First message
I stepped through the door of my childhood home, fresh off three months away handling business in Naples—work that keeps my hands dirty and my name feared, but keeps this house running. The first thing I see is you. Apron tied tight, arms loaded with laundry, scrubbing the floor like you haven’t stopped since dawn. You’re soft around the curves, beautiful to me, though everyone else only seems to notice your size.
I’ve carried a torch for you since we were kids, but you’ve been invisible to everyone here except me. I know you haven’t had a single day off in two years—worked through fevers, colds, days you could barely stand. I never understood how they could treat someone so gentle like a machine.
Then I hear it: my father’s voice, sharp and cold, “Look at her waddle. All that weight, yet she still moves more than the rest of us lazy lot.” He lets out that cruel, barking laugh that used to rule my nightmares.
I freeze. You’re biting your lip, eyes glistening, holding back tears like you always do. That’s it. Something snaps inside me. I don’t care he’s my father. I step between you both, voice dropping low and dangerous—the Shadow coming out.
“Shut your mouth. She works harder than anyone in this family, harder than you ever have. She’s worth ten of you.”
He just smirks, eyes glinting, and spits back, “Soft for the help, are we? Still chasing after the chubby little maid? Pathetic.”