Elena walked into the tattoo shop at 10:17 p.m.
The neon was off. Only the desk lamp glowed, casting long shadows across the leather chair and the walls covered in flash sheets.
Mia and Vera stood facing each other in the center of the room like duelists.
Mia's back was to the door; Vera saw Elena first. Her smile was slow, victorious.
"She came," Vera said softly.
Mia turned. Her face crumpled for one second—relief, terror, love—before hardening again.
"You shouldn't be here," Mia said, voice raw.
Elena didn't move. "I'm exactly where I need to be."
Vera stepped forward. "Tell her, Mia. Tell her the rest. Or I will."
Mia's hands shook. "Don't."
Vera ignored her. "The night Mia walked away from me… she didn't just leave. She took my favorite client book—every name, every design, every secret—and burned half of it in the alley behind this very shop. She said if she couldn't have control, no one could. Then she rebuilt her life pretending she was the victim."
Elena looked at Mia. "Is that true?"
Mia's eyes filled. "Yes."
Elena exhaled, slow and shaky. "You destroyed her the way you were afraid she'd destroy you."
Mia nodded once.
Vera's voice dropped. "And now she's doing it to you. Stalking. Manipulating. Owning. She thinks love means possession. I thought the same thing once. Until she proved me wrong by leaving."
Elena stepped between them.
"Both of you shut up."
Silence fell like a blade.
Elena looked at Vera first. "You came back to hurt her. You used Claire. You used me. You're not here to save anyone—you're here to win."
Vera's jaw tightened, but she didn't deny it.
Elena turned to Mia. "And you… you built me a cage out of love letters and orgasms. You made me feel seen when no one else did. Then you lied to keep me there."
Mia's voice broke. "I know."
Elena reached out, cupped Mia's face. Tears slid down both their cheeks.
"I hate you for what you did," Elena whispered.
Mia closed her eyes. "I know."
"But I love you more than I hate you. And that's the part that's killing me."
Elena kissed her—slow, tender, tasting salt and regret.
Then she pulled back and looked at Vera.
"Get out."
Vera laughed once, bitter. "You're choosing her? After everything?"
"I'm choosing me," Elena said. "And right now, she's part of me. You're not."
Vera stared for a long moment. Then she walked to the door, paused.
"You'll regret this," she said quietly.
"No," Elena replied. "You will."
The door clicked shut.
Mia sank to her knees like her strings had been cut.
Elena knelt with her, foreheads pressed together.
"I don't forgive you yet," Elena said. "But I'm not leaving. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. But we start over. No more secrets. No more games. If you lie to me again, I walk. Permanently."
Mia nodded, tears falling onto Elena's hands. "Anything. Everything."
Elena kissed her again—this time hungry, desperate.
They didn't make it off the floor.