Chapter eleven:loosing control
419 Words
Serena could barely breathe.
Adrian’s hand remained firmly against her lower back as whispers exploded around the ballroom.
“She’s with him?”
“Since when does Adrian Knight date anyone?”
“Vanessa looks furious…”
Serena slowly looked up at him. “What exactly are you doing?”
Adrian’s expression stayed calm. “Ending rumors.”
“This is not ending rumors. This is creating worse ones.”
To her frustration, he looked amused.
The reporter quickly recovered with excitement shining in his eyes.
“So there is something romantic happening between you two?”
Before Serena could answer, Adrian spoke first.
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened instantly.
“What?!”
Cameras flashed everywhere.
The ballroom erupted into whispers again.
Vanessa looked seconds away from throwing her champagne glass across the room.
Adrian leaned closer to Serena slightly, his voice low enough for only her to hear.
“Relax.”
“Relax?” she whispered angrily. “You just announced fake dating to the entire city!”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“I never said it was fake.”
Her heartbeat stumbled so hard it almost hurt.
Dangerous.
Everything about this man was dangerous.
Before Serena could respond, Vanessa suddenly approached them.
Her forced smile looked painful.
“May I speak to you privately, Adrian?”
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
Vanessa’s expression cracked for the first time. “You’re embarrassing me.”
Adrian’s face remained cold. “You embarrassed yourself.”
Silence.
Serena almost felt bad for her.
Almost.
Vanessa’s gaze turned toward Serena sharply.
“You think he’ll keep you around forever?” she asked bitterly. “Adrian destroys everything he touches.”
The words hit harder than Serena expected.
Because part of her already feared they were true.
Adrian stepped forward immediately, placing himself slightly in front of Serena.
“That’s enough.”
Vanessa stared at him for a long moment before laughing quietly.
But there was no humor in it.
“You’re already losing control over her,” she said softly.
Then she walked away.
The tension she left behind remained heavy.
Serena swallowed slowly before turning toward Adrian.
“She hates me.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened slightly as he watched Vanessa disappear into the crowd.
“She hates losing.”
Then finally…
His gaze returned to Serena.
And the way he looked at her made her pulse quicken instantly.
Because for the first time since meeting him…
Adrian Knight looked like a man dangerously close to falling in love.
- Writer
