Ella forced herself to close her mouth and look away, gripping her fork so hard her knuckles turned white. She composed herself with the sheer force of will, refusing to give him the satisfaction of her awe.
"It's just hair dye," she muttered, returning to her salad.
Adrian sat down opposite her, his movements fluid and graceful. He didn't eat immediately.
Instead, he adjusted his cuffs and leaned back, gazing at her through his tinted lenses.
The silence that followed was suffocating. The only sounds were the soft clinking of Ella's fork and the distant, panicked whispers of the servants in the kitchen trying to process the fact that their master now looked like a top celebrity.
Adrian watched Ella for a long time. His gaze seemed to be gauging the woman who did not spare him a second glance. He had expected to see her awestruck.
But after the first moment of astonishment, she seemed to have gone into her own mind, totally lost in her thoughts.
