Adrian's plea
After Emilia left the room, the penthouse seemed bigger.
Not emptier—no, that would have implied a clean absence—but quieter in a way that pressed against Adrian’s chest and made it hard to breathe. The space still buzzed with activity: phones vibrating across glass tables, advisors murmuring in tense clusters, assistants moving too quickly as if speed alone could undo damage already done. Screens refreshed endlessly, headlines shifting, numbers updating, reputations collapsing in real time. The machinery of crisis was alive and loud.
Yet none of it mattered as much as the sound of her footsteps fading down the hallway.
Adrian stood near the center of the room, his body rigid, his attention narrowed to that one diminishing rhythm. Each step she took away from him felt hea
