The Bodyguard Who Wasn’t Supposed To Fall

Chapter 2: Don't Fall For Him

"Don't fall for him, Maya."

That was the first rule my best friend Tola gave me when she saw Adrian at my birthday dinner last night. She had whispered it while pretending to fix my dress, her eyes wide as she stared at the 6'3 wall of muscle standing by the door.

"Girl, that man is not a bodyguard. That is a weapon with a pulse. And men like that? They ruin you before they even touch you."

I had laughed then. Because I was still the clueless Banana Island princess who thought danger was a late delivery from ZARA.

I wasn't laughing anymore.

After he caught me in my father's study with the file, Adrian didn't leave my side. Not for one second.

He followed me to my room, his presence silent but heavy, like a storm cloud. When I went to my bathroom to splash water on my face, he stood outside the door, arms crossed, his back to it. I could see his shadow under the door.

"You don't have to watch me like I'm a prisoner," I snapped when I came out, my mascara smudged, my silk blouse clinging to me from sweat.

He didn't even blink. He was sitting in the armchair in the corner of my massive bedroom, a black matte gun resting on his lap, his jacket off, revealing the tight black t-shirt that showed every hard line of his body. The scar on his eyebrow looked angrier in the dim light.

"You are a prisoner," he said coldly, his voice low and flat. "You just didn't know it before. Your father's world is not what you think, Maya. The drivers, the maids, the security at the gate - half of them aren't yours. They belong to the syndicate. They report on you. And now that you know too much, you are in danger. From everyone. Including your own father."

His words made my stomach drop. I looked at my bedroom door. Aisha, my maid since I was eight, was probably listening outside.

"Then why don't you just hand me over?" I crossed my arms, trying to sound brave even though my voice shook. "That's what you were ordered to do, right? If my father disobeys, I'm leverage. So go ahead. Call your boss. Hand me over and get your bonus."

For the first time since I met him, Adrian's cold, professional mask cracked.

He stood up slowly, placing the gun on the table with a soft thud. He walked towards me, and with each step, my heart pounded louder. He stopped just a foot away. Too close. I could smell his scent again - rain and gunmetal and something uniquely him.

He looked down at me. Really looked at me. His grey eyes weren't cold anymore. They were burning.

"Because I don't follow orders when it comes to innocent women," he said, his voice rough, almost a growl. "Not anymore. I did that once. I followed an order like that. And a woman died because of it. I'm not letting it happen again. Not to you."

The way he said "Not to you" made my breath catch.

There was pain there. A story he wasn't telling. Who was she? Who did he lose?

My heart, stupid, traitorous heart, beat so loud I was sure he could hear it in the silent room.

"Maya..." he whispered my name, and it sounded different when he said it. Not "princess." Not "heiress." Just... Maya.

His hand lifted, as if he was going to cup my face. I saw his fingers, his calloused knuckles. I wanted him to. God help me, I wanted that rough hand on my soft cheek.

But at the last second, he clenched his fist and dropped it. He stepped back, the wall back up.

"Get some sleep. You try to leave this house alone, you die. That's not a threat. That's a promise from Lagos itself."

That night, I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that file. Leverage. My father's handwriting. The man I called Daddy was a stranger. A monster who traded his daughter.

I couldn't stay here.

At 2 AM, when the house was finally quiet except for the hum of the AC, I moved.

I packed a small backpack. Not designer clothes. Just jeans, two t-shirts, my laptop, and the cash I kept in my drawer - about 300,000 Naira. I left my diamond earrings on the table. I didn't want anything from him anymore.

I climbed out my bedroom window onto the trellis. It was something I hadn't done since I was fifteen sneaking out to Tola's parties. My legs were shaking, but adrenaline pushed me.

I made it to the garden, past the roses my mother planted. I was almost at the side gate - the one the guards never watch properly - when a hand grabbed my waist from behind and slammed me gently but firmly against the garden wall.

A large, hard body pressed against mine from behind. A hand covered my mouth to stop my scream. His breath was hot on my neck.

"Where do you think you're going, heiress?"

Adrian.

Of course it was Adrian. He didn't even sound out of breath.

I struggled, but he was steel. He slowly turned me around to face him, his hand still on my waist, his other hand still lightly over my mouth. We were inches apart in the moonlight. His t-shirt was slightly damp with sweat. His eyes were furious, but under the fury, there was fear.

"I told you not to run," he hissed, his thumb brushing my lower lip as he removed his hand from my mouth. "Do you know what happens to girls like you on the streets of Lagos at 2 AM when the Owos have a bounty on your family name?"

"I can't stay here! He lied to me my whole life! My whole life was a lie!" Tears finally broke free, hot and angry.

His expression softened. Just a fraction.

"I know," he whispered. "I know it hurts."

His hand slid from my waist to the small of my back, pulling me just a little closer, as if he couldn't help himself.

"If you run now, you die. They will find you in 24 hours. Every thug from Lekki to Ajegunle knows Victor Kingsley's daughter. You won't last a night."

He leaned his forehead against mine. It was such an intimate, unexpected gesture that I stopped breathing.

"I'm the only thing keeping you alive right now, Maya."

We stayed like that, breathing each other's air, his body caging mine against the wall, his heart beating hard against my chest.

"If you want to run, Maya..." he said, his lips barely an inch from mine, his voice a dark promise. "You run with me. Not from me. Do you understand?"

I should have said no. I should have pushed him away. Tola's voice screamed in my head: _Don't fall for him!_

But when you have lost everything in one morning, and the only solid thing in your collapsing world is the man who was hired to betray you, you cling to him.

So I said yes.

God help me, I said yes.

"Okay," I whispered. "With you."

His eyes dropped to my lips one more time, lingering, hungry. Then he stepped back, picked up my backpack, and took my hand. His grip was firm, possessive, unbreakable.

"Then we leave tonight. Right now. Before your father realizes you're gone."

And hand in hand with the bodyguard who was supposed to be my enemy, I ran away from my perfect Lagos life, straight into the unknown.