Episode 6.
1149 Words
A week passed in silence learning how to breathe.
Elisa began to understand the east building in fragments.
Morning light through the glass.
Staff who moved in and out politely, never asking questions, never staying too long.
And most importantly—
Distance.
She had only seen Adrian a few times since the day she arrived.
Mostly at meals in the main house.
He didn’t ask how she was settling in.
And she didn’t ask anything at all.
It was easier that way.
Safer.
After breakfast each morning, she would return to the east building and stay there until she was called again.
No conversations.
No expectations.
Just a quiet routine.
Elisa sat on the edge of the bed that evening, staring at her phone as it rang again.
Noah.
She answered immediately.
“Hey,” she said softly.
There was a pause before his voice came through.
“You didn’t call yesterday.”
Guilt flickered through her chest.
“I’m sorry. I was—”
“Busy?” he interrupted.
Elisa smiled faintly.
“Something like that.”
Noah exhaled slowly.
“I saw something on TV.”
Her fingers tightened slightly.
“…What did you see?”
Another pause.
Then—
“You got married.”
The words landed heavier than she expected.
Elisa closed her eyes briefly.
“It was just a court registration,” she said quietly. “It’s not—”
“It’s everywhere,” Noah continued. “They’re talking about it.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then his voice dropped.
“They’re talking about you too.”
Her chest tightened.
“What do you mean?”
Noah hesitated.
“People online… news pages… they’re saying things.”
Elisa slowly stood from the bed and walked toward the window.
The estate outside looked peaceful.
Beautiful.
Disconnected from the world that was talking about her.
“What are they saying?” she asked softly.
Noah didn’t answer immediately.
“Elisa…”
“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “Just tell me.”
A longer silence.
Then—
“They’re asking who you are.”
Her grip on the phone tightened.
“And?”
“And they don’t like what they see,” he admitted quietly.
Elisa swallowed.
Noah continued, voice more careful now.
“They’re saying you don’t look like someone who should be married to him.”
That one hurt more than she expected.
She didn’t speak.
“Ignore them,” Noah added quickly. “They don’t know anything.”
But Elisa had already heard enough.
Later that evening, she went down for dinner in the main house.
It had become routine.
Eight o’clock.
No conversation.
Eat.
Leave.
Adrian was already seated when she arrived.
As usual, he didn’t look up immediately.
Elisa sat across from him quietly.
The room was filled only with the sound of cutlery and soft movement from the staff.
Until—
A television mounted in the corner of the dining hall turned on.
No one had touched it.
Elisa glanced up.
Breaking news.
Her face appeared on the screen.
A blurred image from the court registration.
“And this is the woman reportedly married to billionaire Adrian Kane,” the anchor said.
Elisa froze slightly.
Adrian didn’t react.
But she could feel the shift in the room.
The tone of the broadcast continued.
“No official background has been released about Mrs. Kane, and many online users are questioning her sudden rise into one of the country’s most powerful families.”
The screen changed.
Comments began scrolling underneath.
Fast.
Unfiltered.
“Who even is she?”
“She doesn’t look like his type at all.”
“Is this a business deal or a joke?”
“She’s not even that pretty…”
Elisa’s fingers tightened around her fork.
She looked down quickly.
Trying to ignore it.
But the voices didn’t stop.
“Adrian Kane could do so much better.”
“She looks average at best.”
“She probably trapped him somehow.”
Elisa pushed her plate slightly away.
Her appetite was gone.
Across from her, Adrian finally spoke.
Not loudly.
Just enough for the room to hear.
“Turn it off.”
The TV went silent immediately.
The dining hall fell back into stillness.
Elisa kept her eyes lowered.
A long pause followed.
Then Adrian’s voice came again.
Calm.
“Eat.”
She didn’t move.
So he added, a little more firmly—
“Don’t pay attention to noise that doesn’t matter.”
Elisa’s throat tightened slightly.
She nodded once.
But the words still echoed in her mind long after dinner ended.
As she walked back alone to the east building that night—
One thought refused to leave her.
The world didn’t know her.
And worse…
It had already decided it didn’t like her.
As she walked back alone to the east building that night, the silence felt heavier than usual.
The comments still echoed faintly in her mind.
She’s not even that pretty.
Who even is she?
Elisa wrapped her arms around herself slightly as she stepped inside the building.
The doors closed quietly behind her.
And somehow—
That made the loneliness worse.
She had just reached the staircase when a voice stopped her.
“Mrs. Kane.”
Elisa turned slightly.
Sebastian stood near the entrance, calm and composed as always.
She straightened instinctively.
“Did you need something?”
“Yes.”
He stepped forward slightly.
“There will be a dinner party tomorrow evening at seven.”
Elisa frowned faintly.
“A dinner party?”
“One of Mr. Kane’s business events,” Sebastian explained politely. “Your attendance is expected.”
Expected.
Of course it was.
Elisa nodded slowly.
“What exactly am I supposed to do there?”
Sebastian’s expression remained neutral.
“Stand beside your husband and look convincing.”
The honesty caught her off guard.
For the first time, something that almost resembled amusement flickered briefly in Sebastian’s eyes.
“It won’t be as terrible as you think,” he added.
Elisa highly doubted that.
“Claire will prepare your schedule tomorrow,” Sebastian continued. “And I’ll personally oversee everything else.”
“Everything else?”
“Your dress. Hair. Makeup. Jewelry.”
Elisa blinked.
“Oh.”
“You represent the Kane name now,” he said simply. “Appearances matter.”
The reminder settled heavily in her chest.
Not Elisa.
Not herself.
The Kane name.
Sebastian glanced at his watch briefly before adding,
“I’ll come for you tomorrow afternoon.”
Then, after a short pause—
“Get some rest tonight, Mrs. Kane.”
Elisa watched him leave quietly.
And the moment the doors closed behind him, anxiety crept back into her chest all over again.
Tomorrow would be the first time she stood beside Adrian Kane in front of the world.
And somehow—
That terrified her more than the marriage itself.
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