The butler led Eileen not to the master suite, but to an opulent guest room that was larger than her entire apartment. "The master bedroom is being... prepared for you, Mrs. Butler," he said, his face a perfect mask of neutrality.
Eileen understood. Harrison was giving her space, playing his part in their agreement. A small, unexpected flicker of gratitude warmed her chest.
She had just closed the heavy oak door when a sharp knock sounded. She opened it to find Elianna leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, a contemptuous sneer on her face.
She pushed past Eileen without an invitation, wandering around the room as if she owned it, her eyes cataloging every detail.
"Don't think you've won anything just because you pulled a little stunt downstairs," Elianna said, her voice dripping with venom. "In this house, the law doesn't matter. History does. Connection does."
She walked to the large window, pointing to a distant structure on the vast property. "You see that stable? Harrison and I learned to ride there. We spent every summer of our childhoods on those trails." She turned back to Eileen. "What memories do you have with him? The five minutes you spent in a government office?"
Eileen ignored the bait. She was tired. This felt like swatting at a persistent, annoying fly. "Is there something you need, Elianna? If not, I'd like to rest."
Her dismissive tone was like gasoline on a fire. Elianna's eyes narrowed. She decided it was time to play her trump card.
"There's a charity gala next week," she said, her voice filled with smug certainty. "The most important social event of the season. I have accompanied Harrison every year since we were eighteen. It's where our families present a united front to the world."
She gave Eileen a triumphant look. "A person like you, someone who doesn't belong, could never handle an event like that. He won't take you. You'll be left here, in this room, like a caged bird."
The charity gala. It was the perfect stage. The perfect opportunity to solidify her role as Mrs. Butler.
Eileen feigned a look of surprise, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh? Is that so? But..."
She pulled out her phone, opened her calendar app, and turned the screen toward Elianna.
Displayed in crisp, clear font was an appointment sent by Caleb Finch just an hour ago: Wednesday, 7:00 PM: St. Regis Hotel Charity Gala. Note: Top-tier styling team has been booked. They will arrive at the estate at 3:00 PM.
Elianna's confident smirk dissolved. Her face went from smug to shocked to disbelieving in a matter of seconds.
"No... That's impossible! He would never take you!"
Eileen snapped her phone shut and offered a saccharine smile. "Perhaps it's because I'm his legal wife. Taking one's step-cousin to such an event might seem a bit... improper, don't you think?"
She had found Elianna's weak spot: her unofficial, undefined status. And she pressed on it, hard.
Elianna's face was pale with fury, but she rallied for one last attack. "So what if he takes you! There's nothing between you! He doesn't even let you sleep in the master bedroom!" She thought she had found a chink in Eileen's armor.
Eileen, however, simply sighed, putting on a show of being troubled.
"Oh, don't even get me started," she said, her voice a conspiratorial whisper. "He insists I move in with him, but I told him it's all too fast. I need some time to adjust, you know?"
She leaned in, as if sharing a secret. "He just told me that if I don't move my things into his room tonight, he's going to come sleep in here. Honestly, he can be so... clingy."
The lie was audacious, but it was delivered with a flawless performance of wifely complaint.
It hit Elianna like a physical blow. The image of Harrison, the cold and untouchable Harrison Butler, being "clingy" with this nobody, begging her to share his bed... it was a vision from her worst nightmares.
"You're lying! You're a liar!" she shrieked, her voice cracking.
Eileen just shrugged, a picture of innocence. "Believe what you want. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready. I have to move my things to the master bedroom tonight."
That was the final, devastating shot.
Elianna stared at her, her beautiful face contorted with a toxic mix of hatred and jealousy. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. With a strangled sob, she turned and fled, her running footsteps echoing down the long hallway.
Eileen closed the door, the smile dropping from her face. She leaned her head against the cool wood, her body suddenly heavy with exhaustion.
This life was a constant war. And she was so, so tired of fighting.
