Hi guys! Let me know what you think of this new chapter, personally I really enjoyed writing this one ^^

It took Feyre two more days before she felt brave enough to get out of the house.

She just went up the street to the grocery store, but it still felt like a big step after the events of the last few days, and she got back home happy with herself, emptying the content of the grocery bags and putting them in the fridge. She knew Rhys would arrive soon, and she was a little excited for the evening ahead of them.

She told herself it was because today was his last day undercover. He was probably emptying his apartment right about now, and she was happy that he was moving away from the danger this assignment put him in. That was what made her so giddy. Or maybe it was the prospect of another evening spent on the terrace, enjoying the warmth of the summer weather as they talked until late in the night, before quietly saying goodnight.

She pushed the thought away, although she couldn't stop herself from smiling. So what if she enjoyed his company? He was kind and thoughtful and funny, and there didn't need to be another, much deeper, reason for her to be eager to see him. Not one she would dwell on right now, anyway.

She opened the browser on her phone to find the recipe she had selected, and took out the first few ingredients from the fridge, starting to cut the onions and doing her best to follow the instructions on the page.

She was battling against a can of tomato sauce when her phone started ringing. She cautiously let the can opener down and looked at the caller ID. Taking a deep breath, she hesitated for a second before answering.

"Nes?"

"Feyre, are you okay?"

"I am. Are you? How is Cassian?"

Her sister ignored her questions completely. "Your boyfriend called me. I didn't understand everything, but he was looking for you? He seemed… on edge."

"What did he say to you?"

"Not much, only that he didn't know where you were and that he was worried. He told us you left out of nowhere without telling him anything. What happened, Feyre?"

She could have glossed over the details and simply told her sister that she'd left him without adding much more. Nesta had never been the most involved person in her life, and Feyre knew she would be satisfied with only the scraps of her story. But she didn't want to diminish the details of what had happened. So she took a deep breath, and started talking.

"... And so I left. I waited until after he was gone, I took my wallet and my phone, and I left."

She finally stopped talking after a long time of explaining to her sister the details of Tamlin's outbursts of rage and overall awful behavior towards her. Because after the moment where she had left, she wasn't sure about what she could tell her sister. She couldn't talk about Rhys, that much was obvious at least. Her sister didn't know about him, and she intended to keep it that way. But how did she explain where she was?

Or maybe she didn't have to. Maybe she could be honest without revealing too much.

"I walked to a friend's house, so I'm safe now. I did talk to Tamlin a couple of days ago to tell him not to bother me, so I'm sorry he called you."

Nesta didn't talk for the longest time, and Feyre was starting to worry that she wouldn't answer when she finally said something.

"I'm so sorry, Feyre."

She stood still for a moment, taken aback by her sister's tone. "What … What do you mean?"

"I knew he wasn't good for you. Ever since you started dating him and stopped scheduling coffee dates with Elain, I knew I should make the effort to check up on you and make sure you were doing fine. But… then with the wedding, and my work, and… you and I were never very close in the first place, I kind of let my everyday life take a hold of me and I never took the time to call you. You have no idea how sorry I am."

Feyre didn't know what to answer. She stood speechless in the kitchen, looking out the window without truly looking, taking in what her sister meant.

"Nes, it's not your fault."

"But I didn't help. I knew he wasn't good for you but I let you deal with it on your own and -"

"It's not your fault," Feyre cut in. "You're right, we were never close, and you couldn't have known how bad it could become with him," she couldn't bear the idea of saying his name one more time. "And even if you had wanted to help me," she continued, thinking about Rhysand in the cafe, telling her to leave him, and her refusing, "I wouldn't have. I needed to do this on my own terms. And I did. It sucks that it had to happen that way, but I left him, and I'm safe now."

Nesta sighed at the other end of the line. "Alright. Do you need help getting your stuff back from his place?"

And for a split second, she thought about it, getting back her stuff. The blue mug she'd bought in high school with her first paycheck, the velvet party dress he'd gotten her when she'd moved in with him, even her painting equipment. But none of this mattered, none of this was worth getting inside that house again.

"No, it's okay."

"What do you mean? You're not going there alone, Fey."

"I'm not. In fact, I'm not going there at all, so it's fine."

"Feyre, if you're too afraid to go without help, I can get Cassian to come with us."

"It's okay, Nesta. I don't want any of this stuff in my life anymore. I just want to be free of him."

"Alright, if that's what you want. But let me give you some of my clothes at least, you must need them if you left with nothing but your phone."

She was about to decline when she thought of her nearly empty bank account, and the money she was already owing Rhysand for the new clothes and the groceries he'd been buying. She needed all the help she could get.

"Actually that would be great."

"Okay, I'll get a bag ready. Where do you live?"

That's when Feyre realized her mistake. Because she wasn't supposed to know Rhysand, and even less supposed to be living with him. Sure, he was officially done with his undercover job, and he wasn't forced to hide anymore, but Nesta knew what he'd been doing, and she was smart. If Feyre told her she'd met him before the wedding, she'd piece things together and understand that Feyre was somehow involved with his job. And she really didn't want her sisters to know.

"It's okay, I can just pick them up at your place."

"Don't be silly, I can bring them to you."

Just at that moment, Rhys entered the kitchen.

"Hey, I brought pie for dessert, I thought you might like it."

Nesta talked immediately. "Feyre, whose voice was that? Where are you?"

Glaring at Rhys for a second, Feyre turned away and answered. "I told you, I'm at a friend's place."

"What friend?"

"You don't know him."

But of course, Nesta knew better. "Like hell I don't know him. I saw enough videos featuring his voice on Cassian's phone. That's Rhysand's voice." Dammit, she was good. "Why are you with Cassian's brother?"

She needed to give her an answer. And she needed to give her one fast. So she improvised. "We got to talking after the wedding."

Rhys was staring at her with a frown, and he mouthed: "Who are you talking to?"

She showed him the caller ID, but Nesta was already answering.

"What, you got to talking, and now you're living at his place?"

"He's… very nice."

Nesta snorted. "Do you think I'm an idiot, Feyre? There's something more going on here, and if you don't want to tell me what it is, I will find out some other way. You know I will."

She wanted to answer her and deny, but Rhys was mouthing words again. "Hang up the phone. Now."

Her sister was rambling, Rhys was gesturing for her to hang up, and she didn't know what to do anymore. So she said:

"Nesta I'm sorry, I gotta go. I'll call you soon."

And she hung up on her sister. Rhys was staring at her, but he didn't talk. He was probably mad at her for talking about him with Nesta.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell her that I was with you, but she heard your voice and…" she trailed off, unable to think about her next words, panic slowly rising inside her.

"Feyre, you don't have to apologize," he answered in a soft voice. "I'm not mad."

"Then why did you want me to hang up?"

"I'm sorry about that, but I couldn't let you tell her too much before I talked to Cassian. My assignment is officially over, it's true, but I still have a lot of work to do, and Azriel might hear about your involvement through his work. Which means Cassian will know, which means Nesta will know. And I don't want him to learn about all that through your sister. I'm gonna go call him."

She watched him start to leave, and he was already at the door when she blurted out:

"I'm really sorry, Rhys."

She hated how weak her voice sounded. But he turned back, walked to her, and gently laid a hand on her cheek to make her look at him. His eyes were bright, and his lips were curved in a soft smile. "I'm getting to talk to my brother today, Feyre. I could never be mad at you."

This was a strange situation.

There had been hugs and laughter, jokes and pleasantries exchanged when Nesta and Cassian had arrived.

But now, they were all sitting at the kitchen table in silence. Rhys was filling everybody's plates with Feyre's poor attempt at dinner, and the only noise was the scraping of the utensils in the pan. Finally, he put the pan back on the stove and took a seat. They all started to eat, and she kept her eyes on her plate.

"So, Feyre…" Cassian started, fork hanging in the air, "I didn't think the next time I'd see you would be while you were living with my brother!"

Feyre chuckled at that. She saw Rhys glare at his brother, but if she was being honest, she was grateful for the distraction, for the way he was clearly trying to make the situation more easy for her. She immediately felt more at ease, and she decided here and there that she liked Cassian. She smiled at him.

"Oh I guarantee you, this is not how I pictured my second encounter with my brother-in-law either."

"What do you think of the house? You know this is where we grew up, right?"

She glanced at Rhys, and found him already looking at her. "I know. I really like it."

"What bedroom do you sleep in?"

"The first one on the right upstairs."

"Oh, that's a good one! Used to be Azriel's."

"Really?"

Cassian apparently took her question as encouragement to launch into a long and convoluted story about Azriel in sophomore year of high school, and Feyre listened, although she was acutely aware of her sister scrutinizing her and Rhys. Nesta knew there was more going on than they were letting on, but Feyre was grateful to her for not pushing it. Not right now, anyway.

The meal reached an end too quickly, and while Rhys and Cassian grabbed beers and went to sit on the terrace, Feyre led Nesta to her bedroom to unpack the clothes she'd brought. Feyre restrained a chuckle as she folded yet another strict-looking shirt, something she would never have picked out for herself but was very much Nesta's style. She glanced at her sister, busy placing a few dresses on hangers.

"Thank you." Nesta turned around. "For the clothes."

"Of course." They fell silent again, but Feyre could feel she wasn't done talking. "Tell me the truth, Feyre. About why you're here."

Feyre sighed. She'd known it was coming. Nesta was smart, of course she wouldn't believe this situation was just a matter of strange coincidences.

She thought back to what Rhys and her had discussed before Cassian and Nesta got here, about what they could and couldn't say. She sat on the bed, and took a deep breath.

"Everything I told you about what happened with Tamlin is true. But I lied about Rhys. I met him before your wedding, he was working with Tamlin's company those past few months."

"Why would he be working with Tamlin when he was undercover? I mean…" she trailed off, and Feyre saw the realization appear on her face. "You mean, he was… involved?"

She nodded. Nesta stared at her in disbelief for a long while before she spoke again.

"Did you know?"

"Not for a long time." She paused and glanced at the terrace, where she could see the shape of Rhysand sitting in a lounge chair. "Not before I met Rhys. After that… it got complicated. I'm not allowed to get into details."

"What does that mean? Are you in danger?"

"I don't think so, no. I wasn't really involved in anything, and nobody knows I'm here."

"Are you sure?"

"I am." She wasn't, but she didn't want Nesta to worry for no reason.

"How long are you planning on staying here?"

That made her pause.

"I have no idea. I feel safe here," she glanced at the terrace again, "but I know it can't last forever."

She felt a pang of sadness at the thought of leaving. She didn't want to think about leaving this place yet, not when she felt safe and happy here, happier in the last week than she had been in months. She wasn't ready to imagine leaving Rhys. But she pushed the thought away, and went back to folding clothes with Nesta, steering the conversation onto a new subject: Nesta's life as a newlywed.

Nesta and Cassian left a couple of hours later, and Feyre was left standing in the hall with Rhys, exhausted by the evening. He closed the front door and turned to her with a smile.

"Are you tired?"

"A little, yeah. You're not?"

"I guess so. But I'm a little too euphoric to go to bed."

"Happy to see your brother for more than twenty minutes?"

He let out a delighted laugh. "Definitely."

She watched the little crinkles around his eyes as he laughed, and let her eyes move down, stopping at his smile, lingering on his lips. She felt her heart beat a little faster, and looked away, turning around to go upstairs. But she was stopped by Rhys' voice.

"Feyre, wait. Before you go to bed, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to my old precinct tomorrow, for a meeting with Amren. She asked if maybe you could accompany me. We could officially put an end to your job as an informant, get you your check for the work you did, and Amren might have some questions for you. Is that okay with you?"

"Huh, yeah sure. Do you know how much I'll get? I still need to reimburse you for the clothes Mor bought for me." She hadn't really given much thought to the fact that she was being paid for what she'd done. She remembered Rhys mentioning it after their meeting with Amren, but she was focused on other things and hadn't really been paying attention to it.

"I don't know exactly. But you don't have to repay me for those."

"No, I do." She paused, hesitating before she added: "I don't want to be dependent on someone else ever again."

She had expected to have to fight him into accepting the money, for him to insist that he didn't need it or that she was being difficult. But he just nodded. "Okay. Then we'll see how much you get tomorrow and we'll arrange for you to reimburse me. The meeting is at 2 p.m. Is that alright with you?"

"Sure."