When I blinked at the old Anderson ancestral estate, I suddenly felt impossibly small. Captian stood there in complete silence, staring at the ancient house. In his eyes flickered a storm of emotions, dark, cold, violent.
Because he wasn't speaking, I turned back to look at him. Under the sunlight, his expression looked terrifying, like he wanted to erase everything standing before him. My breath hitched; I quickly averted my eyes.
I didn't say anything wrong just now… did I?
Then why did his face look even scarier than a medieval executioner?
"Mr. Anderson… aren't we going in?" I tugged gently at his sleeve, forcing myself to ask.
He didn't respond. He just kept staring at the old manor as if the building itself had personally offended him.
We stood there for so long that I eventually didn't dare speak another word.
I had no idea how much time passed before the butler finally came out. He wore a perfectly tailored suit, gold-rimmed glasses resting on his nose. Behind the lenses, his eyes were sharp, but the moment he saw Captian, something flickered there fear? Anxiety?
He immediately bowed deeply.
"Mr. Anderson, Madam and the rest of the family are waiting inside."
Captian's expression didn't change.
"Mm."
Even though the butler remained respectful, head low, I could tell he was scared. Of course he was. Captian's temper was unpredictable, and his methods… ruthless. Being afraid of him was almost normal.
As the butler spoke, he sneaked several glances at me.
Even just a quick look was enough to shock him.
I was small barely twenty. Pretty, yes, but with a beauty that leaned too easily toward seduction. If I looked like this now, how dangerously enchanting would I be once I fully grew into it?
Thankfully, my bright, clear eyes redeemed that impression just a little.
He was secretly studying me and I was studying him.
After spending enough time with Captian, the one thing I had learned was vigilance.
My expression remained calm, but my fingers tightened around Captian's sleeve. This was basically my first time "meeting the elders," and not just any elders, elders from a powerful, old-money dynasty. Of course I'd be nervous.
"This is your newlywed wife, yes?" the butler asked respectfully, pushing up his glasses.
As he lowered his gaze, he finally noticed the ring on my finger.
The pigeon-blood diamond ring.
Unique. Invaluable. Iconic.
When Captian first posted it on Facebook, the whole city went mad. Countless influential people tried to buy it for absurd prices, but he refused every one of them. Because of his power and reputation, no one dared fall out with him over a gem like that.
But now… that very diamond had been forged into a wedding ring.
And it sat on my finger.
No wonder the butler was stunned it confirmed that our marriage wasn't an act, wasn't a stunt, wasn't a rumor. It was real.
"I… am Mr. Anderson's wife," I said softly. My fingers squeezed Captian's sleeve tighter.
He lowered his eyes. The red of the diamond gleamed under the light, reflecting in his pupils softening him. Just a little. His brows relaxed as if something warm quietly melted inside him.
The butler straightened himself and became even more respectful toward me. Then he led us down a long hallway lined with rare flowers. After about five minutes, we finally reached the main hall of the old estate.
Nearly every relative of the Anderson family was already seated, waiting for the man who held all the family's power in his hands. Many of them looked displeased, but none dared show it. Everyone knew Captian, cold, ruthless, absolutely unforgiving.
Hearing their chatter from outside the hall, my stomach knotted.
I grew up in the countryside. I'd never attended a gathering full of elite socialites.
What if I embarrassed myself?
"Stay close," his low voice cut through my panic.
I snapped back to reality and realized he was already stepping into the hall. I grabbed my dress and rushed after him.
The moment we entered, every conversation stopped. Every face turned toward Captian with unmistakable fear like mice spotting a cat.
I froze.
Yes, Captian was scary.
But did they have to look that terrified?
They were his relatives!
I didn't dare voice my thoughts. I didn't know enough about the Anderson patriarch to risk saying something stupid.
Then came something worse after staring at him, every single gaze shifted to me.
Examining.
Judging.
Guarded.
Suspicious.
Of course.
Facebook had been exploding.
Everyone had been speculating about our marriage.
They all assumed it was fake, that our marriage certificate was just a publicity stunt.
But now that he had brought me here personally…
They knew it was real.
Still, I must've looked too young, too ordinary. How could someone like Captian possibly marry someone like me?
For decades, the Anderson relatives believed Captian would marry the eldest daughter of the William family, a perfect political alliance. But now he had married a nobody. And that, to them, was humiliating.
But… perhaps also convenient.
If he didn't tie himself to the powerful William family, then Captian had no political shield. If a day ever came when they wanted to suppress him… it would be much easier.
The entire hall buzzed with hidden schemes. My back went cold. Every gaze felt like a knife dipped in poison.
Instinctively, I moved even closer to Captian.
For the first time ever, the terrifying man beside me felt like the only piece of solid ground in the room.
"Captian… is this my sister-in-law?" someone finally asked.