Chapter4
882 Words
Adrian’s expression shifted into steel. “Ella.”
Liana blinked. “Ella?”
The woman tilted her head slightly. “Surprised to see me?”
“I didn’t invite you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “But your father did. Apparently, he still thinks I’m the better match.”
That earned a flicker from Adrian’s eye. Liana watched them, sensing a charged history too complicated to decode.
Ella finally turned her gaze to Liana, slowly, as if sizing her up.
“And you must be the bride.”
Liana straightened. “I am. Liana Brooks.”
“Sweet name,” Ella murmured. “Almost poetic. Did you major in creative writing or just creative life choices?”
Adrian stepped between them before Liana could answer. “What are you doing here, Ella?”
Ella pouted. “What? I can’t congratulate my first love on his wedding day?”
Her words felt like a slap. Liana inhaled sharply, but kept her face calm.
“You have a strange way of congratulating people,” she said.
Ella’s lips curved. “Just a little curious, that’s all. I mean, the Bennett heir getting married to… well, you. Overnight. Without a single headline until yesterday. It’s suspicious. Whirlwind romance or careful PR stunt?”
Liana smiled coolly. “Either way, I’m wearing the ring.”
Ella’s smile faltered.
Adrian exhaled. “This isn’t the time.”
“Oh, but it is,” Ella said softly. “Because we both know this isn’t going to last, Adrian. It never does when it’s built on silence. And lies.”
The way she said it… Liana’s stomach twisted. There was more here than she knew.
“Goodbye, Ella,” Adrian said, voice colder now.
Ella’s eyes lingered on him a bit too long before she turned and walked away, hips swaying, red silk trailing like spilled wine.
After the tension with Ella, Liana stepped away for air. She slipped into the hallway just off the main ballroom and leaned against a wall, closing her eyes.
She didn’t expect footsteps to follow.
But they did.
“Hey,” Adrian said quietly behind her. “You alright?”
Liana opened her eyes but didn’t face him.
“Do exes crashing our wedding usually fall under normal Bennett traditions?”
“No,” he said after a beat. “Just Ella.”
“She seems to think she knows you better than anyone.”
“She used to.”
That stung more than she expected.
“So what happened?” she asked.
Adrian sighed and stepped beside her, staring out a nearby window. “She wanted the empire. Not the man.”
“Classic.”
“She dumped me during a board merger and announced her relationship with my biggest investor’s son. That’s who she left me for.”
Liana turned to look at him. “And now she’s back?”
“She’s always been opportunistic. She probably thinks I’m vulnerable with this marriage.”
Liana studied him. “And are you?”
He looked at her. “You tell me.”
She said nothing. She didn’t know what he wanted her to say. She barely knew what she wanted to feel.
The night dragged on, and by the time they returned to the penthouse, Liana’s head was spinning with too many voices, too many faces, and the lingering echo of Ella’s smug smile.
She sat on the edge of the bed in her room, gown half-unzipped, staring at herself in the mirror. The diamond ring on her finger sparkled beneath the vanity light, taunting her.
Is this real?
The knock on her door startled her.
It was Adrian.
He leaned on the doorframe, tie loosened, a drink in his hand.
“You looked… strong tonight,” he said calmly.
She turned away. “That’s funny. I didn’t feel it.”
“Then you faked it well.”
She gave him a tired smile. “You’re good at that too.”
He didn’t deny it.
After a long silence, she finally asked, “Do you regret it? Marrying me?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Adrian stepped inside slowly.
“Because for the first time in my life, I made a decision for myself. Not my father. Not the board. Not Ella. Just me.”
She looked up at him.
And just for a second, he looked like someone else. Not the professor. Not the billionaire. Just… Adrian.
And it scared her how much she liked that version of him.
He turned to leave.
“Goodnight, Liana.”
But just before he shut the door, she whispered, “Goodnight… husband.”
She pulled out her phone immediately the door shut and checked her notifications.
Text from Selena:
“You were beautiful today. But something’s off. You okay?”
Liana hesitated before replying:
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
But she wasn’t fine. Not completely.
Because all day long, her mind kept circling back to one thing:
A sealed envelope inside her suitcase.
One she hadn’t opened in three years.
One she’d sworn she never would.
Her fingers itched to reach for it now but she didn’t.
Instead, she stared at the ceiling and told herself again that the past didn’t matter.
That no one needed to know.
Especially not Adrian.
- Writer
