The Walls Between Us
542 Words
The long mahogany table stretched farther than it needed to. Crystal glasses. Silver cutlery. Every napkin folded like it came from a royal banquet.
Aria sat beside Liam, wearing a soft navy-blue dress and an expression she’d practiced in the mirror — calm, polite, unshaken.
Across the table sat his parents — Jonathan and Evelyn Carter — with their elite circle of friends and business partners.
Everyone looked flawless.
Everyone acted flawless.
Everyone except Aria — who didn’t belong in their perfectly measured world.
“So,” Evelyn said, cutting into her salmon with graceful precision, “How are you adjusting, dear? I know our lifestyle must feel… different.”
Aria smiled. “It’s not the lifestyle that’s difficult. It’s the silence.”
The room tensed slightly.
Liam didn’t flinch.
Jonathan sipped his wine. “You’ve always been a quiet one, Aria. Even as a child. But we believe you’ll grow into the role with time.”
“What role?” Aria asked softly.
Evelyn’s tone stayed sweet but sharp. “The Carter wife, of course. A reflection of this family. Dignified. Composed. Controlled.”
Aria felt heat rise in her chest. Her fork trembled slightly in her hand.
Liam suddenly spoke. “She’s doing fine.”
It wasn’t kindness.
It was containment.
Like he wanted to shut the door before she let any truth leak out.
---
🔹 After Dinner
The drawing room was all velvet furniture and soft jazz music. Aria slipped away to get some air — only to find Vanessa leaning against the hallway wall, smirking.
“You play the part well,” she said, sipping her champagne. “But let me give you a little advice, Aria.”
Aria crossed her arms. “I didn’t ask for any.”
Vanessa stepped closer. “Liam Carter doesn’t love. He uses. He keeps people where they benefit him — and discards them when they don’t.”
Aria’s throat tightened, but she didn’t look away. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not here for love.”
Vanessa smirked. “But once, you were.”
She walked off, heels echoing like gunshots.
---
🔹 That Night…
Aria stormed into the master bedroom — even though she’d started sleeping in the guest room. She found Liam at the edge of the bed, tie undone, brows furrowed like he knew she was coming.
“You just sat there,” she said. “While your mother tried to mold me and your ex tried to humiliate me.”
He stood slowly. “You held your own.”
“I shouldn’t have had to!” she snapped. “I’m not your property, Liam. And I’m not some vase to sit pretty in your showroom of perfection.”
Liam’s jaw clenched. “Do you know how much my family sacrificed for this name?”
She laughed bitterly. “Do you know what I sacrificed just to breathe in this house?”
Their eyes locked. Rage. Pain. Fire.
For a moment, they were too close.
Too raw.
And then…
> “If I’m going to survive this marriage,” she whispered, “then the walls between us better be strong enough
. Or we’ll both burn.”
Liam said nothing.
But he didn’t walk away either.
- Writer
