The morning after their confrontation settled like a bruise on Elena's chest. It didn't throb anymore, but every breath reminded her it existed. The apartment was still, far too still for a place Adrian had stormed out of only hours ago.
She stood at the sink, struggling with the simple act of washing a glass. Her hands kept slipping, not from soap but from the weight in her stomach. She tried humming to fill the silence, but even her voice sounded foreign.
And then there was the message she kept staring at.
From: Adrian
I'll send someone to pick you up at noon. Don't walk alone today.
No "good morning".
No "are you alright?".
Just that protective, controlling, maddening line.
It annoyed her.
It comforted her.
It confused her.
She wiped her hands on a towel and turned away from the phone. She was done letting Adrian dictate her entire morning. She would go to the café early, pretend everything was fine, and force her mind to stay busy.
But as she grabbed her bag, she paused.
The faintest scent of his cologne still clung to the hallway. His jacket remained draped over the back of a chair. One side of the bed was still messy from where he had sat before leaving.
Her chest tightened.
She shook her head.
No. Not today.
She grabbed the jacket and tossed it on the couch as if distancing herself from it would untangle everything inside her
Adrian wasn't sleeping either.
He sat in the back of his car, staring at the tablet in his hands. The screen displayed the nightclub's security footage, but someone had wiped sections clean. Entire minutes were missing. The kind of digital erasure only professionals could manage.
And professionals didn't show up by accident.
"Who accessed the servers?" he asked quietly.
His head of security shifted uneasily. "We're tracing it. Someone knew what they were looking for."
Adrian clenched his jaw. He didn't look furious. He looked controlled. Too controlled.
The kind of controlled that meant a storm was coming.
"What about the man who touched Elena?" he asked.
"We found nothing on him. No ID. No digital trail. It's like he doesn't exist."
Adrian leaned back, eyes focused, dangerous calm settling around him.
People didn't simply "not exist."
Someone had put that man there.
And someone had covered it up.
He closed the tablet.
"Continue the search. Quietly," he said. "I don't want Elena involved."
"Yes, sir."
But the moment the words left Adrian's mouth, he knew it was pointless. Elena was already involved. He'd dragged her into his world the moment he touched her. And now she was caught in a mess she didn't even know existed.
He rubbed his forehead, frustration creeping in.
He wanted to go to her.
He wanted to apologize.
He wanted to explain.
But wanting and doing were two different things. He had no idea how to walk toward her without pushing her away.
At the café
Elena forced a smile as she walked in. The bell above the door chimed too cheerfully for her mood.
Mara looked up from the counter, narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
"You look like you didn't sleep."
Elena blinked. "I'm fine."
"Don't lie to me before I've had coffee."
A weak laugh escaped her, and somehow that small chipping of her mask made her chest ache harder.
They worked together in a quiet rhythm. But every few minutes, Elena caught herself drifting into her thoughts again.
The man at the club.
Adrian's hand gripping her arm.
His voice shaking when he said her name.
The way he looked at her, like he wanted to protect her from everything and ruin her at the same time.
She shook her head, annoyed with herself.
He said he didn't want to control her.
But he acted like he did.
He cared.
But he scared her.
Not because he'd hurt her, but because he could emotionally, not physically.
The thought left her unsettled.
At noon
A black SUV pulled up outside the café.
Elena stared at it through the window. Seriously?
Could he be any more dramatic?
Mara raised a brow. "Is someone kidnapping you or…?"
Elena groaned. "Adrian sent it."
Mara made a low whistle. "Well. That man is either charming or insane."
"Both," Elena muttered.
She hesitated at the door.
Part of her wanted to refuse the ride out of pure stubbornness.
Another part of her felt strangely safe knowing Adrian was watching out for her.
Inside the car, the driver gave her a polite nod. "Miss Elena, Mr. Roman asked me to take you home after your shift as well."
Of course he did.
She looked out the window, chewing her lip. The city passed in a blur, but her mind kept returning to Adrian's face when he had yelled at her. She'd seen something in his eyes she hadn't recognized.
Fear.
Fear for her.
Why?
She had no idea.
But the question followed her all day.
Adrian couldn't focus either.
He was supposed to be in back-to-back meetings.
Instead, he stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, staring out at the skyline like the answer was hiding in the clouds.
Why did he care so much?
He'd been with women before. He'd protected people before. But Elena… she clawed her way into his mind without trying.
He remembered the panic that rose in him when he saw the stranger's hand on her. It wasn't reasonable. It wasn't controlled. It wasn't him.
It was raw.
He hated raw.
It reminded him of the things he promised never to feel again.
His phone buzzed.
Update:
Someone paid the club manager to erase the footage. Cash. Untraceable.
Adrian's blood turned cold.
Someone was targeting Elena.
And if they were targeting Elena, it had something to do with him.
His expression darkened.
He wasn't letting anything touch her.
Not again.
Not ever.
Back at Elena's apartment
She had just stepped inside when her door vibrated from three sharp knocks.
Her stomach flipped.
She swung the door open...
Adrian.
He looked tired, but steady. Like someone who'd been fighting a battle internally and finally decided to face it.
Elena froze. "You could've called."
Adrian stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. His presence filled the room so completely she had to take a step back to breathe.
"I'm not here to argue," he said quietly.
She folded her arms. "Good. Because I'm tired."
"I know." His voice softened in a way that always caught her off guard. "Elena… I shouldn't have yelled at you last night."
Her jaw tensed. "You can't protect me by controlling me."
He didn't deny it. "I know."
There was something in his eyes she hadn't seen before. A crack. A vulnerability he hated showing.
"I just need you safe," he murmured.
"Why?" she whispered before she could stop herself.
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
He looked at her like he was weighing every possible truth he could say.
Then his voice dropped, low and almost… scared.
"Because someone is trying to hurt you."
Elena's breath hitched.
Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.
"W-what do you mean?"
Adrian stepped closer, slow and deliberate. His fingers brushed her wrist, barely touching.
"The man at the club wasn't random."
Her blood went cold.
"And I won't let anything happen to you," he added softly. "Even if you hate me for it."
Her breath shook.
She didn't know whether to step away or step toward him.
The air between them tightened.
This wasn't the arguing kind of tension.
It was the kind that pulled them closer even when they tried staying apart.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
"Elena… I need you to trust me."
She swallowed. "I'm trying."
He nodded once, like that small answer meant more to him than she realized.
But there were still questions.
Still danger.
Still things unsaid.
And for the first time, both of them sensed it:
The silence before the real storm had officially ended.