The night after the gala, Sophia couldn't sleep. Victor's words kept replaying in her mind — that chilling promise whispered like poison in her ear.
She lay beside Adrian in the vast, dimly lit bedroom, staring at the ceiling while his arm rested over her waist like a protective chain. He slept soundly, or at least pretended to. Sophia wondered if he could ever truly rest, living in a world where enemies lurked in every shadow.
Her heart ached with a truth she couldn't deny: she wanted him. Not just the security of his wealth or the fire of his touch, but him — the man beneath the armor, the man who had chosen her in ways she still didn't understand.
And yet, fear coiled tightly in her chest.
Was she falling in love with a savior? Or a storm that would destroy her?
---
Adrian's Crackshow
The following evening, Adrian found her in the music room, fingers idly grazing the keys of the grand piano. He didn't announce himself — his reflection appeared behind hers in the glossy lid, his expression unusually unreadable.
"You look like you're carrying the weight of the world," he said quietly.
Sophia let out a hollow laugh. "Maybe because your world is heavier than I ever imagined."
For once, Adrian didn't deflect. He walked closer, lowering himself onto the bench beside her. The silence stretched, thick with unspoken things, before he finally said:
"When I was eight, my father left us. Walked out one morning and never came back."
Sophia turned sharply, startled. Adrian's eyes were fixed ahead, distant.
"My mother did what she could, but the world wasn't kind. By fifteen, I was already fighting to survive — making deals, taking risks. Trusting people who betrayed me." He exhaled, slow and ragged, as if speaking cost him more than any wound. "I built walls, Sophia. I had to. And when I met you, I didn't expect… this."
Her breath caught at the rawness in his voice. For the first time, Adrian Stone wasn't the unshakable figure the world saw. He was a boy who had been abandoned, a man forged by betrayal.
Softly, almost without thinking, Sophia touched his hand. "You don't always have to be stone, Adrian."
His eyes met hers then — not icy, but burning, vulnerable.
---
Between Passion And Fear
That night, their connection deepened. Their kisses were slower, searching, as though each touch carved through the walls between them. The sheets tangled around their bodies, the passion hot, but threaded with something more fragile.
For the first time, Sophia felt like they weren't just lovers bound by a contract — they were two broken souls clinging to each other against the darkness outside.
And yet, when his lips trailed down her neck, when his arms tightened as though he feared she might vanish, the echo of Victor's threat still rang in her mind.
Love and fear — inseparable now.
---
The New Fracture
Days later, Sophia came across Adrian in his office, speaking urgently on the phone. He didn't notice her at first. His voice was low, tense:
"No, she can't know. If she finds out, it'll ruin everything."
Sophia froze in the doorway. The words stabbed deeper than she wanted to admit.
When Adrian finally saw her, he hung up immediately, his expression smoothing into that familiar mask. "Sophia," he said evenly, "you shouldn't be here."
Her heart pounded, a storm of anger and hurt rising. "Who was that? What can't I know?"
Adrian's jaw tightened, his silence more damning than any admission.
And in that moment, Sophia realized: for all his confessions, for all the passion they shared…
Adrian was still lying to her.