SHATTERED ROMANCE

CHAPTER THREE — THE STRANGER IN THE SHADOWS

The street lights flickered.

Ariana didn’t move. Couldn’t move.

The three messages glowed on her screen like they were alive, pulsing with a warning she didn’t understand.

Kael was tense beside her, jaw clenched, scanning the street like he expected someone to step out of the darkness any second. Adrian, on the other hand, stood unnervingly still—calm, like he’d already predicted this moment.

“Ariana,” Kael said quietly, “we need to get out of here.”

But she couldn’t force her legs to move. The world felt too sharp, too close, too loud. Like someone was breathing against the back of her neck.

Adrian stepped forward, eyes on her trembling hands. “This isn’t a prank. Whoever this is—they’ve been watching you.”

Ariana pressed a hand to her stomach, trying not to panic. “Why me? Why now?”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Because you left your old life behind. Because you’re unprotected. Because someone saw an opportunity.”

Kael shot him a glare. “You’re not helping.”

“No?” Adrian snapped back. “I’m telling her the truth.”

The truth.

Ariana wasn’t sure she wanted it.

Her phone buzzed again.

She flinched so hard Kael grabbed her waist to steady her.

Adrian stepped closer instantly. “Don’t open it here.”

But Ariana already had.

The new message was different from the others—shorter, sharper, urgent.

“LOOK UP.”

A cold wave slammed through her chest.

Kael’s hand closed around her wrist. “Ariana, don’t—”

But she did.

Her eyes lifted.

Straight to the rooftop of the building across the narrow street.

And there—outlined against the night sky—

a figure stood.

Tall. Still. Watching them.

Watching her.

Her breath hitched.

“Oh my God…” she whispered.

Kael followed her gaze. His body tensed. “Ariana. Get behind me.”

Adrian didn’t look away. “He’s been there longer than we noticed.”

The figure didn’t move. Not a shift, not a flinch. Just watched.

Ariana felt her knees weaken. “Who is that? Why— why are they watching me?”

“Because they want something,” Adrian said quietly. “From you.”

Kael pulled her close. “I’m calling the police.”

Adrian grabbed Kael’s wrist before he could pull out his phone. “Don’t be stupid.”

Kael yanked away. “She’s being stalked! How is calling the police stupid?”

Adrian’s voice dropped, low and lethal. “Because the second they show up, he’ll disappear. And they’ll do nothing. They never do.”

He looked straight at Ariana as he said it.

She swallowed, the fear in her throat so thick she nearly choked on it.

Kael pulled her toward him protectively. “Ariana, look at me. Don’t panic. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Adrian’s eyes flickered dangerously. “You can’t promise that.”

Ariana’s breath shook. “Stop—please. Stop fighting.”

Kael wrapped an arm around her. “We’re leaving. Now.”

“No.” Adrian stepped in front of them, blocking the path. “If he sees you run, he’ll follow.”

Ariana’s heart hammered. “Then what do we do?”

Adrian’s expression hardened, all softness stripped away. “We cover your exit. We distract him.”

Kael scoffed. “So what—you think you’re the hero now?”

Adrian didn’t even look at him. “I think I know predators better than you do.”

Kael bristled, but Ariana stepped between them.

“Stop it,” she snapped, surprising both of them. “Please.”

Her voice cracked.

Adrian’s face softened first. Kael’s second.

A silence fell over the alley, heavy, trembling, waiting to break.

Ariana forced herself to breathe. “We don’t know who he is. We don’t know what he wants.”

Adrian stepped closer. “We do know something.”

“What?” she whispered.

“He’s not afraid of being seen.”

That chilled her more than anything.

Because Adrian was right.

The figure didn’t run.

He didn’t hide.

He stayed there—still, silent, watching her like she was the only thing that existed.

Ariana wrapped her arms around herself. “Why me?”

Neither Kael nor Adrian answered.

Because neither of them knew.

A car engine rolled down the street, and headlights washed over the alley, momentarily blinding her.

When the light passed—

Ariana gasped.

The figure on the rooftop was gone.

Kael cursed under his breath. “Damn it—he moved.”

Adrian scanned the rooftops, eyes sharp and calculating. “No. He left. He wanted us to know he was there.”

Ariana’s knees gave out slightly, and she leaned against the wall. “I can’t… I can’t do this.”

Kael instantly grabbed her shoulders. “Ariana—hey—look at me.”

But she couldn’t.

Her chest tightened, her breaths growing shallow.

Adrian stepped closer, slower than Kael, but more certain. “Ariana,” he murmured, “breathe. Focus on me.”

Her vision blurred. Her pulse raced.

Kael’s voice cut through. “She’s panicking—”

“No,” Adrian said quietly. “She’s remembering.”

Ariana squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push away the rising memories—memories she fought so hard to bury. Shadows. Running. Fear. A pair of eyes she never wanted to see again.

Kael didn’t understand.

Adrian did.

Too well.

Adrian stepped close enough that she could feel his warmth. “You’re not back there,” he whispered. “You’re here. With us. Focus.”

Ariana inhaled shakily, clinging to the sound of his voice, to Kael’s hands on her arms, to anything that felt real and safe.

Slowly, her breathing steadied.

Kael exhaled with relief. “Let’s get you home.”

Adrian didn’t argue this time.

He just watched her—silently, intensely—like he was memorizing every tremble.

Kael guided her toward the motorcycle. Adrian followed closely behind, eyes on the rooftops, scanning every shadow.

Ariana paused before getting on the bike. “Do you think he’ll come back?”

Adrian stepped up beside her. “He never left.”

“Adrian,” Kael hissed.

Ariana swallowed, staring at her trembling hands.

Adrian leaned closer, voice soft but certain. “This wasn’t a coincidence. This wasn’t random. Whoever he is… he’s been waiting.”

“Waiting for what?” she whispered.

Adrian locked eyes with her.

“To make his move.”

Ariana shivered.

Kael tightened his grip on her waist. “He won’t touch you. Not while I’m here.”

Adrian’s eyes darkened. “He won’t touch her. Not while either of us is here.”

Ariana lifted her eyes to the darkened rooftops, the shadows stretching long and heavy.

Somewhere out there…

someone was watching.

Someone who knew her.

Someone who wanted her.

And unlike Adrian or Kael—

this person didn’t want her heart.

They wanted her fear.