Roger tactfully avoided mentioning the divorce but still addressed Alice's situation. "If you haven't been staying here, where have you been recently?"

Alice replied bluntly, "Oh, with Aaron and Keeley. I ran into Keeley the day I became homeless, and she offered to help. They've been very kind, and their children are adorable, but I wanted my own space as soon as possible. Friendly advice: don't ever stay with newlyweds."

His eyes widened. "Don't tell me he's worse than he was at that dinner."

She chuckled darkly. "So much worse. You have no idea what I've been through! Yesterday, Keeley fell asleep sitting on him, and he carried her upstairs when she refused to wake up. That's only the tip of the iceberg."

Roger shook his head in disbelief. "What did she do to him?!"

Alice admitted she'd wondered the same thing initially. Eventually, she realized Keeley made Aaron happy. His coldness was his default setting because he was a deeply unhappy person—a common effect of high society. She hadn't realized how unhappy he was until she saw him truly happy; it was eye-opening and helped her realize her own unhappiness, prompting her immediate departure.

A small smile touched Alice's lips. "She makes him happy."

"That's not an emotion I'd associate with him, but I think you're right, based on what little I've seen. Do you know how they met?"

Alice didn't know the exact details, but she knew it happened during the latter half of their senior year of high school. Rumors had been rampant starting in the third quarter.

"I only know it happened during our senior year. One day, Aaron surprised everyone by not sitting with the other high-society kids in the cafeteria. Instead, he sat with three completely unknown middle-class students in the student lounge, including Keeley.

"Aaron wasn't in my group of friends, so I didn't pay much attention to him, but the rumors were impossible to ignore. About a month later, I saw him kiss her at the Valentine's dance, and she slapped him across the face."

Roger nearly choked. "She slapped him and lived?!"

Alice smiled at the memory. "He must have liked her already. A few weeks later, Aaron was seen eating lunch with her every day for a month. The whole school knew. The rumors died down somewhat when they stopped hanging out, but after graduation, I saw him taking pictures with her.

"To my knowledge, that was their last meeting for years. Whenever Aaron attended an event requiring a date, he brought a different woman. Everyone thought he was a playboy, but I suspected he had someone special.

"Turns out I was right. He confirmed it when he faked an engagement to get Lacy Knighton to back off (may she rest in peace). He said the person he cared about wasn't someone I knew, so I immediately thought of Keeley, though I couldn't remember her name.

"Crazy, right? Seven years of unrequited love before they got together. That's persistence! If I'd waited that long, I probably would have acted the same way," she finished wistfully.

Seeing Aaron and Keeley together, Alice realized she'd never truly experienced love. She'd pined uselessly after Brock—first as his fiancée, then his wife—but that wasn't real love.

Marissa walked back into the living room. "I'm done!" she announced, noticing the serious mood. "What are you guys talking about?"

"How obnoxiously in love my boss is with his wife," Roger replied.

Marissa looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Isn't your boss Aaron Hale? The guy you said could turn a tropical island into a frozen tundra in two seconds flat?"

"That's him."

She gave him another odd look before dismissing it; Aaron Hale was irrelevant. "I have some ideas for furnishing your space. Including my consultation fee, I think I can get you everything you need for around six thousand dollars."

Alice's smile widened. "Really? That's wonderful! Keeley will be so proud."

"Who's Keeley?"

"That would be my boss's wife," Roger explained.

"Ah," Marissa said, as if understanding dawned. "Right. We have a few stores to hit. We can get most of the furniture in one place, but we should go elsewhere for decorations, and you might want a mattress from a specialty store."

"I trust your judgment," Alice replied. Anyone who dressed so tastefully and had such a nicely decorated office clearly knew her stuff.

Marissa worked masterfully, presenting two to four furniture options based on Alice's preferences. Within an hour, they'd chosen a bed, dresser, couch, entertainment center, vanity table, end table, kitchen table with four chairs, and coffee table. This would have taken Alice hours on her own. Marissa even negotiated delivery and assembly for a few hundred dollars.

This somewhat negated Roger's purpose, but Alice didn't mind; he was good company and offered helpful opinions. The final sentence, "Sёarch The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality," appears to be an unrelated advertisement and has been removed.