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.

Because she was no longer alone in

bed, squatted down, and placed her hand on his cheek. Her hand felt

not something from

night, she really had taken a strange man

she came to herself, she found that he was already awake. His beautiful eyes were

Her face heated with embarrassment. “I… I just… that… If

in a hurry, but after she had

with a trace

pretend I didn’t say anything,” she added, biting her

he

man, it would’ve sounded like they were flirting

asking a simple question of “want” or “don’t want” and she assumed he meant it to mean his presence here. She didn’t read any ambiguity into his words, even if there had been,

stared at her, and a smile

seen him smile. Although it was very light… it looked

***

money on the table for him to buy himself some food, he

her gone, the room

or somewhat nervous energy filled the space. He rolled up the quilt that he’d

he’d be tempted to look around, maybe snoop a bit. But he didn’t want

the apartment, there

seeing him come out, they respectfully greeted him,

Jason responded

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

night is a contract worker of the Sanitation Service

“Prison?”

and killing Jennifer Atkinson. She was sentenced to three years of imprisonment and had her lawyer’s license

expression bland. “Grace…” he whispered.

had been set on marrying him and that she was also a good political marriage candidate, he thought that if he had to marry someone, then she wouldn’t be that bad

who would’ve thought that Jennifer would end up

past relationship with Jennifer, how would she

that twenty-dollar bill

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

the information you can find on Grace Cummins on

sir.” Then… “Sir, are you interested in this

***

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

when she

remarried only a few months after mom died,

father favored his “new” family, which led to her being sent to live with her maternal grandmother in the countryside. Grace’s grandmother cared for her until third grade, but had

her class, her father finally warmed to her. He eventually started to show off

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 one act that had finally made her worthy of love in her family’s eyes. She knew it was only because he was the heir of the Stevens Corporation. However, at that time,

To be loved.

she realized that

home, she stepped into her father’s

the same. Pictures of the three

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