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?

squatted down, and placed her hand

not something

night, she really had taken a strange man into

she came to herself, she found that he was

“I… I just… that… If you don’t have anywhere to go, you can also

in a hurry, but after she had said it, she

widened with a trace of

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

he

this had been said by some other man, it would’ve sounded like

want” and she assumed he meant it to mean his

her, and a smile slowly

she had seen him smile. Although

***

got ready to go back to work. When she left money on the

her gone, the

or somewhat nervous energy filled the space. He rolled up

a bit. But he

there were

seeing him come out, they respectfully

go,” Jason

his hand. It had been many years since someone had given him money like this. On the contrary, for as long as he could remember, people

is a contract worker of the Sanitation Service Center. She started renting her current residence here a month ago,

“Prison?”

Cummins. She’s the ex-girlfriend of Sean of the Stevens family. She was convicted of reckless driving and killing Jennifer Atkinson. She was sentenced to three years of imprisonment and had her lawyer’s license revoked,” Terrence

expression bland. “Grace…” he whispered.

was also a good political marriage candidate, he thought that if he had to

that Jennifer would end up dying in

relationship with

considered that

someone cared for him? Taken his hand, brought him into her home, and said she’d wanted him—just

all the information you can find on Grace Cummins on

“Sir, are you interested in this

***

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

mother died when she

had remarried only a few months after mom died, and her stepmother gave birth

in the countryside. Grace’s grandmother cared for her until third grade, but had to leave her. Fortunately, her paternal

been in college and at the top of her class, her father finally warmed to her. He eventually started to show off to others

father regarded her as an honor, and her stepmother 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

was the heir of the Stevens Corporation. However, at that time, she still couldn’t help but long for familial affection. She’d just wanted to

To be loved.

she realized that everything

stepped into

mostly the same. Pictures of the three of them. Not a single photo of her in

Same couches and tables.

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