Chapter 2: Distance
The mansion didn't feel like a home, it felt like a
Beautifully decorated cage.
Lucy stood tall by the glass window in her new room, staring down at the endless stretch of Manhattan lights. Cars moved like glowing lines,
people like tiny shadows—free, alive, living their
Own lives.
Unlike her. She wrapped her arms around herself. It had been three days since the wedding, three days since she became Lucy Hollow. Even thinking about the name made her
Uncomfortable.
A soft knock came at the door. Before she could respond, it opened. Jack stepped in. Of course
He never waited. Lucy didn't turn around. "Do you ever knock and wait for permission?"
"I didn't knock," he replied calmly. "You didn't wait." Silence.
Then his voice again, low and controlled. "You'll
get used to it." Lucy let out a small, humorless laugh. " I'm not planning to."
She finally turned to face him. He looked the same as always— perfect, composed, unreadable. Like nothing in the world could disturb him. It annoyed her. "Why are you here?"
She asked.
Jack walked further into the room, his step slow, measured. "There are expectations we need to clarify." Lucy crossed her arms. " You already made it clear. I'm your 'wife' for show."
"Not just for show." Her brows furrowed. "What does that mean?" Jack stepped a few feet away from her.
"You will attend events with me," he said. " public appearance. Dinners. Meetings where your presence is required." Lucy scoffed. "So I'm decoration?"
"If that is how you choose to see it." Her jaw tightened. "I'm not some object you can display whenever you feel like it." Jack's gaze hardened
slightly. "You represent me now," he said. "Your actions reflect on me."
Lucy stepped closer, anger rising. "I didn't marry you because I wanted to," she snapped. "Don't expect me to play the perfect wife."
"I don't expect perfection," Jack replied calmly.
"Good," she shot back. "I expect compliance." The word hit hard.
Lucy stared at him.
"You don't own me." Jack didn't respond immediately. Instead, he took another step closer.
Now the distance between them was almost gone. "You signed a contract," he said quietly.
"You knew what this was."
Lucy's heart pounded.
"I signed under pressure," she argued. "You still signed." Her breath caught. For a moment neither of them spoke. The tension between them was thick.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Lucy was the first to look away. "I'm tired," she muttered. "If that's all, you can leave." But Jack didn't move. Instead, he said something unexpected.
"You wanted to be a model." Lucy froze. Slowly she turned back to him. "How do you know that?"
"I make it my business to know things," he replied. Her eyes narrowed. "So you have been investigating me?"
"I needed to understand what I was agreeing to."
Lucy let out a sharp breath. "So what? You're going to use that against me too?"
"No." The answer was immediate. It caught her off guard.
"I can make it happen," Jack continued. Lucy blinked. "What?"
"Your modeling career," he said. "I have connections. Agencies. Brands." Her heart skipped.
For a second— just one second—hope flickered inside her. Then she crushed it. "And what do you want in return?" she asked coldly.
Jack tilted his head slightly. "Nothing." she laughed. "Yeah, right."
"I already got what I wanted," he said. Lucy's expression hardened. "Which is?" "You."
Silence.
The word lingered in the air.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
"I'm not something you can own," she said, her voice quieter now. Jack's gaze didn't waver. "I know." " Then stop acting like it." Another pause.
Then Jack stepped back slightly. The distance returned. Cold, Controlled.
"Be ready tomorrow," he said. "We're attending an event." Lucy frowned. "I didn't agree to that."
"You don't need to." Her anger flared again. "Jack—"
"8 PM," he cut in. And just like that, he turned and walked toward the door. Lucy clenched her fists. "I'm not going," she said firmly. Jack stopped at the door. For a moment, he didn't move. Then—
"Try it," he said without turning around. And left.
The next evening came faster than she expected. Lucy stood in front of the mirror again.
Another dress, another version of herself.
But this time… something felt different. She wasn't nervous. She was angry, determined.
If Jack thought he could control her… He was wrong, very wrong. She stepped out of her room,
And froze.
Jack was already waiting. Dressed in a black suit as always. But this time, his eyes lingered longer.
Not cold, not distant, something else.
Something she couldn't quite understand.
"You are late," he said. Lucy walked past him. "I told you I wasn't going. "And yet, here you are."
She didn't respond. They walked out together.
The car ride was silent, Heavy, but not empty.
Something was building—something neither of them said. At the event, all eyes were on them.
The camera flashed.
People whispered.
Lucy felt it immediately—the pressure, the judgment, the curiosity. Jack placed a hand lightly on her waist. She stiffened.
"Relax," he murmured. "They're watching."
"I don't care," she whispered back. "You should."
Lucy forced a smile for the cameras. But inside…she was boiling.
As they walked further into the hall, Lucy leaned slightly closer to him. "Don't touch me like that again," she said under her breath. Jack's grip tightened slightly.
"Then stop giving them reasons to question us."
Lucy's smile didn't falter. But her voice dropped.
"Or what?" Jack leaned closer. "Or I'll make you." Her heart skipped. Not in fear. Not exactly. Something else, something dangerous.
Later that night, back at the mansion—
Lucy walked ahead of him, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. The moment they stopped inside, she turned to him.
"I'm not doing this again." Jack loosened his tie slightly. "You don't have a choice."
"I always have a choice." Jack stepped closer. Slowly, deliberately.
"And what will you do?" he asked. Lucy lifted her chin. "I will stop playing your game." Jack's eyes darkened. "You are already in it." The air between them shifted, something electric, something unstable.
Lucy didn't back away this time. Neither did he. They stood there.
Too close.
Too aware.
Too…something.
And then—
Jack reached out, Lucy's breath caught. His finger brushed lightly against her arm—
And for the first time … She didn't pull away.
Lucy didn't move, didn't speak
Didn't stop him. And Jack…
Didn't stop himself either.