Dalis's wrists were red from the tight ropes, but she didn't cry. She sat quietly in the dimly lit room, her eyes locked on the door, listening for anything.
Outside, Samphors paced. Her breath came in sharp bursts. Her hands shook. She didn't want to be the villain—not in this story.
Ma had changed. She saw it in the way he looked at Dalis. He never looked at her that way.
And now she knew why.
His bride?
Samphors clenched her fists. It wasn't just a lie—it was betrayal.
She turned, opened the door, and slipped inside.
Dalis flinched.
"You need to go," Samphors said sharply.
"What?"
"I said run," Samphors hissed, cutting the ropes with trembling hands. "Before Ma comes back. If he sees you here—if he knows I helped—you don't understand what he'll do to me."
Dalis stared at her in confusion, too stunned to move.
"Go!"
Dalis bolted. Her bare feet slapped the cold floor as she ran out the back exit and into the dark alley, breath shallow, heart racing.
A second later, footsteps thundered from the hall.
Ma.
He froze in the doorway, finding only Samphors standing where Dalis had been.
His expression shifted from confusion to fury.
"Where is she?"
Samphors didn't answer.
"You let her go?" he asked, voice low, dangerous.
"I saved your neck," she snapped. "You're not thinking straight!"
"She's mine!"
"She's Sokun's daughter!" she shouted. "You said you'd never go near that family again!"
Ma strode toward her, eyes burning. "She's more than his daughter. She's my bride."
Samphors recoiled, as if he'd struck her.
"What... what did you say?"
Ma's voice was calm now—too calm. "She's mine."
Samphors's face twisted with rage. "And me? What am I to you?"
He didn't flinch. "You're my girlfriend, Samphors. Know your place."
Silence.
Her eyes welled with angry tears, then went cold. She took a step back, trembling.
"You bastard," she whispered. "You absolute bastard."
And then she ran—ran after Dalis, not to save her this time...
…but to end it all.
Dalis ran, cursed beneath her breath, "What the heck is this! Crazy couple dragged me into this!"
The night was dense around her, the alley narrow and littered with broken glass and shadows that shifted like ghosts. Her lungs burned, her legs ached, but fear kept her going. Somewhere behind her, she could hear footsteps—one pair… no, two.
She didn't know who to trust. She didn't even know why she'd been taken. Nothing made sense.
Ma called her his bride? What did that mean? He must be a pervert!
She turned a corner and slipped, scraping her palm against the wall. The pain was nothing compared to the thundering of her heart.
"Hey—wait!" a voice called ahead.
Dalis froze.
A girl—her age, maybe—stood in the path.
"Get out of my way!" Dalis shouted.
"I'm not here to hurt you," Nuong said quickly, raising her hands. "You don't know me, but I know you're in danger. Please—come with me."
But Dalis backed away, eyes wide. "Who are you?! Are you one of them?!" She couldn't recognize her face.
Behind them, footsteps pounded closer. Samphors emerged from the shadows, hair wild, eyes blazing, gun drawn.
"MOVE!"
Nuong spun, stepping in front of Dalis instinctively.
"Don't do this!" she cried. "You don't want to—"
"Shut up!" Samphors screamed. "You don't know anything!"
The three of them stood still—time paused, the world balanced on the edge of a trigger.
"I gave everything to him," Samphors whispered. "Everything! And he… he threw me away like nothing. For her."
Dalis whispered, "I don't even know who he is. If it even so, he doesn't even deserve you!"
"I don't care!" Samphors screamed.
The gun rose.
Nuong's body moved before her mind could.
Bang!
Pain exploded in her ribs. She crumpled.
Dalis screamed, dropping to her knees beside her.
"No no no—why did you do that?" Dalis sobbed. "You didn't even know me—"
Nuong's lips quivered into a faint smile. "You didn't… deserve to die… I did."
Footsteps again. This time, heavier. Faster. Male voices.
Piseth's dark figure rounded the corner, with Pisal close behind.
They saw the gun. The blood.
Piseth's eyes narrowed, fury exploding across his face.
"You," he growled at Samphors.
Samphors dropped the gun, her hands trembling. She had never killed anyone before!
Piseth grabbed the gun and shoved past her, falling to his knees beside Dalis and Nuong. Just a woman, it's not very dangerous. The siren of the police arrived, and appeared.
The police came and put handcuffs on Samphors's hands. Some of them enter the building to find the criminals.
Pisal went straight to the girl with the bullet wound, pressing a cloth to her side. "She's going into shock," he said, voice tight. "We need to get her to the hospital—now."
Piseth's gaze turned to Dalis. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, tears streaming. "No. But she… she saved me."
Piseth looked at Nuong for a long moment—his resentment flickering, softening.
Without another word, he scooped her up into his arms, and together, they fled into the night, leaving Samphors frozen and alone in her rage.