Chapter 7: Becoming Don Hale’s Wife

Jane’s POV

I opened my eyes and found a strange woman standing at the foot of my bed. My breath caught as I shoved the duvet aside and scrambled backward until my back hit the headboard. My pulse raced as I stared at her.

“Good morning,” the older woman said. She wore a black dress, her silver hair pulled into a neat bun. A tablet rested in one hand while a garment bag hung over her other arm.

“Who are you?” I asked, my throat dry.

“My name is Evelyn. Mr. Hale assigned me to oversee your schedule from today onward.”

I blinked and looked around the bedroom. Morning sunlight filled the room, and everything that had happened the night before came rushing back. The banquet. The guns. Raymond. My stomach dropped as I realized it hadn’t been a nightmare. I was still in the Hale estate.

“My schedule?” I asked, pulling my knees to my chest.

“Yes.” Evelyn glanced at her tablet. “Breakfast is in thirty minutes. After that, you’ll begin etiquette training, followed by security orientation, a wardrobe fitting, and commission protocol.”

I stared at her for a moment. “That’s… all for today?”

“It is.” She placed the garment bag on the bed. “Mr. Hale doesn’t waste time.”

I let out a quiet laugh. “I seriously thought he was joking last night.”

“He rarely jokes.” She unzipped the garment bag and took out a cream dress. “You’ll wear this to breakfast.”

I looked at the dress, then back at her. “I don’t even know how to wear something like that. I probably wouldn’t know how to walk in it either. I’m an accountant. I wear plain suits.”

“You’ll learn.”

I shook my head. “I’m completely out of my depth. I don’t know how to fit into this world, and I don’t know the rules. I’m scared I’ll make a mistake.”

“We’ll make sure you don’t.”

I hesitated before asking, “Can I use my phone? I just want to call the hospital and check on my dad.”

“Mr. Hale has already arranged everything,” Evelyn said.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Your father is resting in a private medical facility owned by the Hale family. His cancer treatment started at six this morning.”

I stared at her. “He transferred my dad without telling me?”

“Mr. Hale handles his responsibilities immediately. A private ambulance picked your father up at dawn. He’s comfortable, and he’s receiving the best care available.”

“I need to see him.”

“You will, when Mr. Hale allows it.”

My hands started shaking as the tightness in my chest slowly eased. Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them, and I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand.

Raymond had kept his promise.

My father was safe.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I got out of bed. “I’ll get dressed.”

Thirty minutes later, Evelyn escorted me downstairs to the dining room. The long table was already covered with fresh fruit, pastries, and hot breakfast dishes. Raymond sat at the far end with a cup of black coffee beside him, reading through a stack of documents as though he hadn’t noticed me walk in.

Evelyn pulled out the chair beside him, and I sat quietly, folding my hands in my lap. The room was silent except for the occasional turn of a page.

“Did you sleep?” Raymond asked without looking up.

“A little.”

“You’ll need more than a little.”

“I’m still trying to process everything,” I admitted, watching him for a moment before looking away. “I don’t really belong in a place like this.”

His eyes finally lifted from the papers and settled on mine. He didn’t say anything, but the intensity of his stare made my stomach tighten. I was the first to look away, dropping my gaze to the empty plate in front of me.

I reached for a bread roll.

“Not with your fingers,” Raymond said.

My hand froze halfway. “What?”

“The bread knife. Use it.”

Heat rushed to my face as I put the roll back on my plate and picked up the knife with my left hand.

“Wrong hand.”

I quickly switched it to my right.

“No.”

I let out a quiet breath and placed the knife back on the table. “I don’t know how to do this,” I admitted, my fingers twisting together in my lap. “I told you I don’t know your rules.”

Raymond looked toward Evelyn. “Start with the basics.”

“Yes, sir.”

He gathered his documents, straightened the stack with one tap against the table, then walked out without another word.

Evelyn stepped over and pushed the bread basket closer to me. “Finish your breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

“You’ll need your strength.”

I looked at the food spread across the table. “Does he really expect me to learn all of this in a week?”

“He expects you to present yourself properly,” Evelyn replied. “The food is secondary. Your manners come first.”

She watched me for a moment before adding, “Surviving this family takes discipline. You eat when it’s time to eat. You learn when it’s time to learn. You stand when it’s time to stand.”

Her words sounded practiced, but they still settled heavily in my chest. I picked up the spoon and looked at my reflection in it. The girl staring back at me didn’t feel like me. The dress fit perfectly, but it still felt like I was wearing someone else’s life.

“Much better,” Evelyn said as I finally started eating.

An hour later, Evelyn led me down a hallway and stopped outside a pair of doors. She pushed them open, and I followed her into a large ballroom. Mirrors lined the walls, and three women stood waiting in the center of the room.

I slowed to a stop, my eyes moving from one woman to the next. The first was tall, dressed in red, with perfect posture. The second wore glasses and held a stack of books against her chest. The third was dressed in a black suit with an earpiece tucked behind one ear.

Evelyn stepped beside me. “From this moment on, these women will teach you everything you need to know. You have one week until the Commission dinner.”

The woman holding the books stepped forward first and adjusted her glasses. “I’ll be teaching you the history of the Commission. Every family, every bloodline, and every alliance. By the end of the week, you’ll know them all.”

The woman in red smiled politely. “I’ll handle your posture, dining etiquette, and public presentation. By the time we’re done, no one will be able to tell you weren’t raised in this world.”

I gave a slow nod and turned to the last woman.

She stepped forward without a smile, her hands clasped behind her back as she looked me straight in the eye.

“I’ll teach you how to survive an assassination attempt.”

I stared at her, convinced I’d heard her wrong. “I’m sorry… what did you just say?”