Elena’s POV
The silence in the mansion was unbearable.
It wasn’t the comforting kind of quiet that allowed a person to relax—it was suffocating, pressing against my chest like an invisible weight. Even when the staff moved around the house, even when I heard distant footsteps in the hallways, the silence remained.
It was the silence of a prison.
I didn’t belong here. I never would.
The past few days had blurred together in a haze of forced smiles, unwelcome expectations, and a marriage that felt more like a punishment than a union. My father had made his choice for me, and Adrian Lancaster had ensured there was no way out.
I was his wife now.
Yet, he barely acknowledged me.
Adrian was cold, detached, and indifferent to my existence unless it was to remind me of the rules he expecte
