You can never know too much (funny, since I know next to nothing)

"Okay, here we go,"

Mariah sits next to me at the island, two photo albums before us. On the other side, Rei steadily prepares Kai's dinners for the next few days. I can barely keep my eyes open, having been run into the ground by Romero's schedule for an entire two weeks. Not even the exciting sounds and scents wafting from the kitchen are enough to keep me alert. At this rate, I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with this much longer.

Mariah's sharp eyes catch my poorly concealed yawn. "Tired?"

"Only practically dead," I mutter. Pulling in a deep breath, I pat my cheeks to wake up. "I can do this! I used to pull fourteen-hour days – this is nothing."

"Fourteen-hour days in an office," Mariah reminds me patiently. "It's entirely different when you're constantly on, performing for the people and trying to stack the cards in your favor."

I nod and already my eyes start drifting close.

"Look, if there was any other time, I'd say we can do this later, but the event is tomorrow and you need to know this stuff."

I hear a soft clink and look up. Rei's sat a cup of hot coffee in front of me with a gracious smile. "It's you two," I say, taking the coffee. "Everyone else, they mean nothing to me. But I'd die without you."

Mariah all but purrs with satisfaction. "Well, obviously. Seriously, though. We need to get through this,"

"It's not more etiquette stuff, is it? I swear Romero has been harping on it for days. Tiny fork goes there, little spoon is for soup,"

"Big spoon is for soup," they both reply monotonously, reciting ancient knowledge.

"Right. How about we don't have soup. How would everyone feel about that?"

"They'd probably through a tantrum,"

Rei blinks. "What do you have against soup?" His big golden eyes peered deep into me.

"Nothing. Soup's great," I shake my head, quick to soothe his bizarre stress.

His face relaxes instantly, back to its normal pleasant state. "Good. Good," he trails off, checking his dinner.

I spare Mariah a glance from the side. She shrugs, "He makes a great soup," she says offhandedly, opening larger of the two books in front of us. It's thick and heavy, but otherwise plain as can be. Bound in a simple black leather, with nothing to indicate what might be contained within. I sip the coffee while she flips to the first page. It's a family photo of the Hiwatari's as they are now.

My face pulls into a sour frown. "Ugh, them,"

Salima and her mother sit on a low-backed couch, knees turned towards each other. Salima's hands were placed delicately in her lap while her mother has one arm crossed in front of her to support the other, which rises to tap a single finger against her sharp cheek. Behind them stand all the men; Soichiro in the middle, Kai on his right, Gideon on his left, and Ralf off to the side behind him.

"Them," Mariah says with as much revulsion she can muster. "Of course, they will be the main focus of tomorrow's party. Even though the party is for you and Kai, don't expect to be the center of attention."

"Good,"

"Fortunately, you know everyone here so we don't have to talk about it," she swipes the page away, going on. "Next, business partners,"

For what I can only describe as an insufferable amount of time, Mariah drills me on all of the Hiwarati associates. Names, their industry, how important they are to Kai in terms of business. Once we reach the end, I feel like banging my head against the solid stone countertop. I do so, gentle enough that I don't rattle my poor, overworked brain.

Mariah watches without mercy. "I thought you'd be into all this. This is the business world you wanted to get into, isn't it?"

"I have a newfound loathing for them," I mumble to the ground. Raising my head, I stare at her in wonder. "How do you know all of this?"

"Kai gave us this book when we started catering for him," she says with a tired sigh, "so that we knew who we were dealing with. We update as we go, but it's still the same basic people."

"That was nice of him,"

She nods. There's something different about her today – a reservation that isn't usually present. But then she smiles and it's like she's back to her usual self. "Kai's nice a lot of the time, in his own way," she says, before getting up from the chair and going to help Rei finish dinner. Mariah leaves the book in front of me. I flip through, reviewing the names and faces in my head.

"All these people are going to be at our engagement party?" Romero showed me a list of names at the beginning of the week. Each page had three rows and there were five pages. The list seemed daunting then and now that I have context, it's worse.

"It's an event," Mariah answers as she stirs a sauce. "Those are only the relevant people,"

Panic suddenly sets in. "You're coming as my guest, right," I desperately need to have her at my side.

After bailing on my parent's party, I couldn't bring myself to invite them to face the Hiwatari's. They don't deserve that torture. Emily and the twins were relentless in their efforts and honestly, I don't care about their presence as long as they don't bother me. Kai was more than happy to leave them off the guest list but Romero insisted I need at least some guests so that I don't appear...what were the words he used?

Oh, right. "Horrendous" and "Unlovable".

So, they got their invite. But after hearing about why I was resistant to the idea of them attending, they also got a strongly worded letter from Romero about their expected behavior. I would have loved to see their faces when they opened the envelope. Bet they were delightfully bitter. I also inquired about inviting Kenny, but the idea was quickly vetoed. Kenny is my ex-boyfriend and Kai's accountant. Not exactly the best dinner guest.

That leaves Mariah and Rei as the only people I am happy to spend the evening with. Mariah smiles wickedly, taking the wooden spoon from the sauce and licking it. "Oh, yes. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I've got the perfect dress that will send Dr. Kay straight into a fuming rage as the reality of her age and sagging body sets it."

My eyes drift as I process what she's said, making sure all the words mean what I think they mean. "Well, I'm not sure how you know about the state of Kai's aunt's body, but I'm happy you have a goal,"

She winks, tossing the spoon in the sink and letting Rei know the sauce is ready. They're just finishing the meal that we'll enjoy tonight – some sort of Italian pasta dish that Rei said he was eager to try. Judging by how methodical Rei works, Kai should be home any minute, just as the all the final touches are made. The other meals have already been separated into different containers and stored in the fridge for whenever Kai wants them.

As they clear up the space, I look to the second book that Mariah brought out. It's much slimmer than the first and as I reach to see who's concealed in there, Mariah reaches out and smacks my hand with another wooden utensil she found.

"No, no," she says firmly, "that's for later."

I raise my hands in surrender. I down the last of my cup just as I hear the shuffling steps echo from the elevator hall. Spencer, Kai, and Rick appear at the kitchen entrance, ties pulled loose and jackets shrugged off in their typical after-work look.

Rick cracks his neck, stepping into the chef's side of the kitchen to stick his head in the pot that Rei had been working on. I'm delighted to report that Mariah also whacks him good, shooing him away with a fearless hand. When I first arrived, Mariah went on and on about it being a boy's club before me and now I get it. I watch in amazement as she wrangles Spencer and Rick into setting the table, filling their arms with plates and cups and forks and knives, sending them on their way without so much of a peep in protest.

Kai leans his arms on the island next to me, taking the book of his associates and flipping through them. "How's studying going?"

"Perfect. I've learned so much this week, that it's squeezed out everything else. Good news, I'll be so stupefied that I can't possibly embarrass you. Bad news," I pause to look at him closely, "I'm not sure I'll remember your name."

He chuckles. "I doubt you'll ever forget something so important as that,"

"Cocky,"

"For all the right reasons,"

I roll my eyes, but deep inside I'm screaming. Our flirty back and forth is meaningless, another form of "practice" he's picked up while we prepare to be seen in public. Since our printed announcement featuring the pictures we took, our names have been on the lips of every media outlet in town. Most articles that have come out have been nothing but positive. Some are skeptical, of course. Since I'm looking for anything suspicious, the articles that bring up how similar Kai's behavior is to that of his father's have been the most useful to me.

So far, nothing has stuck out to disprove my theory that his grandfather killed his parents and molded Kai into his perfect heir. It explains a lot. But I'm keeping my options open.

Kai closes the book and pushes it aside, giving me his full attention. "How was your lunch with Salima?"

"I found out she's wearing a gray dress to the party. Her mom jokes about wearing a black veil in protest,"

"Absolutely useless, but thanks for trying,"

Mariah clears her throat to get our attention. Dinner's been served and nobody wants to start without Kai. Biting my lip, I follow him into the dining room and sit at the table. It's expanded to fit Rick, creating more of an oval than a circle, but I still find myself sandwiched between Kai and Spencer.

During dinner, I keep a close eye on Kai for any reaction to the food. It's possibly the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. If I'm ever on death row, I hope Rei won't mind coming in to prepare my last meal. As for Kai, he could be eating a bowl of wheat cereal for all I know. Nothing.

Rick asks the two chefs if they're excited to be guests instead of staff tomorrow night. Obviously, both he and Spencer will be there, but only as employees, blending into the background while the pretty people take center stage.

"Technically, I'll be staff too," I muse, mostly to myself though heads look in my direction. I turn to Mariah, "I guess you're the real star of the show,"

That playful look returns. On the table, Rei holds Mariah's hand in his. It's a small gesture, but it warms me inside as he slowly rubs his thumb along the side of her hand. It seems the simple touch is all they need to be content.

"While I hate to steal the spotlight, my dress is going to be show-stopping," she says secretively, voice low to carry her meaning. There's no hiding how gorgeous she is. Even in casual clothes, she's a stunner. Rei's attractive features are difficult to ignore as well. I've never seen them in anything dressy, so I can't imagine what they've got planned if she's this enthused about it. "But you're dress isn't anything to scoff at either,"

I wave my hand. "Another week, another dress, another hour of my life wasted being poked and prodded by Olivier," I glance at Kai. "Has he ever accidentally stabbed you with a needle during a fitting?"

Kai smirks around the lip of his glass, sipping the dark liquid. "Accidentally? I doubt it,"

"So, he has stabbed you,"

"A better question," Rick interrupts, "is has he stabbed the Spaniard yet?"

"Romero?"

"I'd pay to see that," he nudges Spencer and they both chuckle knowingly.

"Yeah, but then he'd have to face Raul," Spencer says before a deep pause. Together, they add, "And Julia." The table laughs. I wish I could join in, but my knowledge of these people still lacks considerably. Not for long, though, as I was sure to check the list Romero provided for those Kai specifically invited. Sure enough, there they were:

Fernandez, Julia

Fernandez, Raul

Ivanov, Yuriy

And (thankfully) Tate, Max. That makes another friendly face I can count on. The others remain to be determined, especially if any of the whispers I've heard are true.

Not long after, Spencer and Rick call it a night and head out. Kai vanishes into his office as Mariah pulls me aside to the living room, bringing the mysterious thinner book with her.

"Is it time for me to know the sacred rituals?"

"Yes," she plays along, "this is when we prepare you for the blood sacrifice,"

"Ah, drats," I giggle as we fall onto the couch. "I had such a long life ahead of me, too."

Still smiling, she holds the book to her chest. "This is the book I put together. It's the same basic idea as the other, but this one is Kai's actual friends."

My eyes zero in on the book. I swallow thickly and my heartbeat rings in my ears. This is what I've been looking for. Information of Kai's secret circle. Quickly, so as not to seem too interested, my gaze flashes back up to Mariah. "Cool,"

She's not fooled that easily. A pink brow arches as if to challenge my totally casual response. Titling the book out to me, she waits for me to reach for it. I do, slowly, slipping it from her hands into mine. For all the information it holds, it's incredibly light. Which makes sense. It is only photos. Once I think I'm ready for what it contains, I open to the first picture and immediately know I was wrong. Much like the family picture in the other book, this one also is of a group of people sitting and standing around a sofa. Unlike the one before, this features only young boys.

"His last year of school," Mariah explains what I'm looking at as I've gone speechless. "The boys in his boarding house. Look familiar?"

My eyes drift across the round boyish faces. Sitting on the couch are Olivier and Enrique, arms thrown around each other. Straddling the arm on the couch, smiling as brightly as ever, is Max, his face still round with boyish youth. Standing directly behind the couch, leaning against it on a narrow hip is the paler of the two redheads in the group. His name whispers across my mind: Yuriy. The mischievous smirk sends shivers of warning down my back and I quickly move on. As a contrast to him, the shorter redhead stands to his right. He glows with a warm tan and bright green eyes.

I point. "Raul?"

Mariah nods, pleased I guessed correctly. Little did she know about my investigation. I had a name and location and the fact that they were a noble family – they weren't difficult to find from there. Turns out I didn't need all that information. They're famous enough on their own.

In the picture, Kai stands off to the side, separate but still clearly included. They all wear the same green cardigan and white shirts with black pants, though the thin black neckties are in various states of unraveling, with Yuriy's is missing altogether.

"So, this is his group?"

"It's the start," she says, looking contemplatively at the picture. Laughing, she continues, "Obviously, I'm not there so he had to work with what was around."

"Does he know you have this?"

She grins. "He didn't give it to me if that's what you're asking,"

I flip the page. The next two pictures are Olivier and Enrique, later in life and clipped from newspapers or magazines. Little notes in delicate, loopy handwriting take up the side margin. It lists birthdays and graduation years, as well as occupation and how long Kai's known them, then sort of a collection of fun facts that she's picked up over the years. The pen changes occasionally, telling me this is a long-term project she's been working on.

The page after that is Max. There isn't much written about him but she's taken the extra step of adding hearts around his picture. I send her a pointed look and then look at her beautifully talented husband currently cleaning the kitchen alone.

"He knows," she nods. "And he understands."

"Is Max in line to have you if you ever decided to take up another lover?" I ask with mocking incredulousness.

"No," she says with a heavy sigh, "Max graciously declined that position. He, too, is very difficult to catch despite his overly friendly nature."

"My, my," I mutter, moving on. The page after is Raul, this time with his sister – the famous Julia.

From what I learned on my own, Raul and Julia both grew up as gymnasts, traveling the world with their talent and skill. Sometime during their teenage years, Raul dropped out of the show but Julia kept it up, going on to become a professional gymnast and eventually an Olympian. Raul reappeared a few years after graduation as a professional ballroom dancer. In an interview, he said that he was inspired by his first dance instructor, Romero, a ballroom dancer who'd retired several decades earlier due to injury.

House manager, who? But that did explain why they were so protective of him. He'd clearly been around since they were children and was more of a parental figure than house staff. Maybe like a crazy uncle who just lives with them.

Julia is everything I imagined and more. I couldn't see why Kai would be opposed to her until I'd found a few gossip articles that implied she might be involved in a sordid love affair with Yuriy Ivanov, a friend of her brother's and suddenly a lot of things clicked into place. "Sordid" because of his reputation, not hers.

I tap on Julia's image. "Is she as scary as everyone says?"

Mariah waves her hand, brushing the thought away. "They're boys. Show them a strong woman and they won't know what to do with her. Give Julia plenty of respect and she'll be your friend for life. Out of all the people Kai's brought around through the years, I'd rather deal Julia and Raul on any day of the week."

A sigh of deep relief pushes from my chest and Mariah laughs. I hadn't realized just how worried I was about her. "Good. Because according to everything I've heard, she's terrifying."

"And she is," Mariah agrees. "But she's also a pretty great judge of character. She'll love you." Her eyes soften and a hand comes around to brush a section of my bans away. It's a comforting gesture and I relax a bit more because of it.

The good feeling disappears as soon as I turn the page. Yuriy Ivanov stares back at me, deep blue eyes unsmiling and bottomless. She couldn't pick a scarier picture. "So, what's the deal with him?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

Memories of the day I met him rush up. His disgust was evident as I stood in front of Kai with my pathetic gift. The chilling voice mocking me over and over. When Kai said that he was the one that recommended this long-shot attempt at freedom, I could hardly believe it. When he clarified that Yuriy was joking – probably making fun of me and the lengths I had to go through for family – I understood.

"Yuriy is...difficult,"

"No kidding,"

She took the book from my lap to take a closer look. "I've known him almost as long as I've known Kai. He has this...barbed wire exterior that makes it hard to like him. To this day, I'm still not sure if it's to protect himself or ward off others."

"Kai seems to have gotten through,"

"Not at first," she says. "Yuriy was Kai's first dormmate when they were still forced to share a room. From what I've gathered from the others, for the first year they hated each other and were constantly getting into fights. But then one night there was a bad storm and the school locked everyone in. After the storm lifted, they came out, like this-" she twisted two fingers around each other "-thick as thieves."

"Are he and Julia really together?"

Mariah looks at me for a long minute and it takes me that long to realize my slip. "I mean, I -"

"None of us talk about that," she says, knowing smirk slowly gliding up her lips. Her eyes pin me to my spot. "You've been doing some research,"

I reach for the book but she snaps it closed and holds it away from me. "What else do you know?"

I debate how much to tell her. Should I show her the notebook I have stashed in my room that contains all my conclusion, observations, and questions? Would she be willing to fill in some answer?

Something the way she looks at me has me backing off the idea. I'm reminded againt that she's guarding Kai's secrets, too, unwilling to share everything. At the end of the day, he has her loyalty. Mariah always says that Kai's playing a game of chess, moving pieces around where he needs.

That means she's one of his pieces, too.

Smiling sheepishly, I drop my hand. "You caught me. I couldn't resist, hearing so many names. Had I know we were going to have a study sess, I would have brought my notes,"

I wait while she examines me. Her eyes grow distant as she locks a piece of information away where it can't be found. Lightly tossing the photo album between us, she says, "You can finish on your own. I'm tired. We've all got a big day in front of us." Her tone is light, the usual airy cheerfulness she always has. It's her body language that reads aggressive and sharp.

Mariah gathers Rei from the kitchen, and the two take off a few minutes later. They wave goodbye but there's still a wall between us. I flip through the pictures, seeing a few more people I haven't met and some I have. Spencer and Rick have their own pages and it's interesting to note that Rick appeared first when Kai was only seventeen, while Spencer joined most recently (well, until me that is).

"Having fun?"

I still myself from jumping as Kai comes up behind me, having finally emerged from his office. "Did you plan that?"

"What?"

"Coming out after Mariah hounds me with names and dates?"

In a rare display of casualness, he jumps over the back of the sofa, settling in next to me. He leans into my personal space, taking the book from my lap and flipping throw it aimlessly. "She's expanded this from the last time I saw it,"

"Avoiding the questions again, I see,"

"And stating the obvious gets you what, exactly?"

A thought that's been nagging all dinner, since he first got home, finally breaks free from the box I put it in. I retrieve the book and close it, rotating as much as possible to face him. Kai leans back, giving me space. His eyes search mine, waiting for what I have to say.

"When you asked about Salima earlier, I wasn't completely honest,"

"You weren't?" He asks, confusion coming through. Then understanding dawns. "You learned something else."

"I'm not sure if she let something slip or was purposefully dropping a hint, but she clammed up soon after and there was no way I could ask without being obvious,"

"What was it,"

"I think your grandfather is going to make another move at the party," I say, trying to recall Salima's words exactly. "Something big. Salima her mother was excited for something to happen, but it was right after she was joking about Kay wearing black in protest, so it didn't make sense."

Kai ponders over this information, taking measured breaths. "This is good," he says finally.

"Good?"

"That we know, I mean. At least now we can be prepared,"

The charged look in his eyes makes me look to tomorrow with trepidation. Not especially great when I was already dreading it to begin with.

I hear a high chime and see my phone light up on the kitchen island where I left it earlier. Getting up, I drag myself over to it, already knowing that it's Romero with another addition to the schedule. Sure enough, it's another dinner. I open the email to scan the details, pausing when I see the names of the guests. I look up at Kai, who's returned to the book.

"You invited my parents to dinner?" My voice shakes with emotion.

He looks up, eyes blank. "I knew you felt bad about leaving their party so early and not inviting them to tomorrow's thing. This seems like a fair apology. I'll have Spencer drive them up and Rei will cook. They can see your new place and verify that you're well taken care of, and Spencer can drive them back the next morning. Overall, it should be a good evening, just the four of us."

As far as Kai goes, that's red carpet treatment. I have to look away to keep the tears from spilling over. "That's really nice," I say, my voice worse than before.

Kai shrugs, setting the book on the table in front of the couch. "It's all part of the plan. I don't want your parents to become a problem later on,"

And then he ruins it. Which is fair and ultimately for the best. My tears dry up instantly.

"I'm going to bed," he says as he walks around to his side of the condo. "See you tomorrow,"

He doesn't wait for me to acknowledge his departure and disappears around the dark corner a moment later. I go to gather the book so that I can return both of them to Mariah and thank her for her help. Hopefully, that will mend whatever happened with her tonight. When Kai put the book down, he left it open to the last page that Mariah had filled in. It's me, cut from a magazine, as the first picture the photographer took for our engagement photos. She's gone through the effort of cutting Kai out, but there's no mistaking that look in my eye. At the top, she's written my name, along with my birthdate and the date that I met Kai. Interestingly, she has this as the date I took that picture and not two weeks later when we spoke for the first time. Under that, is a single word, following by a blank space.

Relationship:

So, finally some explanation on key characters. And somehow, by chapter twenty, they all haven't yet been introduced. Thanks to all the readers and reviewers. You're excitement makes me excited. I look forward to sharing more and more with you. Have a great week and I'll see you next time!