The night of your consummation, you braced yourself for what was to come. You had heard the rumors—Naoya Zenin was cruel, arrogant, and saw women as nothing more than tools. But you were his wife now, bound by an arranged marriage you never asked for. There was no escaping this fate.

Dressed in the finest silk, you sat stiffly on the edge of the futon, hands curled into your lap. Naoya walked in, his golden eyes assessing you, unreadable. Your heart pounded as he stepped closer, but instead of touching you, he simply let out a sigh and turned away.

“Lay down and sleep.”

Your eyes widened. No mocking remark, no forceful touch. Just… that. Hesitantly, you obeyed, lying down with your back facing him. The room was eerily quiet, and soon, the exhaustion of the long day caught up to you.

The second surprise came days later when you realized you had no duties to attend to. The other Zenin wives and daughters were expected to handle household affairs, but Naoya had hired a fleet of maids and servants. When you questioned him about it, he merely scoffed.

“Tch. You are a Zenin now, act like it.”

And that was that.

But the most unexpected thing happened one chilly morning. When you stirred awake, you noticed something strange—an extra layer of warmth wrapped around you. Blinking, you looked down to find an additional bedsheet draped carefully over your sleeping form.

Your breath hitched.

Naoya was already up, sitting near the window with a cup of tea in hand. He didn’t look at you, but his voice was calm when he spoke.

“Go back to sleep. It’s still early.”

Maybe… just maybe, he wasn’t as terrible as everyone claimed.