Chapter Four
1388 Words
ELARA’S POV
The silence inside the car is choking… as though it has a weight of its own. The city runs past the tinted windows in streaks of gold and orange.
Cassian has his phone out in his hand. Scrolling and reading peacefully like nothing happened today. Like, we didn't just get married. Like the reporters didn’t throw a question a while ago.
Like a government official didn't accuse him in front of the world.
That is the part that troubles me the most. How easily he carries chaos.
I can't take it anymore. “What investigation? What is going on?”
He takes his time. He finishes whatever he is reading, sets his phone on the seat beside him and raises his head.
When he does, his expression is relaxed, as always. This particular act that I was starting to understand as an art of staying in control.
“My company is under financial investigation, he confesses. "It was opened six weeks ago based on allegations from a former partner who claims there were irregularities in a transaction from two years ago. The allegations are baseless. My legal team is managing the situation so it will be resolved soon.”
“And you didn’t think it was important enough to mention before the wedding?”
“It wasn't relevant at the time. I told you what was necessary,” he replies. “That's all you need to know."
I force out a short unbelievable laugh and bite my lip to stop myself from uttering what I'd regret. "Wasn't relevant?” I let the words sit.
“You let me walk into that room, and into that wedding without telling me your company is under investigation? You told me this was a business arrangement and that you would provide all the necessary structure needed.” I gesture angrily at him. “There was a reporter amongst the crowd asking if this marriage was a cover-up. That is not something someone is supposed to find out about on their wedding day. That is something someone should have known about before they signed anything!”
He watches me without saying anything.
I pause and roll my tongue in between my teeth so that it looks like I am about to laugh but stop myself.
“So all of this…” I gesture to my dress, my ring and myself. "This isn't really about saving my father's company, is it? You need a wife because it will fix all of that."
“It's also about you.”
“Of course,” I murmur. “Of course it is.” I face him fully now. “A wife makes you look stable. Clean. Untouchable. A man settling down instead of a man under investigation. So I'm not a solution to a debt, rather I'm a solution to a public relations problem.”
"You're useful," he says so plainly without thinking twice. Not even with the awareness that it might land badly as if being useful is the highest and most neutral thing a person can be.
I suddenly sense the urge to give him a slap to correct that word he uttered, as if it was a compliment.
I face the window as clearly talking to this man is utterly a waste of my time and if I do try to waste my time replying to him, I may say something I will not be able to take back. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing that.
I have been through a lot of things in my life. A daughter, a business graduate, a person who shows up when things are hard. I have never been reduced to a function before. But he has done it in one word like it cost him nothing and I'm not going to let that slide.
Fine. Then I'll use this too.
Since I'll be trapped in this arrangement for 3years, I'll make something out of myself. I'll build my own name. My own life. I refuse to spend the next one year becoming somebody’s puppet. I refuse to belong to anyone ever again.
I vow with my whole heart.
The car begins to slow.
We drive through a large gate that opens automatically in front of us.
A long, private, smooth road stretches ahead, lined with trimmed greenery and stone walls. At the end is a massive building that doesn't feel like a home; rather it is something meant to be admired from a distance, instead of lived in.
The car stops. Cassian gets out first.
A driver opens my door and cool air brushes my skin as I step outside. The house towers in front of me…of glass, and stone. Too perfect.
We walk inside. The air changes instantly. Four staff members stand waiting in a straight line inside the foyer, waiting with a straight posture.
A woman comes forward first. Warm eyes. Soft smile. “Welcome home, Mrs. Virelli. I’m Miriam, Head of the kitchen department.” She says kindly.
Mrs. Virelli. The name sounds foreign to my ears.
Next, is an older man with grey hair, sharp eyes and a controlling presence.
“Mr. Laurent,” he gives a half-bow. “House steward. You may call me Old G.”
A young girl follows, nervous. “I’m Clara, ma’am. Your personal attendant.”
One by one, they all introduce themselves. I nod, smile where I can, but my mind isn’t fully there. This isn’t a home welcoming me. It is a system adjusting to a new object inside it.
Cassian does not linger. He heads towards the elevator. I follow him.
When the doors open upstairs, I gape in surprise. Glass walls surround the floor. Open space. The entire city stretches beneath us in every direction. It’s beautiful. So beautiful it hurts.
I stop walking. “This is…” I trail off, unable to find the right word.
Cassian turns. “What?”
I blink and realise he's watching me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
His expression remains unreadable. “Because you’re thinking too much.”
I frown. “And you’re not thinking at all.” The words slip out before I can stop them.
He tightens his jaw.
“Your room is the second door on the left,” he says, ignoring what I just said. “My study is at the end of the hall.” He pauses. “Do not enter it.”
I study him carefully. That’s the first time he sounds… different. With a firm warning.
I tilt my head. “What’s in there?”
He narrows his eyes. “Stay out of my business,” he warns. “And this will be easy.”
A small smile tugs at my mouth. Maybe because I don’t like how controlling he is. Or maybe because I hate how little control I have.
“And if I don’t?” I ask. I don’t even know why I say it.
He draws close to me. Enough to make the space between us disappear. “You won’t survive the version of me that handles disobedience,” he sneers.
It should scare me. It does actually, but not enough to make me cower. I hold his gaze anyway. For one strange second, something passes between us.
I break eye contact first.
He straightens and walks down the hallway. He only stops briefly before he disappears around the corner. Without looking back, he says, “Settle in.”
Then he's gone.
I stand there, staring at where he just walked through. One thing is becoming very clear. This isn’t a place I've been brought to live. It is a place I've been placed.
I don’t know how long I stay there lost in thoughts before I finally head toward my room.
However, halfway down the hall, I hear voices. Faint and coming from the direction of the study.
The door is a bit open. I should walk away. Especially after his warning. For a moment, I actually try to. But my curiosity gets the best of me.
Before I realize what I'm doing, I'm standing near the doorway, peeking through the narrow opening.
A man's voice comes from inside. Low and angry.
“You should’ve killed her when you had the chance.”
I stagger backwards.
- Writer
