Chapter 4 – The Road Between Truths
1155 Words
“We leave in thirty minutes.”
Elara looked up from the couch, her phone still clutched in her hand. “You said tonight, not now.”
Adrian was already putting on his coat, movements sharp and efficient. “Plans change.”
“So does trust,” she replied.
He paused, eyes narrowing. “This is not the time to challenge me.”
“When is it ever the time?” she shot back. “You keep moving me like a piece on your board without telling me why.”
He stepped closer, his presence filling the room. “Because the fewer people who know, the safer you are.”
“You keep saying that,” Elara said, her voice steady despite the fear clawing at her chest. “But you’re the reason someone is threatening me.”
Adrian did not deny it.
That silence was louder than any argument.
“Pack essentials only,” he said. “We will not stay long.”
“And where are we going?” she asked.
“A private residence. Outside the city.”
Her stomach twisted. “You expect me to just follow you into another unknown place?”
“Yes,” he replied simply.
She stood. “No.”
That made him stop.
“What did you say?”
“I said no,” she repeated, her hands trembling but her spine straight. “You married me under a contract, not a leash.”
For a moment, Adrian looked genuinely surprised.
“You are not thinking clearly,” he said.
“I’ve never been clearer,” she replied. “If I am in danger, I deserve to know why.”
His jaw tightened. “Knowing the truth will not make you safer.”
“It might make me stronger.”
Something shifted in his gaze. A crack, barely visible.
“Thirty minutes,” he said again, softer this time. “Please.”
The word hung between them.
Please.
She swallowed. “You owe me answers.”
“I owe you survival.”
The car cut through the city like a blade, headlights slicing through the darkness. Elara stared out the window, watching familiar streets fade into unfamiliar roads.
“You’re unusually quiet,” Adrian said after a while.
“I’m thinking,” she replied. “About all the things you’re not saying.”
“That is dangerous territory.”
“So is ignorance.”
He sighed quietly. “There are people who believe my power was built on theft.”
“Was it?”
“Yes.”
Her breath caught. “You admit that so easily.”
“Because denial changes nothing,” he said. “My father built an empire through fear. I inherited the consequences.”
“And the enemies,” she added.
“And the enemies.”
She turned to him. “Then why marry me?”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Because I needed something real.”
She frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t have to,” he replied. “Not yet.”
The house was isolated, surrounded by towering trees and silence that pressed in from all sides. Elara felt it the moment she stepped inside.
This place was meant to hide.
“Is anyone else here?” she asked.
“No.”
That did not comfort her.
Adrian locked the door behind them. “You will stay inside.”
“I’m not a prisoner.”
“You are protected,” he corrected.
She shook her head. “You keep confusing the two.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “I am trying not to lose you.”
The words stunned her.
“You barely know me,” she said.
“I know enough,” he replied.
That night, Elara could not sleep. The quiet was oppressive, every creak of the house making her heart race.
She slipped out of bed and padded down the hallway, drawn by a soft glow from under a door.
Adrian’s study.
Rule one echoed in her mind.
She ignored it.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, screens lined the walls. Surveillance feeds, documents, names she did not recognize. And photographs.
Her breath caught when she saw one.
It was her.
Standing outside her old apartment. Taken weeks ago.
“What are you doing?”
She spun around.
Adrian stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable.
“You said you needed something real,” she said slowly. “So you watched me first?”
His silence confirmed it.
“How long?” she demanded.
“Long enough to know you were not part of this world,” he said. “And long enough to know they would use you to get to me.”
“So you married me to protect yourself,” she whispered.
“No,” he said sharply. “I married you to protect you.”
She also noticed another photo.
A man she did not recognize, standing too close to her in a crowded street.
“Who is that?” she asked.
Adrian’s face darkened. “Someone who should not have been there.”
Fear curled in her chest. “You knew I was being watched.”
“Yes.”
“And you still didn’t tell me.”
“I did not want you afraid.”
Her voice broke. “I am terrified, Adrian.”
He stepped closer. “I know.”
Her phone buzzed in her hand.
Unknown Number:
He did not choose you to save you.
Elara felt dizzy.
“What does it say?” Adrian asked.
She showed him.
His expression turned lethal.
“They’re lying,” he said.
“Are they?” she challenged. “Because it looks like you decided my life long before I signed anything.”
He reached for her, then stopped himself.
“You were already in danger,” he said. “I only made sure you had a shield.”
“By putting me at the center of your war,” she replied.
His voice lowered. “They would have found you anyway.”
Silence fell heavy between them.
“You should stay away from me,” she said quietly.
“That is not an option.”
“It should be.”
He met her gaze. “I will end anyone who tries to hurt you.”
The certainty in his voice scared her.
Later, Elara sat alone on the bed, replaying everything she had seen. The photos. The messages. The truth creeping closer.
Adrian was not just powerful.
He was dangerous.
And somehow, she mattered to him far more than she was ready to accept.
Her phone vibrated again.
Unknown Number:
Tomorrow, you will see what he really is.
Her heart pounded.
Outside her door, Adrian stood still, listening to her breathing, his own thoughts dark and heavy.
“This was never supposed to touch her,” he muttered.
But it already had.
- Writer
