Feyre was sitting at the dinner table, sipping her too-hot coffee while looking through her email. It was the only form of communication she had since Tamlin had put restrictions on her phone.

It was not even her phone, but she told herself to be grateful. No one had been kind to her except Tamlin, who protected her when she was at one of the weakest points in her life. But now that she was better, she wondered if she still needed to be protected; she wondered if she needed…

No, she thought. Do not think about that; you love Tamlin… don't you? She sighed and shook her head as if all those thoughts would scatter away. Besides, if she left Tamlin, where would she go? Her parents were dead, and her sisters could give a damn about her. Tamlin was all she had left. But…

Her thought was cut off when she saw Tamlin walk into the kitchen. "Morning Feyre," he said and placed a kiss on her forehead. A small part of hated it. She told herself it was small, at least. "Morning," muttered, pretending to be distracted by her empty inbox. She was about to go to the bathroom to pee when she remembered something.

"Hey babe, before I forget, can you look at the bathroom door? It keeps on getting stuck?"

"I'm not a builder."

Feyre bristled at that. Tamlin was not busy. It was Sunday, for god's sake. She kept her thoughts to herself, though. Sighing, she got up to put her empty mug in the sink. She noticed the tap sink was dripping water, even when the handle was down.

"Tamlin, the kitchen sink is dripping; you think you can take a look at it?"

"I'm not a plumber."

Mother's tits, is he that lazy? Her temper was rising, annoyed that Tamlin was acting this way. He always behaved this way. He was not putting anything into the relationship, and it had been feeling more one-sided than ever. "Can you at least take a look at my car; the engine oil light has been on for ages…"

"I am not a mechanic," he said in that same cool, indifferent tone.

She almost screamed at him. Why the fuck was he acting like this? At that moment, she realized that she never wanted to be farther from him than she did now. She felt he locked her in a broom closet and had left her there taking the key with him. Before she could scream at him, she walked toward the door, grabbed her coat, put on her boots, and went out the door. She could hear Tamlin calling after, but she could care less right now.

She sucked in a huge breath. It had been gods know how long since she had been outside, at least without Tamlin hovering over like a hawk. As she looked around, her eyes snagged on a pair of violet eyes. They were the most beautiful colour she had ever seen, and she had a strong desire to paint them. She was shocked. She had not touched a paintbrush since… since Tamlin. Her breath caught when she saw the rest of the mysterious person's face.

He had a sharp jawline, straight nose, and lips pulled up in a smirk. He was the most beautiful male she had ever seen in her life. But that smirk brought her back to reality. He knew she had been staring, staring too long. She blushed a bright shade of crimson but scowled at him for his cockiness.

He walked up to her and spoke. "I've never seen you before. Did you just move here?" His voice was even better than she imagined. It was like a melody. She almost laughed at what she said. Everyone must think she was new on this street since she barely went out, correction barely allowed to go outside. "No, I just don't get outside much. I'm Feyre" She held out her hand, and he took it while saying, "Rhysand."

"Reese-and," she said, testing the syllables on her tongue. He smiled at that for a reason she did not know. "Nice to meet you, Feyre Darling." She frowned at that. "I'm not your darling." Her toes curled at the name though, thank god she was wearing boots. He laughed and spoke," I was just going on a walk, care to join?" She almost declined, about to say Tamlin would never allow, but she stopped herself. What did it matter that Tamlin would never allow? She was a grown-ass adult, for god's sake.

"I would love to," she said, and so they walked around the neighbourhood talking about random stuff, but Feyre was distracted. Every move he made, she noticed, every time his eyes twinkled, every time his lips curved into that sensuous smirk, she noticed barely listening to the conversation at this point.

"Feyre?" She realized she had zoned out, staring at his chest a bit too long. But Rhysand was smirking, his eyes alive with humour and amusement. She blushed again and realized that they were back in her street. Her heart sank, knowing she would have to go back to Tamlin when she would rather stay with Rhysand. He caught that too and said, "Hey, I'm always here if you need anything." She smiled at that and said: "Thank you for the walk, Rhys, good evening." She felt his stare branding her as she walked toward that dreadful house.

The next morning, she woke up to an empty bed. Tamlin must have left for work. He left early on Mondays for some "important meetings" or some shit like that. Once she finished brushing her teeth and combing her hair, she walked downstairs to the kitchen. The tap was leaking, and she gritted her teeth, remembering yesterday's conversation. She heard the doorbell ring, so she went to get it. She did not have any friends, so who could it be?

She did not expect Rhysand to be there, especially with a Tupperware in his hands. "Hello, Feyre darling." He said that smug smirk still on his lips. "What are you doing at my house at 8 a.m.?" He laughed at that and shook the Tupperware. "You told me you like cookies yesterday, and coincidentally my cousin and I made them last night, so I thought I would bring some over." Surprise lit her face. She did not think he would remember that and was grateful for it nonetheless.

"Thank you," she murmured, taking the Tupperware. She felt awkward with them standing there, so she said, "Would you like to come in?" she hoped he would say yes. She was craving company. He nodded, and she swears she felt her heart grow three times in size. He followed her into the kitchen, and she put the Tupperware into the fridge. He noticed the leaking tap. "You need help with that?" She blushed and nodded. He walked over to the sink and opened the cabinet. She did not know how, but like magic, the tap stopped leaking. "Thank you so much," she said, "I haven't been able to fix it for days." He shrugged, but he could see a small smile tugging at his lips. "Anything else you need help fixing?"

Rhysand must have been inhuman, for she could not figure out how he fixed her car and bathroom door. She thanked him endlessly for it. "Is there anything I can do to pay you back? I can mow your lawn or something." He laughed, "Well darling, there are two things I want, but I'll let you choose." As soon as she heard the options, she knew her answer.

"I'm home," Tamlin said as he came through the front door. "Hey," she said, her voice distant because she was reading a new book she had ordered. "How was your day?" He asked, and she almost laughed at that. She knew he was just making small talk and did not care. "Boring. Neighbour came and helped with those jobs."

"Oh, okay. Did he want anything for it?"

"He said I could either bake him a cake or sleep with him."

He laughed at that. "So, what cake did you bake?"

It was her turn to laugh. "I'm not a baker."