#23

**LIA**

When we finally returned to our new apartment after the dinner with the Kings, they kindly offered to take Angel for the night to allow me some much-needed rest. The exhaustion was undeniable, but the mere thought of being separated from her after all those long months was unbearable. I politely declined their offer, assuring them that I could handle it, and took Angel to my room, tucking her in for a peaceful night's sleep.

The apartment, still new and unfamiliar, felt simultaneously welcoming and foreign. The soft hum of the air conditioning provided a soothing background noise, and the dim glow of the city's lights outside the window offered a sense of tranquility.

After settling Angel, a burning determination filled me. I couldn't let Drex's father control our lives the way he did his own son's. With a resolute knock on Drex's bedroom door, I signaled my intent.

"Hey Drex, I need to talk to you," I announced. With a knock on his room door.

"Be right out!" he yelled fro