Chapter 3
1024 Words
Guinevere's POV
The gates opened slowly, silently, like they were bowing.
I pressed my forehead against the tinted window as the car rolled forward, my heart beating faster with every inch we moved. What stood before me didn’t look real. It looked like something taken from a movie—tall white pillars, trimmed hedges shaped like art, fountains that shimmered like diamonds in the sun.
“This is… my husband’s house?” I whispered.
Albert, seated in front, turned slightly. “Yes, Madam.”
The word still felt wrong in my ears.
The car stopped in front of massive glass doors. They opened before we even touched them, and people lined up on both sides—maids, guards, men in suits, women in uniforms—all bowing slightly.
“Welcome home, Madam,” they said in unison.
My chest tightened.
Home?
I stepped out of the car with shaking legs.
Albert walked beside me. “Allow me to introduce you to the staff. They will serve you.”
Serve me.
I wanted to tell them I didn’t deserve this. That I was just a tired girl who used to scrub floors at midnight and run errands at dawn. But the words stayed trapped in my throat.
They showed me the living rooms—plural. The dining halls—also plural. The gardens. The indoor pool. The library that smelled like leather and secrets.
Then they took me upstairs.
“This is your room,” Albert said as he opened double doors.
I stopped breathing.
The room was huge. Soft white curtains, golden light, a bed big enough to swallow my old apartment. Everything smelled clean. New. Untouched.
I turned to Albert. “Where is my husband?”
He hesitated just a little. “He is currently out of the country. He will return soon.”
Soon.
Another word that meant nothing.
Albert excused himself, leaving me alone.
I walked deeper into the room, touching things like they might disappear. I sat on the bed and laughed softly, not because I was happy—but because I was scared.
Who marries someone without meeting them?
Who plans a woman’s entire life without asking her?
Who is my husband?
On the bed lay a small envelope. My name was written on it in neat handwriting.
Guinevere.
My fingers trembled as I opened it.
*Welcome to your new home. I hope you are comfortable. Everything here is yours now.*
That was all.
No name.
No signature.
Beside the note was a box. I opened it slowly.
A diamond necklace lay inside, shining like it was alive.
I closed the box.
I didn’t want to think dark thoughts.
I didn’t want to imagine that I had been bought.
A knock came. “Madam, brunch is ready.”
Downstairs, the table looked like it was prepared for royalty. I barely touched the food.
I looked at Albert. “Who is my husband?”
“He is the owner of G&G Corporation,” Albert replied. “And all affiliate companies under it.”
I froze.
G&G.
I had seen that name everywhere—on hospitals, schools, buildings.
“He is… powerful?” I asked quietly.
Albert nodded. “Very.”
After brunch, I rushed back to my room and grabbed my phone.
I searched.
Nothing.
No pictures.
No interviews.
No face.
Only articles about the company, the CEOs of branches, and the founder—his father, now dead.
He had taken over years ago.
And yet no one had ever seen him.
That scared me more than if he had been famous.
Then it hit me.
The hospital.
My brother’s hospital.
It belonged to G&G.
That meant… he must have seen me there.
But why me?
I was poor.
Broken.
Nothing special.
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
Before I could answer, a woman pushed past Albert and walked in like she owned the place.
She looked expensive. Cold. Sharp.
Her eyes scanned me like I was furniture.
“So,” she said, “you’re her.”
“Who are you?” I asked.
She smiled without warmth. “I just wanted to see what kind of girl he picked.”
She walked around me slowly. “You’re here for a reason. Don’t forget that.”
My heart raced. “What reason?”
She leaned closer. “He’ll use you. Then he’ll throw you away. Just like he does with everything else.”
She straightened and walked out.
No name.
No explanation.
Just poison.
“I need to see my brother,” I said. “Now.”
Albert took me to the hospital.
***************************************
At the elevator, I bumped into someone.
“Careful,” a man’s voice teased. “You really like crashing into people.”
I looked up.
It was the same man from yesterday.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly.
He smiled. “Again?”
He walked with me to the elevator. We talked.
I found out he was the Chief Medical Director of the hospital.
And my brother’s doctor.
“Why are you treating my brother yourself?” I asked.
“Orders from above,” he said.
From my husband.
He took my number and promised to call.
As the elevator closed, I called out, “Your name?”
“Gregory,” he said. “And I already know yours.”
He promised my brother was safe.
I went to see Ethan.
He looked better.
Stronger.
As I left, I saw her again.
The woman from the mansion.
In the VIP parking lot.
“What is she doing here?” I asked Albert.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Don’t worry about her.”
But I did.
My brother’s bills were gone.
My debts were gone.
Everything was paid.
Too easily.
I looked at Albert. “How does my husband know everything about me?”
Albert met my eyes.
“Nothing escape
s his knowledge,” he said. “He knows everything.”
My stomach twisted.
Everything?
Then that meant…
He had been watching me.
Long before I ever signed that contract.
And suddenly, I wasn’t sure if I was a wife…
Or a target.
- Writer
