❀LENA❀

I woke up to sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows and forgot, for exactly three seconds, where I was.

Then reality crashed back.

The penthouse. The wedding. The contract.

Adrian Knight's wife.

I sat up in the massive bed, silk sheets pooling around my waist. This room was bigger than my entire apartment. Everything was cream and gold and expensive. Even the air smelled rich.

A soft knock at the door made me jump.

"Yes?"

An older woman entered, carrying a tray. Gray hair pulled into a severe bun, crisp uniform, expression that said she'd seen everything and approved of none of it.

"Good morning, Mrs. Knight. I'm Helen, the head housekeeper. Mr. Knight asked me to bring you breakfast."

Mrs. Knight. The name still felt like a costume I hadn't earned.

She set the tray on the bedside table. Fresh croissants. Berries. Coffee in a porcelain cup that probably cost more than my weekly grocery budget.

"Thank you," I said.

Helen's eyes swept over me. Assessing. Judging. Finding me lacking.

"Mr. Knight is waiting for you in the dining room. He prefers breakfast at seven sharp." She glanced at the clock. 7:23. "You're late."

Heat crept up my neck. "I didn't know..."

"Now you do." She turned to leave, then paused. "The staff entrance is for staff, Mrs. Knight. You'll use the main hallways now. Try to remember that."

The door closed with a soft click that felt like a slap.

I stared at the breakfast tray, appetite gone.

Welcome to your new life, Lena.

The dining room could've hosted a state dinner. Long table. Crystal chandelier. Paintings of dead Knights watching from the walls.

Adrian sat at the head of the table, reading something on his tablet. He didn't look up when I entered.

I chose a seat halfway down. Close enough to be polite. Far enough to breathe.

"You're late," he said. Still didn't look up.

"I didn't know we had a schedule."

"We do now."

A younger woman appeared, Maria, according to her name tag, set a plate in front of me. Eggs Benedict. Perfectly arranged. I hadn't ordered it.

"Mr. Knight chooses the menu," Maria said quietly, catching my confusion.

Of course he did.

Adrian finally set down his tablet. His eyes met mine, and something tightened in my chest. He looked different in the morning light. Less like a statue. More like a man who hadn't slept.

"We need to establish some ground rules," he said.

I picked up my fork. "I'm listening."

"Public appearances will be coordinated through Marcus. Charity events, business dinners, anything involving press. You'll receive your schedule the night before."

"Like an employee."

"Like my wife." His jaw tightened. "The media is watching us. Every move. Every word. We need to be consistent."

I cut into the eggs. Took a bite. They tasted like nothing. "What else?"

"Separate schedules during the day. I'm usually at the office by six. I returned around midnight. You're free to do as you please, but..."

"But?"

"No interviews. No social media posts without approval. No discussions about our marriage with anyone outside this penthouse."

The fork felt heavy in my hand. "You want me to be invisible."

"I want you to be careful." He leaned back, studying me. "This world isn't kind to people who make mistakes. One wrong word to the wrong person, and they'll destroy you."

"They're already destroying me. Your aunt made that clear at the reception."

Something flickered in his eyes. "Diane is..."

"Cruel? Vicious? Everything you're not?" I set down my fork, appetite completely gone. "Do you rehearse every word before you speak, or does it just come out heartless?"

The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut.

Adrian's composure cracked. Just for a second. His fingers tightened around his coffee cup, knuckles white.

"Careful, Lena."

"Or what? You'll divorce me? We both know you need this marriage more than I do."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't mistake necessity for weakness."

"And don't mistake me for someone who'll smile and nod while you treat me like another acquisition." I stood, chair scraping against marble. "I signed your contract. I'll play my part. But I'm not your employee, Adrian. I'm your wife. Even if it's fake, even if it's temporary, I deserve basic human respect."

I walked out before he could respond.

My hands shook the entire way back to my room.

The rest of the day passed in suffocating silence.

I explored the penthouse. Thirty rooms, most of them empty. A library Adrian probably never used. A gym with equipment that looked untouched. A pool on the rooftop terrace with a view that should've been beautiful but felt lonely.

I called Margaret. She sounded stronger, laughing at something one of the nurses said. The sound made my chest ache with relief and guilt.

"How's married life?" she asked.

"Perfect," I lied.

Around eight PM, I heard Adrian's voice from his office. Sharp. Angry. I'd been walking past and stopped, frozen.

"I don't care what Richard wanted." His voice was raw in a way I'd never heard. "He's dead. She's dead. And I'm tired of living according to their rules."

Silence. He was on the phone.

"Don't talk about her like that." Quieter now. Dangerous. "My mother built this empire. Not him. Never him. And if the board thinks they can use her will to control me, they're going to learn exactly who I am."

A pause. Then, barely a whisper: "I miss her too."

My heart cracked.

The man who showed no emotion. Who treated everything like a transaction. Who married me without feeling anything, missed his mother.

I pressed my back against the wall, hand over my mouth.

"I have to go," Adrian said. "Just... handle Henderson. I don't have time for his games."

Footsteps approached the door.

I ran. Made it to my room seconds before his office door opened.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, replaying his voice.

I miss her too.

Adrian Knight was human after all. Buried under ice and control and carefully constructed walls, but human.

It didn't change anything. The contract was still the contract. Our marriage was still fake. But now I'd heard him break, and I couldn't unhear it.

Around midnight, I heard his door close. Heard his footsteps pause outside my room.

I held my breath.

He stood there for what felt like forever. I could see his shadow under the door, backlit by the hallway light.

Then he walked away.

I exhaled slowly, something warm and confusing settling in my chest.

This was going to be so much harder than I thought.