The morning after the dinner felt unnatural.
Too quiet.
Too normal.
Aria woke early, even though she barely slept. Her eyes were swollen, but she fixed that with cold water and concealer. She stared at her reflection for a long moment.
You chose this.
Just a contract.
Keep it clean.
Keep it simple.
She stepped out of her room.
Leo was already in the kitchen.
Black coffee.
Unreadable expression.
For a split second, their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
"Morning," he said flatly.
"Morning."
That was all.
No softness.
No teasing.
No warmth.
They moved around each other like strangers who happened to share space.
It hurt more than the argument.
At school, it was a different world.
The second they stepped out of the car, cameras flashed. Students whispered. The usual crowd gathered.
Leo's hand slid to her waist automatically.
She didn't flinch.
She didn't lean in either.
But she smiled.
Perfect.
Polished.
Convincing.
"You two looked amazing at the charity event photos," someone gushed.
Leo smiled effortlessly. "Thank you."
Aria tilted her head toward him slightly.
Someone snapped a photo.
He bent closer, whispering near her ear so it looked intimate.
"Play along."
She responded just as quietly, still smiling. "I am."
In class, he brushed her fingers.
She intertwined them.
In the hallway, she laughed at something he said.
At lunch, she fed him a bite of her dessert because someone was filming.
They were flawless.
Even better than before.
People admired them.
Envy grew louder.
"Couple goals."
"They're so in love."
"They survived the rumors."
If only they knew.
The moment they got back to the penthouse-
The act dropped.
Aria slipped out of his touch the second the elevator doors closed.
By the time they reached the living room, she was already walking toward her room.
"Aria."
She stopped but didn't turn around.
"Yes?"
"Can we talk?"
"I have assignments."
"We both know that's not the reason."
She inhaled slowly.
"I'm tired, Leo."
"So am I."
Silence.
He stepped closer.
"We can't keep pretending nothing happened."
She turned now.
Her face was calm.
Too calm.
"There's nothing to talk about. We agreed. It's a contract."
His jaw flexed.
"We didn't agree. You decided."
"And you said fine."
Because I didn't want to force you, he thought but didn't say.
"You don't get to shut me out and call it protection," he said.
"And you don't get to minimize what your family did," she fired back.
"I'm not minimizing it."
"You're trying to override it."
"That's different."
She shook her head slightly.
"I can't afford emotional risks, Leo."
"You think I can?"
"You'll recover," she said softly. "I won't."
That stung.
Before he could respond, she stepped into her room and closed the door.
Not slammed.
Just closed.
Which somehow hurt more.
Days passed like that.
Public: perfect.
Private: frozen.
Leo tried small things.
Coffee left outside her door.
A text asking if she ate.
An offer to study together.
She responded politely.
Briefly.
Never warmly.
Never inviting more.
At events, she was radiant beside him.
At home, she disappeared into her room.
He started sleeping later.
Working longer.
Anything to avoid feeling unwanted in his own space.
One evening, after another flawlessly staged university event, they returned home past midnight.
She kicked off her heels and headed for her room again.
"Stop."
His voice wasn't loud.
But it carried weight.
She froze.
"I'm not fighting you," she said tiredly.
"I'm not fighting either. I'm asking you to look at me."
She turned slowly.
He stepped closer.
Not touching.
Not yet.
"You loved me two nights ago," he said quietly.
Her expression flickered for half a second before smoothing.
"I was emotional."
"You're still emotional."
"No. I'm rational now."
"That's worse."
Her throat tightened.
"Why are you making this harder?" she whispered.
"Because you're pretending I don't matter."
"You do matter."
"Then why am I being treated like a temporary inconvenience?"
The words hit harder than he intended.
She blinked rapidly.
"You're not an inconvenience."
"That's exactly how it feels."
Silence stretched.
Her voice dropped.
"If I let myself love you, your family will destroy me piece by piece."
"They won't."
"They already started."
He had no answer for that.
And that terrified him.
She stepped back again.
"I can't breathe in your world."
"You're not in my parents' world," he said sharply. "You're in mine."
"And they control yours."
That truth lingered heavily between them.
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"So what? You just avoid me until the contract ends?"
"If that's what it takes."
"And after?"
She hesitated.
"After, we go our separate ways."
There it was.
The future she had already decided.
Something inside him hardened.
"Fine," he said again.
But this time it wasn't surrender.
It was wounded pride.
"Act like strangers at home if that helps you sleep."
She flinched.
"I never said strangers."
"That's what this is."
He walked past her.
For the first time-
He closed his bedroom door before she reached hers.
The next week felt colder.
They coordinated schedules through text.
Spoke minimally at home.
No shared dinners.
No shared laughter.
But outside?
They were magnetic.
At a campus gala, Leo pulled her into a slow dance when cameras circled.
She rested her hand on his chest.
He leaned down as if whispering sweet things.
He was actually saying:
"Why are you doing this to us?"
She responded with a soft smile meant for photographers.
"Because I have to."
His grip tightened slightly at her waist.
"Do you?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she rested her head lightly against him.
From the outside, it looked like devotion.
From the inside, it felt like goodbye.
That night, back at the penthouse, she avoided eye contact completely.
He watched her disappear into her room again.
He didn't follow.
Didn't knock.
Didn't try.
He was tired of chasing someone who insisted on running.
But alone in her room-
Aria sat on the floor with her back against the bed and pressed her hands to her face.
She loved him.
That was the unbearable part.
She loved him deeply enough to know loving him meant war.
And she didn't have the strength to fight wealthy, powerful parents who saw her as temporary.
If she detached now-
It would hurt less later.
That's what she kept telling herself.
In his room, Leo stared at the ceiling again.
Only this time-
He wasn't just angry.
He was scared.
Because the more she distanced herself-
The more he realized he was falling deeper.
And he had never felt so powerless.
By the end of the week, the penthouse felt divided.
Two bedrooms.
Two worlds.
One contract.
Zero peace.
And beneath all the silence-
Love kept growing anyway.
Which made everything worse.
