Chapter 4 - A BRIDE WHO LISTENED
The first week passed without disaster.
That frightened Maeve.
She expected Elias to interrogate her.
He did not.
Instead he watched.
Maeve learned his mornings began before six.
He reviewed reports in the library.
Held meetings by encrypted video.
Spoke rarely and expected everyone else to waste just as few words.
She learned he drank coffee black.
He hated television news.
He preferred the windows open even when the Chicago air turned cold.
She also learned his temper was quieter than she expected.
When angry, Elias did not shout.
He became still.
People feared that stillness more than shouting.
Maeve understood why.
On the eighth morning, she found him alone in the breakfast room.
A cup had fallen from the table.
Coffee stained the carpet.
Elias was leaning too far from the wheelchair, attempting to reach it.
Maeve stopped in the doorway.
He looked up.
“Don’t.”
Maeve lifted both hands.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to help.”
“I was about to ask whether you wanted help.”
He stared at her.
Then he sat back.
“That is not the same thing.”
“No.”
Maeve picked up another cup and poured herself tea.
“If you say no, I sit down.”
Elias looked toward the broken cup.
Then at her.
“Pick it up.”
Maeve did.
She placed it on the table.
“Anything else?”
“No.”
She sat opposite him.
Elias’s mouth moved slightly.
“What?”
Maeve asked.
“You have become very obedient.”
She nearly laughed.
“You clearly don’t know me very well.”
His gaze sharpened.
Maeve realized too late what she had said.
Then Elias surprised her.
“No.”
He looked down at his coffee.
“Maybe I didn’t.”
The words followed Maeve all morning.
Later, Salvatore found her in the greenhouse.
She was pruning dead leaves from a basil plant because she needed something to do with her hands.
“You garden?”
“A little.”
“Sienna hated dirt.”
Maeve’s scissors stopped.
Salvatore’s eyes stayed on the plant.
Maeve forced herself to continue.
“People change.”
“Yes.”
Salvatore looked at her.
“They do.”
The silence stretched.
Maeve finally asked, “Are you trying to tell me something?”
Salvatore smiled.
“I’m trying to decide whether I like the change.”
Maeve set down the scissors.
“And?”
“I do.”
That answer worried her more than suspicion would have.
The following afternoon, Elias received a call from one of his construction managers.
A crane operator had been injured.
The company’s lawyer recommended denying responsibility until the investigation ended.
Maeve happened to be sitting nearby.
Elias said, “Pay the medical bills.”
The lawyer continued speaking.
“Then pay them before the investigation.”
Another pause.
“No.”
Elias’s voice hardened.
“We do not wait for a man’s children to become hungry so we can save money on legal language.”
Maeve looked up.
Elias caught her staring.
He ended the call.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You disagree?”
“No.”
She hesitated.
“I just didn’t expect that.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What did you expect?”
Maeve thought about every rumor she had heard.
Violence.
Extortion.
Fear.
She chose her words carefully.
“I expected you to be colder.”
“Maybe I am.”
“Not about that man.”
Elias looked toward the window.
“My father died on a job site when I was twelve.”
Maeve had not known.
Sienna certainly had.
Margaret’s preparation had focused on social details, not pain.
“I’m sorry.”
Elias glanced back.
“You used to say you hated that phrase.”
Maeve swallowed.
“Maybe I’ve learned that sometimes there isn’t a better one.”
He stared at her again.
And for the first time, Maeve saw something dangerous in his face.
Not suspicion.
Interest.
That evening, she called Finn from a secured phone Margaret had given her.
He sounded stronger.
“The hospital confirmed the deposit.”
Maeve closed her eyes.
“Good.”
“Where did you get the money?”
“I took a private job.”
“What kind of job?”
Maeve looked toward the locked bedroom door.
“The kind that pays too much.”
Finn laughed.
“You always said those were suspicious.”
Maeve forced a smile.
“I was right.”
After the call ended, she sat alone in Sienna’s silk robe.
Three months.
That was the agreement.
She only had to survive three months.
But when she closed her eyes, she did not see Margaret.
Or Finn.
Or the Ashford kitchen.
She saw Elias looking at her across the breakfast table.
May you like
Maybe I didn’t know you.
And for the first time, Maeve wondered what would happen if he did.
