Chapter Four
1491 Words
Back to the present, I blinked. The dining room snapped back into place. Adrian is still sitting there, watching me. Like he knew exactly where my mind had gone to.
I pushed my chair back again and stood up.
“ I need air,” I said.
“ You're not leaving,” he said.
I walked closer to him. Close enough to make it intentional and bent over a little bit.
“ Watch me,” I said.
I turned and walked towards the exit door, past the hallway, and past the guards. Just as I was about to reach the door, one of them moved and blocked the door.
I stopped and slowly looked at him, then back at Adrian.
“ Tell him to move,” I said.
There was silence. Adrian didn't stand, didn't rush nor react the way a normal person would have. He just watched me and then shook his head.
“ Not yet,” he said.
I was shocked, went stiff, and just couldn't believe my reality. Because suddenly, it didn't feel like a deal anymore. It felt like I had stepped into something I didn't understand.
I didn't turn immediately, didn't look back at Adrian. I just stood there, staring at the door as if I looked hard enough, it might open on its own.
“ Not yet” came the same response the second time from Adrian.
At this point, I had already gotten angry, but I was trying to suppress it to an extent.
I turned slowly, walked back at him. Taking every step in anger.
“ What do you mean by that?” I spoke amidst rising frustration and anger.
“ You don't get to decide when I should breathe,” I said quietly, stopping right in front of him.
“ You don't get to lock doors and call it a ‘choice’. And you definitely don't get to sit there acting calm like you've done nothing,” I said.
He didn't interrupt, didn't react the way most people would. He just sat there looking at me.
“ You agreed to this,” he said.
I let out a soft disbelieving laugh.
“ I agreed to play your girlfriend, not your prisoner,” I replied.
“ You're not a prisoner,” he said.
“Really?” I gestured towards the door. “ Because your definition needs work.”
He looked at me for a moment, then back at the table. Picked up his cup and took his last sip. While I just stood there, hands akimbo, watching him go on like nothing serious was happening.
“It's morning,” he calmly said. “ The grounds are active.”
I frowned slightly. “ That's your reason?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“ What exactly does that mean?” I asked.
“ It means staff, deliveries, security rotations are going on. Too many variables. Also, you don't know the environment yet,” he said.
I stared at him
“ You could have just said that instead of sitting there like a villain in a low-budget film,” I replied.
“ You can go out later, when it's quiet,” he added.
I studied him for a second longer. There was just something in the way he said it. But I just couldn't lay my hands on it.
“ Fine,” I said finally. “ But if I find out you're just making rules for fun, I'm breaking all of them.”
“ That wouldn't be new,” he replied.
I almost smiled.
Over the next couple of days, I think I used it to settle in, even though not properly. Of course, I was trading carefully. But the air was calm.
The house felt less suffocating than it had on the first day. The staff moved around me now with a different kind of energy. Or maybe I just got used to them and their services. I consistently hear things like;
“Miss Gracia, would you like tea?”
“ Miss Gracia, a car is available if you need it.”
“ Miss Gracia….”
It was strange how quickly things changed. A few days ago, I was counting coins and pretending rejection didn't sting. Now I had options, and space.
And Adrian? He stayed consistent, at a distance, controlled, always watching but never hovering. He didn't touch unless necessary. He didn't flirt, didn't even pretend to enjoy this arrangement, which made it worse.
**************************************************************************************************************************
“You're sure about this?” I asked, adjusting the sleeve of my dress as I looked at him.
“ It's not optional,” Adrian replied.
“Of course it isn't. Nothing in your life ever seems to be,” I said.
He ignored that.
“ It's a monthly dinner,” he continued. “Family only. Attendance is expected. Absence is noticed.”
“Sounds fun.” I said.
“ It's not,” he replied.
I smiled faintly. “ You know I would have been worried if you had agreed with me.”
He looked at me longer than usual.
“ Stay close tonight,” he said. “ And don't underestimate them.”
I raised a brow. “ Okay,” I replied.
The house was bigger than his. Which I found unnecessary. Lights, cars, people, all screaming the same thing: Power lives here.
The moment we stepped out of the car, eyes turned. Not curious, not even friendly.
“ Smile,” Adrian murmured.
“ I am smiling,” I replied.
“ Make it convincing,” he said.
I slipped my hand into his arm gently.
“ Better?” I asked.
He didn't answer, but didn't pull away.
“ Relax,” I said under my breath. “ You look more uncomfortable than I do.”
“ I'm not uncomfortable,” he replied.
“ You've been avoiding eye contact with three different women since we walked in.” I paused. “ That's an observation though,” I added.
“ I don't entertain distractions,” he said.
I smirked slightly.
“ Right. That explains why your family members think this is rather magic or fake.”
That got his attention.
“ Who told you that?” he asked.
“ No one had to. You don't react to women. Not even the ones practically throwing themselves at you. And now you suddenly have a girlfriend? I'd be suspicious too,” I said.
He didn't reply immediately. After some seconds, he pulled my hand closer and a bit tighter.
“ Then don't give them a reason to doubt it,” he said quietly.
“Oh they are here.” A random voice followed with a little shift in the atmosphere of the room.
Elliott Voss walked in like the room belonged to him. Genevieve besides him, composed and unreadable.
And just like that, I knew I was going to be having a long evening.
“Adrain,” Elliott said, his tone smooth but carried weight. “ You made it.”
“ I always do,“ Adrian replied.
Elliott’s gaze moved towards me slowly and interested.
“ And this must be the exception to your habits,” he said.
There was silence for a few seconds. Genevieve smiled faintly.
“ How refreshing,” she added. “We were beginning to think Adrian had simply decided women were…unnecessary.”
I let out a soft breath, then stepped forward.
“Gracia,” I said, offering a small smile. “ And I would say I'm an exception, but that would imply he had a pattern before me.” I added.
A few people chuckled carefully.
Elliott's eyes lingered on me.
“ She speaks comfortably,” he said.
“Comfort can be misleading,” Genevieve added. I met her gaze.
“ So can silence,” I replied.
That actually landed. Adrian exhaled quietly beside me.
Elliott smiled slightly. I knew something was coming after that smile.
“Adrian, let's simplify things,” he said, stepping closer. “ She's your woman, right? I'm curious. Show us please,” he said, smiling.
“ I mean if she's real, there should be no difficulty in showing it,” he added.
Silence followed, a very heavy and an expectant one. I felt it before I saw it. Every eye in the room shifted and locked onto us waiting.
Adrian didn't move. I turned slightly towards him, just enough to see his face. There was nothing, no reaction, no hesitation.
But something changed. His fingers tightened just slightly against my arm. I leaned closer, my voice low enough that only he could hear.
“ Looks like your family wants a show,” I murmured. “ Hope you're ready to perform?”
He breathed out then turned his head slightly towards me.
“ Don't improvise,” he said quietly. I smiled.
“ Too late for that,” I replied.
Behind us the silence stretched longer. Elliott didn't look away, Genevieve didn't blink. And the room, like the entire room, waited for him, for us, for proof.
- Writer
