Their first event as husband and wife took place at the old exchange building, where Blackwood Holdings was celebrating the closing of the biggest port project of the year.
Elise wore a black dress with clean lines. Adrian chose a black suit that made them look like two parts of the same decision. They arrived together, smiling for the cameras, and entered through the main doors hand in hand.
Adrian's hand was warm.
His grip wasn't too tight, but it was enough to tell everyone that he wouldn't let anyone separate them that night.
“Let go,” Elise whispered.
“Five more seconds.”
“The cameras have stopped.”
“There are still three on the left.”
Elise kept smiling. “You count cameras too?”
“I count everything that could become a problem.”
“Your life must be exhausting.”
“Not since you came along.”
The answer sounded like a joke, but his eyes were far too serious.
Inside the hall, guests clustered around them. Elise accepted congratulations from people she had never met. Some women praised her dress. Some men praised her courage for marrying Adrian. Not one of them was bold enough to ask whether their marriage was real.
They didn't need to ask.
The city had been asking since day one.
Adrian guided Elise past the tables. He introduced her to each person's name, position, and relationship to Blackwood Holdings. Elise realized she never needed to ask anything. Adrian knew who could be trusted, who had only come looking for information, and who would write a bad story before the night was over.
Near the bar, a young man approached them.
“Adrian.”
The man had light brown hair, an easy smile, and an investment company pin on his lapel. “You finally brought your wife out.”
“Gabriel,” Adrian said flatly.
Gabriel turned to Elise. “I'm Gabriel Cross. Adrian's old friend.”
“Friend?” Elise asked.
“The man who once saved his life,” Gabriel replied.
Adrian took a glass of water from a server and handed it to Elise. “He's exaggerating.”
“No, I'm not.” Gabriel laughed. “I pulled him out of a pool when we were twelve.”
“I could swim.”
“You were drowning,” Elise said.
“The circumstances were different.”
Gabriel looked at Elise with a gentler smile. “It's nice to meet you. Adrian has never introduced anyone.”
“Gabriel,” Adrian repeated.
“What? It's a fact.”
Before Elise could respond, a woman entered the hall. The conversations around them quieted, not because she demanded attention, but because her presence took it without permission.
Vivian Cross wore a dark red dress. Her hair was loosely pinned up, revealing her neckline and a pair of diamond earrings that caught the light. She walked toward them with the confidence of someone who had once been entitled to stand at Adrian's side.
Vivian's eyes went straight to Adrian's hand, still resting on Elise's waist.
“So this is Elise Laurent,” she said.
Adrian tensed.
“Vivian,” he said.
“Congratulations.” Vivian looked at Elise's ring. “I didn't know you liked quick marriages.”
“Neither did I,” Elise replied with a thin smile.
Gabriel sighed. “Vivian, don't start.”
“I'm only saying hello.”
Vivian extended her hand toward Elise, but didn't actually wait for her to take it. “Adrian is very good at making decisions under pressure.”
“And you're very good at making people feel welcome,” Elise said.
Vivian's smile thinned.
Adrian moved closer to Elise. “We're leaving.”
“Why the rush?” Vivian asked. “Doesn't your wife deserve to know who knew you before she did?”
Elise turned to Adrian. “Knew you before I did?”
“Vivian is a business associate of my family,” Adrian replied.
“More than that,” Vivian said.
The atmosphere around them slowly fell silent. People were no longer pretending not to listen.
Adrian stared at Vivian. “Stop.”
Vivian smiled as if the threat were nothing more than an old joke.
“He hasn't told you?”
“No,” Elise said. “Told me what?”
Adrian held out his hand. “Let's go.”
Elise didn't move.
“Is she your ex?”
The question was simple. Its impact was not.
Gabriel turned away. Vivian stared at Adrian. The music in the hall continued, but Elise felt the entire room waiting for the same answer.
Adrian didn't answer quickly enough.
That was answer enough.
Elise let out a small laugh devoid of amusement. “I see.”
“It's not what you think,” Adrian said.
“That line never helps.”
Vivian took a step closer. “Adrian has never loved any woman.”
Adrian turned sharply.
Vivian tilted her head. “At least, not after that night.”
Elise felt a chill spread from the nape of her neck down her back.
“What night?”
Vivian didn't answer. She only looked at Adrian with a small victory too cruel to be called jealousy.
Adrian tightened his grip on Elise's hand. This time, it was too tight.
“Don't speak to Vivian again.”
Elise pulled her hand away. “You can't order me around like that.”
“I know what she's doing.”
“And I know you're hiding something.”
“This isn't the place.”
“Apparently, nowhere is the place for your answers.”
Several guests began looking their way. A camera at the end of the hall rose again.
Adrian noticed it first. He stepped closer, lowered his head, and whispered, “Smile.”
Elise stared at him. “Are you serious?”
“If you want to leave without becoming tomorrow's headline.”
She wanted to refuse. But her family's entire life depended on the calm this marriage created. Elise put on a smile, but she didn't touch Adrian's arm.
They walked out of the hall.
In the corridor, Adrian stopped.
“Vivian used to work with my family. That's all.”
“She knows about that night.”
“She likes to make people wonder.”
“Is she lying?”
Adrian fell silent.
Elise gave a bitter laugh. “You can't even answer a simple question.”
“Because the answer will hurt you.”
“Stop deciding what I can handle.”
The elevator doors opened. Elise stepped inside first.
Adrian was still standing outside.
“I'll explain,” he said.
“When?”
“When the time is right.”
Elise pressed the button for the ground floor. “The time is always right for people who aren't being lied to.”
The elevator doors closed.
Before the last gap disappeared, Vivian appeared at the end of the corridor. She stood alone, holding a glass of wine, and watched Elise through the closing doors.
Her lips moved without a sound.
Elise read the sentence from their shape.
Ask your husband what happened ten years ago.
The elevator descended.
A new message appeared on Elise's phone from the same number.
You married the man who was waiting for you that night.
The next message followed.
Now ask him why he let you forget.