Chapter 11 — The Distance Between Us
The door clicked shut behind Rafael, but the echo of his presence stayed.
The penthouse felt different.
Not invaded.
Marked.
Aria stood still, staring at the last place Rafael had been, as if his shadow still lingered there. She didn't tremble. She didn't panic. She simply went quiet.
And that was what unsettled Adrian.
He stepped closer—but didn't touch her.
Not yet.
"Aria."
She didn't look at him.
"Don't ask me to talk," she said softly.
Adrian didn't.
He simply stayed.
And that was worse than any question.
The silence between them was not empty.
It was full.
Full of things unsaid, of battles fought in the dark, of versions of themselves they didn't want to face.
Aria walked toward the window, the city lights reflecting across her face. She looked like a statue carved from something strong and breakable all at once.
Finally, she exhaled.
"He won't stop," she said.
Adrian's tone did not shift. "No."
"He'll push. He'll circle. He'll wait until I'm tired." Her voice dropped. "He knows where I break."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "He thinks he knows."
Aria's eyes flicked to him.
"You're very confident in your ability to keep me together," she said.
"I'm confident in your ability to hold yourself together," Adrian replied.
That was unexpected.
Most people saw Aria as strong in the same way a wall is strong: solid until it cracks.
Adrian saw her as a bow:
Built to bend, not break.
She didn't know whether to thank him or run from him.
"He's not after you," she said.
"He's after who I was."
Adrian stepped closer—close enough to touch her, but he didn't.
"Then show me."
Aria froze.
Her heartbeat slipped—like a step missed on a staircase.
"I'm not asking for the story," Adrian continued.
"I'm asking for the truth. Not the words. The person."
Her throat tightened. "You think you want to see that. You don't."
"Yes," Adrian said quietly.
"I do."
She turned fully now, facing him.
"You want to know what I was?" she asked. "What he made me into?"
Adrian didn't flinch.
"Yes."
Aria stepped toward him—slowly—like moving through water.
Closer.
Closer.
Until her breath touched his.
She didn't soften.
She sharpened.
Her voice lowered to a whisper that felt like a blade against the skin:
"I could look at a man and know exactly what he feared. I could say three words and break him. I learned to smile while destroying someone from the inside out. I didn't feel guilt. Or empathy. Or anything at all."
Her eyes were calm.
Steady.
Cold.
"I could ruin you," she finished.
Adrian didn't move back.
Didn't look away.
He leaned just slightly closer.
"You could," he agreed.
"But you won't."
Aria's breath hitched.
"Don't be so sure."
Adrian's voice stayed soft.
"I am."
Silence pulsed between them.
Not like a threat.
Like heat.
A slow burn.
Aria's eyes flickered—not away, not down—but to his mouth.
For a moment, just a moment, she leaned in—
And then she broke away.
She stepped back, one smooth controlled movement, like a soldier returning to attention.
"We need to sleep," she said, though neither of them could.
But Adrian didn't stop her.
He didn't reach.
He didn't pull.
He understood.
If he touched her now, she would shatter—into something too dangerous to gather back together.
So he simply nodded.
"Goodnight, Aria."
Her breath caught again.
She went to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
---
She didn't sleep.
Aria lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling, feeling her heartbeat thud against her ribs—too fast, too loud.
Her mind replayed Rafael's voice.
I miss the version of you that smiled while you lied.
Her fingers curled into the sheets.
She didn't hear the bedroom door open.
But she felt him.
Adrian didn't turn on the light.
He didn't speak.
He simply sat on the edge of the bed—close, but not touching her.
Aria didn't move.
"You don't have to sleep alone," he said quietly.
Not a seduction.
Not a demand.
A truth.
Aria exhaled slowly.
And shifted—wordlessly—leaving space for him.
He lay beside her.
Not holding her.
Not touching.
Just near.
Their breaths synced—slow, steady, grounding.
Aria finally spoke, voice barely there.
"He'll go after you now."
Adrian's voice was equally soft.
"Let him try."
Aria closed her eyes.
For the first time in years—
She slept.
Not because she was unafraid.
But because someone else was awake.