The wedding ceremony was over. Simple. Quiet. Just a formality between two families with too much history and too many secrets.
Fini Aulianna sat stiffly in the backseat of the luxury car, her white dress slightly wrinkled, her heart tighter than her corset. Beside her, Calvin Sahputra said nothing, staring out the window, jaw clenched.
The silence screamed louder than any argument.
When they arrived at the Sahputra mansion, the towering gates opened like the mouth of a beast ready to swallow her whole.
"This is your home now," Calvin said flatly as they stepped inside.
It didn't feel like home.
It felt like prison.
---
Fini's heels echoed across the marble floor as she explored the massive hallway. She paused in front of a large family portrait. Calvin was younger in it, standing beside his parents, but there was something else—something missing. A space. A cropped part. Odd.
"You're staring like you've never seen a rich man's ego hung on a wall," Calvin's voice startled her.
She turned to him. "I'm just wondering how a man with a mansion this big can feel so... empty."
A flicker crossed his face, almost amusement—but not quite.
"You asked for this marriage?" he said suddenly.
Fini's eyes narrowed. "No. But I didn't fight it either. That makes two of us."
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing more.
---
That evening, as Fini stood alone on the balcony, she heard the doorbell echo from the grand foyer.
She didn't expect him to rush downstairs—but he did.
Curious, she followed. Quiet steps. Quiet heart.
Then she saw her.
A woman in a sleek red dress. Radiant. Familiar.
"Liora," Calvin said. His voice changed. Softer. Alive.
Fini froze.
So this was her. The ex-lover. The one he didn't marry.
"You really married her?" Liora asked, her voice trembling. "Calvin, why?"
He said nothing. But he didn't deny it either.
Then, Liora's eyes found Fini at the top of the stairs. The smile she gave was sharp.
"She's pretty," Liora said. "But you never liked simple girls."
---
That night, unable to sleep, Fini wandered the west wing. She opened a dusty room with furniture covered in cloth. A forgotten space.
There was a drawer left ajar.
Inside: a photograph.
Calvin. A woman. And… a child?
Fini's breath caught. It wasn't Liora.
She didn't hear the door creak behind her.
"You shouldn't be here," Calvin said coldly.
Fini turned to face him, her voice low. "You had a family?"
His eyes darkened. "Don't ask questions you're not ready to hear the answers to."
---
End of Chapter 2.