Ivana's POV
The keys felt cool beneath my fingertips, their familiar smoothness grounding me as I played. Each note poured out like a whisper, soft yet steady, filling the silence that had hung so thickly during dinner. My fingers danced across the piano, almost moving on their own. The melody wasn't one I'd planned — it just... happened. Something soft. Something safe.
I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in it. For once, I wasn't thinking about Darius, or this suffocating castle, or the ache in my body that I'd been ignoring all day. It was just me and the music — a brief moment where I could breathe again.
But of course, it didn't last.
"Stop."
His voice cut through the air, sharp and cold. My fingers froze on the keys, the final note lingering awkwardly in the silence. I swallowed hard, willing myself not to show how startled I was.
He doesn't deserve to see you flinch.
I pushed back from the piano, turning to face him. Darius was already standing, his expression unreadable. Without a word, he walked past me and headed toward the bed.
I stood there for a moment, uncertain. I didn't want to follow him — didn't want to share that bed — but what choice did I have? With a sigh, I crossed the room and laid down as far from him as possible.
The mattress dipped as Darius settled in beside me. I stared at the ceiling, tracing the faint cracks in the plaster. My mind kept drifting back to Claire — her smile, her laugh, her warmth. Everything I missed. Everything I'd lost.
"My parents are coming tomorrow," Darius said suddenly, his voice low but firm.
I blinked, caught off guard. And why exactly should I care?
"So?" I muttered, still staring at the ceiling.
He shifted beside me. "So, you need to be prepared."
I let out a bitter laugh — short and dry. "Prepared for what?" I shot back, finally turning to face him. "What exactly do you expect me to do?"
Darius's gaze locked onto mine, cold and unwavering. "What you're meant to do," he said flatly. "Be ready for their return."
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "And why should I bother?"
He didn't answer. He just reached over, turned off the lamp, and closed his eyes like the conversation never happened.
I stared at the side of his face for a moment — the sharp line of his jaw, the tension in his features even as he pretended to relax.
Coward, I thought bitterly. He always had something to say when it came to giving orders, but the second I questioned him? Silence.
Turning away from him, I faced the wall, pulling the covers tighter around myself.
Fine. Let him pretend he had everything under control. But one way or another... I'd find a way to take some of that control back.
His parents are coming tomorrow.
I kept repeating that in my head like it was supposed to mean something — like I was supposed to care. I didn't. Not really.
I wasn't planning to impress them. Why should I? They were the ones who started this whole mess — arranging this ridiculous marriage, shoving me into Darius's life like I was some piece of property they could trade for peace. I owed them nothing.
Still... I couldn't shake the feeling that I was supposed to do something.
I didn't know what, exactly. Dress up? Greet them at the door like some perfect little wife? Pretend Darius and I weren't locked in a silent war every single day? The thought alone made me want to laugh. No, there was no point in pretending — not when Darius had made it clear exactly where I stood.
But maybe... maybe if I just stayed out of sight altogether, things would be easier.
Yeah... that could work.
I could hide in my room, stay quiet, keep my head down. If I avoided them long enough, they'd forget I was even here. After all, Darius didn't exactly parade me around like some prized wife — he barely acknowledged me unless it was to bark an order or remind me how powerless I was.
I shifted under the covers, staring at the faint shadows dancing on the wall. The thought of hiding away all day — of staying locked inside these cold walls — didn't exactly comfort me. But what choice did I have? Facing Darius's parents meant playing their game — one I had no interest in.
What if they're worse than him? I wondered suddenly.
The thought chilled me. Maybe Darius's arrogance, his cruel dominance... maybe that was taught. What if his parents were even colder, even harsher? What if they expected me to bow my head even lower and smile while I did it?
No, I told myself. I'll just stay in my room... for as long as I can.
That had to be better than pretending to be something I wasn't — some quiet, obedient wife ready to bend at their every command. I wasn't that girl. I never would be.
I exhaled shakily and closed my eyes, but sleep didn't come. My thoughts kept racing — memories of everything I'd lost, everything I'd been forced to give up.
I didn't know how long I lay there, shifting from one uncomfortable thought to the next. All I knew was that tomorrow, when Darius's parents arrived, I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of pretending to be someone I wasn't.
If hidi
ng away was the only way I could keep some of my pride... then so be it.