Ken tapped his temple and said, "Kylie, don't be dumb. It wasn't who you expected, but didn't you recognize who was there? Aren't you at least a little bit curious as to why Khloe and Matthew were porking in the back room of some random café?"

"I don't understand what is going on," Kylie admitted. "Explain it to me, please."

​​

"Khloe is the one who drew you here. At the time, she'd been scheming with Dora to drop your reputation down a few notches. Coming here was supposed to trigger a trap. They set up a camera in the backroom and had intended to lure you back there so that they could get a picture of you back there with Matthew. After that, they were going to use it to blackmail you into leaving Ethan. They wanted you to leave that man because Dora loved Ethan,"

"I overheard the conversation, though," Ken continued," and, since I like you more than them, I was determined to make their plan backfire. I caught up with Khloe, grabbed her head, smashed it against the wall until she was unconscious, and dumped her in the back room here. Then we fed Matthew some XTC and asked him to guard Khloe. It is all on the camera. I will email you the mp3."

"Now that you know what I have done for you, I am sure you regret slapping me…"

"Now that you've ruined Dora's scheme," Kylie wondered, "aren't you afraid that she'll come after you in some way?"

Ken shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. I would die for you."

Kylie frowned and said, "Please don't say those kinds of words."

Ken quickly answered, "As you wish…"

***

Even after Kylie had been home for a few hours, she couldn't stop thinking about what had happened at the Coffee shop. She had very conflicting emotions about what happened. She felt guilty about what had happened to Khloe. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to wake up from brain trauma to find yourself being assaulted. Another part of her mind persisted that Khloe had gotten exactly what she'd deserved. After all, she'd fallen into a trap that she'd set. If it hadn't been for Ken's intervention, she would have been the one that Matthew assaulted.

When Ethan arrived, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you," she cried. "I love you so much!"

Ethan held her to him and said, "I am surprised that you aren't at the hospital. What happened, and where is everybody? Did something happen? Is everything copacetic?"

"Everything is fine," Kylie said, "and it is even better now that you're here. Did you happen to be with Dora today?" She asked him.

Ethan laughed and asked her if there was no end to her jealousy. "I helped her to the washroom," he said, "but I didn't see anything. I promise."

"Have you ever seen anything?" Kylie wanted to clarify it. "Do you know if she is an actual woman or has a penis between her legs?"

Ethan frowned and said, "Let it go. You are making a fool of yourself. What's wrong with you today?"

Kylie composed herself and said, "Since we are both home early, we should do something."

"What did you have in mind?" Ethan replied.

Kylie stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed Ethan on his mouth. She took his hands and placed them on her hips, and then she kissed him again. Kylie could tell that he was upset when she asked him about Dora and her inability to control her jealousy, but at least he wasn't resisting her. She kissed him again.

Kylie stepped away from him and was happy to see that he was smiling. It seemed that every time they tried to have sex in a common room, they were disrupted. It was getting annoying.

Ethan frowned and wondered, "Is that all?"

"For now," Kylie laughed. "I just wanted a sample."

"Alright," he said, "but let's make sure we do it tonight."

Kylie smiled and said, "I'm going to have a cigarette outside, and then I'll start supper."

Ethan said, "Honey, you shouldn't smoke. It's bad for your health. And it would be best if you weren't cooking either. We have a servant to do that for us."

"When I grew up," Kylie replied. "My mother cooked for her family. It is one of the ways that wives show their affection. I want to cook for you."

Ethan said, "I enjoy eating your food, but I would rather eat your wet core." He gave a naughty smile at her after saying this.

Hearing this, Kylie's face turned red, and she was completely speechless.

Before Kylie could collect her thoughts, Stephen came in through the back door. Normally, she didn't have any use for Stephen, but now, with him in the room, he no longer had to suffer through Ethan's prattle.

Stephen hung his clothes up and joined them. He was wearing a black vest over a pink t-shirt, and he looked very manly. Before he could say anything, Ethan made a fist and slammed it into his stomach. Stephen folded over as the wind blew out of him. He hadn't anticipated it, so he hurt very badly.

Kylie looked at Ethan and said, "What the fuck was that all about?"

Kylie looked up, and much to her surprise, Nate and Fannie were standing outside on the front step. They had seen everything, and they did not look pleased. They came in, and before they could say anything, she said, "Hello, Nate. Hello, Fannie. Why don't you guys go and wash up? I am going to have supper done very quickly."

Meanwhile, Stephen was trying to stand, but he couldn't stand the pain. He fell to the ground and cried out: "Oh, fuck! That hurts."

Ethan reached down and gave Stephen a hand up. Once Stephen was standing, Ethan looked him in the eyes and said, "You deserved that, and you know it. There is no need to talk it out."

Ethan turned to Kylie and said, "I'm going to go sit outback. Give me a shout when dinner's ready."