CHAPTER 5: UNSPOKEN BOUNDARIES
392 Words
Month later, they got married.
Ava stared at the massive house, her suitcase sitting by the entrance.
The place was sleek, all glass and steel, cold and impersonal, just like Rhys.
She turned to him. “So, where’s my room?”
Rhys adjusted his cufflinks. “I assume you don’t want to share a bed, so the guest room is yours.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Wow, so thoughtful.”
Rhys smirked but didn’t reply. Instead, he handed her a small black folder.
She frowned. “What’s this?”
“House rules.”
Ava opened it— and immediately scowled.
• No touching my files or office space.
• No unnecessary socializing with the household staff.
• No inviting strangers into the house.
• No making changes without permission.
Ava shut the folder with a loud clap.
“You seriously made a contract for living here?”
Rhys slipped his hands into his pockets, completely unfazed. “I like order.”
Ava scoffed. “I like freedom.”
Rhys stepped closer, his dark eyes locking onto hers. “Then don’t cause trouble.”
Ava refused to back down. “I’m your wife now, not your business partner.”
His smirked deepened. “Then stop acting like an employee.”
His hands itched to throw something at him. Instead, she grabbed the rule book and tossed it onto the couch.
“Keep your rules,” she muttered, walking past him. “But I won’t follow them.”
That night, Ava couldn’t sleep.
The house was too quiet, too unfamiliar.
She wrapped a robe around herself and stepped out of her room, heading for the kitchen.
But she wasn’t alone.
Rhys stood by the window, a glass of whiskey in his hand.
His posture was relaxed, but his gaze was distant, lost in thought.
Ava hesitated, then asked, “Do you always work this late?”
Rhys turned his head slightly, his expression unreadable.
“I don’t sleep much.”
She leaned against the counter. “Why?”
He swirled the glass in his hand before answering. “Silence is suffocating.”
Ava blinked. For once, he didn’t sound like the cold businessman she hated.
For a brief moment, there was no tension— just two people, bound by a name, standing in the quiet.
And for once, Rhys didn’t push her away.
- Writer
