Chapter 3 : The Woman In Red
1275 Words
I woke up to the smell of coffee.
Black coffee.
Bitter. Burnt. Sharp enough to crawl under my skin before I even opened my eyes.
For a few peaceful seconds, I forgot where I was.
Then the white ceiling above me came into focus.
The penthouse.
The contract.
Alex Kade.
And Vanessa.
My chest tightened instantly.
I sat up slowly in the unfamiliar bed, the silk sheets tangling around my legs. Morning light spilled through the tall windows of Room 7, turning everything pale gold. Beautiful.
Cold.
The kind of beautiful that never let you relax.
My phone sat on the nightstand beside the wedding ring Alex had forced onto my finger less than twenty-four hours ago.
I still wasn't used to seeing it there.
Mrs. Kade.
The title felt like it belonged to someone else.
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.
Three precise taps.
I already knew who it wasn't.
"Come in," I called quietly.
The door opened, revealing Grace carrying a silver breakfast tray.
"Good morning, Mrs. Kade."
I almost asked her not to call me that, but the exhausted look on her face stopped me.
She set the tray down carefully at the small table near the window.
Toast. Eggs. Fruit.
And black coffee.
Again.
I stared at the cup.
Steam curled slowly into the air.
"I didn't order coffee."
Grace hesitated for half a second too long.
"Miss Vanessa instructed the kitchen."
Of course she did.
Something about that irritated me more than it should have.
Maybe because Vanessa acted like she owned the air inside this penthouse.
Maybe because she kept forcing things on me I never asked for.
Or maybe because Alex had looked genuinely confused when he saw the coffee yesterday.
Like he knew I hated it.
I walked toward the tray slowly.
The coffee smelled awful.
Back in nursing school, my roommates used to joke that my coffee looked like melted ice cream. Extra cream. Extra sugar. Caramel syrup if I could afford it.
Black coffee tasted like punishment.
Grace shifted awkwardly beside the door.
"She'll ask if you drank it."
I looked up sharply. "What?"
Grace immediately lowered her gaze. "Nothing, ma'am."
But it wasn't nothing.
I picked up the cup slowly.
Still hot.
Still bitter-smelling.
For one stubborn second, I considered drinking it anyway.
Just to prove Vanessa couldn't control me.
I took a sip.
Instant regret.
The bitterness coated my tongue so harshly I nearly coughed.
Grace looked alarmed. "Mrs. Kade—"
The door opened before she could finish.
Alex walked in.
His eyes immediately landed on the coffee cup in my hand.
Then narrowed.
"You drank it?"
I frowned. "It's coffee, not poison."
The second the words left my mouth, Grace looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor.
Alex's expression darkened slightly.
"Grace," he said calmly, "leave us."
She practically fled the room.
The silence she left behind felt heavy.
Alex walked toward me slowly before taking the cup from my hand.
"You don't have to force yourself to drink things you hate."
Something about the way he said it made me defensive.
"You keep giving me rules, Alex. Your sister keeps testing me. I'm trying to survive here."
His jaw tightened slightly at the word survive.
Without another word, he crossed to the small counter near the wall and poured the coffee into the sink.
Then he replaced it with tea.
Chamomile.
Honey.
Exactly the way I liked it.
Again.
I stared at the cup once he handed it to me.
"You remember that?"
Alex leaned against the counter, watching me carefully.
"You used to drink this whenever you studied at our house," he said quietly. "You were always exhausted after exams."
The memory hit me unexpectedly hard.
I was seventeen again, curled up at the Kade mansion kitchen island while Alex worked late in his office upstairs. My father still alive. My mother still healthy.
Back before life became survival.
"You remember that?" I asked softly.
Something unreadable crossed his face.
"You were around for a long time, Aria."
The room suddenly felt too quiet.
Too personal.
I looked down at the tea quickly.
"I thought you barely noticed me back then."
Alex gave a short humorless laugh.
"That was the problem."
Before I could ask what that meant, the office door swung open.
Vanessa entered wearing red.
Not bright red.
Dark red.
The kind that looked dangerous.
Her eyes immediately moved between us —the tea in my hands, Alex standing too close, the untouched black coffee in the sink.
Something cold flickered across her expression.
"Well," she said smoothly, "this looks intimate."
Alex straightened instantly. Whatever softness had been in the room disappeared.
"You should knock."
Vanessa ignored him completely.
Instead, she walked toward me slowly.
Too slowly.
"You didn't finish your coffee."
I forced myself not to step backward.
"I don't like black coffee."
"I know."
The answer came too quickly.
For one strange second, none of us moved.
Then Vanessa smiled faintly, like she'd said something harmless.
"You'll learn eventually."
Alex stepped between us before I could answer.
"That's enough."
Vanessa's eyes lifted to his.
The tension between them felt older than me somehow. Sharper. Like this argument had existed long before I walked into their lives.
"I came to inform you," Vanessa said coolly, "that I'll be staying here for a while."
My stomach dropped.
Alex's expression hardened immediately. "No."
"The board disagrees."
"I don't care what the board thinks."
"You should," Vanessa replied. "Your fake marriage is already affecting stock prices."
I looked between them quietly.
This wasn't normal sibling fighting.
This was war dressed up in expensive clothes.
Vanessa turned toward me again.
"I'll take the room across from yours," she said lightly. "Makes things easier."
"For who?" I asked before I could stop myself.
Something amused flickered in her eyes.
"For me."
Alex's voice turned dangerously calm. "You're not staying here to supervise my wife."
"Someone has to," Vanessa said. "You're emotionally compromised already."
The room went silent.
Alex took one slow step toward her.
"Careful."
Vanessa laughed softly, but there was no humor in it.
"Oh please. You're the one making her tea exactly how she likes it."
I looked at Alex immediately.
His expression gave nothing away.
Vanessa noticed.
Of course she did.
"You remember too much about her for this to be business, brother."
"Leave," Alex said flatly.
Vanessa held his gaze for a long second before finally turning toward the door.
Halfway there, she stopped.
Then looked back at me.
"You should really be careful what you drink in this house, Aria."
This time the words didn't sound mocking.
They sounded intentional.
My grip tightened around the tea cup.
Alex noticed instantly.
"Vanessa."
But she was already walking away, heels clicking sharply against the marble floor.
The office door shut behind her.
Silence filled the room again.
I looked down slowly at the tea in my hands.
Suddenly, I didn't want to drink it anymore.
Alex crossed the room immediately and took the cup from me.
Too fast.
Too protective.
Fear crawled slowly down my spine.
"Alex..." I whispered carefully.
He set the cup down on the desk without drinking it himself.
That scared me more than anything else.
"From now on," he said quietly, "you only eat food given to you by me or Grace."
My pulse quickened.
"What's wrong with your sister?"
Alex didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at the closed office door like he was remembering something he wished he could forget.
Then finally—
"She doesn't always know when to stop."
The way he said it made my blood run cold.
- Writer
