Sofia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, looking up at the girl who was supposed to be her subordinate, yet currently felt like her only anchor. kei looked exhausted, her face still lacking its usual color, and the sight of her standing there in the drafty hallway made Sofia's protective instincts flare up again.
"You're shivering," Sofia whispered, her voice still thick with the remnants of her tears.
"I'm fine, Miss Sofia," kei replied, though her knees gave a traitorous little wobble. "The floor just seemed like a better place to sit than a bed I didn't earn."
Sofia stood up, moving with a sudden, firm resolve. She didn't lead kei back to the guest room. Instead, she took kei hand not with the command of a master, but with a desperate, quiet need and led her toward her own master suite.
THE SHARED SANCTUARY
Sofia's room was an expanse of cream silks, velvet curtains, and the faint scent of expensive lilies. The king-sized bed looked like a cloud in the center of the room. Sofia pulled back the heavy duvet, gesturing for kei to get in.
"Miss Sofia... this is your bed," kei said, blinking in confusion. "I should go back to the guest wing. It's not proper."
"Nothing about today is proper," Sofia snapped, though the bite was gone from her tone. "My friends are gone, I'm apparently 'nothing' without my bank account, and you almost died. Rules are suspended. Get in."
kei didn't have the strength left to argue. She slid into the bed, her body sinking into the high-thread-count sheets. Sofia climbed in on the other side, keeping a careful distance at first. She turned off the main lights, leaving only the soft, warm glow of a bedside lamp.
The silence of the room was heavy, but no longer suffocating.
"Do you think they were right?" Sofia asked into the darkness, her voice small. "That I'm just... a nightmare?"
kei turned her head on the pillow, looking at Sofia. In the dim light, her dark eyes were unreadable but soft. "You are temperamental," kei said honestly. "And you're incredibly spoiled. You yell when your toast is too brown and you treat your shoe collection like a religious shrine."
Sofia flinched, but kei continued.
"But you also ran into a garden in your silk slippers because you thought I was hurt. You yelled at the doctors until they gave me the best room. And right now, you're letting a 'slave' sleep in your designer bed because you don't want me to be alone." kei paused, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"The money brought Chloe here, Sofia. But it's not the money that's keeping me here tonight."
Sofia felt a fresh wave of heat in her eyes, but this time, it wasn't from pain. She shifted closer, closing the gap between them until her shoulder touched kei
"Can I... hold your hand?" Sofia asked, her face flushing supernova red. "Just so I know you're still breathing. I don't want to wake up and find out this was a dream."
kei didn't say a word. She simply reached out and interlaced her fingers with Sofia's. Her grip was weak, but it was steady.
"I'm breathing, miss Sofia," kei murmured, her eyes finally fluttering shut as the medication and exhaustion took hold. "Go to sleep."
Sofia watched kei profile until her own eyelids grew heavy. For the first time in years, she didn't feel like the "Rich Girl" or the "Master." She felt like Sofia. And as she drifted off to sleep, tucked away from the world that had rejected her, she realized that the person she was supposed to own was the only one who truly possessed her heart.
THE MORNING AFTER
The sun rose, casting a golden rectangular light across the bed. Sofia woke up first, feeling a weight on her arm. kei was still fast asleep, her breathing deep and even, her forehead finally cool to the touch.
Sofia looked at her for a long time, a soft smile tugging at her lips. Then, she remembered the state of the house. Maria would be busy with the laundry, and the other maids had their hands full.
I should do something, Sofia thought. kei needs food. Real food. Not hospital jelly.
She carefully disentangled her fingers from kei, tucked the blanket under the girl's chin, and crept out of the room. She was going to make breakfast. How hard could it be?