The office was strangely quiet when Elena walked in the next morning. Like the calm before a storm. Or worse—the calm before a birthday surprise party you didn't ask for.
As she stepped into the open workspace, all heads turned. Literally. Like dominos. One by one. And then…
"Good morning, Mrs. CEO," whispered one intern, followed by a snort from the marketing team.
Elena froze.
"Wait, is that a smile from Ethan sir? That's twice this week!" someone whispered dramatically.
Another muttered, "She got the boss. What a legend."
Elena clenched her jaw. "It's not what you think!" she snapped before realizing she just made it sound exactly like what they think.
The gossip had gone wild after the HR meeting. She could hear snippets everywhere—
"Did you hear she brings him lunch?"
"I swear I saw her holding his hand once!"
"Maybe it's a sugar daddy thing."
By the time she reached her desk, she'd been called:
1. A gold digger.
2. A mastermind.
3. A romantic lead in a K-drama.
4. "The girl who stole the CEO's heart and probably his Netflix password."
Ethan, of course, was the calm in the chaos. He showed up at her desk—again—with two coffees and zero awareness of how dramatic everything looked. Or maybe he was just pretending.
"You're being talked about," he said casually, placing the cup on her desk.
"No kidding," she hissed. "This is your fault, husband."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Ouch. That sounded personal."
"You called me your wife! In public!"
"I was trying to stop HR from asking more questions."
"You could've said, 'co-worker'! Or 'office plant'! Anything but wife!"
Ethan leaned down slightly, his voice dropping to a soft murmur, "But you are my wife… contractually speaking."
Elena groaned into her coffee and muttered, "Next time, I'm writing the contract."
Just then, the office lights flickered, and Alex—yes, little Alex—ran past with a foam sword and a cape made from someone's jacket yelling, "Defend the Queen!"
Ethan blinked. "Should we be worried?"
"Yes," Elena sighed. "That my life is turning into a circus."