Chapter 18
1240 Words
Lisa’s POV
It lingered… beneath my skin.
Like something unfinished.
Unresolved.
I slipped the phone back into my bag without checking the notifications again.
The elevator ride down felt longer than it should have.
Too quiet.
Too still.
The kind of silence that didn’t relax you…
It pressed.
Every second stretching just enough to make you aware of everything.
The soft shift of my weight.
The faint hum of movement.
The way my fingers rested too still against the side of my bag.
Controlled.
Everything about me was controlled.
Because if it wasn’t…
Something would slip.
By the time I stepped out of George Holdings…
My head wasn’t just aching.
It was… tight.
Like everything I had been holding in all day… every correction, every mistake, every word he threw at me… had nowhere to go.
The glass doors slid shut behind me quietly.
Too quietly.
Like nothing had happened inside.
Like I hadn’t spent hours being taken apart piece by piece and forced to put myself back together without showing it.
I inhaled slowly.
Held it.
Then let it out.
Because that was the only thing I had left now.
I looked up, he was already there.
Waiting by the car, of course he was.
Ethan didn’t wait for people, people adjusted to him.
“Late,” he said, checking his watch.
My brows pulled slightly.
“I came down immediately.”
“You should have anticipated the timing.”
I didn’t respond.
Because I was starting to understand something very important about him… he didn’t want answers, he wanted control.
The car door opened.
I got in.
He followed.
And just like that…
Silence.
Again.
But this time, it was different.
Not empty, but tensed.
Like something unspoken sat between us.
The car pulled away from the building smoothly, the city blurred past the tinted windows.
And for the first time all day…
There was nothing to do.
No document, no correction or instructions.
Just… stillness.
I leaned back slightly.
Letting my head rest.
Just for a second… just enough to ease the tension in my shoulders, not slouching, not relaxing.
“Your posture.”
My eyes opened immediately, I straightened without argument.
“You represent this company now,” he continued, his tone even, eyes still forward. “That includes how you sit when no one is watching.”
“I didn’t realize sitting in a car required representation,” I replied calmly.
“It does,” he said.
I turned my head slightly toward him.
Studied him… really studied him, because now I saw it clearly.
This wasn’t random.
It wasn’t mood.
It was intentional.
“You don’t correct mistakes,” I said quietly.
His gaze shifted to me.
Slow.
“You create them.”
A pause.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
“And you don’t fix them,” he replied just as calmly.
“You react to them.”
My jaw tightened slightly.
But I didn’t look away.
Didn’t break.
Because now I understood the game and I wasn’t going to play it the way he expected.
The rest of the drive passed in silence.
But not the same silence, this one… watched.
By the time we got home, the sky had deepened into evening. Lights already glowing across the estate.
Everything in place.
Everything… perfect, and still… it didn’t feel like anything I belonged to.
Inside, the routine continued. Staff moved with quiet precision.
Dinner already prepared.
Everything functioning like a system that had existed long before me, and would continue just fine without me.
“Dinner will be served shortly, ma’am.” The chef said.
I nodded.
“Thank you.”
Ethan didn’t pause, didn’t acknowledge. He simply walked past, already moving toward the dining area.
Like I was expected to follow.
And somehow… that irritated me more than if he had said it.
I went upstairs first, closed the door behind me.
And finally…
Let my shoulders drop.
Just slightly.
Just enough to feel it.
The weight of the day.
The constant correction, the pressure of not knowing… and still being expected to perform.
My phone buzzed.
Once.
Then again.
I stared at it for a moment before picking it up, not rushing or hesitating. Just… deciding.
Mom.
My thumb hovered briefly, I answered.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Her voice was soft, familiar and it almost made everything else feel too real.
“Hi, Mom.”
“You’ve been quiet,” she said gently. “Since the wedding.”
A pause.
Not accusing, but not ignoring it either.
“I’ve been… settling in.”
“That sounds like something people say when they don’t want to explain.”
I looked out the window, at the dimming sky.
At the space that still didn’t feel like mine.
“I’m fine.”
“You always say that.”
Another pause.
Then softer…
“How is it there?”
Not him, not the marriage.
Just… there.
Careful, respecting boundaries that hadn’t been spoken out loud.
“It’s… structured,” I said.
“And you like structure?”
“No.”
A quiet exhale from her.
I could almost picture her expression.
Concerned but trying not to push, not to lose me further.
“Have you been eating?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Sleeping?”
“Enough.”
“Lisa…”
“I’m okay.”
This time, my voice was firmer.
Not emotional, not defensive, just… final.
There was a shift on the line, a small one but noticeable because she heard it.
The difference.
“Your father’s here,” she said after a moment. “He wants to talk to you.” My grip tightened slightly on the phone.
“Okay.”
A brief shuffle.
Then…
“Lisa.”
His voice, steady, controlled but different. Softer than what I was used to.
“Hi, Dad.”
“You promised to call,” straight to it.
“I’ve been busy.”
“With what?”
A pause.
Too quick, too sharp. I felt it, that moment where truth sat right there… and I stepped around it.
“Adjusting,” I said.
Silence.
Not because he believed me, but because he chose not to challenge it.
“How is he treating you?” he asked instead.
Direct, protective, loaded. I leaned back slightly against the window, thinking, choosing.
“Properly.”
That was the word I went with.
Not warm, not kind or anything that could be questioned. Just… proper.
Another pause.
Longer this time.
“He’s not making this difficult for you?” I let out a small breath, almost a laugh but not quite.
“He doesn’t need to.”
That answer… that one slipped out before I could filter it. And I knew he caught it.
“Lisa,” a warning, not harsh but there.
“I’m fine,” I repeated, softer this time but still controlled.
“We’ll visit,” my mom’s voice came back gently. “Soon.”
My chest tightened slightly, at the idea, the reality of it.
“Okay.”
“And Lisa…” I closed my eyes briefly.
“Yes?”
“You don’t have to carry everything alone,” I opened my eyes again. Staring straight ahead.
“I’m not.”
But even I could hear it, that wasn’t entirely true. The call ended shortly after.
And the room felt… different not quieter.
Just… heavier
My phone buzzed again, I looked down.
And this time… I didn’t ignore it.
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