Alright people, this is the second to last chapter so, I hope you enjoy it!

They woke up at dawn, but waited for hours inside the tent before getting up. Feyre wasn't ready to face her family once more, and if she was being honest with herself, she wanted to make sure Tamlin would be gone when she came back. The evening by the fire with Rhys had been helpful, as well as the fact that they were outside, under the clear night sky that made her feel free. She was feeling less empty this morning, less desperate. But that didn't mean she wanted to endure his presence at the breakfast table. So after waking up, they had waited, they had talked, snuggled up against each other inside the tent, the unspoken agreement between them that they wouldn't leave until she was ready.

The moment had come on the form of a text from Elain: "He's gone now, all of Nolan's partners are gone. We'll finally have some time just us. Are you coming back?" She'd felt some of the weight leave her stomach, and had nodded at Rhys. They'd gotten out of the tent and, under the chill december sun, he'd taught her how to fold a tent properly.

They were in front of the house's door now, and Feyre felt her determination falter a bit at the memory of her behavior. Her mother was sure to be angry at her after the fit she'd thrown at seeing her ex. She remembered clearly how Elain had been mortified when she'd walked out of the house in tears, Rhysand right behind her.

"Feyre, it's going to be fine," Rhys whispered behind her, a hand resting gently in the small of her back.

"I feel ridiculous," she admitted, folding her hands into fists to keep from knocking on the door right away. "We shouldn't have left like this, it was rude to my sister. It's her birthday and I leave a minute after I get here."

"You don't have to feel ridiculous. You did what you had to do to feel better, and I'm sure your sister will understand."

"My mother won't though."

"Then don't listen to her. It was her mistake in the first place, she should be the one feeling bad and apologizing to you."

Feyre opened her mouth, but before she could answer, the door swung open to reveal Elain, still in a nightgown. She smiled at the sight of Feyre and hugged her, dragging her inside.

"Oh Feyre, here you are! I thought I'd heard voices outside and was hoping it would be you. Come on, we're having breakfast in ten minutes with Graysen, his parents, Nesta and Mom. You bedroom is the third one on the left if you want to go get cleaned up before joining us."

Her tone was… cheerful, extremely so, enough for Feyre to know that her sister was nervous. Feyre couldn't blame her, really. Elain had always been the more welcoming out of the three of them, always prompt to please people and trying to fit in. So having her younger sister storm out of the house in front of her future parents-in-law must have been nightmarish for her.

"Sure," she simply replied before heading for the stairs, hoping to regain a semblance of composure before having to face a crowd of people judging her.

The shower hadn't worked. Almost an hour after Rhys and her had entered the house, they were still seated at the breakfast table with Graysen's parents, probably some of the most awful people she had encountered in a long time. Elain had traded the pink nightgown for a woolen cobalt jumper and a pair of jeans, and Nesta, seating next to her, was wearing a long red dress and clenched tighter on her fork every time their mother opened her mouth. Feyre thought her sister might actually break it when their mother once more started talking about how fulfilling it was to see one of her daughters getting married to such a wonderful family.

"I mean it, Nolan, I was so glad when I learned about Elain's engagement with your son. And now that I've met him? I'm even more excited that they're getting married. Our two families will clearly get along very well, I'm sure."

Feyre kept on eating her eggs without talking, not wanting to bring any more attention to herself and embarrass Elain in front of them. But Nesta clearly didn't have a problem with it, because she set down her fork and looked at their mother with death in her eyes.

"Since when are you so concerned about our love lives?" Even if she'd said it loud enough for everyone to hear it, the question was clearly not meant to receive an answer. Everyone around the table stopped eating for a second, but Feyre knew her sister. If she had something to say, she wouldn't care that the whole world was watching. She couldn't stand Graysen's family, and she wouldn't mind having a family quarrel in front of them.

"Nesta, I've always cared about you three, deeply. I know that the last few years without me were rough, but as I already explained to you and your sisters, I did my best to get out of a difficult situation I wasn't able to handle on my own and…"

"Oh yes, your 'health problems,' I know. They're the reason you left us alone for more than ten years and only came back when all was better in our lives." The silence was so heavy in the room that Feyre wondered if Graysen's parents actually knew about their family's history. But Nesta wasn't done.

"But I wasn't referring to your years away. I'm talking about how you are behaving those last few months. Nagging me every day about finding someone, inviting Feyre's ex-boyfriend to a family gathering, and now, spending this entire breakfast repeating incessantly how Elain's marriage is going to be amazing? Stop trying so hard, mom, none of us are buying it."

And without letting her mother a chance to answer, she got up and walked out of the room, her heels slamming with each of her steps. Feyre couldn't take her eyes off the door where her sister had disappeared for a moment, and when she turned back to the table, Elain's face was as red as it could be, Graysen's parents had their eyes buried in their bowls, and Rhys was staring at her mother from behind his cup of tea. Finally, Elain spoke, her voice a mere whisper.

"I'm… I'm so sorry about Nesta. She's had a hard year and…"

"It's quite alright my dear," Nolan interrupted. Although Elain seemed glad to have been stopped, Feyre couldn't repress the feeling of unease at the sight of this man not letting her talk. He was so imposing, she didn't want to think about her sister spending her life in his shadow. "Now, what is the program today for you ladies?"

"Oh we'll simply have a walk around the island, enjoy this beautiful weather," her mother answered, clearly relieved at the change of subject. "I thought you would join us, Nolan?"

"And waste a perfectly good day? No, I'll stay here and work with my son. And what about you," he turned to Rhys, "Rhysand, is it? Mark told me who your father is, you could join us."

"Yes, my name is Rhysand," he answered, and although his voice was calm and pleasant, it didn't have any of its usually kindness and warmth, and Feyre had a vivid image of his father talking to her at his birthday party, not unpleasant but somewhat still cold and not really welcoming. She had never heard him talk that way, and wondered if this was how he sounded when he was working. "And thank you for you proposal, but I would rather spend the weekend with my girlfriend and her sisters, seeing as it is, after all, Elain's birthday." The smile he gave Elain was much warmer, much more like the smile she was used to, and she watched her sister relax and smile back at him.

"I thought you would have had enough of outdoor activities with your evening in the wild last night," Nolan answered with what was clearly meant to be a joke, and her mother let out a chuckle. Feyre felt her cheeks starting to burn. She knew that it was bound to come up at some point, but she was still not ready for it. Rhys didn't laugh though, he turned towards Nolan and said:

"It's not funny. But now that you mention it, I did have a great night, thank you for your camping gear. And I'll enjoy spending the whole weekend outside. I spend enough of my life in an office during the week, why force myself into this inconvenience on my time-off?"

His tone was so pleasant, yet his words so cold, Feyre saw the contained rage in Nolan's eyes, as if he didn't know wether or not to be insulted be Rhys' last remark. She squeezed his knee under the table as a silent 'thank you', and continued her breakfast.

Feyre walked through the forest, enjoying the sun on her skin, and the sight in front of her. Rhys and Elain were walking together a few meters in front of her, and seemed absorbed in their conversation about Rhys' childhood in the mountains. They laughed a lot, and she felt her heart swell up at the sight of him getting along so well with her family.

Well, part of her family anyway, since her mother was still very angry at her for storming off the night before, and had opted for a quick walk near the beach with Graysen's mother instead of the hike in the forest with them. She had seemed more interested in Rhys than before though, and Feyre recalled the moment after breakfast when her mother had approached her and asked her what Nolan had meant when he said he wanted to work with Rhys. But even knowing that he was from a wealthy respectable family couldn't make up for embarrassing her, and she'd made that really clear by not coming with them. Not that Feyre minded, she thought, smiling at seeing Elain point a plant to Rhys and starting to explain how difficult this one was to grow indoors. She kept reliving the last few encounters with her mother, how mean she had been, how she had not cared about Feyre's problems. Maybe it didn't matter that she didn't seem to like Rhys, and maybe it wasn't so bad that Nesta was always angry at her. Walking in the forest, with Nesta beside her, and Rhys and Elain in front of them, Feyre thought that maybe, she didn't need her mother. After all, she'd survived ten years without her, she'd helped her sisters go to college, and she had managed to build a life for herself, all without her mother. So even if she was back in their lives, Feyre didn't have to let her in more than the bare minimum of seeing her once a year for holidays. She was strong, and she liked her life right now, an she wanted to grow closer with her sisters again. Maybe her mother's toxic attitude didn't have its space in her life, and maybe that was okay.

She was smiling at her own liberating thoughts when Nest, who had been walking beside her quietly, suddenly started talking, making her startle.

"I'm sorry about what mom did. It was inappropriate to have him here. I knew she was planning something, but I never thought she'd invite him here."

"It's fine, Nesta, you didn't know."

"If I can ask, why did you leave last night? I mean, I get that you were mad at mom, and mad at him, but what made you feel so awful that you prefered sleeping outside rather than share a roof with him?"

She knew this would come. She knew after the event of the previous evening, her sisters would have questions for her. And even with her brand new decision of not letting her mother into her personal life, her words kept ringing in her ears. "You're exaggerating." She wasn't exaggerating, she knew that, she knew that everything he'd done to her had been real and that she deserved to be heard. That didn't make it any easier to start talking to Nesta. But she had to believe that her sister had more love for her than her mother.

"The night I left Tamlin, he proposed to me."

"I am going to claw his eyes out."

She couldn't restrain the nervous laugh that came out of her lips. Nesta's reaction to her story could not have been farther away from how her mother had reacted.

"I'm not joking, Feyre. The next time I see him, I will hit him so hard his face will never look the same again. How dare he mistreat you for months and then come to our family weekend claiming it's been a huge misunderstanding between you two and he just wants a chance to talk to you?"

"He… He said that?"

"Oh yes. And I knew you'd be pissed because you were coming with your boyfriend, but I had no idea what he'd done to you. Feyre, why didn't you say something to us when it happened? I would have been there in a second if I'd known."

"Well, because, Nesta," how did you tell your sister you would have never thought of her as willing to support you? How did you tell her that your whole family history indicated you were alone with your problems? "I just thought that with all Tamlin did for our family, you wouldn't stand with me."

Nesta stopped walking and grabbed her arm to make her look at her.

"Feyre. I know that me and Elain haven't been the most supportive we could have during all those years. And I know everything you did for us, and everything you sacrificed to get us both where we are now. Don't think we forgot that. I… all those years ago, when mom left us and dad wouldn't do anything about it, I know that I should have stepped up and do what you did for us. But… I was so angry, Feyre, at mom for leaving us, at dad for doing nothing to get her back, than for doing nothing to keep us from starving. I wanted him to step up and protect our family. But he never did, and you were always the strongest of us, you kept us all together all those years and now… Feyre I swear to the Gods that I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. You can come to me anytime. I didn't prove it before, but I'll prove it to you, now."

Feyre swallowed hard, not knowing what to say at her sister's unexpected declaration. She'd never thought Nesta would be the one to tell her this kind of things. Nesta had always been more protective of Elain, ready to defend her from anything. Feyre had always been… alone. And now, to hear her sister say all those things to her… She didn't want to start crying, so she extended her hand to take Nesta's in hers, whispered a "thank you" and resumed walking, feeling better than ever since that night Tamlin had thrown her against a glass cabinet.

The day had been really long. Her heart-to-heart with Nesta had led to a second talk with Elain once they were back at the house. She had felt bad at first, to have brought all this up on the day of Elain's birthday, but her sisters had made it easier somehow, joking around and talking about mundane things while the three of them were hanging out in Elain's bedroom. The birthday dinner with Graysen's family had been easier than breakfast, and Rhys and Elain's newfound mutual fondness for each other had them leading a lively debate on one side of the table. Everyone had headed upstairs sometime after dinner, and Rhys and her were now settling for the night.

"You know what," Rhys said as he came out of the bathroom, "I'm starting to wonder if I didn't prefer our night under the stars, Darling."

She only laughed and shook her head at that, and he climbed beside her on top of the covers to take her in his arms.

"No, I'm serious," and he started a trail of kisses on her neck. "The noise of the fire, the light of the moon, having to snuggle against you to stay warm, I enjoyed it way too much, Feyre. I think I want to take you camping more often."

He kissed her once on the lips and softened his hug on her.

"Well, maybe next time we could have two sleeping bags and you wouldn't be freezing."

"Oh but what's the fun in having two sleeping bags when I can cuddle with you instead?"

It was so easy, flirting with him, and smiling at his remarks, and enjoying the warmth of his arms around her. Feyre suddenly felt overwhelmed by all this joy he was able to bring up in her, and she had to take a deep breath to make sure her heart was still beating at its normal speed. He kissed her once more and whispered in her ear:

"I was thinking of going downstairs to make myself a cup of tea, do you want one?"

"Yes, sure. Thank you."

He got up and left the room, and Feyre started to get ready for bed, taking a shower, brushing her hair and teeth, and putting on a nightgown to go to bed. But when she came out of the bathroom about twenty minutes later, Rhys wasn't back yet. Intrigued, she opened the door of the bedroom, and heard voices coming out of the kitchen downstairs. He had probably encountered someone in the kitchen and started talking. She was about to close the door again when she realized that the second voice was her mother's.

It took her a few seconds to wonder if she was better off staying in the room, and then she was coming down the stairs as quietly as possible, curious as to what her boyfriend might be saying to her mother so late at night. The more she approached, and the more the voices seemed tensed. She stopped outside the door and listened.

"... I mean, I obviously didn't know she would bring you, or I would have acted differently."

"With all due respect, Mrs Archeron, even if Feyre had been single and coming alone, inviting your daughter's abuser to a family dinner was not a smart move."

"Don't you think calling him an abuser is a bit of an exaggeration? There was one incident between them."

"One incident? You call your daughter being physically assaulted an incident?!"

"I admit he pushed her around that day, but…"

"'Pushed her around', huh. Do you know your daughter had bruises on her wrists for two weeks afterwards? Do you know she still wakes up at night crying because she has nightmares about the glass shattering against her back?"

"I…"

"And maybe it was 'only' one incident, as you say. But physical violence is nothing compared to what he did to her before that. She was unhappy for months before she found the courage to leave him. Do you know that she's afraid to lock her front door because it reminds her of all the times he wouldn't let her go outside? Do you know that she feels like her work is worthless because he wanted her to quit her job, telling her it was a useless 'hobby'? Do you know that your daughter stopped painting because of him? Your daughter, the one that loved her brushes and canvas since she was two years old, she hasn't painted in nearly a year."

"Rhysand, I…"

"Mrs Archeron, I am in love with your daughter. I love her. And I haven't told her yet. And do you know why? Because I don't want her to feel like she owes me anything, I don't want her feeling like she's drowning again. So I'm going to make her a cup of tea, and I'm going to get up to our bedroom, and hold her in my arms, and hope that tonight, I might see her fall asleep without tears in her eyes."

It was too much. She had difficulty breathing, processing everything she'd heard him say. She couldn't hear any more of it. Quietly, tears running down her face, Feyre climbed back up the stairs and closed the bedroom door behind her.

Rhysand left the kitchen with the two mugs in his hand, his heart still raw at the discussion with Feyre's mother. He hadn't planned to be this honest with her, and when she'd entered the kitchen, the discussion had been friendly enough, if not very warm. But then, he didn't really know how, they had ended up talking about Tamlin, and what Feyre was going through, and… and his feelings for her. Gods, he'd told her mother that he loved her, when he hadn't even really admitted it to himself yet.

But there was nothing he could do about it now, he thought as he exhaled one last time before opening the door to the bedroom.

"Here's one cinnamon tea for you. I added lemon, I hope it's..." he stopped dead at the sight of her. She was seated on the bed, clenching her knees between her arms, sobbing. "Feyre, what's going on?"

He left the mugs on the floor beside the bed, and climbed up to sit beside her. She'd been fine when he'd left her, nearly half an hour before. He wondered what had happened in the meantime to get her so worked up.

"Darling, do you want to talk about it?"

"I… I was wondering what was taking you so long so I… I went downstairs."

Oh no. She'd heard what he'd said, and now she was certainly angry at him for not acting properly with her mother.

"Feyre I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out at your mom, it's just that I've been holding back since yesterday and I just.. I'm sorry."

She had managed to calm her sobbings slightly, and was now looking at him with red eyes. "What? No, Rhys that's not what I'm talking about, I don't care about how you talk to her. I heard you tell her about my nightmares, and the door I never lock, and the painting… I had no idea you'd noticed all this."

"Well, sure."

"Rhys I... I heard you say that you love me."

Oh this was so much worse than her being angry at him.

"Feyre, I never intended to tell you that way, I…"

"How long?" Her voice was soft, and seemed to calm down with every second he was panicking.

"I don't know, a few weeks? I'm sorry, you don't have to say anything to me, I don't expect anything, I…" He was cut of by her lips in his mouth, and it took him a few seconds to answer her kiss. She broke away and there were tears in her eyes again, but that time, she was smiling.

"You're so stupid."

"What?"

"Rhys, I love you too."

They didn't sleep much that night, laughing and kissing and telling each other words of love under the sheets. They spent Sunday morning with her family, then took the ferry back to Springfield. All the while, Rhys couldn't stop looking at her, at the way the corner of her eyes wrinkled when she laughed, and how her hair framed her face so beautifully. He couldn't stop thinking of the wonderful words she'd told him, and how sincere they had been.

They went to her apartment that evening, and he spent the night repeating 'I love you' again and again against her skin, until they fell asleep together, at peace.