.
KarenDalydidnotknow whereshe
gotthecouragetogetmar r
iedt
oa
manshehadonl ymettwice.
Tendaysago,wit
ht hehelpofFaye
Reed,herbestfri
end,Kar en Dal
y
metKevi
nKyleforthefi
rstt
imeona
bl
inddat
e.
Shewasnothopef ul
.Afterall
,she
had been hurtthr
ee yearsearli
er,
andshenol ongerhadther i
ghtto
bepi ckyaboutothers,buthad to
succumbt olett
ingother
spi ckher
i
nstead.
Shewas15minut
esear
li
eront
he
dayoft
hebl
i
nddat
e.
Si
nce she didn’
thave any good
qual
i
ti
es,shecouldonl
ydobetteri
n
ot
heraspects,hoping t
oleave a
goodimpress
ion.
Ifs
hecouldmarryamant hatwas
sui
tabl
efor her
,she coul d al
so
makeherpar
entsfeel
atease.
Themancameont
ime.
Theman' ssui
tandshoeswerevery
for
mal ,whi ch made herf
eelhow
i
mpor tantheviewedthisbl
i
nddate,
which gave her a good f ir
st
i
mpr essionofhim.
Hi
swayofgr eet
ingwasalsovery
or
dinar
y."
MissKarenDal
y,Hel
lo!I
am Kevi
nKyl
e."
I
twasaver yordi
narysentence,but
because hi s voice was ver y
magnetic,i
tmadeKar enDal yfeel
unusual
lypleasant,l
eaving behind
bett
erimpressi
onthanbef or
e.
Aft
erabr i
efchat
,theyexchanged
t
heirphonenumbersandl
eft
.
Since Kar
en had been on many
bli
nddatesbefor
e,shedidnott
ake
thi
sbli
nddateser
iousl
y.
She thoughtthatthis bl
i
nd date
would end up t
he same asthose
bef
ore.Unexpectedl
y,sherecei
ved
acal
lfrom Kevi
nKyletwodayslat
er.
Hisvoicewasaspol
it
easbefore,
"MissKar
en,ar
eyouf
reet
oni
ght
?"
Thatni
ght
,Kevi
nKyleinvit
edhert
o
anIt
ali
anr
est
aurantf
ordinner
.
Karen Dal y didn't li
ke t he
awkwar dnessofabli
nddate.There
spoke veryf ew words i
n att he
rest
aurant.Duri
ngt
hemeal ,shefel
t
al i
tt
lecauti
ousand shedi dn'
teat
much.
Original
l
y,she want ed tof ind a
reason t oleave earl
y.Whiles he
was hesi t
ati
ng,Kevin Kyle spoke
fi
rst,"MissKaren,Ihavesomet i
me
nextWednes day,howaboutweget
ourmar r
iage cer
ti
fi
cat
e pi
cked up
then?"
"What, what cer
ti
fi
cat
e do you
want
?"KarenDalywasshockedby
Kevi
nKyle'
swords.
"A mar r
iage certi
fi
cate,
" he
repeat
edinaserioustone.Hedid
notsoundl
ikehewasjoki
ngatal
l
.
"Amar r
iagecert
if
icate?"Kar
enDaly
sti
lldi
d notbeli
eve whatshe had
heard.She putherhand on her
thi
ghandpi nchedi thardtomake
surethatshe was notdr eami
ng,
thenshelookedatt hemani nfr
ont
ofherseri
ousl
y.
KevinKyl
ehadapai rofthi
ckswor d
-shapedeyebr ows,br
ighteyes,and
a beauti
fulface.He wasso eye-
catchi
ngt hatother
scouldspothim
i
mmedi atelyi
nacr owd.
His expr
ession and att
it
ude were
veryseri
ous,andhedi dn'tl
ookli
ke
animpulsiveperson.Thi
swasonl y
thesecondt i
met heyhadmet ,and
heyetsaidhewant edtomarryher?
Then,t he man' s deep magnet i
c
voice arr
ived atherearsagain." I
thoughtthatyouwer ejustli
keme.
Going on a bl ind dat
e witht he
objecti
ve toform af amil
y,to get
mar r
iedandhavechi ldr
en,andlive
an"
ordi
nar
y"l
i
fe.
"
"Yes,It
hinksotoo,butaft
erall
,we
havejustmetforthesecondt ime.
Don'tyouthi
nkit'
stoofast?"Karen
Dalysaid.Shewantedt ohaveher
ownf amil
y,butshedidn'
texpectit
tobesohasty.
"Itis a bi ttoo f
ast.
"Kevin Kyle
conti
nued wi thacalm look,"Aft
er
thefirstmeet i
ng,Iwentbackand
thoughtabouti tfortwodays.You
have gi ven me a good feel
i
ng.I
personal l
yfeelt
hatourper
sonali
ti
es
don'tclash,soIwanttohaveatry.
"
Kar
enDal
yfr
ownedsl
i
ght
lyandwas
al i
tt
le unhappy."In my opinion,
marri
ageisnotat r
ivi
alt
hing.Try?If
thi
sdoesn’tworkout,doesitmean
youwantt o.
..
"
Beforeshecouldf i
nish,KevinKyle
i
nterr
uptedher,"
Mi ssKar en,weare
al
ladul t
s.Of cour se,we woul d
neveryearnf
oral ovet hatdoesnot
even exi
st.We allknow whatwe
want."
Karen Dal
y did notanswer and
conti
nuedt
ostareathi
m.
Onthesurface,t
hismanwascal
m
andnotfl
amboyant.Hewoul
dbea
goodhusband.
However,coul
d she r
eal
ly hand
overt
herestofherl
i
fetothi
sman
whom shehadonl
ymett
wice?
Real
l
y?
Seeing t hat she was hesitat
ing,
Kevin Kyle added,"Maybe itwas
i
mpat ient of me, t o not have
considered your feeli
ngs. I
f you
thi
nkI '
m suit
able,youcangoback
andt hinkaboutit.I'
l
lwaitforyour
cal
l.
"
Aft
er ret
urni
ng home t hat day,
KarenDalyhadbeent
hinki
ngabout
i
tallni
ght
.
She admi
tt
ed t
hat some of her
opi
nions were si
mil
artothose of
KevinKyl
e's.Forexampl
e,sheal
s o
bel
ievedthatt
herewasnotruel
ove
i
nthewor l
d.
Aft
er bei
ng deeply hur
t,she no
l
ongerbeli
evedthatt
herewaslove
i
nthiswor
ld.
Afterasleepl
essnight
,KarenDal y
call
ed Kevin Kyl
e earl
yt he next
mor ni
ngandagreedtohisso-cal
l
ed
proposal
.
I
n t he af ternoon, Kar
en Dal
y
brought along her household
regi
strat
ion book and went to
regi
ster their marri
age at t
he
Regi
str
y ofMar
ri
ages wi
th Kevi
n
Kyl
e.
When they coll
ect
ed t hei
r and
wal
ked out of the Civil Af
fair
s
Bur
eautoget
her,shehadaf eel
ing
t
hatshecoul
dnotexpl
ain.
It was sai d t hat for women,
marri
agei sthemarkofanew l i
fe,
butnow i tseemed to be j
ustso
si
mpl e.Alli
ttookwas9dollar
sfora
cert
if
icate that now meant t hat
Karen Dal y legal
ly bel
onged to
KevinKyle.
Kar
enDal ythenmovedi
ntoKevi
n
Kyl
e'sapar
tment.
Kevin Kyl e had behaved wi th
chival
ryt hat ni
ght
.He t ook the
i
niti
ati
vetoleavethemainbedroom
forhertor estal
one,whi
l
ehesl ept
i
nanot herbedroom.
KarenDalyhadneverexpectedf
or
Kevin Kyl
eto hand overhi
sbank
cardtoherbeforehewenttowork
today.
Theydidn'
tevenknow eachother
thatwel
l.How coul
dhebesosur e
withgi
vi
ngall
hisproper
tyt
oher
?
"KarenDal
y,thereport
ersfrom t
he
medi a ar
e wai t
ing insi
de. The
dir
ector
s and the new boss are
coming soon.Why ar
e you i
na
dazeatt
histi
me?"
The st ern voice of t he Public
Relati
onsManager ,Emma Wi l
son,
i
nterrupt ed Karen Dal
y's
daydr eami ng. She quickl
y pull
ed
backhert houghtsandsaidwi tha
str
aightf ace,"
ManagerWi lson,I'
m
sorry,I'
llpayattenti
on."
EmmaWi l
sonlookedatKar enand
said i
n a har sh tone, " Karen,
alt
houghyouareanempl oyeef r
om
the Sales depar t
ment, your
managerhassentyoutoassi stwit
h
the Publ
i
c Relati
ons Depar tment.
Youhadbet t
erwakeupanddon' t
dr
agmedownwi
thyou.
"
Karen Daly pursed hi
sl i
ps and
nodded." ManagerWi l
son,Iwas
j
ust dist
ract
ed. It won'
t happen
again.
"
EmmaWi lsonl ookedatKar enDaly
again and then looked away.She
clapped her hands and cal l
ed
severalempl oyeeswho wer e al
so
responsi
blefort herecept
ionover.
"Everyone,tr
yyourbest .Wemust
hold t oday'
s press conf erence
smoot hl
y. We can' t affor
d any
mistakes."Whil
e speaking,Emma
Wilsonglancedateveryemployee.
"Yes."TheemployeesofthePubli
c
Relati
ons Depart
ment,who wer e
assignedtempor
aril
ytosuppor
tthi
s
recepti
on,res
pondedinuni
son.
EmmaWi l
son'seyesf inal
lyfellon
Karen Dalyagain."Kar en,Ihear d
t
hatyouar ethetopempl oyeeinthe
SalesDepar t
ment.Youwi llbewi t
h
t
he new boss l ater and be
responsi
bleforhi
m.Youdon' thave
t
owor ryaboutotherthings."
KarenDal ynodded,butMadonna,
another employee of t
he Public
Relat
ionsDepartment,gl
oatedand
sai
d," Kar
en,i
fournew bossi ssti
l
l
si
ngle,wouldyoutakeadvantageof
hi
m?"
I
twasactuall
yeasytogetcl oseto
thenew boss,buteveryoneknew
thati
twouldbeadi ff
icultj
ob.No
onewantedtopickitup,soKar en
Dalyt
ookthej
ob.
Emma Wi lson stared atMadonna
wit
hast r
aightfaceandsai d,"What
happenstodaywi llhi
ghlyaff
ectour
fut
ure.Beseri
ous. "
Aft
er being scolded by Emma
Wil
son,noonemadeasound.They
t
ooki naqui etbreat
hand puton
t
heirbestbehavi
or.
I
twasnotEmma’
sfaul
tthatshewas
ner
vous.Af
teral
l,thi
smat
terhad
comesosuddenl
y.
Justasever yonehadt houghtthat
everythi
ng wasf i
nal
lyatpeace i n
thecompany,t heboardofdirect
ors
suddenlyissuedastat
ementsayi ng
thatthebosswantedtohaveanew
persontakeoverthebusiness.
However,thi
s new-appoint
ed big
boss was very mysteri
ous. The
heads of var i
ous departments
enquir
edabouthimthroughvar
ious
means,buttheycouldnotfi
ndany
i
nformati
onabouthi
m.
Kar
en Dal
y wasusual
l
y notnosy.
Buteven she could nothelp but
st
retch her neck t
ol ook att he
entr
ance,want i
ng t
o seewho this
bi
gbosswas.
"Yes,yes.Allt
hedi rect
orsandt he
new bossar e here."The voi
ce of
therecepti
onst affchannel
edfrom
the wal ki
e-t
alkie to t he other
employees.
Her col l
eagues subconsci ousl
y
adjust
ed their cl
othes and stood
respectf
ull
yinthei
rposit
ions.
Kar
enDal yfol
lowedcloselybehi
nd
Emma Wi l
son to wel come the
myster
iousbossthateveryonehad
awai
tedf
orl
ongt
ime.
Afteraf ew steps,at al
lmani na
sil
ver-gr
ay suit walked elegantl
y
towardst he l
obby,sur r
ounded by
severalmeninbl acksui
ts.
Atf
ir
stgl
ance,shewasst
unned.
Thetal
lmani nasilver-
graysui
tin
fr
ontofthe crowd washernewl y
marr
iedhusband,KevinKyl
e!
"Impossi
ble!" Kar
en Dal ythought
that it was an i l
lusi
on. She
i
mmedi ately cl
osed hereyes and
shookherhead.
Butwhensheopenedhereyesand
l
ooked agai
n, t he man'
s
appear
ancedi
dnotchange.
I
fitweresomeoneel se,shecould
havemadeami st
ake,butthi
swas
hernew husband.Shecouldn’tbe
wrong.
Hisf eat
ures were as sharp as a
kni
fe,hisheightwasexactlyat1.88
meters.Hehadast rongbuil
d,and
walked wi t
h a di screet air of
el
egance.
No mat t
erwhatt
hisman di
d,he
wasper f
ect
lyt
hesameashernew
husband.
"
Kevi
n?"Karen Dal
ystared att
he
manandsubconsci
ousl
ycall
edout
hi
sname.
Whenheheardhervoi
ce,t
heman'
s
gazeshi
ft
edt
oher.
Looki
ngathiseyes,KarenDalyfel
t
sonervoust
hatshealmostf
orgotto
breat
he.
She would never t
hink t
hat her
"or
dinar
y"newly marri
ed husband
wouldbecomethenew bossofher
company.
She l
ooked athim wi
th herhead
buzzi
ng,she fel
tas i
fshe might
expl
ode.
Theman'
sgazel
inger
edonherfor
amomentand t
henmoved away,
asi
fhedi
dn'
tknowheratal
l
.
Aft
erwhathejustdid,Kar
enDal
y’
s
heartsankr
api
dly.
He wasobvi ousl
yKevi n Kyl
e,her
new husband.Whydi dhel ookat
herwit
hsuchi ndi
ff
erenteyes?
Aft
er a while, var
ious thought
s
f
lashedt
hroughhermi nd.
The mostpossible scenar
io was
thatshe wasdreaming.Itwasan
unreal
ist
icdr
eam.
KevinKyl
ehadal waysbeengentle
and pati
ent. He spoke and did
thi
ngs poli
tel
y. He would never
pret
endthathedidn'
tknowher.
She pinched hersel
f hard and
t
witchedhermouthinpain,onlyto
fi
ndthatt
hiswasnotadream atal
l
.
Sinceitwasnotadr eam,t
her
ewas
anotherpossibil
i
ty.Thi
smanmi ght
havet hesamef aceasKevi
nKyl e
di
d,buthemi ghtbeacompl et
ely
di
f f
erentper
son.
Emma Wi l
son pull
ed Karen Daly
asi
deandscol dedheri
nalowvoi ce,
"Kar
en,doyouknow whatki ndof
occasi
oni sthi
s?Whatt hehellare
youdoing?"
Kar
enDal
ywasal i
tt
leannoyed,as
i
fshewasrudel
ywokenupf rom a
dr
eam.
Emma Wi l
son whisper
ed agai
n,
"Hur
ryandkeepup.
"
Karen Daly nodded and qui ckl
y
fol
lowed t
he new boss.She had
conceal
edheremot i
onsandf aced
thebigbosswholookedexactlyli
ke
hernewhusbandpr ofessi
onal
l
y.
EmmaWi l
sonqui ckenedherpace
and caughtup wi ththenew boss
and the others.She pushed open
thedooroft hebanquethallf
orthe
report
ersandsai d,"Let'
swelcome
allt
hedir
ect orsandournewboss!"
AsEmmaWi
l
son'
svoi
cef
ell
,ther
e
was a f i
erce applause i
n the
conf
erencehall.Ever
yonestar
edat
the entrance, waiti
ng for the
myst
eriousbigbosstoshowup.
Karen Daly gasped quiet
ly and
fol
l
owedcl osel
ybehi
ndthebigboss.
Aft
erthebi gbosswasseated,she
qui
ckly handed over some
documents.
Even though she had professi
onal
tr
aini
ng,thefactthatthecompany' s
new boss was act ual
ly hernew
husband,sti
llshockedhertoomuch.
She trembled,and t wo pieces of
paperf r
om t he documentsi n her
handfellt
othegr ound.
KarenDalywasaboutt obenddown
topickupthefiles,butKevinKyle
picked t
hem up bef ore she di
d.
Thenhewhisperedi nherear,"
Wait
formeathometoni ght
."
I
fKevi n Kyle had notsai
dt hese
wor ds,Kar enDalywouldstil
ltr
eat
him as a man who onl yl ooked
exactlyl
ikeherhusband.Assoonas
hesai dthis,KarenDalywasmi nd-
blown,shewasdumbf oundedand
forgotwhatt odo.
Fortunatel
y, t
he at
tent
ion of the
reporter
swasnoton her ,so s he
had some t ime to adjust her
emot i
ons.
The repor
ter
s did notnoti
ce her .
However, the sharp-eyed
employeesoft he Publ
i
c Relati
ons
Departmentdid notmissthislit
tl
e
epi
sode.
The Publ i
c Relati
ons Depar t
ment
waswel lprepar
edf ort
heeventand
al
lot herdepar t
ment s cooperat
ed
well
.Kevi n Kyle was char i
smati
c
enought otakeont hepress,sothe
conferencewentver ywell
.
Assoonast henew bossandt he
other di r
ectors l eft
, Madonna
rushed overand sai d,"Kar
en,the
wayyou" accident
all
y"droppedthe
document sjustnow was gr eat-
yousuccessf
ull
yat
tr
act
edournew
boss'
satt
enti
on.
"
Karen Dal
yf r
owned sli
ghtl
y,s he
t
urned t
o Emma Wi l
son and sai
d,
"ManagerEmma,I'l
lgobackt othe
Sal
esdepartmentaf
terf
ini
shi
ngmy
workhere.
"
Looki
ng atKaren Dalyt urn away
from her,Madonna wasso angr y
thatshe stomped herf eet."She
i
gnored me!She justignored me!
Whyi sshesoarr
ogant?"
Emma Wilson gl
ared atMadonna
andsai
d,"Don'tjustst
iruptr
oubl
e
al
ldayl
ong.Ifyouconti
nuetomake
tr
oubl
e,youwi l
lbet henextonet o
l
eave.Ifyou are capable enough,
j
ustdoyourjobwel l
.Aslongasyou
cl
imbtoahi gherpositi
ont hanshe
does,you wil
lbe qual i
fi
ed to be
arr
ogantaswell
.”
Madonna glared atKaren Daly'
s
back as she walked away.She
gri
tt
ed her t eeth and r epl
i
ed,
"Under
stood,cousi
n."
Karen Dal
yr eturned t
ot he Sal
es
depart
mentof f
ice and hear
d her
col
leagues discussi
ng about the
newboss.
Ever
yonehadsomet
hingt
osay,as
i
ftheyknewt
henewbossver
ywel
l
.
Whenhercol league,MayLily,saw
her,she hur ri
ed over and said,
"KarenDaly,you'resoluckytobe
the fi
rstone worki
ng si
de byside
wit
ht heboss.
"
Kar enDalys mil
edf aint
lyandsai d,
"It
'sallj
ustwork.Evenwewer eside
bysi de,itisstil
ljustwor k.Ifyou
thi
nk you can wor k wellwit
ht he
bos s,youcanaskourmanagert o
send you to wor kfort he bossi n
future.
"
May Li
l
y qui
ckl
y waved herhand
andsai
d,"
Alt
houghournew bossi
s
handsomeandcharming,wedon’ t
have the gut
sto approach hi
m,
gi
venhiseyesandchar
isma."
"Thenew bosswi l
lbecomi ngover
foraroutineinspecti
on.Gobackt o
yourpositionsand do whatyou’re
supposed t o!
" Sunnie Olsen,the
manageroft he salesdepartment
,
walkedintotheoffi
ce,repr
imanding
hissubordinat
es.
The new boss was comi
ng t
o
i
nspect
!
Heari
ngthisnews,KarenDalycoul
d
nothelpbutgulpi nfear.Shewas
sonervousthatherheartwasabout
t
ojumpoutofhert
hroat
.
Shestil
lneededsomet i
metodigest
the factt hather new husband,
KevinKyle,wasthenewbossoft he
company.She was notr eady to
facehimf orawhil
e.
Theothercoll
eaguesal lret
urnedto
thei
rseatsex ceptf orKar en Daly,
who was stil
lst anding thereina
daze.Sunni
eOl senl ookedatKar en
Dalyand asked," Kar en,don’tyou
haveanythi
ngel setodo?"
"I
'mf i
ne.
"KarenDal ycamet oher
senses and qui
etl
y clenched her
fi
sts
.She quickl
yr etur
ned to her
seatandt
urnedonthecomput
ert
o
checkacl
ient
'si
nfor
mat
ion.
Afterawhi
le,t
heel evat
orbellrang,
and Kevi
n Kyle,surrounded by a
group ofpeople appeared before
Karenagai
n.
Fort
unately,Kevi
nKylejustcamet o
sayaqui ckhellototheempl oyees
ofthedepar t
ment.Afterl
ist
eningto
SunnieOlsen'squickreport
,hel ed
thegroupofpeopleaway.
AfterKevi
nKyl
elef
t,t
hedepart
ment
became noisyagai
n.Even Sunni
e
Olsen,whowasusual
lyver
yseri
ous,
couldnothel
pbutgossi
palongwit
h
ever
yone.
The onl
yt opicthey t
alked about
waswhet herthi
shandsome boss
wasunmar r
iedormarri
ed.
Karen Dal y li
stened t o t hei
r
discussi
onanddidnotsayanyt hi
ng.
She wast hi
nki
ng ifthisgr oup of
womenhad knownt hathername
waswr i
tt
en ashi sspouse on t he
bos s'
s marri
age certi
fi
cate,woul d
shebeski nnedal
ivebyt hem?
Thi
st ense work day had final
l
y
passed.Karen Dal
ypacked up to
l
eave afteral
lhercowor ker
shad
al
readyleft
.
Whenshef i
nishedherworkduri
ng
the day,whatki nd of ment
ali
ty
shoul
dshehavet ofaceKevinKyl
e
atni
ght?
KarenDalyreall
ydidn'
tknow what
todo.Shedi dn'
tevenknow i
fshe
shouldgobackt oher"home"with
KevinKyl
e.
Out si
de the buildi
ng,Karen Daly
habi t
ual
ly turned t o the r i
ght
towar dsent
ranceBoft hesubway.
After walki
ng f or a while, she
remember ed t hat she was now
l
ivi
ngwi thhernewhusband.
Kevi
nKyl
e'sapar
tmentwasnott
oo
farf
rom TechVal
l
ey.Thr
eest
opsby
bus abouthalfan hourby foot
wouldgethert
here.
Karen Dalylooked atthe ti
me.I t
wasonl yfi
veo'cl
ocknow.Anyway,
shehadn'tfigur
edouthow t of ace
Kevin Kyl
e,so she chose to walk
home.Shecoul dslowlythi
nkabout
whathadhappenedbet weent hem.
Down t he valley, Karen Dal y
deci
ded t o buy some vegetabl
es
and meat f rom t
he f r
esh
supermarket nearby. No mat ter
how bigone’sproblemswere,fi
l
li
ng
one’s stomach was st i
lla f i
rst
pri
ori
ty.
She didn'tknow whatKevi n Kyl
e
l
iked t
o eat,s o she took outher
phoneandwant edt ocallhimtoask,
butshewaswor ri
edt hatitwasnot
convenientforhim to answert he
phone,sosheputi tbackinherbag.
Aft
erpickingupthei
ngr
edi
ent
s,she
car
riedthem home.
Assheappr oachedt heapar tment’
s
elevat
or,shesaw af amili
arfigur
e.
He was f aci
ng t he elevatorand
standi
ng verystraight.He wor ea
l
ightgraysui
twithgr eatt
aste.
Kevi
n Kyl
e’
sfi
gure was ver
y wel
l
bui
lt
.From af
ar,he seemed s o
goodl
ooki
ng.
Karen Dal
y sti
l
ldidn'tunder
stand
whyhadsuchanout st
andi
ngman,
whowast hebossofabigcompany,
wouldgoonabl i
nddate,andt hat
she was the l
ucky gi
rlwho was
chosen.
"You'
re back.
"Karen Dal
y wal ked
overandtri
edtogr
eethim casuall
y.
"Yes.
"KevinKylel
ookedbackather.
Hedidn’tchangehisexpressi
on,he
wasstil
lali
tt
lei
ndi
ff
erent.
KarenDalygavehim af
aintsmi
l
e
andstoodbesi
dehi
m.
Shegl
ancedathi
m andf
eltt
hathe
seemedtobeal i
tt
ledi
ff
erentt
oday.
Shecouldn'tf
igur
eoutwhatexactly
wasdif
ferent.
Sheglancedathimf r
om thecorner
ofhereye.I tturned outthathe
woreapai rofgl
assestoday,wi
tha
gol
den frame,i tmade hi m l
ook
cal
m andmor erest
rai
ned.
Karen Dalys i
ghed si
lentl
yin her
heart
.Thi s man had agai n onl
y
spokenaf ew wordswhenmeet i
ng
hertoday.Hewasusual l
yverysoft
-
spoken.Shedidn'
tknowwhatt odo,
she want ed to bri
dge t he gap
betweenthem.
Now thatshe knew hi
s shocki
ng
tr
ueident
it
y,s
hedidn'
tknowhowt o
appr
oachhim.
Whil
eshewast hinki
ngaboutt hi
s,
Kevi
nKylesuddenlystret
chedouta
hand t
owardsher ,butshe tooka
smallst
ep backsubconsciousl
yto
keepadist
ancefrom him.
"I
’l
lcarr
yt hose foryou.
"he s ai
d
calml
y.Hewasnotangr yalt
hough
shehadkeptherdi st
ance.I
nstead,
hecasuall
ytookthebaginherhand.
Kar
enDal
yfel
therf
acebur ni
nghot.
Hehadj
ustwant
edtohelphercarr
y
t
hebag,butshewast hinki
ng t
oo
much.
She looked down atKevin Kyl
e's
st
rongar m,carryi
ngthelar
gebag
eff
ort
lessl
y.A warmf eel
i
nghi ther
heart
.
Shet houghtopti
misti
call
y,"Eveni
f
ther
ei sno love,eveni fheisthe
bossoft hecompany,aslongasthe
two of t hem coul d devote
themselves t o managi ng thi
s
marri
age,itwouldbefine."
The two of them entered t
he
el
evat
or,andnoonespokeawor d
dur
ingthet
ri
puptheel
evator.
Af
terr
etur
ninghome,Kevi
nKyl
eput
the t
hingsint he ki
tchen and s
aid
l
ight
ly,"Idon'
tknowhowt ocook.I'
l
l
havetot r
oubl
eyout onight
."
"Youcandoyourwor k.Leavethe
cooki
ngtome. "KarenDalyputthe
bagaway,tookoffhercoatandput
onherapr
on.
"
Thankyou,
"Hesai
dli
ght
ly.
"You'
re t
oo pol
i
te,
" Karen Daly
for
ced a smi
l
e,whi
ch fel
ta li
tt
le
awkward.
They wer
e already husband and
wif
e,butt
hewayt heygotalongfel
t
l
iketwost
rangers.
Shef
eltt
hati
twasr
easonabl
efora
wi
fet o cookforherhusband,but
hi
swayoft al
ki
ngt ohercreat
eda
di
stancebetweenthem.
She t hought that even i
ftheir
mar r
iage wasnotbased on love,
thei
ri nt
eract
ion shoul
dn’
tbe that
dist
ant.
She didn'tthink much about i t
anymore.She t urned around and
wentt ot he ki
tchen.She qui ckl
y
washedt heri
ceandputi ti
ntothe
pot. Then s he sorted out t he
veget
ablesandwashedt hem...
Aft
era while,fr
om the cor
nerof
Karen Dal
y'
s eye,she saw a t
all
fi
gure st
andi
ng atthe dooroft
he
ki
tchen.Shetur
nedbackandasked,
"What'st
hemat t
er?"
"
Ifyou need anyhelp,please t
ell
me,"Kevin Kyl
e st
ood ri
gidl
y.His
t
onewass ti
l
lcalm,buti
tsoundeda
l
i
ttl
edi
str
essed.
"Waitaminut
e.I '
l
lbedonesoon!
"
KarenDal
ypokedherheadoutand
l
ookedattheclockhangi
ngonthe
wallin t
he li
ving r
oom. I
t was
al
ready7:
30p.m.andhemi ghtbe
st
arvi
ng.
She t
hought t
o hersel
f,“Imust
come back quickl
y after wor
k
tomorrow.Ishoul
dmaket
hedi
shes
earl
ier so t hat he can eat
str
aightaway when he comes
home. "
Nomat t
erwhoKevinKyl
ewas,this
marr
iagewasherownchoice.She
musttr
yherbestt
omakeitgood.
"I.
..
"KevinKylemovedhi sthinli
ps
butsaidnothi
ng.Hiseyesshoweda
hint of incomprehensibl
e dept h
beneatht he golden glasses.He
stared atKaren Daly'
s back and
thoughtforafew seconds,thenhe
turned and walked tot he study
room.
Inthepastthr
eeyear s,Kar
enDal y
hadr ent
edar oom forhersel
fand
l
ivedalone.Shewasver ygoodat
makingsomehome- cookeddishes.
Soon,twodishesandasoupwer e
servedonthetabl
e.
"Kevin,it
'stimet oeat.
"KarenDal y
knocked ont hedooroft hest udy
room car eful
ly and gent
ly pushed
the dooropen when she di d not
hearar eply.
KevinKylewasmakingaphonecall
i
nt hestudy.Hesai
d,"Takecar
eof
t
hes et hi
ngs.You don'thave t
o
reportever
ythi
ngt
ome. "
Aft
erthat,he hung up t
he phone
i
mmedi at
ely. The moment he
l
ooked up,he metKar en Daly'
s
eyesandaskedcoldly,"
What '
sthe
matter
?"
"Ti
me to eat
,"Kar
en Dal
y smi
l
ed
anddi
dnotdaretol
ookathi
m.
"
I’
llbethereinasecond."Hi
stone
wasindi
ffer
entasusual
.
Thet wooft hem satopposi
teeach
other, eat
ing thei
r mealt ensely.
Neitherofthem spoketobreakt he
si
lence. For a moment , t he
atmosphere seemed t o be
extr
emel ybori
ng.
KarenDal ymovedherl i
psseveral
ti
mes tof i
nd some topi
cs t
ot alk
about,butsheswall
owedbackher
wordsaf t
ershe saw Kevin Kyl
e's
i
ndiff
erentexpr
essi
on.
Afterdi
nner,KevinKyleofferedto
was hdi
shesforher,andKarenDaly
didnotrefuse.Si
ncewaswi l
li
ngto
sharethe burden ofthese chor
es
withher,shewashappyt olethim
doso.
I
tcouldbes eenfrom Kevi
nKyl
e's
clumsi
nessthathehadneverdone
theset
hingsbefor
e.
Buti
twast
rue.I
twasi
mpossi
blef
or
abossofsuchabi gcompanytodo
sucht r
ivi
alt
hingssuchaswashi
ng
dishes.
Cl
ank—
Heari
ng t
he crack ofa porcelai
n
bowlint he ki
tchen,Karen Daly
st
ood up immediat
elyand walked
over
.
What she saw was Kevin Kyle
hol
ding a bowlin hi
s hand and
st
aring blankl
y at the broken
porcel
ainpi
ecesont
heground.
"Letmedoi t
."KarenDalywal
ked
overandwant edtot aket
hebowl
from Kevi
nKyl
e'shand.
"No,I'
l
ldoit
."KevinKylest
ret
ched
outhishand and hi
stonedid not
change.
"Kevi
n, actual
ly.
.." Kar en Daly
l
ookedatKevinKyl e'sf
ir
m eyesand
couldnotsayanything.Shenodded
and leftthe kit
chen t o l
et hi
m
conti
nue.
Al
thoughtheywerel
egal
l
yacouple,
Kevin Kyl
e was st
il
la man that
KarenDalywasnotf
amil
i
arwi
th.
Shewantedt oknow hi
m mor e,to
know ever
ythi
ng abouthim,she
wastryi
ng herbestto be a good
wif
e.
However,wit
haper sonal
it
yli
kehis,
coul
dshereall
ygetclosetohimli
ke
how she had planned when t
hey
hadgott
enmar r
ied?
Karen Dalysatdown i
nt he l
ivi
ng
room,pickedupt
heremote-contr
ol,
tur
nedont heTV,sher
andoml yput
onanewschannel.
Whi l
e wat chi
ng t he TV, s he
occasionall
yturnedhisheadtol ook
i
n t he directi
on of t he ki
tchen.
Through the glass door,she saw
KevinKylecar eful
l
ycl eani
ngbowl s
andcut l
ery.
She secr
etl
y si
ghed i
n herhear
t,
how coul
d a man l
ook so good
whi
lewashi
ngdi
shes.
Perhaps Karen Daly's gaze were
tooobvious,Kevi
nKylelookedback
aswel l
.Theireyesmet ,andKar en
saw the sli
ghtcoldness i n Kevi
n
Kyle'
seyes.Buthet henl etoutan
i
mpeccabl ypoli
tesmil
e.
Asshewascaughtl ooki
ngathim,
KarenDal
y'sf
aceturnedsl
i
ghtl
yred,
andthensheret
urnedapoli
tesmil
e.
Kar
enDal
yturnedhereyesbackto
t
heTVscr
een,thi
nki
ngaboutKevi
n.
Thi
smanwassoconf identatwor
k,
and even l
ooked so good whi
le
washing di
shes.When woul
d she
everseehim makeafool
ofhi
mself
?
Afterti
dyi
ng up theki t
chen,Kevin
Kylereturned t
ot he halland saw
thatKarenwasi nadaze.Hest ared
atherdeli
catefaceandsai daftera
fewseconds,"Karen."
"Ah...
"Kar ensaidassheli
stenedt o
hissoothingvoice,shef
oundi tvery
pleasant.Foramoment ,shefelther
faceburninghot .
Kevi
n Kyl
es atdown on the sof
a
besi
de her
." Ihave somet
hing t
o
di
scusswit
hyou."
"
Okay.
"Kar
enDal
yrepl
i
ed.Sheal
so
wantedtohaveagoodt al
kwithhi
m
and take t
hisoppor
tuni
tyto make
thi
ngsclear.
Kevi
n Kyle'
sdeep gaze sweptup
anddownher ,andthenheslowl
y
sai
d, " Karen, today at t he
company...
"
"We’llhave a separat
e wor k and
personalli
fe.Iunderstand that
.In
fact
,Idon' twantt oletpeopl e
gossipbehindourbacksbecauseof
our personalr el
ati
onship.
" Kevin
had notf ini
shed yet,butKar en
i
nterrupt
edhim.
She had wor
ked har
d i
n t
his
company forthree year
st o have
her achievements t oday. She
wantedtocontinuecli
mbingupt he
corpor
ateladderonherown.She
di
dn't want anythi
ng to change
becauseofKevinKyle.
Hisf ace was calm,buthi s eyes
fl
ashed an i mpercepti
bly beneath
hi
sgl asses."Ididn'
tmeant ohi de
myi dentit
y.Idi
dnotknow how you
wouldf eelaboutme when Isaw
youdur ing t
heevent ,so Idid not
announce anything tot he public,
butIdi dn'tmean t o hide iton
purpose."
"
Iknow,
"Kar
en Dal
ynodded and
sai
d,"Mywor klif
eandpersonall
i
fe
i
sal waysseparate.Idon'
twantto
bri
ngmyper sonalli
fet
owork.
"
I
twast hei
rownbusinesst hats he
andKevi nKyl
ehadgot tenmar r
ied.
Karen Dalyfel
tthatthere wasno
needtoannounceittothepeoplei n
thecompany.
Ononehand,shedi dnotwanther
j
ob to be aff
ect
ed.On the ot
her
hand,shewasnotsurehow f
arshe
coul
dgowi t
hKevinKyl
e.
Looki
ngatKaren’
sf i
rmness,Kevin
Kyl
epausedandsaid,"Didyout el
l
yourf
ami
lyaboutourmarri
age?"
KarenDal
yshookherhead,shedid
notwantt
otal
kaboutherf
amily.
"Ihave j
ustt aken overI nnovat
ive
Tech,and Ihave some t hi
ngs to
dealwithi n person.Ifyou don' t
mind, aft
er allpr essing mat t
ers
havebeenat tendedt o,Iwoul dl
ike
togowi t
hyout ovisi
tmyf at
her-
in-
l
aw and mot her-i
n-l
aw, "He s aid
cal
mly,asifhehadexpect edKar en
tohavement i
onedt hi
smat t
ertoher
famil
y.
"No.
" Kar en Dal
y r
efused
i
mmedi ately,butt
henfel
tthatitwas
i
nappropriate, so she hur ri
edl
y
expl
ained," Ihavehadsomei ssues
withmyf ami
ly.Ihaven'
tcont
act
ed
them fora long ti
me.Let '
stal
k
abouti
tlat
er.
"
Fami
l
y?
Everyti
meshet houghtoft
hiswor d,
Karen Dal
yf el
ta dullpaini n her
heart
,itmadeheralit
tl
ebreathl
es s.
Threeyear
sago,t
hathomewasno
l
ongerherhome,and she coul
d
nevergoback.
"Karen.
"Kevi
nKylecal
ledhername
i
nadeepvoi ceandsaid,"
Youare
nolongeral
one.Youhaveme."
Kevi
n Kyle'
stone was dull
, but
because ofhi
s pl
easantvoi
ce,it
car
ri
edadi
ff
erentf
eel
i
ng.
Thi
s sentence was obvi
ously not
romanti
c,butitmadeKar enDaly's
hear
tful
lofinexpl
i
cabl
efeeli
ngs.
Alt
houghshegr i
tt
edherteethand
had gradual
l
y over come t
he pain
overthe years,some lat
e night
s,
shewoul dst
il
lfeelsadandsilent
ly
shedtearswhil
ethinki
ngofi
t.
"Karen.
"Afteralongsil
ence,Kevin
Kylespokeagain,"Wear eal r
eady
husbandandwi fe.Isi
ncerel
ywant
to spend t
he r
estofmy l i
fe wi
th
you."
Kevi
nKyl
esuddenl
ysai
dthi
s,and
Karenwasst unnedagain.Looking
upathim andintohi
ssincereeyes,
shealsosaid,"Iam deter
minedt o
l
ivewit
hyouf ort
herestofmylif
e."
Kevin Kyl
e star
ed atherbeautif
ul
face,pausedforafewsecondsand
said,"
Karen,canyoupromisenotto
breakup wi t
hmeno mat terwhat
happens?"
"
Yes!"Kar
enDalynoddedheavi
ly."I
wil
lt
rymybestt
obeagoodwi fe."
She had also t hought that t
hey
shoul
dnotbr eakupsoeasi l
y.And
now,Kevi
n had sai d so,and thi
s
madeherfeel atease.
Aft
erchat
ti
ngwithKevinKyl
e,she
fel
tmuchmoreatease.
KevinKyl ewentbackt ot hestudy.
Karen then cleaned up the room
andwentt othebathroom totakea
bath.Afterherbath,shesatinfront
ofthedr essi
ngt abl
eandbl ew her
hai
rdr y.Justwhen herhai rhad
dri
ed,Kevi nKylecamei n.
Healsotookashowerandputona
whit
e bathrobe,r eveali
ng a smal
l
pi
eceofsuppl esmoot hskinonhis
chest
.Hishairwasst il
ldri
ppi
ngwith
water,which foll
owed the li
nesof
hi
sbodyanddi sappeari
ngintothe
whit
ebathrobe.
Kar
enDal
y'
sfacesuddenl
ybl
ushed.
"You mustbe t i
red.Go t o sl
eep
early.
"KevinKylesuddenlysai
d.His
voicewasl ow andmagnet i
c,which
made Kar
en’s hear
t beat
i
nexplicabl
y.
Kevi
nKyledidnoti
ntendtol
eave.
Didhemeant osl
eepinthesame
room t
oni
ght
?

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