The silence in the mansion had changed. It wasn't the cold, distant quiet I had grown used to. It was... tense. Like something had shifted, and we both felt it.
Adrian didn't speak to me for two days after the kiss.
I pretended not to care. I walked past him in the hallways. I smiled at the maids, stared too long at my tea, and waited for the ache in my chest to disappear.
But it didn't.
"Come to the study. Now."
His voice came suddenly behind me, sharp but... not angry.
I followed him, heartbeat unsure.
He was standing by the window, arms crossed. "We need to make some things clear."
"About the kiss?"
"No," he said quickly, too quickly. "About this house. This... marriage."
I nodded slowly.
He turned to me. "You can move into the master bedroom."
I blinked. "What?"
"I'm tired of questions from the staff. From the board. From everyone. If you're going to play my wife, you're going to live like her."
"But we don't—"
"I didn't ask what you want," he cut in. "I'm giving you a role. And you will play it."
I bit my lip. "Fine."
"And stop flinching every time I speak. You married me, remember?"
That night, I stood in the center of the master bedroom again.
This time... my side of the bed wasn't cold.
He didn't say anything as he lay beside me.
But he didn't leave the room either.
I couldn't sleep.
Neither could he.
"I had a nightmare," I whispered.
He didn't move.
"About Melissa."
Still nothing.
"She came back... and you chose her again."
His voice came low. "You really think I'd do that again?"
I turned slightly. "Wouldn't you?"
Silence.
"I don't know anymore," he said, barely audible. "I don't know what I want."
I did.
I wanted him to want me.
For real.
No contract. No lies. No pretending.
Just us.
But that dream... was still a dream.
And reality wasn't ready for it yet.