Chapter Ten: The Distance Between Us
1117 Words
The morning after Adrian’s public declaration, Isabella woke up to a world that felt completely different.
Her name was everywhere.
Not because of anything she had done.
Not because of her dreams or her achievements.
But because she was connected to Adrian Cross.
The billionaire everyone wanted to know.
The man who rarely showed emotion.
The man who had shocked the world by stepping in front of cameras and declaring that she was under his protection.
Isabella stared at her phone as messages and articles filled the screen.
“Who is Isabella Laurent?”
“Mystery Woman Protected by Billionaire Adrian Cross.”
“Is There More Than Business Between Them?”
She sighed and placed the phone down.
This was not the kind of attention she wanted.
She wanted to be seen as Isabella.
Not as the woman standing beside a powerful man.
A knock sounded.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Adrian walked inside.
Her heart betrayed her immediately.
Even after everything, his presence affected her.
He wore a perfectly tailored black suit, his expression unreadable as always.
But Isabella noticed something.
He looked tired.
“You should stop reading those articles,” he said.
She crossed her arms.
“You knew this would happen.”
“Yes.”
“And you still did it.”
“Yes.”
His honesty surprised her.
“Why?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Because watching them attack you was something I couldn’t tolerate.”
The answer softened her anger.
But only slightly.
“You don’t get to protect me one day and push me away the next.”
His expression changed.
“I know.”
“No, Adrian. You don’t.”
She stepped closer.
“You treat me like I’m important, then you act like I’m a mistake.”
For once, Adrian had no immediate answer.
Because she was right.
“I’m trying to protect you from me.”
Isabella frowned.
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because everyone who gets close to me gets hurt.”
The pain in his voice was hidden, but she heard it.
“Adrian…”
He looked away.
“There are things about my past you don’t understand.”
“Then tell me.”
Silence.
A long, painful silence.
“I can’t.”
Her disappointment was obvious.
“Of course you can’t.”
She walked past him.
But before she reached the door, Adrian spoke.
“Isabella.”
She stopped.
His voice was different.
Not commanding.
Not cold.
Almost vulnerable.
“Do you know what scares me?”
She turned.
“What?”
“That I’m starting to forget why I promised myself I would never fall in love again.”
Her breath caught.
The room became completely still.
“Adrian…”
But he stepped back, rebuilding the walls around himself.
“This cannot happen.”
Her heart sank.
“What cannot happen?”
“Whatever this is between us.”
“Why?”
“Because you deserve someone who can give you a normal life.”
She looked at him sadly.
“And you think you can’t?”
His silence was the answer.
Later that day, Adrian attended a board meeting at Cross Tower.
But his mind was nowhere near business.
Every decision he made was usually simple.
Numbers.
Deals.
Power.
Control.
But Isabella was different.
She was the one thing he couldn’t control.
His phone rang.
It was Marcus.
“Adrian, we found something.”
Adrian immediately became alert.
“What?”
“The person behind the rumors about Isabella.”
“Who?”
A pause.
“It’s someone inside the Cross family.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened.
“Name.”
“Your cousin, Damien.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Damien Cross.
A man who had always wanted Adrian’s position.
A man who believed the Cross empire belonged to him.
“What does he want?”
Marcus hesitated.
“To destroy your reputation.”
Adrian clenched his fist.
“Why Isabella?”
“Because she’s your weakness.”
The words struck hard.
His weakness.
Everyone saw it.
Everyone except Isabella.
That evening, Isabella walked through the mansion gardens, needing space to think.
She hated admitting it, but Adrian had gotten under her skin.
She saw the kindness hidden beneath his coldness.
The loneliness behind his arrogance.
The man he tried so hard to hide.
She stopped when she heard footsteps.
“Beautiful night.”
She turned.
A man she had never seen before stood behind her.
Tall.
Charming.
But something about his smile felt wrong.
“Who are you?”
He smiled.
“Damien Cross.”
Her expression changed.
“The cousin?”
“Guilty.”
He walked closer.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Isabella became cautious.
“I can’t say the same.”
Damien laughed.
“I like your honesty.”
“What do you want?”
His smile faded slightly.
“To warn you.”
“About what?”
“Adrian.”
Her heart tightened.
“What about him?”
Damien looked toward the mansion.
“My cousin has a habit of destroying everything he loves.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
His voice lowered.
“Ask him what happened to the last woman who trusted him.”
Isabella froze.
“What woman?”
Damien smiled.
“That’s the question you should ask.”
Then he walked away.
Leaving Isabella standing alone with a thousand questions.
That night, Adrian found her in the garden.
“You met Damien.”
It wasn’t a question.
Isabella looked at him.
“Yes.”
His expression immediately changed.
“What did he tell you?”
“That you destroy everything you love.”
Adrian went silent.
The reaction told her everything.
“Who was she, Adrian?”
He looked away.
“Isabella…”
“Who was the woman before me?”
The pain in his eyes appeared for a second.
Then disappeared.
“That’s a story you don’t want to know.”
She stepped closer.
“Maybe I do.”
Adrian looked at her.
And for the first time, she saw something she had never seen before.
Regret.
Deep.
Unbearable.
“Her name was Clara.”
A cold wind moved through the garden.
“And I was the reason she died.”
Isabella’s heart stopped.
“What?”
Adrian’s voice broke slightly.
“I promised I would protect her.”
A pause.
“But I failed.”
The billionaire who feared nothing looked away.
And Isabella realized something.
The greatest battle Adrian Cross was fighting was not against his enemies.
It was against himself.
And she was about to discover the secret that had kept him trapped for years.
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