All Chapters of Flash marriage with the billionaire enemy : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

ENIDThe makeup brush drags beneath my eye for what feels like the hundredth time. Someone is curling strands of my hair around a hot iron, another is fastening diamond earrings to my ears, earrings I didn’t choose. A woman with sharp eyeliner and an even sharper tone tilts my chin up with the tip of her manicured finger.“Stop moving,” she says. “If you smudge this mascara again, we’ll have to start over.”I bite back the urge to tell her I don’t care. Because I do care, just not about mascara. I care about how strange it feels to watch my own face in the mirror and barely recognize it. The soft waves in my hair, the pale gloss on my lips, the expensive dress hugging my body like it was sewn onto me, none of it feels like me.One of the stylists steps back and exhales dramatically. “She’s done.”The room falls quiet. I look at my reflection. I look polished. Flawless. Empty.A soft knock on the door. Then it opens.Cassian steps in.His expression doesn't shift. No surprise. No appro

ENIDThe silence between us follows us all the way home from the gala, stretches through the echoing halls of the mansion, and settles heavy in the air like dust. I don't say a word. Neither does he. I don't even look at him when I walk up the stairs to my room. I close the door softly, even though I wanted nothing more than to slam it shut. But I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me lose my cool.I'm better than that.I don’t sleep that night. Instead, I spent a better part of the night tossing and turning uncomfortably. I just couldn't shut off my brain for the night.When morning light filters weakly through the curtains, I’m already awake. My head aches from holding back everything I want to say.A soft knock on my door. "Mrs. Dorne? Breakfast is ready," one of the maids informs me.I hesitate for a second before answering. “I’ll be down soon.”There are quite a few maids in this house, but it didn't stop me from feeling lonely. Not that they were obligated to s

ENIDI woke up to an empty house.Cassian had already left for work.Good.It made it easier to ignore him.After yesterday's argument with my mother, there was a quiet collapse inside me. I needed to move. Sitting still felt like drowning. The mansion stretched out around me like a maze, most of it still unknown. I realized I had only really seen three places. My bedroom, the dining room, and the cold hallway that connected them.So I left my wing.The house was too quiet. My slippers made no sound as I stepped down the polished corridor. Sunlight spilled through the tall windows, pooling across the floor.I passed painting after painting, muted landscapes, abstract gold-leaf designs, black-and-white portraits of strangers with the Dorne jawline and eyes like ice. The house felt like a museum, not a home.Eventually, I reached a hallway I hadn’t noticed before. A long runner carpet stretched across it, muted deep blue and silver. Door after door lined the passageway, all closed.I he

ENIDThey’re talking about us.I can feel it in the way the head housekeeper gives me a tight smile and says, "Good morning, Mrs. Dorne," like she's walking on glass.I nod back, pretending not to notice the way two younger maids whisper near the archway.“…they barely even look at each other.”“Do you think they sleep in the same bed?”“No, she has her own wing.”I keep walking.I don’t blame them. If I were them, I would talk too.After breakfast alone, I wander. Not to pry again, just because staying in one place makes my skin crawl.By afternoon, I end up on the second floor near Cassian’s wing.I shouldn’t be here. I tell myself I’ll just turn around when I hear it.A voice.His voice. So he didn't go to the office after all.“I know, sweetheart… I’ll be with you soon.”I freeze.The door to his private lounge is slightly open. I don’t step closer, but I don’t move away either.He's on the phone with someone and from the sound of it, he cares about this person.“I didn’t forget.

CASSIANThe drive out to Maris’s estate takes forty minutes. Long enough for silence to grow thick, but not long enough to make me forget why I hate coming here.The gates open before my car even stops. Of course they do. She always knows when I’m coming.I step out before the driver can open my door.“Cassian,” she calls. It was just like her to be waiting for me.She stands at the top of the stone stairs, wrapped in a silk robe that probably costs more than most cars. No doubt purchased with the child support I pay her. Her smile is faint, polite. But her eyes... her eyes are the same as always. Calculating.“Maris.”She gestures toward the patio. “Aurelia’s inside. She’s been asking about you since breakfast.”That makes something inside me soften. I have missed my girl.I move past her without answering, heading for the living room. The walls are covered in art, loud, expensive pieces that don't impress me at all. I wish Maris would just focus more on our daughter.And there she i