It wasn't until shortly after eleven that night that Eve found herself hovering on the doorstep with Niko as they waved the Austins off down the garden path and to the waiting taxi. Eve's cheeks were almost sore with all the overly enthusiastic smiling she had done over the past few hours. Her body felt tired and her mind was tense with worry about whatever awkward conversation was about to occur with Niko the minute the front door had closed. The minute they were sequestered away in their own home and no longer putting on the show of a happy couple, the façade was bound to crumble.

"Goodnight all!" Niko called, his hand raised towards the idling taxi, its lights shining foggy beams through the damp night air. The same night air had hit Eve with a jolt when the door had been opened and made her realise that she might have consumed more wine than she normally would have over dinner.

He stepped back from the door, his shoulder nudging Eve's and forcing her to take a step too as he pulled the door closed. The broad smile he had been sporting slunk from his face as the two of them were left standing in the deathly quiet hallway.

Eve was holding her breath, girding herself for the release of Niko's carefully restrained frustration. She had broken her promise, after all. She had been more than a little late to a function that had been important to him. She had known it was important too. Had known this was a dinner with the couple who were paying a lot of money for a commissioned piece of Niko's artwork. It was a big deal for Niko. Eve knew that.

But nothing came. Niko didn't say a word. He sighed instead, and headed back towards the kitchen.

Eve realised she was biting the inside of her lip. She did feel guilty. She had lost track of time with Oksana. It wasn't entirely her own fault, but she should have been paying attention. She followed Niko down the hallway to where he was already stacking dirtied plates into the dishwasher.

"Niko," Eve said softly.

There was no response, just the continued clatter of crockery.

"I'm sorry I was late." She tried carefully.

"There was an accident on the M25. You explained." Niko replied tightly, not pausing in his task to look at Eve.

She had said that. It seemed fairer to lie, fairer to make it seem as though she had tried to be true to her word. Niko would be hurt to know that Eve had simply forgotten, had been too wrapped up in her own work, her own world, to remember his.

"Right. You know what that road is like." Eve agreed. "Let me do that," she stepped forward and tried to take over the task of loading the dishwasher.

Niko stood up and faced her.

"Except," he started, "There was no crash on the M25 this afternoon."

Eve felt ice slip through her veins. Niko's eyes were fixed on her now and she could imagine her own guilt-strewn expression. She huffed out a laugh.

"No? Well, traffic was awful. It certainly felt like there must have been a crash somewhere." She said.

"Traffic was remarkably good this afternoon." Niko said calmly, "I have live travel updates on my phone." He added.

Eve's eyebrows twitched together in confusion.

"You work from home." She pointed out in bewilderment.

"It's not for me!" Niko snapped, slamming a plate down on the counter, almost harshly enough to crack it. His volume rose so abruptly that Eve jumped. "It's so I might know where my wife is, and yet I still don't." He said bitterly.

"I was at work." Eve said simply.

Niko scoffed.

"Did you see Bill?" He asked pointedly.

Eve was taken aback. How had this got anything to do with Bill?

"Actually, no." Eve said slowly. It was the truth. Oksana, for whatever absurd reason, had told Bill to stay in the corridor today, not to enter the consultation room. Eve hadn't seen Bill at all.

"No?" Niko asked, disbelief evident in his tone.

"No." Eve replied firmly, beginning to feel the edges of annoyance closing in. Why was Niko second-guessing her like this?

"I texted him. He said you were there this afternoon." Niko stated, crossing the kitchen to the table and beginning to collect empty glasses stained with rust rings of red wine.

"You texted him." Eve repeated blankly, and then followed it up angrily with, "I was there! I was there but I didn't see Bill."

Eve strode over to the table and put a hand on Niko's arm before he could pick up another wine glass.

"Why would you text Bill?" She demanded. "How do you even have his number?"

Niko tugged his arm from Eve's grip and span to look at her.

"Because I have no idea what's going on with you!" He shot back at her, his volume loud enough to risk waking their sleeping son. He lowered his voice, "You're always late, you're evasive, you… Are you seeing someone else?" He finished defeated.

Eve felt as though she had been tasered. She took a wobbly step backwards.

"Am I seeing— Are you kidding?" She hissed, "You're kidding. This is a joke, right?"

"I'm not laughing, Eve." Niko said seriously.

Eve had no response. Her eyes were wide, flitting around Niko's ashen face.

"When would I even have time to be seeing someone else?" Eve exclaimed, "I work full time, I have Leo, I have you—"

Niko interrupted with a harsh laugh.

"You spend more time working than with me or our son." He said dejectedly.

"Exactly!" Eve agreed before realising that probably wasn't the best statement to so readily concur with. "So when would I be having this supposed affair?"

Niko simply maintained eye contact with Eve for a few beats until he saw her face dissolve from angered disbelief to realisation?

"Bill?" Eve shrieked.

Niko looked away.

"You think I'm seeing Bill?" She demanded shrilly.

"You tell me." Niko grumbled.

Eve shook her head and then laughed, an exhausted and bewildered laugh. "Why does everyone seem to think Bill and I are some kind of thing?" She muttered to herself.

"What?" Niko barked. "Everyone?"

"I'm not seeing Bill. He is a friend and nothing more." Eve said tiredly.

"Who else asked?" Niko urged.

"I'm not doing this Niko, you're being insane. I'm sorry I was late, that's all." Eve replied. She turned to the counter and snagged the half empty bottle of red from it before grabbing a glass from the table, not caring whether it was hers or not.

"We need to talk about this." Niko insisted. "I feel like I'm in this by myself." He finished quietly.

"You're not." Eve issued without much conviction and then paused, "How did you say you got Bill's number?" She asked suspiciously.

Niko, for the first time that evening, looked a little sheepish.

"From your phone." He admitted.

The anger that Eve thought had been extinguished by the overwhelming tiredness was reignited with a vengeance.

"Excuse me?" She seethed quietly. "My phone was with me. When did you do this?"

"The other day. I've been… wondering for a while. Since you started working at Hertfordshire. That's when you began being all…" Niko tried to explain, tried to justify, but Eve was not going to be placated now.

"Being all what? Busy with my job?" She suggested sarcastically.

"No… All distant and preoccupied and… We've only had sex once since then." He finished

Eve was laughing again. This situation was beyond her reasoning abilities after a long day, an uncomfortable evening and a fair bit of wine.

"I'm going to bed." She uttered instead, clinking together the wine bottle and glass in one hand while she swiped her phone protectively from the counter with the other.

"I'll sleep in the guest room." Niko offered, watching as she pocketed her phone.

"Don't bother." Eve issued. "I will."

She left the room without another glance over her shoulder and traipsed up the stairs. She stopped briefly in hers and Niko's bedroom to retrieve her pyjamas. She noted the soft glow from Leo's nightlight as she passed the open door to his room, and heard the rustle of movement from within. If Leo was awake then Niko could deal with it. He was the one who shouted.

Eve closed the door to the guest room behind her, relishing the escape that the seclusion brought. She released a shaky breath and poured herself a glass of wine. She should stop really. She had already had enough before dinner had even been over. Smiling and making nice with the Austins had required more than her usual quota of wine though. And the masked looks that Niko had been giving her throughout the evening had only added to the necessity of another drink.

Those looks weren't so masked anymore. Eve lowered herself onto the bed, sitting against the headboard and stretching her legs in front of her, crossing them at the ankle. She took a swig from her glass and closed her eyes, leaning her head back and listening to Niko's footsteps coming up the stairs. He went into Leo's room. She could hear murmured voices. Leo had been awake then. Eve probably should have looked in on him. He only would have wanted Niko though, she reasoned.

Eve's eyes shot open as she felt something hit the bed beside her. It was Boots. She had leapt nimbly onto the bed and now rubbed her head against Eve's shoulder, purring loudly. The cat must have been curled up on the armchair in the corner when Eve had appeared in what was usually Boots' own personal space.

"Hey," said Eve softly, rubbing under Boots' chin. "Must be nice to be a cat. No responsibilities, no one to answer to, no one questioning your fidelity…"

Eve must be drunker than she realised.

Boots settled at Eve's side, pummelling her thigh with her paws, and occasionally claws as Eve stroked her, not sure which one of them she was attempting to soothe with her actions.

She must have fallen asleep. Eve awoke with morning daylight in her eyes and the remnants of a dream lingering in her mind. Her mouth felt fuzzy and she was still in her outfit from the day before, lying atop the duvet on the guest room bed. Next to her was a wine stain and on the floor the glass lay on its side, its burgundy remains crusted within. A scratching noise alerted Eve's attention and she sat up awkwardly. Her head was a little fuzzy too. Boots was pawing at the closed door.

"You want out, huh?" Eve croaked. "Don't blame you."

She got to her feet and let the cat out of the room before closing the door once more and returning to collapse back onto the bed.

She had been dreaming. That much she knew. It was a nice dream too, somehow. A warm and comforting dream. She wracked her brain to retrieve any elements of its quickly fading content. Being held in strong arms and feeling safe. Not Niko's arms though, they were softer and more… There was soft hair. Blonde and silky to the touch. She could almost feel the strands of it in her fingers and she could hear a deep intake of breath, though not her own. A sigh in her ear and an accompanying puff of air shifting her own hair slightly.

"Eve."

Eve's stomach plummeted. That voice. She shouldn't have been dreaming about that voice. She should barely even have been thinking about it outside of work.

"Eve?" Came a different voice this time, and a quiet knock on the door. Niko.

"Do you want coffee?" He asked.

The previous evening came rushing back into focus and Eve groaned.

"I'll be right out." She replied.

There was no response but Niko's footsteps vanished down the stairs.

It took Eve a little while before she was ready to venture downstairs to the kitchen where she could hear the noisy chattering of her son. Children had a way of going from deeply asleep to top volume in a matter of moments and Eve should probably be used to it by now. And yet some mornings, she just wasn't ready for it. Volume or win consumption might have something to do with that readiness. Evidently Niko wasn't having the same problem. Eve could hear the low timbre of his answering voice richoteting up the stairs.

Eve showered and brushed her teeth. Partly she was readying herself for the day and, if she admitted it, partly she was simply playing for time. Things between herself and Niko were bound to be less than comfortable this morning.

By the time she made it to the kitchen, Niko was placing Leo's freshly prepared lunchbox into his backpack and sending him into the hall to get his school shoes on.

Eve ruffled Leo's hair on the way past, pretending not to take it to heart as he skirted out of her reach.

"Morning." Eve offered quietly as she entered the kitchen.

"Coffee's in the pot." Came the response.

"Thanks." Eve muttered, immediately pouring herself a generous cup.

"I—" Eve started, after a steadying gulp of caffeine.

"Later." Niko interrupted. "I have to get him to school. When I get back, we need to have a… chat."

"A chat." Eve repeated. Trust Niko to try and make this sound informal and not terrifying. Just a chat. Perhaps they'll discuss the weather rather than their imploding marriage.

"OK." Eve agreed.

"Are you working this morning?" Niko questioned with a raised eyebrow, daring Eve to ditch him for work again.

"I could go in late. I'm just at the office this morning." Eve replied. "Paperwork." She added needlessly.

Niko simply nodded. And then called out to Leo.

"Ready Lionman?"

"Yep!" Came the accompanying shriek from the hallway, followed by hasty footsteps.

Leo raced into the room, almost tripping before steadying himself against the counter. Eve shot out a hand to catch him, but he was stable before she managed to intervene.

Niko chuckled.

"Not quite, mate. Good try though." He said kindly, "Come here."

Leo took a couple of steps over to Niko who crouched down to re-tie his laces. Untying the messy knot that Leo had created an reforming a proper bow.

"There you go." Niko let out, standing back to his full height. "Say bye to mum."

Leo paused momentarily, eyeing Eve somewhat warily before crossing the room and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Bye mum." He said softly.

"Bye sweetheart," Eve replied, placing a hand gently on top of Leo's head. "Have a good day, OK?"

She felt Leo nod against her hip.

And then they were both gone and Eve was left alone in the silence of the house, waiting for Niko to return so that… So that what? So that Eve could apologise once again for being late home? So that Niko could attempt to justify snooping around her phone and stealing numbers? This was the second time he had contact one of her colleagues without her permission. It wasn't OK. It wasn't how marriages were supposed to work. They were built on trust, right? He was meant to trust her, not root around in her contacts list and interrogate her work friends.

But she hadn't been honest. She wasn't sleeping with Bill, or anyone else for that matter, but she wasn't being honest either. She hadn't been stuck in traffic the previous evening. She hadn't even been thinking about leaving for home or about Niko and his very important dinner with very important clients. She was with Oksana. Totally and utterly focused on her work. On her client. She had been enjoying herself far more than she had at dinner. But that didn't bear analysing at this precise moment. Regardless, she hadn't been fucking a co-worker. She had been with a client.

The same client she had dreamed about. The client she had divulged too much personal information to. The client she spent more time than was appropriate thinking about. The client that was a self-confessed, cold-blooded killer, without an ounce of guilt.

Jesus. Eve took another steadying swig of coffee. But it didn't help. She couldn't do this. She couldn't face Niko right now. What would she even say? This was messy and she wasn't ready. She needed to get out.

Eve plucked her phone out of her pocket. Clearly she had to keep the device on her at all times these days to avoid any more numbers going walkabout.

She selected a contact and brought the phone to her ear. She listened to the dial tone for a moment before it was answered.

"Hello?" A concerned voice answered

"Are you busy this morning?" Eve let out in a rush, forgoing pleasantries.

"Not with anything that can't wait a while. Are you OK?"

"I… yes. I just need to talk to… someone. To you." Eve replied shakily.

"OK." Came the immediate response. "You have clearance anyway. Come on over. I'll stick the kettle on."

"Thank-you" Eve breathed gratefully. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Eve ended the call on her phone and cast around for some kind of scrap of paper and a pen. She located a pen on the counter and grabbed the back of an envelope to scrawl on. This was probably a bad idea. In fact, it was undoubtedly a bad idea. But Eve was good at those these days and she needed to get out of the house.

She scribbled an apologetic note to Niko, stating that some work emergency had cropped up and that she would be back later. It would be worse later, she knew that. But right now, she didn't care. And sometimes it was refreshing to stop caring.

She slung back the remainder of her nearly cold coffee and grabbed her car keys, hastily exiting the house before Niko got back from the relatively short school run. He would still be hurt and confused later, but perhaps by then she would be more ready to lay their relationship out on the operating table.