A Smile Not Meant for Him
The morning after their quiet non-confessions, Hana found herself back in the training hall. Alone.
At least, she thought she was.
Until Kai walked in.
"Still murdering punching bags as therapy?" he teased, tossing her a water bottle.
She caught it with a huff. "Still avoiding actual responsibilities?"
They laughed, and for a moment, the tension inside her cracked just enough to let out a tiny smile.
A real one.
It didn't last.
Because Sher walked in.
And saw it.
Saw her smile — wide, unguarded, beautiful — for someone else.
His body froze mid-step. His voice clipped. "You've been up long?"
Kai grinned, completely oblivious. "Not long. She was just complaining about you."
Sher's jaw tensed. "Was she?"
Hana's smile faded. She recognized that tone. Cold. Controlled.
Possessive.
But she shrugged it off. "If you're here to lecture me, don't. I'm already in a mood."
Sher didn't answer. Just turned and left.
The Misunderstanding Begins
Later, during lunch, Sher didn't join her at the table.
He didn't answer her messages either.
Mira chirped that he was in his study. Again.
Of course he is, Hana thought bitterly. Brooding and silent. That's his love language.
But the silence stretched.
By evening, he still hadn't come to see her.
She finally knocked on his door.
No answer.
So she opened it — and froze.
There, standing across from Sher, was a woman.
Liora.
Again.
The princess's voice was soft. Intimate.
"I came to apologize for before. I shouldn't have approached your wife. But she'll never fit in with your world, Sher. You know that."
Sher said nothing.
Nothing at all.
Just stood there, stone still.
And Hana had heard enough.
Hard Words, Harder Walls
That night, Hana waited until he returned to the bedroom.
She didn't look at him. Didn't speak.
He finally asked, "Are you upset?"
"No," she said, voice flat. "I just learned something today."
He frowned. "What?"
"That even someone like you has someone who fits better than me."
His entire body went still. "What are you talking about?"
"I saw her. Liora. In your study."
Sher's jaw clenched. "She came without warning."
"And you let her speak. Again."
"I didn't say anything because—"
"Exactly," she snapped. "You didn't say anything. Just like always. And I'm tired of trying to guess where I stand when your silence speaks louder than your words ever do!"
He stepped closer. "You know where you stand."
"No. I know where I smile. And lately? It's not in front of you."
Sher's eyes darkened.
"Be careful with your words, Hana."
She laughed bitterly. "Why? You've made worse assumptions about me. I smiled at Kai and you practically iced me out like I committed treason."
He stared at her.
"You did smile at him like that."
The silence that followed was louder than a scream.
The Breaking Point
She turned away from him, hands shaking. "So this is what it's come to? We both act like children. Misreading each other. Getting jealous. Shutting down."
He moved forward. "We're not shutting down—"
"Yes, we are. You don't talk. I pretend not to feel. We're just... existing in the same room and calling it marriage."
"Because you never say what you feel," he growled. "You never tell me—"
"And you never show me you trust me," she fired back. "You watch me like I'm a threat instead of the person who fights for you!"
He stared at her, breathing hard. "Are you saying you regret marrying me?"
Her heart twisted.
And yet… she didn't answer.
Didn't say no.
And that silence cut him deeper than any blade.
He took one slow step back, the wall rebuilding brick by brick in his eyes.
"Understood."
He turned and walked out.
And this time, she didn't stop him.
Not because she didn't want to.
But because her own pride had finally gotten in the way.
Alone, Again
Later that night, Hana sat in their bed. Alone. Again.
She stared at the ring still on her finger. Still heavy.
Still glowing.
Still his.
Her voice broke the quiet.
"I don't regret you, Sher," she whispered to the empty room. "I just regret that you'll never hear the things I don't know how to say."
She wiped her tears before they could fall.
Because heartbreak wasn't supposed to be this soft. This slow.
It was supposed to be loud.
But this?
This was quiet.
Like drowning
---
Sher stood in their bedroom, staring at the delicate hairpin Hana had left behind on the dresser. The one she wore when she *pretended* not to dress up for him. A storm was brewing in his chest, fueled by Mira's report.
> **"Madam Hana met with Lord Arden in the city today. The meeting lasted approximately one hour and twenty-seven minutes. No security presence from Wolter staff was requested."**
Why didn't she tell him? Why meet with a man who once proposed to her before she married Sher?
And most of all — *why did it bother him this much?*
When Hana returned, she found Sher seated on the edge of the bed, looking like a shadow carved from stone.
She raised a brow. "Staring at my hairpin? That bored without your cold-hearted wife?"
Sher didn't smile.
Instead, he stood.
And asked in a voice too quiet, "Did you enjoy your meeting with Arden?"
Hana blinked. "You've got Mira spying on me now?"
He didn't answer.
"I didn't hide it," she said coolly. "It just wasn't important."
"Not important?" he repeated, his jaw tightening.
Her tone sharpened. "Why? Are you jealous?"
He stepped forward. "You met with a man who publicly humiliated your family when you rejected his engagement. And now you sit here acting like it's casual."
"Because it *was* casual. He had information about Cenric. I used him. That's what I do, Sher — I get things done while you play political prince."
That one hit hard.
Sher's voice dropped an octave. "You think I'm playing?"
Hana's breath hitched — not from fear, but from the raw pain in his voice.
"You walk around this house like nothing touches you, Hana. Like this marriage is just another mission. But *I'm not your enemy*."
She looked away.
He stepped closer.
"Tell me. Is it that hard to say you care about me?"
Her eyes met his — steel meeting flame.
"I don't say things I don't believe. And I don't pretend just to make you feel better, Sher."
He flinched. Just slightly. But she saw it.
And hated herself for it.
---
**The Door That Didn't Slam**
Later that night, Sher stood outside the door to Hana's study, hand raised to knock. He didn't.
Inside, Hana sat with her back against the wall, fingers clutching that same hairpin.
Her heart wasn't cold.
But it was scared.
> "If I give him too much of me… what happens if he walks away again?"
She didn't want to need him this much.
Didn't want to show that the thought of him hurting was *hurting her too*.
Outside the door, Sher finally turned away.
> "I'm not leaving," he whispered to no one, to everyone, "Even if she tries to make me."
---
### **Next Morning — A Storm Behind Calm Eyes**
At breakfast, Hana sat down across from Sher. The tension was ice-thin glass, a single breath away from cracking.
He didn't speak.
She didn't look up.
But Mira hovered nervously in the room until Klein popped in and whispered, "Why does this feel like a silent battle before war?"
Mira beeped sadly, "Because... both of them are armed with heartbreak."
---
### **A Message Delivered in Silence**
Later, Sher found a file left on his desk.
Inside: A complete report on Cenric's offshore fund manipulations — the same intel he'd been chasing for weeks.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
> "I don't say sweet things. But I fight for the people I choose.
> —H."
He stared at the note for a long, long time.
Then folded it carefully and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
Right next to his heart.
---