MasukJulian was proving to be true house-husband material.By the time Lena woke up the next morning, he had already fed and cleaned Junior, then immediately shifted to making breakfast for her so she wouldn’t be late for her morning meetings. He was still wearing a checkered apron, his dark hair disheveled from cooking, when Lena walked down the staircase into the dining area.Lena’s mouth fell open the second she saw him standing over the plates. “What on earth are you wearing?” She laughed, the sound breaking the morning quiet.“An apron,” Julian pouted playfully, smoothing down the front of the fabric. “I just wanted to make a proper breakfast for my very hardworking wife.”“Not your wife yet,” Lena reminded him, stepping into the room.“You will be. Soon,” Julian retorted smoothly.“Says who?”Julian ignored the question, stepping behind her chair and pulling it out with a flourish. “You look absolutely beautiful this morning,” he murmured, planting a soft kiss onto the crown of her
Julian was proving to be true house-husband material.By the time Lena woke up the next morning, he had already fed and cleaned Junior, then immediately shifted to making breakfast for her so she wouldn’t be late for her morning meetings. He was still wearing a checkered apron, his dark hair disheveled from cooking, when Lena walked down the staircase into the dining area.Lena’s mouth fell open the second she saw him standing over the plates. “What on earth are you wearing?” She laughed, the sound breaking the morning quiet.“An apron,” Julian pouted playfully, smoothing down the front of the fabric. “I just wanted to make a proper breakfast for my very hardworking wife.”“Not your wife yet,” Lena reminded him, stepping into the room.“You will be. Soon,” Julian retorted smoothly.“Says who?”Julian ignored the question, stepping behind her chair and pulling it out with a flourish. “You look absolutely beautiful this morning,” he murmured, planting a soft kiss onto the crown of her
Two weeks later.“Junior has finally fallen asleep,” Julian said quietly as he walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind him with a soft click.Lena was standing in front of the dressing mirror, dressed in a sleek silk nightdress. She was carefully applying her nightly facial treatment, her reflection caught in the warm glow of the vanity lights.She let out a long, audible sigh of relief at the news.“Finally,” she breathed, dropping a cosmetic bottle onto the glass table. “Taking care of him paired with this relentless PR war has aged me ten years into the future.”Julian let out a sharp laugh at her theatrics, walking over and plopping down onto the edge of the mattress. “That has got to be the funniest shit I’ve heard all week,” he said between cackles. He leaned back on his elbows, tracking her movements. “But you look ten years younger, if you ask me.”“Thank God I didn’t ask you,” she sassed, rolling her eyes at her own reflection. “Men never notice these things.”Julian
The next morning.“We’re here,” Leo said softly, reaching over and tapping Antonio’s shoulder to wake him up the moment the car pulled into the parking lot of the hospital.They had received the good news sometime between the middle of the night and the early hours of the morning: Junior had finally woken up. Now, they were parked outside the facility with a trunk packed full of flowers and lots of gifts. Though Antonio had an urgent engagement back home that he needed to travel for, reason they rushed out early.“Mmm… I don’t wanna wake up yet…” Antonio groaned, shifting his weight against the leather seat. His voice was still groggy from sleep, hoarse from being strained throughout the night.“Why not?” Leo teased.“I’m so tired.” Antonio pouted, his eyes half parted. “This is all your fault.”His cute reaction made a genuine smile break across Leo’s face. “Would you like to go say hello to Junior first, or are you heading straight to the hangar from here?”“I’ll go say hello,” Ant
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Leo asked, his voice thick as he pushed forward a step, his eyes flashing in the dim light of the bathroom.“I mean exactly what I said,” Antonio responded, his posture rigid as water dripped from his hair onto the tiled floor.“You’ll be married and I’ll be out of your life in a few weeks,” Leo repeated beneath his breath, the words tasting bitter. He let out a low chuckle, though there was nothing humorous about the expression on his face. “So is that what you came all the way here to say to me?”Antonio lifted his shoulder in a lazy, indifferent shrug. “What else is there to say?”“Okay then.” Leo nodded slowly, closing the remaining distance between them until he was standing right in Antonio's space. “Go ahead and get married to your wife. Kick me to the curbs if that’s what you want. But until that day comes, you do as I say.”“I won’t—”“Don’t make me repeat myself, Antonio.” Leo’s voice dropped into a deadly register that cut through the space. “
The girl sprang upright, scrambling backward to the far edge of the mattress on her hands and knees. Her face twisted with terror as her eyes bounced rapidly between the gun aimed at her head, the hand wrapped tightly around Leo’s neck, and the blank look on Antonio’s face.“W-what?” she stuttered, her voice cracking.Antonio’s lips twitched into a cold smirk at her audacity. Most people would see a gun and run first, asking questions from a safe distance later. This one actually had the nerve to demand he repeat himself.He clicked off the safety with a sharp snap, squeezing his fingers tighter into the skin of Leo’s throat.“You have eight more seconds,” he said. The flat, calm register of his voice left no room for her to question the gravity of the situation.She jolted out of the bed, rushing straight to the wardrobe and ripping out her dress. She didn’t even bother trying to slip it on. Within seconds, she was sprinting out of the suite, the heavy front door slamming shut behin
Lena woke up with tears and a splitting headache.For hours, she’d cried and cried and cried until she decided that crying would not save her marriage. So she decided that perhaps having a conversation with Julian would change his mind. Perhaps if she begged enough, perhaps if she offered him more
Years ago, before the marriage, before the arrangement, before she tucked herself into Julian’s quiet house and learned to want less, Lena used to party.It was how she processed things: a loud room, a dark dance floor, a glass in her hand. It wasn’t elegant and she knew it. But it worked. Tonight
“Hello, this is the assistant of Pedro King. I saw that you had put up an article stating that Mr. Julian Black was out with his wife. As his associates, we are unaware of any such information. Might I know if you have any other details about the woman in question?”“Pedro King?” The reporter asked
Lena heard the front door open just as she was setting her phone down.She didn’t move from where she sat curled in the corner of the living room sofa, her legs tucked beneath her, the glow of the television casting pale light across the room. She had been waiting for two hours, maybe even longer.







