Why Didn’t You Wear It?
1297 Words
Elena barely slept that night.
The luxury shopping bags remained untouched on her bed while she sat quietly beside the window of her tiny apartment, staring at the city lights outside.
The room felt unusually small tonight.
Or maybe the expensive clothes simply didn’t belong there.
Elegant dresses.
Luxury heels.
Designer handbags.
Everything inside those bags looked like it belonged to another woman’s life. A woman who lived in penthouses, attended business dinners, and wore perfume that cost more than Elena’s monthly groceries.
Not her.
Slowly, Elena picked up one of the black heels from the box.
Beautiful.
Perfectly polished.
Expensive enough to make her nervous holding them.
Then her eyes drifted toward her own shoes resting near the apartment door.
Old.
Worn-out.
Slightly faded near the edges.
For a brief moment, embarrassment twisted painfully inside her chest.
So he noticed.
The realization unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
Not because Adrian Stormfield insulted her.
Because he observed her closely enough to notice details most people ignored completely.
Elena carefully placed the heel back inside the box before closing it immediately.
No.
She couldn’t wear them.
Something about accepting those things felt dangerous.
Too personal.
Too intimate.
Too much.
Nobody had ever looked at her life closely enough to notice what she lacked before.
And somehow…
That terrified her.
---
The next morning, Elena wore her usual office clothes again.
Simple cream blouse.
Black formal pants.
The same worn-out shoes.
Nothing expensive.
Nothing connected to Adrian Stormfield.
After packing her lunch quietly, she left for work.
The bus ride felt longer than usual today.
Her mind kept replaying the delivery from last night repeatedly.
Why would he do that?
Was it pity?
Embarrassment?
Control?
By the time Elena reached Stormfield Corporations, her chest already felt tight with anxiety.
The moment she stepped onto the executive floor, she noticed people looking at her again.
Whispers followed quietly behind her as she walked toward her desk.
“She’s the intern from Blaze University.”
“The one transferred here last week?”
“I heard the CEO approved it himself.”
Elena pretended not to hear anything.
That was easier.
She quietly sat down before organizing documents and opening her laptop immediately.
Work first.
Overthinking later.
A few desks away, Ethan Cole observed the floor silently while reviewing files on his tablet.
He noticed everything.
The gossip.
The curiosity.
And most importantly—
The way Adrian’s office blinds remained slightly open this morning.
Which almost never happened.
Inside the glass office, Adrian Stormfield stood near the window overlooking the city.
One hand rested inside his pocket while the other held a report he hadn’t actually read for the past three minutes.
His eyes drifted briefly toward Elena again.
Still wearing the same clothes.
Same shoes.
Interesting.
Most people accepted expensive gifts without hesitation.
Some even expected more afterward.
But Elena Hart looked almost offended by them.
That alone made her different from everyone Adrian had ever met.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
Ethan entered quietly.
“The investor meeting has been moved to eleven.”
Adrian nodded once.
Then calmly—
“She didn’t wear them.”
Ethan almost smiled.
Almost.
“No, sir.”
Adrian’s expression remained unreadable.
“Why?”
Ethan carefully chose his words.
“Maybe she’s uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable with what?”
“With receiving expensive things from a man she barely knows.”
Silence.
Adrian looked back toward the office floor again.
His gaze settled briefly on Elena’s desk.
“She works herself to exhaustion.”
Ethan stayed quiet.
Adrian rarely commented on employees personally.
Which meant this situation was already becoming unusual.
“She still packs homemade lunch,” Adrian added coldly.
Again—
Not judgment.
Observation.
Ethan finally spoke carefully.
“You noticed that too.”
Adrian’s gray eyes shifted toward him immediately.
One sharp glance.
Enough warning.
Ethan wisely changed the subject.
“The board members are waiting, sir.”
Adrian walked past him without another word.
---
Around lunchtime, the executive floor became quieter as employees left for expensive restaurants and private meetings.
Elena waited until most people disappeared before taking out her small lunch container beneath the desk.
Simple rice.
Vegetables.
And eggs.
Nothing glamorous.
But enough.
Just as she opened the container, two female employees walked past carrying coffee cups.
One of them glanced toward Elena briefly before speaking.
“She’s the new intern everyone’s talking about?”
The other shrugged.
“I heard Mr. Stormfield personally approved her reassignment.”
The first woman looked Elena up and down slowly.
“Interesting.”
The judgment beneath the word was impossible to miss.
Then came the next sentence.
“Executive floor standards are usually stricter.”
The women laughed softly before continuing down the hallway.
Elena quietly lowered her eyes toward her lunch again.
She was used to comments like these.
People always noticed what she lacked before they noticed anything else about her.
Her clothes.
Her background.
Her money.
Still, the words lingered unpleasantly in her chest.
Then suddenly—
The atmosphere shifted.
Conversations stopped instantly.
Employees straightened immediately.
Even footsteps became quieter.
Adrian Stormfield had entered the floor.
Elena instinctively looked down at her desk.
The expensive scent of his cologne reached her before his voice did.
“Do you have free time for unnecessary conversation now?”
Cold.
Sharp.
The two women froze instantly.
“N-No, sir.”
“Then perhaps you should focus on the work I pay you for.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed loudly.
“Or would you prefer reassignment?”
Their faces paled immediately.
“No, sir.”
Adrian walked past them without another glance.
The women disappeared almost instantly afterward.
Elena stared quietly at her untouched lunch.
He didn’t defend her kindly.
That wasn’t Adrian Stormfield’s style.
But somehow…
He still shut them down because their behavior annoyed him.
A few moments later, Adrian stopped beside her desk.
Elena’s heartbeat immediately became unstable.
Without warning, his gaze lowered briefly.
Toward her shoes.
Then toward the untouched lunch container.
Then finally—
Back to her face.
“You received the package.”
Not a question.
“Yes, sir.”
“And yet,” Adrian said evenly, “you chose not to use any of it.”
The office around them became painfully silent again.
Elena tightened her grip around her fork slightly.
“I didn’t think it was appropriate.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Appropriate?”
“They’re expensive.”
“That isn’t your concern.”
For the first time since arriving at Stormfield Corporations, Elena looked at him directly.
“Then whose concern is it?”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Instant regret followed immediately.
The entire office froze.
Even Ethan slowly looked up from his tablet.
Because nobody questioned Adrian Stormfield.
Ever.
Elena’s face paled slightly.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean—”
“Miss Hart.”
His voice cut through her apology instantly.
Calm.
Controlled.
Dangerously quiet.
“Yes, sir?”
Adrian stepped slightly closer to her desk.
Not enough to touch her.
But enough to make her nervous.
“You ask too many questions.”
Elena lowered her eyes immediately.
“I apologize.”
Silence stretched heavily between them.
Then unexpectedly—
“You dislike accepting help.”
It sounded less like criticism and more like observation.
Which somehow made Elena more uncomfortable.
She stayed quiet.
Because she didn’t know how to explain that people usually expected something in return after giving expensive things to girls like her.
Adrian studied her silently for another moment.
Then finally—
“Come to my office.”
Elena’s breath caught instantly.
What?
Adrian turned away calmly before adding without looking back—
“And close the door behind you, Miss Hart.”
- Writer
