57

I tried my best to engage with Jack. I owed him at least that. I forced the soup and bread down my throat, if only to encourage him to eat his. Despite me knowing how delicious it was meant to be, the chunky vegetables kept feeling like they were going to get stuck in my throat. But I managed it.

By the time we’d finished, Jack seemed to be talking with more ease than he had with me in a long time. Perhaps there was every chance we could repair our relationship. I know that’s what our parents would have wanted.

After Jack went back to his room, I asked to speak with Louis. When the gruff man with kind eyes sat down in front of me, I couldn’t help but reflect on how I’d viewed him at first. After all, he’d been the man that had guarded my door when I wanted to escape. But now he was a comfort, one of Thale’s loyal men that genuinely cared for us.

“I wanted to thank you, for what you did. If you hadn’t shown up with