The Woman at the Door

ISABEL MAYS

The car felt too quiet, not a peaceful one but a heavy kind. The kind that sat on your chest and made it hard to breathe.

I stared out the window, watching the city lights blur past. My hands were folded tightly on my lap, but I could still feel the tension crawling through me.

“You could at least say something,” I muttered.

Aiden didn’t look at me. His hands stayed firm on the steering wheel. “I don’t see the need.”

I scoffed. “Of course you don’t. You never see the need to explain anything, do you?”

Still nothing.

I turned to him, irritation rising. “You dragged me out of my workplace like I didn’t have a choice. The least you can do is tell me where we’re going.”

“My house,” he said simply.

“That’s not an explanation.”

“It’s enough.”

I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“And you talk too much.”

I froze for a second, then turned fully toward him. 

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” he said calmly. “If you spent less time arguing and more time focusing, we wouldn’t be wasting time right now.”

My jaw tightened. “You don’t get to talk to me like that.”

“I just did.”

Silence hit again, thicker this time.

I looked away, biting the inside of my cheek. Every part of me wanted to argue more, to fight him, to remind him that I wasn’t someone he could control.

But the truth sat heavily in my chest.

His brother was dying and somehow… I had agreed to help.

I exhaled slowly, leaning back against the seat. “You don’t even trust me,” I said quietly.

That made him glance at me.

“I don’t need to trust you,” he replied. “I need you to do your job.”

That stung more than it should have.

Before I could respond, my phone rang.

Sadie.

I stared at the screen for a second, my stomach tightening. Then I answered.

“What?” I said, already exhausted.

“Where are you?” Sadie’s voice snapped through the phone. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

I closed my eyes. “I didn’t do anything..”

“You embarrassed us!” she cut in sharply. “You ran off like some… some disgrace in front of everyone! Mum has been asking for you nonstop!”

I swallowed, my grip tightening on the phone. “I told you, I had something important!”

“Oh please,” she scoffed. “Your ‘important’ whatever. You always have an excuse, Isabel. Always. You ruined the night, and now you think you can just disappear?”

My chest tightened.

“I didn’t ruin anything,” I said, but my voice came out weaker than I wanted.

“Then come back and fix it,” Sadie snapped. “Mum said you should return immediately or don’t bother coming back at all.”

That hit.

Hard.

I stayed quiet.

“Are you even listening to me?” she continued. “Or are you off somewhere hiding like you always do? Honestly, Isabel, you’re just”

The phone was suddenly pulled from my hand. I blinked, startled.

Aiden.

He held the phone to his ear, his expression unreadable.

“Who is this?” Sadie demanded from the other end.

Aiden didn’t answer.

He listened for a second… maybe two.

Then his jaw tightened.

“Enough,” he said coldly.

And just like that, he ended the call.

I stared at him. “What are you doing?!”

He didn’t respond.

Instead, he switched off my phone completely and tossed it onto the dashboard.

“Hey!” I snapped, reaching for it, but he grabbed my wrist.

The contact was sudden. Firm. Warm.

“Let go,” I said, my voice lower now.

“Not until you calm down,” he replied.

“I am calm.”

“No, you’re not.”

I yanked my hand free, glaring at him. “You don’t get to do that. That’s my phone. That’s my family.”

“Family?” he repeated, his tone sharp.

“Yes!”

“The same family that talks to you like that?” he shot back.

I froze.

“That’s none of your business,” I said quietly.

“It is now,” he said. “Because you’re not going back there tonight.”

My heart skipped. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“I just did.”

I shook my head, frustration boiling over again. “You don’t control me.”

“Then stop acting like you want to go back,” he said.

That shut me up.

Because I didn’t.

Not really.

I turned away, staring out the window again, my chest tight. The silence returned, but this time… it felt different.

He didn’t say anything else.

Neither did I.

The car slowed and I looked up. We had arrived. 

His house..no, a mansion stood tall and quiet, lights glowing softly against the night. It wasn’t loud or flashy like I expected. Just… powerful.

I stepped out slowly, my eyes scanning the place. This wasn’t my world. I didn’t belong here.

“I shouldn’t be here,” I muttered.

“Too late,” Aiden said, already walking ahead.

I hesitated for a second… then followed. But before we could reach the door..

A voice cut through the air.

“Aiden?”

I stopped.

A woman stood by the entrance.

She was beautiful. Effortlessly so. Long hair, fitted dress, confidence written all over her. The kind of person who didn’t need to try to belong.

Her eyes moved from him… to me.

And everything changed.

“Aiden,” she repeated, slower this time. “Who is she?”

Silence.

I felt it instantly..the tension, sharp and uncomfortable.

I shifted slightly, suddenly aware of everything. My clothes. My presence.

The fact that I clearly didn’t fit into whatever this was.

Aiden didn’t answer immediately.

That alone said too much.

The woman let out a small, disbelieving laugh. “You brought someone home?” she said, her tone tight. “Really?”

I looked at him. Waiting.

He finally spoke.

“She’s here for work.”

Work.

The word felt… strange.

The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Work?” she repeated. “At this hour?”

I crossed my arms, irritation creeping back. “If there’s a problem, I can leave.”

Aiden’s gaze snapped to me. “You’re not leaving.”

That tone again.

Final and firm.

The woman noticed it too.

“Oh,” she said softly, something shifting in her expression. “So it’s like that?”

I frowned. “It’s not anything.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Right.”

Awkward.

Tense.

Uncomfortable.

I exhaled slowly, already regretting everything. Coming here. Agreeing to help. Letting myself get pulled into whatever mess this was.

I was just Isabel.

The hidden girl and somehow… I had walked straight into a life that was anything but quiet.