Her Enemy, Her Shelter

Better anger than attachment

Reina’s POV

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the silence. It felt… wrong. For a moment, I remained still, staring at the ceiling as fragments of the previous night came rushing back — his touch, his breath, the way everything had almost happened… and then nothing. My brows furrowed as I turned to the other side of the bed. Empty. Cold. He hadn’t slept there. A strange feeling settled in my chest as I sat up slowly, pulling the sheets closer to myself as if that would somehow shield me from the confusion creeping in. “Where did he go?” I murmured under my breath, my voice barely audible even to me. A soft knock came from the door before it opened slightly, and two maids stepped in carefully. “Good morning, Mrs. Reina,” one of them greeted, but I didn’t respond immediately. Even as they helped me out of bed and prepared my bath, my mind was elsewhere. Had I done something wrong? Was it something I said? Or… did he regret it? “Ma’am?” Maria’s voice pulled me back, and I blinked, forcing myself to look at her. “Yes?” I replied. “Are you alright? You’ve been quiet,” she said gently. “I’m fine,” I answered quickly, a little too quickly, because the truth was… I wasn’t.

The dining table felt too large that morning, too empty. I sat there alone, staring at the untouched food in front of me, my appetite completely gone. Usually, I would have complained about his presence — his teasing, his arrogance, the way he always seemed to have the upper hand — but now, his absence was louder than his presence had ever been. “Where is Sebastian?” I finally asked one of the guards standing nearby. “The boss stepped out early this morning, ma’am. He had a brief business meeting,” he answered respectfully. I nodded slowly, gripping my fork. Of course he did. Business. Always business. I forced myself to take a bite, but it tasted like nothing. For the first time since this marriage began… I felt ignored, and I hated it more than I expected.

Sebastian’s POV

I shouldn’t have left the room, but I had no choice. Even now, seated in one of the most expensive suites in the city, surrounded by men discussing contracts and shipments, my mind wasn’t here. It was with her. Reina. The memory of last night replayed in my head like a dangerous loop — the way she responded to me, the way she said my name, the way I almost lost control. My jaw tightened as I leaned back slightly, forcing myself to focus. “Sebastian?” one of the men called, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Yes,” I answered shortly, but I wasn’t really listening. Because the truth was simple… I wanted her, and that was exactly the problem. Letting things go that far again would be a mistake — a dangerous one — so I stopped. I had to. Even if it meant walking away from her like that, even if it meant seeing that confusion in her eyes, even if it made me look like the villain. Better that… than losing control completely.

The meeting ended shortly after, but the tension in my chest didn’t ease. As I stepped out of the suite, adjusting my cufflinks, my steps slowed almost involuntarily. Someone stood at the end of the hallway. Familiar. Too familiar. For a brief second, our eyes nearly met, but I looked away and kept walking as if I hadn’t seen her at all. Three years. That was how long it had been since she disappeared without a word, and now… she was back. I got into the car without looking back, my expression unreadable. I wasn’t ready to deal with that. Not now. Not when everything was already complicated.

When I got home, the first thing I saw was her. Reina. She was seated at the dining table, having lunch, her posture stiff, her movements slower than usual. Something was off. For a moment, I just stood there, watching her quietly. Our eyes met, and in that brief second, everything from the previous night passed between us without a single word. But she looked away first, her expression hard, and I knew she was still upset. Good. Anger was safer than attachment. “Are you alright?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral, controlled. I didn’t wait for her response because I couldn’t. If I stood there any longer, I might say something I shouldn’t… or worse, do something I wouldn’t be able to take back. So I walked past her and headed upstairs, leaving behind a silence that was beginning to grow into something far more dangerous than either of us was ready to admit.