Ariana’s POV
The moment Adrian said the word mate, the world didn’t explode the way it had before.
There was no sharp c***k in my chest. No tearing pain. No public humiliation dressed up as destiny. Instead, there was a strange stillness, like the calm that comes after a storm has already passed and left its damage behind.
I stood there, rooted to the ground, my heart pounding as if it were trying to decide whether to run or stay.
Leah’s voice reached me faintly, asking if I was okay. Ethan hovered close, protective as always. But my attention was fixed on Adrian—on the way he stood a few steps away from me, not crowding my space, not reaching out, not demanding anything from me.
That alone told me he was different.
When I nodded to Leah and gently pulled my hand from hers, I could f
