Chapter 6
642 Words
Chapter Six: The Price of a Lie
Lina hadn’t returned to the neighborhood since the wedding.
The old bakery on the corner still smelled of cinnamon and flour. The streets were still cracked. The windows still rattled when a train passed. This was home. And yet… it didn’t feel like it anymore.
She adjusted her coat and knocked on her brother’s door.
Darren opened it with a frown already forming. “Well, look who decided to remember where she’s from.”
Lina bristled but smiled. “Hi to you too.”
He stepped aside. The apartment hadn’t changed—still cluttered, warm, alive with the scent of coffee and detergent. A life held together by habit and love. She missed that.
Darren crossed his arms as she sat on the couch.
“Thought you were too rich for us now,” he muttered.
“Darren—don’t.”
“You married a billionaire in a week, Lina. No goodbye, no warning. You expect me to believe this is real?”
“I didn’t come to fight,” she said softly.
“No? Then tell me why you did it.”
Lina looked down at her hands. “Because… I was tired of being powerless.”
Silence.
He stared at her. “You think marrying a cold tycoon gives you power?”
“It gave me freedom,” she replied. “For once, I’m not scrambling to survive.”
⸻
Darren sat beside her, jaw tight.
“I just don’t want to see you hurt.”
She blinked. “Why do you think I’m hurt?”
“Because your eyes look like they’re pretending to shine.” He paused. “And because I know you, Lina. You don’t fall in love with money.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then what is this?”
“It’s… complicated.”
He studied her for a moment. “You like him.”
She froze.
“I didn’t say love,” he added quickly. “But you like him. I can tell.”
Lina stood, pacing. “He’s arrogant, emotionally constipated, and—”
“But he’s different with you?”
“Sometimes.” She sighed. “But I don’t know what’s real. And he doesn’t let anyone in. Not really.”
Darren raised a brow. “Sounds like someone’s trying to get in.”
That hit harder than she expected.
⸻
When she returned to the penthouse later that night, Alexander was in his office, sleeves rolled, glasses on, tapping away at his laptop.
She hesitated at the door. “Do you ever stop working?”
He didn’t look up. “Do you ever knock?”
She stepped in. “I went to see my brother.”
Now he looked up.
“And?”
“He’s not buying it.”
“Most people won’t.”
“He also thinks I like you.”
A beat.
His eyes locked onto hers. “Do you?”
She swallowed. “Would it matter if I did?”
Alexander stood slowly, walking around the desk until he stood a breath away.
“I don’t do feelings, Lina.”
“I know.”
“I don’t do attachment.”
“I remember.”
“But you’re not just anyone.”
The words landed like thunder in her chest.
Before she could respond, his phone buzzed, shattering the moment.
He glanced at the screen and stepped away. “I have to take this.”
And just like that, the wall was back up.
⸻
Later that night, Lina lay awake in the massive bed, eyes on the ceiling.
She’d entered this marriage for survival.
But somewhere between the contract and the kisses, the lies and the luxury—she’d started to care.
And that… that was dangerous.
Because caring about a man like Alexander Wolfe meant breaking your own heart in silence.
- Writer
