❤︎ 𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓐𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 ❤︎

❤︎ 𝓒𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 7: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒃𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 ❤︎

Aria's heart pounded as the two men stepped out of the black SUV.

She instinctively took another step back.

"I said I don't know your boss."

One of the men smiled coldly.

"You'll meet him soon."

Without warning, he reached for her arm.

Aria reacted quickly, pulling away and swinging her handbag at him.

The bag hit his shoulder with a loud thud.

"You little—"

Before he could finish, Aria turned and ran.

She sprinted through the crowded streets, weaving between pedestrians.

Her lungs burned.

Her legs ached.

But she refused to stop.

Behind her, the men chased after her.

"Catch her!"

She looked over her shoulder for a split second.

That was enough to make her crash into someone's chest.

She stumbled, expecting to fall.

Instead, a pair of strong arms caught her.

"It's okay."

That voice...

She looked up.

"Adrian?"

His sharp eyes immediately noticed the terrified expression on her face.

"What happened?"

Before she could answer, the two men reached them.

"There she is!"

Adrian slowly moved Aria behind him.

His face became unreadable.

"You've got five seconds to leave."

The taller man laughed.

"And who are you to stop us?"

Adrian calmly adjusted the sleeve of his suit.

"I'm the man you're about to regret threatening."

The men charged toward him.

Before Aria could scream, several black vehicles surrounded the area.

The doors opened.

More than a dozen security guards rushed out.

The strangers froze.

One guard stepped forward.

"Mr. Knight, should we call the police?"

Adrian never took his eyes off the men.

"No."

His voice was icy.

"They'll tell us who sent them first."

The men exchanged frightened glances.

They hadn't expected the woman they were chasing to be under the protection of Adrian Knight.

One of them tried to run.

The guards quickly caught him.

The other dropped to his knees.

"Please... we were only following orders!"

Adrian stepped closer.

"Whose orders?"

The man hesitated.

"I... I don't know his real name."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"What do you know?"

"He wore a black mask... and he said the girl was important."

Aria felt a chill run down her spine.

"Important?"

"Why would anyone be looking for me?"

Adrian removed his suit jacket and gently draped it over her shoulders.

"You won't be going home tonight."

She looked at him, confused.

"What?"

"It's not safe."

"I can't just leave my mother wondering where I am."

"I'll have someone inform her."

Aria hesitated.

Trusting Adrian felt risky.

But after what had just happened...

She didn't have much of a choice.

As Adrian helped her into his car, neither of them noticed a figure watching from the rooftop across the street.

The mysterious person lowered a pair of binoculars and smiled.

"So..."

"They've finally met."

♡︎ 𝑻𝒐 𝑩𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅... ♡︎