<h4>Chapter 335: Here</h4>


    "Here," Cadence said, cing a small, carefully cut slice of mango cake on the table in front of her. "I made this for you. Don’t you love it?"


    He untied his apron slowly, folding it over the back of the chair with what he probably thought was casual grace.


    Mnie stared at the te for a long moment. Her fingers curled into her palms, nails digging into the skin. Then she looked up and gave him a thin, polite smile.


    "Actually," she said quietly, "I used to like mango cake. Not anymore."


    Cadence frowned and shook his head, almost like he was disappointed in a child. "Mel. I know you’re angry with me. But how can you say that you don’t like mango cake just because of me? That’s not fair." He gestured vaguely at the kitchen behind him. "I’ve been controlling myself, haven’t I? Just like I promised you. I didn’t hit you. Not even once. Even though you’ve been... well, you’ve been pushing me a lot these past few days."


    Mnie let out a sharp breath. Her smile dropped.


    "And I’m supposed to apud that? You want me to thank you for doing the bare minimum and not hurting me? Is that the new gold standard, you cad?"


    Her voice rose just slightly at the end, but she continued to stare at him calmly. It didn’t matter if this man tried to hit her. She needed to find a way to get off this ind and if the only way to do that was to going to be in an ambnce, then so be it. She already knew that the doctor and the machines had been brought especially for her. And now, they had already left, so if he ended up hurting her, he would have to take her off the ind for first aid.


    So, she continued coldly, "I’ve told you before. I’m not Melody or Mel. Whatever fantasy you’re clinging to isn’t me. And for the record," she said, ncing back at the cake, "the world does not revolve around you. Actually, you got one thing right. I used to like mango cake. I even made it for someone I was with once. My ex. He loved it. But he also broke me in ways I doubt I can fully recover from. So now? Every time I taste that damn cake, I remember him. And I hate it."


    She didn’t raise her voice, didn’t try to shock him. She justid it out in a quiet and bitter but final. She had suffered for three years of her life, all because of Spencer Collins. And somehow, that Mango cake had be a representative of him. They’d eaten that cake on their ’wedding’, after all.


    Across the table, she watched as Cadence’s jaw tightened and his hands curled into fists at his sides. He was trying hard to keep hisposure, but it showed in the way his shoulders stiffened and his nostrils red just slightly at the mention of an ’ex’.


    And she felt a flicker of satisfaction at that.


    The satisfaction didn’tst long though as the man unclenched his fists with deliberate control. Then, without a word, he stepped forward, picked up the untouched slice of mango cake, walked over to the bin and tossed it in.


    The sound was soft. But somehow, it hit harder than if he’d mmed a door to Mnie as her own hands clenched. Dam* it! She needed him to harm her.


    He turned back to her. "Fine. You don’t like mango cake anymore. What do you like, then? Tell me, and I’ll make that for you."


    Mnie stared at him and bit out coldly. "I’d rather not eat at all than have you cook for me. Or if you must, I’ll take some poison."


    That got under his skin. She saw the twitch in his jaw and then the flicker in his eyes. The silence stretched a beat too long before he suddenly shoved the chair nearest to him. It skidded back with a harsh scrape across the tiled floor and Mnie braced herself to be hit as within a second, he had closed the distance between them.


    "Mel," he said, voice low but brimming with frustration. "You need to stop this. Why have you be like this? You used to be polite. Sweet. Clingy, even. Always needing me. But now-" He gestured wildly toward her, eyes narrowing. "Now you’re just... cold. Snappish. Testy."


    Mnie didn’t flinch at the man’s nearness and instead bit out. "Because I’m not Melody. Why can’t you get that through your thick skull? Let me leave, and I’ll prove it to you. Just one day out there and I’ll show you who I really am."


    Cadence stared at her, and for a moment she thought maybe,just maybe, logic hadnded. But then he gave a slow, pitying shake of his head and leaned in close, lowering his voice.


    "If you think this act-this new attitude-is going to make me angry or push me away... give you a reason to hate me all over again, you’re wrong." He smirked, like he’d caught her in some childish ploy. "Fine. If you want me to believe you’re not Melody, then I’ll believe you."


    He reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder. The contact made her skin crawl and she had to suppress the urge to retch.


    He leaned in further, "But it makes no difference whether I call you Melody or Mnie. I like the way you look either way. As for your attitude problem," his eyes gleamed, "I’ll break it soon enough."


    Mnie let him finish. Let him enjoy the illusion of control for just a second longer. Then, slowly, she smiled thinly, not letting him see how much he rattled and scared her.


    "We’ll see who breaks who."


    And with that sentence, she reached for the butter knife beside her on the table and, without hesitation, stabbed it into the back of his hand.


    Cadence’s reaction was instant—he jerked back with a snarl of pain, the de still sticking out of his skin. Blood welled up, bright and vivid.


    She didn’t move. Didn’t gasp or panic or even blink. Just looked up at him with the same expression she’d worn when he served her that cake.


    "I told you not to touch me," she said, voice low and even. "You really should learn to listen."


    Cadence staggered back, eyes wild, one hand mped over the other. But she didn’t wait to see what he would do next. She simply stood, walked around him, and stepped out of the kitchen. She didn’t know where she was going. But it didn’t matter. For the first time since arriving on this cursed ind, she had made a move.


    And Cadence was bleeding. She was no shrinking violet. She was going to get out of heree hell or high water. As she walked out of the room, she jumped at the sound of the loud crash and the man’s curses all the way down the hallway as he promised to teach her a lesson. Once inside the room that was now her prison, Mnie shivered. She wanted to lock the room, curl up and cry as she wondered if Adam really no idea that she was not with him anymore.