His Name;Her Cage

and despair, literally signifying

hosted luxury-not in furniture, not in guests, not in style, not in class, and certainly not in the cars that pulled up to it. But the black Dodge that now idled in front of the

d in from the kitchen, breathless, t

an instinct, or fear, or maybe b

And beside him, another man-younger, maybe mid-to-late twenties, in a dark suit that clung to him li

opened it like

is voice fragile, anxious

than Miles-the man who owned half the city, half

younger one must'v

, nearly bowing. "And... your

them the scent of cologne and something

n't want to be seen, but Kyle saw her anyway. Their eyes

had butterflies in her stomach–not the fairytale one, but

aterial ripped off like a meat off its bones in a butchery. And still, Jonathan Miles sat like he owned the very oxygen in the room, settling into

ent, but I just need a little more time. You said y

upted, his voice low and smooth. "And your balanc

hadows, felt the shift in the

ald said. "I sold my tools. My wife pawned her jewell

aised a ha

said the u

and my son has conce

ked. "A...

e drifted once more toward the hal

father's debt," he said, his voice calm

. For a moment, she wondered if she'd

ce in the roo

lready feel his daughter's heartbreak crashing to

d slightly.

ew now, her arms folded

n know me," sh

her fully. Th

because I alread

Friday or sign your daughter's name into the agreement. One path

that, they t

hrough panic, rage, and disbelief. Was this her life now? A bargain

ell to h

prison. Your brother needs medication. Your mother... she's sic

y. Her face went b

t the dark car, and the man wa

e M

st claimed her lif

with anger, but with resolve. Because if t

would count them. She would

maybe-she woul

her from the wild. The cracked window groaned faintly with the night wind, a soft whistle sneaking through the broken seal. This room-this tiny, timeworn space

e desk in the corner was slanted, one of the legs swinging from the hold of one nail and the right leg held up by two stacked textbooks from a school she could no longer afford to atten

ched her hand

wanted to

that men like him used to control their empires. She was collatera

his was always her fate. Her life ha

reached into her bones anyway. There was a hole in the corner of the window frame. At night, wind

e hadn't cried yet.

ing for hours, the floor creaking rhythmically with his guil

head against the wall

o read him bedtime stories when their father was out late working. The time she'd saved up for new shoes b

now

looks at you lik

they were. Like he'd made up his mind before ever w

that he wa

ken away from this place. To be warm. To sleep without worrying about whether the roof would leak in th

ght disg

at climbed up her throat. Outside, the street was quiet. The Miles' car was long gone, but it had left something behind-an

be like to liv

s. A house without yelling or the

who saw her as a bargain. A life lived behind lo

n't wan

dn't want

r forehead aga

ered, "what am I

swer

the house settling around her. Sh

rning – The

ke. It unfolded, like a duv

hm of ritual and poise. In the guesthouse, the staff were already dressed, moving through halls like shadows and silence, their eyes low, their steps q

in the east-wing study,

touched

t

e light slicing in through tall windows like a scalpel, illuminating the cold elegance of the space. No family photos. No pa

ock

look up.

ilver cufflinks, a tie with an old military knot. He didn't sit. He never

leep?" Jon

pawn. "I never do b

eyebrow. "So you see

e kept his eyes on the board. "I

humourless chuckle. "

ce li

I expected," Jonatha

ticked. "Sh

indow. "But legal doesn't mean r

," Kyle said flatly. "S

d slightly, st

r mother when she still had hope. Don't let it get in the way. T

d around the edge

do love,"

ed, his voice steel. "

istant drone of an engine warming up outside, a gardener's footsteps brushi

ly moved t

" he said, not q

ate. "Let her. It mak

e straightened. The chess game w

t he remembered most wasn't her poverty, or the way

rough the tailored su

she

im more than he

y," Jonathan said, alrea

nodde

s father, Kyle reached for the que

own. S

l who was about t

– The

they didn't know the heaviness of the day. Their songs were sweet, careless,

d never looke

oors. Even the stray dog that usually barked at passing cars lay still, watching

apped around their bodies like second skin. Their faces were stone, their mov

thed once, t

t he s

e M

arble, sharp, and commanding. The early sun kissed the clean taper of his jet-black beard, neatly trimmed to perfection, not a strand out o

ested with dominance on his right hand. The

blink at t

cracking paint on the

't s

the property with one loo

rgiv

dging it. As if even the dirt beneath him should be grateful to be in his

ed, hammering in her chest with a mix of dread and defiance. She had worn the o

uldn't

even

k wasn't

s a c

r could. And there he stood-Kyle Miles-hi

she said, wit

mething-amusement?-passing through

nervous, wringing his hands agai

ome in. We've... we've

t Gerald. He looke

otice

id, stepping through the doorway

d her eyes rimmed with sleeplessness. Her younger brother peeked from behind her leg

ed him to

at the

de

om for he

t them but didn't s

ed. "Eve

ed close

n't agree with most of it.

omething darker. "You always have a choice, Sca

sounded in his mouth. L

leek black Montblanc. It glinted under the weak b

it beside

sign

n. Her fingers trembled b

ouched the page, she paus

said, voice steady. "D

idn't

ough that only she c

t like somethi

idn't slap-

si

he girl named Scarlet

rn-wrapped not in a gown but

he birds k

he cage d

led one to sleep, but the kind that wrapped itself around her th

erself from falling apart. The sheets were damp beneath her, not from sweat, but from the tears she'd cried for hours on end. The air in he

This wasn't romance. This wasn't gid

was n

eing clawed from the inside. It reminded her of the last time she'd been truly sick-except this was worse. This wasn't the flu. This was

he'd blushed at a love letter or been flatte

m the roughness

sleeve, then both. Her skin had turned red from the friction, saltwater soaking he

e imagined lace and flowers, soft vows, and stolen kis

arriage wa

ont

xcha

ws: signed, se

d so loud that her voice echoed in th

hair stuck to her skin, wet from tears and sweat and despair. The w

y

this

father gambl

her mothe

e have to

hing uneven. Her throat ached from silent sobs. She hadn't even had the strength t

wide like a gaping mouth and swallow her whole. Let an earthquake come

t tak

her bones. A man she barely knew woul

hter, like shrinking small en

t here. Not in the Andrew

shaking hands and the red cheeks, a seed of

ho

stre

esent

oon learn, is sometimes