Clarissa woke up early on the weekend. While changing, she casually paired a tie with Elian's suit and laid them out. It just felt like the sort of thing a wife would do.
Today marked exactly one week since they got their marriage certificate.
She could still clearly remember what Elian had said that day - he'd give her a week to get ready.
So... did he really mean tonight?
Clarissa's thoughts drifted until someone gently took the ladle out of her hand.
"What's got you zoning out like that? The porridge is about to burn."
Elian had come up behind her and quickly switched off the stove, passing her to take over stirring.
That's when she finally caught the faint burnt smell.
She turned to see his profile - as striking as ever. Maybe he'd rushed a bit; the top button of his shirt wasn't done properly, and the tie just hung loosely around his neck.
After cleaning up a bit, Elian headed to the fridge and pulled out more ingredients.
"I'll make breakfast. Why don't you go relax for a bit?"
His hands moved swiftly as he worked, eyes on what he was doing. Clarissa didn't move. Instead, she called his name softly.
"Elian."
His hands paused mid-action. He set the ingredients aside and looked at her. "Yeah?"
She stepped closer, tilted her head slightly, took the tie off his neck, and began fixing the misaligned buttons on his shirt, straightening the collar with care.
It dawned on Elian what she was doing, and he leaned down a bit.
Clarissa, caught off guard, bumped her nose gently into his chin, her fingertips brushing lightly over his Adam's apple as she adjusted the tie into place.
"You buttoned this wrong," she murmured once she was done.
The outfit he had on - well, it was the one she'd picked. The tie even matched the color of her dress, making them look like a perfectly coordinated couple.
Maybe her grandpa would be happy seeing them like that.
"Oh. Okay," Elian replied, momentarily stunned. Clarissa gave a small smile, turned, and was about to leave the kitchen when he spoke again, back still facing her.
"Hey... the outfit you picked today looks great."
He had to admit, catching sight of the carefully arranged clothes in the dressing room earlier had somehow made him feel weirdly... happy. Probably the most cheerful he'd ever felt in the morning.
Clarissa didn't respond or turn around. She missed the slight blush on his ears as she softly replied, "It's the least I could do."
Then she walked out. Elian paused for a beat, then sighed lightly.
After breakfast, Clarissa suddenly remembered they should bring something over when visiting her family.
But before she could say anything, she saw Elian at the car, arranging things in the trunk. Peeking over, she saw it was packed with gifts.
"You got all this?" she asked, raising her brows.
He closed the trunk casually and nodded. "First time visiting your family. Isn't that kind of expected?"
The way he raised an eyebrow made it seem totally natural.
"Ready to go?"
Clarissa nodded and got in, carefully fastening her seatbelt.
Just as Elian got into the driver's seat, her phone buzzed.
It was Natalie.
[I'm coming back next week! Shouldn't the newlyweds treat me to dinner?]
Clarissa chuckled softly.
Even just reading the message made it easy to picture Natalie's excited face. Over all these years, Natalie had been her reliable emotional anchor. No matter what heartbreak she'd suffered over Sebastian, she'd always found comfort with Natalie.
[Sure.] She replied quickly.
As Elian clicked his seatbelt into place, he glanced her way. She looked like she was replying to someone happily, eyebrows arched, smiling faintly.
His hand hovered over the buckle for a second.
"What's got you so smiley over there?"His tone was a bit casual when he asked.
Clarissa looked up, a soft smile still lingering in her eyes. A few strands of her wavy hair brushed over the corner of her lips.
She said quietly, "Natalie messaged me. She's coming back next week. We are planning to have a meal together."
Elian's fingers relaxed slightly. His throat felt a bit dry, so he swallowed and asked, "We're going together?"
"Huh?" Clarissa hadn't expected that question, but she answered right away, "Yeah, Nat said since we just got married, we should treat everyone."
Her phone screen was still lit, displaying Natalie's message: [Bring Mr. Langley, too! Newlyweds have to host a dinner!]
Maybe it was that one word-newlyweds-that made something stir faintly in Elian's chest.
He smiled, lips pressed together, and said, "Sure, just let me know in advance, I'll book the restaurant."
Clarissa kept her head down, still typing. [Okay,] she replied absentmindedly.
Just as she was about to ask Natalie what she wanted to eat, another message popped up.
[Sebastian and Aria seem to be back from vacation. Don't go soft when you see them.]
Clarissa's fingers paused on the keyboard. After a second, she typed her reply.
[I don't like him anymore. If they're getting married, Elian and might prepare a gift.]
She wasn't pretending she didn't care-she really didn't.
She'd known Sebastian for over ten years. At first she thought what she felt for him was love, just because they'd grown up together.
But whatever they had faded fast once Aria came into the picture.
After that, it was mostly about keeping up appearances for the Hamiltons' sake and honoring her grandfather's wishes.
She never actually believed she'd end up marrying someone she truly loved.
She had long stopped expecting anything from marriage.
But then came Elian-unexpected, and somehow, everything started to shift.
She was someone who meant what she said.
She said she was over Sebastian, and she was. Really and truly.
Now that he was back, it felt like the right time to give that whole chapter a proper close.
Just then, her phone buzzed again, snapping her out of her thoughts.
[Good! That's the spirit! But honestly, I don't think Aria's getting into the Hamilton family. She's the type you date for fun, not marry. She brings nothing to the table.]
Whether he married Aria or not wasn't her concern anymore.
But Natalie wasn't entirely wrong. Sure, the Beckett family's influence had waned, but some of their businesses were still run by professional managers under her grandfather's watch.
If she had married into the Hamiltons, that alone could've been a major boost to them-both financially and socially.
Maybe that was why Sebastian kept up the whole lovesick act in front of others.
The Hamilton family wasn't exactly top-tier elite. Sebastian knew perfectly well that a well-matched marriage could take his family businesses up another level.
And Aria? No background, just pretty. That's not enough to marry into a family like that.
Funny. Clarissa hadn't felt this clear-headed about all of it until now.
Seriously, why had she ever thought Aria could outdo her?
She glanced sideways at Elian.
One hand lightly on the wheel, his other arm resting casually. His face, angled slightly toward the light, had that sharp, clean look-almost glowing around the edges.
"Elian," she asked softly, "if I weren't part of the Beckett family, had none of the background-would you still have agreed to marry me?"
Elian let out a short laugh, gently tapped the brakes, and when the light turned red, he tilted his head slightly to glance at her.
"So what, you think I married you to strike gold?"
Clarissa paused-his words caught her off guard.
It did sound a bit ridiculous. Elian, with everything he had now-his empire probably even bigger than Sebastian's. Why would he need her family's money...She changed the subject. "Then why did you say yes?"
