I Hate That I Want You

Secret that should’ve stayed buried part 2

But his eyes—

His eyes were locked on her.

Watching.

Waiting.

“For you to figure it out,” Daniel finished.

Lena’s heart started racing.

“No,” she said. “That’s not possible. I saw the data. The signatures—”

“Were planted,” Daniel cut in.

Her breath caught.

“That scandal?” he continued. “It was designed to take someone down.”

Lena turned back to Adrian.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

The question came out sharper than she intended.

His answer?

Cold.

“Would you have believed me?”

She hesitated.

And that hesitation—

That was enough.

A flicker of something dark passed through his expression.

“Exactly.”

Guilt hit her harder than anything he’d done so far.

Because for the first time—

There was doubt.

Real doubt.

“I didn’t know,” she said quietly.

“No,” Adrian replied. “You didn’t bother to.”

That stung.

Deep.

⸻

The meeting ended shortly after.

Too much tension.

Too much truth hanging in the air.

But as Lena stepped out into the hallway—

“Still defending yourself?”

Daniel’s voice followed her.

She turned. “What do you want?”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “To see how long it takes before you realize you’re working for the wrong man.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You mean you?”

“I mean someone who doesn’t pretend revenge is business.”

Before she could respond—

A presence stepped in beside her.

Cold. Controlled.

Adrian.

“You’re done here, Daniel.”

Daniel smirked. “For now.”

But as he walked away, he added—

“She didn’t ruin you, Adrian.”

A pause.

“You just needed someone to blame.”

That was the line.

Lena felt it.

The shift beside her.

Subtle.

But dangerous.

Adrian didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

But the tension rolling off him?

Different.

This wasn’t calculated anymore.

This was personal.

“Office,” he said.

Not loud.

But absolute.

⸻

The door shut behind them.

Hard.

“Did you know?” Lena asked immediately.

“No.”

“Do you believe him?”

A pause.

Then—

“I believe,” Adrian said slowly, “that you made a choice without knowing the full truth.”

“That’s not the same as—”

“You destroyed me, Lena.”

The words hit harder this time.

Because now—

They weren’t entirely clean anymore.

“You could’ve told me,” she said.

“And you would’ve listened?” he shot back.

She hesitated again.

Damn it.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

Silence.

Heavy.

Complicated.

“And now?” he asked.

Her voice softened—just slightly.

“Now I want the truth.”

Something shifted in his expression again.

Less sharp.

Less controlled.

More… human.

And that was new.

Dangerously new.

But then—

His gaze dropped.

To her lips.

Again.

And this time—

There was no restraint in it.

“You should stay away from him,” he said.

“That sounds like an order.”

“It is.”

Her eyes flashed. “You don’t get to control who I talk to.”

His jaw tightened.

“Watch me.”

There it was.

That darkness again.

But this time—

Mixed with something else.

Something that looked a lot like jealousy.

Lena stepped closer instead of backing away.

“Or what?” she challenged.

Big mistake.

Because something in Adrian snapped.

Not loud.

Not explosive.

Just enough.

He grabbed her—not rough, but fast—and pulled her into him.

“Stop testing me,” he said, voice low.

“Then stop acting like I belong to you.”

His grip tightened slightly.

“You signed a contract.”

“Not ownership.”

A beat.

Their faces inches apart.

Tension thick enough to choke on.

“You really don’t know when to stop,” he murmured.

“And you really don’t know when you’ve crossed a line.”

Silence.

One second.

Two.

And then—

He kissed her.

Not soft.

Not careful.

Not planned.

It was frustration. Anger. Control.

And something far more dangerous underneath.

For a split second—

Lena froze.

Then—

She kissed him back.

And that?

That was the real mistake.

Because the moment she did—

This stopped being revenge.

And became something neither of them could control anymore.

The kiss didn’t feel like a mistake.

That was the problem.

Lena stood frozen for a second after she pulled away, her breath uneven, her thoughts louder than they had any right to be.

“What the hell was that?” she demanded.

Adrian didn’t answer immediately.

His gaze was still on her—sharp, conflicted, like he was trying to put something back into a box that had already been broken open.

“That,” he said finally, “shouldn’t have happened.”

“No,” Lena snapped. “It shouldn’t have.”

But neither of them stepped back.

Neither of them created distance.

And that said everything.

⸻

The next morning, Lena didn’t go to work.

For the first time since signing the contract—

She chose herself.

Because if there was even a chance—

Even a small chance—

That she had ruined his life over a lie…

She needed to know.