Chapter 3

“Are you hungry?”

His dark eyes studied her and he tilted his head. “What?”

When he still didn’t reply, she wrung her hands together. “I’ll get you something to eat.”

Grace moved to the tiny stove and threw some noodles and eggs into the pot to make a simple bowl of noodles for him. She didn’t have any meat, but she chopped what vegetables she had and added them too.

She set the tiny table and poured them both a glass of water from the sink. He moved cautiously to take a seat when she set the bowls down.

“Eat, but don’t eat too fast. It’s quite hot,” she said.

She didn’t mean to treat him like a child, but his presence made her nervous even as there was something incredibly calming about him.

He lowered his head and ate his noodles quietly. Grace also stared at him in silence.

Normally, she’d come home and hate the feeling of being alone, confined in a tiny space. For some reason, the loneliness that she’d usually feel seemed to have disappeared. Could it be due to the presence of another person in the room?

After he had finished eating, Grace cleaned up the plates. “I usually sleep with the lights on. I hope you don’t mind,” she said. Ever since she was released from prison, she had gotten into the habit.

“That’s fine.”

Grace took her pajamas into the bathroom and shut the door to brush her teeth and change. Was it weird having a man alone beside where she’d sleep? Yeah. Probably.

But she didn’t feel triggered by his presence of fearful.

If he’d wanted to hurt her, he wouldn’t have defended her on the street.

When she exited and lay down on the bed, he took his position on the floor.

The room was silent save for the sound of the heater. If she listened hard enough, she could hear each breath he took.

It was a steady rhythm, peaceful even.

Grace closed her eyes and focused on sleeping. This was her routine every night because it was almost impossible for her to relax. Even being out of jail, at night she would always dream of her time in prison.

She would be beaten, shamed, and abused… and every finger would burn with the pain of being broken and the nails being torn off…

She’d wake up screaming, fingers curled, terrified, and heart pounding.

However, oddly, that didn’t happen tonight.

She slept until sunrise and was not visited by her usual nightmares.

As she awakened, she rolled over to look at the figure lying on the ground beside her bed.

Still here.

Was it because of him? Because she was no longer alone in this room?

of bed, squatted down, and

not

really had taken

came to herself, she found that he was

that… If you don’t

a hurry, but after

with a trace

don’t want to, just pretend I didn’t say

finally opened and he spoke quietly. “Do

man, it would’ve

“don’t want” and she assumed he meant it to mean his presence

stared at her, and a smile slowly formed on

the first time she had seen him smile. Although it was very light… it looked extremely

***

work. When she left money on the table for him to buy himself some food, he sat staring at the

her gone, the room

the space. He rolled up

look around, maybe snoop a bit.

there were already people waiting for him

out, they respectfully greeted

Jason

twenty-dollar bill in his hand. It had been many years since

you last night is a contract worker of the Sanitation Service Center. She started renting her current residence here a month ago, and was just released from prison

“Prison?”

her name is Grace Cummins. She’s the ex-girlfriend of Sean of the Stevens family. She was convicted of reckless driving and killing Jennifer

kept his expression bland. “Grace…”

Jennifer Atkinson had been set on marrying him and that she was also a good political marriage candidate, he thought that if he had

that Jennifer would

Grace knew about his past relationship with

that

Taken his hand, brought him into

want all the information you can find on Grace

“Sir, are you interested in

***

from her father asking her to go home. He said that since she had been released

when she

a few months after mom died,

which led to her being sent to live with her maternal grandmother in the countryside.

in college and at the top of her class, her father finally warmed to her. He eventually

cared about her well-being, even if only out of pretense. Even her half sister tried to get on her good side—something that had never happened before. From the moment Evelyn was born, she’d taken the role of the favorite child, and she’d scarcely bothered

knew it was only because he was the heir of the Stevens Corporation. However, at that time, she still couldn’t help

To be loved.

that everything

stepped into her

same. Pictures of the three of them. Not a single

Same couches and tables.

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