Adrian sat alone in his study, staring at the empty glass in front of him. The fire crackled. The silence pressed in.
She didn’t kiss him. She could’ve. She almost did.
Almost.
That word was beginning to haunt him.
He wasn't used to hesitation not in others, and never in himself. But Valentina... she changed the rules. She made him question every move before making it. She didn’t need to speak to control a room. And tonight, she’d done more than that she’d controlled him.
He didn’t know whether to be proud or furious.
****************************
Valentina stood in the guest wing’s bathroom, gripping the marble counter.
Her eyes were red. Not from tears. From exhaustion. Emotional whiplash.
Why did she almost let him kiss her?
She couldn’t afford that kind of weakness, not now. N
