Chapter Six: The Woman He Was Trying To Protect
1355 Words
Isabella Laurent woke up with a strange feeling.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Something closer to the feeling of being watched.
She opened her eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling of her bedroom in the Cross mansion.
For a moment, she forgot where she was.
Then reality returned.
The mansion.
The rumors.
Adrian Cross.
She sat up and looked around.
Everything appeared normal.
Too normal.
That was what bothered her.
The night before, she had seen a different side of Adrian. A side nobody knew existed.
The man who could destroy someone's career without hesitation had been sitting on the floor, laughing with his niece.
The man who terrified entire companies had allowed a little girl to criticize his building skills.
It confused her.
Because Adrian Cross was not the monster everyone described.
But he wasn't a good man either.
He was somewhere in between.
And somehow, that made him more dangerous.
---
At breakfast, Adrian was already there.
As usual.
He sat at the long dining table, reading reports while his coffee slowly became cold.
Isabella noticed something immediately.
He looked tired.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
The sharpness in his eyes was still there, but something heavier rested behind them.
She almost asked if he was okay.
Almost.
Then she remembered who she was dealing with.
Adrian Cross didn't answer questions.
He created them.
"You're staring."
His voice pulled her from her thoughts.
Isabella looked away.
"I was wondering if you ever relax."
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Never?"
"No."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It works."
"For what?"
"Survival."
The word caught her attention.
She looked at him carefully.
"Is that how you see life?"
Adrian closed the document in his hands.
"How should I see it?"
"Not everything is a battle."
His expression remained cold.
"That's because you've never been in one."
The comment irritated her.
"You don't know what I've been through."
"No."
His eyes met hers.
"But I know you still believe people are good."
"And you don't?"
A pause.
Then Adrian looked away.
"I believe people are good until they have a reason not to be."
The answer surprised her.
Because it sounded less like cruelty.
And more like disappointment.
---
After breakfast, Isabella decided she needed to get away from the mansion.
She couldn't spend every day surrounded by Adrian's rules and silent walls.
She needed something normal.
A simple walk.
A normal conversation.
A reminder that she still had a life outside the Cross family.
She grabbed her bag and headed toward the entrance.
But before she reached the door, two security guards stepped forward.
"Miss Laurent."
She stopped.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Cross instructed us to accompany you."
Her expression changed.
Of course.
She turned around immediately.
She found Adrian standing near the staircase.
Watching.
"Are you serious?"
His expression remained calm.
"Yes."
"You assigned guards to follow me?"
"Yes."
"Without asking me?"
"Yes."
Isabella walked toward him.
"You really enjoy making decisions for other people."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"And you enjoy putting yourself in unnecessary danger."
"I'm going to a café."
"Someone followed you yesterday."
"That doesn't mean I need bodyguards."
"It does."
The certainty in his voice annoyed her.
"You don't get to control my entire life because you're rich."
Something flashed in his eyes.
Anger.
But not the explosive kind.
The quiet kind.
The dangerous kind.
"I am not trying to control your life."
"Then what are you doing?"
Adrian stepped closer.
"Keeping you alive."
The seriousness in his voice stopped her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Because she believed him.
And that was the problem.
She believed Adrian Cross cared.
Even though he would never admit it.
---
An hour later, Isabella found herself sitting in a café with Adrian's security nearby.
She was annoyed.
Very annoyed.
But she refused to let him win.
She ordered the most expensive dessert on the menu.
The guard looked surprised.
She smiled.
"What?"
"Nothing, Miss Laurent."
"Good."
She took a bite.
Then she noticed someone sitting across the street.
Watching her.
Her smile disappeared.
The person looked familiar.
But before she could focus, Adrian's security team moved.
Within seconds, the person disappeared.
Isabella stood.
"What happened?"
One of the guards spoke into his phone.
"Mr. Cross has been informed."
Her frustration returned.
"Of course he has."
---
When she returned to the mansion, Adrian was waiting.
Not in his office.
Not in the library.
At the entrance.
That alone told her something was wrong.
"You saw him."
It wasn't a question.
Isabella frowned.
"Saw who?"
"The person watching you."
She crossed her arms.
"How do you know?"
"I know everything that happens around you."
The statement should have frightened her.
Instead, it irritated her.
"That is not normal, Adrian."
"I know."
"Then why do it?"
His expression hardened.
"Because the person watching you is connected to the person who threatened you."
The anger disappeared from her face.
"What?"
Adrian handed her a file.
She hesitated before opening it.
Inside were pictures.
Of her.
Leaving university.
Walking home.
Sitting in the garden.
Her stomach tightened.
"How long?"
"We don't know."
The answer was quiet.
"Adrian..."
His jaw tightened.
"I should have noticed sooner."
She looked at him.
"You blame yourself?"
He didn't answer.
But she knew.
That was exactly what he was doing.
"You can't protect everyone."
His eyes turned cold.
"Watch me."
The confidence in his voice was almost frightening.
But Isabella saw beyond it.
She saw the fear.
The fear that if he failed, someone would pay the price.
And she realized something.
Adrian Cross didn't protect people because he was a hero.
He protected them because he knew what it felt like to lose.
---
That night, a storm hit the city.
Rain poured against the mansion windows.
Isabella couldn't sleep.
She found herself wandering through the halls.
She stopped when she saw light coming from Adrian's office.
The door was slightly open.
She knew she shouldn't enter.
The rules were clear.
Never enter Adrian's office.
But curiosity won.
Inside, she found him standing near the window.
No suit jacket.
No perfect appearance.
Just a tired man staring into the storm.
"You break rules often."
His voice made her freeze.
She hadn't even realized he knew she was there.
"I was checking if you were human."
A faint smile appeared.
"Disappointed?"
"Still deciding."
For a moment, the tension between them changed.
Not anger.
Not arguments.
Something quieter.
Adrian looked at her.
"You should be afraid of me."
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"Because it's true."
She stepped closer.
"Maybe I'm not afraid because I know you're not as heartless as you pretend."
His expression changed.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Try to understand me."
The words were almost a warning.
"Why?"
His voice became softer.
"Because once you understand someone, it's harder to hate them."
Isabella looked at him.
"And you think I should hate you?"
Adrian didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
For a moment, they stood there, surrounded by thunder and silence.
Then Adrian stepped back.
"Go back to your room, Isabella."
She frowned.
"You're dismissing me?"
"I'm protecting you."
"From what?"
His eyes held hers.
"From me."
The words sent a strange feeling through her.
Because Adrian Cross was not afraid of enemies.
He was not afraid of losing money.
He was not afraid of anyone in the world.
But he was afraid of himself.
And that was the most dangerous thing Isabella had learned about him.
---
Later that night, Adrian received a call.
His expression changed immediately.
"Speak."
The voice on the other end delivered the information.
And Adrian's face became colder than ever.
The person behind the threats had been found.
Someone from his past.
Someone who knew his weaknesses.
Someone who knew Isabella was becoming important.
Adrian looked toward the hallway where Isabella's room was located.
His hands tightened.
Nobody had ever been able to hurt him.
But now someone had found the one way to do it.
Through her.
And Adrian Cross made a promise.
A promise that would change everything.
Whoever touched Isabella Laurent...
would regret ever knowing his name.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD