Chapter 9: Her Double Life
799 Words
POV: Rihito
After Aaliya left the dining room, I remained seated for a few moments, staring at the half-empty glass in front of me.
The dining hall had become quiet again.
The maids were busy clearing the table, carefully avoiding eye contact with me.
Good.
I wasn't in the mood for conversation anyway.
My mind kept returning to the same question.
Where exactly had she gone today?
The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became.
It wasn't because she had left the mansion.
It was because she had done so without informing me.
Most people feared disobeying me.
Yet Aaliya seemed to treat every rule I made as a personal challenge.
A soft scoff escaped my lips.
Stubborn woman.
I pressed a button on my wheelchair and turned toward the elevator.
The mansion was unusually quiet as I made my way toward my study.
The moment I entered the room, I closed the door behind me and moved toward my desk.
The large office overlooked the mansion grounds through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Usually, this room helped me clear my thoughts.
Tonight, however, it wasn't working.
Aaliya's face kept appearing in my mind.
The way she had defended the maids.
The way she argued without hesitation.
The way she looked exhausted when she came home.
Something about it didn't sit right with me.
I picked up my phone and dialed a familiar number.
The call connected almost immediately.
"Sir."
It was the head of my security team.
"Where did she go today?"
A brief silence followed.
"Young Madam, sir?"
My expression darkened.
"Do you see another wife in this mansion?"
"N-no, sir."
"Then answer the question."
The man cleared his throat nervously.
"Our team followed her after she left the mansion this morning."
I leaned back slightly.
"And?"
"She never went to her workplace."
My fingers tightened around the phone.
For several seconds, I said nothing.
I simply stared out the window.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Continue."
"Our men followed her vehicle into the industrial district on the eastern side of the city."
The industrial district.
My eyes narrowed.
That area was mostly abandoned warehouses and old factories.
There was no reason for a chef to be there.
"What was she doing?"
"We couldn't confirm it, sir."
My jaw tightened immediately.
"You couldn't confirm it?"
The nervousness in his voice increased.
"The warehouse was heavily guarded. We couldn't get close without exposing ourselves."
That caught my attention.
Heavily guarded?
For a moment, the room became completely silent.
A chef.
A heavily guarded warehouse.
A woman who constantly hid things.
None of it made sense.
"What else?"
"She remained inside for several hours before leaving in the evening."
"And nobody entered or exited?"
"There was movement, sir. Several vehicles arrived throughout the day."
I slowly placed the phone on speaker.
My mind immediately started piecing together the information.
The more I thought about it, the less ordinary Aaliya appeared.
Everything about her felt carefully hidden.
Her family barely spoke about her.
Her coworkers knew little about her personal life.
And now this.
A guarded warehouse.
A secret destination.
An entire day she couldn't explain.
Who exactly are you, Aaliya?
I found myself wondering.
The head guard's voice pulled me back to reality.
"Should we continue watching her, sir?"
I remained silent for a moment.
Then I spoke.
"Double the surveillance."
"Sir?"
"I want reports on everywhere she goes."
"Understood."
"And next time, if she enters that warehouse, I want photographs."
"Yes, sir."
The call ended.
I placed the phone down and stared at the city lights in the distance.
Something wasn't adding up.
Every instinct I possessed was telling me the same thing.
Aaliya was hiding something.
Something important.
Most people assumed my success came from money.
They were wrong.
I survived because I noticed details others ignored.
And right now, every detail surrounding Aaliya was raising questions.
Questions I intended to answer.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Enter."
Leo stepped inside carrying several files.
He immediately noticed the expression on my face.
"Something happened, sir?"
I looked at him briefly.
"Find everything you can on Aaliya."
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"I thought we already investigated her."
"We investigated the version people wanted us to see."
Leo immediately understood.
"You think she's hiding something."
"I know she is."
The room fell silent.
For the first time since marrying her, I felt something other than irritation whenever I thought about Aaliya.
Curiosity.
And curiosity was dangerous.
Because once I became interested in something...
I never stopped until I uncovered the truth.
No matter how deeply it was buried.
I glanced toward the window again.
Somewhere inside this city, my little wife was keeping secrets.
The question was whether those secrets would make her my greatest problem...
Or my greatest surprise.
- Writer
