In my grasp, quit
1285 Words
That night, Saurin packed.
Not neatly.
Not calmly.
Like a woman fleeing a fire.
She moved through the house with trembling hands, folding Noah’s clothes, grabbing documents, stuffing her research notes into a bag as if knowledge could be carried like armor.
Her chest felt tight, like she couldn’t get enough air.
She stared at Noah sleeping—his little face peaceful, unaware of the war circling him.
And she thought:
I can disappear again.
I did it once.
I can do it better this time.
Adrian arrived quietly—he’d sensed something wrong, or maybe he’d simply been nearby too often lately.
He saw the bags.
He didn’t ask questions.
He just stepped inside and said softly:
“Where are you going?”
Saurin's voice cracked. “Away.”
Adrian’s expression tightened, pain flashing across his eyes too quickly to hide.
“You can’t keep running,” he said.
Saurin swallowed hard.
“You don’t understand,” she whispered. “They will crush me.”
Adrian stepped closer, voice low, sincere.
“I understand enough,” he said. “And I’m telling you—if you leave tonight, you’ll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.”
Saurin trembled.
Adrian hesitated—then did something dangerous.
He reached up and gently brushed a tear off her cheek with his thumb.
Not romantic.
Not possessive.
Just tender.
But the tenderness was exactly what made it dangerous.
Saurin's breath caught.
Adrian’s voice softened.
“If you stay,” he murmured, “you won’t be alone.”
Saurin stared at him.
For a moment, she almost believed she could accept that.
Then the door opened.
And Alac walked in.
He saw Darian'shand on her face.
He saw the bags.
And something in him snapped.
Alac didn’t shout.
That was the terrifying part.
He walked in slowly, eyes locked on the scene like it was a crime.
Adrian lowered his hand immediately—calm, unbothered.
Saurin flinched like she’d been caught doing something wrong even though she hadn’t.
Alac's gaze slid to the bags.
“You’re leaving,” he said.
Saurin's mouth opened.
No words came.
Her guilt rose like bile.
Alac's eyes narrowed—hurt and rage braided together.
“You ran once,” he said, voice low. “And now you’re going to do it again.”
Saurin's voice broke.
“I don’t have a choice—”
“You do,” Alac cut in, stepping closer. “You just don’t want to trust me.”
Saurin's tears finally spilled.
“How can I?” she whispered. “You let them destroy me.”
Alac's jaw flexed like he was swallowing glass.
Then he turned—slowly—toward Adrian.
“And you,” Alac said quietly, “need to decide what you are.”
Adrian held his gaze.
“I’m someone who cares about her,” Adrian replied.
Alac's eyes darkened.
“And what does that make you?” Alac asked. “A friend? A savior? Or a man waiting for me to fail?”
Adrian didn’t blink.
“Maybe all of it,” he said.
The air turned sharp.
Saurin stepped forward, shaking.
“Stop,” she begged.
But Alac looked back at her, and his voice dropped into something that sounded almost like a vow.
“If you take my son and disappear again,” he said, eyes burning, “I will find you. And next time I won’t come politely.”
Saurin went still.
Alac's voice softened just a fraction—still fierce, still raw.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” he said. “I’m here to protect what’s mine.”
Saurin's breath hitched.
“What’s yours?” she whispered.
Alac’s gaze held hers.
“My son,” he said. Then, after a beat—like it cost him to add:
“And the truth of what we were. We can be friends you know?”
Saurin trembled, torn between fear and something else—something that wanted to believe him.
Adrian stepped back, letting the silence settle.
But his eyes stayed on Saurin's.
And the look on his face said one thing clearly:
If he breaks you again, I won’t stand back next time.
Outside, the ocean breathed.
Inside, everything was war.
Over the following week Saurin was stressing.
Adrian couldn’t stand watching her drown.
After a week of chaos—court dates, threats, Noah’s reactions to moving and spending the first 3 days with his grandparents —Saurin looked hollow.
So, Adrian engineered a moment.
A small café by the water.
A quiet table.
No lawyers. No family. No war.
He told Alac it was for Saurin's sanity.
Saurin arrived looking exhausted, hair loose, eyes bruised by sleepless nights before leaving Barbados.
Adrian slid a coffee toward her.
“You need to eat,” he said gently. “And you need ten minutes where nobody is trying to pull you apart.”
Saurin had let out a shaky breath. “You shouldn’t be helping me.”
Adrian’s gaze softened.
“I’m not helping you because it’s convenient,” he said. “I’m helping you because you’re good. And because you’ve been punished for it your whole life.”
Her eyes filled.
Adrian’s voice dropped—quiet, raw.
“And because…” He hesitated. Then said it anyway. “Because I care about you more than I should.”
Saurin froze.
The air between them changed.
Adrian didn’t reach for her. He didn’t touch her.
But the confession itself was a kind of touch.
A claim without hands.
Saurin's voice trembled.
“Adrian…”
He swallowed.
“I know,” he whispered.
“I know it’s not fair. I know your heart is tangled with his. But I needed you to know one thing—if he breaks you again, you won’t break alone.”
Saurin's breath caught.
And then the café door opened.
Saurin felt it before she saw it.
That sensation of being watched—like the air had eyes.
She noticed a man too often near the research center earlier. Alone. Always “reading.” looking too still.
The man approached slowly, flashing a polite smile.
“Mrs… Morgan?” he asked.
Saurin didn’t respond.
The man’s gaze softened—almost professional.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m just… collecting information.”
Saurin's blood ran cold.
“Who hired you?” she asked.
The man didn’t answer directly.
But his eyes flicked toward Adrian, then back to her, and he said:
“She wants to know more about you.. She'd dismissed your presence as insignificant. That's turnedout to bite her in the ass.”
Saurin's breath caught.
“She?”
The detective’s smile faded.
“Vanessa Morgan.”
Saurin's knees went weak.
It wasn’t just that Vanessa knew.
It was that Vanessa had sent a stranger into follow me and anyone in my orbit.
Darian pulled Saurin closer to him instinctively.
“Saurin,” he said tightly, “go to the car. Now.”
Saurin's eyes widened. She obeyed, moving quickly.
Darian turned back, voice trembling with rage.
“If you come near her or her son again—”
The detective lifted his hands in surrender.
“I’ve done my job,” he said. “But you should know… she won’t stop here. Alac's involvement means Vanessa’s hands are sturing the pot”
And as he walked away, he added casually—almost kindly:
“People like her don’t lose.”
Saurin stood by the car shaking...watching the man leave the café.
And for the first time in years, she felt the same that suffocating truth: Kate and Vanessa...
they could reach her anywhere.
- Writer
