C6 The East Villa

The cameras followed them as far as the hotel steps.

Douglas opened the car door without looking at Evelyn. “Get in.”

She paused. “That sounded almost affectionate.”

“It was an instruction.”

“I noticed.”

He glanced toward the reporters. “Please.”

The single word carried more strain than the command. Evelyn entered the car.

For several minutes, they rode in silence. The city passed beyond the tinted windows shops opening, buses crowding the roads, people carrying ordinary problems that did not involve contracts, scandal, or a husband who had never known her before yesterday.

Douglas sat across from her instead of beside her.

“Are you always this quiet?” he asked.

“Only when I am trying not to say something unwise.”

“Were you about to say something unwise?”

“I was about to ask whether your father plans to announce our marriage before we reach the villa.”

“He has already announced it.”

Evelyn looked at him. “Already?”

“The statement went out twenty minutes ago.”

“Did you approve it?”

“I approved the facts.”

“Which facts?”

“That we married this morning. That the photographs were taken after I became unwell. That our families support the union.”

“Our families?”

“Your aunt and uncle were mentioned as part of the statement.”

Evelyn’s hands tightened around her bag. “Were they asked?”

“Adrian said they agreed.”

“Adrian was not standing beside them when he asked.”

Douglas’s mouth hardened. “I will have the statement corrected if necessary.”

“If necessary?”

“Evelyn.”

She turned toward the window. “I am sorry. I forgot that I am supposed to be grateful.”

“I never asked you to be grateful.”

“Your family did.”

“My family is not me.”

“You are wearing their ring.”

He looked at the plain gold band on his finger. “So are you.”

Evelyn looked down at her own hand. The ring was simple, expensive, and too large. It rested against her skin like a promise made to someone else.

“Did you choose it?” she asked.

“No.”

“Neither did I.”

“That makes two things we have in common.”

She almost smiled. “Do not become charming now. It will confuse me.”

“I am not charming.”

“You are aware that people find you attractive.”

“I am aware that people find the Hulwart name useful.”

“That is not the same answer.”

“No.”

The car turned through iron gates and followed a long drive lined with cypress trees. The east villa stood beyond them, pale stone beneath a gray morning sky. It was smaller than the Hulwart mansion but large enough to swallow the little life Evelyn had built with her aunt and uncle.

A housekeeper waited at the entrance.

“Mr. and Mrs. Hulwart,” she said.

Evelyn stopped.

Douglas looked at her “What is it?”

“She called me Mrs. Hulwart.”

“You are Mrs. Hulwart.”

“I know what the contract says.”

“The contract is not the only reason.”

“Then tell me the other reason.”

His expression became unreadable,“we are married.”

The housekeeper smiled uncertainly. “Your rooms are prepared.”

“Separate rooms,” Douglas said.

Evelyn entered the villa. “I assumed.”

“You assumed correctly.”

The housekeeper led them through a bright hall with white walls, polished floors, and windows overlooking a garden. Evelyn noticed the careful absence of personal objects. No photographs. No books left open. No evidence that anyone had ever been happy there.

“Your room is at the end of the hall, Mrs. Hulwart,” the housekeeper said. “Mr. Hulwart’s office and bedroom are on the opposite side.”

“Thank you.”

Douglas handed his coat to a waiting attendant. “You can leave us.”

The staff withdrew.

Evelyn placed her bag beside the bed. “My aunt said the villa was empty.”

“It has been used for guests.”

“Important guests?”

“Sometimes.”

“Has Vivian stayed here?”

Douglas’s face tightened. “Why are you beginning with her?”

“Because she has already entered every room of this marriage without crossing the threshold.”

“She has not been here.”

“Will she be?”

“No.”

“You answered quickly again.”

“Because the answer is simple.”

“Nothing about her is simple.”

Douglas stepped toward the window. “Vivian called while we were at the hotel.”

Evelyn’s chest tightened despite her effort to remain calm. “Is she hurt?”

“She had a panic attack.”

“Of course she did.”

His eyes flashed. “Do not do that.”

“Do what?”

“Turn every mention of her into an accusation.”

“She arranged for you to be drugged.”

“You have no proof.”

“I heard her.”

“You heard a woman in a corridor.”

“She said your name.”

“Names are not proof.”

“Then investigate.”

“I am investigating.”

“While comforting her?”

Douglas looked away.

Evelyn laughed under her breath. “There it is.”

“What?”

“The reason you married me.”

“I married you because the scandal threatened both of us.”

“No. You married me because it was the price of keeping her name clean.”

“That is not fair.”

“You told me fairness was not part of the arrangement.”

“I did not say that.”

“You did not need to.”

Douglas crossed the room and stopped several feet from her. “Vivian is frightened. Her name has been dragged into a situation she says she does not understand.”

“She understands enough to cry whenever you question her.”

“You do not know her.”

“I know what she did to me.”

His voice lowered. “You are my wife now, you cannot speak about her as if she is a criminal.”

Evelyn stared at him,“and you are my husband now, you cannot speak to me as if I am an inconvenience you purchased.”

His expression flickered.

The silence that followed was not empty. It held every difference between them: his wealth and her poverty, his loyalty to a woman who had always stood beside him, and her love for a man who had never once turned around to see her.

Douglas broke first. “The press will expect us to appear together tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“There is a dinner at the family residence.”

“I have been married for less than an hour.”

“You knew this would happen.”

“I knew there would be a statement. I did not know your family would parade me before dinner.”

“It is not a parade.”

“Will Vivian be there?”

He hesitated.

Evelyn nodded slowly. “She will.”

“She is a Sterling. Her family is a major investor in the company.”

“And your oldest friend.”

“Yes.”

“You will sit beside her.”

“I will sit beside my wife.”

“Wherever your father places you.”

Douglas’s mouth became a thin line. “You agreed to the public role.”

“I agreed to be seen with you. I did not agree to pretend that I am not being tested.”

“By whom?”

“Everyone.”

The housekeeper returned with two garment bags. “Mrs. Hulwart, these were selected for tonight.”

Evelyn touched the black silk through the plastic. “By whom?”

“Mr. Hulwart’s mother.”

“I do not need a dress.”

“You need to attend the dinner,” Douglas said.

“I have my uniform.”

“You are not going to dinner in a server’s uniform.”

“It is the only clothing I own suitable for a room full of people who already believe the worst of me.”

Douglas looked at the housekeeper. “Leave the garments.”

After she went, Evelyn opened one bag. The dress was elegant, modest, and clearly chosen to make her appear harmless.

“I heard a woman and Marcus discussing the cameras,” she continued. “Someone arranged the photographs. Someone knew exactly where I would be and what the room would look like afterward.”

Then his phone rang.

Douglas glanced at the screen.

“Vivian,” he said.

Evelyn stepped aside. “Answer it.”

He did.

Evelyn closed her eyes.

Douglas ended the call.

“You are leaving,” she said.

“She is alone.”

“So am I.”

“You have the staff.”

“I have a house full of strangers and a husband who has been mine for forty minutes.”

“Vivian needs me.”

“And I do not.”

He looked at her, but not long enough.

Evelyn stepped away from him. “I am not making anything difficult. I am standing in the place you left me.”

He stopped at the door.

For a moment, she thought he might return. Might apologize. Might see the woman beneath the contract and recognize how cruelly he had repeated the same choice.

Instead, he said, “The driver will take you to dinner.”

Then he left.

Evelyn remained by the window until the car disappeared beyond the gates. Only then did she remove the ring.

She placed it on the table beside the contract.

“Two years,” she whispered.

The villa gave no answer.

Her phone vibrated.

A message appeared from an unknown number.

He will always choose her. You should have known that before signing.

Evelyn read it twice.

Then she saved a screenshot, returned the ring to her finger, and called the only person who had never asked her to pretend she was safe.

She ended the call, opened the garment bag, and began preparing for the first dinner of her marriage.

This time, she would not arrive as Douglas’s helpless scandal.

She would arrive as his wife and watch everyone who wanted her gone.