## **Chapter 22: The Price of Her Smile**
---
### The Silence After the Storm
Hana sat in her private study, the red silk dress now abandoned on the floor, replaced by her oversized robe—the one Sher always complained was too big but still folded neatly when she left it around.
She stared at her comm screen, flicking through news articles.
> "Wolter Couple Silences Divorce Rumors with Bold Display"
>
> "Heir's Wife Delivers Shocking Statement at Royal Press Conference"
>
> "Is Love Brewing Again? The Red Silk That Set the Stage on Fire"
She scoffed.
None of them knew what it truly cost to smile while bleeding.
Her finger hovered over Sher's contact.
She didn't press it.
Instead, she called **Mira**, the AI assistant.
> "Yes, Lady Hana?"
"Don't let him in tonight. Even if he bangs the door down."
> "Noted... Should I warn the guards?"
She hesitated.
"…No. He'll find another way in anyway."
---
### Meanwhile, at the Wolter Main Estate
Sher paced in his office.
Documents untouched. Diplomatic papers untouched. His glass of scotch—half-empty.
Kai entered without knocking.
"I told you she'd fight back."
Sher didn't look up. "And now she won't even answer my calls."
Kai flopped on the couch. "You did say some pretty cutting things. She's not made of metal."
"She's stronger than me."
"That's the problem," Kai smirked. "You like being the ice. But she's the one who melts you—and you hate how obvious it's become."
Sher looked out the window. "I don't care if it's obvious anymore."
Kai's brow lifted.
Sher finally whispered—
> "I just want her to smile again… not the fake kind. The one where her eyes close a little and she forgets everyone else exists."
---
### The Price of That Smile
The next morning, Hana woke to find a small note slipped under her bedroom door.
Sher's handwriting. Just one line:
> *"I'll keep fighting for it—even if you shut the door a thousand times."*
She folded it, stuffed it into her drawer.
Didn't react.
But her hand lingered on it longer than it should have.
---
### Later That Day
Hana found herself visiting the city's youth shelter—a project she had personally helped fund years ago.
Kids screamed in joy when they saw her, hugging her legs and dragging her inside.
She smiled—real, warm, unfiltered.
And then—Sher appeared at the entrance.
He had followed her.
Not to fight. Not to argue.
But to *watch*.
From a distance.
> Because that smile—the one she gave those kids—was the one he'd fallen in love with.
And for the first time in weeks, his heart clenched painfully.
> Because he realized:
>
> He would give everything—his power, his name, his empire—
>
> **just to be the reason she smiled like that again.
---
### A Distance Measured in Heartbeats
Sher didn't approach her.
He didn't dare.
He watched her crouch beside a child, tie a shoelace, and chuckle when the little boy kissed her cheek.
She looked *so* free here.
No politics. No bloodline. No weight of a Wolter wife.
Just Hana—raw, radiant, and painfully unreachable.
Kai's words echoed in his mind.
> *"You don't fight her battles. You fight her."*
> *"And she's growing tired of picking which one hurts less."*
---
### Back Inside the Car
Hana got into the hover car without noticing Sher had followed in a separate one behind her.
But Mira had.
> "Sher Wolter's vehicle is tracking behind. Shall I lose him?"
"No."
She looked out the window.
"Let him follow. That's what he's good at."
> "Tracking or protecting?"
"…Hurting."
The AI didn't respond.
Even machines knew when silence was safer.
---
### That Night – A Knock She Didn't Expect
A soft knock.
Three gentle taps. Not demanding. Not forceful.
Sher.
She ignored it.
Until a note was slipped under again.
Same handwriting. But longer this time.
> *"Hana. I know now it was never about red silk or parties or public rumors. It was about you needing to be seen. Heard. Felt. And I failed that again."*
> *"So this is the last note you'll get from me... unless you ask for the next one yourself."*
> *"But even if you never do—know this: I'm not moving on. I'll be where your walls end. Waiting."*
She didn't cry.
She didn't rip it.
She folded it perfectly and tucked it behind her mirror frame.
A corner sticking out.
Visible.
Waiting.
---
### The Next Morning
Hana wore black.
Not for mourning, but for war.
She walked down the estate corridor with purpose, finding Klein and Kai arguing near the command table.
"Where is he?" she asked.
They both stiffened.
Klein blinked. "Who?"
She raised an eyebrow.
Kai exhaled. "Sher. Conference wing. Why?"
She didn't answer.
Just walked.
---
### A Glimpse of Change
She burst into the wing.
Sher was mid-conversation with the council when his gaze snapped to her.
Everyone paused.
Hana's tone was sharp. "I need ten minutes with your Highness. Alone."
Sher tilted his head, almost amused.
But his heart? Roaring.
"Out," he ordered the room without taking his eyes off her.
The council scattered.
Door locked.
Silence.
And then—
> "What's the price?" she asked coldly.
He blinked. "For?"
> "For being the reason I smile."
His chest ached.
"Hana—"
> "Tell me, Sher. Are you willing to trade your empire for it? Your crown? Your pride?"
His voice was low, raw. "Everything."
She stepped closer.
But her heart was pounding.
> "Then why… do you always choose to win arguments… instead of choosing me?"
He had no answer.
So instead of words, he walked to her—
Paused—
And dropped his sword.
Literally.
The ceremonial blade from his belt clattered to the ground between them.
A surrender.
Not just of power, but of pride.
"I'm done fighting *you*," he whispered.
> "Let me fight *for* you now."
---
### Her Walls Don't Break — But They Shift
Hana didn't run into his arms.
Didn't even forgive him.
But she *stayed* in the room.
And for Sher, that was more than enough.
Because Hana Chorl never stayed where she didn't feel safe.
And today—
She hadn't walked away.
--