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“Morning, Victor.”

“Ms. Delilah.” The routine bow of his head at my arrival sparks a question I’ve never voiced.

“Does Adonis tell you to stand here until I come downstairs every morning?”

He looks sheepish.

“No, Ms. Delilah. You have very distinct footfalls, so I always know when you’re about to come down. I wait here to say good morning.”

“Did you just politely tell me I’m heavy-footed?”

His lips twitch. “I would never say that, Ms. Delilah.”

I kiss my teeth, and his smile crinkles the corners of his eyes as I walk past him to the kitchen.

On the table, Adonis’ plate is empty and covered with a balled-up napkin while he holds a phone up to his ear with one hand and uses the other one to type something on his laptop.

My place is set and my mouth waters at the pool of melted butter on top of my pancakes.

“That’s what she said,” he grumbles to whoever is on the other line. “Forty…yeah…by next week.”

He talks until I’m halfway done with my food and ends the call on a ragged sigh.

“Morning, baby.”

The endearment drapes warmth all around me. So much warmth I smile at the remains of my stack rather than meeting his gaze. This bashful side of me has some nerve after the things I let him do to me last night. After the thingsIdid tohim. “Morning. Where’d you go last night?”

“I woke you up?” He sounds uneasy as he pours another cup of coffee from the carafe Ms. Agnes left on the table.

“No, I only noticed when I woke up.”

“I’m working on something that couldn’t wait.”

I nod, prepared to drop it until his phone lands beside my hand with a thump.

“That’s yours, by the way.”

Breakfast forgotten, I stare at the screen.

And all the zeroes and commas displayed on it.

An account ending in four digits I don’t recognize.

Today’s date.

My name.

Myname?

“What am I looking at?”

“A bank account I opened for you.”

When disbelief hits me, I slide his phone back across the wooden surface with too much force.

Adonis barely catches it before it slides off the other side of the table.

I’m seeing things.