Chapter 2: Not this Time*
882 Words
---
Lila didn’t look back.
If she looked back, she’d see him. And if she saw him, she’d remember the way his voice used to make her name sound like a promise.
She kept her pace steady, heels clicking against the marble floor. The elevator was 20 feet ahead. 20 feet and she’d be safe.
“Lila.”
His voice cut through the quiet hallway again. Lower this time. Closer.
She didn’t stop.
Strong hands grabbed her arm just as she reached the elevator button. Not rough, but firm enough that she couldn’t pull away.
“Don’t.” Her voice came out sharp. She yanked her arm free and turned to face him. “Don’t touch me, Adrian.”
He froze at the sound of his name. For five years, no one had called him that. Not to his face. Not since she left.
“Five years,” he said. His eyes searched hers like he was trying to find the girl he knew underneath the woman standing in front of him. “And the first thing you say to me is ‘don’t touch me’?”
“You lost the right to touch me the day you signed those divorce papers,” Lila said. Her chest hurt, but she kept her face blank. “We’re done.”
“We’re not done,” Adrian said quietly. “Not until you tell me why.”
The elevator dinged. The doors opened. Lila stepped inside without answering.
Adrian followed.
The doors closed. Now it was just the two of them in a space too small, too quiet, too full of memories.
“Say what you have to say,” Lila said, staring at the floor numbers. “Then get out of my life again.”
“You left without a word,” Adrian said. “No call. No note. I had to find out from HR that my lead designer quit. My wife quit.”
“I wasn’t your wife anymore,” Lila said. “Not by the time I left.”
“You filed for divorce after you left.” His jaw tightened. “You didn’t even give me a chance to fight for it.”
“Fight for what?” Lila finally looked at him. “For a marriage where you never trusted me? Where I was just another asset to control?”
Adrian’s eyes flared. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” She took a step closer, anger burning through the fear. “You thought I married you for your money. You said it yourself. ‘You’re just like the rest of them, Lila. Everyone wants a piece of Blackwood.’”
“I was wrong,” he said.
“Too late.”
The elevator stopped on the 12th floor. Lila’s floor. The design department.
The doors opened, and Maya, her new assistant, stood outside holding a stack of fabric swatches.
“Ms. Morrison! The board wants the final samples by—” Maya stopped when she saw Adrian. Her eyes went wide. “Mr. Blackwood?”
“Not now, Maya,” Lila said quickly. “Take those to Conference Room B.”
Maya nodded and disappeared, throwing one last curious glance at Adrian.
Adrian stepped out of the elevator, blocking Lila from leaving.
“You’re avoiding me,” he said.
“I’m working,” Lila corrected. “And you’re making it hard.”
“Then make time,” Adrian said. “Dinner tonight. 8 PM. At The Crest.”
Lila laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You don’t get to demand my time anymore.”
“I do when it’s about the company,” Adrian said. “And it is. The board wants to meet the new lead designer. They want to hear your vision for ‘Second Skin’ from you. In person.”
Lila froze.
The board.
Adrian’s father.
The one person she couldn’t afford to see.
“I’ll send a presentation,” she said.
“No,” Adrian said. “You’ll be there.”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear.
“You can’t run forever, Lila. Not this time.”
The hallway was starting to feel too small. People were watching. Whispering.
“Fine,” Lila said through gritted teeth. “8 PM. But this is about work. Nothing else.”
Adrian nodded once.
“Nothing else,” he agreed.
But his eyes said otherwise.
Lila walked away before she could say something she’d regret. She heard his footsteps stop behind her, and she didn’t breathe again until she was safely inside her office with the door closed.
She slid down against the door, her hands shaking.
Five years. She’d built a life in London. A safe life. A quiet life.
And in one day, he’d torn a hole through all of it.
Her phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
*Unknown:*
You can’t hide him from me forever, Lila.
Lila’s blood ran cold.
She looked at the door, then at the photo on her desk. A little boy with dark hair and grey eyes, smiling up at the camera.
Leo.
Adrian couldn’t know about Leo.
If he knew, he’d take him away.
She deleted the message and locked her phone.
Not this time, Adrian.
Not this time.
- Writer
