A weekend full of sex, love, and romance, had Serenity feeling she was on top of the world. She was happy Warren stayed home to be with her, ecstatic how he spent every waking moment with her, and was thrilled he refused to answer his phone, anytime it rang. He had her feeling loved like she once used to feel with him, and had her thinking she finally had her husband back.

All the happiness she was feeling disappeared the moment she awoke Monday morning, and saw Warren wasn't in bed. She sat up quickly, and turned her head to the one corner of the room where he always placed his suitcase, and saw, that too was gone. She took a deep breath, and lowered her head while covering her face, trying not cry. She knew he had to go back to work, but was hoping he would have called in again, saying he needed more time to spend with her.

She lowered herself back into the bed, closed her eyes, and pulled the covers up over her head. All she felt like doing now was, stay in bed all day, and cry. Even though he showed her a good time in every which way he could, she thought that would have been good enough to get her through the week, just like before, but not this time. This time, she felt like it was all a tease, and the emptiness she was feeling before he came back to town, came back, like it never went away. She may have only been awake for about ten minutes, and only knew he was gone for that little of time she was awake, but she now felt more alone than ever.

She wanted to lay on his side of the bed, to smell his scent on the bedsheets, and rolled over, only to be poked in the forehead by something. She opened her eyes and saw a single red rose laying across his pillow, then pushed herself up with her elbow to look at it. He always knew she was a sucker for roses, especially red ones, and was always buying them for her to put a smile on her face, that when she saw the rose, it gave her smile she didn't want to fade. She quickly picked up the rose, and closed her eyes to smell, and to visualize him giving it to her. She was about to set the rose back down on his pillow, until she saw a handwritten letter laying on the pillow as well.

She sat up, adjusted the pillows behind her, and grabbed the letter to see what he had to say: Serenity; my beautiful wife, and the one who I adore with all my heart. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye to you, and as much as I wanted to let you know I had to leave, I couldn't. You looked so beautiful, and peaceful sleeping the way you were, that I just couldn't wake you. I know it may be hard to do, but please keep smiling, I promise I will be back soon. I need you to know, your smile is what keeps me going when I'm away, as well as when I know I won't be seeing you for some time. That smile of yours is painted in my mind, and I refuse to let that smile ever be erased. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through this past year, it wasn't meant to be this way, and it weighs heavily on me, even if you don't think it does. I must go, and I'll see you in a few days... Love, Warren

"Smile," she quietly, and laughingly mocked as she set the letter down, "How can I smile when you're not here?" she pouted.

She slid down into the bed, and covered herself with the blankets. She wasn't ready to get out of bed just yet, and closed her eyes, hoping nobody was going to bug her for the day. Her eyes closed momentarily until she heard a knock at the door. "What?" she called out, groaning.

Her head popped up once the door opened, and became aggravated when she saw Parker walk in, and laid her head back onto her pillow, covering her head with the blanket. "Don't you have anything to do, other than to come into my room and bother me?" she growled.

"Everett is here."

"Now?" she squealed, pulling the blanket back off her face, and pushing herself up. "What time is it?"

"Noon... I'll have him wait in the music room, and will also let him know you're running behind," he says, walking towards the door.

"Thanks," she said quietly, watching him walk out the door. Not believing it was noon already, she picked up her phone, looked at the time, and sighed. She forgot he was coming, even though he was there every Monday, and didn't think it was that late already. She felt she had just closed her eyes, then realized she must have slept in later than she thought it was, the first time she awoken.

Not caring what she looked like, she quickly got out of bed and brushed her teeth, then dressed herself in sweats, and a t-shirt, then pulled her hair up into a messy bun, and headed down into the music room. When she walked in, she stopped and stared at Everett when she saw him walking the one wall, and looking at the pictures she had recently put up onto the wall.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said, letting him know she was there.

He stopped walking, and turned his head toward her, "I like the new pictures, especially this one right here," he says pointing. "You look good posing on the piano like that," he said grinning. "It's very sexy, romantic, and the way you're posing with that expression on your face, makes you look seductive."

"Thanks," she smiled, walking over to him. "Warren took that picture this past weekend, he liked the picture so much, that he had to have it enlarged, and framed right away," she says, staring at the picture. She did like it herself, and loved that it was Warren who took the picture.

He looked at her surprised, "Warren? He was home?"

"Yes, he surprised me late Thursday afternoon by coming home for our wedding anniversary, then left early this morning to go back to work," she said walking closer to the picture. She continued staring at the picture for a moment, then closed her eyes, thinking of the moment when he took the picture, and how he made love to her, in this room, right afterward.

Everett looked at her, then over to the piano, "We should get to practicing. Were you able to practice the new piece I gave you?"

"I was... I loved it so much, that I played it over and over, memorizing the music," she says, walking over to the piano bench, and sitting.

"Really, I'd like to hear you play it... and without seeing you use the sheet music," he says, pulling up a chair, and sitting next to her.

She turned her head towards him, and bit down on her bottom lip, "I'm curious, what made you chose that song for me to learn, and play?"

He smiled while rubbing his chin, having a feeling she was going to ask that question, and well, he knew the meaning behind that particular song, and thought it fit her perfectly. "Well... if you must know, I chose that song for you to play To a Wild Rose, for a few reasons. One, because I know how much you love roses. Two, it's a very beautiful and charming piece to play, just like the one who I asked to learn how to play it... and three, the writer of the song Edward MacDowell, was a rose lover himself, and as he wrote it, he thought of his cabin... you, at one time told me how you wished you had a cabin to run away to, whenever you needed to get away from here. So, this song reminded me of you, and thought you would enjoy it. Now that you know the story behind the song, I'd like to hear you play it..."

She felt a little shocked to hear why he chose the song for her, and looked away from him. She stared at the keys, and before placing her hands where they needed to be, she looked back over to him. "Thanks for introducing this song to me. I was having a bad day last week, and when I started playing it, it had me feeling soothed, and comforted by it. It's one of the main reasons why I played it all day, and was able to memorize it."

"So, let's hear you play it," he winked.

She began playing the song, and what she didn't realize, was Parker standing near the doorway, listening in, and making notes. Everett sat in his chair with his eyes closed, listening to her play, and thinking about how beautiful, and elegantly she was playing the song. For only giving her a week to learn it, he thought it was damn near perfect, and when she was done playing, his eyes opened, and smiled while clapping. "Damn, that was perfectly well played. It was almost like I was listening to him play the song himself."

"It was a very easy piece to learn," she giggled.

"I know that, but you're still learning..." he said, then looked away, thinking of another piece for her to learn, something even more romantic. She was one of his fastest learners, and the determination he saw in her, impressed him to the core, and felt the next song he wanted her to learn would be a little more challenging. "Have you heard the song Moonlight Sonata, by Beethoven?" he asked, looking back at her.

"I'm not sure?"

He stood, and had her move over. "Maybe if I play a little part, you'll might recognize it," he says, sitting down. He started playing the song, and the moment she heard him play, she knew exactly what song it was, and smiled.

"I do know it."

He stopped playing, and breathed in deep as he looked over at her. He stared into her eyes, and started feeling bad for her. He couldn't help seeing sadness in her eyes every time he was over giving her lessons, and wished there was some way he could take that sadness away from her. "I can't believe a woman like you, has a husband that's away as much as he is. If I were him, I'd be worrying about you all the time."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I didn't mean that in a bad way, what I was trying to get at was, I could never be away from a woman like you. He's a very lucky man, and I don't think he even knows, or realizes how lucky he truly is." He slid off the piano bench, and walked over to his briefcase.

She was speechless, and surprised to hear him talk that way to her. Parker then came to her mind thinking he was standing there listening in, and spying on them like always, and turned around quickly. She was quite surprised not seeing him standing in the doorway, and let out a sigh of relief as she turned back around.

Everett walked back over with the sheet music in his hand, and handed it to her. "Here, let's see you try play the Moonlight Sonata, it's not a hard one to play, but it's also not as easy as the last one I had you learn."

She looked at the sheet music, and shrugged her shoulder. "Doesn't look too difficult."

Everett leaned forward in his chair, pointing to the notes, and explaining how to play, and how to hold some of the keys down while playing the music. "It can be a little tricky, but knowing you, I know you'll learn quick."

For another hour, Everett continued doing what he was there to do, but couldn't stop his eyes from wandering over at her, and wanting to badly tell her how he would love for her to be his. Especially if Warren was out having an affair on her. He knew it was none of his business, and was only there to give her the piano lessons he was paid to do, but after a year of spending time with her, and seeing how often Warren was away, his feelings for her started growing.

After they were finished with the session, Everett started heading towards the door, until Parker walked up behind him, and placed his hand on his shoulder, stopping him. He turned around thinking it was Serenity, and formed his eyebrows together when he saw it was Parker, and saw the look on his face. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Everett curiously asked.

"I don't know what you're up to with Serenity, so, I'm going to give you a little warning..." Parker started saying sternly, the looked at him angrily after he was cut off by Everett.

"Warn me about what?" he laughed.

"You have no idea who you're messing with, so I'm going to suggest, you come here and give her the lessons warren paid you to do, then you'll be on your way."

"Okay? Isn't that what I've been doing?" Everett asked looking confused, and wondering what he was talking about. He turned around, wanting to leave, until Parker stepped in front of him, stopping him again once he started walking towards the door.

"Like I said, do what you're here to do, and quit looking at her like you're in love with her. If word was to ever get back to Warren about how your ogling his wife, I'd hate to be the one around to see what happens to you... and let this be a warning," he says, stepping away, and waving his arm out towards the door. "You may leave."

Everett left wondering what that was all about, and then it came to him. Something Serenity had mentioned to him a few months back, about how she thought he was watching the two of them, and how she felt Parker was spying on her all day long. He wasn't too worried with what Parker said to him, after all, Warren was hardly home.

Serenity was feeling hungry since she missed out on breakfast and lunch, and headed into the kitchen to see Esther, and Harriet. The closer she was to the kitchen, the faster her stomach started growling after her nose picked up on a familiar scent. Something that was her favorite meal to eat. "Are you two making what I think you are?" she asked with a smile, and over to the stove.

"It is..." Esther said with a grin, "Warren left us a note this morning, wanting us to make this for you tonight."

"Thanks, it's too bad he wasn't here to enjoy the meal with me," she sighed, walking away and over to her wine rack. "I see Parker did what he was finally asked to do." If anyone should be fired, it should be him, she thought to herself as she grabbed a bottle of wine. "I see the pies are gone; did you end up throwing them away?"

"Warren took them with him. Why, would you like for us to make you another pie?" Harriet asked.

'No, that's okay. To be honest with you, I hate pie."

"Could have fooled me," Harriet laughed.

Serenity grabbed her wine opener, and glass, then opened the bottle of wine, and poured herself a glass. She leaned her back against the counter, and watched the two prepare her meal. "Is there anything I can help you ladies with?"

"No, no, we've got it from here. Why don't you just sit and relax, I'm sure after the weekend you had, you've got to be tired," Esther said with a grin.

Serenity walked away, and walked into the living room. As she sat on the couch, she noticed all the photo albums were still where she left them, and started gathering them up to put away. She picked up the album of Warren's, and was about to put it back where she had found it, but decided to look through it.

She sat on the couch, opened the album, and began looking at each picture. Recognizing some of them as his family, but didn't know who the rest were as she flipped through the pages. She could tell some of them were older pictures, and noticed how some of them were newer, but unsure how new. She flipped to another page, and had to look twice when she saw him with his arm around a woman smiling, and with kids standing next to him.

She pulled the picture out to see if there was a date on it, but saw nothing, and put it back in the page. What the fuck, who is she, and who are those kids? she muttered. Her heart started beating faster, and started looking through the pages faster, trying to see if there were any more pictures of him with her, only finding one other picture with the woman, with the same kids.

She was curious, and headed back into the bedroom to see if she could find any more photo albums that he may have stuck in the closet. With not finding any other album in their room, she headed into his den, and shut the door quietly, hoping Parker didn't hear her go in. She stood against the door, and looked around the room.

She walked over to his desk, sat down, and started opening the drawers, looking though each drawer and seeing if there was anything she could find. She got to the last bottom drawer, and broke a nail trying to open it. It's fucking locked, she muttered upset, while looking at the nail she broke.

She leaned back in his chair, and stared at the drawer, wondering what he could possibly be hiding for it to be locked. She stood and leaned over his desk, digging through his things that were on top of the desk, looking to see if he may have hidden the key nearby, and froze when the door opened.

Ahem." she heard someone clearing their throat, and looked up as her heart dropped into her stomach, knowing she was busted. "Your dinner is ready." Parker said, looking at her strangely. "Something in particular you're looking for?"

She didn't want to tell him what she saw, and knew if she said anything to him, he would most likely report it back to Warren, just like she knew he would now, now that he saw her snooping around his desk. She knew she had to come up with something, and quick. "I was looking for my earring, I thought maybe it fell on the desk when I was in here with Warren the other night."

"I can look for it while you eat, what does it look like?"

Shit, she thought to herself, but then remembered she was in fact missing one, then explained to him what it looked like, and had to laugh on the inside, knowing she lost it one night while she was out with Ava. "Thank you, please let me know if you find it. Warren gave them to me a year ago on our anniversary, and I'd hate for it to be lost."

"Very well," he says, watching her walk out of the room.

He cleared his throat again, adjusted his tie, and looked over to the desk. He wasn't buying her story, but decided to look around the room anyway. After looking around, he grabbed his phone, and called Warren.

I really hope you're enjoying the story!🤞🤞

Beethoven; Moonlight Sonata