Chapter 4 - The Wife Behind the Perfect Image
The world believed Nathaniel Crane had finally found happiness.
That was the strange thing about appearances.
People believed whatever they were shown.
They saw the photographs.
They saw the expensive events.
They saw Nathaniel’s hand resting gently on my back as we walked into a room.
They saw the way he looked at me during interviews.
And they created a story.
A powerful billionaire who had spent years avoiding relationships had finally fallen in love.
The mysterious businessman had found the one woman who could soften him.
The newspapers loved it.
The investors loved it.
The public loved it.
But the truth was much simpler.
Nathaniel Crane and I were two strangers pretending to be something we were not.
At least...
That was what I believed.
Every morning, we played our roles.
Breakfast meetings.
Charity appearances.
Business dinners.
Perfect smiles.
Perfect photographs.
Then, when the doors closed behind us, the performance ended.
We returned to being Nathaniel and Emily.
Two people sharing a home.
Two people with completely different lives.
Two people who were supposed to separate after two years.
But slowly, something unexpected began happening.
I started noticing him.
Not the man everyone else saw.
Not Nathaniel Crane, the billionaire whose name could open doors.
The real man.
The one who stayed awake until three in the morning reading reports because he trusted no one else to check them.
The one who remembered the names of employees most executives ignored.
The one who quietly paid for a worker's daughter's surgery and never allowed anyone to know.
The first time I discovered that, I was confused.
Nathaniel was reviewing documents in his office when I walked in.
"I thought you hated charity events."
He looked up.
"I never said that."
"You said you hated people using charity for publicity."
His expression remained calm.
"That is different."
I leaned against the door.
"Then what are you doing?"
He looked down at the papers.
"Approving medical funding."
"For who?"
"An employee's daughter."
I walked closer.
"Why don't you announce it?"
Nathaniel looked genuinely confused.
"Why would I?"
"Because people would praise you."
"I don't need praise."
That answer stayed with me.
Because it didn't sound like something a person pretending to be kind would say.
It sounded like someone who actually didn't care about recognition.
"You really are different from what people say."
His eyes lifted.
"And what do people say?"
I hesitated.
"That you're dangerous."
A faint smile appeared.
"Are they wrong?"
The question caught me off guard.
I looked at him.
"I don't know."
And for some reason, that answer seemed to interest him.
The first major event we attended as a married couple was a business gala.
It was exactly the kind of place Nathaniel belonged.
A room filled with powerful people.
Expensive suits.
Designer dresses.
People shaking hands while secretly measuring each other's worth.
I wore a dark emerald dress that the stylist selected.
When I walked downstairs, Nathaniel was waiting near the entrance.
He looked at me for a moment.
Just a moment.
But I noticed.
"What?"
His expression returned to normal.
"Nothing."
I smiled slightly.
"You were staring."
"I was not."
"You were."
He adjusted his cufflinks.
"You look appropriate for the event."
I laughed.
"That is the most Nathaniel Crane compliment possible."
Something unexpected happened.
He smiled.
Not the polite smile he used for cameras.
A real one.
Small.
Brief.
But real.
And it disappeared so quickly I almost wondered if I imagined it.
At the gala, everyone wanted to meet me.
That was something I wasn't prepared for.
Before Nathaniel, I had been invisible in rooms like this.
A physical therapist.
A normal person.
Someone who helped others.
Now people knew my name.
"Mrs. Crane."
The title still felt strange.
A woman approached us with a champagne glass in her hand.
She was elegant.
Beautiful.
Confident.
"Congratulations, Nathaniel. I never thought I would see the day."
Nathaniel's expression became slightly colder.
"Victoria."
The woman smiled.
Then she looked at me.
"So this is the woman who changed you."
I forced a polite smile.
"Nice to meet you."
Victoria studied me.
Not casually.
Carefully.
Like she was searching for something.
"Interesting."
Nathaniel stepped slightly closer.
The movement was subtle.
But I noticed.
"Victoria."
His voice contained a warning.
She smiled.
"Relax. I am only curious."
Then she walked away.
I looked at Nathaniel.
"Who was she?"
"No one important."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You are terrible at lying."
For a second, he looked amused.
Then serious.
"Someone from my past."
"What kind of past?"
"The kind that should stay there."
The answer made me quiet.
Because there was something in his tone.
Not anger.
Pain.
Later that evening, something happened that changed how I saw him.
We were leaving the event when a group of reporters approached.
Normally, Nathaniel handled situations like that.
He knew exactly what to say.
But this time, one reporter shouted something unexpected.
"Mr. Crane! Is your marriage just another business arrangement?"
I stopped.
Nathaniel didn't.
His expression remained controlled.
Another reporter called out.
"Are you using your wife to improve your public image?"
The questions became louder.
More aggressive.
I expected Nathaniel to ignore them.
But then someone pushed forward too quickly.
A camera moved close to my face.
I stepped back.
And before I could react, Nathaniel moved.
He placed himself between me and the crowd.
Not for the cameras.
Not for appearances.
For me.
His hand lightly touched my shoulder, guiding me behind him.
"Enough."
His voice was quiet.
But everyone stopped.
There was something dangerous about the calmness.
The reporters backed away.
Security arrived.
Within seconds, we were inside the car.
The door closed.
Silence.
I looked at him.
"You didn't have to do that."
Nathaniel looked out the window.
"Yes, I did."
The answer was immediate.
I studied his profile.
"You always protect people."
"No."
I frowned.
"Yes, you do."
He looked at me.
"You don't know me well enough to say that."
"Maybe."
I paused.
"But I know what I saw."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Nathaniel said quietly:
"You should be more careful."
"About reporters?"
"About everyone."
There was something heavy behind those words.
Like he had learned that lesson the hard way.
A few days later, I discovered another side of Nathaniel.
The human side.
It happened late at night.
I woke up because I heard noise downstairs.
At first, I thought someone had entered the penthouse.
I quietly walked down the stairs.
And stopped.
Nathaniel was sitting alone in the living room.
No suit.
No perfect appearance.
Just a man sitting in the darkness.
In his hand was an old photograph.
He quickly noticed me.
His expression changed.
The walls returned.
"What are you doing awake?"
I looked at the photograph.
"Who is that?"
Nathaniel looked down.
For several seconds, I thought he wouldn't answer.
Then he said:
"My mother."
His voice was different.
Softer.
I sat across from him.
"She passed away?"
"Years ago."
"I'm sorry."
He nodded.
The silence returned.
But this time, it wasn't uncomfortable.
"I don't remember the last conversation I had with her."
I looked at him.
Nathaniel stared at the photograph.
"She was sick."
The words were quiet.
"And I was busy building the company."
Something tightened in my chest.
"You were young."
"I was selfish."
"No."
His eyes moved toward me.
"You don't get to decide that."
I held his gaze.
"Maybe I do."
For a moment, Nathaniel looked almost surprised.
Like nobody spoke to him that way.
Then something changed.
A small piece of his armor disappeared.
"I don't know how to do this."
"Do what?"
He looked around the room.
"Be someone's husband."
The honesty shocked me.
Because Nathaniel Crane admitted something most people would never admit.
He didn't know how to love.
"I don't know how to be someone's family."
I didn't know what to say.
So I said the only thing that felt true.
"Maybe you don't have to know everything immediately."
He looked at me.
"That's your advice?"
"Yes."
A small smile appeared.
"You are terrible at giving advice."
I laughed.
"And you are terrible at accepting it."
For a few seconds...
We were not acting.
We were not pretending.
We were just two people sitting together in the middle of the night.
And I realized something that scared me.
I was beginning to forget that this was temporary.
I was beginning to see Nathaniel as more than a contract.
And judging by the way he looked at me...
Maybe he was beginning to do the same.
But neither of us knew that the closer we became...
The more dangerous it would become to keep pretending.
Because secrets from Nathaniel's past were about to return.
May you like
And this time...
Our contract would not be the only thing tested.
