"Bound by Contract, Torn by Desire"

CHAPTER 4

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🌙 Chapter 4 — Shadows Between the Promises

(Full English Version)

The day of the official ceremony arrived with a sky too bright for what Luire felt in her chest.

She stood beside Kael on the marble stage in front of the press, her hand resting lightly in his. Photographers snapped picture after picture, the clicking sound echoing louder than any vow ever spoken.

They smiled. Perfectly. Coldly.

"Just a few minutes more," Kael whispered between smiles. "And we can go back to silence."

Luire’s lips barely moved as she replied, "Silence is more honest than this charade."

Behind the crowd, Eion watched.

He stood in the back, arms folded, his expression unreadable. Only his eyes betrayed him—burning quietly with something between longing and fury.

---

That evening, the couple returned to the Celestine estate.

Kael loosened his tie the moment the doors closed. “You held yourself well.”

“I’m good at pretending,” Luire said as she unpinned her hair.

Kael glanced at her. “That’s not something to be proud of.”

“Then don’t act like you admire it,” she snapped, walking past him.

But he didn’t respond, simply turning away with a sigh.

In her room, Luire found a letter on her vanity table. The handwriting was unmistakable—Eion’s.

> "Tonight, 10 PM. The garden. Come alone."

Her heart skipped.

---

Under the silver moonlight, Luire stepped into the garden barefoot.

The air was filled with lavender and cold dew. She found Eion waiting beneath the old willow tree, the same tree where they had shared their first kiss years ago.

“You came,” he said, softly.

“I shouldn’t have,” she replied, wrapping her arms around herself.

Eion stepped closer. “But you did.”

He looked at her like she was both a memory and a dream.

“I didn’t write to you because I thought it would hurt you less if I disappeared,” he said.

“You were wrong,” Luire whispered. “It hurt more.”

---

They stood close now. Too close.

“I came back because I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Eion confessed. “Even when I saw you standing next to him today... you didn’t look like you belonged to him.”

Luire looked up, eyes glossy. “But I do. Legally.”

“Not emotionally,” he said, voice hoarse.

Their hands brushed.

But before another word could be spoken, a voice called out from the shadows.

---

“You shouldn’t be here, Eion.”

The voice was sharp, yet calm—coming from behind the rose bush Kael had just passed.

Luire turned quickly. In the moonlight, Kael’s face looked like it was carved from marble. His gaze was not angry, but filled with piercing caution.

Eion, however, did not move. “I just want to talk to him.”

Kael stepped forward. “You can contact him in a more appropriate way. This isn’t a midnight lovers’ rendezvous, this is someone else’s wife’s house.”

“So he’s yours now?” Eion asked bitterly.

“According to the law, yes,” Kael replied flatly. “And you know very well what the consequences are for interrupting a business deal like mine.”

Luire stood between them, her body tense. “Enough… This shouldn’t have happened this way.”

“I just want to know…” Eion’s voice softened, looking at Luire. “Are you happy with him?”

Luire was silent for a long time, her breath holding.

“I… don’t even know how to feel happy anymore.”

That answer made Kael stare at her for a moment—not judging, not surprised. Just… observing.

“Go, Eion,” he finally said. “It’s a long night. And neither of us wants a scandal before tomorrow.”

Eion looked at Luire once more. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”

He turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind two hearts that were both wounded—with different wounds.

---

The next day, news of the “contract marriage” between Kael Viremont and Luire Celestine filled the front pages of electronic newspapers.

But one gossip site leaked something spicier:

> “Who is the mysterious man seen close to Lady Luire the night before the celebration?”

Luire read the article with trembling fingers. “They… already know.”

Kael stood behind her, wearing a dark gray suit. He only glanced at the tablet screen in his hand.

“I knew it. People will always dig up the past.”

“I can’t live like this,” Luire said quietly.

“This wasn’t about living in the first place,” Kael replied, “it was about surviving.”

---

Elsewhere, Eion stood on the roof of his apartment building. The wind blew through his hair as he stared at the screen of his phone displaying a photo of Luire and Kael side by side.

“Luire… if you’re really suffering… I’ll pull you out of that world. Whatever it takes.”

And for the first time since his return, Eion contacted someone who had once been his enemy. Someone who also hated Viremont.

“I will bring them down. And I will get him back.”

---

---

In the late afternoon, the sky of Avaleyra began to turn golden orange.

Luire sat in the old reading room of the Celestine family, hugging a book without reading it. The large window reflected the silhouette of her body that looked like a broken painting from the past. The atmosphere in the house was never really warm, even after she got married.

A soft knock on the door broke the silence.

“May I come in?” Kael’s voice, soft but still maintaining boundaries.

“Just come in,” Luire answered without looking up.

Kael stepped in, carrying a small tray filled with jasmine tea and two small pieces of cake.

“The maid is out. So I thought... there’s nothing wrong with me bringing it.”

Luire turned her head in disbelief. “Kael Viremont... serving tea himself?”

She sat across from him. “It’s not the first time I’ve done it. Just... not for someone I don’t consider a client.”

Silence enveloped them for a few seconds. Only the ticking of the old clock hanging on the wall could be heard.

Kael leaned back in his chair. “Have you ever felt… that everything we do is just role-playing?”

Luire raised an eyebrow. “Of course. We are two actors in a play written by parents, heirs, and business law.”

“And if we rewrite the script?”

He stared at her, really stared. For the first time, his eyes were not completely cold.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” Kael sighed, his tone more fragile than usual. “Maybe I’m getting tired of this game. Maybe… I also want to know what it’s like to live without calculation.”

Luire almost laughed, but didn’t. “Too late for that, right?”

“No,” Kael replied. “Not if we dare.”

---

That night, Luire stood on the balcony, looking at the city lights in the distance.

She remembered her first meeting with Eion. His warm smile. The hand that had once held hers tightly. The youthful promises that now felt like myths from another world.

But now, Kael's figure also began to fill her mind. His attitude that was not entirely cold. A small concern hidden behind the boundaries of formality.

Is it possible to hate someone who is secretly starting to try to become human?

The night wind blew her dress slowly.

"If you want to love me... then don't be like them. Don't force me to be someone I'm not," she whispered to the air.

Somewhere in the Viremont Enterprises building, Kael was still sitting in his office. But his hand stopped writing. His gaze was blank.

He reached for his cellphone.

> "If you haven't slept, I just want to say... tomorrow I want to have dinner with you. No contract. No camera. Just you and me. - Kael."

Luire read the message ten times before finally answering one word:

"Okay."

And that night, for the first time, they both went to bed without carrying a grudge in their chests.

But in the distance, in the dark hallway of a secret base, Eion stood in front of a strategy board filled with photos, documents, and red lines.

He pointed to one name—Kael Viremont.

“Your time is running out.”

---

---

That night felt quieter than usual.

Luire woke up to the sound of the wind tapping on the glass of her bedroom window. Wearing a thin, silvery blue nightgown, she walked slowly to the balcony, where the wind came from. There, she stood for a moment, looking at the night sky studded with stars.

Her eyes were fixed on one point—the northern sky. In that place, she and Eion often stood while mentioning the names of the stars. In the past, in a time when love was still simple. When the future was nothing more than a sweet shadow hanging.

But now, even the stars seemed to be watching her change. Becoming the wife of a man who did not love her. Becoming part of a cold world full of contracts and benefits.

However... there was something strange.

Kael. The man she had initially only considered a cold shadow from the corporate world, was now slowly showing a more human side. Not warm, not necessarily caring, but... not hating either.

“Kael Viremont,” Luire murmured softly, “are you... also human like me?”

---

The next morning, they sat across from each other at the breakfast table. The atmosphere was still awkward, but not as tense as before.

Kael took a piece of toast and sipped his black coffee in silence. But this time, he glanced at Luire.

“I don’t have much time tonight. But… I’ll try to be back before nine.”

Luire turned her head, surprised to hear his tone of voice that was not as firm as usual.

“Why?”

“Because I made a promise,” he said shortly.

Luire lowered her head slowly. “Okay.”

And for the first time, a small smile tugged at the corner of Kael’s lips. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. But it was enough to make Luire’s chest feel warm, even if only for a moment.

---

But the world never lets anything be easy.

That afternoon, when Luire was checking out old books in the family library, someone came.

Not a maid. Not a courier. But Eion.

He came unannounced, standing in front of the door like someone who didn’t want to leave.

“I want to talk,” he said matter-of-factly.

Luire closed the book in her hand. “You shouldn’t have come like this.”

“I know. But I also know something you don’t know yet.”

“What?”

Eion stared at her sharply. “Kael… is hiding something from you.”

Luire gripped the book in her hand. “Don’t start again.”

“This isn’t about love, Luire. This is about you. You should know… this marriage isn’t just about a business contract. This is about inheritance. And Kael… he’s no ordinary person. There’s a reason he chose you. And it’s not just because of the Celestine family’s reputation.”

“Enough, Eion.”

“No, hear me out—”

“Enough!” Luire’s voice echoed. “I know this marriage isn’t about love. But I chose to stay because it was the only way I could see. If you really care about me… don’t destroy the only thing I can still protect.”

Eion fell silent. He looked into Luire's eyes, and knew that the wound there was deeper than he could heal.

But he didn't give up.

"If one day you find out everything I said is true... you know where I'll be."

And he left. Without looking back.

Luire fell to her knees. Her hands were shaking. Her vision was blurred by tears that never fell.

Kael... what are you really hiding?

---

That night, Kael returned as promised.

He brought a small box of warm food from his favorite restaurant in the city center. But when he saw Luire's pale face and puffy eyes, he knew... something had changed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Luire didn't answer. She just stared at him. Deeply. Silently.

"Kael... if I ask you something... will you answer it honestly?"

Kael nodded slowly.

"Why me? Why Celestine? Why... not another woman?"

Kael took a deep breath. He sat in front of Luire and opened her lunch box. But he didn’t touch it.

“I… need someone who won’t ask too many questions. Who looks weak… but is actually strong.”

“So I’m just… a strategic choice?”

“At first, yes,” Kael answered honestly. “But now… I’m not sure anymore.”

Luire frowned. “What do you mean?”

Kael looked into her eyes. “Because I never cared before… whether your smile was real or fake. But now… I’m starting to want to know.”

And for the first time… Luire cried. Not because of sadness. But because of confusion—about who she should trust. About who she really needed.

And the night wind blew, bringing whispers of the past and promises of the future that could not necessarily be fulfilled.

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