My hands wouldn't stop shaking as I stared at myself in the mirror. The charity gala would be our first public appearance as a married couple, and terror was clawing at my throat like a living thing.

"Don't forget," Adrian murmured as we drove up to the hotel, "we're madly in love. A love story like a fairy tale.  You swept me off my feet after Isabella left."

I adjusted my dress. It was a deep blue gown he had sent me that morning. I tried to calm down my nerves.  "What if someone asks about Isabella?" 

"They won't. Not directly."  I tried not to read too much into the gesture as his hand touched mine.  "But if they do, we knew it wasn't meant to be the moment we met."

The ballroom was filled with rich people from Rome, all wearing costly clothes and jewels.  I saw some folks I knew from the society sections of the newspaper. They had been at Isabella's wedding just a week ago. 

"Adrian!"  A woman with silver hair and diamonds came up to us.  "Well, she must be the new Mrs. Moretti.  How... surprising."

"Unexpected but great," Adrian replied smoothly,  wrapping his arm around my waist.  "Elena, meet Signora Benedetti. She serves on the museum board with my mother."

The woman's smile was as sharp as a knife.  "I have to admit, sweetheart, you look great.  I can't help but notice that you're wearing the same designer as Isabella did to the Rossi wedding last month."

My cheeks burned, but Adrian held on tighter to protect me.  "Elena has great taste.  I am very lucky she chose me. "

"How... romantic."  Signora Benedetti's eyes shone with evil.  "And how fast.  Some people would say 'too fast.'" 

"Some people might say that true love doesn't wait," Adrian said, his voice sounding like a threat. 

The woman smiled and went on, but I could feel a lot of eyes on us.  Adrian guided me through the crowd as people whispered behind us. 

He whispered in my ear, "You're doing fine. Just breathe." 

But I wasn't okay.  It felt like every discussion was a minefield, and every smile felt fake.  My face hurt from trying to look happy by the time we got to our table.  The meal was awful.  There were stories about other couples, questions about our "whirlwind romance," and jokes about how passionate Italian men are. 

Adrian did a great job with his part, but I could feel the tightness around his eyes.  A business partner of Adrian's pushed forward at our table during the third meal, his lips free from the liquor. 

"Adrian, I have to say I'm surprised.  I was convinced you would take some time after Isabella ran away.  But here you are with her sister, and you seem like you're in love. " Adrian's fork stopped halfway to his mouth. 

"Why would I need time when I've already found the woman I want to be with for the rest of my life?" 

"That's only because you and Isabella appeared so... committed.  You couldn't stop looking at her at the engagement party."

The table got quiet.  I could feel Adrian's stress in my body, and I watched the muscle in his jaw twitch.

"People change." He said finally. "Sometimes we think we know what we want, but then we find out we were wrong." 

"But surely..."

"Basta."  Adrian's voice was low yet menacing.  "That's enough." 

The man turned red and looked away.  The talk started up again, but the harm was already done.  When Adrian grabbed his glass of water, I observed his hands shake a little.  When the music started, he brought me onto the floor with perfect timing. 

We swayed together, with his hand on my waist and mine on his shoulder. Other couples who really loved each other were all around us. 

"I'm sorry," he murmured in a low voice.  "About Benedetti.  About Francesco. They're vultures." 

"It's all right."  But it wasn't.  Every comment reminded me that I was the consolation prize, the stand-in, the inadequate substitute for the lady he had really chosen. 

"No, it's not."  He pulled me closer, and for a moment, I allowed myself to believe it was genuine.  "They don't have the right to make you feel bad." 

"Adrian..." 

He instantly said, "You're brave. More brave than I am.. If the roles had been switched, I never could have done this."

I was astonished by what he said, so I looked up at him.  "You're the strongest person I know." 

"Strong?"  He laughed bitterly.  "I'm very sad.  I married my ex-wife's sister because I couldn't stand the shame of being left at the altar.  "

"That's not why you married me." 

"Isn't it?" 

We weren't moving at all anymore; we were just standing in the middle of the dance floor, talking to one other. 

"I married you because you're a good man," I remarked. 

"Because you knew my family would be ruined if you didn't. You still care about the people Isabella left behind, despite everything that she made you go through."

He looked at me for a long time. Something changed in his expression.  "When did you get so wise?"

"When I fell in love with someone who didn't love me back." 

I couldn't stop the words from coming out.  Adrian's steps slowed down, and his eyes got bigger. 

"Elena.." 

"I know," I said quickly.  "I know you can't.  I know about the two-year contract.  I'm not asking for anything."

"Why did you tell me then?" 

I almost missed the question since the music was so loud.  But the way he looked at me made my heart race like a bird stuck in a cage. 

"Because I needed you to know that this isn't simply business for me.  It never was."

We didn't move when the song was over.  We stood still in the middle of the dance floor, looking at each other while couples around us moved and switched partners.  It felt like the world had shrunk to this one moment, with words that couldn't be taken back filling the space between us. 

Adrian finally cleared his throat.  "We should go.  People are staring."

But when he led me off the dance floor, I saw something in his face that showed a breach in the armour he wore so well.  For a second, he didn't see me as Isabella's replacement; he saw me as Elena.  Only Elena. 

That was enough.  It was enough for now. 

The ride home was so quiet that I could hardly breathe.  But when he helped me around the house, his hand stayed on mine for just a heartbeat longer than it needed to. His thumb brushed across my knuckles in a way that made my eyes burn with tears that I couldn't let out. 

"Thank you," he replied in a low voice that was raspy from being tired and something else I didn't dare name.  "For tonight.  For everything."

I nodded, not trusting my voice, and fled inside before he could see me fall apart.

My heart was hammering against my ribs as I climbed the stairs to my room. The contract said two years. But contracts could be amended.

And I had just witnessed the first crack in his defenses