Chapter 2 No.2

The car was not a limousine. It was an older model Lincoln Town Car, black, polished, but clearly dated.

Stella pushed Julian toward the curb as the car pulled up. A man in a dark suit got out from the driver's seat. He was older, with graying hair and a posture that screamed military service masked by butler training.

"Henderson," Julian said. His voice was devoid of warmth.

Henderson looked at Stella. His eyes widened slightly, taking in the wedding dress, the torn hem, the cheap ring on her finger. Then he looked at Julian.

Julian tapped his index finger against the armrest of his wheelchair. Tap. Tap.

Henderson's expression instantly smoothed into a blank mask. "Sir. Shall I assist you?"

"My wife will do it," Julian said.

Stella froze. She looked at the open car door, then at Julian, then at the wheelchair. She had never helped a disabled person into a car before. Panic fluttered in her chest.

"I... I don't know the technique," she stammered.

"Improvise," Julian said.

He unlocked the brakes on his chair.

Stella took a deep breath. She stepped in close. She smelled him again-sandalwood, expensive scotch, and something crisp like winter air. She slid her arms under his armpits.

"On three," she said. "One. Two. Three."

She heaved.

He was incredibly heavy. Dense. It wasn't just fat or bone; it felt like lifting a statue. She grunted with the effort, her heels scraping against the pavement.

Julian let his head loll back slightly, playing the part, but his core muscles tightened imperceptibly to stabilize his weight so she wouldn't drop him. He gritted his teeth, letting out a strained groan that sounded like pain but was actually frustration at the contact. Her body was soft against his, her hair tickling his chin.

They tumbled awkwardly into the backseat. Stella collapsed next to him, breathless, her chest heaving.

Henderson closed the door. The silence inside the car was absolute.

"My family cut me off from my personal accounts," Julian said abruptly, breaking the silence as they merged onto the FDR Drive. "I assume you know who I am. The Sterling name implies money. I don't have access to it."

He was reciting a script. A test.

"I have the townhouse on the Upper East Side," he continued, "but no liquid cash. Henderson is paid directly by the Family Trust as a mandated 'caregiver'-I don't see a dime of that money. I survive on a small disability stipend."

Stella smoothed the skirt of her ruined dress. She looked at his profile. He looked lonely. Broken. Just like her.

"I have savings," she said. Then she remembered the deposit on the apartment Bryce had likely stolen. "Well, I have some savings. I can work. I'm a designer. I can find a job."

Julian turned to look at her. He raised an eyebrow. "You'd support me?"

"We're partners now," Stella said simply. "That's what the paper says."

The car pulled up to a massive limestone townhouse on 72nd Street. It was grand, with intricate ironwork on the balconies, but the windows were dark. It looked like a mausoleum.

Henderson unloaded Stella's two suitcases-the ones she had packed for her honeymoon, which had been brought to the church.

They entered the hallway. It was freezing.

White dust sheets covered every piece of furniture. The grand staircase, the chandeliers, the sofas-everything was shrouded in white linen. It looked like the house had been asleep for a hundred years.

"It looks like a haunted house," Stella whispered.

"It is," Julian muttered. He wheeled himself toward a small elevator tucked in the corner. "The guest room is on the second floor. Henderson will show you."

"Guest room?" Stella frowned. She looked at the shadows stretching across the landing, the eerie shapes of covered furniture. A shiver ran down her spine. She couldn't sleep alone in a strange, dark house tonight. Not after today.

"I sleep in the master suite," Julian said. "I have... medical needs. It's not suitable for sharing."

Stella walked over to him. She placed a hand on the handle of his wheelchair, stopping him from pressing the button.

"We are married, Julian. And frankly, this house terrifies me right now. I don't leave partners behind, and I'm certainly not sleeping down the hall by myself tonight."

Julian's jaw tightened. His fingers gripped the armrests so hard the leather creaked. He didn't want her in his space. His bedroom was his sanctuary-the only place he could stand up, walk, and be himself.

"I'm a cripple, Stella," he said, his voice dropping to a cruel whisper. "It's not... convenient to have a woman in there. I value my privacy."

Stella felt a blush rise to her cheeks, but she didn't back down. She crouched to his level again.

"I didn't marry you for sex," she said softly. "I married you because you were the only person who didn't look at me with pity. Is the room big enough?"

"It's a suite," Julian admitted reluctantly. "There's an antechamber."

"Then I'll sleep there," Stella said. "I'll respect your privacy. But I need to be near another human being tonight."

She stood up and pushed him into the elevator.

The doors closed on Julian's shocked face. For the first time in years, someone had overruled him.

The master suite was vast, with high ceilings and dark wood paneling. It was militarily neat. There was a large, hospital-grade bed with rails in the main area, and through a set of double doors, a smaller sitting room with a daybed.

"That's where the nurse used to sleep," Julian lied quickly, pointing to the daybed. "I fired him last week."

"Then it's for me now," Stella said.

She walked over to the windows and yanked the heavy velvet curtains open. Moonlight flooded the room, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.

"I'll keep the connecting doors closed," Julian said sharply. "I lock them at night. For safety."

"Okay," Stella agreed, though she found it odd. "Whatever makes you comfortable."

She started stripping the dust sheets off the furniture in her section. Whoosh. Whoosh. The sound filled the silence.

Julian sat in his chair in the corner, watching her. She was a tornado of energy in his dead zone. She was invading his fortress. And the terrifying part was, he didn't hate it.

Stella's phone, which she had tossed onto the bed, started buzzing again. 50 missed calls.

She picked it up. Stared at the screen. Then she held the power button down until the screen went black.

"I'm going to shower," she announced. She grabbed a towel from the stack Henderson had left. "I need to wash this day off."

She went into the en-suite bathroom and locked the door.

Julian waited. He listened to the sound of the water turning on. He waited for the pipes to groan.

Only when he was absolutely sure the shower was running loud enough to mask any sound, did he move.

He placed his hands on the armrests. He pushed.

Julian Sterling stood up.

He stretched to his full height of six-foot-three, his spine cracking with relief. He walked silently to the window, his movements fluid and predatory, checking the street below for paparazzi.

He was trapped. He had married a stranger to stop his uncle from planting a spy in his house, but this stranger... she was dangerous. Not because she was a spy, but because she made him want to be honest.