13- When the Rules Began to Change

The following morning, Elena realized that her problem with Kaysen Vance was no longer limited to his interference in her life.

The real problem was that he had begun acting as though the rules they’d agreed upon from the beginning no longer mattered to him.

Weeks ago, he’d been perfectly clear about what he wanted from her: to work, honor their agreement, and help settle the debt weighing down her family. He hadn’t cared whether she was tired, angry, or hated him on certain days. As long as she did her job, the rest of her life was none of his concern.

That side of him had been infuriating, but understandable.

Now, she had no idea what he wanted from her.

The previous night, he’d followed her to the restaurant, waited for her to come out, and behaved in front of Adrian as though her presence beside him required no explanation. Then, after they returned, he’d demanded her phone before even knowing whether she’d received a message.

Worse, he hadn’t backed down when she confronted him.

Sometimes, he withdrew his words, but never the strange sense of control he imposed on her—as though no matter what she did, she would remain within his sight.

Elena turned off the tap and raised her head toward the mirror.

“You’re overthinking this.”

She said it firmly to herself, grabbed her handbag, and headed for the door.

She had work to do, a presentation to finish before the end of the week, and accounts to review so she could calculate how much of the debt remained. She couldn’t afford to waste an entire morning analyzing the moods of a man who seemed incapable of speaking like a normal human being.

But she stopped when she noticed a white envelope lying on the floor outside her bedroom.

She bent down and picked it up.

Her name was printed on the front, followed by a single line in neat handwriting.

The next payment is due in one week.

She examined the attached statement. The debt details were precise, and the outstanding balance was clearly listed, but something about it struck her as odd.

She hadn’t requested an updated statement, and no one had ever delivered such a reminder this way before.

She carried the paper downstairs.

She found Kaysen in the dining room, reading something on his tablet with his coffee beside him.

She placed the statement in front of him.

“What is this?”

He glanced at it.

“A payment reminder.”

“I know what it is. I’m asking why it arrived now.”

“Because the next payment is approaching.”

“You could have told me yesterday.”

“I could have.”

She waited for him to add something, but he returned to his tablet.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Are you going to start scrutinizing every payment I make?”

His fingers paused for a moment.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not if you’re acting according to our agreement. But I don’t want to discover that I’m suddenly responsible for something new every time you wake up in a different mood.”

He set the tablet aside.

“I haven’t changed any clause in our agreement.”

“Then why does everything feel different?”

He studied her for a long moment before answering.

“Perhaps because you’ve started noticing things you didn’t pay attention to before.”

She didn’t like his answer.

“Such as?”

“Such as the amount of time you spend trying to understand me instead of focusing on what you need to do.”

She gave a short, humorless laugh.

“Believe me, if I could ignore you, I would.”

“Then try.”

He picked up his tablet and stood.

As he passed her, he paused briefly and added without looking at her, “You have a meeting at ten. Don’t be late.”

Elena stared after him until he disappeared through the doorway.

This was precisely what unsettled her.

Only days ago, he’d reviewed her work reports himself, questioned every detail of the project, and reminded her that any mistake could affect her ability to repay the debt. Now, he seemed less interested in her work and far more interested in the people she dealt with, where she went, and when she returned.

As though the debt was no longer the only thing connecting them.

That thought, more than anything else, made her uncomfortable.

⸻

At the office, Elena tried to concentrate on her work.

An important presentation lay before her, and she needed management’s approval for the latest revisions. She settled at her desk, opened the files, and began reviewing the figures one by one.

Half an hour later, a message from Kaysen appeared on her phone.

Have you finished reviewing the presentation?

She stared at the screen in surprise.

He could have asked her during the meeting or sent a request through his assistant. Instead, he’d contacted her directly, despite not having asked her for a progress report in two days.

She typed a reply.

Yes. I’ll send it before noon.

His response arrived seconds later.

Good.

She waited a moment, then set the phone aside.

Another message arrived.

Are you having lunch at the office?

Her hand froze above the keyboard.

She read the question twice.

Then she typed:

Why?

He didn’t answer immediately.

A minute later, his reply appeared.

Just asking.

Elena smiled sarcastically.

A casual question from a man who hadn’t asked about her lunch even when he was scrutinizing every clause of their agreement?

She replied:

I’ll manage.

He sent nothing more.

Nevertheless, she found herself glancing at her phone every few minutes, angry with herself almost as much as she was angry with him.

At eleven thirty, his assistant entered her office and placed a folder on the edge of her desk.

“Mr. Vance asked me to inform you that your meeting with the marketing team has been moved to three.”

Elena looked up.

“Why?”

“He didn’t specify.”

“Did he ask me to change anything else in my schedule?”

“No. He only said the meeting had been moved.”

Elena thanked her and opened her calendar.

The original meeting had been scheduled for two, the same time she’d arranged a brief appointment with Adrian to discuss several points concerning their project. The meeting wasn’t absolutely essential, but it would save her hours of back-and-forth emails.

She picked up her phone and called Kaysen’s office.

His assistant answered after two rings.

“Mr. Vance’s office.”

“I need to speak with him.”

“Shall I tell him who’s calling?”

“I don’t think he’ll need to be told.”

A few moments later, Kaysen’s voice came through the line.

“Elena.”

“Why did you change the meeting time?”

“Because I have another meeting at two.”

“And what does that have to do with mine?”

“The team needs to attend both meetings.”

She frowned.

“You could have told me before changing the time.”

“You know now.”

She closed her eyes for a second.

“Is there another reason?”

A brief silence followed.

“Why do you always assume there’s another reason?”

“Because you don’t behave the way you used to.”

He didn’t answer immediately.

She heard a paper moving on his desk before he spoke.

“Does the change interfere with your work?”

“Yes. I have another appointment.”

“With Adrian?”

She straightened in her chair.

There it was again.

“Yes, with Adrian. Would you also like to know what we’re discussing?”

“No.”

“Then I won’t change my appointment.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“But you asked about it.”

His voice lowered slightly.

“You’re right.”

She hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly and fell silent for a moment.

Then he continued.

“Keep your appointment. I’ll find a solution for the meeting.”

“That simple?”

“Do you want to keep arguing?”

“No.”

“Then get back to work.”

The call ended.

Elena stared at her phone.

She should have felt relieved. She’d gotten what she wanted without having to endure a prolonged confrontation.

Instead, she felt unsettled.

Kaysen was backing down on matters he’d never previously reconsidered, while becoming increasingly involved in things he’d once ignored.

She no longer knew which version of him to expect.

⸻

At two, Elena’s meeting with Adrian went better than she’d anticipated.

They reviewed the final notes and agreed to revise a few details before presenting the project. As he was leaving, he handed her a printed copy of the documents.

“Send me your notes tonight, and I’ll finish my part.”

“I will.”

Adrian smiled.

“By the way, is everything all right? You seem distracted today.”

Elena hesitated before answering.

“Everything’s fine.”

He didn’t look entirely convinced, but he didn’t press her.

“All right. If you need anything regarding the project, call me.”

She thanked him and returned to her office.

She had barely sat down when she noticed a man standing near the glass entrance to the floor.

He wasn’t an employee, and she couldn’t remember seeing him before. He was speaking to the receptionist when he took out his phone and glanced at the screen.

When Elena looked up, their eyes met.

It lasted only a second.

Then he turned and left.

Her fingers froze above the papers.

She remembered the message she’d received the previous night and the way Kaysen’s expression had changed when he’d seen her holding her phone.

Did he know something he hadn’t told her?

She took out her phone and opened the old message.

Does Kaysen ever tell you why he doesn’t like seeing you with Adrian?

She stared at the words.

Then she deleted the message.

She wasn’t going to give an unknown stranger the opportunity to manipulate her, but she couldn’t convince herself that the encounter was merely a coincidence.

She looked toward the entrance again.

The man had disappeared.

⸻

When Elena returned to the estate that evening, she found Kaysen in the sitting room, speaking on the phone.

He stood near the window with his back to her. He didn’t turn when she entered, but he ended the call at the sound of her footsteps.

“You’re back.”

She stopped at the entrance.

“As you can see.”

He glanced at his watch.

“Thirty minutes late.”

She slowly removed her coat.

“I had work.”

“I know.”

Her head snapped up.

“What do you mean, you know?”

“I received the meeting schedule.”

“And the meeting schedule tells you when I leave the office?”

“Sometimes.”

She placed her handbag on the table.

“Kaysen, I want to understand one thing. Are you still concerned with making sure I repay the debt and honor our agreement, or have you decided to control every detail of my life as well?”

He looked at her without answering.

She expected him to become irritated, remind her of the contract, or tell her that living under his roof gave him the right to know where she went.

He did none of those things.

Instead, he approached her, took her coat from her hand, and hung it on the stand behind her.

“Have you eaten?”

She stared at him.

“What?”

“I asked whether you’d eaten.”

“Are you avoiding my question?”

“Yes.”

He said it so plainly that she briefly lost the ability to respond.

Then he continued as though he hadn’t said anything unusual.

“Dinner is ready.”

He turned toward the dining room.

Elena remained where she was, staring at his back.

This wasn’t what she’d come to expect from him.

The old Kaysen would have told her to focus on her responsibilities and that he had no interest in listening to complaints. This man had left her question unanswered and then asked whether she’d eaten.

That was far more confusing than another argument.

⸻

Elena sat at the table but didn’t immediately touch her food.

Kaysen sat opposite her, occasionally reviewing the documents in front of him. He didn’t ask about her day, request a report on the meeting, or mention the debt even once.

After several minutes, she could no longer stand it.

“Did something happen at work?”

He looked up.

“No.”

“Is there a problem with the project?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Did I make a mistake?”

He set down his pen.

“Why do you think I would ask you any of those things?”

“Because you always did.”

“I did many things.”

“And have you stopped doing all of them?”

His eyes held hers.

“Not all of them.”

Her stomach tightened slightly.

“Then what has changed?”

He didn’t answer.

She waited, but received nothing except his familiar silence.

She pushed her plate away slightly.

“You know I don’t like these games.”

“What games?”

“Acting one way with me, then the opposite the next day. Interfering in my life, then pretending it doesn’t matter to you. Asking about every step I take, then behaving as though you don’t care.”

He continued watching her.

“Would you prefer that I return to the way things were?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it.

She didn’t want that.

She didn’t want him scrutinizing every payment, every report, and every minor mistake she made. But she didn’t want her existence to become something he could interfere with whenever he felt like it, either.

She couldn’t tell him that without giving him something she wasn’t prepared to surrender.

So she finally said, “I’d prefer you to behave normally.”

A faint smile touched his mouth.

“And what does Elena Hayes consider normal?”

“Remembering that I’m a person, not a project you’re managing.”

His smile disappeared.

He didn’t respond immediately. Then he pushed her glass of water toward her when he noticed she hadn’t taken a drink since sitting down.

“Eat before your food gets cold.”

She looked at the glass, then at him.

“You’re impossible.”

“I’ve heard that, too.”

She was about to answer, but stopped when she realized he was deliberately avoiding her eyes.

He wasn’t ignoring her completely.

He gave her what she needed at the very moment she began to withdraw, then withheld every explanation when she tried to get closer to the truth.

She didn’t know which possibility was more dangerous: that he’d begun to care about her, or that his attention was something she couldn’t understand or control.

⸻

Later that night, Elena was passing Kaysen’s office when she heard his voice from inside.

She hadn’t intended to listen, but she stopped when she heard her name.

“I don’t want reports about her work.”

A brief silence followed.

“Nor about the payments she’s making. If there’s a problem with the accounts, inform me. That’s all.”

Elena frowned.

This was the same man who had barely given her room to breathe when she first started working for him, the man who’d examined every detail connected to the debt.

Then she heard him continue.

“As for her movements, I want to know if anything unusual happens. Don’t interfere with her day, and don’t make her feel as though someone is watching her.”

She froze.

She couldn’t make sense of the contradiction.

He no longer wanted to monitor her work or her accounts, but he still wanted to know what was happening around her.

Why?

“Is there anything else?” Kaysen asked the person on the other end of the call.

The reply was inaudible.

Then he said firmly, “No. That’s all.”

He ended the call.

Elena quickly stepped away before he could open the door and returned to her room without making a sound.

She closed the door behind her and leaned against it.

Her mind replayed the words she’d heard.

Kaysen wasn’t truly loosening his control over her.

He was simply changing its focus.

Before, he’d monitored what she did because of the debt and her work. Now, he’d begun paying attention to matters unrelated to either, as though he wanted to know everything that might happen to her, even things no one else knew about.

She took out her phone and opened their conversation.

She typed:

I want us to talk tomorrow.

Then she stopped before sending it.

What would she say to him? That she’d overheard him talking about her? That he’d become strange? That he made her feel watched, even while insisting he was no longer concerned with her work?

She erased the words and tossed the phone onto her bed.

She wasn’t afraid of Kaysen in the way someone might fear a man who raised his voice or threatened them directly.

What truly frightened her was that she no longer knew what to expect from him.

He was changing, and she didn’t know why.

And despite every attempt to convince herself otherwise, she had the growing feeling that this change had nothing to do with their agreement or the debt.

It had to do with her.

Downstairs, Kaysen remained in his office, staring at his phone after a new message appeared.

She’s starting to notice.

He read it once, then locked the screen.

He didn’t reply.

There was no need.

The problem was no longer what other people knew about Elena.

The problem was that Elena was beginning to ask the right questions, and he was no longer certain he could keep her away from the answers.