YES, LOYAL READERS, AN UPDATE! Why? BECAUSE I HAVE MANY, MANY ASSESSMENTS TO DO, AND PROCRASTINATION IS MY ONE TRUE LOVE. ALONG WITH CAPSLOCK. Hope you all enjoy it!

What These Eyes Have Seen

Matt watched Mimi leave, unable to stop her. He knew it was partly his fault. He always let his temper get the better of him. He should have said something, but words had failed him. He should have run after her, but his legs had collapsed from beneath him. So all he could do was listen to her slam the door behind her as he sat alone on his unmade bed.

It seemed like no matter what he did, all he'd ever really see of her was her back as she walked away, leaving him behind.

Matt firmly believed that to understand the present and even predict the future; you had to look back to the past. He consequently spent many hours immersed in memories. Some memories were pleasant. He didn't let himself revisit those very often. More often he went back to painful memories. Both to punish himself for being so stupid back then, and to try and prevent anything similar happening in the future.

He remembered well the start of his relationship with Sora. It was maybe a fortnight after he'd turned his back on Mimi and she'd returned to the States. He'd been in his apartment, sitting at his table in three-day-old boxer shorts with a week's worth of stubble and a half-empty bottle of vodka in his hand. The curtains were drawn - he never wanted to see the sun again. How well he could still see the image before him. He'd just about hit rock bottom.

And then there had been a knock on his door. He supposed he must have left it unlocked, because even though he hadn't moved from his seat, Sora had walked in. She'd brought food and tidied up and taken the alcohol away. She'd opened the window and forced him to face the world.

He'd thought she was only there as a friend. He'd thought she was still dating Tai. He'd thought it was safe to spend so much time with her. He'd thought she was only trying to comfort him. And then one night he'd come home from the pub, blind drunk, and she'd been sitting in his living room wearing next to nothing.

And then, somehow, he was beside her. Then naked. Then wrapped in her body there on the couch. She wasn't Mimi - she would never be - but in his fuzzy, heartbroken drunk state, he could pretend. It happened a few times. He would be inebriated. She would be available. The results spoke for themselves. When he was sober, Matt would wonder why she let him use her when it was clear that they were not in love. But he wasn't sober often.

Then one day it had to come crashing down. She'd approached him, and from the look on her face he knew it was big news.

Pregnant.

So there'd been a shotgun wedding. Matt knew what it was like growing up without a parent, and he didn't want that for hid child. And anyway, what did it matter what he did with his life? It had no meaning without Mimi.

But now Mimi was back in his life. He'd do whatever she wanted just to keep her. If only she'd stay with him. He'd planned to divorce Sora; marry Mimi as he'd always said he would. Ben could live with them. Matt figured he could win custody. He was main breadwinner, he'd have a stable family environment, and Ben would have an older half-brother that he adored.

But Mimi didn't want him to get a divorce. For all appearances, she didn't seem to want him at all. He didn't understand. There was no other way for them to move forward. They had no future. Unless she could commit to him, their relationship was nothing more than a passionate spin on the merry-go-round. They could only ever end up where they'd started.

He loved her, but if they couldn't get past this, then maybe they really were better off apart.

Yes, it was a terrible thing to do to Sora. But it was a necessary evil. And Matt had the distinct impression that Sora didn't quite see their marriage as she'd always dreamed, anyway. Matt just couldn't see what Mimi's problem was.

Mimi felt as if she was on auto-pilot as she found her way down the hall to where Jamie was still asleep. Rousing him, she was deaf to his protests as she practically dragged him out of the house. She piled him into the car and drove off, blind to anything but her own panic. She thought she might be hyperventilating. She thought she might throw up.

Oh God. Oh God oh God oh GOD. Have I ruined everything?

She left Jamie at Yolei's. It had only taken Yolei one glance at Mimi's face to know something was very, very wrong, and so she'd taken Jamie in without question. Mimi didn't want him to see her like this. Besides, she knew he'd have fun with Michaela and Reece.

Finding her way back to her car, her heels beat in rhythm with her pounding heart. She sat behind the wheel for a long moment, feeling oddly empty. Her whole boy was aching and she was caught between wanting to cry and not being able to find the tears.

She had to talk to someone. Someone who understood. Yolei was happily married. Mimi couldn't begrudge her that, but she couldn't talk to her either. There was only one person who could properly empathise with her frame of mind. She stomped on the accelerator and sped away from the sidewalk, tears finally beginning to flood down her cheeks.

She arrived at Tai's soon after. He always knew how to make her feel better. It was his day off, so she knew he'd be at home. He had to be there. She didn't know what she'd do if he wasn't. This mess with Matt was getting over her head. Someone needed to tell her that she wasn't going crazy. Someone who knew her had to confirm that this utterly ridiculous dependence on another was only temporary. Tai was the only one who could help.

She found herself outside his apartment door. Wiping the tears and mascara tracks off her face, she leant forward to knock. But just as her knuckles were coming to graze the wooden frame, suddenly every bone in her body told her not to. Lowering her ear to the lock instead, she distinctly heard music playing. Swooping, orchestral and highly romantic. So why was Tai, hard rock addict, playing it? While she knew she should leave, her curiosity won out. Even over her hysterical distress.

She turned the knob quietly. Unlocked. Opening the door just a crack, she saw it was almost completely dark inside. Creeping in, she clicked the door closed behind her. Candles glowed dimly, dotted around the living room and down the hall. There was a vase on the coffee table filled with blood-red roses.

It was plain that Tai was entertaining romantic company. Mimi was suddenly struck by a hot, irrational feeling of betrayal. How dare he find someone? She felt very out of place, and was just about to leave when she heard footsteps. Cursing mentally, she ducked into a shadowy gap between the wall and the electronic entertainment system. When did she get so good at hiding? She felt like a spy. She just had to hope that Tai didn't see her. She thanked her lucky stars that the lighting was so faint. She couldn't lose his friendship on top of everything else.

A voice rang out over the music. "Tai! I'm going to get some wine from the kitchen!"

Then a giggle. But Mimi hardly heard it. The feeling of betrayal had increased a thousand fold. She knew that voice. But it couldn't be… there was just no way. She wouldn't have dared believe it, if Sora hadn't waltzed right out into the living room, completely naked. Mimi's jaw just about hit the floor and she had to stop herself from gasping out loud. Seconds later Tai joined her, also in the buff.

I didn't need to see that…

Mimi's mind was racing. They were obviously taking a nude drawing class together. Or something. That had to be it. Anything except… that.

Tai meandered up behind Sora and wrapped his arms around her waist. He lowered his lips to play on her bare shoulder. One of his hands rose to cup her breast, the other slid lower. Sora moaned deeply and dug long fingernails into Tai's thigh.

Okay. So maybe they were doing that.

But why? Why? Sora was married to Matt! She had gone to all the trouble of stealing him away from Mimi, and certainly wasn't letting him go. And now she was having an affair with Tai? It didn't make sense. How dare she? Selfish, greedy bitch! Mimi was just itching to stride out and slap her smug face.

And Tai. Where did he fit into this puzzle? Had he initiated it? He had promised Mimi at the reunion that everything would work itself out. Had he been planning this since then? Or - she clamped a hand to her mouth - had this been going on since then?

Suddenly Sora's time away seemed to make sense. How she was never at home. Her last minute scheduling of emergency tennis lessons. Her overreaction when her client cancelled. Maybe even why Pachi the housekeeper didn't like her at all. It was all because of Tai.

She had to take a moment to marvel at the odds. What were the chances that both husband and wife were cheating on each other at the exact same time? And both with their childhood flames. It was inconceivable. But really, Mimi thought, possibly the single best scenario. Nobody was left alone. Nobody had to feel guilty about breaking up a marriage, because everyone was as guilty as everyone else. No child was left without two parents to care for it.

Mimi knew she had to tell Matt. No silly fight was as important as this. This was huge, life-altering. She waited until Sora and Tai headed back for the bedroom, shrinking even further into the shadows as they walked right past her. As soon as she heard the headboard if the bed crash against the wall, she knew she was safe to leave.

Contrived? Hell yes. I'm very sorry but any creativity I've ever had seems to have flown out the window. Plus, I still haven't decided whether I want a happy ending or a sad ending, and this buys me some more time. Anyway, review if you feel like it!

Emma's useless facts about nothing in particular

A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for approximately sixty-nine years.