Adrien walked back in like he owned the world. Calm, cold, composed.
"Sorry, I had an important call," he said sliding back into his seat with all the arrogance of soone who had never known chaos.
"So, where were we?"
Then his eyes t mine.
My breath caught in my throat.
Thump. Thump-thump.
It was the kind of silence you feel before everything breaks. The mont before a dam cracks before thunder splits the sky.
"What happened?" he asked, his gaze still on ... but his voice was directed at the man across the table.
The client feigned ignorance with a half-shrug and a smile that made my stomach twist. "I’m not sure what you an."
Adrien’s eyes didn’t leave mine as his jaw clenched.
"Co here," he said to .
I couldn’t move. My legs were stiff and my chest felt tight. And before I even realized it, the tears ca─pouring like rain I couldn’t stop.
Why was I crying?
I didn’t know.
Maybe it was because I was exhausted.
maybe because I have not had a good sleep in days.
Maybe it was the pain in my wrist.
Maybe it was the humiliation, or the fear or the fact that no one had ever looked at like I mattered─until now.
Adrien stood abruptly the chair screeching across the floor.
His fist slamd into the table with a deafening crack.
"What the fuck did you do to her!?" he roared, his voice thundering through the room like an explosion making flinch a little.
ADRIEN’S POV
I ended the call and sighed. Trust my father to drag into another power play right in the middle of a delicate eting. I adjusted my sleeves and pushed open the conference room door.
"Sorry, I had an important call," I said as I slid into my seat barely glancing at the client while I masked the irritation in my tone with practiced ease.
"So, where were we?" I asked him.
Then I stopped.
Sothing’s off.
The room feels... wrong. Like walking into a place just after a fire’s gone out─silent, tense, but still hot with sothing ugly.
My eyes found hers imdiately.
She wasn’t looking at the way she usually does─no eye-roll or so sort of attitude, no barely concealed hatred. Nothing. Just silence.
And that’s what fucked with the most.
Her eyes─red-rimd and glossy. Her bun, always tight and precise had a single strand hanging down her cheek. Her shirt looked like soone had grabbed it. One earring gone. She looked... small. Off. Not just tired or just worn out. Like she’d just been through sothing she wasn’t ready to talk about.
My jaw tightens.
She’s just sitting there, her hands clenched in her lap and eyes locked on but they aren’t really looking at .
They’re... screaming.
There’s this wetness in them, not enough to fall just enough to ache. Like she’s on the edge of sothing.
She looks... scared.
Not of . Just scared.
What the hell happened while I was gone?
Ding. My ears rang.
There it was. That feeling, the gut-deep instinct I had before a deal went sideways or soone betrayed . That split-second of clarity before a storm broke loose.
Sothing happened.
And I knew─I fucking knew─it happened while I was gone.
"What happened?" I asked my eyes still on her but my voice cut sharp toward him.
The bastard had the nerve to smile. That plastic, greasy smile that said he thought he still had control. "I’m not sure what you an."
Liar.
I didn’t look at him I didn’t need to. My attention was still locked on her.
And then─fuck.
"Co here," I said, more gently than I expected to.
She didn’t move she just stared.
Then her shoulders shook. Her head lowered and suddenly─tears. Real, ssy, gut-wrenching tears. Not the dramatic kind people use to manipulate. These were the kind you cry when your body gives out before your mind does. A genuine... tear
Why was she crying?
I didn’t know but I was going to find out And God help him when I did.
My hand slamd the table before I even realized I’d moved. The noise cracked through the room like a gunshot.
"What the fuck did you do to her?" my voice thundered in a demanding manner.
ISABELLA’S POV
The man started stamring, he hands raised slightly like they could protect him from the fire in Adrien’s eyes.
"Mr. Walton, calm down─this slut seduced , it’s nothing serious."
My blood turned cold.
Did he just─
"Nothing serious?" Adrien’s voice dropped. Quiet. Dangerous.
Then boom. His fist drove into the man’s gut and the client doubled over gasping for air. Adrien turned away like he was trying to control in the rage surging off him in waves.
I was still in my seat, wiping at the tears I didn’t even realize were still falling. God, this couldn’t happen. A deal ruined because of ? No. I couldn’t let that happen.
I stood and walked up to him, gently placing a hand on his arm. "I’m fine," I said trying to sound stronger than I felt. "Please. It’s nothing."
He looked at like I’d grown a second head.
"You think I’m a baby?" he asked quietly.
I froze.
He turned back to the man, his voice as cold as the arctic. "The deal is off," he said. "Also, you’ll be paying the consequences."
He leaned down slightly, his eyes sharp and cruel. "Consider your company going bankrupt and shutting up before the end of today."
The room dropped to a deeper silence. The kind that made you believe in monsters.
And Adrien Walton? At that mont, he didn’t just look like one.
He looked like karma. Dressed in a thousand-dollar suit.
I didn’t know how my legs carried out of that room.
The mont Adrien turned his back on the bastard, he reached for my hand─firm, possessive─but not rough. He didn’t say a word as we walked out. I didn’t either. I couldn’t.
The client was still groaning on the floor when the door slamd shut behind us.
The hallway felt too quiet. Like the storm was behind us but the thunder still echoed in my chest.
We reached the elevator and he pressed the button. Silence.
I stole a glance at him.
His jaw was tight and his eyes were colder than I’d ever seen them. He was angry─furious. Does he care about... ?
I knew why he looked scary And maybe... maybe that terrified more than anything.
When the elevator dinged open, I stepped in first. He followed.
The mont the doors closed I felt the air shift again.
"You should’ve told ," he said, voice low.
"I didn’t want to ruin anything," I whispered.
His head snapped toward . "You think a contract ans more to than you being manhandled?"
The elevator doors slid shut with a soft hiss, sealing us inside.
For a mont I thought the silence would stretch forever.
Then─he let go of my hand like it was poison.
"Stop getting into situations that makes save you," he said, his voice low and sharp. "It’s disgusting."
I froze. My chest tightened, throat dry. Disgusting? Was that how he saw ?
Before I could process the sting of his words, he pulled out his phone like I was no longer even there.
"Hello? Make sure Blake & Weller is shut down within the next two minutes. He committed an unforgivable sin." His tone was flat and cold.
And just like that, soone’s entire company was gone.
Ding.
The elevator opened.
Neither of us spoke as we walked out. The air between us was colder than the damn hotel lobby. I didn’t look at him I couldn’t.
And maybe... just maybe... I didn’t want him to look at either.
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