Chapter 19: Adrain
1412 Words
The moment Jude stepped into the foyer, the entire world stopped.I forgot the emails waiting for me.Forgot the board meeting that had stretched into the evening.Forgot every deal I’d spent months negotiating.
There was only him.
The deep forest-green suit fit him as though it had been stitched onto him by hand. The tailored jacket hugged his frame perfectly, the crisp white shirt beneath making his warm complexion glow beneath the lights.
His hair had been neatly styled, though one stubborn strand still refused to stay in place.
Typical.
Beautiful.
Dangerously beautiful.
He looked at himself in the mirror, smoothing an invisible crease from his sleeve before turning to me with an uncertain smile.
“Is it… too much?”
Too much?
I nearly laughed.
“No.”
My voice came out quieter than intended.
“It’s perfect.”
His cheeks coloured.
“You’ve been staring for almost a minute.”
“I know.”
“Aren’t you going to say anything else?”
I crossed the room until we were only inches apart.
“I don’t think words are enough.”
He ducked his head, smiling shyly.
I lifted his chin with a finger.
“You look breathtaking.”
His eyes softened.
“So do you.”
I kissed his forehead before offering my arm.
“Shall we?”
⸻
The ballroom glittered beneath crystal chandeliers.
Music drifted through the room while executives, investors and politicians mingled beneath gold-lit ceilings.
It was another night of introductions.
Negotiations.
Networking.
The sort of evening I’d attended hundreds of times.
Only tonight was different.
Because Jude was beside me.
Everywhere we walked, conversations paused for just a heartbeat.
People smiled.
Complimented him.
Asked how we’d met.
Jude answered every question with the same gentle warmth that made strangers feel instantly comfortable.
I couldn’t have been prouder.
“You’re making everyone like you,” I murmured.
He bumped my shoulder.
“I’m being polite.”
“Exactly.”
⸻
An hour later, business inevitably demanded my attention.
Three investors wanted to discuss a new acquisition.
Another CEO wanted to revisit a proposal.
“I’ll only be a few minutes,” I told Jude.
He smiled reassuringly.
“Go.”
“You don’t mind?”
“You’ve worked hard for this.”
He squeezed my hand.
“I’ll be right here.”
I hated walking away from him.
Still, work was work.
The discussion began almost immediately.
Numbers.
Contracts.
Forecasts.
I answered every question.
Negotiated every term.
Shook every hand.
Outwardly, I was completely focused.
Inwardly…
My attention kept drifting.
Every few moments my eyes searched the ballroom.
Found Jude.
Relaxed.
Then returned to business.
He was speaking with an elderly couple.
Now laughing with one of my clients’ wives.
Now accepting a glass of sparkling water from a waiter.
Good.
Safe.
Happy.
Exactly where I wanted him.
Then—
Someone approached him.
A man around our age.
Tall.
Well dressed.
Comfortable.
Too comfortable.
I watched the stranger smile.
Jude’s face lit up with unmistakable recognition.
Recognition?
Who…
They spoke animatedly.
Jude laughed.
The kind of laugh he usually reserved for family.
Something twisted painfully inside my chest.
The conversation beside me faded into meaningless noise.
Then the man stepped forward.
Wrapped Jude in a hug.
Jude hugged him back.
Everything inside me snapped.
“…Adrian?”
One of the investors frowned.
“You were saying?”
“I’ll have to excuse myself.”
“But we haven’t—”
“We’re done.”
I barely recognised my own voice.
Cold.
Sharp.
Final.
I crossed the ballroom before I could think better of it.
Jude looked up immediately.
His smile faltered.
“Adrian?”
“We’re leaving.”
His eyebrows knitted together.
“Now?”
“Now.”
The other man looked between us.
“Everything okay?”
I didn’t even acknowledge him.
I simply rested a hand against Jude’s back.
“Let’s go.”
Jude hesitated only a second before quietly following me.
⸻
The drive home was silent.
Oppressively silent.
My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles had turned white.
I couldn’t erase the image from my mind.
His smile.
That embrace.
The ease between them.
Beside me, Jude shifted nervously.
“Adrian?”
I kept my eyes on the road.
Nothing.
“Did something happen?”
Silence.
“Did… did I do something wrong?”
His voice was so small it almost cracked the anger consuming me.
Almost.
When we reached the estate, I climbed out without another word.
Jude hurried after me.
“Adrian, please—”
The front door shut behind us with a heavy thud.
I turned.
Finally.
“Who was he?”
Jude blinked.
“What?”
“The man.”
His expression filled with confusion.
“The one you were hugging.”
“Oh…”
“What was so funny?”
“I—”
“What were you talking about?”
“Adrian—”
“Why were you smiling at him like that?”
“I can explain—”
“Then explain.”
“I was trying to—”
“You looked happy.”
“I was happy to see—”
“You let him touch you.”
The words came out harsher than I’d intended.
Jude stared at me.
“I… I hug people I know.”
“People you know?”
“Yes…”
“Who is he?”
“My…”
His voice faltered.
“…my childhood friend.”
I barely heard him.
“How long have you known him?”
“Since first grad to high school .”
“And you never mentioned him.”
“I… I didn’t think…”
“You didn’t think?”
His breathing quickened.
“I didn’t think it mattered.”
“It mattered to me.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You hugged him.”
“It was only—”
“You laughed with him.”
“He told me—”
“You looked happier with him than you did all evening.”
The words echoed through the room.
Jude went completely still.
“No…”
His eyes widened.
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
His voice trembled.
“I was waiting for you to finish your meeting.”
“You seemed occupied.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You certainly didn’t look lonely.”
“I…”
He swallowed hard.
“I was trying not to interrupt your work.”
“You didn’t.”
“I was proud of you.”
Something in his expression shifted.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Fear.
His hands began twisting together.
“I… I don’t understand.”
His breathing became uneven.
“You’re… you’re angry because…”
“I don’t like other men putting their hands on you.”
“They weren’t…”
He stumbled over the words.
“They weren’t… doing anything.”
“You hugged him.”
“He was my friend.”
“I don’t care.”
The second those words left my mouth, I saw them land.
Jude flinched.
Actually flinched.
His lips parted.
Closed.
Opened again.
“I…”
His voice broke.
“I don’t know what to say.”
His eyes shimmered.
“I don’t understand what I did.”
I watched tears gather faster than he could blink them away.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
He took a shaky breath.
“I promise.”
Another tear escaped.
Then another.
“I… I didn’t even think…”
He wiped desperately at his face.
“I’m sorry.”
The apology hit me like a punch.
He was apologising.
For hugging an old friend.
His shoulders shook.
“I didn’t know it would make you angry.”
He couldn’t even finish the sentence without stuttering.
“I-I would’ve told you…”
His breathing became ragged.
“I would’ve introduced you.”
“I would’ve…”
Another sob escaped before he could stop it.
He covered his mouth, mortified.
The silence that followed was unbearable.
I looked at him properly.
Really looked.
The confident smile he’d worn all evening was gone.
His eyes were red.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
He looked frightened.
Frightened…
Of me.
The anger that had burned so fiercely only moments ago suddenly felt hollow.
I hadn’t protected the person I loved.
I’d become the reason he was crying.
And that realisation was far more frightening than any jealousy I’d felt in that ballroom.
- Writer
