Mrs. & Mrs. Kang | DAERIN

Parallel Lies

A few days pass after Haerin and Danielle both individually go back to visit Dr. Choi. After dinner, Haerin rinses the dishes in the sink before stacking them neatly in the dishwasher, the way Danielle likes it done, wanting to help her wife with cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.

Danielle walks by and notices one of the plates in the dishwasher still has food on it and takes it back out, rinsing it again. Haerin's teeth start to grind in frustration, and she grabs her scotch from off the counter beside her and takes a large gulp.

When Danielle turns around to gather the cutting board and knife from the kitchen island behind them, Haerin snaps. With their backs to each other, she knows Danielle can't see her, so she calmly raises the next plate and instead of rinsing it, she cracks it over the edge of the sink, shattering it and sending glass raining down onto the floor by her feet.

She notices the vein in Danielle's forehead and holds out an arm to keep her from coming any closer.

"Sorry, babe. I'll take care of it."

Danielle opens her mouth, and whatever she was going to say dies instantly on her lips when the sound of her cell phone ringing is heard. She steps over the glass and hurries out of the kitchen to grab her phone before the call ends.

Haerin finishes cleaning up the mess and loading the dishwasher, then washes her hands and grabs her now-empty glass, heading back to the bar for a refill.

Grabbing her scotch, she heads for the den to retrieve her own cell phone from where she had left it to charge when she notices Danielle across the hall in the study. The door is just barely open, and she can see the brunette's mouth moving, but she's too far away for Haerin to hear any of what she's saying. She's looking at her computer and smiling at whoever is on the other line, and Haerin can't help but feel a little resentment, unable to remember the last time her wife smiled at her like that.

Danielle laughs and nods her head before ending the call and shutting down her computer. She types out a message on her phone as she leaves the room, oblivious to her wife watching her from across the hall.

Haerin gives Danielle 15 minutes to herself before wandering off to find her. She's in their room, her back to the door, fastening the belt on a long black overcoat. Haerin rattles the drawer on her nightstand when she yanks it open, purposely loud to startle her. It works, and Danielle jumps a little.

"Jesus! Haerin," she chuckles with nerves thick in her voice. "Darling, you scared me."

"I'm sorry, babe. I was looking for the..." she waves her hand around in a vague way, still rummaging in her drawer because she honestly doesn't know what she can say she's looking for in there. Danielle is distracted though and doesn't seem to notice. "You going out?"

"Some moron crashed a server in a law firm downtown and ended the world as they know it, so yes."

"Hmm," Haerin tries to use her lie detector but she's never been able to get a really good read on Danielle. Besides, she's got some business to handle herself and it would be easier to let this drop for now before she has to provide an alibi of her own to sneak out for a little while. She looks at her watch and notes the time. She'll just need an hour or so to get this done. The time reminds her of what their plans for later that evening were. "We promised the Yangs."

"I know. I'll be there."

ᯓ★

Danielle has a cab drop her off outside the hotel where her mark is staying. A guard at the door to the suite tells her they have a plane to catch in an hour. He escorts her to the bedroom where she locks the door behind her.