CHAPTER SIX: THE MAN WHO WATCHES
1659 Words
Stephanie lasted exactly three hours before she broke his rule.
Not dramatically.
Not rebelliously.
Just… quietly.
Because the truth was, she wasn’t the type to blindly follow orders—especially not when those orders came without explanation.
Stay away from him.
That wasn’t enough.
Not when everything around her was starting to feel like a puzzle she wasn’t allowed to solve.
So when her phone buzzed during her break, and Daniel’s name lit up the screen—
She stared at it.
Hesitated.
Then answered.
“…Hello?”
“You sound like you’re expecting trouble,” Daniel said lightly.
Stephanie leaned against the corridor wall, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. “That depends. Are you trouble?”
A soft chuckle. “Depends who you ask.”
Her lips pressed together.
“Why are you calling?”
“Straight to business. I like that,” he said. “Meet me.”
“No.”
“No hesitation?” he teased.
“I don’t do mysterious meet-ups with people who talk in half-sentences.”
“Then I guess you’re going to hate your husband.”
Her chest tightened.
He wasn’t wrong.
And she hated that he wasn’t wrong.
“Daniel—”
“Relax,” he cut in. “Public place. Café. You won’t get kidnapped.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
A pause.
Then, softer—
“You need answers, Stephanie.”
Her heart skipped.
“How do you know that?”
“Because you look like someone who just got thrown into something she doesn’t understand.”
Too accurate.
Way too accurate.
Her grip on the phone tightened.
“And you think you can help with that?”
“I know I can.”
Silence stretched between them.
This was a bad idea.
A really bad idea.
Adrian had warned her.
And as frustrating as he was—
He didn’t seem like the type to warn without reason.
But then again…
He also wasn’t the type to explain anything.
“…Ten minutes,” she said finally. “If I don’t like what you’re saying, I leave.”
Daniel’s smile was almost audible through the phone. “Deal.”
The café wasn’t far from campus.
Busy enough to feel safe.
Loud enough to avoid attention.
Stephanie walked in, scanning the room quickly—
And found him immediately.
Of course.
Daniel always looked like he belonged wherever he was.
Relaxed posture. Easy confidence. That same annoying half-smile.
He waved her over like this was normal.
Like they weren’t standing on something fragile.
Something dangerous.
She sat across from him, keeping her expression neutral.
“You have five minutes,” she said.
“Harsh,” he murmured, leaning back slightly. “I thought we were friends.”
“We’re not.”
“That hurts.”
“You’ll survive.”
A small grin.
Then—
“You married him fast.”
No buildup.
Straight to it.
Stephanie didn’t react. “You already know that.”
“I know of it,” he corrected. “Not why.”
“That’s not your concern.”
“Everything around him is my concern.”
That made her pause.
Slowly.
“…Why?”
Daniel studied her for a second.
Like he was deciding how much to say.
Then—
“Because Adrian Blackwood doesn’t do anything without a reason.”
Her stomach tightened slightly.
“Yeah,” she said. “I figured that out.”
“And you,” he continued, leaning forward just a bit, “are not random.”
Her pulse picked up.
“I never said I was.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Silence.
Tension.
The air between them felt heavier now.
Less casual.
More real.
“What do you know?” Stephanie asked finally.
Daniel’s gaze didn’t waver.
“I know that he’s been watching you.”
Her heart skipped.
“…What?”
“Not in a creepy, hiding-in-the-shadows way,” he added quickly. “More like… tracking.”
That didn’t sound better.
At all.
Stephanie’s brows furrowed. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does if you know him.”
“I don’t.”
“Exactly.”
Her chest tightened.
“Since when?” she pressed.
Daniel hesitated.
Then—
“A while.”
A while?
“How long is ‘a while’?” she demanded.
He didn’t answer immediately.
And that hesitation?
That was enough.
Her stomach dropped.
“…No,” she said quietly. “No, that’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because I would have noticed.”
“Would you?”
The question landed heavier than expected.
Because the truth was—
She didn’t know.
Not anymore.
Not with all the gaps in her memory.
Not with all the things that didn’t add up.
“This is insane,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair.
“Yeah,” Daniel agreed easily. “But that doesn’t make it false.”
She looked at him sharply. “Why are you telling me this?”
A pause.
Then—
“Because you deserve to know what you’re dealing with.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “And what exactly am I dealing with?”
Daniel leaned back again, his expression shifting—less playful now.
More serious.
“Someone who doesn’t let go,” he said.
Her chest tightened.
“That’s not news.”
“It should be,” he replied. “Because people like him? They don’t fixate without a reason.”
There it was again.
That word.
Reason.
Everything came back to that.
“You keep saying that,” she said. “But no one is telling me what the reason is.”
“Maybe because it’s not mine to tell.”
Her frustration spiked. “Then why am I here?”
“To start asking the right questions.”
She let out a sharp breath. “I’ve been asking questions since this started. No one is answering them.”
Daniel studied her for a moment.
Then—
“Do you remember him?”
Her heart stuttered.
“…No.”
“Not even a little?”
“No.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Loaded.
“Then that’s the problem,” he said quietly.
Stephanie stood up suddenly.
Her chair scraped against the floor, drawing a few glances.
She didn’t care.
“This is pointless,” she said. “You’re just saying the same thing he is—hinting at something without actually saying it.”
Daniel didn’t move.
Didn’t try to stop her.
“Because you’re not ready for the full story.”
Her hands clenched at her sides.
“Stop saying that.”
“It’s true.”
“No, it’s convenient,” she snapped. “For both of you.”
That got a reaction.
Subtle.
But there.
“You think I’m on his side?” Daniel asked.
“I think you know more than you’re saying.”
“And you think he doesn’t?”
Her breath caught.
Of course he did.
That was the problem.
“He’s hiding something,” she said.
“So am I,” Daniel replied calmly.
That stopped her.
Completely.
“Why?”
His gaze held hers.
Unblinking.
“Because if I tell you everything now,” he said, “you’ll run.”
Her stomach dropped.
“…From him?”
A pause.
Then—
“From all of it.”
The words lingered in her head as she walked out of the café.
Her heart was racing.
Her thoughts spinning.
Nothing felt stable anymore.
Not Adrian.
Not Daniel.
Not even herself.
He’s been watching you.
That didn’t make sense.
It couldn’t.
And yet…
Something about it felt right.
Like a piece of a puzzle clicking into place.
A piece she didn’t want to see.
By the time she got back to the penthouse, the air felt different.
Again.
Heavier.
Tighter.
Like something was waiting.
The door clicked shut behind her.
And—
“You went to see him.”
Her body stilled.
Slowly—
She turned.
Adrian Blackwood stood in the center of the room.
No suit this time.
Just a dark shirt, sleeves rolled up slightly.
More relaxed.
More dangerous.
His gaze was locked on her.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
Stephanie lifted her chin slightly. “You said not to lie, right?”
Silence.
Then—
“Yes.”
“Then yeah,” she said. “I went to see him.”
The tension in the room shifted.
Darkened.
“You don’t follow instructions well,” he said quietly.
“I don’t follow blind ones,” she shot back.
A pause.
Then he took a step closer.
“Did he touch you?”
The question hit out of nowhere.
Sharp.
Possessive.
Stephanie blinked. “What?”
“Did he touch you?” he repeated.
Her heart skipped.
“…No.”
Another step.
Closer now.
“Did he say anything he shouldn’t have?”
Her pulse picked up.
“He said a lot of things,” she replied carefully.
His jaw tightened slightly.
“Like what?”
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
But he noticed.
Of course he did.
“Stephanie.”
Her name came out lower this time.
A warning.
She swallowed.
“He said you’ve been watching me.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Suffocating silence.
And then—
Something changed.
Not on the surface.
But underneath.
Something darker.
Something more real.
Adrian didn’t deny it.
He didn’t laugh.
He didn’t brush it off.
Instead—
He stepped even closer.
Close enough that she could feel the tension radiating off him.
“Be very careful who you listen to,” he said quietly.
Her breath caught.
“That’s not a denial.”
His gaze locked onto hers.
Intense.
Unyielding.
“No,” he said.
“It’s not.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
Because in that moment—
She realized something terrifying:
The truth wasn’t that Adrian Blackwood was hiding things.
It was that—
He wasn’t even trying to hide all of them.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD