Chapter Three
1196 Words
Eliana Jones knew immediately that she had made a mistake.
Not because anyone had shouted at her.
Not because anyone had stopped her.
But because of the silence.
The moment she stepped into the room, the loud music from the club disappeared behind the closed door.
The energy changed.
The people around her changed.
The men standing near the walls were not laughing or drinking like the people downstairs.
They were watching.
And for the first time that night, Eliana felt like she had walked into a place where she was not supposed to be.
She slowly looked around.
The room was beautiful.
Too beautiful.
Everything about it screamed wealth.
The furniture.
The decorations.
Even the quietness felt expensive.
But there was something else.
Something she could not explain.
A feeling that told her to turn around and leave.
She was about to do exactly that when her eyes landed on the man sitting across the room.
And for a moment, she forgot why she was leaving.
Lorenzo Blackwood had spent years learning how to read people.
Fear.
Greed.
Lies.
He could recognize them before people even opened their mouths.
That was why the woman standing in front of him caught his attention.
She was afraid.
He could see it.
But she was trying not to show it.
Most people who accidentally entered his private area would immediately apologize.
Some would panic.
Some would try to impress him once they realized who he was.
But this woman?
She simply stood there, looking around like she was trying to figure out where she had taken a wrong turn.
Interesting.
Lorenzo leaned back slightly, studying her.
She looked nothing like the women who usually entered his world.
She was not dressed to attract attention.
She was not searching for his approval.
She looked normal.
And somehow, that was unusual.
One of his men stepped forward.
"Miss, this area is private."
His voice was firm.
Eliana immediately looked at him.
"I know."
The man frowned.
"You know?"
She looked around.
"No, actually, I don't."
A small silence followed.
Lorenzo's eyes moved toward her.
She was honest.
Too honest.
"I was looking for the restroom."
The man remained expressionless.
"You took the wrong direction."
Eliana nodded slowly.
"That explains why I couldn't find it."
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then Lorenzo surprised everyone.
He laughed quietly.
It was not a loud laugh.
Not a happy one.
But it was the first sign of amusement anyone had seen from him that night.
His men exchanged looks.
They had worked for Lorenzo for years.
They rarely saw him react to anything.
Eliana looked at him.
"Was that funny?"
The question caught him off guard.
Most people would have been nervous after making him laugh.
She was questioning him.
Lorenzo looked at her carefully.
"You are not very nervous."
Eliana tilted her head.
"Should I be?"
The room became still.
One of the men immediately looked away.
Nobody answered Lorenzo Blackwood like that.
But Eliana did not know that.
She did not know his name.
She did not know his reputation.
She only knew he was a stranger sitting in an expensive room, acting like everyone around him was afraid of him.
And she had never been good at pretending.
Lorenzo looked at the drink in her hand.
"You have had too much."
Eliana looked down.
Then back at him.
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
She nodded.
"I lost count."
For some reason, that honesty amused him again.
"You always speak this freely with strangers?"
Eliana thought about the question.
"Not usually."
"Then why now?"
She looked at him for a moment.
The answer came naturally.
"Because I don't know who you are."
The words stayed in the room.
Lorenzo stared at her.
Because he understood exactly what she meant.
People treated him differently once they knew his name.
They changed.
They became careful.
They became afraid.
But this woman was speaking to him like he was simply another person.
A stranger.
Someone without power.
Someone without a reputation.
"You don't know me."
It was not a question.
Eliana shook her head.
"No."
"And that doesn't bother you?"
She looked confused.
"Why would it?"
Lorenzo watched her silently.
Because nobody had ever answered that way.
Eliana walked closer to the table.
Not because she was trying to get closer to him.
She was simply tired of standing.
She sat on the empty chair nearby.
The men around Lorenzo immediately became alert.
But Lorenzo lifted his hand slightly.
Stopping them.
Eliana noticed.
"You have a lot of people protecting you."
Lorenzo looked at the men around him.
"Do I?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because nobody looks this serious at a party."
A small smile almost appeared on Lorenzo's face.
Almost.
"You notice a lot."
"I observe."
"Why?"
Eliana shrugged.
"Because people usually say more with their actions than their words."
For the first time that night, Lorenzo had no immediate response.
The woman sitting across from him had no idea who she was talking to.
Yet she was saying things that most people would never dare say.
"You think you understand people?"
Lorenzo asked.
Eliana looked at him.
"No."
A pause.
"I think people are complicated."
Something about her answer caught his attention.
Because Lorenzo believed the same thing.
People were complicated.
But he had stopped trying to understand them a long time ago.
The music from downstairs became louder.
Eliana looked toward the door.
"I should probably find my friend."
Lorenzo noticed the change in her expression.
"You came here with someone?"
"My friend, Joan."
"She left you alone?"
Eliana immediately defended her.
"No."
Her answer was quick.
"She didn't leave me. I just got lost."
Lorenzo noticed that.
She protected people.
Even when they were not there.
Interesting.
"You trust her."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Eliana smiled slightly.
"Because she has always been there for me."
Lorenzo looked away.
Something about the answer bothered him.
Not because of her friend.
Because he could not remember the last time someone said those words about him.
A few minutes passed.
Eliana stood.
"Thank you."
Lorenzo looked at her.
"For what?"
"For not making me leave immediately."
She smiled politely.
"I know I came into somewhere I shouldn't have."
Then she turned.
Before she reached the door, Lorenzo spoke.
"Wait."
Eliana stopped.
She looked back.
Lorenzo did not know why he stopped her.
That was unusual.
He was a man who always knew what he wanted.
But with her...
He was uncertain.
"What is your name?"
The question was simple.
But for some reason, it felt important.
Eliana looked at him.
A stranger.
A mysterious man.
Someone she would probably never meet again.
Yet she answered.
"Eliana."
Lorenzo repeated it quietly.
"Eliana."
She nodded.
"Yes."
He studied her face.
Then asked the question he did not expect to care about.
"Eliana... what?"
She hesitated.
Then she answered.
"Eliana Jones."
The moment her name left her lips, something changed.
Not
in her.
In him.
Because Lorenzo Blackwood had spent his entire life surrounded by people who wanted something from him.
But this woman...
had walked into his world without asking for anything.
And he wanted to know why.
- Writer
