Ray Lin –
I woke up warm.
That alone felt strange.
No chains. No bruises forming. No yelling downstairs. No footsteps that made me hide under the bed.
Just the soft rustle of sheets. And sunlight creeping in through the curtains like it belonged there.
I didn't, though.
Not really.
Not in a place like this — all gold trim, crystal chandeliers, and silence that didn't bite. It was the kind of place girls like me read about in books when the power goes out. But this was real. And I was here. And I didn't know what to do with that.
Still, I got up. Brushed my teeth with a new pink toothbrush someone had left on the counter. Washed my face with the fancy skincare the maids brought the night before. I avoided looking at the bruises on my neck. Pretended they weren't there.
And then I put on jeans and a hoodie.
Not his.
Mine.
From before.
Before the bruises got this bad. Before I was sold like an animal.
And I walked out the door of my room with one goal.
I wanted to go to university.
Not because I was ready.
But because I needed something normal. Something mine.
My heart was doing that loud thumping thing in my ears by the time I reached his office.
He was sitting behind that ridiculous desk, staring at a tablet, black shirt rolled up at the sleeves. Like he was always two seconds from running a country or starting a war.
He looked up the second I knocked.
"Ray?"
I stepped inside. "I—I just… I wanted to ask something."
He put the tablet down. "Okay."
My hands gripped the hem of my hoodie. "Can I go back to uni?"
He didn't answer right away.
He looked at me instead.
Long and careful, like he was trying to read between my words. Like he could see the fear I was choking down just to ask.
I rushed to explain. "I just want to go for a few hours. I'll come back. I swear. I—I miss it. My classes. I want to feel like I still have a life. I promise I won't talk to anyone about where I am or what happened. I just… I just want to feel like me again."
My voice cracked at the end.
God.
Stupid.
Too much.
I started to pull back, already retreating. "It's okay. I just thought I'd ask. You can say no. I understand—"
"I'll send a car with you."
His voice stopped me mid-sentence.
I blinked.
He leaned forward, eyes sharp but soft in a way I didn't expect. "But you don't go anywhere alone. One of my men will be nearby at all times. And if anything feels wrong, you call me. Understood?"
I nodded. Maybe too fast.
Something swelled in my chest. Not relief. Not yet. But hope.
"Thank you," I whispered. "Really."
He didn't smile. But something in his eyes told me he heard more than I said.
And somehow, that was enough.