Episode4: When pride crumbles
1074 Words
Episode4: When Pride Crumbles
Rain dropped the glass walls of Adrain’s penthouse. He stood by the window, sleeves rolled up, tie abandoned on the couch, like a man stripped of all the armor money could buy.
He hadn’t slept. Not since Hilda walked out.
Every memory of her had turned into noise: her laughter echoing in the halls, the smell of vanilla and soft jasmine on his pillow, the way she used to whisper his name like it meant something.
Now, silence was his punishment.
He poured himself another glass of scotch and tried not to think about how she used to hate the smell of it.
“Mr. Cole,” came Ethan’s voice through the intercom. “Your mother’s on line one.”
Adrain exhaled, his jaw tightening. “Tell her I’m busy.”
There was a pause. “She said, It’s about Hilda.”
His heartbeat faltered.
He grabbed the phone. “Mother?”
“Adrain,” her tone was sharp, accusing. “What have you done to that girl? I ran into her at the hospital today.”
He froze. “The hospital?”
“She was visiting someone. But she looked pale, thinner… and when I called her name, she flinched like she’d seen a ghost.”
A sharp ache settled in his chest.
“Oh, stop with your contracts,” his mother snapped. “You can’t buy love, Adrain. You never could.”
Her words hit harder than she knew.
When the call ended, he stood there for a long time, letting the silence choke him again before he grabbed his car keys and stormed out.
Across the city, rain dropped softly against the roof of a small café.
Hilda sat by the window, stirring her tea long after it had gone cold. Her friend, Maya, watched her from across the table.
“You can’t keep doing this,” Maya said softly. “You left that house to heal, not to haunt yourself.”
Hilda smiled faintly. “Healing takes time. Regret… doesn’t.”
“You still love him.”
The silence between them said enough.
Hilda looked out the window at the blurred world beyond. “He’s not the man I fell in love with. That man used to look at me like I was light. Now, he only sees shadows.”
“Then stop living in his,” Maya said gently.
Hilda’s lips curved sadly. “It’s not that easy.”
Her phone buzzed on the table.
She froze when she saw his name.
Adrian.
Her heart stuttered. For a moment, she considered not answering, but curiosity was a cruel thing.
She picked up. “What do you want, Adrain?” she said.
He was silent for a beat too long. When he spoke, his voice was low. “To see you.”
Her chest tightened. “For what? Another reminder that I’m just a clause in your life?”
“Hilda—”
“I’m not doing this again,” she whispered, cutting him off. “You can’t hurt me and then decide when to feel guilty.”
The line went quiet. Then he said, softer this time, “I need to talk to you. Please.”
Something in his tone, fragile, almost human made her hesitate.
She sighed. “Five minutes. No more.”
When he arrived at the café, the rain had slowed to a mist. He looked out of place among the soft chatter and warm lights, a dark suit, an untamed expression.
Hilda watched him approach, every heartbeat loud in her chest.
He sat across from her, eyes searching her face. “You look different.”
She scoffed. “It’s called peace. You should try it.”
He almost smiled. Almost. “I deserve that.”
“No,” she said quietly, “you deserve to know what it feels like to be broken by the person you trusted most.”
He flinched. “Hilda—”
“Why are you here, Adrian?” she whispered. “You have already got what you wanted. The deal’s done. The marriage, the show, the lies.”
His hand curled on the table. “I didn’t know, Hilda. About the betrayal. About who”
“Stop,” she said sharply, eyes glistening. “Don’t you dare act like you were innocent. You believed everyone but me.”
He leaned forward. “Because I thought I saw proof!”
“And yet, you never asked me,” she said, her voice cracking. “You just decided I wasn’t worth the truth.”
The café seemed to fade around them, just two people, hearts bleeding across the table.
He exhaled shakily. “I’ve been wrong before, Hilda. But never like this.”
She looked away, blinking fast. “Apologies don’t erase scars.”
“I don’t want to erase them,” he said quietly. “I want to earn the right to heal them.”
Her throat tightened. For a moment, she saw the man she’d fallen for the one who had kissed her forehead at midnight, who had promised forever before contracts and betrayal.
But love wasn’t enough anymore.
“You can’t fix what you broke, Adrian,” she whispered, standing. “Some things aren’t meant to be mended.”
He stood too, desperate now. “Hilda, please”
Her eyes met his, steady and sad. “You’ll learn one day that control doesn’t equal love.”Then she turned and walked away.
He stood there, rooted to the spot, watching her leave again only this time, he didn’t stop her.
That night, he sat alone in his penthouse again.
Her words replayed in his head, over and over control doesn’t equal love.
He opened his safe, pulling out a thin file marked “Halen” — her name before marriage. Inside were photos, contracts, and one sealed letter he’d never opened.
His assistant had left it on his desk months ago the one from her father, written before the scandal that tore them apart.
He opened it with trembling hands.
“If you’re reading this, it means you’ve already destroyed the one person who truly loved you. She is not your enemy, Adrian. She was your chance to be better.”
The words blurred through his tears.
Outside, lightning cracked across the sky, and for the first time Adrain Cole, the man who owned everything, felt what it was like to lose what truly mattered.
- Writer
