CHAPTER ONE

LENA’S POV

“You’re shaking again.” Edward’s voice comes from behind me. Calm. Too calm. “I’m not,” I respond but in reality I am.

I’m standing in front of the mirror, fixing a button that doesn’t need fixing. My hands won’t stay still. I hear his footsteps on the marble floor, slow and deliberate, like he has all the time in the world.

“Don’t lie to me,” he says. I swallow. “I’m not lying.”

He’s close now. I feel him before I see him. His hand comes up, grips my arm, tight enough to hurt. He looks at the spot like he’s checking the quality of something he owns.

“You do this every time,” he says. “You act nervous like I’m the problem.” “You’re not,” I say quickly. The words come out too fast. That annoys him.

He lets go of my arm and steps back. “So what am I, Lena?” I don’t answer. That’s the wrong choice.

He hits me. Not hard enough to knock me down. Just enough to make a point. My head snaps to the side. The mirror blurs then I grab the dresser to stay upright.

“Answer when I talk to you.” “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “For what?” “For… for everything, for stressing you”

He watches me for a moment. Then he nods, satisfied. “Good.”

He turns away, loosening his tie. He tosses it on the bed like I’m not even in the room anymore. My cheek is burning. I keep my eyes down.

“You know what kind of day I had?” he asks. “No.” “Men died today,” he says casually. “Grown men. Strong men.”

I don’t know if he’s exaggerating. With Edward Caldwell, it could go either way. He sits on the edge of the bed. “And you’re standing there acting fragile”.  “I didn’t mean to,” I say. “You never mean to but you do it again and again”.

He stands again and walks past me. His shoulder bumps mine on purpose. I stumble. “Follow me.” I follow him but not too closely.

We move through the house. The lights are on even though it’s morning. Everything is too bright, too clean, too expensive. This house looks like nothing bad has ever happened inside it. Edward stops in the living room. “Look around,” he says. I actually take a look around the house.

“This life costs money,” he continues. “Protection costs money. Silence costs money.”

“I know.” He turns sharply. “Do you really know what you are costing me?” “Yes.” He walks toward me again. “Say it properly.” “I know,” I repeat, louder. He studies my face, then nods. “Good.”

Then his phone vibrates in his pocket he takes it out to check. His jaw tightens. “Things are getting messy,” he mutters.

I don’t ask questions. I learned that early. He looks up at me. “You’re not leaving this house today.” “Okay I won’t” “Because if anything happens to you, it happens to me.”

He taps his phone once. “Send him in.” I stiffen. Edward notices. “Relax. This is for your safety.” The doorbell rings. I flinch before I can stop myself.

Edward smiles like he enjoys that. “Stand there,” he says, pointing to a spot near the couch. “Don’t talk.” I move where he tells me. He opens the door. A man steps inside.

Tall. Broad. Dressed in black. His posture is straight, alert. His eyes scan the room immediately, fast and sharp. They land on Edward first. Then they move to me.

They don’t linger. They just register. “Edward,” the man says. He turns to me. “This is Ethan Cole.” Ethan nods once. “Ma’am.” That’s all he says.

Edward keeps talking. “Ethan is here because certain people would love to hurt me. And they’d love to hurt you even more.” Ethan’s jaw tightens slightly. He doesn’t speak.

“His job,” Edward continues, “is to stay close. Very close”. You don’t go anywhere without him.” I nod.

Edward looks at Ethan. “You see any marks on her that weren’t there yesterday, you tell me.” Ethan’s eyes flick to my face. My arm. My posture. “Yes, sir,” he says. Edward claps his hands once. “Good. Get settled.”

Edward walks away, already on his phone, already somewhere else. Ethan steps further into the room. He positions himself near the wall. Not close to me. Not far. Just present. The silence stretches. I don’t look at him. He doesn’t move.

After a moment, Edward calls from the hallway, “Lena.” “Yes?” “Don’t make me regret this.” “I won’t.”

The house feels different now. Heavier. Like there’s an extra set of eyes everywhere. I finally glance at Ethan. He’s looking straight ahead. His hands are clasped behind his back. He’s doing exactly what he was told. I turn away. This is my life. Luxury. Silence. Bruises hidden under silk. A husband who hurts me because he can. And a man named Ethan whose job is to make sure I stay alive inside it.