The Suffocating Silence

He didn’t leave my mind.

Not the mansion.

Not the warning.

Not the feeling that every wall in this place was hiding something from me.

With a quiet sigh, I shook the thoughts away and walked toward the bathroom. Thinking too much wouldn’t change anything tonight.

Warm water ran over my skin, washing away the exhaustion of the wedding rituals, the heavy jewelry, the suffocating stares. For the first time that day, I could breathe without pretending.

By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, thin trails of steam still lingered in the air.

I was drying my damp hair with a towel, wearing the simple nightgown my aunt had packed into my bag before I came here. Compared to the luxury of the room, it looked painfully ordinary.

Like me.

I walked toward my luggage and crouched beside it, searching for my pajamas.

“My shirt was here…” I muttered softly, moving clothes aside. “And the pants too…”

But they were nowhere to be found.

I frowned.

Did my aunt forget to pack them? No… she checked the bag twice before I left.

Unless—

A suspicious thought crossed my mind.

She packed this nightgown on purpose.

I stared down at the soft fabric covering me and almost laughed.

“Unbelievable…”

Slowly, I sat down on the edge of the bed, letting the towel fall beside me. The ends of my wet hair clung to my back, dampening the thin fabric of the gown.

The room was silent again.

Too silent.

I leaned back slightly, brushing my fingers through my hair as my thoughts wandered unwillingly toward the man upstairs.

My husband.

Even thinking the word felt strange.

I still didn’t know what kind of person Jung Ji-hoon really was. Cold, obviously. Distant. Untouchable.

But there was something else too.

Something restrained.

Like a storm that hadn’t decided whether to stay sleeping.

And just as that thought crossed my mind—

Knock. Knock.

My body stiffened instantly.

The sound echoed through the quiet room, calm yet sharp enough to make my heartbeat stumble.

For a second, I didn’t move.

Another knock followed.

Slower this time.

Deliberate.

My fingers tightened unconsciously around the edge of the bedsheet as I stared at the closed door.

Something told me—

Whoever stood outside wasn’t here to make me comfortable.

Slowly walked toward the door, each step quieter than the last.

For some reason, my heartbeat had already begun to rise before I even touched the handle.

Maybe because deep down—

I already knew who it was.

I wrapped my fingers around the knob and pulled the door open.

Jung Ji-hoon stood there.

My newly wedded husband.

The great heir of the Jung family.

His hand was lifted midair, ready to knock again, but the moment the door opened, it froze.

For a brief second, neither of us spoke.

His gaze was lowered at first, as though lost in thought. Then slowly, almost lazily, he lifted his head to look at me.

And somehow—

That felt more intimidating than if he had stared immediately.

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