<div style="text-align: justify;">Feeling Vitali’s hand tighten around hers made Mariya feel like everything was right. At least at the personal level, which was the only one Mariya was thinking about at the moment. As of now, all she wanted was to reconnect with her old friend, without any other motive. All of her ulterior motives were pushed aside for now.<br/><br/>Even when she had asked about a home, Mariya was simply concerned about Vitali’s life. She could imagine that he would be provided with good living conditions, and that was not her concern. It was more about how much of a home his living space felt like, as opposed to simply a place to live that could as well be just about any other. That question had actually stemmed from her own experience. Once she had moved to England, at first, she felt completely out of place, and it barely mattered where she lived. It had taken a while for her to actually get used to her new life and actually start living instead of simply existing.<br/><br/>When he spoke about the houses being off limits, Mariya felt curiosity light up inside her. What was it like? She wondered, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. She knew that asking questions about it wouldn’t be of any value. <br/><br/>A smile showed on Mariya’s face when Vitali said he could spend as much time as he wanted in her home. That sounded really nice. But she was still a little concerned about him being tossed out of his cottage once his service was done. That really wasn’t a way to treat anyone, she thought to herself. <br/><br/>“We should find a place we both like, then”, she commented with a smile. “And I want you to know that my home will always be yours, if you want…”. She giggled softly and blushed a little. “That sounded odd”, she tried to backtrack. “I mean… oh, never mind”.<br/><br/>Mariya shook her head and sighed. “I feel like there is so much to do here. Finding a job, finding a home, taking care of you… sounds like a lot, eh?”. After these words, Mariya fell silent and waited for Vitali to say something.</div>