Page 111 of The Encore’s Crown

Painfully Executed

Kiri

Radhika sees Rithy first.

“Rithy?”

He opens his arms and she steps into them without hesitation.

“Oh my God.” She laughs against his shoulder. “Look at you.”

“Look at me? You’re the one sacrificing virgins, Miss Bathory.”

She pulls back and holds his face between her hands. “You still talk too much.”

“You still love me.”

Ronan arrives next, grinning like an idiot. Radhika makes a sound of genuine surprise and hugs him too.

“You’re still alive.”

“Against all logic.”

“I assumed someone would have killed you by now. You’re too honest for this world.”

“Many have tried. Myself included.”

Rafe steps forward, and her smile softens differently.

“Rafe.”

“Radhika.”

She hugs him, and he closes his eyes briefly, the way he does when something catches him by surprise. She pulls back and studies him.

“You look miserable.”

“I’m in love.”

“Ah. Your first mistake.”

His eyebrows lift. “Don’t tell me you’ve become a cynic in your graceful age.”

“No, only wiser.” She smiles. “You’ll have to tell me all about her. Him?”

Rafe looks delighted by the question.

“Her. Kasia. You’ll love her.” Then he takes both her hands in his, his expression turning serious. “Radhi, I’ve missed you.”

The words come from him without performance and Radhika’s tension eases in her shoulders.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Then there’s no one left for her to greet. Her eyes find mine. Everything warm in her expression retreats behind something composed and impenetrable. The years between us arrive all at once.

I can’t move.

For ten years, I’ve imagined what I might say if I ever saw her again. Most versions involved an apology good enough to make the past hurt less. Some involved her slapping me again. A few involved her looking through me like I don’t exist. None of them prepared me for the brutal politeness of reality.