LOVING MY BODYGUARDChapter 3: Too Close for Comfort
1591 Words
LOVING MY BODYGUARD
Chapter 3: Too Close for Comfort
The first thing Elara noticed the next morning was the absence of silence.
Not the absence of noise—her world was never truly quiet—but the absence of uncertainty. There was a rhythm now. A presence she didn’t need to look for anymore.
She knew he was there.
Outside her door.
Adrian Cole.
It was unsettling how quickly her mind had adapted to that fact.
Elara sat up in bed slowly, pushing her hair back as she listened. Footsteps outside were minimal—controlled. Not pacing. Not restless. Just… steady.
Like he had been there all night without complaint.
Which, knowing him, was probably true.
She swung her legs off the bed and stood, walking barefoot across the cold marble floor. When she opened the door, she wasn’t surprised to see him exactly where she expected.
Same posture. Same expression. Same unreadable calm.
“Morning,” she said flatly.
“Good morning,” he replied.
Elara squinted at him. “Do you ever change your tone?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“When necessary.”
She exhaled. “That’s not helpful.”
“It’s accurate.”
She crossed her arms. “You sound like a broken system update.”
A faint pause. “I don’t know what that means.”
“Of course you don’t.”
That should’ve annoyed her more than it did.
Instead, it made something in her chest loosen slightly.
---
Downstairs, breakfast was already set.
This time, Elara actually ate.
Not because she was hungry.
Because she was aware he would notice if she didn’t.
And she hated that she cared.
Adrian stood near the far end of the dining room—not staring, not hovering, just positioned in a way that made it clear he could see everything without making it obvious.
Elara took a sip of juice and glanced at him over the rim of her glass. “You always stand like that?”
“Yes.”
“Like a statue?”
“Like security.”
She hummed. “You’re not very fun at breakfast.”
“I’m not supposed to be.”
“That’s sad.”
“It’s efficient.”
She leaned forward slightly. “Do you have anything in your life that isn’t ‘efficient’?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Sleep,” he said simply.
Elara blinked once. “That’s your idea of excitement?”
“It’s necessary.”
She sighed. “You really need hobbies.”
“I have a job.”
“That’s not a hobby.”
“It consumes time.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
He didn’t respond.
Which, strangely, felt like his version of disagreement.
---
By midday, Elara was already bored.
Her schedule had been rearranged again—meetings canceled, public appearances reduced, movement controlled. It felt less like protection and more like restriction wrapped in expensive packaging.
She was in the grand sitting room when she finally snapped.
“I’m going out,” she announced.
Adrian, who had been standing near the doorway, looked up immediately. “Where?”
“Outside,” she said.
“That’s not a location.”
She turned sharply. “Don’t start.”
He stepped forward slightly. “You don’t have clearance for unscheduled movement.”
Elara stared at him. “Did you just say I need clearance to breathe fresh air?”
“I said unscheduled movement.”
“It’s a walk, not a military operation.”
“For you,” he corrected.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
“I’m doing my job.”
“Your job is to follow me around, not imprison me.”
“I’m not imprisoning you.”
“Then what do you call this?” she gestured around the mansion.
“Containment of risk.”
Elara laughed once, sharp and disbelieving. “You really do talk like a machine.”
“I prefer predictable systems.”
“I am not a system.”
A pause.
“No,” he said quietly. “You’re not.”
Something about the way he said it made her stop.
Just briefly.
Then she recovered. “Good. So stop treating me like one.”
He studied her for a moment. Not in judgment. Not in softness. Just analysis.
Then: “If you leave the estate, I come with you.”
“I know.”
“And I stay close.”
“I know.”
“And you don’t separate from me in public areas.”
Elara groaned. “You’re exhausting.”
“That’s acceptable.”
“It’s not a compliment.”
“I didn’t take it as one.”
She stared at him for a long moment, then turned away. “Fine. I’m going for a walk. Outside. With you breathing down my neck.”
“Preferably not directly behind your neck,” he said.
She shot him a look. “Don’t push your luck.”
A faint pause. “Understood.”
---
The estate gardens were large enough to feel like a different world.
Tall hedges, trimmed paths, fountains that sounded too peaceful for someone like Elara’s life. She walked ahead, hands tucked into her pockets, while Adrian followed a few steps behind.
She kept pretending she didn’t notice him.
It lasted approximately four minutes.
Then she stopped.
“You’re too quiet,” she said without turning.
“That’s intentional.”
“It’s annoying.”
“Noted.”
She turned around fully now. “Do you ever say anything without sounding like you’re reporting to someone?”
“Yes.”
“Try it.”
A pause.
Then, surprisingly, he said, “This path is uneven on the left side.”
Elara blinked. “…That’s your attempt?”
“It’s information.”
She laughed despite herself. “You’re hopeless.”
He didn’t react.
But something in his eyes changed slightly.
Like he didn’t mind hearing her laugh again.
That thought irritated her more than she expected.
---
They continued walking.
At some point, Elara slowed down, looking around the garden.
“You ever get tired of this?” she asked suddenly.
“Of what?”
“This,” she gestured vaguely. “Standing behind people. Watching them. Making sure nothing happens.”
“No.”
“No hesitation?”
“It’s what I was trained for.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is mine.”
Elara kicked lightly at a small stone on the path. “You don’t seem like someone who enjoys being told what to do.”
A pause.
“I don’t enjoy it,” he admitted.
“Then why do it?”
“Because structure saves lives.”
She glanced at him. “That sounds like something someone says when they’ve never had freedom.”
His eyes flicked to her briefly.
“That depends on what you call freedom,” he said.
Elara slowed.
For a moment, she actually looked at him.
Not the guard.
Not the assignment.
Just him.
“Do you think I’m free?” she asked.
A long pause.
“No,” he said finally.
That answer should’ve offended her.
Instead, it landed somewhere deeper.
She turned away first. “You’re very bold for someone who follows me around all day.”
“I don’t follow you,” he corrected. “I monitor risk proximity.”
“That sounds worse.”
“It’s more accurate.”
She sighed. “You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
---
The moment changed when they returned indoors.
A message was waiting for Elara on her phone.
Unknown number.
No name.
Just one line:
“You are being watched closer than you think.”
Her grip tightened slightly on the phone.
Adrian noticed instantly.
“What is it?” he asked.
She hesitated.
Then turned the screen toward him.
His expression changed for the first time since she met him.
Not fear.
Not surprise.
Focus.
Sharp, immediate, controlled.
“Where did this come from?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
He took a step closer, scanning it. “When did you receive it?”
“Just now.”
He straightened. “We’re increasing security immediately.”
Elara narrowed her eyes. “It could be a prank.”
“It isn’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do,” he said firmly.
The certainty in his voice made her pause.
“What makes you so sure?” she asked.
He looked at her.
“Because people don’t send warnings unless they’re confident they’ve already been observed.”
Silence.
The air in the room felt different now.
He stepped slightly closer—not invading, just adjusting positioning.
“Stay inside,” he said.
Elara scoffed. “I was just outside.”
“Stay inside the secured area.”
“You’re not my boss.”
“I’m the reason you’re alive,” he corrected quietly.
That shut her up.
Not because it was rude.
Because it was true enough to feel heavy.
---
That night, Elara couldn’t sleep.
She lay in bed staring at the ceiling again, the message replaying in her mind.
“You are being watched closer than you think.”
Outside her door, Adrian was there again.
Silent.
Constant.
Unmoving.
But tonight, the silence didn’t feel like protection.
It felt like something was closing in.
And for the first time since Adrian Cole entered her life…
Elara wasn’t sure if he was keeping danger out.
Or standing right in the middle of it.
- Writer
