His Forbidden Ward

Chapter 5: Suffocating Silence

MIA

Inside, the vehicle was a plush, claustrophobic vault of black leather and polished wood, sealing out the sound of the pouring rain and the somber murmurs of the graveyard, but the air was entirely frozen by a suffocating, agonizing silence.

I pressed myself against the passenger door, trying to put as much physical distance between myself and the man sitting next to me. My black funeral dress felt damp against my skin, but the chill of the rain was nothing compared to the absolute aura of detachment radiating from Aleksander Tremain.

He didn't look at me. He sat perfectly rigid in his immaculate charcoal-grey suit, his massive shoulders squared, staring blankly straight ahead at the privacy partition. His profile looked as though it had been carved from stone, his jaw clenched so tightly that the bone looked sharp beneath his skin.

The silence stretched, heavy and agonizing, stretching my frayed nerves to their absolute breaking point. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Say something," I whispered, my voice cracking in the quiet interior.

Aleksander didn't turn his head immediately. When he finally did, his piercing grey eyes were cold, sharp, and completely devoid of any of the passion from the night before. A rigid wall had snapped up behind his eyes, his posture entirely unyielding.

"Last night was a horrific mistake born of darkness and grief," he said, his tone flat, clipped, and completely distant. He treated me more like an unwelcome corporate complication than the girl he had held hours ago. "There is no excuse for it, and there will be no repeat of it. I will never touch you again. I will never allow myself to fail your father a second time. Do not speak of that night ever again."

True to his word, he didn't speak to me for the rest of the ride. When the massive vehicle finally pulled through the iron gates of the Whitmore estate and stopped before the grand front doors, he kept his eyes locked straight ahead.

"Get down," he commanded flatly, without a single glance in my direction.

I swallowed the lump of hurt in my throat, opening the door and stepping out into the rain without another word.

The heavy front door of my family’s house clicked shut, finally sealing me inside the empty, echoing hallway. The silence of the house was deafening, but it was nothing compared to the suffocating tension that had just filled Aleksander’s Maybach.

My knees finally gave out. I slid down against the wood of the door, burying my face in my hands.

My phone vibrated violently in my coat pocket. I pulled it out with trembling hands and saw Chloe’s name flashing across the screen. I swiped it instantly, pressing it to my ear.

"Mia? Oh my god," Chloe breathed, her voice flooded with relief. "We were so worried. Are you okay? Do you want me to come over?"

Hearing her voice made a hot, stinging tear finally spill over my cheek. "No, don't come over. I'm okay, Chloe. I just... I need to be alone right now."

"Are you sure?" she pressed softly, sounding entirely helpless. "We're all still in shock. I can't believe Mr. Vance said that man is your legal guardian. The way he just ordered you into his car... it freaked us all out."

"I know," I whispered furiously, gripping my hair with my free hand as the reality crashed down on me. "Chloe, I don't know what I'm going to do."

"What did he say to you in the car?" Chloe asked quietly.

"Hardly anything," I said, my voice cracking. "Everyone thinks he’s this sophisticated, generous billionaire, but he is so cold, Chloe. He’s mean. The way he looks at me... like he already owns me. I have to face him at the lawyer's office tomorrow morning for the will reading, and I'm terrified."

"This is messed up," Chloe muttered. "Do you want me to bring Liam? We can be there in ten minutes."

"No, definitely don't involve Liam," I warned quickly, the memory of Aleksander’s lethal, possessive glare at the cemetery flashing in my mind. "If Aleksander thinks anyone is interfering, I don't know what he'll do. I just need to try to sleep."

"Mia..." Chloe pleaded. "Just promise me you'll keep your phone close."

"I will," I lied quietly. "I'll text you tomorrow."

I cut the call and let my hand drop to the cold floorboards. The sudden silence of the house rushed back in, heavy and suffocating.

"Miss Mia?"

A soft, hesitant voice broke the quiet. I looked up to see Mrs. Gable, our longtime housekeeper, standing at the end of the dimly lit hallway. Her kind eyes were rimmed with red, her hands twisting the apron at her waist. She looked so small in the cavernous house, a lingering ghost of the old life we had just buried.

"Mrs. Gable," I choked out, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Let's get you out of those damp clothes, sweetheart," she whispered, stepping forward to gently help me up from the floor. She didn't ask about the billionaire who had dropped me off, or why I was unraveling. Instead, she quietly guided me up the grand staircase to my bedroom, turning down the sheets just like she had when I was a child.

Once she left, closing the door with a soft click, the emptiness returned.

I peeled off the damp funeral dress, letting it drop to the floor. Seeking any shred of comfort, I pulled on an oversized sweater of my father's that still smelled faintly of his cologne. I crawled into the massive bed, pulling the heavy duvet all the way up to my chin.

I closed my eyes, but sleep didn't come. My mind reeled, trapped between grief for my father and the brutal, icy detachment of Aleksander’s rejection in the car.

Staring out at the relentless rain drumming against the glass, I clutched the blanket tighter, terrified of the morning to come.