Mark was already standing on the edge of the terrace, waiting for Lilly. Countless thoughts were running through his mind. He wanted to move on, but seeing Lilly getting closer to Caden made him jealous. He was looking down from the terrace when Lilly walked over to him.
Lilly asked, "Why did you call me here?"
She was still thinking about the earrings he had given to Sara.
Mark turned toward her.
"Are you happy in your marriage?"
She simply looked at him.
"Why wouldn't I be?" she replied with a straight expression.
Thinking he was about to bring up the past again, Lilly turned to leave.
"I am happy too," Mark said.
She stopped.
"Good."
Suddenly, an unfamiliar emotion rose inside her, one she could not understand.
Mark felt uneasy.
"She is amazing. She always takes care of me."
Lilly replied, "I also enjoyed spending time with Caden."
She stared at him, feeling a tightness in her heart.
"You both look good together," Mark said with a forced smile.
"Yes. He also takes care of me," she said without looking at him.
She wanted to feel happy after seeing him sound so content, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't.
"Sara loves me so much," he said while looking into her eyes.
Lilly thought about the gift he had given Sara.
"I know. She showed me the earrings you gave her."
Silence settled between them for a few minutes. Neither of them looked at the other.
Mark quietly observed her expression.
"Yeah, I chose them myself."
Lilly looked uncomfortable.
"I think I should go."
Outside the jewelry shop, only a few people were still walking around, and the streetlights were glowing softly. Inside, they were the last customers. Sara was astonished by the beautiful traditional jewelry. Caden was holding the earrings he wanted to buy.
Sara walked over to him.
"Oh, these are the ones you want to buy?"
Caden smiled.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
"I'm not interested in these things, but Lilly likes them."
"Seriously?"
"She doesn't show it, but I know she likes things like this," Sara said.
Just then, a salesman approached them.
"Madam, why don't you try them on?"
Sara looked at Caden for reassurance.
He nodded.
Sara took the earrings from his hand and put one on.
Caden helped her wear it.
The salesman smiled.
"Madam, they look beautiful on you."
Both Caden and Sara looked at him.
"Thank you," Sara replied, knowing he was simply trying to make a sale.
Caden nodded.
"They look amazing on you."
The salesman smiled.
"Then, sir, shall I pack them for your wife?"
He pointed toward Sara.
Caden and Sara looked at the salesman in surprise, but they didn't take the misunderstanding seriously.
"Sure," Caden replied with a smile.
They walked back toward the hotel. The roads were almost empty, and only a few streetlights remained on.
"I didn't know we studied at the same school," Sara said.
"How would you know? I wasn't as popular as your sister," Caden replied.
"Yeah, that's true," she said playfully.
He smiled.
"She was good at everything—studies, sports... every teacher loved her."
Sara quietly watched him as he admired Lilly.
Lilly was about to leave when she reached the elevator, but suddenly the lights went out.
She turned to Mark in panic.
Mark walked over to check the elevator.
"What should we do?" Lilly asked.
"It's okay. The power will be back in a minute."
"It's already been ten minutes since the power went out. Caden will be waiting for me."
Mark thought for a moment.
"Let's take the stairs."
"We're on the fifty-first floor. How are we supposed to walk down the stairs in the dark?"
"Let's wait another fifteen minutes. If the power still doesn't come back, we'll take the stairs."
Meanwhile, Caden and Sara returned to the hotel. It was completely dark inside.
Worried, they walked to the reception desk.
"What happened?" Caden asked.
The receptionist replied, "Sir, don't worry. The electricians are working on it. The power should be back in a few minutes."
"Okay," Caden said.
The receptionist added, "Sir, please wait in the lobby until the power comes back."
They sat down in the lobby, but Caden looked anxious.
The lobby was unusually quiet. Only the emergency lights illuminated the room as guests waited for the power to return.
Caden glanced at his phone again before dialing Lilly's number.
The call rang, but no one answered.
Sara noticed the worry on his face.
"Still no answer?"
He shook his head.
"She never ignores my calls."
"Maybe she can't hear it," Sara said. "The whole hotel is dark."
Caden looked toward the silent elevators.
"Or maybe she's stuck somewhere."
He tried calling again.
No answer.
After a long moment, he slipped his phone into his pocket and stood up.
"I'm going to check on her."
Sara frowned.
"The elevators aren't working."
"I'll take the stairs."
"That's eight floors."
"I know," he replied without hesitation. "I'd rather make sure she's okay than sit here wondering."
Sara smiled faintly and got to her feet.
"Then I'm coming with you."
"You don't have to."
"I know. But I'm coming anyway."
Caden nodded.
"Alright. Let's go."
Lilly and Mark patiently waited for the elevator, but even after twenty minutes, the power still hadn't returned.
Seeing the worried expression on Lilly's face, Mark asked,
"Why are you so worried about him?"
"What about Sara? Aren't you worried about her?" Lilly replied.
"I'll tell her I was out for a walk," Mark said. "Because of the power outage, I couldn't get back on time."
"You can make excuses like that, but I can't," Lilly replied.
She kept pressing the elevator button anxiously.
Seeing this, Mark gently grabbed her hand.
"Stop. Just take a break," he said. "Forget about them for a minute."
Caden pushed open the room door and looked around.
"Lilly?"
The room was silent.
He checked the living area, then the balcony before walking into the bedroom.
There was no sign of Lilly.
Sara leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath after climbing eight flights of stairs.
"She's not here?" she asked.
Caden shook his head.
"No."
He handed Sara a bottle of water from the minibar.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you climb all those stairs."
Sara smiled as she accepted it.
"It's okay. I'll survive."
Caden glanced around the room again. Something caught his attention.
"Wait."
He walked to the bedside table, opened the drawer, and pulled out a small jewelry box.
He turned toward Sara.
"I almost forgot. Your earrings."
Sara's face brightened.
"You had them?" she asked, letting out a relieved sigh. "I thought I'd lost them."
"They mean that much to you?"
She smiled as she carefully placed them back into the box.
"Mark gave them to me."
Caden nodded with a faint smile.
"I'm glad I remembered."
He looked toward the dark window.
"Lilly must still be downstairs."
"Maybe she's looking for you," Sara said.
Caden checked his phone again.
"I'll go look for her."
"You don't have to rush," Sara replied. "I'll wait here until the power comes back."
"Alright. Lock the door after me."
Sara nodded.
"Be careful."
Without another word, Caden stepped back into the dark hallway.
Lilly hurried down the stairs while Mark followed behind her.
"You should slow down. What if you fall?"
"Don't talk to me," Lilly said angrily.
"Don't you feel anything after what just happened?" Mark asked.
"You tried to kiss me," Lilly replied. "You're my sister's husband. Can you please stop doing this?"
"So you still have feelings for me," Mark said.
Lilly didn't answer.
She stayed focused on walking down the stairs.
As they reached the tenth floor, Mark broke the silence.
"I know you still have feelings for me. If pushing me away is really what you want... then I'll do exactly that."
Mark returned to his room, but it was empty.
He wasn't looking for Sara.
His mind was still trapped on the terrace with Lilly.
Unable to settle down, he walked back toward the lobby.
Meanwhile, Lilly entered her room. It was dark.
She walked into the bedroom to check on Caden, but the moment she stepped inside, the power came back.
Sara was sitting on the bed.
"Lilly!" Sara said excitedly. "You're back. I was waiting for you."
"Where's Caden?" Lilly asked.
"He was really worried about you, so he went downstairs to look for you," Sara replied.
"I'll call him."
Lilly took out her phone to call Caden, but then she noticed several missed calls from him. She realized her phone had been on silent the whole time.
"He called you earlier. Where were you?" Sara asked.
"I was taking a walk, and because of the power outage, I couldn't get back," Lilly said. "It's late. You should go back and get some sleep."
"Okay. I'm going. Good night," Sara said.
Sara returned to her room, exhausted.
She changed into her nightclothes and lay down, but the empty room felt strangely quiet.
She stared at the ceiling for several minutes.
Mark still hadn't returned.
Where could he be?
The blackout had left the entire hotel in darkness.
What if something happened to him?
Unable to calm herself, she got out of bed and headed downstairs to find him.
Outside the hotel, beneath the pale moonlight, Mark was standing alone.
He was smoking.
Sara walked over to him.
"I never knew you smoked," she said.
Mark immediately lowered the cigarette, almost as if trying to hide it.
"Only sometimes."
"Okay."
"What are you doing here at this hour?" Mark asked.
Only then did he notice she had come out in her nightclothes.
"You were gone for so long that I started worrying. I thought you might be stuck somewhere because of the blackout, so I came looking for you."
For a moment, Mark didn't know what to say.
After everything that had happened with Lilly, he hadn't expected anyone to come looking for him.
Without thinking, he stepped closer and gently kissed Sara.
Surprised by his sudden action, Sara froze for a moment, but she didn't push him away.
From the balcony of the eighth floor, Lilly watched them in silence, trying to calm the emotions rising inside her.
Just then, Caden walked onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"I'm glad everything is fine between them," he said softly.
"Yes," Lilly replied.