Rhea takes one step.
Just one.
Ling moves instantly.
She doesn't think. She doesn't calculate. She doesn't command.
She grabs.
One arm wraps around Rhea's waist, the other locking across her thighs, pulling her flush into her chest—hard, possessive, final.
"You're not going," Ling says into her hair.
Rhea gasps, shocked more by the certainty than the strength.
"Ling—let go."
Ling doesn't.
Her injured hand tightens by instinct before pain catches up with her. Her jaw clenches, a sharp breath escaping her teeth—but she doesn't loosen her hold.
Rhea feels it.
"Your hand—are you insane?" Rhea snaps, twisting in her arms.
Ling buries her face against Rhea's shoulder, voice low, almost feral. "I don't care."
Rhea struggles harder now, palms pushing against Ling's chest. "Let me go. You don't get to decide."
Ling adjusts her grip, tighter. Not crushing—claiming.
"You don't get to walk away like this."
Rhea's breath turns uneven. "This isn't love. This is control."
Ling pulls back just enough to look at her.
Her eyes are dark. Unblinking. Ruined.
"Then stop standing where I can reach you," Ling says quietly.
Behind them—
Rina lets out a low whistle. "She picked her up."
Dadi nods, impressed. "With a busted hand."
Rina grins. "That's dedication."
Rhea hears them and snaps, "Are you both enjoying this?"
Dadi smiles sweetly. "Immensely."
Rhea growls in frustration and shoves Ling's shoulder again. "Ling, stop. This is not funny."
Ling shakes her head once. "I'm not laughing."
Rhea freezes.
Ling's grip tightens further, her chin resting against Rhea's temple now, breath warm, steady despite the tremor in her arms.
"I said sorry," Ling murmurs. "I begged. I humiliated myself in front of my own family."
Rhea's voice cracks despite her effort. "That doesn't mean you get to cage me."
Ling exhales sharply. "I'm not caging you."
"Then what is this?"
Ling answers without hesitation. "Fear."
That hits.
Rhea stills—not because she agrees, but because she feels it. The tension in Ling's body. The way her arms shake slightly now, adrenaline and pain colliding.
"You think holding me like this fixes it?" Rhea whispers.
"No," Ling says. "I think letting you go breaks me."
Rhea swallows.
Her hands, still pressed against Ling's chest, curl into fabric instead of pushing.
Just for a second.
Ling feels it.
Her breath hitches.
Dadi murmurs, softer now, "Oh… she's gone."
Rina nods. "Yeah. This one's deep."
Rhea realizes what she's doing and stiffens again. "Don't mistake this."
Ling doesn't loosen her hold.
"I won't," she says. "I'll take whatever you give me. Anger. Blame. Silence."
Rhea snaps, "You don't get to be noble now."
Ling's lips brush Rhea's ear. "I'm not. I'm selfish."
Rhea closes her eyes for half a second.
When she opens them, her voice is cold again. "Let me go."
Ling hesitates.
Her injured hand finally throbs hard enough to demand attention. She exhales through clenched teeth, grip faltering just slightly.
Rhea feels it.
"Your hand," Rhea says sharply. "Let go before you break it."
Ling doesn't answer.
Rhea pushes—this time not in anger, but urgency.
Ling releases her slowly.
Too slowly.
Like she's peeling herself off something essential.
Rhea steps back, chest rising and falling.
"You can't do that again," Rhea says. "Ever."
Ling nods once. "Then don't try to leave like that again."
Silence crashes between them.
No one laughs now.
No one teases.
Rina clears her throat awkwardly. "Well. That escalated."
Dadi sighs, fond and worried at the same time. "Both of you are disasters."
Rhea looks at Ling one last time—eyes conflicted, furious, shaken.
"This doesn't mean I stayed," Rhea says.
Ling meets her gaze. "I know."
"But I didn't leave either," Rhea adds.
Ling's jaw tightens.
"That's enough," she says quietly.
Rhea exhales slowly.
Not relief.
Decision.
"I'll stay," Rhea says.
Ling's breath catches.
Rhea lifts a finger immediately, sharp as a blade. "Don't misunderstand."
Ling straightens, instinctively bracing. "I won't."
Rhea's eyes lock onto hers. Cold. Controlled. Punishing.
"I'm not staying because you begged," Rhea says.
"Not because you grabbed me."
"And definitely not because you think you own me."
Ling nods once. "I know."
Rhea takes another step—this time toward Ling. Close enough to hurt.
"I'm staying because I decide when things end," Rhea continues. "And this—" she gestures between them "—doesn't end on your terms either."
Ling swallows. Her injured hand twitches at her side.
"You'll sleep," Rhea says flatly. "You won't touch me again tonight. Not your arms. Not your mouth. Not your apologies."
Rina's eyes widen. "Oh she flipped the power."
Dadi hums approvingly. "Clean execution."
Ling doesn't look away from Rhea. "Anything else?"
"Yes." Rhea's voice drops. "You don't leave your room. I don't want to see you pacing outside like a guard dog."
A muscle jumps in Ling's jaw. "That might be difficult."
"Try," Rhea snaps. "You already tried controlling me. Now you try restraint."
Ling exhales. "Fine."
Rhea's gaze flicks to Ling's bandaged hand. Her voice hardens further—as if softness would betray her.
"You're injured because you're reckless," Rhea says. "You don't get rewarded for it."
Ling answers quietly, "I didn't do it for reward."
Silence.
Then Rhea adds, slower, deliberate:
"I'll stay in the guest room. Door locked. If I hear footsteps—" she tilts her head "—I leave. No warning."
Ling nods. "Understood."
Rhea turns to Rina and Dadi. "You two—no commentary."
Rina grins. "I'm mute."
Dadi raises a hand. "I swear on my knitting."
Rhea looks back at Ling one last time.
"This isn't forgiveness," she says.
"It's a ceasefire."
Ling meets her gaze, voice low. "I'll take it."
Rhea turns away.
As she walks down the corridor, Ling watches her go—not following, not stopping her, hands clenched at her sides like holding still is the hardest thing she's ever done.
Dadi murmurs, almost fond, "She stayed."
Ling doesn't answer.
Because staying doesn't feel like winning.
It feels like being allowed to breathe under conditions.
And Ling will obey every single one.