Episode 4: Too Close to Walk Away
1035 Words
The moment we stepped out of his office, the atmosphere shifted again.
It wasn’t just the people this time.
It was me.
I could feel it—the way eyes lingered longer, the way whispers followed just behind my steps. Walking beside Adrian felt like walking next to a storm everyone could see… but no one dared step into.
“Stay close,” he murmured, not looking at me.
“I am,” I replied.
“Closer.”
My heart skipped—but I obeyed.
Our shoulders nearly brushed as we walked through the corridor, and somehow that tiny space between us felt louder than any conversation in the building.
The boardroom doors opened, despite his earlier order to reschedule.
Inside, a group of sharply dressed men and women sat around a long table. Power players. Decision makers.
Every single one of them turned the moment Adrian walked in.
Confusion flickered across a few faces.
Tension across others.
“Adrian,” one of the men said, forcing a polite smile. “We thought this was postponed.”
Adrian didn’t slow down. Didn’t explain.
“I changed my mind.”
His voice was calm—but final.
No one argued.
That told me everything I needed to know.
I stayed just behind him as he took his seat at the head of the table. He didn’t introduce me.
Didn’t acknowledge me.
But somehow… that made my presence louder.
“Let’s begin,” he said.
The meeting started, but I wasn’t really listening.
Not fully.
Because something felt… off.
It wasn’t just the tension in the room.
It was the way one man kept looking at me.
Not casually.
Not curiously.
But like he recognized me.
I shifted slightly, uncomfortable.
Adrian noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
Without looking at me, he spoke quietly, “What is it?”
“There’s a man—third on the left,” I whispered. “He keeps staring.”
Adrian’s gaze flickered briefly in that direction.
Then hardened.
“I see him.”
The air around him changed instantly—colder, sharper.
Dangerous.
The meeting ended faster than expected.
Too fast.
Like Adrian had decided something halfway through and lost interest in everything else.
“Everyone out,” he said, standing.
No hesitation.
No resistance.
Chairs scraped. Papers gathered. Within seconds, the room cleared—except for one person.
The man.
The one who had been staring.
Adrian didn’t sit.
Didn’t relax.
“Explain,” he said coldly.
The man exhaled slowly, glancing at me again before speaking.
“I didn’t expect to see her here.”
My stomach tightened.
“You know her?” Adrian’s voice was dangerously quiet.
The man hesitated.
That was his first mistake.
“Yes,” he said finally. “Or at least… I know of her.”
I felt my pulse in my ears.
“What does that mean?” I asked, stepping forward despite myself.
Adrian’s hand shot out slightly—subtle, but firm—stopping me from getting too close.
Protective.
Or controlling.
I couldn’t tell anymore.
The man leaned back slightly, studying me.
“There was a file,” he said. “A long time ago.”
My chest tightened.
“A file on me?” I asked.
He nodded slowly.
“But it was sealed. Classified. Not something people like us were meant to touch.”
A chill ran through me.
“What was in it?” I whispered.
He looked at Adrian.
Not me.
“Ask him.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Explosive.
I turned slowly to Adrian.
“You knew?”
His jaw tightened.
“That’s not important right now.”
“It’s very important to me.”
My voice shook—but I didn’t look away.
Not this time.
Adrian stepped closer.
Too close.
Lowering his voice so only I could hear.
“You’re asking questions I warned you about.”
“And you’re hiding things you shouldn’t,” I shot back.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Not anger.
Not exactly.
Something deeper.
“Leave us,” Adrian said sharply to the man.
He didn’t argue.
Just stood and walked out quickly, shutting the door behind him.
Now it was just us.
Again.
But this time…
Everything felt different.
“You knew who I was before that night,” I said quietly.
It wasn’t a question anymore.
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
And that silence?
It confirmed everything.
“Why me?” I asked.
He ran a hand through his hair—a rare c***k in his perfect control.
“Because you were never supposed to be ordinary,” he said finally.
My breath caught.
“What does that even mean?”
He stepped closer again, his voice lower now… almost softer.
“It means the life you think you had?” he said, his eyes locking onto mine, “was built on something you don’t remember.”
My heart started racing.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is.”
“How would you even know that?”
Another pause.
Then—
“Because I was there.”
The room tilted.
Everything inside me froze.
“You’re lying,” I whispered.
“I don’t lie.”
Silence crashed between us.
Loud.
Unavoidable.
My mind raced, trying to piece together something—anything—that made sense.
But nothing did.
“Then tell me,” I said, my voice barely steady, “what happened to me?”
Adrian looked at me like he was standing at the edge of something he couldn’t take back.
And maybe he was.
“When you were younger,” he began slowly, “you were part of something you were never meant to survive.”
My breath stopped.
“And now…” he continued, his voice darkening slightly, “…someone knows you’re still alive.”
Fear crept in—sharp and real this time.
“Who?”
His eyes didn’t leave mine.
“That,” he said quietly, “is exactly why you’re staying with me.”
And just like that—
The job stopped feeling like a job.
The building stopped feeling like a workplace.
And Adrian…
Stopped feeling like just a man.
Because whatever this was—
It wasn’t coincidence.
It was history.
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