At the backstage of a glamorous event in London, stood a woman, almost silhouetted in the dim light. She was wearing a strapless silver sequined gown with an A-line cut running down her left thigh, paired with a pair of diamond statement earrings. Her dark hair was sleek, middle-partitioned, and neatly tucked behind her pierced ears, enhancing her sharp features. Holding her glasses in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other, she listened to the host speaking on the microphone, "In 2006, she became the first female to start her own paper, one of the most widely read newspapers in The United Kingdom of Great Britain - 'The Truthteller'... The Truthteller is the gold standard... She has written over 5000 investigative pieces, winning over 25 awards for her journalistic excellence... She is brilliant. She is excellence without compromise. Please welcome to the stage this year's recipient of the Bevins Prize - Katherine Rivas..." She sighed in exhaustion and handed her glasses to an aide standing nearby, downing a glass of champagne in one go as the announcer went on.
Katherine adjusted her bra and plastered a bright, natural-looking smile on her face before going on stage. She flinched at the bright light shining on her face as she walked towards the host and shook hands with him. They handed her the award and stepped aside, letting her give her speech, "Thank you so much for this incredible honour. I should start by thanking my darling husband, Dr. Richard Masterson. Because if it weren't for him... Oh, I'd be here, I just wouldn't be this happy. His unwavering support and encouragement have fueled me on this journey. I'm not going to bore you anymore. But I will say this, a Latina is being given an award for British Journalism. Watch out, this might be the downfall of your empire," she said and gracefully made her way down the stage as the crowd erupted with laughter and applause.
Katherine hurriedly made her way to her table, walking into her husband's awaiting arms. Richard - a dignified-looking man in his early 40s, tall and lean with straight light brown hair and grey hooded eyes, a Roman nose, thin lips, and warm ivory skin. Richard nodded and quickly took off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. Pulling away from her husband, Katherine pulled the jacket closer, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to keep warm. As the couple sat down, Richard could see his usually confident wife feeling insecure. He reached under the table, took her hand in his, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Katherine looked at him and instantly felt her unease go away. She smiled softly and leaned closer, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
Later, Katherine sat in the back of a limousine with Richard. He sat beside Katherine and looked outside with a pleasant smile. He turned to his wife, who was busy reading something on her iPad. Leaning towards her, he kissed her neck, "You were extraordinary, Kate... And not just tonight. I'm proud of you," he whispered to her. Kate smiled warmly, caressing his face with hers in response, and then went back to reading. "What are you reading?" Richard asked.
"The draft for tomorrow's paper," Kate replied with her eyes fixed on the screen.
Richard sighed, "Maybe you can take a night off."
"Yeah, just let me get this out of the way," she said, her mind still preoccupied with work.
Richard shook his head in dismay and opened up a bottle of champagne, pouring a glass just for himself, and went back to gazing outside the window. Kate noticed her husband's frustration and hurriedly went through the draft so she could spend time with him. After a few minutes, she switched off her iPad after finishing her work and turned to her husband. She reached out and rubbed her hand along his thigh, grabbing his attention. Richard smiled and set his glass aside, leaning over to kiss her. Just as their lips were about to meet, the limousine pulled up outside their apartment building. Richard chuckled softly and rested his head on Kate's shoulder, throwing in the towel on romance.
The couple smiled and exited the car, making their way up to their house hand in hand. When they entered their apartment, they were surprised by a living room covered with bouquets of flowers. Kate sighed and reached for a note on a bouquet of daffodils, "What are we going to do with all this?"
Richard looked through the flowers, reading the cards, "Donate it to the Adrian Rivas Charity?" he asked playfully, and Kate smacked his arm with a smile. Richard's eyes fell on the white and pink lily bouquet, sitting among the others. His wife's favourite flowers. He instantly picked it up and read the card, "Hey, look!" he handed it to Kate.
Kate looked at the card on the bouquet and read it out loud, "Congratulations! Love, Dad. I guess I should put these in some water," she said and went to the kitchen. She grabbed a jug of water off the kitchen table and placed the bouquet in it.
Richard winced at the scene and walked over to his wife, "When is this feud between you two going to end?" he asked, and Kate glared at him. Richard sighed and hugged her, "Let me cheer you up," he nuzzled against her neck.
Kate rolled her eyes and reluctantly placed her hands on his chest, gently pushing, "Please, Richard, don't. It's been such a long day. I'm tired. Please," she whispered as he continued to kiss her neck. Richard stepped back and stared at her with a disheartened expression, then moved away and shrugged off his suit jacket, making himself a drink. Kate looked at him with an uncertain expression, beginning to feel like a bad wife, "Hey, come here. Come," she approached him with a smile and wrapped her arms around his arm, pulling him close. Richard kept his back to her, forcing her to try harder, "Hey... come on..." she said and turned him towards her, sliding off his shirt and undoing his tux. She slid her hand down his pants as Richard took her in his arms with a smile. He took her to the bedroom and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the ground. He laid her down on the bed and climbed on top of her. With a hollow expression, Kate stared off at the ceiling fan as Richard kissed his way down her body and slid off her panties.
In the morning, Kate rushed into the penthouse kitchen where Richard was making his famous brioche bun French toast for breakfast. Wearing a double-breasted white suit, Kate hugged him from behind and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she hurriedly poured herself a cup of coffee, "Good Morning, Sweetie."
"Morning, Love. Sit down. I'll make you a plate," Richard said as he continued to cook.
"No, no, I can't. I'll eat something later," Kate replied as she clumsily gathered her laptop and files for work. Richard shot her a concerned look which didn't go unnoticed, "Hey, no, no. I'm absolutely fine. I'm just really late for my board meeting," Kate assured him.
Richard sighed and nodded in understanding, "Just don't forget to eat," he said and packed the French toast for her. As Richard tried to make sure his wife ate, a curly-haired man with honey skin entered the penthouse, wearing a robe over his pyjamas.
Kate scowled at him, "Aah, Adrian, just in time. No need to rush, there is plenty of French toast left," she said.
Adrian yawned and stretched, "I think I'm just going to have some coffee for now. But I might go for that French toast later," he strolled into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of espresso.
Richard quickly wrapped his arms around his wife, trying to prevent the siblings from going to war, "Just go," he whispered to Kate and forced the packed French toast into her hand, hoping she wouldn't strangle her sarcastic brother. Kate glared at her brother who was busy enjoying his coffee, then grabbed her bag and left for work.
In her car, Kate looked ahead at the heavy traffic in front of her and groaned in frustration, slamming her hands against the steering wheel. She looked at the time on her watch for the umpteenth time and glanced to her left at a one-way street. She bit her lip nervously and turned on the left indicator, worming her way through the traffic. A man in a minivan behind her rolled down his window and stuck his head out, "Hey, lady! Make up your mind!" he yelled.
Kate flipped him the bird and turned left, "Aah, screw you!" she yelled back and drove down the one-way street leading to a remote road. As Kate drove down the empty road, speeding way over the speed limit, she noticed a car turned over on the side of the road, "Oh man!" she grunted and slowed down, pulling up near the totalled SUV. She got out of the car and rushed to the SUV. She kneeled on the ground and looked through the broken windows, "Hey! Ma'am! Ma'am, my name is Kate. Are you okay?" she asked.
The bleeding woman strapped to her seat looked at her with a dazed expression, "Do I look okay?" she asked rhetorically.
Kate rolled her eyes, "I'm just trying to help," she said and reached into her pocket, getting her phone. She tried to call an ambulance and looked at her phone, "Great, the latest iPhone and not a single bar of signal," she muttered to herself and looked back inside the car, "There is no cell service here. I might have to go to get help," she told the woman.
The woman's eyes went wide, "NO, NO, No, No. You can't leave me. I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant. You can't leave me. You can't leave me..." she pleaded.
"All right, all right, calm down. I'm not going anywhere. What's your name?" Kate asked.
The woman breathed hard, trying to calm herself down, "Becca. Rebecca," she panted.
Kate reached her hand into the car, "Hey, Rebecca. I'm Kate. Here, hold my hand. I'm not leaving. Okay? I'm going to help you," she promised and took Rebecca's hand in hers. Rebecca was beginning to calm down. "Do you think you can move?" Kate asked, and Rebecca nodded. "All right, then let's try to get you out of that car. Okay?" she suggested, and Rebecca nodded, taking her seatbelt off and leaning on the dashboard.
Kate opened the car door and got in, helping Rebecca get out of the car, "How are you feeling?" she asked.
Rebecca winced in pain and held onto Kate as she got out of the car, "My stomach really hurts, I feel nauseous and dizzy, and I think my baby is dead," she cried.
Kate looked at her with a sombre expression for a split second and then quickly composed herself, "Hey, no, no. Don't say that. Your baby is probably fine. For now, just try not to think about what might or might not happen. Umm... what were your plans for the day?" she asked, trying to distract Rebecca.
"I was going to go baby shopping," Rebecca cried.
"No, no, no, don't do that. I'm not very good at this," Kate pleaded as she helped Rebecca to her Range Rover.
Rebecca sniffed and held back tears, "All right... I won't cry," she leaned on Kate and staggered to the car.
Kate huffed a small laugh, "This is a real challenge for you, isn't it?" she asked in rhetoric.
As they got into the car and began their journey, Rebecca looked at Kate intently, "Hey... you're the Truthteller lady..."
Kate smiled faintly, "I'm not the Truthteller, it's a paper. I run that paper," she corrected.
Rebecca nodded, "Yeah,... you're boring."
Kate feigned a smile, "And, here I am missing my very important board meeting to help you..."
Rebecca cringed, "My husband adores you."
"Well, at least you have good taste in men," Kate said and looked towards Rebecca, noticing her blinking hard and rubbing her forehead, "Rebecca, what's happening?" she asked.
Rebecca winced, "I think I'm going to faint," she mumbled.
"No, no, no, stay awake. All right? We'll reach the hospital in a few minutes, and until then, I need you to stay awake. Talk to me. How far along are you?" Kate asked, stepping on the gas.
"22-weeks," Rebecca breathed.
"Do you know the sex of the baby?"
"It's a little girl."
"Aww... that's the best kind," Kate said genuinely.
Rebecca noticed the sad smile on Kate's face, "Do you have any kids?" she asked.
Kate's smile fell, "No," she swallowed.
Rebecca nodded, "I suggest you start thinking about it soon. I don't think you have a lot of time on your hands," she said playfully.
"You got quite the mouth on you," Kate laughed and looked at Rebecca, who was beginning to lose consciousness. "Hey! Rebecca, wake up! Talk to me," she nudged Rebecca awake as they pulled up to the hospital. Kate watched as the staff took Rebecca inside the hospital and reached for her husband, "Keep me updated on her status," she whispered.
Richard nodded with a smile, "You did great today. I'm proud of you," he said and kissed her cheek before getting back to work.
Later, in a tall, elegant downtown office building in London, Kate stepped out of an office elevator into "The Truthteller" offices and was met with an agitated assistant, "Oh My God! Did the protesters get you again? Man, they have gotten really good, this looks like real blood," Rose, her assistant, asked and touched the surface of Kate's white blazer.
"It is real blood," Kate informed as she rushed to the conference room.
Rose gagged and tried to get the blood off her fingers, "Oh God! Why did you let me touch it?" she asked and followed her boss.
"Calm down. It's just a little blood. Comes out of you every month."
"What happened?"
Kate sighed, "It's a long story. Where are the board members?" she asked when she entered the conference room and found it empty.
"They waited for an hour and then left. You weren't seriously thinking of going in front of them wearing a blood-soaked suit, were you?" Rose asked in rhetoric.
Kate glared at her assistant, "Just get me another meeting with them," she said and stormed to her office.
"And, while I'm at it, I'll get you something else to wear," Rose snarked as she left Kate alone in her office.