Chapter 7: His Rules, Her Defiance
974 Words
The moment I returned home, the mansion was unusually quiet.
I frowned slightly.
For some reason, I expected to see Aaliya downstairs arguing with the maids again.
But she wasn’t there.
One of the maids nervously approached me.
“Welcome back, sir.”
“Where’s Aaliya?”
The maid immediately lowered her head.
“Y-young madam went to work, sir.”
My expression darkened instantly.
“She what?”
“She left earlier this afternoon…”
My fingers tightened around the armrest of my wheelchair.
“And nobody thought to inform me?”
The maids exchanged frightened glances.
“Young madam ordered us not to tell you,” one of them answered nervously.
Anger immediately rose inside me.
“So all of you decided to obey her instead of me?”
“N-no sir, we—”
“Should I fire every single one of you?” I snapped coldly.
The maids instantly fell to their knees in fear.
“Please forgive us, sir!”
Before I could speak again, the mansion doors suddenly opened.
Aaliya walked inside looking completely exhausted from work.
The moment she noticed the terrified maids kneeling on the floor, her eyebrows furrowed.
“What happened here?”
One of the maids looked close to tears.
“Young madam…”
Aaliya immediately turned toward me.
“You’re seriously bullying them now?”
“They hid information from me,” I replied coldly.
Aaliya scoffed and dropped her bag onto the couch.
“I told them not to inform you.”
“That’s not their decision to make.”
“And whose fault is that?” she fired back instantly. “You treated me like a prisoner the moment I entered this house, so obviously I didn’t want to tell you anything.”
My jaw tightened.
“You deliberately ignored my rules.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Oh please. You can’t lock me inside this mansion forever.”
“You’re my wife.”
“And you’re my problem,” she snapped immediately.
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Even the maids looked terrified to stay nearby.
Aaliya crossed her arms while glaring at me.
“You starved me, locked me in a basement, then expected me to report my movements to you like some obedient servant?”
Her words irritated me more than they should have.
“You really enjoy challenging me.”
“And you enjoy controlling people.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The tension between us felt dangerously intense.
Finally, Aaliya let out an exhausted sigh.
“You know what? I’m too tired for this argument.”
She turned around and started walking toward the stairs before stopping briefly.
“Oh, and stop threatening innocent workers because of your anger issues.”
Then she walked away upstairs without waiting for my response.
I stared at her disappearing figure while irritation burned inside my chest.
That woman…
One day she would truly drive me insane.
For a few more seconds, the entire living room remained silent. The maids were still kneeling on the floor, trembling in fear.
I let out a cold breath before speaking.
“Get up.”
They immediately stood up nervously while keeping their heads lowered.
“And stop crying before it starts irritating me,” I added coldly.
“Yes, sir.”
“Prepare dinner.”
The maids quickly hurried toward the kitchen as if their lives depended on it.
Without another word, I turned my wheelchair around and headed toward my room.
The mansion hallways were unusually quiet tonight, but strangely, my mind wasn’t peaceful at all.
Everything about Aaliya annoyed me.
Her attitude.
Her stubbornness.
The way she spoke to me without fear.
And worst of all…
The way she somehow kept occupying my thoughts.
Once inside my room, I took a quick shower and changed into a loose black shirt and dark trousers before staring at my reflection in the mirror for a moment.
Exhaustion was written clearly across my face.
Work had already drained me enough, yet somehow arguing with Aaliya felt even more exhausting.
I ran my fingers through my damp hair before finally leaving the room.
The smell of food filled the mansion the moment I reached downstairs.
As I entered the dining area, my movements slowed slightly.
Aaliya was already sitting at the dining table.
Waiting.
The warm light above the table softened her appearance slightly while strands of hair fell loosely around her face. She looked tired from work, yet she still carried that stubborn expression I had grown familiar with.
The moment she noticed me, her eyes lifted briefly toward mine before she looked away again.
For some strange reason…
The sight felt oddly domestic.
And I hated it.
Without saying anything, I moved toward the table while one of the maids nervously adjust my wheelchair
Silence filled the room almost immediately.
The tension between us remained heavy even during dinner.
Aaliya quietly reached for the food while avoiding eye contact with me completely.
But then suddenly—
“You’re staring.”
Her voice broke the silence calmly.
I blinked slightly before realizing my eyes had unconsciously been on her.
“I’m not,” I replied coldly.
She scoffed softly.
“Liar.”
My jaw tightened slightly.
This woman truly had no fear.
For a moment, neither of us spoke again.
Then unexpectedly, Aaliya looked up at me.
“You know…” she started quietly while putting down her spoon, “normal husbands usually ask their wives how their day went instead of threatening workers.”
I almost laughed.
Normal?
There was nothing normal about this marriage.
“Good thing I’m not a normal husband then,” I replied calmly.
Aaliya rolled her eyes dramatically before continuing to eat.
But strangely…
For the first time since entering this mansion, dinner didn’t feel completely empty anymore.
- Writer
