Starting tonight

Liora

“We’ve arrived at the mansion,” the driver said gently, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I blinked, then looked up. He was already outside the car, holding the door open for me with that same composed, professional air.

Already?

I must’ve zoned out longer than I thought. My mind had been looping the image of Ryan’s face, how pale he went when I got into this car. That stunned, hollow expression he had on. I won’t lie… it felt good.

I gave the driver a small nod and stepped out, my heels clicking lightly against the stone driveway as the breeze brushed past, coolly against my skin.

Someone was already wheeling my suitcase away.

My eyes lifted to the mansion before me, to the tall windows, ivy-covered stone, a wide set of stairs leading to the grand double doors, everything just screams wealth.

Even though I once knew what it meant to live in luxury…

And still, I couldn't help it, I looked around slowly, letting the admiration show on my face for a moment.

“This way, Mrs. Cole,” he said, gesturing toward the grand entrance.

I followed, the sound of my steps muffled by the smooth stone beneath us as we made for the door, however before we even reached it, the door was pushed open and a woman in her mid fifties appeared.

“Mrs. Cole.” she said, bowing slightly, “You're welcome.”

Mrs Cole?

Do I have to get used to this now? Come to think of it, the driver has been addressing me the same since the moment he came to pick me up.

“You can go back now, David. I'll take her upstairs.” She said to the driver then she faced me with a warm smile, “Come with me, let me take you to your room.” she said, leading me inside.

I have to say, the inside looked much better than the outside, everything was grand, the furniture, the chandeliers hung on the ceiling, everything just looked beautiful, at most,

Honestly, this place looked like the kind of house I'd once called a dream.

She led me up the stairs, heels clicking softly against the polished floor, not saying much until we reached the end of the hallway. Without a word, she opened the last door and stepped inside. I hesitated for half a second before following her in.

The room was... massive. The kind you only saw in catalogues or movie sets. A huge bed sat right in the center, covered with white sheets and the pillows were arranged nicely, to the side was a gold-framed dressing mirror against the wall.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” She turned and smiled at me, then motioned to another door tucked beside the bed.

“Come on,” she said lightly. “Let’s take a look at the closet, I'm sure you're going to like it even more.”

I followed her into the walk-in, but my steps slowed the moment I was fully in. “Wait... are we in the wrong room?” I inquired with furrowed eyebrows.

She turned halfway, one brow arched. “No. Why would you think that?”

I didn’t answer right away. Because my gaze was locked on the suits lined perfectly along one wall, rows of polished shoes, shelves of cologne bottles. Even the air in here smelled distinctly masculine.

And then... On the other side we're dresses, heels. Some pieces even looked like they were just recently unwrapped from designer boxes. “The clothes…” I stopped midway.

“Oh, darling,” she said with a sweet chuckle. “Mr. Cole had your things moved into the master's bedroom.”

I blinked, trying to catch up. “Wait, that doesn’t…” I trailed off, forcing a polite smile even though my stomach was tightening. “Where is he? Tristan?”

She looked like she was about to answer when a familiar voice answered instead.

“You can go, Helen. I’ll handle the rest. Thank you.”

My head turned sharply to see he was behind me, leaning against the doorframe like he owned not just this house but the whole world. He was now wearing gray joggers, and a fitted white shirt that clung to his body like it had been painted on. His arms were crossed, and his dark hair was slightly tousled,

That smug look in his eyes made me want to throw something.

Helen gave a short nod. “Alright, sir,” she said, bowing slightly before walking past him.

Leaving me alone with the devil himself.

I crossed my arms, standing squarely in the middle of the room as I looked at him. His eyes were casually scanning the space like he wasn’t the cause of my growing irritation.

“You keep looking at me like that, I’ll start thinking you actually like me.”

Him, good-looking? I've never seen a man praise their looks this much. “In your dreams.” I scoffed , “And why were my things brought here?” I asked, trying to keep my tone level. “Shouldn’t I have a room of my own?”

He didn’t answer right away. Just gave a soft hum, almost like he hadn’t really heard me, or didn’t care to. Then he slowly walked in, hands tucked into the pockets of his joggers.

“Well, that's right.” he finally said, “it’s just that two days ago, the roof busted in. And heavy rain ruined most of the guest rooms.”

I blinked at him. “Then you fix them.” I mean???

“Hmm. Consider it,” he said with a casual shrug. “However…” he paused, flashing that infuriating half-smile as his eyes met mine, “I don’t really feel like having them fixed.”

My fingers curled into fists at my sides. Of course he didn’t feel like it.

“But this wasn’t in the contract,” I said, growing irritated.

He didn’t flinch. In fact, he nodded calmly, “True. But it wasn’t in the contract that you’d stay in a different room, either.”

My eyes narrowed. “So now you’re suddenly all about selective contract enforcement, how very of you.”

He took a slow step toward me. “I’m just saying… It's only natural for a husband and wife to share a room. Isn't it?”

“You mean like the couples who actually like each other? I'll say we’re ‘very’ short on that.” I bite back.

“Hmm… are you very sure about that?” he clicked his tongue, inching closer to where I stand,

He was so close, his breath was brushing my skin… and damn him, he still smelled like something expensive and addictive. I hated how my body noticed-- hated it more than he probably knew.

“Besides… you’re already here, so why not--” he cut himself off as I stepped back instinctively, creating a distance between us, but he closed it the next second, leaned in and whispered, “Actually, I have plans for us, Mrs. Cole. Starting tonight.”