Married to the Cold Billionaire

Episode3

Chapter 6

Unwanted Attention

Ariana began to notice it three days later.

At first, it was small—so small she thought she was imagining it.

The black car parked across the street whenever she took her morning walks. The unfamiliar faces among the staff when Lucas wasn’t home. The way the guards at the gate whispered into their radios when she passed.

She told herself it was nothing.

Lucas was a billionaire. Of course security would be tight.

Still… something felt off.

That morning, Ariana stood in the garden, the early sun warming her skin as she watered the roses Mrs. Chen loved so much. The calm helped her breathe easier.

Until she felt it.

Eyes on her.

She froze, her fingers tightening around the hose.

Slowly, she turned her head toward the iron gates.

A man stood just beyond them, dressed casually, his phone raised slightly as if checking messages. But his gaze wasn’t on the screen.

It was on her.

Their eyes met.

The man looked away quickly, stuffing his phone into his pocket before walking off.

Ariana’s heart pounded.

She told herself not to panic.

But when she went inside, she locked the door behind her.

Later that afternoon, Ariana decided to leave the mansion for the first time alone.

She needed air—real air, away from marble floors and silent rooms. Mrs. Chen suggested a nearby café that many staff members visited.

“It’s safe,” she assured her. “And close.”

Ariana hesitated, then nodded.

The driver dropped her off and promised to wait nearby.

The café was small and warm, filled with soft music and the smell of fresh coffee. Ariana relaxed a little, ordering a drink and sitting near the window.

For the first time in days, she felt almost normal.

Until she noticed the reflection in the glass.

Someone was standing behind her.

She turned quickly.

A man smiled at her.

“Excuse me,” he said politely. “You’re Mrs. Blackwood, right?”

Ariana’s pulse spiked.

“Yes,” she replied cautiously.

“I thought so,” he said. “I recognized you from the charity event.”

She forced a small smile. “I’m sorry, I don’t—”

“My name is Daniel,” he said, extending a hand. “I work in media.”

She didn’t take it.

“I’m just here for coffee,” Ariana said. “I don’t do interviews.”

Daniel laughed lightly. “Of course. I’m off-duty. Just wanted to say—you and Mr. Blackwood make quite the couple.”

Ariana’s smile stiffened.

“Thank you,” she said.

He lingered.

“You know,” Daniel continued, lowering his voice slightly, “people are very curious about you. You came out of nowhere.”

Her chest tightened.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said.

Daniel tilted his head. “No background. No history. It’s fascinating.”

Ariana stood up abruptly. “I should go.”

Daniel raised his hands. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

But she was already walking toward the door.

Outside, the driver opened the car immediately.

“Home,” Ariana said quickly.

As the car pulled away, she looked back through the window.

Daniel was standing outside the café, watching her leave.

Lucas found out that evening.

He came home earlier than usual, his expression dark the moment he saw Ariana in the living room.

“Did you go out today?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ariana replied. “Just to a café.”

“Alone?”

“With the driver nearby,” she said. “Why?”

Lucas clenched his jaw.

“Did anyone talk to you?”

Ariana hesitated.

“A man,” she admitted. “He said he worked in media.”

Lucas’s eyes hardened instantly.

“What did he ask you?”

“Nothing serious,” Ariana said quickly. “I didn’t say anything.”

Lucas grabbed his phone.

“Who was driving you?” he asked sharply.

“Why are you so upset?” Ariana asked, confused.

Lucas stopped pacing and looked at her.

“Because you’re not just a person,” he said. “You’re a target.”

The word sent a chill down her spine.

“A target for what?”

“For information,” Lucas replied. “For scandals. For leverage.”

“I didn’t know,” Ariana said softly.

“That’s the problem,” Lucas snapped. “You don’t know this world.”

She flinched.

“I’m trying to learn,” she said. “But you don’t tell me anything.”

Lucas exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples.

“From now on,” he said, calmer but firmer, “you don’t go anywhere without security.”

“That feels extreme,” Ariana said.

“It’s necessary,” Lucas replied. “And you will inform me before leaving the house.”

Ariana crossed her arms. “I’m not a prisoner.”

“No,” Lucas said quietly. “You’re my wife.”

The words hung between them.

Not cold this time.

Possessive.

That night, Ariana lay awake again.

But this time, it wasn’t loneliness that kept her up.

It was fear.

She replayed the café encounter over and over. Daniel’s smile. His questions. His eyes.

People are watching her.

The words she had overheard days ago now made terrifying sense.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.

She sat up.

“Yes?”

The door opened slightly.

Lucas stood there.

“I won’t take long,” he said.

She nodded.

He stepped inside but remained near the door.

“I assigned additional security,” he said. “They’ll rotate shifts.”

“Thank you,” Ariana replied quietly.

Silence followed.

Then she asked, “Is this because of Evelyn too?”

Lucas’s gaze sharpened. “What do you mean?”

“She knew things,” Ariana said. “About me. About how suddenly I appeared.”

Lucas looked away.

“Evelyn talks too much,” he said.

“That’s not an answer,” Ariana replied.

Lucas sighed.

“There are people who would hurt you to hurt me,” he said finally. “I won’t let that happen.”

Her heart skipped.

“You sound like you care,” she said softly.

Lucas stiffened. “Don’t misunderstand.”

“I’m not,” Ariana said gently. “I just want to understand.”

He met her gaze, something conflicted flickering in his eyes.

“You shouldn’t have been dragged into this,” he said quietly.

Ariana swallowed.

“But I was,” she replied. “So stop pushing me away.”

Lucas didn’t respond.

Instead, he said, “Lock your door tonight.”

Fear curled in her stomach.

“Is something going to happen?”

“No,” Lucas said quickly. “It’s just precaution.”

But his tone betrayed him.

He turned to leave.

“Lucas,” Ariana called.

He paused.

“Thank you,” she said. “For warning me.”

He nodded once.

As the door closed behind him, Ariana hugged her pillow tightly.

She had stepped into a world far more dangerous than she had imagined.

And for the first time…

Lucas Blackwood was afraid.

Not for himself.

But for her.

Chapter 7

His Rules, Her Fire

The mansion changed after that night.

Not physically—but in the way it breathed.

More guards appeared. Cameras blinked quietly from corners Ariana hadn’t noticed before. The gates took longer to open, and every staff member seemed extra alert when she passed.

Lucas’s world had closed around her.

And she wasn’t sure whether to feel safe or trapped.

Ariana discovered the change the next morning when she attempted her usual walk in the garden.

A guard stepped forward politely but firmly.

“Mrs. Blackwood, Mr. Blackwood instructed that you inform him before going outside.”

Her stomach tightened.

“I’m just going to the garden,” she said.

The guard nodded. “Yes, ma’am. But I still need clearance.”

Clearance.

The word burned.

Ariana turned back inside without another word.

Lucas came home early again that evening.

Ariana was in the living room, seated rigidly on the couch, when he entered.

“We need to talk,” she said immediately.

Lucas loosened his tie. “I know.”

“No, you don’t,” Ariana replied, standing up. “Because if you did, you wouldn’t have turned my life into a security zone.”

“It’s for your safety,” Lucas said.

“You don’t get to decide everything for me,” she snapped.

Lucas’s eyes sharpened. “I do when your actions affect my enemies.”

“I’m not your weakness,” she said. “Stop treating me like one.”

Silence followed.

Lucas stepped closer, his presence overwhelming.

“You were approached by a reporter,” he said. “Photographed. Watched.”

“And I handled it,” Ariana replied. “I walked away.”

“That’s not enough,” Lucas said. “You smiled at him.”

Her breath caught.

“I was being polite,” she said.

“You gave him access,” Lucas replied.

Ariana laughed incredulously. “Access? I didn’t even tell him my favorite color.”

Lucas’s jaw tightened.

“You don’t understand how men like that think,” he said.

“And you don’t understand how suffocating this feels,” she shot back.

Their gazes locked.

For a moment, something dangerous flickered between them—not anger, not fear.

Possession.

That night, Ariana couldn’t sleep.

Her door was locked, just as Lucas instructed. But the security didn’t quiet her thoughts.

She wasn’t afraid of reporters.

She was afraid of disappearing into Lucas’s shadow.

The next afternoon, she made a decision.

If Lucas wouldn’t treat her like a partner, she would reclaim herself anyway.

She dressed simply and headed downstairs.

“I’m going out,” she told the guard calmly.

He hesitated. “I need to inform Mr. Blackwood.”

“Go ahead,” Ariana said.

She waited.

Five minutes later, Lucas arrived.

His expression was thunderous.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“For a walk,” she replied.

“With who?”

“Myself.”

Lucas exhaled sharply. “That’s not acceptable.”

Ariana met his gaze steadily. “I am not a prisoner, Lucas.”

“You are under threat.”

“So are you,” she said. “Yet you walk freely.”

Lucas stepped closer. “Because I know how to survive this world.”

“And I never will,” Ariana replied, “if you don’t let me breathe.”

His eyes darkened.

“You’re being stubborn,” he said.

“I’m being human,” she replied.

For a moment, Lucas looked torn.

Then he said, “Two guards. No exceptions.”

Ariana hesitated—then nodded.

“Fine,” she said. “But I choose where I go.”

Lucas watched her leave, his fists clenched at his sides.

The city felt different.

Sharper. Louder.

Ariana walked slowly, the guards keeping their distance. She felt eyes on her everywhere now—real or imagined.

At a bookstore near the corner, she stopped.

“I want to go in,” she said.

The guards exchanged a glance, then nodded.

Inside, the smell of paper calmed her nerves.

She wandered through the aisles until she felt it again.

That presence.

She turned.

A man stood a few shelves away.

Daniel.

He smiled faintly. “We keep running into each other.”

Ariana’s heart raced.

“I don’t want to talk,” she said firmly.

“I’m not here as a reporter,” he replied. “Just curious.”

She stepped back. “Please leave me alone.”

Before he could respond, a hand landed on Ariana’s shoulder.

Lucas.

His grip was firm—but protective.

“I believe she asked you to leave,” Lucas said coldly.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Blackwood. Protective husband.”

Lucas’s gaze was lethal. “Disappear.”

Daniel smirked. “Interesting choice of wife.”

Lucas stepped forward.

The guards intervened instantly.

Daniel backed away slowly. “Careful, Mr. Blackwood. People are asking questions.”

He left.

Lucas turned to Ariana.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

She nodded, shaken.

“You disobeyed me,” he said.

“And you followed me,” she replied.

Silence.

Then Lucas said, “You shouldn’t have been alone.”

“I wasn’t,” she said softly. “Not really.”

Their eyes met.

Something shifted.

That night, Lucas didn’t retreat to his study.

He sat in the living room with Ariana, working silently while she read.

The distance between them was smaller now.

Tense.

Charged.

“You scared me today,” Lucas said suddenly.

Ariana looked up. “You scared me first.”

Lucas exhaled. “I don’t know how to protect you without losing you.”

Her heart skipped.

“That’s not protection,” she said gently. “That’s fear.”

Lucas looked at her.

For the first time, truly looked.

“I’ve lost people before,” he said quietly.

Ariana swallowed. “I’m not them.”

“I know,” he replied. “That’s why I’m scared.”

Silence stretched.

Then Ariana said softly, “You don’t have to cage me to keep me safe.”

Lucas nodded slowly.

“I’ll try,” he said.

And for a man like Lucas Blackwood…

That was everything.