My princess

chapter three

Leo was the one who finally pulled me off, and when I still wouldn’t stop, he drew back and punched me clean across the face. My mouth filled with the sharp taste of blood. The room

went quiet. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Leo got in my face, chest heaving. “You want to throw your whole life away? We talked about this, Tom. We talked about this!”

“Shut up.” My voice came out low and broken. “Tom”

“I said, shut up!” I spat blood onto the floor and turned to face him, eyes burning. “What would you have done, Leo? Tell me. If it was your person, your woman laying in that hospital bed. Would you have just let him sit here? Three meals a day, a roof over his head, a few years, and then he walks free?” Leo opened his mouth. Then closed it.

“Yeah.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “That’s what I thought.”

I walked out and didn’t look back.

LIYA

My body felt less sore today. Progress, I supposed.

I shifted against the pillows, staring at the ceiling, turning Tom over in my mind the way you

turn a stone looking for something underneath. He’d come back last night with a swollen cheek

and a story about falling that I didn’t believe for even half a second.

Tom didn’t fall. Tom didn’t trip, stumble, or lose his footing. Tom was the most deliberate person I’d ever met every step calculated, every movement with intention. So what actually happened behind that cell door? I didn’t know. And that not-knowing sat heavy in my chest.He was hard to read on a good day. Reserved in a way that most people mistook for coldness, but I knew better. I’d seen him carry me through the rain. I’d seen him make soup from scratch at two in the morning. Cold people didn’t do that. But whatever was living inside him right now whatever he was carrying he wouldn’t let

me near it. And I didn’t know what to do with that.

The door opened.

Tom came in carrying a tray sandwich, tea, nothing fancy but the way he held it, careful, deliberate, like it mattered, made my chest ache. “Hey baby.” He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. “How are you feeling?” “Much better.” I managed a small smile. “Thank you.” He set the tray down and pulled the chair close, watching me the way he always did like he

was checking something he couldn’t say out loud.

“Tom.” I wrapped both hands around the warm mug. “What about work?”

He looked away. That small sideways shift of his jaw meant he was about to say something I wouldn’t like. “Tom.” “I’m fine. I’ll sort it.”

“You can’t keep skipping because of me.” I kept my voice steady. Firm. “You worked three jobs to keep us afloat before all of this. I am not going to be the reason you lose them.”

“Liya ” “No.” I cut him off before he could wrap his guilt around an argument. “You promised. Remember? You sat right there and promised me you’d let the police handle it, that you’d keep your head down.” I searched his face. “I’m fine now, Tom. I’m okay. So go.”

He was quiet for a long moment. His jaw tight, eyes somewhere I couldn’t follow. Then he

exhaled — slow, controlled, and nodded once.

But he didn’t look okay. And I had a feeling okay was still a very long way away for both of us.It was already really late. I grabbed takeout on the way home and pushed the door open.Empty. Kitchen empty. My heart slammed against my ribs. She was still recovering she could barely stand two days ago. So where The shower. I heard it, and every muscle in my body unclenched at once. I still crossed the room fast and pushed the bathroom door open. A bar of soap hit me square in the face.“Do you ever knock?” I opened my mouth. “I’ve seen everything already. More than” “Out.”Door. Straight in my face.I stood there a second, then laughed. Quietly, to myself. Liya has always been shy. But freaky when she wants to be.