He didn’t wait for me to respond. Rick turned around and left the room like his words weren’t still crashing around in my head.
The door clicked shut behind him, and I stood there for a second too long, trying to breathe. My chest felt too tight and my throat too dry.
I sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, hands in my hair. I didn’t know if I was angry or just tired, maybe both. It felt like everything I thought I could control had slipped out of my fingers without warning and now I was stuck in a house that wasn’t mine with a man who didn’t want me. This was far from the Rick I knew and it felt like he was going to give me hell from just being here and I didn’t know how to deal with it.
The door creaked open again and I looked up fast, heart jumping but it wasn’t Rick.
“Mommy!”
Lena’s voice broke through my haze. She rushed in, followed by two staff members trailing behind her.
Her little sneakers padded across the carpet as she ran straight into my arms. I hugged her tight, closing my eyes and breathing her in. Her arms wrapped around my neck. I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt the wetness on my cheek. I wiped it quickly.
“I went everywhere,” she said excitedly, pulling back just enough to look at me. “They showed me a garden and a big room full of glass things and a hallway with shiny horses on the wall.”
I gave her a small smile and brushed her curls back from her face, “did you like it?”
She nodded, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet, “they even gave me a cookie, a big one! And juice! Mommy, this place is like a magic castle!”
I hugged her again, tighter this time. “Listen to me, okay? From now on, you don’t go anywhere unless you tell me first, not with staff, not with anyone. You always tell Mommy, understand?” I knew she had been having fun but not knowing where she was has felt like my whole world had come crashing down.
She looked at me and nodded slowly, “okay.”
I turned to the staff behind her, my tone sharper, “that goes for you too. I don’t care what he said. Nothing happens with my daughter without my approval.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they said quietly, before turning and walking out of the room.
Lena curled up beside me on the bed. I watched her eyes light up as she told me about the statues and the garden maze.
I smiled, but it ached. She was so happy here, surrounded by things I never had growing up, spoiled in a way she deserved and Rick had no idea she was his.
He was spoiling her without knowing what she meant to him, the irony made my stomach knot tighter.
1/3
8:42 pm
Chapter 11
55 vouchers
That night, we stayed curled up in bed, just the two of us. I read her two stories before she drifted off to sleep, her small hand still clutching the edge of my sleeve. I stared at the ceiling in the dark.
I’d locked up my restaurant. I hadn’t planned for this, I never wanted to be in this position but I had offered myself up for this marriage thinking I was helping him but now I wasn’t even sure who I was trying to protect anymore, Rick, my daughter, or myself.
The next morning, I was still half–asleep when the knock came.
It wasn’t one staff member, it was four of them. They filed in with boxes and garment bags and a tray of what looked like skincare. I sat up in bed, pulling the blanket around me as they opened things without asking.
“Good morning, Mrs. Sterling,” one of them said and I cringed at the name choice, they weren’t joking around for real, they were treating this marriage like it was a real thing, “we’ll be preparing you today for the public event. Mr. Sterling has given instructions.”
I blinked, “public event? What kind of event?” I knew he said I would be a accompanying him last night but I had zero clues what this was going to look like, or how public it was meant to be.
One of them, a woman with her hair in a tight bun, gave me a polite smile. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but only the boss gives those answers.”
Before I could push further, they were already guiding Lena away, assuring me she’d be taken to the private playground and watched over “like a hawk.” I didn’t like it, but I let them. Lena skipped out of the room like this was just another vacation.
They got to work on me right after. Makeup, hair, dress fittings. I didn’t say much. I just sat still, staring at myself in the mirror as they transformed me.
The dress was off–shoulder satin in a rich ivory shade, fitted perfectly to my body with soft gold embroidery across the waist. My hair was pulled up into an elegant twist, a few curls left to frame my face. The makeup was subtle but polished, highlighted cheekbones, warm nude lips, soft brown eyeshadow that made my eyes look sharper than they felt.
When they were done, I barely recognized the woman in the mirror.
My heart started beating faster again. Not from panic this time but from the unfamiliar weight of the image in front of me. I looked like the wife of a billionaire, domeone who belonged in this world but I didn’t feel like her.
I descended the stairs slowly, the staff guiding me down as if I didn’t know how to walk in heels. I held onto the railing tighter than I needed to.
Rick was already downstairs.
He was standing near the main room, dressed in a black suit, no tie, shirt unbuttoned just enough to make it feel too casual. His arms were crossed, his posture relaxed. He looked up….and paused.
For the first time, I saw his expression falter.
2/3
8:42 pm E
Chapter 11
55 vouchers
His eyes scanned me from head to toe, his jaw twitched slightly, he didn’t say anything right away, but the look in his eyes changed. Just for a second. I saw the flicker of surprise.
“What?” I started before I could stop myself, “do I look that terrible?”
He reached me in two strides, “no,” his voice was lower, almost husky, “you look so fucking hot.”
