Too close
551 Words
The ride back was silent.
But not the comfortable kind.
This silence was different.
Heavy.
Charged.
Amara sat by the window, replaying everything that happened at the dinner.
Vanessa’s words.
Adrian’s father.
The stares.
The humiliation.
“I shouldn’t have said all that,” she muttered.
Adrian didn’t look at her.
“You handled it well.”
She turned, surprised. “You call that handling it well?”
“You didn’t run.”
She blinked.
That… was true.
“I almost did,” she admitted quietly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then “You were shaking,” Adrian said.
Her heart skipped.
“You noticed?”
“I notice everything.”
The way he said it made something inside her shift.
The car stopped.
They were home.
Amara stepped out quickly, needing space.
But before she could walk away “Amara.”
She froze.
Slowly, she turned.
Adrian was standing closer than she expected.
Too close.
“Why did you do it?” he asked.
Her brows furrowed. “Do what?”
“Stand up to them,” he said. “You could’ve stayed quiet.”
She hesitated.
Then answered honestly.
“Because I was tired,” she said softly.
“Tired of being looked down on… like I’m nothing.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“You’re not nothing.”
Her breath caught.
For a moment everything felt still.
“You don’t even know me,” she whispered.
Adrian took a step closer.
Now there was barely any space between them.
“I know enough,” he said.
Her heart started racing.
Fast.
Too fast.
“Adrian…” she started.
But her voice came out weaker than she expected.
His gaze dropped briefly to her lips.
Then back to her eyes.
Dangerous.
“You should go inside,” he said quietly.
But he didn’t move.
Neither did she.
The tension between them was thick.
Unspoken.
Undeniable.
Then suddenly Amara stepped back.
Breaking it.
“This is part of the contract, right?” she asked, trying to steady herself.
Adrian’s expression hardened slightly.
“No,” he said.
Silence.
“This…” he added, his voice lower now,
“…is something else.”
Her heart skipped again.
Before she could respond his phone rang.
The moment broke.
Just like that.
Adrian glanced at the screen, his expression turning cold again.
“Handle it,” he said into the phone, already walking away.
Back to being him.
Untouchable.
Amara stood there, confused.
Breathless.
“What just happened…” she whispered.
She placed a hand on her chest.
Her heart was still racing.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
It was just a contract.
Nothing more.
So why did it feel like everything was changing?
And why did she want it to?
Upstairs, in his study Adrian stood by the window again.
Phone still in hand.
But his mind?
Elsewhere.
“Sir?” his assistant’s voice came through.
“…What did you find?” Adrian asked.
There was a pause.
“About Miss Amara…”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“…there’s something you should know.”
Silence.
“What is it?” he asked.
The answer came and for the first time Adrian’s expression changed.
“…That’s impossible.”
Downstairs, Amara had no idea a secret from her past was about to change everything.
- Writer
