A Gaze Laden with Pain

The grand chandelier above flickered, casting fleeting shadows across the marbled hallway of the mansion. Elena stood frozen, her back pressed against the wall as if it were the only thing holding her together. Across the corridor, Adrian stood like a statue tall, elegant, and terrifyingly distant.

His eyes.

Those damn eyes.

They were once the warmest thing about him. The same eyes that once softened when he looked at her now sliced through her like a shard of ice. That gaze wasn't angry, nor cold. It was worse. It was pained.

"Elena," he finally said, his voice husky. "Why?"

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but her body betrayed her. Her lips trembled, her hands fisted into the silky fabric of her dress. "I don't know what you've been told, but"

"You kissed him." The words fell like a hammer.

Her breath hitched. "It wasn't what it looked like"

"I saw it," he interrupted, his voice sharp, yet breaking at the edges. "I saw you, Elena. With my own eyes."

She stepped forward. "Adrian, he forced "

He took a step back. "Don't lie to me."

Her knees buckled slightly, but she held her ground. "I'm not lying. I was trying to push him away. I didn't want"

"I trusted you," Adrian's voice cracked, and he turned away, running a hand through his neatly styled hair, now disheveled. "I let you into my world, into my house, into my life. God, I even started to let you into my heart."

Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring the golden lights and expensive paintings that decorated the walls. None of it mattered. "I didn't kiss him. He...he was drunk and angry. He said things threats. I tried to leave."

"Then why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to find out like this?"

Because I didn't want to hurt you, she wanted to scream. Because I didn't want to destroy the fragile bond we were starting to build. But the words stayed in her chest like a weight she couldn't lift.

"I was scared," she said finally.

"Of what? That I'd think you were trash?" His words stabbed her.

She flinched. "Is that what you really think of me?"

"I don't know what to think anymore!" he exploded. Then silence. His voice softened. "I thought I knew you. But every day you seem more like a stranger."

Elena turned away from him, hiding her face. She couldn't let him see her cry. Not when he looked at her like that.

"I never asked for this life," she whispered. "I never asked to be engaged to a billionaire or dragged into some fake marriage deal. I was just... trying to survive."

"And you think I wasn't?" His voice was hoarse now. "Do you think this is the life I wanted? I didn't want to marry a woman I didn't know. But I gave it a chance. I gave you a chance."

"I didn't betray you," she said. "Please believe me."

He looked at her then really looked. And she could see it. The war in his eyes. The love, the hate, the confusion. The wound.

"I don't know if I can believe anyone anymore," he said, before turning his back and walking away.

The next morning was cold unnaturally so. Elena wrapped herself in the thick robe provided by the staff, but no amount of warmth could thaw the ache in her chest. Adrian hadn't come back to the bedroom last night.

She could still feel the weight of his stare, like fingerprints pressed onto her soul.

A soft knock on the door startled her. It was Mia, the head maid.

"Miss Elena, breakfast is ready. Mr. Adrian won't be joining."

Elena nodded silently.

"And..." Mia hesitated. "There's a letter. Left for you on the piano."

Elena's heart skipped a beat.

She found the envelope resting under the golden candelabra on the grand piano. Her hands trembled as she opened it.

Elena,

I need time.

This house, this life... it's too loud right now.

I don't know what's real anymore. I need space to breathe to think. I'll be gone for a few days. Don't contact me.

Adrian

Tears slid down her cheeks before she could stop them. The ink bled just a little where her thumb touched the bottom. He didn't say goodbye. He didn't ask her to wait. He didn't say he'd come back.

The mansion was emptier without him. The staff spoke softer, as if even their voices might break her. Elena roamed through corridors and gardens, trying to make sense of everything.

How had it all spiraled so quickly?

From a simple agreement to a tangled web of emotions. She wasn't supposed to fall for him. He wasn't supposed to matter.

But he did.

She realized it most in his absence. The way his eyes softened when she laughed. The warmth of his hand on her lower back when guiding her through the crowd. The way he noticed the smallest things her favorite tea, her dislike for loud music, the way she always turned her pillow to the cold side before sleeping.

He was distant, arrogant, mysterious but when he opened up, he was everything she didn't know she needed.

And now she was losing him.

Three days passed.

On the fourth morning, she received a call from Charles Adrian's personal assistant.

"There's a gala next week," he said. "Mr. Adrian said he will attend. He asked if you will come with him."

Elena stared at the phone like it had grown thorns.

"He wants me there?"

"He didn't say he wanted you there. Just that he expects you to be," Charles clarified.

Of course.

Obligation. Not affection.

But she said yes.

The night of the gala, Elena wore the dress Adrian had chosen for her weeks ago. Deep navy silk, open back, a neckline that felt like rebellion.

The car ride was silent.

When she arrived, cameras flashed. Everyone turned.

But it wasn't the paparazzi she was worried about. It was him.

She saw him standing by the marble bar. Black suit, silver cufflinks, glass of whiskey in hand. He looked beautiful and entirely unreadable.

Their eyes met across the room.

For one heartbeat, the world paused.

Then his gaze turned cold again.

They danced. Because they had to. The world watched them. Billionaire and fiancée. The perfect couple.

But as he held her waist, as their hands touched, there was distance in every step.

She finally whispered, "Do you still hate me?"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he leaned closer and said, "Don't fall in love with me, Elena. It'll only break you."

She blinked away the tears.

Too late.

She already had.