he morning light slanted through the trees as a sleek black car approached the house. Adrian stepped out, maintaining his composure as he walked to the door. He didn't hesitate to knock.
Moments later, the door opened, and he was met with a familiar pair of sharp unimpressed eyes.
Taylor.
She crossed her arms. "Good morning Mr. Blackwood! Perhaps you missed your way?"
"Where is she?" He asked.
"Not here, perhaps you'll meet her at work."
A muscle flickered in his cheek. "That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
The memory of that kiss burned in his mind, reckless, consuming, utterly unlike him. And then, she had disappeared.
After a long moment, he turned on his heel and walked back to his car.
Harry opened the door for him. "Back to the office?"
"Find her."
Taylor watched as the car disappeared down the street, exhaling slowly. "Oh girl," she muttered under her breath. "What did you do to that man?"
Mary hardly had time to stand before Taylor dropped the bomb. "He came looking for you."
Her stomach twisted. "And you told him I was not here right?"
"Of course I did. But how long do you think you can keep avoiding him?"
She gripped the bed. "As long as it takes."
Taylor sighed and sat. "Look, I get it. He's infuriating and doesn't take no for an answer. But you can't keep running."
She looked away, staring at the window as if the answer lay somewhere outside.
"He's not the type to chase, but he's chasing you. So maybe instead of running you should ask yourself why."
Her heart pounded. "Face him," Taylor said gently. "Before it's too late."
She barely felt the cold morning air as she stepped outside Taylor's house, but the second she saw flashing cameras, shouting reporters, and the blinding light of exposure, she knew they were real.
Paparazzi.
The chaos hit her like a tidal wave.
"Miss, Is it true that you seduced Adrian Blackwood?"
"Did you plan this from the start?"
"An orphan girl turned mistress- how do you think his girlfriend will react when she finds out?"
Her breath came in sharp gasps. What was happening?
Then she saw it.
A discarded newspaper lay at her feet, its cruel headline screaming up at her:
"From Orphan to Temptress: The Woman Who Snared Adrian Blackwood."
Her entire world tilted.
"Get inside." Taylor's voice was sharp, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her back. But she couldn't move. A single thought pounded through her head like a war drum.
Adrian did this. He did it to get back at her.
Why else would this be everywhere? Why else would her past, her pain, her life be dissected like she was nothing more than a pawn in a twisted game?
And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Samantha arrived.
Fury burned in her eyes as she stormed up the porch.
"You serpent!"
Her voice sliced through the noise, making the paparazzi increase their curiosity.
"You think Adrian is going to throw everything away for some pathetic orphan girl?"
She winced, the words hitting harder than they should have. "You're so naive. He's Adrian Blackwood. He doesn't date, he owns. And the second he's bored, you'll be nothing but a bad headline."
Her throat tightened.
She had already been stripped bare for the world to judge.
She sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the floor, her thoughts a tangled mess. The paparazzi had made her a celebrity overnight, twisting a single moment of her life into a scandal. The humiliation clung to her skin, suffocating her. How was she supposed to walk outside again?
She barely heard the sound of rushed footsteps until her bedroom door burst open.
"Mary, you need to come now."
Taylor's voice was breathless, urgent. Grabbing her wrist, she was dragged out of the room to the sitting area, where the television blared with a news broadcast.
Mary froze the moment she saw him on the screen.
Adrian.
"The rumors about Mary Calloway are absolute lies." His voice was firm, unyielding. "She's a wonderful woman."
Her breath hitched.
His gaze shifted slightly, almost as if he were speaking directly to her.
"She changed me." A dry, almost amused smile crossed his lips. "In ways I never imagined. She could be stubborn, but she's a strong woman. She's the most wonderful woman I've ever met and when she came into my life, she made me a different person."
A murmur rippled through the crowd of reporters.
"She deserves better than this." His jaw clenched, voice lowering. "If anyone dares to treat her as anything less, they'll answer to me."
The screen cut back to the newsroom but she barely heard a word after.
"Well? Girl?" Taylor turned to her slowly.
Mary walked through the halls of the Orphanage, trying to focus on work. The children needed her. This place was her refuge and the one thing that kept her grounded after the whirlwind of rumors.
She pushed the door to her office, only to freeze in the doorway.
He was there.
Adrian stood by the window, his tall, commanding presence making the room feel unbearably small. His blue eyes locked into her when she stepped in, burning with need. Something she wasn't sure she could resist.
"What are you doing here?"
"You're late. I was waiting for you."
"We have nothing to say to each other."
His lips curled to a smirk. "You're wrong." He took two steps closer, she took one back, only to find herself pressed against the desk.
"Adrian-"
'I'm done pretending." he whispered. "You think I hate you? You think I ever could?" He scoffed. "Mary, you've been in my head from the moment I met you, accusing you of turning this place into a disaster. You've changed me in ways I never expected, and I'm not the kind of man who lets go of what is his."
Her heart slammed against her ribs. "I'm not yours." The words came out weaker than she intended.
He leaned in, his hands bracing against the desk on either side of her, caging her in. "Oh, but you want me."
And then his lips were on hers.
It wasn't gentle. It was teasing, and consuming. She gasped against his mouth, but he didn't let her pull away. His hands found her waist, pulling her flush against him, and she melted before she could think to resist.
The kiss deepened, his tongue teasing hers, his grip tight.
She was breathless, dazed, her body betraying her with the way it leaned to him.
His thumb brushed over her swollen lips. "Mary, I want you to say it."
She swallowed, her resolve crumbling. "Say what?"
"What's on your mind."
She should have fought him. She should have told him no. But as she looked into those piercing eyes, still feeling the heat of his kiss and his body close to hers, she couldn't think straight.
"Adrian."