Chapter four.
946 Words
The building was exactly what I expected.
Tall. Quiet. Expensive.
Everything about it screamed control.
Just like him.
I stepped out of the car slowly, taking a moment to look up at the glass structure in front of me. Lights reflected off every surface, clean and untouched.
Perfect.
Too perfect.
“This is where you live?” I asked.
“You’ll get used to it.”
I glanced at him. “You say that like I plan to stay.”
He didn’t answer.
He just started walking.
Of course he did.
I followed anyway.
The lobby was even worse.
Marble floors. Soft lighting. The kind of place where everything felt… quiet. Controlled. Like you had to watch how you moved, how you spoke.
I hated it already.
We stepped into the elevator, and the doors slid shut behind us.
Silence filled the space instantly.
Just the two of us.
Too close.
Too aware.
I folded my arms, staring straight ahead.
“Relax,” he said.
“I am relaxed.”
“You’re tense.”
I turned slightly. “And whose fault is that?”
A faint breath left him—almost like a quiet laugh.
That annoyed me more than anything.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
And just like that, I stepped into his world.
The apartment was…
I didn’t even have the right word for it.
Huge.
Open.
Every detail carefully placed, like nothing existed by accident.
Floor-to-ceiling windows showed the city stretching endlessly below.
It was beautiful.
And somehow… cold.
“You can take the guest room,” he said, walking past me like this was nothing.
Guest room.
Right.
I dropped my bag near the couch, turning slowly as I took everything in.
“This place doesn’t look lived in.”
“It is.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
He stopped, glancing back at me.
“I’m not here often.”
That made sense.
Everything about him felt like someone who was always somewhere else.
Busy. Distracted. Gone.
Just like before.
I pushed that thought away quickly.
Not going there.
Not again.
“Your things will be delivered soon,” he added.
I nodded, even though I didn’t like how easily he had arranged everything.
Like this had already been planned.
Like I had already agreed long before I signed anything.
“You really thought this through,” I said.
“I always do.”
Of course.
I walked further into the apartment, my heels soft against the floor.
Every step felt strange.
Like I didn’t belong here.
Like I was stepping into something that wasn’t mine.
“Ella.”
I stopped.
Turned slightly.
He was closer now.
I didn’t hear him move.
I hated that.
“What?”
“For this to work,” he said, “there are rules.”
I let out a quiet breath.
“Of course there are.”
“You don’t leave without telling me.”
My brows pulled together immediately.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
I shook my head. “No. That’s not happening.”
“It is.”
“No, it’s not.” I stepped back slightly. “You don’t control me like that.”
His expression didn’t change.
“You live here now.”
“That doesn’t mean I need your permission.”
“It means I need to know where you are.”
“And why is that?”
A pause.
Then—
“Because you’re my responsibility.”
That made something inside me snap.
“I’m not a responsibility.”
His eyes held mine.
“Then don’t act like one.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
I looked away, frustrated.
“This is already a mistake.”
“Then stop making it worse.”
I turned back sharply. “I’m the one making it worse?”
“You’re fighting everything.”
“Because everything is ridiculous!”
My voice came out louder this time.
The room felt smaller suddenly.
Tighter.
Like the air had shifted.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Then he moved.
Closing the distance between us again.
Slow.
Intentional.
My heart picked up, even though I tried to ignore it.
“You agreed to this,” he said quietly.
“And you’re taking advantage of it.”
“No,” he replied, his voice steady.
“I’m making sure it works.”
Too close.
Way too close.
I could feel the heat from him now.
It was distracting.
Annoying.
Dangerous.
“You don’t get to decide everything,” I said, my voice lower now.
“Watch me.”
My breath caught.
That shouldn’t have affected me.
But it did.
I hated that it did.
For a second… neither of us moved.
The tension stretched between us.
Thick.
Unspoken.
Then I stepped back.
Breaking it.
“I’m tired,” I muttered.
He didn’t stop me this time.
“Your room is down the hall,” he said.
I nodded and walked away without another word.
The room was just as perfect as the rest of the apartment.
Clean. Quiet.
Too quiet.
I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, letting out a slow breath.
This was real now.
No backing out.
No pretending.
I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing.
My mind was everywhere.
The contract.
The clause.
Him.
Always him.
I lay back slowly, staring up at the ceiling.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
Not like this.
Not again.
But deep down…
A small, quiet voice kept whispering the same thing—
This wasn’t an accident.
And somehow…
I had just walked straight into it.
- Writer
