Hey guys!

So, before you read on, I just wanted to apologize for not having answered every comment. To be honest, 's platform is really bad for comments, basically I have no way to tell if I've answered a comment before, so I can't keep track of them properly. But I just wanted to tell you that I see and appreciate every single comment you give me!

Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

She stared at the house in front of her for maybe an entire minute, while Rhys paid the cab driver. They were in one of the residential streets of The Rainbow, the sidewalks lined with old trees who gave shadows to the road and to the typical colorful houses of the district, beautiful all around them.

Rhys watched the taxi go beside her, and moved to the little metal gate in front of the house.

The beautiful two story house, painted in a vivid shade of blue, with white windows, and all the curtains closed.

She watched Rhysand walk towards the front door, get down to move one of the stones beside the stairs, and open the door with the key he had found there. Then he turned towards her.

"You coming?" He asked with a smile.

She stepped into the front yard and came inside the house. Rhys closed the front door behind him, and they were alone.

"Whose house is this?" She asked, finding herself whispering without really knowing why.

"Mine," he answered, his voice equally low, and she turned to him, only to find him with an air of awe on his face.

"You haven't been here since…" she couldn't finish her sentence, but he understood and shook his head. "That must be hard."

He answered with an unintelligible sound, moved to the room on the left of the hall, and turned on the light to reveal a small but cozy living-room. A large couch, a tv set, a coffee table. Across the room, through an open arch, a library, filled with many bookshelves, a large dark carpet covering the floor.

And standing in the entrance, Rhysand. Looking at him, Feyre felt as if she was seeing him for the first time, really seeing him. He fit in here, and the house around him felt like a large jigsaw puzzle welcoming its last missing piece.

"This is the living-room, and at the end of this corridor, you'll find the kitchen. I can show you your bedroom if you want, it's upstairs."

She simply nodded, and he started towards the stairs. Feyre followed him, but as she landed on the second floor, she stopped dead in her tracks, unable to look away from the view she found there. A large bay window lay in front of her, offering a view she hadn't been expecting. The river was running calmly just outside the house, and she could see the rest of Velaris on the other side, the residential districts melting away to give space to the mountains behind them. In the light of the afternoon, the river was shining quietly, and Feyre could have spent the rest of her day staring outside, taking in the calm atmosphere surrounding her.

"Feyre?"

Rhys' soft voice brought her back to reality, and she turned to find him looking at her expectantly, waiting in front of an open door. She felt heat creep up her cheeks and she advanced to him.

"Sorry."

"No need to apologize, I know the view is breathtaking. But don't worry, you'll get to enjoy it from your bedroom."

Indeed, the room she entered was a continuation of the bay window, with an access to the outside, a door opening in the glass, like there had been in the corridor. Outside, she could see a few patio chairs, a table, and a closed-up beach umbrella.

After a minute, she tore her eyes away from the outside to take in the bedroom. Simple, with modern furniture and what looked like a comfortable bed, the room felt light, welcoming. On top of the bed were a few shopping bags, and she suddenly remembered the clothes Rhys' cousin was supposed to have bought for her.

"I'll let you change if you want. I'm heading downstairs, if we're lucky there might be some canned food in one of the cupboards of the kitchen."

She approved with an unintelligible sound, and he left, closing the door behind him. She sat on the bed, and felt a sudden wave of weariness crash onto her. She decided to lay down for a minute before heading downstairs.

She woke up to the soft evening light coming through the window. Disoriented for a second, she looked outside, and once again found comfort in the view of the river. She didn't know how long it had been since she'd fallen asleep, and she didn't really want to look at her phone. Not if it meant having to see Tamlin's missed calls and unread texts.

She got up, dug through the shopping bags to find clean underwear and suitable clothes, and once she was dressed with a pair of dark leggings and a pink shirt, she went downstairs to look for Rhys.

No one was there, and the curtains were still drawn, but a light was on in the kitchen. She went in to find a bag of groceries and a note on the counter.

Feyre,

I had to go back to work and didn't want

to wake you up. I got some groceries if you

want to eat something. Feel free to look

around the house. Call me if you need

anything. Back tomorrow morning,

Rhys

She stared at the note for a while, but didn't dwell too long on it as she took in the food waiting for her in the bag. She was starving. She took a bag of pasta out of the bag, found a saucepan, and spent the next fifteen minutes making some semblance of a meal for herself.

Once it was ready, she went into the living room, curled up in one of the armchairs, and ate quietly.

Alone in this big house, she would have been right to stress out a little, but she felt peaceful. Everything around her spoke to her, as if it had been made to welcome her and offer her the best shelter possible. The living room felt cozy and warm, the kitchen had been a delight to use, and she couldn't wait to climb back up to her bedroom and enjoy the view of the Sidra. This house felt right around her, and as she finished her plate and took it to the kitchen, Feyre couldn't help but think about its owner.

After seeing him standing here, it was impossible to imagine him living in the tiny studio on Northern Avenue. That wasn't Rhys. And it wasn't the size of the house, or the different neighborhood. It was just the feeling that emanated from here, like a warm drink on a cold winter night or the intoxicating smell of freshly cut flowers. Or the feeling of strong, gentle hands gently stroking your legs to calm you down.

The memory of Rhysand's hands on her body brought her back to reality, and with a blush, she finished washing her dishes and darted upstairs, in the unlikely hope that she would stop her thoughts from drifting off to him.

The warmth of the summer sun woke her up the next morning, and she kept her eyes closed for as long as possible, enjoying the smell of the clean sheets around her. The house was silent around her, and she could hear the murmur of the river coming through the open bay window. She could have stayed that way forever, unburdened, peaceful.

Just then, she had a realization. She was supposed to work that day. She had the afternoon shift at the bakery. Except she couldn't go. Tamlin knew her schedule, he was certain to go there and look for her the moment her shift was supposed to begin. And she wasn't ready to confront him yet.

So she grabbed her phone off the nightstand and, ignoring the unending list of missed calls and unread texts, she found her boss' number and called.

Mary answered almost immediately, and Feyre didn't even have time to say hello before she started talking.

"Feyre? Are you okay?"

"I… I'm fine. Why? What's going on?"

"Your boyfriend stormed in here yesterday afternoon, he was looking for you and he was very angry."

"Oh God, Mary I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, some of our regulars from the fire station were here and got him under control, but… he scared everybody, Feyre. He kept yelling at me and the girls to know if we were hiding you from him, he seemed… frantic. I tried to call you afterwards but you didn't answer."

"Yes, I'm sorry, I kind of ignored my phone the last couple of days. He didn't hurt anyone, did he?"

"No, but Feyre, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I left him two days ago." And because she didn't want to answer any other questions and talk more about Tamlin, she continued: "Would it be okay if I took a few days off? I don't really want to run into him right now."

"Absolutely, no problem. In fact, why don't you take a couple of weeks? The work is slow these days anyway."

She felt a rush of gratitude go through her. "That would be great, thank you, Mary!"

Her boss' voice was softer when she answered. "No problem. And Feyre?"

"Hum?"

"Be careful, okay?"

"I will."

She hung up and laid back on the bed. At least she didn't have to go out to work.

She got bored around two in the afternoon. Despite his note, Rhys hadn't shown up, and she found herself wandering aimlessly through the house, spending some time on the terrace, cooking, and laying on her bed.

But there was only so much to do without going out, and she really didn't feel like going out.

So instead she ended up in the library, her eyes roaming over the books to try and find something interesting. No luck. Not that the books didn't seem good, but she just couldn't seem to care about them. Until she reached the bottom shelf, and read a label that picked her interest.

"Highschool years - Knight family"

A photo album.

She felt guilty for a moment when she grabbed it, but her curiosity got the best of her. She took out the album and settled on the nearest sofa to look at it.

The first few pages were filled with pictures of mountains, and a campsite, and were titled 'summer vacations 2009' in Rhysand's writing. Had he compiled those himself? She turned the pages slowly, laughing at the sight of the picture of a teenage Rhys clearly showing off his new car, probably his first, in front of a big house, as a woman was smiling at him fondly from the side, a toddler in her arms. Feyre wondered if she was his mom, and her answer came on the next page. One picture featured Cassian and Rhys grinning widely, each of them with an arm around Azriel, as he held up a banner saying "FINALLY ONE OF US!" in his hands. The next picture was of Azriel with an elderly couple signing papers, the woman from the previous photo crying of joy and the man smiling softly at the boy.

The day Azriel had been adopted, most certainly. Feyre felt her heart fill with joy at the thought. Even though she barely knew the people in the photos, their happiness was slipping through and she couldn't help her smile.

The next few pages were almost exclusively featuring Rhys and his brothers in highschool, joined by Morrigan. All of them looked so young, so happy and carefree, as they went to baseball games together, smoked what looked to be more than cigarettes in a shabby-looking garage, and chilled in front of a fireplace at a winter cabin. They were occasionally joined by their parents, but never by Mor's parents, she realized.

As she advanced throughout the album, a little girl started to appear more, too, no more than three or four years old at first, with the same striking blue eyes Rhysand had, laughing and running around everywhere. His little sister?

She hadn't been at the wedding. Neither had his parents.

She didn't go on. There wasn't many possible explanations as to why the groom's parents and sister wouldn't be at his wedding, and none of them were particularly happy. She had no right finding out about it in a photo album, and she didn't want to. So she closed it and put it back on the shelf.

She was about to move away when a framed picture caught her eye. It was covered in dust, tucked between two books but still visible. She grabbed the frame and took it out, unable to stop her curiosity. Her lips parted in surprise when she took in the photo.

It was Rhysand. Maybe a few years younger than he was now, probably twenty years old. He had a wide grin on his lips, and he seemed proud. So proud, in his dark blue, brand new, police uniform. He was even wearing a cap on top of his head. Graduating, probably. It's what it looked like, anyway.

Feyre found herself staring at the photo, staring at him. The man she had grown to know so well, to trust, even.

The man in the photo was different. And it wasn't the uniform. It was his features. She let her fingers trail along his face in the frame. His grin was large, but most of all, it was happy. She had never seen him smile that way. He was smiling at her, a lot. But it was always so… guarded.

And his eyes. These eyes she couldn't stop studying every chance she got. They were always tired, almost sad. Here, in the picture, in this memory of another day, they were bright, full of pride and hope for the years to come. It made her sad. Because she would have loved to meet him then, when his eyes were full of light instead of sadness. And she didn't know if she ever would.

But… maybe it wasn't so bad. Rhysand being different from the man he had been then. Maybe, it was just like she was different from who she'd been a few months ago. And she felt better for it. Maybe Rhys felt that way, too.

So she put the frame back, leaving the memory behind, and looked for a book that would distract her until he came back.