Chapter 6 : The Price of Becoming Mrs. Knight
9:12 PM – Knight Manor, Los Angeles
The pen had already touched the paper. The contract signed. The deal sealed.
And yet, as Elena stepped into Adrian Knight's world—into the cold, pristine corridors of the mansion that now, legally, was hers to share—she felt anything but owned. Or free.
She felt...
Unreal.
The floors gleamed like polished obsidian. Marble walls whispered secrets she wasn't ready to hear. The silence here was not quiet—it was orchestral. Designed. Every second stretched long and hollow like it had been programmed to echo back her hesitation.
She followed Adrian up the sweeping staircase. He hadn't said a word since the car ride. Just silence. That same eerie, controlled quiet he wore like a second skin.
She hated that it unnerved her.
A butler nodded at her in passing, his eyes respectfully lowered.
"Elena." Adrian's voice sliced through the dark like a scalpel. "This way."
He opened a door at the end of the hallway. It was a suite—huge, breathtaking, suffocating.
"This will be your room."
Not our room. Hers.
She stepped inside. A four-poster bed dominated the space, draped in cream silk sheets. Gold accents lined the furniture. There was a vanity, a writing desk, and a view of the city lights that felt more like a threat than a luxury.
She turned to face him. "You're not staying here?"
He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, the top two buttons of his shirt still undone from earlier. "No. We're married. Not in love. And for now, this arrangement remains... transactional."
Her mouth dried.
"And when does that change?" she asked, voice low.
"When I say so."
She bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood.
Adrian tilted his head. "Don't look so surprised. You agreed to this. Every part of it."
"I agreed to save my father. Not to become one of your puppets."
He stepped forward. The space between them shrank like lungs without air.
"No, Elena," he said softly, dangerously, "you signed a contract that makes you mine. Puppet, wife, enemy—whatever I choose."
Her heart thundered, but she refused to flinch.
"You're not the man I thought you were."
"No," he agreed. "I'm worse."
And then, he was gone.
---
11:33 PM – Her Private Suite
Elena stared at the contract on the side table. It looked thinner than the weight it carried. A hundred thousand lives could have been printed on those pages, and still it wouldn't justify the way her lungs refused to expand.
She picked up the pen again, not to sign, but to click. Again. Again. Again. The rhythmic sound filled the room like a heartbeat on edge.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number: You made the right choice.
She didn't need to guess. It was him. Of course it was.
Unknown Number: Sleep well, Mrs. Knight.
Her fingers trembled. She placed the phone face down.
Mrs. Knight.
She hadn't heard the words aloud yet. Not from anyone else. But they already felt branded onto her skin.
---
Midnight – Dining Hall
She found him sitting alone at the head of a long, impossibly sleek table. A single glass of scotch by his hand. A tablet in the other.
She didn't announce herself. Didn't need to.
"You're awake," he said without looking.
"Sleep isn't coming easy tonight."
He finally glanced up. His eyes were unreadable. "Regret already?"
"No. Curiosity."
He arched a brow.
She sat at the other end of the table. "About why you married me."
His silence stretched.
"Because of my father's debt?" she continued.
"No," he said simply.
Her breath caught.
"Then why?"
He sipped his drink, his movements deliberate.
"Because having you," he said slowly, "was the only way to make him suffer properly."
The words didn't just sting. They detonated.
"You used me as a punishment."
"No, Elena. I claimed you as a lesson. There's a difference."
She stood. Her chair scraped violently across the marble.
He didn't move.
"You said this marriage was transactional."
"It is."
"Then what do you get from it, Adrian?" Her voice shook. "Control? Revenge? Ownership?"
He stood too.
And in a blink, he was in front of her.
His hand brushed her cheek. Not gently. Not roughly. Just... purposefully.
"I get to keep you."
Her throat dried.
"Why me?" she whispered.
His jaw ticked.
"Because you're the only thing he ever truly loved."
---
2:00 AM – Her Suite
Sleep was a myth.
Elena stared at the ceiling. Her heart raced without running. Her mind twisted every word he'd said into deeper thorns.
She should hate him.
She did hate him.
But why did his touch still linger like fire on her skin?
Why did his voice haunt her like a lullaby turned weapon?
She rolled over. Clutched a pillow. Closed her eyes.
But his words echoed louder than any silence.
"Because I get to keep you."
---
5:15 AM – Knight Manor, Library
The sunrise barely colored the sky.
She found the library accidentally. Tall shelves, dark walnut, velvet chairs. A fireplace that hadn't been used in years.
She ran her fingers over the spines of books she wouldn't read.
And there, in the center table, sat a red envelope. Her name in gold.
She opened it.
Inside: A list.
WIFE'S RESPONSIBILITIES – WEEK 1
1. Attend Thursday's charity gala at the Hilton—be on my arm.
2. Complete media training sessions with Veronica Grant.
3. Publicly deny rumors about your father if approached.
4. Smile.
5. Obey.
There was no signature. There didn't need to be.
She crumpled the letter, heart pounding.
Then smoothed it back out. Because rebellion came second.
Survival came first.
---
7:30 AM – Outside Her Suite
A knock.
"Come in," she said, still in her robe.
Adrian.
In a tailored navy suit. Cufflinks that could pay a mortgage. Eyes sharper than ever.
"Veronica will be here in ten," he said. "Be ready."
She blinked. "You texted me at 1 AM and now expect me to play obedient wife before breakfast?"
He stepped inside. Closed the door behind him.
"I don't expect it," he said. "I demand it."
She took a slow breath. "If this is going to work—"
He cut her off. "This isn't about what you want, Elena. You made that clear when you signed."
Her lips parted to argue.
But he was already walking away.
And the air he left behind smelled like power, ink, and every broken promise.
---
Cliffhanger Ends Here
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💭 Reader Questions:
1. What is Adrian hiding behind his obsession with control?
2. Will Elena find a way to regain her power—or lose herself completely?
3. And when secrets burn louder than vows... will love stand a chance?