Episode 2

Chapter 02

Only a Status

The wedding ceremony took place five days later.

Too fast for a marriage.

Too orderly for something that had nearly fallen apart the day before.

Alyssa sat in the Whitmore family's living room wearing a simple white dress. Her mother sat beside her, prayer beads moving through her fingers. Dad could not stay long because he had just undergone the first procedure before his major surgery, but he managed to come in a hospital wheelchair.

Lara did not come.

The excuse was illness.

Everyone knew that was not the real reason, but no one discussed it.

The officiant, Alyssa's guardian, two witnesses, and the immediate families gathered. Damian arrived exactly on time in white formal wedding clothes and a black cap. His face gave away nothing.

Not nerves.

Not happiness.

He looked as if he were attending a staff meeting.

When the vows were completed in one steady breath, several people murmured thanks to God. Mom cried quietly. Marlene hugged Alyssa. Grandfather Whitmore closed his eyes as though a weight had eased from his chest.

Damian only signed the marriage certificate.

Fast.

Neat.

Without looking at Alyssa.

After the small ceremony ended, the Whitmores held a brief family gathering. There was no grand party. No luxurious dais. No music.

Only food, prayers, and forced smiles.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Mom whispered when they had a moment alone in the guest room. Her eyes were swollen. "I don't know what to say."

Alyssa held her mother's hand.

"Stop apologizing, Mom."

"This is your life."

"Dad has to get better."

Mom cried again.

Alyssa hugged her. Over her mother's shoulder, she saw her own reflection in the wardrobe mirror. White dress, light makeup, eyes that looked older than they had that morning.

She was married.

But it felt as though she had just signed a document of surrender.

That night, Alyssa was taken to the Whitmore family's temporary official residence in the military housing compound in the city. The house was not large, but it was clean and orderly. Marlene said the main house was too crowded, while Damian only had two nights before returning to his unit.

"Rest first," Marlene said gently. "Whatever happens, talk it through calmly."

Alyssa only nodded.

Calmly.

She almost laughed.

How was she supposed to talk calmly with a man who had not even looked at her since the vows?

After everyone left, the house went quiet.

Alyssa sat on the edge of the bed in the master bedroom. She had changed out of her wedding clothes and into the long pajamas Mom had packed in her suitcase. Her hair was still half-pinned because she had not had time to take everything down.

The wall clock showed eleven at night.

Damian had not come in.

Alyssa heard water running in the outer bathroom, then footsteps. The bedroom door opened without a knock.

Damian entered in a black T-shirt and long pajama pants. His hair was still wet. The scent of soap, mixed with something distinctly masculine, filled the room.

Alyssa stood by reflex.

Damian looked her over from head to toe.

"Sit."

Alyssa did not move.

"I said sit."

She sat again.

Damian walked to the small table, removed his watch, and opened a drawer. From it he took out a brown envelope and tossed it onto the bed.

Alyssa stared at it.

"What's this?"

"A copy of our agreement."

Her hands went cold.

Damian leaned against the table, arms folded across his chest.

"It's not recorded on the marriage certificate. It doesn't need to be. I'm not that stupid. But you need to keep this."

Alyssa opened the envelope with stiff fingers.

Inside were several sheets of paper.

The marriage exists to fulfill a family promise. Neither party shall demand an emotional relationship. After three years, both parties may separate by mutual agreement.

Alyssa read to the end.

There was no sentence about children, but the meaning was clear enough.

She drew a breath.

"You prepared this before the ceremony?"

"This afternoon."

"That was fast."

"I'm used to preparing an exit."

Alyssa lifted her face. "Including one from your own wife?"

For the first time that night, Damian smiled.

It made Alyssa's chest go cold.

"Don't call yourself that as if we're a normal couple."

Alyssa held her breath.

Damian walked closer.

He did not move quickly, but every step made the room feel smaller. He stopped right in front of her. Alyssa remained seated on the edge of the bed, which forced her to look up at him.

"You managed to get into the Whitmore family," he said softly. "You got the name, the protection, and the money for your family."

Alyssa's face paled.

"I never asked for money for myself."

"But your family got it."

That was true.

And because it was true, it hurt more.

Damian bent toward her. The distance between them was too small.

"I don't know what Lara promised you. I don't know what your family planned. But listen carefully, Alyssa Prescott."

He said her name as if reading out a suspect's identity.

"In front of my family, you may play the part of the polite wife. Before the registrar, you are legally my wife. But between us, this marriage is only a status."

Alyssa gripped the hem of her pajama top.

"I understand."

"No, you don't."

Damian lifted a hand.

Alyssa tensed.

His fingers stopped near her ear, touching the small pin still holding her hair in place. He drew it out slowly. Several strands fell over Alyssa's shoulder.

She leaned back a little.

Damian noticed.

"Scared?"

"No."

"Liar."

Alyssa said nothing.

Damian leaned closer. "Strange. In front of Grandfather, you said you were willing to marry me. But one touch and you look ready to run."

Heat climbed into Alyssa's face.

"Please keep your distance."

"Why? You're my wife, aren't you?"

The word sounded like a trap.

Alyssa lifted her face. "The wife you just said is only a status."

Damian went silent for a second.

Alyssa stood. This time she did not retreat.

"Major Whitmore, I entered this marriage because my family was cornered. I won't deny that. But don't confuse me with someone selling herself for your family name."

Damian's jaw hardened.

"Bold of you."

"I'm only explaining the boundaries."

"Boundaries?"

"Yes. You can hate me. You can consider me a burden. But you don't get to demean me however you like."

His eyes turned dark.

He caught Alyssa by the wrist.

His grip was strong, though not enough to hurt. Alyssa was still startled. Her body went rigid.

"Listen," he said low. "I don't like being played."

"Neither do I."

"If you cause trouble in my family or my unit..."

"I won't."

"If you try to use my status..."

"I don't need your status."

"Then what do you need?"

Alyssa looked at him.

For a moment, the honest answer almost escaped.

I need Dad to live.

I need Mom to stop crying.

I need someone to believe I'm not as awful as you think I am.

But she only said, "Time."

Damian's eyes narrowed.

"Time for what?"

"To finish my responsibilities as a doctor. To make sure my family is safe. After that, if you want to separate, I won't stop you."

Damian's grip loosened.

Maybe he had not expected Alyssa to answer so calmly.

She pulled her hand free.

"You can sleep wherever you want. I'll sleep on the couch."

She took a pillow from the bed.

Before she could step away, Damian said, "No need."

Alyssa stopped.

"I'll sleep in the study."

He took the brown envelope from the bed, then placed it back in Alyssa's hand.

"Keep it. So you remember your place."

Alyssa accepted the envelope without a word.

Damian walked to the door.

Before leaving, he stopped.

"I leave tomorrow morning."

Alyssa looked at his back.

"Where?"

"The eastern border. Deployment."

"When will you be back?"

Damian turned slightly.

"Why? Already counting the days as the commander's wife?"

Alyssa bit her lip.

"I was only asking."

"Don't wait."

The door closed.

Alyssa stood alone in the bedroom, still holding the brown envelope.

A few minutes later, she sat on the floor.

There were no tears.

Tears felt too luxurious that night.

She only opened the small green marriage booklet on the table and looked at her name written beside Damian's.

The name was legal.

The marriage was legal.

But her heart knew that starting tonight, she was not truly anyone's wife.

She was only someone who had to survive.

In the study, Damian sat without turning on the light. The agreement still felt like a hot object in his mind.

He told himself those boundaries were necessary. That woman had appeared too suddenly, too prepared, too neat with her documents and reasons.

But when he remembered Alyssa's eyes as she said she only needed time, Damian could not find greed in them.

Only exhaustion.

And exhaustion was not something he could easily hate.

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