Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan)

Geneva's eyes lit up with a fond nostalgia as she recounted her past with Noah, "Once, I ordered pizza delivery, and he was the guy who showed up. The poor thing was burning up with a fever and passed out right on my doorstep. I had to call an ambulance to rush him to the hospital. They diagnosed him with pneumonia. Just imagine, a grown man like that, it must've been bad. He'd been neglecting a cold until it got serious, and there he was still working his tail off."

"Yeah, he was hard-working," I replied, impressed.

"The doctor gave me an earful as if it was my fault. I paid the hospital bills and stayed to take care of him. How could I leave him there, delirious with a fever? So, I stayed by his side all night.

When he woke up and found himself in the hospital, he freaked out and insisted on leaving. I could tell he was worried about the cost. I laid into him. Told him if he wanted to leave tough, that was his business, but he wasn't going to drag me down with him. I didn't spend a sleepless night in the hospital for nothing."

Geneva chuckled at the memory, "You should've seen the look on his face, so painfully torn. I'll never forget it."

I felt a twinge of sympathy for Geneva.

"He realized I meant business and settled down. He stayed in the hospital for three days, and after he got out, he started treating me to dinners, repaying me for the bills bit by bit.

Eventually, he started courting me. Back then, I wasn't as pragmatic as girls are today. I didn't think about his family conditions. He was a good-looking guy, hardworking, and he was so attentive. We just naturally drifted into a relationship."

"You really are a stand-up woman," I praised her, "Didn't your family have any objections?"

"We were comfortable back in Marblecliff. But after my mom passed away and my dad remarried, it didn't feel like home anymore. There was no warmth. So, after I graduated, I got married, longing for a home of my own."

I nodded in understanding, "I felt the same way back then."

"Noah, well, he's always been a go-getter, focused on making money. But he stumbled into the public sector by accident. He may not have made a fortune, but he achieved his goal of helping others make theirs, putting his expertise to good use."

"He rose through the ranks pretty quickly at the Trade Commission," I observed.

"He must have had someone watching over him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had such a smooth ride."

"Oh?"

"His predecessor, the old minister,

took a shine to him. After the minister got promoted, he took Noah under his wing, connections, networks, strategies... He taught him everything, which is why he spared to where he is now."

"That's truly an inspiring story," I said, genuinely impressed. But deep down, I felt a pang of

disappointment. It was a shame that Noah, the epitome of a self-made man couldn't escape the snares of temptation. He had let down his mentor.

"Yeah, he's an inspiration," Geneva said with a smirk, "We joke around. I asked him what he liked most, and he'd blurt out money without missing a beat. So cliché."

"A gentleman loves money but earns it in an upright way," I joked back, "After all, everyone bows to the almighty dollar."

"Over the years, he's helped so many people make a fortune, but us..."

"Don't think like that. He's made a difference."

"It doesn't improve our lives." Geneva shot me a wry look.

"Stop talking nonsense," I teased her, "Seems like you've picked up the love for money too."

"You're not fond of it?"

"Guilty as charged. They say I'm money-crazy."

We both burst into laughter. Seizing

the moment, probed deeper,

"Geneva, sometimes I get these wild thoughts? Just hypothetically, if something bad happened, have you thought about how you'd handle it?" As soon as I asked, I worried I'd

crossed a line. Geneva was too

sharp for comfort.

Sure enough, she gave me a piercing look, gazed into the distance, and after a moment's contemplation, spoke in a heavier tone, "I've never really thought about that."

The sadness etched on her face was clear, and it was the last thing I wanted to see.

I hoped she'd always be the determined, strong Geneva I knew.

But then, most women probably shared the same dream, to get married, to have shelter from life's storms. What they often didn't anticipate was that the storm could sometimes be brewing within their very own husbands.