After I put the last plate after wiping it with a cloth, I took a sigh of relief.
Everything went well without any problem it seemed.
My mother looked genuinely happy after that talk with Alina—why were her eyes swollen, though?—and as for Alina, she again performed her role perfectly.
Anyway, since Mother did most of the work, I told her to retire for the day and also did the same for Alina as I did the dishes from dessert. As my boss, she did lots of work that I believed she had hardly done in her whole life.
Right now, I had a feeling like she wouldn't be satisfied with just a date and asked to extend the days of me pretending to be her wife. And compared to what I had to do for what she did, I felt I had no choice but to agree to her demand but was that kiss on my cheek counted as payment?
