“Please don’t let her see me. Please don’t let her take me back.” Maddox said nothing. He simply closed the door. Outside, the rain shifted. A figure emerged from the dirt path. stepping into the glow of the car’s headlights. Clarissa, her clothes were dark, her hair plastered to her face, rainwater streaming down her sharp features.
In her hand, she gripped a leather belt, the end hanging loose like the tail of a snake. Her eyes burned with rage as they fixed on the luxury car. She took a step forward. Lena,” she shouted, her voice cutting through the storm. “Come back here this instant.” Inside the car, Lena let out a small broken sound and shrank lower into the seat. “That’s her.
That’s her,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Please don’t let her take me.” Clarissa took another step, lifting the belt. “You ungrateful girl!” she screamed into the rain. You think you can run from me? Come back here. Maddox met her gaze through the windshield, his face unreadable, his heart pounding with a fury he had buried for years. Drive, he said softly.
The engine roared. The car pulled away, the tires splashing water as it surged forward, the taillights glowing red in the storm. Clarissa stood frozen on the roadside, rain pouring over her, the belt slipping slowly from her fingers as the darkness swallowed the car and the girl she had tried to cage.
Inside the moving vehicle, Lena finally broke down completely and in the silence of the rain soaked road behind them, Maddox how they realized that the past he thought he had buried had just found him again. The elevator rose in near silence, smooth and weightless, as though the building itself was afraid to disturb the night.
Soft lights glowed along the mirrored walls, reflecting Lena’s small, trembling figure over and over again. She stood barefoot on polished marble, her wet dress clinging to her thin frame, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if trying to hold her own broken pieces together. She had never been this high above the ground before. When the doors slid open, the world changed.
Maddox’s penthouse stretched before her like something out of another life. Cool white marble floors gleamed under warm recessed lights. The walls were glass, revealing the city skyline spread out below them. Thousands of tiny lights blinking like distant stars. Everything was clean, perfect, silent. No shouting, no slammed doors, no angry footsteps chasing her down dark paths.
Lena stopped at the entrance, her breath hitching. “Piss, this is your house?” she asked in a small voice, afraid to step forward as though the floor might reject her. Maddox nodded once. “You’re safe here. Safe?” The word felt strange in her mouth. Lena took one careful step inside, then another. Her wet feet leaving faint prints on the shining floor.
She lipped around, overwhelmed by the quiet luxury, the soft hum of unseen technology, the wide spaces that felt too big for someone like her. She swallowed hard. I’m going to dirty your floor, she said, her voice thick with shame. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I don’t belong in a place like this. Before Maddox could respond, a gentle voice floated from deeper within the penthouse. Uh-uh.
My child, don’t say such things. An elderly woman stepped forward, her presence warm and grounding in the cold elegance of the space. Mama Fro. Her wrapper was neatly tied, her blouse simple, her eyes kind and knowing. She took in Lena’s trembling form in one glance, and her face softened with a tenderness that felt like sunlight breaking through clouds.
“Oh, look at you,” Mama murmured, clicking her tongue softly. “Rain has beaten you like a stubborn drum. Come, come. This floor is strong. It will survive your little feet. Lena let out a weak, shaky laugh that quickly turned into a sob. I’m sorry, she whispered. I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I’ll leave if you want.
I don’t want to bring problems into your house. Mama was already moving toward her. She wrapped a warm shawl around Lena’s shoulders with practiced care. Leave in this rain over my dead body, she said firmly. You think the world is that cruel? Come sit. Let me see you well. She guided Lena to a soft, wide couch that felt like sinking into clouds.
