One Bed, Two Strangers
459 Words
Chapter Four — One Bed, Two Strangers
Ariana hadn’t expected luxury to feel like punishment.
But that’s exactly what the Knight master suite was.
Gold accents, velvet curtains, and a king-sized bed big enough for a small country—yet the air was stiff with silence, thick with tension.
Zayden stood by the closet, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, unbothered by the awkward weight pressing between them. Ariana stood by the bed, clutching the hem of her nightdress, unsure if she should speak, move, or vanish.
“I had a second room prepared for you,” he said flatly. “But the press caught wind of our arrangement faster than I expected. One of my staff leaked it.”
She blinked. “So?”
“So,” he turned to face her, “we can’t risk suspicion. You’ll sleep here. With me.”
Her throat tightened. “There’s no lock on the door?”
“Locks imply fear,” he replied, moving toward the window. “I don’t need to be feared. Just left alone.”
“And what do I need to be?” she asked, lifting her chin. “Silent? Invisible?”
He turned then—slowly—and walked toward her. Not fast. Not threatening. But with the kind of controlled power that made her pulse spike.
“You need to be smart,” he said quietly. “This marriage was never about love. Don’t make it harder than it has to be.”
“And you think I’m the one making it hard?”
His eyes flickered. A slow smile—not amused, not kind. Dangerous.
“No,” he said. “I think you’re the one forgetting your place.”
She stepped closer. “And I think you’re afraid of mine.”
His smile vanished.
For a second—just one—his mask slipped. The walls cracked. She saw it. The flicker of loneliness beneath the steel.
But then he turned away.
“The bed is yours,” he muttered. “I’ll take the couch.”
She stood frozen, unsure if she should be relieved or insulted.
“And Ariana?”
She looked at him.
“Don’t look at me like you pity me,” he said. “I’ll hate you for it.”
She exhaled slowly. “Then don’t act like you deserve it.”
She crawled into bed without another word.
He stayed on the couch, staring into darkness.
And for the first time in years…
He didn’t sleep.
- Writer
