Chapter 8

TRANSFER OWNERSHIP.

 

The noise-making gate had closed which ran a shiver of nerves down Aria's spine. She didn't need to turn around, she knew who it was. The front door had creaked open and remained standing there—Daniel—her husband. His smile spread so simply across his face, his eyes glinting with the same fabricated charm he had to bestow upon the world.

 

 

 

Hello sweetie." he told her, coming into the living room with arms open wide, as if his arms could give her body heat "I really did miss you today."

 

She smiled automatically and nodded without regarding him. "Welcome.".

 

 

 

 

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, lingered way too long, like trying to persuade the furniture and walls that they were still a perfect couple. Aria's skin crawls with the annoyance gained from contact, but she did not say anything. Her fingers crumpled into her palm, hidden behind the couch.

 

 

 

He walked around the house as he always did—warm, loving, humming to himself softly. To someone who didn't realize who he was, he would be the loving husband and couldn't be harmed. Aria knew otherwise now.

 

 

 

She had caught him with his good-looking secretary, kissing. She was aware but wasn't ready to talk to him just yet. Not out of fear—no. But because she wished to know for how long his act could continue on, while she stood there staring at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

 

 

 

 

"Dinner?" he asked, pulling off his jacket and draping it over the armrest as if he owned not just the house, but the quiet between them.

 

"Sure," Aria said, voice smooth, practiced. "I cooked your favorite."

 

He smiled once more. "You always know how to treat me."

 

She quickly glanced away for him not to see the strictly hidden shadow in her eyes.

 

 

 

Yes, she grumbled to herself, clenching her fist. Continue playing along. Play along until lies kill you.

 

And she would be waiting—with the truth clutched in her fist, and her heart freezing by the hour.

 

He crossed his arms over his chest, his tone stern but even. "You didn't answer your calls!"

 

 

 

She looked up at him,she hadn't anticipated that question, although her face registered disgust, she hid her fists under the dinning table as she struggled to stabilize her voice.

 

"Maybe when you called, I was busy with work!" she said quickly, glancing around the room as if looking for an excuse on the walls.

 

 

He wasn't certain, something deep within him is saying something's wrong. The room grew quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

"It was just two calls, you were busy taking at least one! ?" he asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

 

 

 

 

 

She opened her lips, closed them again, and attempted a smile but it didn't quite meet her eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

"I didn't intend to ignore them," she grumbled. "Things just got… wild."

 

 

 

He inhaled hard, not happy, but said nothing else. The tension between them was palpable.

 

Daniel  leaned his elbow against the top of the dinning table, his voice hard but soft. "Honey, as a lawyer, don't you think you should write a paper that puts all the majority shares of the company in my name?"

 

 

Aria, seated directly opposite to him, slowly looked up from the food she was eating. Her brows furrowed, more in confusion than concern. “What?”

 

 

 

He crossed his arms, as he said, “Most clients and shareholders refuse to listen to me. They look right past me like I’m invisible. I’m your husband, not some accessory. If the shares were in my name—officially—it would make a difference.”

 

 

She blinked at him, too quickly almost, and then away. "Daniel… Abruptly. We hadn't talked about transferring ownership."

 

"We hadn't talked about the rumor which renders your husband inept," He responded, his tone now sharper.

 

She breathed deeply, her meal left untasted. "This has nothing to do with the rumors. You're blowing this all out of proportion."

 

 

 

Daniel  was seething within him, he thought it would be easy but she was complicating things for him.  "Am I? Or are you scared of what everyone will do when I'm really given the power that I'm worthy of? You parade me around as the CEO's husband, mure like your shadow. You keep on saying that you built the company for me. Is everything a fabrication?"

 

 

 

 

Aria rubbed her temples. "This isn't an issue of acceptability, Daniel. This is a major legal move. It's not paperwork—it's control, accountability, taxation. You can't just—"

 

His voice cracked as he cut her off. "Do you think I'm not able to do it? Is that what this is really all about?"

 

She got up fast. "No. But there's a difference between being able and being ready."

 

Silence.

 

That was enough.

 

 

 

"Don't be foolish," he snapped, his voice growing loud. "Is this really not about it, or is there something more keeping you in check?"

 

"No?" Her voice quivered now.

 

"No?" She echoed, taking a step back.

 

"Then why do you bristle every time I ask for something that literally makes me stronger?" He asked.

 

Aria took another step forward, his expression unguessable. "Because it isn't the right time yet."

 

 

 

"From what?" He took a breath, his rhythm gone. He looked like he wanted to say something. To move in, to clarify. But nothing.

 

And that silence rang louder than any apology ever had.

 

 

 

She turned on her heel before he could respond, the sound of her heels on the marble floor echoing in the void between them—a void that, now, was a chasm.

 

 

The moment she spun around and exited, the room was filled with an odd silence. He sat still, a heaviness on his chest. Something was off—he felt it in his bones. The woman who had left was not the same one he married. Her eyes that were once warm now had shadows he could not describe. Her embrace had been impersonal lately, her laughter taunting. What was different? What did she know that she wasn't telling him? The question taunted him. She explained it was for protection—both of them—but was that the truth? Or a ploy to hide her secrets? Suspicion boiled within him thick and strangling. He feared she was slipping away, and he cannot be permitted to let that happen.