جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

Rhea’s POVWell, the disturbing noise continued all through the night. I barely slept a wink before the chatterbox Zoe came bouncing in to invite me for breakfast.And after I took a good amount of time getting ready, hoping, convincing myself that this would be the morning I finally saw him at that table, I sat alone. Just me, the oversized furniture staring back at me and Zoe crackling away in the background like a broken radio. He never showed.And so it continued. Night after night I lay there listening to the muffled sounds of him through the walls, his grunts and moans drifting through and making sleep impossible. I told myself I wasn’t listening. I was lying.I stood outside every day like a fool waiting to be noticed. The cold bit into my skin some nights and I still stayed, smoothing down my nightie, rehearsing words I never got to say. The helps around were starting to give me looks and I hated every single one of them for it. I even made it as far as his corridor once, and

Rhea’s POVThe light hit me before I was ready for it.I squeezed my eyes shut, groaned, and pressed my palm flat against my forehead like that would somehow hold my skull together. It didn’t. My head throbbed with the kind of pain that made me question every single decision I’d made after 10 p.m.I sat up slowly, one inch at a time, and when the room finally stopped tilting, I noticed the bowl on the nightstand. Steam was still curling off it faintly. Next to it, a folded piece of paper.I picked up the note first.Drink this. It will make you feel better. And don’t ever go to the club again without my security personnel.I read it twice, then sighed. “Like he cares.”The soup was warm and it did exactly what it promised, settling the chaos in my head enough for everything from last night to start filtering back in. The music. The dancing. The way I leaned in and kissed him, my hands probably somewhere they had no business being.And then nothing. A complete blank. Had he kissed me

Rhea’s POVMy eyes were cutting across the room at that girl, the way she was pressed against Rowan like she had every right to be there. But Rowan didn’t waste time. He pulled free from her arms and grabbed mine instead.My heart did a full spin. I almost turned around to make the most ridiculous victory face, but I held it together. I was Rowan Langston’s wife. Composure was the bare minimum.“My daughter!”Noona’s voice rang out before she was even fully through the door. She pulled me into a hug that smelled like rose water and warmth, the kind that made you melt a little without meaning to. Behind her, Rowan’s stepmother stood with a smile stretched so wide and so empty it might as well have been painted on.“You look pale, my dear.”Noona held my face in both hands. “Has he been treating you badly?”The yes sat right at the back of my throat. I swallowed it down and smiled. “I’m fine, Noona.”“Good.”She looped her arm through mine and started pulling me forward. “Come on in eve

AUTHOR’s POV Rhea’s eyes dropped before her brain could stop them.Rowan stood there, water trailing down his chest, completely unbothered. He reached over and turned off the shower, eyes already on her.“Done staring?” The smirk on his face was unbearable.Rhea snapped back to herself. She shut her eyes, turned, and walked straight back to the bedroom. She climbed into bed, pulled the duvet over her head, and lay there like that would somehow undo what she had just seen.It did not help.She barely slept. She kept shifting further toward the edge of the bed, chasing sleep that refused to come, while Rowan lay on his side completely unbothered and fast asleep. The problem was not him. The problem was her head, and everything it kept conjuring every time she closed her eyes.She avoided him the next morning with full commitment. Kept her eyes shut until she heard him leave the room, then called for her breakfast to be brought in rather than face the dining table. She had a whole plan.

Rhea’s POVBy the next day, I was determined. I was done.We had breakfast, a few encouraging words from Noona, a snide remark from Rowan’s stepmum, and my dear friend Mia still had a bandage on her forehead — evidence of my beautiful nails.Our drive home was quiet as a graveyard. Rowan sat on his side and I sat on mine, each of us glued to our phones. When we finally got to the house, the second I stepped out, the car zoomed off like it had been waiting to do that all day.That was it.I was done.Or so I thought.The next few days, I kept myself busy. School, every gathering Lyra dragged me to, anywhere that wasn’t home. And even when I stayed in, I stayed on my phone till dawn. I was already counting down to the one-year elapse.But one morning, I opened my door and found a bag hanging on the doorknob.I opened it slowly and whatever anger had been sitting heavy in my chest just… melted. Because inside was a gold bracelet with my name inscribed on it, and a letter. Handwritten, by