Episode 4
1495 Words
Under One Roof
Lena's fingers tightened around the glass in her hand.
“What do you mean?”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
The reception continued around them, filled with laughter, music, and the clinking of expensive glasses.
But Lena barely heard any of it.
She could only hear her own heartbeat.
Adrian stepped closer.
“You looked at that contract differently when I mentioned the money.”
Lena swallowed.
“You're imagining things.”
“I rarely imagine things.”
“Then you're wrong.”
His eyes searched hers.
“You need money for your mother.”
The glass nearly slipped from Lena's fingers.
Adrian caught it before it fell.
For a second, neither moved.
“How did you—”
“I told you. I investigate people before I make agreements with them.”
Lena pulled her hand away.
“You had no right.”
“Perhaps not.”
“You read my medical records?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Your mother's hospital contacted Vale International yesterday.”
Lena stared at him.
“Why?”
“They were trying to verify whether you had employment.”
Her face burned with embarrassment.
“They shouldn't have done that.”
“They didn't know you were about to become my wife.”
“I wasn't supposed to become your wife.”
“Yet here we are.”
Lena looked away.
Adrian's voice softened.
“Is she seriously ill?”
Lena didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
He nodded once.
“How much do you owe?”
Her eyes snapped back to him.
“I'm not telling you.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't want you thinking I married you because of my mother's illness.”
“You did.”
The words hurt.
Lena's expression hardened.
“Yes.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“At least you're honest.”
“I never pretended otherwise.”
“No. You didn't.”
He looked toward the crowd.
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
“Home.”
Lena almost laughed.
“Your home.”
“Our home.”
The correction caught her off guard.
“Our home.
She hated how strange the words sounded.
---
The Vale mansion was larger than Lena's entire neighborhood.
When the car entered the gates, Lena stared through the window.
The estate seemed endless.
A massive stone house stood beneath the night sky, surrounded by gardens, fountains, and perfectly trimmed trees.
She looked at Adrian.
“You actually live here?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds depressing.”
He glanced at her.
“You've been married to me for approximately six hours and you're already insulting my house.”
“I'm just being honest.”
“I noticed.”
The car stopped.
A staff member opened Lena's door.
She stepped out.
Adrian walked beside her.
Inside, the mansion was even more impressive.
But Lena immediately noticed something strange.
It didn't feel like a home.
It felt like a hotel no one had bothered to decorate.
Everything was perfect.
And completely empty.
Adrian noticed her looking around.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Say it.”
“You don't have pictures.”
“Of what?”
“Your family. Friends. Childhood.”
“I don't need them.”
Lena looked at him.
“That explains a lot.”
His expression darkened.
“You know very little about me.”
“Maybe.”
She walked ahead.
“And you know very little about me too.”
Adrian followed.
“I know enough.”
“No, you know facts.”
She turned toward him.
“You know my age. My job. My mother's illness. My financial situation.”
She pointed at his chest.
“But you don't know me.”
Adrian stared at her.
For some reason, he had no answer.
---
A housekeeper led Lena upstairs.
“This is your room, Mrs. Vale.”
Lena stopped.
“My room?”
“Yes.”
She looked inside.
The bedroom was enormous.
A king-sized bed.
A private balcony.
A sitting area.
A wardrobe larger than the apartment she shared with her family.
She walked toward the closet.
Then froze.
It was filled with clothes.
Beautiful dresses.
Shoes.
Handbags.
Everything in her size.
She turned around.
“Who bought these?”
“Mr. Vale.”
Lena's eyebrows rose.
“He knew my size?”
The housekeeper smiled.
“He has people who handle these things.”
Lena looked at one of the dresses.
It was beautiful.
But she suddenly felt uncomfortable.
“I can't accept all this.”
“You are his wife now.”
The housekeeper left.
Lena sat on the edge of the bed.
His wife.
She looked down at her wedding ring.
A million-dollar ring.
A million-dollar marriage.
A man she barely knew.
She should have been celebrating.
Instead, she felt strangely alone.
Her phone buzzed.
Daniel.
How did the interview go?
Lena stared at the message.
Then typed:
I got the job.
She didn't tell him she had also gotten a husband.
Not yet.
---
Across the hallway, Adrian stood in his bedroom.
His phone rang.
“Hello?”
His grandmother's voice came through.
“You married her.”
“Yes.”
“Do you like her?”
Adrian frowned.
“That's irrelevant.”
“That's not an answer.”
“Grandmother—”
“I've known you for thirty-four years, Adrian. Don't try to hide behind business with me.”
He said nothing.
Eleanor continued.
“She is different.”
“I know.”
“Then don't hurt her.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“That's not my intention.”
“Intentions mean very little when emotions become involved.”
He looked toward the hallway.
“There's no emotion involved.”
His grandmother laughed softly.
“That's what your grandfather said about your grandmother.”
The call ended.
Adrian lowered the phone.
He hated conversations like that.
Love.
Marriage.
Feelings.
They were weaknesses.
He had spent his entire life learning not to depend on anyone.
He wouldn't start now.
---
Lena couldn't sleep.
She walked downstairs for water.
The mansion was silent.
She found the kitchen and turned on a light.
“Can't sleep?”
She jumped.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
“You scared me.”
“Sorry.”
“You don't look sorry.”
He walked toward the refrigerator.
“Water?”
“Yes.”
He poured a glass and handed it to her.
Their fingers touched.
Lena immediately pulled away.
“Thank you.”
Adrian leaned against the counter.
“You're uncomfortable.”
“A little.”
“You'll get used to it.”
“I don't want to get used to being surrounded by people who think I married you for your money.”
“You did marry me for money.”
Lena looked at him.
“Yes.”
His expression softened slightly.
“But I didn't marry you for love.”
She nodded.
“Good.”
“Good.”
Silence.
Then Lena asked, “Why don't you believe in love?”
Adrian's face changed.
The warmth disappeared.
“You ask too many questions.”
“I was just asking.”
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because you won't like the answer.”
Lena studied him.
“Try me.”
Adrian looked away.
“My father loved my mother.”
Lena waited.
“He trusted her.”
His voice became colder.
“She betrayed him.”
Lena's heart sank.
“What happened?”
“She left.”
“That's it?”
“She took everything she could.”
He looked back at Lena.
“Money. Information. Trust.”
Lena understood.
“So that's why you don't believe in love.”
“I believe people change.”
“And you think everyone eventually leaves.”
“I know they do.”
Lena stepped closer.
“Not everyone.”
Adrian looked at her.
For the first time, his expression wasn't cold.
It was wounded.
“You don't know that.”
“Neither do you.”
Their eyes locked.
The space between them suddenly felt too small.
Adrian moved closer.
Lena's breath caught.
His gaze dropped briefly to her lips.
Then he stepped back.
“We should sleep.”
Lena nodded.
“Yes.”
She turned toward the stairs.
“Lena.”
She stopped.
“Tomorrow, we're going to the hospital.”
She turned around.
“What?”
“I want to meet your mother.”
Her heart raced.
“Why?”
Adrian's expression was unreadable.
“Because she's part of your life.”
Lena stared at him.
For a man who claimed their marriage was only business, that sounded dangerously personal.
And neither of them noticed the figure standing in the darkness at the end of the hallway.
Someone had heard everything.
Someone who now knew exactly where Lena's greatest weakness was.
Her family.
And they were already planning how to use it.
Next.
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