Chapter Seven: Open mind
463 Words
Adrian sat in the shadows of my living room, his elbows on his knees, his head bowed like a man carrying the weight of the world. I had never seen him like this before. For the first time, he looked less like a storm I couldn’t resist and more like a man fighting against himself.
“You were sent to protect me,” I repeated softly, my voice unsteady. “Protect me from what, Adrian? From who?”
His jaw tightened. “I can’t tell you that. Not yet.”
The words cut deep, but it wasn’t just the secrecy that stung — it was the way his voice cracked, like each word was a punishment to himself.
“Do you even hear yourself?” I snapped, pacing the room. “You show up out of nowhere, turn my life upside down, and expect me to just accept that you know what’s best for me? Do you have any idea how insane that sounds?”
“I know,” he whispered.
That stopped me cold. His voice wasn’t defensive, wasn’t arrogant — it was heavy, dripping with guilt.
“I know it’s unfair,” he continued, lifting his eyes to mine. They were dark, tortured, filled with things I couldn’t name. “You deserve answers. You deserve the truth. But if I give you everything now, you’ll run. You’ll hate me. And the one thing I can’t stand is the thought of losing you before I’ve even had you.”
My breath caught, my chest tightening.
“Adrian…”
He rose from the couch, closing the distance between us in two long strides. His hand hovered near my cheek but didn’t touch me, as if he didn’t trust himself to let go if he did.
“I wasn’t supposed to feel this way about you,” he confessed. “Getting close to you was never part of the plan. I was supposed to protect you from the shadows, keep you safe without you ever knowing I existed. But the first time I saw you — really saw you — it was already too late. You were under my skin, Isabella. And every day since then, I’ve been breaking the only rule that matters.”
“What rule?” I whispered.
His lips curved into a bitter smile. “Never fall for the one you’re meant to protect.”
The room spun around me, his words sinking into the very marrow of my bones.
He was mine before I even knew it. Bound not just by passion, but by guilt, by rules, by danger.
And yet, as his eyes burned into mine, I realized something terrifying.
No rule, no secret, no guilt in the world was strong enough to undo what we already were.
- Writer
