Rian's departure that night was shrouded in awkward silence.
Behind the wheel of the luxury car, Rian tried to focus on navigating the capital's streets, while Valeri fidgeted uneasily in the passenger seat.
The endless business dealings and packed schedule clearly weren't the only things weighing on the executive's mind tonight.
All the way there, Valeri's phone rang nonstop. Rian glanced over; an unsaved number kept calling again and again.
Each time Valeri hit reject, her face grew paler and her jaw tightened.
A thick tension hung in the air.
When they arrived at Valeri's luxurious penthouse, she immediately poured herself a glass of wine.
Rian stood awkwardly near the sofa, still haunted by the wounded look in Siska's eyes when he'd been forced to leave her a few hours earlier.
"Sit down, Rian," Valeri ordered. Her voice sounded raspier and more exhausted than usual.
Rian obeyed, sitting on the edge of the sofa. Valeri stared intently at him, swallowed the rest of her drink, then let out a long, heavily burdened sigh.
"You must be wondering who kept calling me earlier, even interrupting me at my family event."
Rian said nothing, waiting with mixed feelings.
"It's my husband."
The two words struck the silent living room like a bolt of lightning. Rian flinched, his body tensing instantly as though he'd just been doused with ice water.
"Y-your husband? Ma'am... you're married?" Rian joked weakly.
Valeri smiled bitterly, and a hollow, cynical laugh slipped from her lips.
That night, the steel walls that had always surrounded the executive madam finally came crashing down. She began telling him the truth that had remained tightly locked away behind the image of a perfect, untouchable career woman.
Her marriage turned out to be nothing more than a business agreement between two conglomerate families that had long since fallen into ruin.
There was no love or warmth in it. All that remained were vicious arguments, her husband's blatant affairs, and the public lies they had to desperately maintain to protect the company's stock price.
"My family is a complete mess, Rian. I'm sick of living in this disgusting charade," Valeri said, her eyes now glistening as she looked at Rian, searching for validation.
"I'm seriously considering a divorce. What do you think... what should I do? Should I end it now?"
Rian's heart pounded like a war drum. But the pounding wasn't out of sympathy. It was pure, overwhelming fear.
His mind spun wildly as he thought about the three-year contract binding him.
If she gets divorced, does that mean I'll have to marry her? Rian panicked inwardly.
Being a contractually bound kept man had already drained his sanity and destroyed his morals. Being legally bound forever to a woman so dominant that she controlled every aspect of his life would be even worse.
The thought made Rian's chest tighten.
Seeing Rian sitting rigidly in silence, his face pale, Valeri moved closer.
The scent of her expensive perfume mingled with the aroma of wine. The woman's hand gently caressed Rian's jaw, trying to find warmth and an escape from her frustration.
Valeri leaned toward him, staring at Rian's lips and trying to draw him into the intimacy they usually shared to relieve stress.
But unexpectedly, Rian's hand moved to hold Valeri by the shoulder. He gently leaned away, putting distance between them.
"I'm sorry, ma'am..." Rian's voice trembled as he turned his face away. "I... I'm still too shocked by all this. My brain can't process the fact that you're still someone else's wife."
It was nothing more than an excuse. Deep down, Rian genuinely wanted to refuse. His body rejected her.
The image of Amanda demanding secrecy, the image of Siska crying silently, and now the fact that he'd slept with another man's wife...
The burden of his guilt felt as though it were piling higher and choking him.
Valeri's hand slowly dropped from Rian's face. A flash of deep disappointment crossed her eyes, but as a shrewd businesswoman, she quickly mastered her ego.
She took a deep breath, straightened her collar, and looked at Rian with a gaze that had sharpened once more, though it now held a note of certainty.
"I understand," Valeri said softly but firmly. She gazed deeply into Rian's eyes, as though she could read the unfounded fear in them.
Valeri touched the back of Rian's hand, this time without any hint of seduction.
"Please, don't let this problem change anything between us, Rian.
Keep being mine, just as you always have."
Valeri held her breath for a moment before delivering her final reassurance:
"And don't worry... I know what you're afraid of when it comes to that three-year contract. You don't need to be anxious.
I will never ask you to marry me."
In that cold room, Rian could only nod slowly.
Valeri's words should have relieved him, yet for some reason, Rian felt the noose around his neck had only grown more invisible—and impossible to escape.