Rina types anyway.
Rina → Rhea:
Stop punishing her. She's not sleeping. She's getting sad and it's annoying. Go to her room.
Rina sends it.
They wait.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Rina hums. "She won't come."
Dadi's eyes stay on the guest room door. "She will."
Rina tilts her head. "You sound confident."
Dadi smiles knowingly. "Because she didn't leave."
As if on cue—
Rina's phone buzzes.
She looks down.
Her grin slowly spreads.
"Oh," Rina says. "Ohhh."
Dadi snaps, "Read."
Rina clears her throat dramatically.
Rhea → Rina:
Tell your tiger to stop being dramatic. I'm not coming.
Rina looks up. "She's mad."
Dadi smirks. "Good."
Rina types again, adding fuel.
Rina → Rhea:
She cried. Like actually. Don't flatter yourself, it was ugly.
Rina looks at Dadi. "That's a lie."
Dadi shrugs. "Emotional truth."
They wait again.
This time longer.
Rina watches the guest room door like it might explode.
Another buzz.
Rina's grin fades slightly.
"…Oh."
Dadi frowns. "What?"
Rina reads slowly.
Rhea → Rina:
She cried?
Rina glances at Dadi.
Dadi's eyes soften just a fraction. "Now answer carefully."
Rina types.
Rina → Rhea:
She's pretending she's fine. Which is worse. She won't come out. Won't sleep. Won't even yell.
Rina sends it, then winces. "Okay now I feel bad."
Dadi nods. "Good. That means it worked."
Silence stretches.
A full minute.
Then—
The guest room door opens.
Slowly.
Rina's head snaps up. "Dadi—"
"I see," Dadi murmurs.
Rhea steps out into the corridor.
Her face is composed. Controlled. But her eyes are sharp, unsettled, like she didn't plan to move and hates herself for it.
She looks at Rina first. "You lied."
Rina raises her hands. "About the crying. Not about the sad."
Rhea exhales sharply. "You're both impossible."
Dadi smiles at her. Not teasing now. Gentle, firm. "Then go be impossible together."
Rhea hesitates.
Her gaze drifts—against her will—toward Ling's door.
She swallows.
"I'm not apologizing," Rhea says quietly.
Dadi nods. "Good. Neither will she."
Rina grins. "You're perfect for each other."
Rhea shoots her a glare. "If she throws me out—"
"She won't," Dadi says simply.
Rhea takes a breath.
Then another.
And finally—
She walks toward Ling's room.
Rina watches her go, eyes wide, delighted. "She's doomed."
Dadi smiles softly. "They both are."
Behind the closed door of Ling Kwong's room—
The tiger sits awake.
Rhea knocks once.
Not softly.
Not hard either.
Just enough to announce I'm here—don't pretend you're asleep.
The door opens immediately.
Ling doesn't ask anything.
She just looks at her.
Rhea steps inside. "I'll stay here."
That's all she says.
Ling's hand reaches back and locks the door with a sharp click—final, instinctive, like sealing a breach.
Before Rhea can add a single word, Ling moves.
She pulls Rhea into her arms hard—no warning, no permission asked. Rhea's back hits Ling's chest, then she's lifted slightly as Ling's grip tightens, one arm around her waist, the other crushing her upper back to her body.
Rhea's feet leave the ground.
"Ling—" Rhea gasps, startled.
Ling buries her face into Rhea's shoulder.
Her body shakes.
Tears spill—hot, silent, uncontrollable—soaking into the fabric of Rhea's shirt.
Ling's voice breaks completely. "Don't leave."
Not a demand.
A fracture.
Rhea freezes.
She hadn't prepared for this.
Not this raw collapse. Not Ling Kwong—untouchable, feared, dominant—holding her like she's the only thing keeping her upright.
Ling tightens her grip again, almost painfully. "Don't ever do that again. Don't walk away like I don't exist."
Rhea swallows hard. "I didn't leave."
Ling exhales shakily. "You almost did."
Rhea's hands hover for a second—caught between pride and instinct.
Then she presses her palms against Ling's shoulders.
"Put me down," Rhea says quietly.
Ling doesn't.
Her tears keep falling, unchecked now. "If I let go, you'll disappear."
Rhea closes her eyes.
"Ling," she says, sharper now, grounding. "Put. Me. Down."
Slowly—reluctantly—Ling lowers her.
But she doesn't release her.
Her forehead rests against Rhea's neck now, breath uneven, tears still falling.
"I'm not apologizing," Rhea says, voice steady but low. "For staying on my terms."
Ling nods against her. "I don't want your apology."
"Good," Rhea replies. "Because you're not getting it."
Ling lets out a broken laugh that sounds more like a sob. "You're cruel."
Rhea's fingers curl into Ling's shirt. "You grabbed me first."
Silence stretches.
Ling finally pulls back just enough to look at Rhea's face.
Her eyes are red. Ruined. Unfiltered.
"I was terrified," Ling admits. "That you'd decide this wasn't worth it."
Rhea meets her gaze. "I decided it was unfinished."
Ling's throat works. "That's worse."
Rhea's lips press into a thin line. "Get used to it."
Ling wipes her face with back of her injured hand, hissing slightly from the pain.
Rhea notices immediately. "You're bleeding again."
Ling shrugs. "Doesn't matter."
Rhea grabs her wrist without asking, inspecting it. "It does to me."
Ling stills.
Completely.
"You don't get to say things like that," Ling says hoarsely. "Not if you plan on leaving someday."
Rhea doesn't let go of her wrist. "Then stop acting like I'm temporary."
Ling steps closer again.
She rests her forehead against Rhea's. Barely touching.
"I don't know how to love without fear," Ling whispers.
Rhea answers just as quietly. "I don't know how to stay without guilt."
They breathe each other in.
Rhea pulls back first.
"I'm staying tonight," she says. "That's it.
Ling nods. "I'll behave."
Rhea arches a brow. "You better."
Ling almost smiles.
Almost.
Rhea gestures toward the bed. "Sleep. You look pathetic."
Ling snorts weakly. "You came to insult me?"
"Yes," Rhea says calmly. "And to make sure you don't drown in your own head."
Ling watches her, eyes softer now but still intense. "You're dangerous."
Rhea turns toward the chair, shrugging off her jacket. "So are you. Lie down."
Ling obeys.
Rhea sits nearby, arms crossed, watching her like a guard who refuses to admit she's protecting anything.