Chapter 52- The Silence He Hated
892 Words
Damien Sinclair did not panic.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
He was the man who could silence a boardroom with a single glance, the man whose decisions moved millions of dollars like chess pieces across the world. Calm, ruthless, untouchable.
But that morning, at exactly 8:37 a.m., something small cracked in that reputation.
Adrian Knox’s desk was empty.
The chair sat pushed neatly beneath the table. The computer screen was dark. No files. No coffee cup. No sarcastic greeting waiting for Damien when he walked past.
Just… nothing.
Damien slowed his steps.
He stared at the empty desk longer than necessary.
A strange feeling crept into his chest.
Annoyance.
Yes.
That must be it.
He turned sharply toward his assistant.
“Where is Adrian?”
The assistant blinked nervously.
“I… I’m not sure, sir.”
Damien frowned.
“He’s never late.”
“Maybe traffic?”
Damien didn’t respond.
Traffic was not an answer he accepted from Adrian Knox.
He walked into his office but left the door open, his eyes unconsciously drifting toward the empty desk again and again.
By 9:15 a.m., he had reread the same email four times.
By 9:30, he stood up abruptly.
“Call him.”
The assistant hesitated.
“Sir… you could call him yourself.”
Damien’s jaw tightened.
He snatched his phone from the desk.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No answer.
Something cold slid down his spine.
He told himself it meant nothing.
But he dialed again.
Meanwhile
Adrian stood in front of the mirror of his small apartment, adjusting the collar of his shirt.
He had barely slept.
Damien’s dinner with Hana kept replaying in his mind like a stubborn song that refused to end.
You’re an i***t, he told himself again.
Damien was engaged.
And Adrian…
Adrian wasn’t even the person Damien thought he was.
His phone buzzed on the table.
He glanced at it.
Damien Sinclair.
Adrian froze.
His heart skipped.
For a moment he considered ignoring it.
Then he answered.
“Good morning, boss.”
Damien’s voice came immediately.
“Where are you?”
Straight to the point.
Adrian smirked faintly.
“Good morning to you too.”
“Adrian.”
Something about the way Damien said his name made Adrian’s chest tighten.
“I’m coming to work,” Adrian said.
“You’re late.”
“I’m human.”
“You’re never late.”
Adrian sighed.
“Why does it sound like you’re interrogating me?”
There was a pause.
Then Damien said quietly,
“Because you didn’t answer the first call.”
Adrian blinked.
That… sounded almost like worry.
He shook the thought away.
“I overslept.”
Another pause.
Then Damien said firmly,
“Get here.”
The call ended.
Adrian stared at the phone.
Why did that feel like something more than a boss demanding punctuality?
Back at Sinclair Tower
Damien stood near the window of his office, phone still in his hand.
He exhaled slowly.
He didn’t understand the irritation running through him.
Why did Adrian’s absence feel like the building itself had shifted slightly off balance?
Why had he called twice?
Why had the silence bothered him so much?
Damien rubbed his temple.
“This is ridiculous.”
He muttered the words aloud.
“I’m not… like this.”
He never worried about employees.
Never.
And yet…
His gaze drifted again to Adrian’s empty desk.
Forty Minutes Later
The elevator doors opened.
Adrian stepped out.
His usual calm confidence had returned, but the moment he entered the office he felt the atmosphere change.
People looked up.
Whispers floated through the room.
Apparently the CEO had been asking about him.
Adrian walked toward his desk casually.
Before he could sit down—
“Adrian.”
Damien’s voice cut across the office.
Low.
Controlled.
But unmistakably directed at him.
Adrian turned slowly.
Damien stood in the doorway of his office, arms crossed.
Watching him.
That intense gaze again.
Adrian walked over.
“Yes, boss?”
Damien looked him up and down as if confirming he was physically fine.
Then he said coldly,
“You’re late.”
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
“You already mentioned that.”
“You didn’t answer your phone.”
“I did eventually.”
“You didn’t answer the first time.”
Adrian stared at him.
Then a slow grin spread across his face.
“Were you worried about me?”
The question hung in the air like a spark.
Damien’s expression hardened instantly.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
But Adrian noticed something.
A flicker.
Something Damien had hidden too quickly.
Adrian chuckled.
“Well, I’m alive. So the company won’t collapse.”
He turned to walk away.
Then Damien said quietly,
“Don’t do that again.”
Adrian stopped.
“What?”
“Disappear.”
Adrian turned slowly.
For a moment, Damien looked almost… unsettled.
Then his expression returned to its usual cold control.
“It disrupts work.”
Adrian studied him.
Then nodded once.
“Understood.”
But as Adrian walked back to his desk, a strange warmth spread through his chest.
And Damien watched him go, realizing something unsettling.
He had been worried.
Truly worried.
And that frightened him more than anything.
Because Damien Sinclair was starting to realize something he didn’t want to admit.
The world felt… different when Adrian Knox wasn’t in it.
- Writer
