Sure! Let's incorporate the gala sce
Chapter 6: Fractured Walls
Aria sat in the library, a book unopened in her lap. The silence in the house pressed against her, heavier than it had been before. She couldn't help but feel it was somehow more oppressive now, after the gala. The more she tried to lose herself in the books on the shelf, the more her thoughts turned back to him—Elias.
Why was he so distant? So cold?
The sound of footsteps broke her concentration, and she looked up to see Elias standing in the doorway, his sharp features slightly softer than usual. He wasn't in his suit today, just a plain white shirt and slacks. Yet, even in his casualness, he exuded an air of power.
"I didn't know you read," he said, his tone almost mocking, though his eyes betrayed an unusual curiosity.
"I don't," she replied, closing the book. "I was just… thinking."
His gaze softened, just for a moment, before it hardened again. "Don't let it distract you from your duties."
Aria tilted her head. "What duties?"
"Appearances," he said, his voice growing colder. "We still have obligations."
"Obligations," she repeated under her breath, almost to herself. "And what about us? What do we have?"
Elias's eyes darkened. "This is a contract, Aria. Not a relationship."
She clenched her hands around the book. "You keep saying that, but it doesn't explain why you're always running from something. Why do you keep me at arm's length?"
For a moment, Elias didn't respond. He stepped into the room, his presence larger than it should have been, filling the space with his indifference. Then, finally, his voice came, low and controlled.
"Because that's how I survive."
Aria's brow furrowed. "Survive from what?"
Elias looked at her, the walls around him tightening. He hesitated for a moment longer than usual before he spoke again.
"My family. My past. I didn't get here by being… weak."
Aria stood up, her voice gaining strength. "You didn't get here by being weak, but you're not here by being happy either. You're just building walls around yourself, Elias. And you want me to live in them with you."
Elias's jaw clenched. "This is not about you. I didn't ask for any of this. You think you know the truth about me, but you don't. You never will."
Aria's heart pounded as she stepped closer, the words pouring out of her before she could stop them.
"You think I'm just here for the money, don't you?" she said, her voice soft but full of emotion. "But you're wrong. I'm here because I had no choice. And you—you're just as trapped in this as I am."
For a split second, Elias's mask faltered. His eyes flickered, something darker and more vulnerable flashing through them. But before Aria could grasp it, he turned away.
"You don't know anything about me," he said quietly, his back to her. "And you never will."
---
The Gala
The next evening, the grand ballroom was filled with the shimmer of crystal chandeliers and the hum of polite conversations. Aria stood beside Elias, feeling out of place in her elegant black gown, the weight of the eyes around her making her skin prickle.
Elias, dressed in his usual dark suit, was the epitome of control—his face a mask of indifference, as if this event were just another item on a checklist.
"Do you always feel so… invisible?" Aria murmured, her eyes scanning the crowd, but her words directed toward him.
Elias glanced at her, his expression unreadable. "You get used to it."
"I'm not sure I will."
His lips quirked slightly, but it was a fleeting gesture—gone before it could be deciphered. "Don't worry. The silence is more comfortable than it seems."
Aria watched as he spoke to the important figures around him, his words sharp, calculating. He never looked at her for more than a second. It was as if she were nothing more than a shadow beside him. The press, the guests—they all admired him, speaking with awe and respect. No one spoke to Aria. She was simply there to complete the picture.
When a reporter approached them, Aria's stomach clenched. The smile on her face felt stiff as the journalist turned the camera toward them, the lens capturing the "perfect couple."
"Mr. Xian," the reporter said, her voice upbeat, "is this a marriage made for love or business?"
Aria barely held back the urge to roll her eyes, but Elias responded without missing a beat.
"It's a partnership," he said coolly, his eyes fixed on the reporter. "We each have our goals, and we'll achieve them together."
The reporter turned her attention to Aria, but Elias spoke before Aria could.
"She's the woman I married to ensure my family's legacy remains intact," he said, his words biting, though his tone remained civil. "Nothing more."
The reporter smiled, but Aria could feel the weight of those words settle between them like a chasm. She glanced at Elias, but his eyes were focused on the crowd, avoiding her gaze.
She smiled tightly at the camera. "A partnership," she echoed, her voice barely above a whisper. "Just a partnership."
As the reporter moved on, Aria felt the walls close in again. The gala, the noise, the people—they all felt distant, like a world she didn't belong to. And in that moment, surrounded by the wealth and power of Elias's world, she realized how little of her own life she had left.