"Derrick, what are you doing here? And… are you finally back home?" Mona asked softly, her face calm and strangely warm.
Derrick stood still, blinking slowly as he watched her.
*What game is Mona playing now?* he wondered.
*She doesn't look angry. She doesn't even look surprised. Is she really happy to see me?* With an unreadable facial expression, Derrick thought.
He tilted his head slightly, reading her like a book, though a few pages still seemed blurred.
"That's not the kind of question my beloved wife would ask me if she truly meant it," he said slowly, stepping closer.
His eyes locked on hers. "What are you up to, Mona?"
Mona's lips curled slightly, not a smirk, not quite a smile.
"I can lie and manipulate many people. I've done it easily," she said in a calm voice.
"But it doesn't work with you. You know me too well, Derrick. You always could read between my words… even when I didn't speak."
She paused, lowering her eyes for just a second.
