The gallery was quiet that afternoon, the soft hum of the air conditioning filling the space as Mikha sat at her desk, half-heartedly flipping through paperwork.
Jho, comfortably sprawled on the studio couch, was scrolling through her phone when she broke the silence.
"So you're telling me," Jho started, eyes flicking up from her screen, "you're basically playing house with your TOTGA?"
Mikha's head snapped up.
"Jho, she's not my—"
"Oh, please." Jho sat up straighter, crossing her legs. "Don't even try to deny it."
Mikha exhaled sharply, leaning back in her chair.
"I'm not playing house with her. We're just... spending time together."
"Spending time?" Jho raised an eyebrow. "Is that what we're calling it now?"
Mikha gave her a flat look.
"She has a kid, Jho. It's not like I'm over there for sleepovers and movie nights."
Jho leaned forward, smirking.
"Oh, so the sleepover wasn't your idea?"
Mikha opened her mouth, paused, then groaned, covering her face with her hands.
"Okay, fine. Maybe it got... a little complicated."
Jho leaned back, smug.
"A little? You slept over. The kids almost caught you in the same clothes the next morning, and now you're texting her like some lovesick teenager."
Mikha's hands dropped to the desk with a soft thud.
"It's not like that."
Jho's grin didn't budge.
"Oh, it's exactly like that. I told you this would happen."
Mikha glared at her.
"You didn't tell me anything."
"Yes, I did." Jho pointed at her. "I told you that seeing her again would drag up all your unresolved feelings, and you laughed in my face. And now look at you. All tangled up again."
Mikha slumped in her chair.
"It's not that simple."
Jho softened, but only slightly.
"Mikha, it's never simple with your TOTGA."
Mikha shot her another glare.
"She's not—"
"Oh, she so is." Jho cut her off. "Come on. You've been hung up on her for years. No one else even stood a chance."
Mikha went quiet, fingers tapping nervously on the desk.
It was true.
Even when she married Ashley, even when she tried to move on, there was always a corner of her mind where Aiah lived.
And now, here she was.
Back in Aiah's life.
Closer than she had been in years.
Dangerously close.
Jho watched her carefully.
"What are you gonna do if this keeps going?"
Mikha swallowed hard.
"I don't know."
Jho leaned back, studying her.
