Chapter 104
Dafa's POV: Preparing the Dowry Gifts
The first call didn't feel like a conversation.
It felt like something being arranged.
Alayna's voice was polite, careful in a way that kept everything at a safe distance. She spoke about dates, about schedules. Everything centered on plans her mother's preparations, the timing, what needed to happen and when.
She didn't ask how I was.
She didn't say she was scared.
She talked as if we were discussing furniture delivery.
I answered her in the same tone, calm and practical, because it seemed easier than letting anything real slip through. When the call ended, the silence in my penthouse didn't return the way it usually did. It felt heavier, as if it had learned something about me.
In that moment, I didn't feel like a man.
I felt like something being used.
A solution. A gesture. Something meant to make things look right from the outside.
