Part 2The Quiet Girl from Ward S

When we reached the familiar estate, I stood at the threshold. I didn't enter.

Brianna used to say this was her house. Her parents, her brothers. I was just the intruder.

How could I enter someone else’s home uninvited?

It wasn't until Silas said, "Get inside," that I forced a flattered smile. "Is it really okay?"

Silas’s eyes softened with a hint of pity. But the memory of my past behavior quickly hardened his heart again.

Soon, Arthur and Brianna returned.

"Arthur, I brought Yasmine back," Silas said.

"Has it been six months already?" Arthur asked.

Already?

I had lived through a year’s worth of hell every day in that place, but to them, time flew.

Arthur studied me with a cold, judgmental gaze. I immediately gave him a small, respectful half-bow.

Brianna saw me and gasped, shrinking behind Arthur’s broad shoulders.

Arthur patted her arm. "Don't be afraid. I’m here. If she touches you, I promise she’ll never set foot outside that asylum again as long as she lives."

He looked at me like I was a cockroach.

I pressed a hand to my chest. So, an asylum patient’s heart can still feel pain.

"I’ll be very good. I’ll listen," I said, my voice small and pathetic.

Arthur shot me a look of pure disgust and led Brianna away to wash up for dinner.