Elena Moreau is the kind of women people underestimate the moment they see her. Soft features, calm eyes, and a quiet presence that makes her look harmless at first glance. She speaks little, observes everything, and never reacts the way people expect her to.

To Daniel, she is not warmth or comfort. She is his possession, an irreplaceable object he can not live without. Daniel is merely a man who shows any interest in women, but when the Moreau family comes waiting outside his door, he lets them in.

At the beginning, he felt nothing about her. But when her presence started influencing him, that's when he realized it is not her loyalty that he wants, but ownership.

"Behave well. Do not provoke him." Elena's mother reminded her.

"Don't worry, mother.I will." Just as her mother stood up and was about to leave, Elena suddenly spoke," However, I would like to stay with you till tomorrow.

"No, child. You must learn to control him. You should be able to gain at least half a million dollars from him. However, he must NOT be aware of it.", her mother spoke firmly but gently.

Elena just looked down and nodded as if she denied this decision. "He will be here soon. You must leave", Elena finally spoke after a short pause.

Her mother took one last look at her before stepping out of the luxurious black marble floor out into the sunlight.

Elena felt the mansion was a whole different world from the outside world. She would face this as her next part of life. Serve him. One thing that brought her at least a bit of relief was that he wasn't a type of person who would treat others like servants.

At least not the original ones.

She had already signed the contract delivered by his secretary. One look at the papers, all that she needed to know was whether his sign was there or not. It wasn't. She felt as if it was very obvious that he wanted her to take the first step.

"He must have signed the contract by now. Right?" she thought. Then she seemed to think stupid of herself. How can not he? There was a grand ceremony planned tonight after all.

She wanted the wedding to happen in a church, but she knew it was impossible. And what she got instead was a registered marriage and long talks with hundreds of guests she didn't happen to know.

She heard an engine pulling up to the lawn. She stood up, adjusted her dress, and strolled to the front door. Furthermore, she felt a rush of heaviness pass through her before the door opened and revealed Daniel himself. Wealth clung to him naturally, not through flashy displays, but in the quiet luxury of his tailored clothes, the polished watch resting against his wrist, and the calm confidence in his stride. He was the kind of handsome that felt intimidating at first glance —elegant, untouchable, and impossible to forget.

"Good evening. You're back", she said it calmly, though her eyes lingered on him longer than it should have. "I didn't expect you to be here." , Daniel glanced at her briefly before removing his coat.

"Well, where else would I be? I thought it would be better to stay here for tonight's ceremony", Elena spoke, her eyes never leaving his.

"You're pretty calculating, aren't you?"He walked past her, loosening his tie while she followed him with short steps. I have prepared something to eat, though it is not entirely made by me. I had some help from your servants. They're well-mannered, "she said softly, expecting him to at least look at her.

But he just spoke ," I see. I'm just gonna shower. Don't disturb me." That sentence made Elena a bit offended. She wasn't a nosy person. But instead of replying anything to that, she just said," I'll wait."

She watched him go upstairs as she sat back on the couch, sighing. She liked his personality. Calm, decent, and reserved.

Elena picked up the food plates and delivered them onto the table, just in time, while Daniel was coming downstairs. As he approached closer, he said," I hope you got everything ready for the ceremony tonight.".

"Yes, Indeed I have," she says it softly—her eyes never leaving his, the corner of her lips lifting just enough to unsettle him. However, he didn't seem to mind it.

She slowly sat down when Daniel asked, "Do you require buying an extra dress for it?". Elena suddenly looked up as if he spoke something that seemed to confuse her." No, of course not. I have 2-3 dresses enough,"she said.

The evening went smoothly. When it was time for the ceremony, she was in her bedroom trying to fix the zipper of the dress. Her fingers trembled slightly as the fabric clung to her waist, the silence of the room tightening with every failed attempt.

"I can't do this," she finally spoke, giving up. She hesitated to wear the other dress since she knew it was a bit too revealing. It was gifted by her ex-boyfriend back in college. However, it still seemed to fit perfectly.

With a sigh, she changed into it, worrying if she had been late. She took a one last glance at the mirror. Elena's dress hugged her slender waist and curved gently along her figure, the silk tracing every moment with a dangerous elegance. Her bare shoulders and the deep neckline made her shift uncomfortably, as though dress revealed far more of her than she ever intended.

With a sigh, she went downstairs, where the hall was already filled with murmurs and wealthy people. She walked with practiced confidence, masking the discomfort twisting beneath her calm expression.

Walking in the crowd, she immediately noticed Daniel talking with some of his clients. She felt eyes all of her body, making her feel to run away from there as soon as possible.

But with confidence, she strode up to Daniel, who, without even looking at her, said," This is my wife, Elena Moreau." He placed his hands around her waist, which she clearly seemed to be unbothered of. She gave a polite smile and started talking with the clients.

" It's lovely to meet you all. Thank you for joining us on this ceremony, "she said politely.

"The pleasure is ours, Elena," Nathan Whitmore, one of Daniel's close clients, seemed to like her personality and way of talking.

However, on some clients' faces, she felt as if she hadn't pleased them enough. Of course, she thought, " Why do I require pleasing them anyway?".

But with a second thought, she rested her head slightly on his chest just to increase it a bit. She could instantly feel Daniel's dark gaze on her.

Daniel's POV

She was trying to make the act look more real in front of clients. I said nothing about it, just stayed composed and let her continue, knowing drawing attention to it will only ruin its effect.

But suddenly, I could feel her bare skin against my fingers. I slowly traced my fingers along her skin and realized how much of her skin was exposed.

So, she's an attention seeker. There were pairs of eyes on her body, which immediately made me interrupt her conversation. "Excuse me, I need to have her word with Elena," I said, holding her waist more tightly

She immediately withdrew her head and looked at me. When I tried to drag her away from them, she smiled and let me lead.

We walked into our bedroom, which we could say it was, and I shut the door behind and locked it.

"What's with the dress?"I asked calmly.

Elena spoke quickly," It was more revealing than I thought it would be. Sorry for it to have caught your attention. I'll be more careful next time. "

The silence after that seemed heavier than Elena's college suitcase. "Don't make me think less of you Elena", He warned her, while she looked a bit guilty of what she did.

"I hope you read the rules before you signed the damn contract", He said. "I did, and I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again." Elena apologized.

The ceremony finished quickly, and Elena was in the shower, tying her bathrobe. When she stepped outside, she was startled to see Daniel sitting shirtless talking to someone across the phone.

Without making a single noise, she started combing her hair in front of the mirror. "Darn tangles," Elena thought. Daniel immediately noticed her while talking across the phone. When he hung up, he told her, "Nice job, but act like that in front of my parents.".

Elena looked at him and suddenly spoke, "Oh, no- I didn't mean to. I didn't realize you....." He was a centimetre away from her, looking into her eyes.

He lifted her chin for her to meet his gaze and asked," I what, honey?". "I didn't realize you were outside," she said, unmoving.

He brought his face so close to her that she, for a moment thought he was about to kiss her, but instead, he just grabbed the charger from the table, smirked at her and walked over to the bed.

Elena let out a small gasp, ashamed of her own thoughts. "Ar-are you not going to wait outside until I change?",she stammered a little while asking. There was no pride, annoyance, or command in her tone.

He lifted his head from his phone and said, " You can change right here if you like. I'm not going to mind. "

Elena pressed her lips, grabbed her dress hastily and nervously, and rushed into the washroom again. The marriage thing seemed to be new to her. She kept getting nervous every single second.

The next morning, she woke up and didn't find Daniel on the bed, which was when it clicked to her mind that he might have gone to the company.

After freshening up, she walked downstairs and already saw a maid arriving into the mansion.

"How lovely. At least I can time pass with her, "she thought.

The maid's name was Clara. She was rather quiet and professional, but the two of them seemed to be friends way quicker than Elena thought. Clara was still young and unmarried, but she still looked at least 18 for her appearance. She learned a lot of new things from her, for example, what Daniel liked to eat, when he arrived, when he leaves etc.

It wasn't that long when Elena realized Clara's mother was admitted to the hospital, and this job was the only way of paying the bill. Her dad left her mother, and now she was in 2nd stage of breast cancer.

"There's still hope," Clara said, rinsing the dishes. Elena was resting against the counter and said," I can let you stay at my mom's. You don't need to pay any rent.".

"Thank you, but that's too much. I shouldn't." Clara said while placing the last plate on the stand. Before Elena could respond, they both heard the car pulling up to the front lawn. "He is back," Clara said.

Elena immediately turned back to her and asked, " Clara, do I look good?". Clara seemed to be dumbfounded in her sudden change. "Yeah, you look beautiful".

Elena seemed to realize her own change and gulped. "Something seems wrong with me", She said nervously.

"Yeah, you definitely do. But i thInk I know what's wrong, "Clara let out a small laugh.

Daniel walked in, but this time, his hair was messy, his tie loose, and a few of his buttons undone from what it was this morning. Elena seemed to feel something in her stomach. Something she couldn't describe entirely.

Elena grabbed a glass of water and extended it to him, "You look tired". There was something in his eyes she'd never been used to before. Something in his eyes that ran a shiver down her spine. She could see his jaw ticking as if he was holding back from shouting at her. Buy instead of saying anything, he just looked at her, purposefully walked past, and went upstairs. The glass was still in her hands, confused in his way of acting.

Clara seemed to understand what was happening after all....