Elena's POV
A sharp knock startled me from sleep.
My eyes fluttered open, the guest room still dim with early morning shadows. For a second, I forgot where I was. The silk sheets, the unfamiliar sofa... and then it all rushed back.
The silence. The ache. The pain from Justin's distance.
I sat up, brushing a strand of hair from my face as the knock came again softer this time.
"Ma'am?" the butler's voice filtered through the door. "Mr. Shawn asked me to give you this."
He slid a sealed envelope beneath the door.
I padded over quickly, picked it up, and stared at the elegant handwriting on the front.
Elena.
That was it. No darling, no wife. Just my name. And somehow, that stung more than a cold word.
I tore it open with trembling fingers.
Inside was a card. Just four words.
Be good. – J
That was it.
After days of silence. After leaving me to sleep on a couch in a room he hadn't even noticed I moved into. After shutting me out like a stranger.
Be good.
I sat down on the edge of the couch, staring at the note like it might change if I blinked enough times.
Be good? What did that even mean?
Be obedient? Be invisible? Be quiet?
I clenched the card in my fist, swallowing the lump that climbed up my throat.
He didn't have to love me.
He didn't even have to like me.
But I was his wife. I know we have nothing going between us except for a contract binding us together but I deserved more. I know I was timid, sad and obedient when I came but not anymore.
And I deserved better than a cryptic command slipped under a door like I was some pet he'd left instructions for.
I stood up and walked to the bathroom, my movements robotic. The water ran warm, steam clouding the mirror as I let it wash over me, but it did nothing to ease the tension gripping my chest.
After I changed into a soft gray loungewear set, I sat on the bed, blankly staring at the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.
If he didn't want to talk to me, I wouldn't chase.
If he didn't care, I would stop caring too.
That was the only way to survive this.
I grabbed the remote.
"Maybe I'll binge-watch dramas," I muttered. "Cry for fake people instead of real ones."
I asked Naomi for some movie recommendations , then I started watching king-the- land. A Korean movie. 2 hours into the movie I received a text from Naomi. Check the news. Your husband is making headlines.
I clicked the screen on, flipping through channels without purpose until a headline caught my eye.
BREAKING: JUSH Corporation Faces Major Shareholder Shake-Up
My breath caught.
The screen zoomed in on the entrance of Justin's company. Flashbulbs sparked as reporters swarmed the front steps. Then it shifted to a press conference justin, sharp in a black suit, standing behind a podium, eyes cold and unreadable.
I leaned forward instinctively.
The anchor's voice droned over the footage.
"CEO Justin Shawn made an unexpected appearance today, addressing the internal corruption scandal that's rocked the core of JUSH Corporation. Though details remain tightly under wraps, one senior executive Derek Mallory has been named as the central figure in the investigation. Sources say Mallory was once Justin's trusted advisor."
My stomach twisted.
So this was why he'd disappeared. Why the distance had grown colder.
And he never told me a word.
I stared at the screen, at the man I married. The same man who took me to Paris and made me see the popular tower named the Eiffel Tower .The same man who wrapped a blanket around me when I was asleep, even if he couldn't say it out loud.
I didn't expect love.
But I thought maybe, just maybe, I was worth honesty.
"Be good," I whispered bitterly, still clutching the card in my hand. "That's all you have to say to your wife when your empire is burning?"
But even as I tried to stay angry, a new feeling crept in one I hadn't expected.
Worry.
He looked exhausted on the screen. Worn down.
And no matter how much I wanted to scream, or throw things, or demand answers… a part of me just wanted to ask if he was okay.
I curled my knees to my chest again.
Because the one person who could answer me was miles away… and I wasn't sure he'd ever let me close again.
But one thing was certain:
The world knew his company was crumbling.
And I was done being left in the dark.
If I was going to be married to Justin Shawn, I deserved to know the truth.
Because the next time he tried to push me away, I wouldn't back down.
I wasn't a pawn.I was a queen.And the game was just beginning. Because I was beginning to love him.