A Stain On The Cole Name
2000 Words
The moment Adrian parked the car inside the underground garage of Cole Enterprises, Zara knew something was wrong.
Not normal wrong.
Dangerous wrong.
Even Adrian looked tense now, and that alone said a lot because Adrian Cole rarely looked affected by anything.
He stepped out of the car without waiting for her, already typing rapidly on his phone while anger radiated off him in waves.
Zara quickly followed behind him. “You still haven’t explained properly.”
Adrian did not stop walking. “The board found out about us.”
“And?”
That single word made him glance back at her sharply.
“And?” he repeated.
“Yes. And?”
They entered the private elevator immediately. The doors closed, sealing them inside the tense silence.
Zara folded her arms. “I still don’t understand why you look like someone died.”
Adrian laughed once under his breath.
Not amused.
More frustrated than anything.
“You really don’t understand how this world works.”
“And you people keep saying that like it’s supposed to impress me.”
His jaw tightened.
“The board expected me to marry someone suitable.”
Zara frowned slightly. “Suitable?”
“Yes.”
The elevator continued rising.
Silence stretched between them before Zara asked quietly, “So your father wouldn’t hand over the company if you didn’t get married and have a family. How exactly did they expect that to happen?”
Adrian rubbed his forehead slowly like he already regretted the conversation.
“That’s not the issue.”
“Then what is?”
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
But neither of them moved immediately.
Adrian looked at her directly now.
“The issue is who I married.”
The sentence landed sharply.
Zara’s expression changed immediately.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
She stepped out of the elevator first this time.
“Wow.”
Adrian followed behind her quickly. “That’s not what I meant.”
“That is exactly what you meant.”
Employees immediately lowered their heads respectfully as both of them walked through the executive floor, but Zara barely noticed.
Because anger had already started building inside her chest.
The dangerous kind.
“You think I don’t hear the way your family talks about me?” she continued quietly. “Cleaner. Poor girl. Wrong background. Wrong status.”
Adrian lowered his voice sharply. “Not here.”
“No, let’s talk about it here.”
Several employees nearby immediately pretended to focus on their work.
Nobody dared to look directly at them.
But everybody was listening.
Adrian grabbed Zara’s wrist gently and pulled her toward his office before she could continue.
The moment the doors shut behind them, Zara pulled away from him immediately.
“Do not touch me.”
His patience visibly snapped slightly. “Can you stop overreacting for one second?”
“Overreacting?” she repeated in disbelief.
Adrian loosened his tie angrily. “This situation is already complicated enough without you turning everything emotional.”
“There you go again.”
“What?”
“Acting like having feelings is a crime.”
Adrian turned away briefly before speaking again. “You’re twisting my words.”
“No. I’m listening carefully.”
The room thickened with tension instantly.
Zara stared at him while her anger slowly grew hotter.
Because suddenly everything Eleanor said at breakfast made more sense.
Everything Richard implied.
Everything Vanessa subtly warned her about.
To them, she was embarrassing.
A mistake.
A stain.
And Adrian was not denying it.
That hurt more than she expected.
“You know what’s funny?” she asked quietly.
Adrian said nothing.
“You’re angry they found out I’m a cleaner.”
“I’m angry because this creates problems.”
“You keep saying that without actually explaining what the problem is.”
He looked at her directly now.
And this time his voice became colder.
“Because people are questioning how someone like me ended up with someone like you.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the air inside the office suddenly felt sharp.
Zara stared at him slowly.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian immediately realized he went too far.
But it was already too late.
“You know exactly what it means.”
Her eyes hardened instantly.
“No. Say it properly.”
“Zara.”
“Say it.”
The tension exploded between them.
Adrian ran a frustrated hand through his hair before finally speaking.
“You are not from my world.”
The words felt like knives.
“But I married you anyway.”
Anyway.
That word shattered something inside her immediately.
Zara laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because she was angry enough to break something.
“So this whole time,” she said quietly, “you’ve been ashamed of me.”
“That’s not true.”
“You literally just said people are questioning why someone of your status would end up with someone like me.”
“Because they are.”
“And what do you think?”
Silence.
That silence hurt worse than any answer.
Zara nodded slowly, eyes burning now.
“Wow.”
Adrian stepped toward her immediately. “You’re misunderstanding this.”
“No. I’m finally understanding it perfectly.”
She moved away from him instantly.
“You know what’s crazy? I actually started believing you respected me.”
“I do respect you.”
“No, Adrian. You tolerate me.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“Isn’t it?”
The atmosphere inside the office became unbearable.
Outside the glass walls, employees moved carefully, pretending not to notice the obvious tension happening inside the CEO’s office.
But rumors were already spreading through the building like wildfire.
The cleaner.
The fake fairytale.
The shocking marriage.
And now Zara could finally feel the weight of it herself.
Adrian looked exhausted suddenly.
“This is exactly why I didn’t want this becoming public.”
Zara blinked slowly.
Then laughed again.
A sharper laugh this time.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“You really do think I’m embarrassing.”
“I never said that.”
“You don’t have to say it!” she snapped. “Everything about you says it already!”
Adrian’s voice hardened instantly. “You are twisting this into something else.”
“No. I’m hearing the truth for once.”
He stared at her silently.
And somehow that silence confirmed everything.
Zara’s chest tightened painfully.
Because the worst part was not even the insult.
It was the fact that she cared.
She should not care what Adrian Cole thought about her.
This was a contract.
Temporary.
Nothing more.
So why did his words hurt this much?
“You know what,” she muttered quietly, grabbing her bag. “Maybe this whole thing was a mistake.”
Adrian’s expression sharpened immediately. “Zara.”
“No, seriously. Because clearly your reputation matters more than anything else.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You practically called me a stain!”
“I said the board sees this as a problem.”
“And what about you?”
Silence again.
Another terrible silence.
Zara’s eyes filled instantly, but anger swallowed the tears before they could fall.
“You know what’s funny?” she whispered. “I used to think your parents were the problem.”
His jaw tightened. “Don’t do that.”
“But now I’m realizing something worse.”
She looked directly at him now.
“You sound exactly like them.”
That landed heavily.
Hard enough for Adrian’s expression to shift immediately.
Finally.
Real emotion.
Anger.
Regret.
Something darker.
“You think I’m like my father?”
“I think you’re becoming him.”
The room went completely still.
Adrian looked genuinely furious now.
“Take that back.”
“Why? Did it hit too close?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then explain it better!”
Their voices rose sharply now.
The argument spiraled instantly.
“You think I enjoy any of this?” Adrian snapped. “You think I wanted the entire company discussing my personal life?”
“And why exactly are they discussing it?” Zara fired back. “Because I’m poor? Because I used to clean floors?”
“You are a well known cleaner inside this company!”
The moment the words left his mouth, silence crashed violently into the office.
Adrian froze.
Zara froze.
Both realizing what he had just said.
But Zara’s reaction came first.
Slowly.
Dangerously slowly.
“A well known cleaner,” she repeated softly.
Adrian immediately exhaled harshly. “That’s not what I meant.”
“But you said it.”
“Zara.”
“You said it.”
Her voice cracked slightly near the end.
And suddenly Adrian looked less angry and more horrified with himself.
But Zara was already shaking now.
Not from fear.
From rage.
Pure rage.
“So that’s how you see me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
She pointed toward the door furiously. “Your employees cleaned their messes beside me for years. Some of them treated me like I didn’t exist. And now suddenly I’m good enough to marry in secret but too embarrassing to stand beside publicly?”
Adrian stepped closer. “Listen to me.”
“No.”
“Zara.”
“No!” she shouted.
The sound echoed through the office.
Outside, the entire executive floor had definitely stopped pretending not to listen by now.
But neither of them cared anymore.
Zara’s breathing became uneven as anger and hurt mixed violently together inside her chest.
“You know what the craziest part is?” she asked quietly. “I defended you.”
Adrian stayed silent.
“I defended you against your parents. Against Vanessa. Against myself.” Her voice trembled slightly now. “I kept telling myself maybe you weren’t as cold as everyone said.”
His expression tightened painfully.
“Zara.”
“But you are.”
The sentence hit differently this time.
Not angry.
Just disappointed.
And somehow that looked worse.
Adrian moved toward her again carefully. “I was angry.”
“That doesn’t excuse what you said.”
“I know.”
“You made me feel small.”
The honesty in her voice shattered whatever control remained in the room.
Because Adrian suddenly looked affected too.
Actually affected.
And Zara noticed immediately.
Which somehow made her even angrier.
“Do not look at me like that now.”
“Like what?”
“Like you suddenly care.”
His jaw tightened.
“I do care.”
She laughed sharply through the tears finally escaping now.
“No. You care about your company.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then why do you keep talking about status? Reputation? My background?”
He had no answer.
And that silence destroyed the last bit of restraint she had left.
“You know what,” she whispered shakily, “if my background disgusts you this much, maybe we should stop this entire arrangement before it gets worse.”
Adrian’s expression changed instantly.
Dangerously instantly.
“What does that mean?”
Zara looked at him directly.
“If you keep speaking about me like I’m beneath you, then maybe we shouldn’t continue anything at all.”
The room became terrifyingly still.
Adrian’s voice lowered immediately. “Zara.”
“No. Because I refuse to carry something that came from an arrangement where I’m constantly treated like dirt.”
His face lost color slightly.
“You don’t mean that.”
“Try me.”
For the first time since she met Adrian Cole, real fear crossed his face.
Not business fear.
Not reputation fear.
Personal fear.
And suddenly the argument no longer felt like a contract war.
It felt deeply real.
Dangerously real.
Because somewhere along the line, both of them had stopped pretending this arrangement meant nothing.
And that terrified them more than either was willing to admit.
- Writer
