CHAPTER 5: The Door
464 Words
Adrian’s hand slid away from my thigh, but not from me. His palm stayed at my hip, fingers pressing lightly — a silent warning not to move.
The fire still crackled behind us, but the room suddenly felt cold.
Three more knocks, this time deliberate… patient.
“Stay here,” Adrian murmured. His voice was calm, but I felt the tension in his body like a coiled spring.
He rose slowly, the lines of his back rigid beneath the black shirt, and crossed to the door. Instead of opening it immediately, he stood there, his hand resting against the wood as if feeling for the truth through it.
The voice came again. Low. Confident.
“Adrian. I’m not here to fight. But if you keep me waiting… she might pay for it.”
A chill crept up my spine.
Adrian turned his head just enough to look at me. His eyes weren’t just dark — they were cold now, calculating. “Go to the bedroom. Second door on the right. Lock it.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not hiding.”
His jaw flexed, and for a moment, I thought he’d argue. But instead, a faint, humorless smile curved his lips. “You’re trouble,” he said softly. “I should’ve known.”
And then — to my surprise — he unlocked the door.
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The man on the other side was tall, wearing a tailored charcoal coat and the kind of smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He looked at Adrian first… then at me.
“So,” the stranger drawled, stepping inside without invitation. “This is the reason you’ve gone dark. I was beginning to think the rumors weren’t true.”
Adrian shut the door behind him, his body subtly shifting to block the man’s direct view of me. “You have two minutes, Vincent. Use them wisely.”
Vincent’s eyes gleamed. “I think you’ll want more than two minutes when you hear what I have to say.” His gaze slid to me again, assessing, curious… almost too curious. “Does she know?”
I swallowed. “Know what?”
Neither man answered.
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The tension was suffocating, thick enough to choke on. I could feel a truth hovering in the air, sharp and dangerous. Adrian stood between us like a wall, but something in his stillness told me he wasn’t just protecting me… he was hiding something.
Vincent tilted his head, his voice dropping.
“You haven’t told her, have you?”
Adrian’s silence was answer enough.
The fire popped behind me. Rain began tapping against the window again. And just like that, I knew — whatever the secret was, it wasn’t small.
It was the kind of secret that could shatter everything.
TO BE CONTINUED
- Writer
