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I read her a tale of the cursed princess who learned how to stand up for herself against the evil king and his evil son and fell in love with the kind prince. Riya yawns sleepily as I read to her how the princess got a message from a stork about her new baby and found out that the prince she loved was not good at all, so she ran away with the stork and her animal friends to find her baby.
As I close the book, Riya is fast asleep, snuggled in my arms.
She might have my hair and eyes, but she has Cynthia's fragile beauty. I want to stay here like this, with her in my arms, where I can memorize her face.
For four years, I was terrified of keeping a picture of Riya even in my wallet. I had too many enemies, and I couldn't risk her being discovered.
When I finally summon the strength to leave the room, I see Cynthia sitting at the kitchen counter. Her eyes are red-rimmed, her hands wrapped around a mug.
"Is she asleep?" she asks, her voice hoarse, and I nod.
She slides over a piece of paper toward me. "These are all the things that you should know about her. It's got all her favorite foods written in here and what she doesn't like. She doesn't like hot dogs for some reason, so never give her those. They're also unhealthy. And she has this blanket that you have to make sure you never lose––"
"Why are you talking as if I'm taking Riya away from you?" I stare at her.
"Because that's what you're doing." Cynthia meets my gaze, and the dullness in her eyes makes me feel like the monster she claims me to be.
"Riya's place," I say, "is by your side. And mine. We're a family, Cynthia."
"I'm not your family," she says calmly. "And I will never be your family, Adam. I hate you."
"No, you don't."
I don't want to believe that. There still has to be some room in her heart for me.
She smiles humorlessly. "So, now you will tell me how I feel? What's next, Adam? Will you put your hands on me without my consent like your brother liked to do?"
"That's a low blow." My voice turns cold. "I have never forced you to do anything against your will, and I will not begin now."
"You expect me to believe that?" The mistrust in Cynthia's eyes is like a thousand knives slicing my heart. "I heard you that night, remember? You were willing to keep me at your feet by using the blood debt."
"I never said that." It takes everything in me to not raise my voice.
"Yeah," she stares at me, getting to her feet, her voice quiet, "you just claimed to have ways to keep me by your side once you married Tina. Of course, I would never stay with you willingly, but what if you order me to obey? Like a good little slave, knowing I would die if I didn't obey, I would have watched you marry the perfect woman while I remained in a room, just there to spread my legs for you when you ordered."
My whole body feels like ice as I study her.
"These four years… All this time you've been thinking I would do something like that to you? That I would hold you against your will and walk the same path as my father and brother?""Yes," Cynthia snarls. "I do! You're not different from them. You're the same monster. I trusted you, and all you are capable of is breaking that trust! That's the only thing you know how to do. That's why I risked my life and my child's life to break the blood debt. You would have your daughter born a slave to get your way."
"That's enough, Cynthia." I slam my hands down on the counter, my heart shattering at her accusations. "You know nothing! You think all this, this apartment, this job, they just fell into your life? I bought this apartment the very night you left. I was already in talks with that company you work for. I acquired it overnight, at the number they were asking, all so you could have a job. You wanted to learn how to drive, so I made sure you got the best school to teach you, that you got the safest car there was. When you were looking for preschools for Riya, I paid a donation to one of the best ones in Detroit so they would give one spot to our daughter. I made sure you and Riya were sent the best cuts of meat every week through a 'company' program. I had to jump through hoops to try and be involved in your lives without letting you know I was! I never got to hold Riya when she was born. I never got to hear her first word, or see her first step. I missed out on everything because I was trying to keep you both safe. If I wanted to do all those cruel things to you that you're accusing me of, I would have simply dragged you back the same night you left."
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I regret them.
This is not how I wanted to tell her all this. I wanted a peaceful conversation, perhaps some tears, but a calm and civil environment.
"So, basically," Cynthia says after a few moments, her face white as a sheet, "you're telling me that nothing in these four years is my achievement? You manipulated everything from the get-go."
The look of sheer devastation in her eyes kills me.
"No." I round the counter, needing to touch her, desperate to give her some assurance. "That's not what I meant-"
"Don't touch me." She stumbles back, her hands trembling. "I couldn't even get a job without you, right? I couldn't put food on the table without you."
"Cynthia," I try, the air of finality in her voice frightening me. "That's not it. You got the position because of your resume. I would have––"
Her fingers are over her mouth as she steps back from me. "I can't stay here."
I block her path. "Where will you go? Look, just hear me out. There are a lot of things you need to know."
