Rendra Adhitama stared at the stack of documents on his desk. His usually broad shoulders now slumped. The man looked ten years older than his actual age.

"There is only one way, Cassie," Rendra said. His voice was hoarse and heavy. "The Dharmawan Group is willing to cover all our debts. They will buy the majority shares and restructure the company to keep us from going bankrupt next month."

Cassandra stopped the charcoal she was dragging across her sketch paper. Black dust stained her fingertips. "But on what condition, Dad?"

Rendra did not answer right away. The man lifted his face, and Cassandra saw something she had never seen before. Tears were pooling in her father's eyes.

"Reynand Dharmawan wants to marry you."

For as long as she could remember, her father's office always smelled of teak wood and varnish. It was a scent that usually calmed Cassandra, but tonight it smelled like death.

Cassandra felt her chest tighten. The air in the room suddenly felt very thin. She stared at her hands covered in charcoal dust. She was a painter. She was not a company asset to be sold to the highest bidder. But seeing her father broken, her selfishness slowly faded. All this time, she had only been a burden to her family with her dreams that made no money.

"Alright," Cassandra said softly. "I will do it."

Three days later, they sat in the meeting room on the top floor of the Dharmawan Building.

The double doors opened. Reynand Dharmawan walked in.

Cassandra studied the man carefully. He was twenty eight years old, the sole heir to the largest conglomerate in the country. He wore a perfectly tailored black suit, his hair combed neatly without a single strand out of place, and thick framed glasses perched on his nose. The glasses hid Reynand's eyes, which Cassandra could not read.

There was no smile, let alone a greeting. Reynand sat at the end of the table. He opened the leather folder in front of him and started reading the prenuptial agreement draft. His presence dominated the room, but his aura was as cold as ice.

"All clauses are in order," Reynand said. His voice was flat, without emotion. "But I have one addition."

Cassandra's father nodded quickly. The older man looked very nervous. "Please, Mr. Reynand."

Reynand lifted his face. His gaze passed over Rendra and locked directly onto Cassandra.

"No love," Reynand said. "No interference in each other's personal lives. Once the Adhitama debts are paid and the company is stable, we are free to part ways."

The meeting room suddenly went silent. Cassandra stared at the man in front of her. She felt like a piece of merchandise being haggled at a discount price. This man did not see her as a human being. He only saw a signature that would save two companies.

"I agree," Cassandra answered. Her voice sounded colder than she felt.

They signed the document. Black ink on white paper meant binding two lives that did not want each other.

Tonight was the wedding night of Reynand and Cassandra. But there was no sacredness to it, only an expensive joke.

The heavy white dress forced Cassandra to stand straight for hours. A fake smile made her cheeks stiff. Camera flashes kept blinding her eyes. Reynand stood beside her all day, being the perfect host, but his eyes were always empty. The man never looked at her, never touched her, and never said a single word outside of small talk for the guests.

Now, they were in the master bedroom of the luxury house in that elite area.

Cassandra sat on the edge of the king size bed. She was too tired to feel scared. She just wanted to take off this dress, wipe off the heavy makeup on her face, and sleep. The flowers in the corner of the room smelled too strong and made her dizzy.

The bathroom door opened. Reynand came out. He had already taken off his suit jacket. His white shirt was still neatly worn, with only the top two buttons undone. He walked toward the closet, grabbed a towel, and looked at Cassandra from a distance.

There was no romantic tension. There was no passion. There were only two strangers trapped in one room.

Reynand walked closer. He stopped right in front of Cassandra. He looked at her, then looked at her wedding dress with the exact same gaze he used for financial reports.

"Do not expect to be a real wife to me," Reynand said. The words just slipped out. Cold and very firm. Without a single hint of doubt.

Cassandra looked up. She stared into the man's eyes behind his thick glasses lenses. She did not feel offended. Instead, a strange sense of relief crept into her chest. This man was at least honest.

"Don't worry," Cassandra answered while standing up and smoothing her dress. "I do not want it either."

Cassandra picked up her small bag from the sofa. She did not wait for an answer. Then, she walked toward the bedroom door, opened it, and stepped out into the corridor leading to the guest room at the end of the hall.

The master bedroom door closed with a soft click.

Inside the now silent room, Reynand did not move. He stood in the same spot, staring at the wooden door his wife had just walked through.

Slowly, the stiff posture began to relax. His tense shoulders dropped. The hands that had been clenched at his sides finally opened. His breath, which he had been holding, now came out heavily.

Reynand walked over to the vanity table. Up there, a small sketchbook belonging to Cassandra was left behind, forgotten.

He opened the last page. There was a sketch of a city park. The tones were warm, full of life, very different from the woman who had just refused to be his wife.

Reynand touched the paper with his fingertip.

Cassandra thought she was the victim. Cassandra thought this marriage was a forced arrangement from her father Rendra and his father.

Cassandra did not know that Reynand was the one who first asked his father to acquire Adhitama Furniture.

Reynand took his phone from his pants pocket. He opened a hidden folder. Inside were dozens of photos. Photos of Cassandra painting at a charity event two years ago. Photos of Cassandra laughing in a coffee shop. Photos of Cassandra that she never knew he had taken.

Reynand stared at the phone screen for a long time. The cold and stiff face he had maintained all day finally crumbled.

He did not marry Cassandra to save the Adhitama company. But Reynand married her because he had fallen in love with that woman a long time ago. And now, that woman was in his house.

Reynand placed his phone on the table. The scent of Cassandra's floral perfume still lingered in the air of this large and cold room. He had just chased away the woman he wanted the most. The rules he made himself had now become a prison that trapped him.

He walked toward the large window facing the backyard. It was two in the morning. The city below was already asleep, but his mind would not let him rest.

Reynand opened his desk drawer. There, hidden behind a stack of confidential company documents, was an object that neither the board of directors nor his father would ever know about. A slightly faded black hoodie jacket and a knitted hat.

He stared at his reflection in the window glass. The face of a cold and soulless CEO. Tomorrow morning, he had to go back to being the husband who hated his wife. Tomorrow morning, he had to wear that mask again in front of Cassandra.

But tonight, he needed to breathe.

Reynand grabbed the jacket, turned off the bedroom light, and sneaked out through the back door of the house. He had a date with himself at the city park. And he did not know that the woman he had just rejected was staring at the same sky from the guest room window, looking for a reason not to cry.

.