It's been forty eight hours since I slapped Adrian Sterling.
Two whole days. And he hasn't said a single word about it.
Not about the slap. Not about what I overheard. Not about the glass I broke
Nothing.
It's like it never happened.
Except I know it did because my hand still remembers the sting. And every time I close my eyes I remember that day .That cold blank expression. Like slapping him meant absolutely nothing.
I stayed in my room all of Sunday. Waited for him to come upstairs and kick me out. Tell me to pack my stuff and leave. Take back the money. End this whole arrangement.
But he never came.
Mrs. Chen has been bringing food to my room. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. She doesn't ask questions just gave me a worried look and told me to eat.
I barely touched any of it.
Monday was the same. Stayed in my room. Avoided everything. Listened for Adrian's footsteps but he never came upstairs. He left early for work. Came back late. Didn't even try to find me.
Which was weird right? I slapped him. In his own house. After he paid my mom's hospital bills.
Normal people would be mad. Would yell. Would do something.
But Adrian just… ignored it.
Like I wasn't even worth getting angry at.
Like I'm not worth it .
The next morning I woke up and checked my phone. More notifications. The gala photos were still trending . People were still talking about me
But there were other notifications too. Messages I'd been ignoring.
I opened them.
Sarah from the diner: "GIRL!!! I saw the pics!! You married ADRIAN STERLING?? Why didn't you tell us??"
Another coworker: "Alina omg call me!! What happened?? Are you ok??"
And then one from Paolo. My old boss at the diner.
"Alina, I saw the news. Congratulations I guess? You disappeared without telling anyone. Your last paycheck is here whenever you want to pick it up. Hope you're doing alright kiddo."
My chest felt tight reading that.
Paolo had always been nice to me. Let me take extra shifts when Mom got sick. Never complained when I showed up exhausted.
And I just disappeared on him. On everyone.
I stared at his message for a while . Then I typed back.
"Hey Paolo. I'm sorry I left like that. Everything happened really fast. I should've told you."
The three dots appeared immediately. He was typing.
"It's okay. Life happens. You doing alright though? Those photos looked pretty intense."
I didn't know what to say to that. I'm I doing alright?
No. Not even a little bit.
But I couldn't tell him that of course
"I'm fine. Just adjusting to everything."
"If you ever need anything you know where to find me. The diner's always here."
"Thanks Paolo. That means a lot."
"Take care of yourself Alina."
I locked my phone
The diner felt like years ago. That version of me who worked double shifts and came home exhausted but at least knew who she was.
Now I didn't even recognize myself.
I spent the rest of Tuesday in my room. Watching some show on my laptop. Scrolling through social media even though I knew I shouldn't. Reading more comments about how I didn't belong with Adrian.
They weren't wrong.
Wednesday I forced myself to take a shower and get dress in actual cloths not pijamas
The mansion was quiet like always. Mrs. Chen was in the kitchen.
"Oh Alina dear!" She looked relieved to see me. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah. Just needed some time alone."
She studied my face. "Mr. Sterling has been asking if you're alright."
That surprised me. "He has?"
"Well. Not in so many words." She smiled sadly. "But he's been… concerned."
Concerned. Right. More like annoyed I was hiding instead of playing my role.
"I'm fine," I said.
"Um… Dinner is at seven tonight," Mrs. Chen said gently. "Mr. Sterling specifically requested you join him."
My stomach dropped. "Did he say why?"
"No dear. But I think it's a good thing for both of you to talk ."
Talk. Sure. That's what we're gonna do.
I spent the rest of the day getting ready for seven PM.
Finally it came. I changed into one of those cloths Adrain bought . Fixed my hair a little. Nice
The dining room felt huge and empty. Adrian was already there. Sitting at his usual spot. Looking at his phone.
I sat down at the other end of the table. My spot.
The silence was so heavy I could barely breathe.
Mrs. Chen brought out food. Set it down carefully. Left quickly.
Smart woman.
I picked up my fork and . Started eating even though I wasn't hungry.
Adrian didn't get his eyes off his phone .
We sat there for maybe ten minutes. Neither of us talking. The silence was killing me finally I couldn't take it anymore
"Um..D… Do you have something to say ?"
He looked up. His expression was blank. "About what?"
"A.. About what happened on Sunday"
"What's there to say?"
I stared at him. "I slapped you."
"I'm aware."
"And you're just… fine with that?"
He set down his phone. Looked at me properly for the first time. "You were upset. You lashed out. It's done."
"And you're not upset about it? I mean you didn't say anything about it I just wanted to know how you..
"Would you prefer I kick you out?"
I looked down at my plate. "No."
"Then we're done discussing it."
The silence came back. Heavier than before.
Adrian picked up his fork. Started eating again. Like this was completely normal.
"We have an event this Friday," he said casually. "Smaller than the gala. A dinner party at the Westbrook residence. Catherine Westbrook. You met her."
The blonde woman in red who looked at me like I was dirt. Yeah. I remembered.
"Do I have a choice?" I asked.
"No."
Of course not.
"It's less formal," he continued. "About twenty guests. Mostly board members and their spouses. You'll need to be presentable but it won't be as scrutinized as last week."
Presentable. Great.
"I'll have Monica come Thursday to help you prepare. We'll leave at six thirty."
I nodded. Kept eating .
"Is there anything else?" Adrian asked.
My heart started pounding. This was it. I had to ask.
"I want to visit my mom."
He looked up. "When?"
"Tomorrow. Or any day before Friday. I just… I haven't seen her since I moved in. I want to check on her."
"She's fine. The hospital sends daily updates. I forward them to you."
"I know but I want to see her. Actually see her."
"No."
The word hit like a slap.
"What do you mean no?"
"Exactly what I said. You're not visiting the hospital right now."
"She's my mother!"
"And she's receiving excellent care that I'm paying for." His voice stayed calm. Cold. "You can see her after Friday's event."
"That's not fair!"
"Fair?" He set down his fork. "We had an arrangement Alina. Part of that arrangement is you being available when I need you. I need you focused on Friday. Not emotional about your mother."
"I won't be emotional! I just want to see her for an hour!"
"Says the one who nearly fell apart at the gala " He raised an eyebrow. "You were terrified the entire night. Couldn't focus. Made mistakes that drew attention."
My face burned. "That was different."
"Was it? Because from where I'm sitting you have a pattern of letting your feelings interfere with what you're supposed to be doing."
"She's my MOM! Of course I have feelings about her!"
"Which is exactly why you're not visiting right now." He picked up his phone again. Dismissing me. "After Friday's event goes well, you can visit her this weekend. Until then you stay here and prepare."
"You can't control when I see my own mother!"
" I can." He didn't even look up. "Read the contract. You agreed to be available for all events and obligations. A visit that might upset you before an important dinner counts as interfering with obligations."
I stood up so fast my chair scraped against the floor. " you… You're unbelievable."
"I'm practical."
"You're controlling!"
"I'm protecting my investment." Now he looked at me. Those cold gray eyes. "You embarrassed me once already. I won't let it happen again. If seeing your mother makes you emotional and causes another scene like the gala then no. You don't get to see her until after you prove you can handle Friday."
"I'm not a child!"
"Then stop acting like one." His voice got harder. "This is a business arrangement. You have a role to play. Play it correctly and you can see your mother all you want. Mess up again and we'll revisit the terms of when you get privileges."
Privileges.
Seeing my dying mother was a privilege now.
"I hate you," I whispered.
"You've made that clear." He went back to his phone. "Dinner's over. You can go."
I wanted to throw my plate at him. Wanted to scream. Wanted to slap him again.
But I didn't.
Because he was right about one thing.
He controlled everything. The money. The arrangement. When I could leave. Who I could see.
He owned me.
"And " he said . I turned to him
"Don't embarrass me again "