One Bed

Elise closed her shop at 7 p.m. that evening, still buzzing from the £120,000 contract.

She had spent the whole afternoon arranging 50 bouquets, her hands covered in thorns and leaves, but her heart was full. For the first time in a year, she could breathe. She could even start saving again.

All because of that kind company, Kensington Corporate Gifts.

She took the tube home — she still refused to use Ethan's black card for cabs — and was humming as the private lift opened directly into the penthouse.

Then she froze.

There were extra shoes at the entrance. Small, elegant, designer shoes.

And laughter. Grandma Rose's laughter, coming from the living room.

"Oh, you poor boy! You let my granddaughter-in-law take the tube? Ethan Blackwood, have I raised you to be this stingy?"

Elise peeked in.

Grandma Rose was sitting on the sofa like a queen, wearing a Chanel suit and pearls. In front of her, Ethan — the cold, billionaire CEO who made grown men tremble in boardrooms — was standing with his head bowed like a scolded child, still in his full suit. On the coffee table was a mountain of shopping bags — Harrods, Selfridges, Dior.

"Grandma, she refuses to use the card I gave her," Ethan said, his voice tight.

"Then you should drive her yourself! That's what husbands do!"

Elise quickly took off her shoes. "Grandma Rose! You're here!"

"My darling Elise!" Rose jumped up and hugged her. She smelled like expensive perfume. "Look at you! So thin! Has this brat not been feeding you? I told him to take care of you!"

"He... he has," Elise said, her face red as she glanced at Ethan. He looked away, his ears slightly pink.

Rose held Elise's hands. "Good, good. I came to see if my old apartment is comfortable. And I brought you some small gifts. Just a few clothes, darling. You can't wear those old dresses now that you're a Blackwood wife."

Elise looked at the bags. Small gifts? Each bag probably cost more than her monthly rent.

"Grandma, you shouldn't have..."

"Nonsense! Try them on! Ethan, help her carry them to the bedroom!"

Ethan sighed but picked up all ten bags effortlessly in one hand, as if they weighed nothing. His muscles flexed under his shirt.

"Come," he said to Elise.

In the master bedroom, he dumped the bags on the bed.

"Grandma is... a lot," he muttered, loosening his tie. He looked exhausted.

"She's sweet," Elise whispered. "She cares about you."

"She cares too much," Ethan said. But there was no real anger in his voice.

They came back to the living room. Rose had ordered Mrs. Hudson to cook a feast. Roast chicken, beef Wellington, lobster bisque — enough for ten people.

"Sit! Both of you! Sit together!"

Rose pushed Elise and Ethan onto the same small two-seater sofa. They were pressed thigh to thigh. Elise could feel the heat from Ethan's body. He was so big, so warm. Her heart started pounding like crazy.

Ethan stiffened. No woman had sat this close to him since... ever. He hated physical contact. But with Elise, he didn't feel disgusted. He felt... something else. Her floral dress smelled like roses from her shop. It was intoxicating.

"So," Rose said, sipping wine and watching them like a hawk. "How is married life? Are you sleeping well?"

Elise choked on her water. "Y-Yes, very well! The bed is very comfortable!"

"The bedS, you mean?" Rose raised an eyebrow. "Ethan, show me your room. I want to see if my old study is still clean."

Elise's blood ran cold.

Ethan's face went completely blank.

Rose stood up and walked towards the bedrooms. She opened the master bedroom first — full of women's clothes, Elise's suitcase, flowers. Then she opened the second bedroom — the smallest one.

It was perfectly clean. Too clean. The bed was made with military precision. No personal items. No clothes. It looked like no one lived there. Because Ethan had been working in his study until 2 a.m. and sleeping on the sofa in his study.

Rose's smile disappeared.

"Ethan Blackwood," she said quietly, but with steel. "Where are you sleeping?"

Ethan's jaw clenched. "In my room, Grandma. Obviously."

"Really? Then why does this bed look like it's never been slept in? And why are your clothes still in your suitcase in the study? Mrs. Hudson told me you two are sleeping separately!"

Mrs. Hudson! That traitor!

Elise's face was on fire. "Grandma, it's not what you think! We just... we just thought..."

"I know what you thought!" Rose slammed her hand on the table, making both of them jump. "Elise, darling, I know my grandson forced you! He told you this was a convenience marriage, didn't he? This brat!"

She turned to Ethan, her eyes watering. "Ethan, do you know what my doctor told me yesterday? My heart surgery has only a 50% success rate. My last wish is to see you happily married! Not this... this fake marriage! If you keep treating your wife like a roommate, I will not do the surgery! Let me die!"

"Grandma!" Both Elise and Ethan shouted at the same time.

Elise's eyes filled with tears. "Grandma Rose, please don't say that! Please do the surgery!"

Ethan's cold mask finally cracked. He rushed to Rose. "Don't be ridiculous. You will do the surgery. Don't say such things."

"Then prove to me this marriage is real!" Rose said, playing her trump card. "Tonight! You two will sleep in the same room! In the same bed! Like a real husband and wife! Otherwise, I will call the hospital right now and cancel!"

Elise's mouth fell open. Same bed?!

Ethan looked like he had been struck by lightning. "Grandma, that's... that's inappropriate. Elise and I have an agreement..."

"Agreement? What agreement is bigger than your grandma's life?" Rose cried dramatically, holding her chest. "Oh, my heart! My heart hurts!"

Ethan panicked. "Fine! Fine! We'll sleep in the same room! Stop it!"

Rose instantly stopped crying and smiled. "Good! It's decided! I'm sleeping here tonight in the small room to make sure you two behave! Mrs. Hudson, bring my nightgown!"

Mrs. Hudson appeared as if she had been waiting outside, holding a nightgown.

Elise wanted the ground to swallow her.

An hour later, after Rose finally went to her room, Elise and Ethan stood awkwardly in the master bedroom doorway.

The master bed was huge. King-size. But it was still one bed.

"I... I can sleep on the floor," Elise whispered, her face so red it could bleed.

"Don't be stupid," Ethan said gruffly. He went to the closet, took out a pillow and a blanket. "I'll sleep on the sofa in here. You take the bed."

"But Grandma will check!"

"Let her check. I'll set an alarm for 5 a.m. and get into bed before she wakes up."

Elise nodded, relieved and strangely... disappointed?

She quickly went to the bathroom to change into her old pajamas. When she came out, Ethan was in the bathroom too. He came out in a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants. For the first time, Elise saw his arms properly. Muscular, veined, with a small scar on his forearm. His t-shirt clung to his broad chest.

Elise quickly looked away, her heart racing.

Ethan lay down on the small sofa near the window. He was 6'3, the sofa was tiny. His long legs hung off the edge. He looked miserable.

Elise lay in the giant bed, feeling guilty. The AC was cold.

Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes.

"Ethan?" she whispered in the dark.

"Mmm?"

"Are you... are you uncomfortable?"

"No."

Another ten minutes of silence. Then...

A loud sneeze. Ethan sneezed. The AC was blowing directly on him.

Elise sat up. "You're cold!"

"I'm fine."

"You are not fine! You'll get sick! Come... come sleep on the bed. We can put a pillow in the middle. Like in dramas!"

Ethan was silent for a long time. Then he sighed.

"Elise Carter, you will be the death of me."

He stood up, all 6'3 of him, and walked to the bed. He placed a large pillow right in the middle, like a wall.

"This is the border. Don't cross it. I don't want to be accused of taking advantage of you."

"I won't cross it! I swear!"

They both lay down, as far apart as possible, with a pillow mountain between them. The bed smelled like both of them now — his woody cologne and her rose scent.

Elise's heart was beating so fast she thought he could hear it. She could feel his heat radiating even across the pillow wall.

"Goodnight, Ethan."

"Goodnight... Elise."

For the first time since she moved out of her sister's house, Elise didn't feel alone.

And in the dark, Ethan Blackwood, who hadn't slept properly in five years due to insomnia, fell asleep in ten minutes, listening to his small wife's soft breathing beside him.

Outside the door, Grandma Rose pressed her ear against the door, heard the silence, and smiled cunningly.

"Mission accomplished," she whispered to Mrs. Hudson on the phone. "Now increase his insomnia medicine... I mean, stop his insomnia medicine. My granddaughter-in-law is better than any sleeping pill."