CHAPTER 7: The First Appearance
858 Words
Ten minutes later, I was standing outside again.
But this time,
I wasn’t the girl who walked into this house last night.
I looked… different.
Sharper.
The dress they gave me fit perfectly. Simple, elegant, but expensive enough to speak without words. My hair was styled, my makeup flawless.
I looked like someone who belonged beside him.
At least on the outside.
He stepped out moments later, adjusting his cufflinks, his eyes briefly scanning me.
Just once.
But it was enough.
“Good,” he said.
That was it.
No compliment.
No reaction.
Just… approval.
Strangely, I didn’t mind.
The car ride was quiet.
Again.
But this time, it wasn’t uncomfortable.
It felt like preparation.
“Who was she?” I finally asked.
I didn’t need to say her name.
He knew.
“A business arrangement that ended,” he replied.
“That didn’t look like it ended,” I said.
“It did.”
His tone made it clear
Conversation closed.
I turned to the window.
Noted.
“Today,” he continued, “you will speak only when necessary.”
I raised a brow. “You keep saying that like I talk too much.”
“You don’t,” he said.
A pause.
“But people will try to make you.”
That caught my attention.
“How?”
“Questions. Provocation. Curiosity.”
He looked at me now.
“And mistakes are easier when emotions are involved.”
So that was it.
A test.
I nodded slightly. “I understand.”
“Do you?” he asked again.
I met his gaze.
“I’m not the same person from yesterday.”
Something in his expression shifted slightly.
Almost like he believed that.
The car finally stopped.
I looked outside,
And froze.
This wasn’t just a building.
It was a statement.
Glass. Steel. Height.
Power.
People stood outside, reporters, cameras, security.
Waiting.
“For us?” I asked quietly.
“For you,” he corrected.
My heart skipped.
“Smile,” he added calmly. “And don’t hesitate.”
Before I could respond, the door opened.
Noise exploded instantly.
“Mr. Blackwood!”
“Who is she?!”
“Is the marriage real?!”
“Madam, look here!”
Flashes blinded me for a second.
But I didn’t stop.
I stepped out.
Head high.
Calm.
Controlled.
Just like he said.
His hand found mine naturally, grounding me.
Not tight.
Not possessive.
Just… there.
We walked forward together.
“Mrs. Blackwood!” a reporter called out. “Did you know about the groom’s affair before the wedding?”
Ah.
Straight to it.
I stopped.
Just slightly.
He didn’t pull me.
Didn’t interrupt.
He was watching.
Testing.
I turned toward the reporter.
Smiled.
“No,” I said calmly. “But I’m grateful I found out when I did.”
Murmurs spread.
More cameras lifted.
Another voice
“Is your marriage real or just a reaction to the scandal?”
There it was.
The real question.
The trap.
I felt his gaze on me.
Waiting.
I didn’t rush.
Didn’t panic.
Instead, I looked up at him.
Just for a second.
Then back at them.
“If it wasn’t real,” I said softly, “I wouldn’t be here.”
Simple.
Clean.
Convincing.
Silence
Then louder noise.
Questions overlapping.
Voices rising.
But this time
I didn’t feel overwhelmed.
I felt… in control.
He guided me forward again, and we entered the building.
The doors closed behind us.
Silence returned.
I exhaled slowly.
“That was your idea of ‘quiet’?” I asked.
His lips almost curved.
Almost.
“You did well,” he said.
My steps slowed slightly.
That
That felt like something.
“Don’t get used to it,” he added.
And just like that, the moment passed.
Of course.
We entered a private elevator.
The doors shut.
And for the first time since stepping out
We were alone again.
I leaned back slightly.
“You knew they’d ask that.”
“Yes.”
“You knew what they’d say.”
“Yes.”
“And you still brought me.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“So this was another test.”
He looked at me.
“This is your life now.”
Not a test.
A reality.
I went quiet.
Processing.
Then,
“You didn’t help me,” I said.
“I didn’t need to.”
That answer…
It shouldn’t have made sense.
But it did.
Because if I couldn’t handle that
I wouldn’t survive here.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
“Come,” he said.
And I followed.
But as I stepped out into a floor filled with powerful people, sharp eyes, and quiet judgment
I realized something.
This world wasn’t waiting for me to fail.
It was expecting it.
And that…
That made me want to
prove them wrong even more.
As we walked into the meeting room, all conversations stopped.
Every eye turned.
Some curious.
Some skeptical.
Some already dismissing me.
I didn’t react.
Didn’t shrink.
Didn’t hesitate.
I walked beside him
Like I belonged there.
Because whether it was real or not
For the next one year…
I did.
- Writer
