The Control Group

Rich Blackwood’s younger brother was filming a reality dating show at the family estate.
And as it turned out, Rich and I became the unwitting control group for this celebrity couple.
At first, the internet mocked me. I was just the wallpaper wife, the bland backdrop to a glittering romance. My husband was distant, my mother-in-law impossible.
But then… the comments started to change.
Netizens began tagging the show’s producers:
[@Showrunners We're here for Rich and his wife! A million of us are begging you, give them more screen time!]
[I live for squinting at the corners of the screen, just to catch a crumb of their sweetness!]
[My blood sugar is crashing. I need a dose of the main couple, stat!]

1
Leo Blackwood’s love life was a whirlwind romance, the kind that lit up the gossip columns and trended on social media every other day. His girlfriend was Seraphina Vance, one of the most celebrated actresses of her generation.
The infamous playboy was finally settling down.
He’d spent a month wearing down his older brother, Rich, until he finally relented and agreed to let them film their new reality show at the historic Blackwood estate.
Rich didn’t bother telling me until a week before the cameras were due to arrive.
“It’s just for a few segments,” he said, his voice even. “If you don’t want to be on camera, we can move out for the duration of the shoot.”
I was sprawled lazily across our bed, the smooth curve of my shoulder and neck a pale glimmer against the cascade of my dark hair. “Forget it,” I murmured. “Too much effort to move.”
I’d been married to Rich for three years, and the estate had become my home. The thought of packing up and relocating, even temporarily, was exhausting.

2
The day filming began, I drifted downstairs in a sleepy haze, my eyes still heavy with sleep. Rich had already instructed the crew not to film me without permission.
The ground floor was already buzzing with activity. Seraphina stood in the center of it all, a queen holding court, flanked by an entourage. She was already playing the part of the lady of the manor.
She caught sight of me descending the grand staircase and, with a flourish of warmth, called out to the housekeeper.
“Mrs. Gable, could you please prepare breakfast for my sister-in-law as well?”
Mrs. Gable hesitated, her eyes flicking to me for confirmation.
I let out a soft yawn and gave a slight nod. Only then did she signal to the kitchen staff.
Leo, already at the dining table, greeted me with a cheerful, “Morning, Nora.”
I blinked slowly, my mind still foggy. “Morning.”
“Rich already left for the office?” he asked.
“Hm? I guess so,” I replied, the uncertainty clear in my voice. After all, the man rose with the sun. Even a night of passionate reunion after a week apart couldn’t disrupt his clockwork precision.
But that was Rich Blackwood for you.
As the heir to the Blackwood fortune, he was the embodiment of discipline and self-control, forged from a lifetime of expectation. He never allowed himself to lose his composure. Even our intimacy was governed by a quiet, unspoken schedule.
While I waited for my food, Seraphina suddenly glided over and sat beside me, looping her arm through mine with a practiced smile aimed at a nearby camera.
“This is Nora’s first time on camera, so she might be a little shy,” she cooed to her audience. “I hope all my wonderful fans will be gentle with her!”
She turned to me, her smile unwavering. “Don’t be nervous, Nora. My fans are the sweetest people.”
And just like that, with no makeup and a thoroughly bewildered expression, I made my television debut.
Seraphina kept one eye on the live comment feed, her lips curved in a saccharine smile as she cherry-picked questions to answer.
“You think Nora looks familiar? Hmm, maybe it’s because she has one of those classic, relatable faces.”
“You’re asking her age? Shhh! It’s not polite to ask a lady her age, you know.”
After a few more carefully selected questions, she noticed the audience’s attention was still stubbornly fixed on me. With a slight huff, she shifted back to her original seat, trying to reclaim the spotlight.
The live chat, however, was still on fire.
[So that's Leo's sister-in-law? The wife of the Blackwood Corporation's CEO?]
[She really does look familiar! And not in a ‘relatable face’ way. I swear I’ve seen her on TV before!]
[Is she trying to ride Sera’s coattails to get famous?]
[Sera is too kind, letting her steal the spotlight for free.]
[I’m only here for Seraphina! She’s so gorgeous!!!]
[Sera is living the dream. A fiancé that handsome, that rich, and he adores her!]
And me? I was a million miles away.
Tired. I was just so profoundly tired.
Rich had just returned from a week-long business trip. The ever-so-proper man had been possessed by a feverish energy the night before, determined to make up for a week of lost time.
My body was still paying the price.

3
After breakfast, Leo disappeared into the study to handle some business. This left me vulnerable, and Seraphina, ever the enthusiast, seized the opportunity. She pulled me onto the sofa to help her choose a wedding dress. She and Leo were engaged, with the wedding just around the corner.
“Nora, what do you think of this one? Isn’t it divine?”
I glanced from her face to the glossy pages of the bridal catalogue. “It’s beautiful.”
“And this one?”
Another glance. “Also beautiful.”
“Nora,” she began, flipping a page with feigned casualness, “I heard you and Rich never had a wedding ceremony.”
I took a loud crunch of my apple. CRUNCH. A beat later, I replied, “We didn’t.”
Seraphina gasped, her hand flying to her lips in theatrical shock. “Rich wouldn’t even give you a wedding?”
I shook my head, offering a simple explanation. “I was the one who didn’t want one.”
Our marriage was an arrangement between two powerful families, a merger of assets, not hearts. There were no feelings involved. Before we signed the papers, he had asked me, “When would you like to have the wedding? A church or a beach ceremony?”
At the time, I held no grand illusions about our union. We were strangers who knew each other only by name. The thought of standing before a priest, exchanging rings and a kiss with a man I didn’t know… it was absurd.
“Let’s just skip it,” I’d said without a second thought. “It feels pointless.”
I remember how he’d watched me then, his gaze deep and unreadable. After a long silence, he’d simply agreed.
Whenever anyone asked, he told them it was his decision not to have a ceremony, shouldering all the gossip and judgment himself.
Seraphina seemed not to have heard me, lost in her own monologue. “Every woman dreams of her perfect wedding day,” she lamented, her voice dripping with sympathy for me. “How could Rich deny you that?”
Seeing her pitying look, I decided it wasn’t worth explaining further. I just stayed silent.
“Leo told me he’s going to give me the wedding of the century,” she went on, her tone a delicate blend of complaint and boast. “I told him not to be so extravagant, but he insisted. He said he would never give me a single reason to regret marrying him.”
She sighed dramatically. “But all of these gowns are just so exquisite. I’m completely overwhelmed with choices!”
It was a performance of blissful agony, and her fans online were eating it up.
[Leo spoils her so much! Seraphina is the luckiest woman alive.]
[This is what I’m here for! Sera and Leo are so sweet, it’s giving me a toothache.]
[Talk about a reality check. Look at Nora’s face, she’s totally sour.]
[Can you blame her? Her marriage is just a business deal. I bet Rich was the one who refused to have a wedding.]
“Nora, my head is spinning,” Seraphina said, pushing the catalogue towards me. “Why don’t you pick one for me?”
I idly flipped through a few pages, then pointed to a design. “This one’s very elegant.”
Seraphina gave it a dismissive glance. “The waistline isn’t very flattering.” She snapped the book shut. “Oh, never mind. I’ll just have Leo help me choose later. He has impeccable taste.”

4
After wedding dresses came the rings.
“Nora, didn’t Rich get you a wedding ring?” Seraphina asked, her eyes fixed on my left hand.
On my ring finger sat a simple, unadorned band. The sigil etched into it was strange, almost like something you’d find in a two-dollar trinket shop.
“He did.”
I glanced down at the ring. The day we got our marriage license, I’d found two boxes on the nightstand. One held a diamond ring so large and brilliant it was blinding. The other held this one.
Rich had asked which one I preferred.
While I found this one a bit ugly, the diamond was so enormous it felt impractical for daily life. Without much thought, I’d chosen the simple band.
“That’s it? Did he buy it from a corner store? Haha,” she laughed, a little too loudly. “Oh, Nora, you know me, I’m always joking. Don’t take it personally.” She stuck her tongue out playfully for the camera.
Then, she held up her own slender hand, showcasing the massive diamond sparkling on her middle finger—her engagement ring from Leo.
She waved it around. “I told Leo not to be so extravagant. A diamond this big is just heavy, and it gets in the way. But he wouldn’t listen, he’s just so stubborn.”
She sighed again, a picture of put-upon adoration. “And just the other day, he told me I have to pick a wedding ring that’s even bigger than this one.”
“Nora, you have to help me choose.”
“Of course,” I said. I had nothing better to do, so I started flipping through the catalogue of rings.
Just then, Leo finished his work and emerged from the study. He wrapped his arms around Seraphina’s shoulders, planting a kiss on her cheek. “How’s the ring shopping going, my love?”
Seraphina blushed prettily. “Nora and I were just looking.” Then, she changed the subject. “Leo, your brother is really something else. He couldn’t even be bothered to buy Nora a proper ring.”
“Why don’t we buy one for her?” she suggested, her voice full of magnanimous concern. “It would be like we’re making up for Rich’s oversight.”
She must have expected him to agree immediately, to praise her thoughtfulness.
Instead, Leo’s eyes flicked to my hand, and a bemused smile touched his lips.
“Sera, honey, you shouldn’t underestimate that ring,” he said casually. “That’s not just any piece of jewelry. That’s the Blackwood family signet, passed down through generations. It marks the matriarch of the family.”
He leaned in, his voice dropping conspiratorially. “As long as she wears that ring, seeing her is the same as seeing my brother. She could walk anywhere in this city and command respect.”
The words hung in the air.
Seraphina’s perfect smile vanished. For the first time, she looked genuinely stunned. Her gaze snapped back to my ring, now filled with a mixture of disbelief, assessment, and a raw, unconcealed longing.
I froze.
This ugly little ring meant that?
Why hadn’t Rich told me? I thought it was just a simple, lightweight band. That’s the only reason I’d been wearing it all this time.
[WHOA. I knew that ring was special! If you look closely, that symbol on it is the Blackwood family crest!]
[I thought Rich didn’t care about her, but he gave her the ultimate symbol of power!]
[Don’t worry, Sera, you’ll get one too when you marry Leo.]
[Probably not. There’s only one matriarch. Unless something happens to Rich and Leo takes over the family business.]
[Why shouldn’t Sera get one?! Just because Leo is the younger brother, she can’t be the matriarch and wear the ring?!]
[Rich is supposed to dislike Nora, right? So why would he give it to her?]
[She’s his wife, and he’s the heir. Who else would he give it to, you?]
The online chat exploded into a fierce debate over the ring.
Seraphina was seething with jealousy, her eyes glued to my hand. It took Leo prompting her—"Sera, what’s wrong?"—for her to finally tear her gaze away.
She quickly grabbed Leo and pulled him to the other end of the sofa to look at rings, far away from me.

5
That evening, I found Rich in his study. He’d come home late, but instead of being buried in work as usual, he was watching something on his tablet.
A closer look revealed it was a recording of our reality show from earlier that day.
“Come here,” he said, patting his lap.
I went over without a word and settled onto his lap as he wrapped an arm around my waist. It was a familiar routine.
Our first year of marriage had been spent as polite strangers. He was always traveling for work, and I was busy with my own career. We barely saw each other.
Then came New Year’s Eve.
I was at the estate with his parents, watching the televised countdown. Outside the large French windows, fireworks exploded in silent, brilliant bursts against the night sky.
In the flickering light, I heard a sound from the foyer.
I turned to look. It was Rich. He was standing there in a long, black overcoat, a suitcase at his feet. His mother had said he wouldn’t be back until after the holiday.
With his parents watching, a strange impulse took over me. I walked over, took his coat from him, and hung it up.
When I turned back, I froze. I’d surprised myself. He looked just as surprised.
From that day on, something shifted. Rich’s pace slowed. He stopped living out of a suitcase. And slowly, steadily, we settled into the quiet, comfortable rhythm of married life.
Now, sitting on his lap felt as natural as breathing.
“You never told me this ring was so important,” I said, slipping the band off my finger. I held it up to the porcelain-white light of the lamp, squinting at the tiny, intricate crest.
He’d given it to me so casually. I’d worn it just as casually. I had no idea this unassuming little thing carried so much weight.
Rich took my hand, gently taking the ring from me and sliding it back onto my finger.
“It was never important on its own,” he said, his eyes fixed on my hand as he toyed with my fingers.
“It’s only important because it’s on yours.”

6
To show their enthusiastic support for their future daughter-in-law, Rich’s parents made a special trip back to the estate for a family dinner, despite their chaotic schedules.
Faced with a house full of cameras, they were understandably a little stiff, but they did their best to act naturally.
For once, Rich was home from work on time. As he was taking off his shoes in the foyer, the camera crew, ever the opportunists, pretended to pan across the room, letting the lens linger on him for a split second before darting away.
It was only a second, but it was enough to send the online audience into a frenzy.
[IS THAT RICH?! OH MY GOD! THE LEGEND FINALLY SHOWS HIS FACE! HE’S GORGEOUS!]
[He’s just as handsome as Leo, maybe even more so with that powerful aura he has!]
[Nora is living the good life. With a husband like that, who cares about a wedding? I’d marry him in a heartbeat!]
That one-second glimpse of Rich sent a new wave of viewers flooding into the livestream.
At the dinner table, Seraphina was the perfect prospective bride, charming and sweet, and the atmosphere was pleasant.
As the conversation flowed, Rich’s mother turned her gaze to me. Noticing my constant yawning, her eyes drifted down to my stomach.
“Still no news from you two?” she asked pointedly.
[Here we go. The classic ‘heir-pressure’ scene in every wealthy family drama.]
[You can tell his mom doesn’t like Nora. The first thing she does is ask about a baby.]
[She’s so calculating. She’s probably saying it for Seraphina’s benefit, a little warning shot.]
I shot a look at Rich. He was eating quietly, pretending not to have heard a thing.
“Mom,” I said, a sly smile playing on my lips. “You’ll have to ask him about that.” I passed the buck squarely to him, giving him a meaningful stare.
His mother’s attention shifted to her eldest son, waiting for his answer.
Rich met my gaze, his expression calm. Then, he announced to the table, “We’re working on it. We’re aiming for two in three years.”
Excuse me?
Under the table, I reached over and pinched his thigh. It was solid muscle, hard to get a good grip. I mouthed at him silently: What the hell are you talking about?
Didn’t we agree I could have kids whenever I wanted?
He captured my hand under the table, his warm palm easily enveloping mine. I tried to pull away, but his grip was firm. I shot him another angry glare.
Rich just smiled, a faint, teasing light in his eyes, and mouthed back: Behave.
His mother watched our silent, flirtatious battle, and a slow smile spread across her face. She slid a gold credit card across the table towards me. “Nora, dear, you’ve been putting up with a lot lately. Take this and buy yourself something nice. If it’s not enough, just ask for more.”
I hadn’t even finished spending the money on the last card she gave me. That one had a seven-figure limit. This one was probably even more.
Seraphina’s eyes widened with envy as she stared at the card lying casually on the table. But she wasn’t officially a Blackwood yet, not Mrs. Leo Blackwood, so she couldn’t very well ask for one herself.
She forced a bright smile. “Nora, Mrs. Blackwood is so good to you. She treats you just like her own daughter.”
Rich’s mother beamed with pride. “Of course she is. Having Nora marry into our family was the best thing that could have happened to us.”
Seraphina’s smile faltered for a moment.
His mother, sensing the shift, quickly added, “Of course, you’re wonderful too, Seraphina.”
Leo jumped in to smooth things over. “Don’t worry, Sera. My mom is very generous. She treats everyone equally. Whatever Nora has, you’ll have too.”
Only then did Seraphina’s smile become genuine again. “Thank you, Mrs. Blackwood.”
“Thank you, Mom,” I said, cheerfully pocketing the card. My personal slush fund was overflowing again. I was so pleased that I even ate the piece of carrot Rich had placed in my bowl—a vegetable I despised.
Seeing this, he promptly placed another serving of carrots in my bowl.
I glanced at him, but he was completely composed, focusing intently on his meal. I pouted and pushed the offending vegetable to the side.
[I love this mother-in-law. When in doubt, just throw money at the problem. Sign me up.]
[Guys, I think… I think I’m starting to ship Nora and Rich!]
[Scavenging for crumbs in the corner of the frame again!]
[This? You call this shipping material? You’re desperate. Go watch Sera and Leo, they’re the real deal.]

7
After dinner, my in-laws left for another social engagement. The Blackwood brothers disappeared into the study to talk business.
Once again, it was just me and Seraphina downstairs.
I was about to head up to my room and give her the space, but she caught my arm.
Seraphina was the brand ambassador for a major domestic luxury label. Recently, the brand had organized a high-profile charity fundraiser, and as the face of the company, she was expected to make a significant opening donation.
But she clearly didn’t want to be the only one writing a big check.
While nibbling on a post-dinner pastry, she casually brought it up.
“Nora, would you be interested in donating as well?”
As she explained the cause, I quietly pulled out my phone and messaged my assistant, asking her to verify the legitimacy of the charity project.
Seeing my silence, Seraphina pressed on. “Of course, it’s fine if you’d rather not. It’s just, my heart breaks for those poor children in the mountains. They don’t have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear. Donating a little something is the least we can do.”
She paused, as if calculating. “I saw some of the other celebrities pledged fifty thousand… so I was thinking, maybe I’ll donate one hundred…”
Her sentence was cut short by my response.
“I’ll donate one million.” My assistant had just replied, confirming the project was legitimate.
Seraphina stared at me, speechless.
“The money will come from me,” I continued, “but please put it under my mother-in-law’s name. By the way, how much did you say you were donating?”
A moment ago, Seraphina had been preening, proud of her intended six-figure donation. After all, not many celebrities could afford to part with that kind of money. She was only offering that much because she was on camera and didn’t want to appear cheap.
But I had just raised the stakes to a million.
In front of millions of viewers, she couldn’t afford to back down.

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