CHAPTER TEN
697 Words
I didn’t expect it to end like this.
Not with a fight.
Not with anger.
But with silence.
The next day,
nothing.
No message.
No call.
No instructions.
For the first time since this started...
Adrian Wolfe disappeared.
I should’ve felt relieved.
That’s what this was, right?
A contract.
Temporary.
Controlled.
Over.
So why did it feel like something had been ripped out of my chest?
I tried to distract myself.
Work, errands.
Anything.
But everything reminded me of him.
The car rides.
The events.
The way he said my name like it meant something,
until it didn’t.
Three days later, a message finally came.
Unknown number.
Short.
Cold.
Final.
"The agreement is terminated."
No name.
No explanation.
But I didn’t need one.
I stared at the screen for a long time, reading the same sentence over and over.
Like it might change, like it might mean something else.
It didn’t.
“Of course,” I whispered to myself.
This is what he does.
Ends things.
Before they become real, before they matter, before he loses control.
I should’ve expected it.
I should’ve been ready.
I wasn’t.
The worst part?
He didn’t even say it himself.
Not Adrian.
Not the man who looked at me like,
No.
Stop.
Don’t go there.
A sharp knock pulled me out of my thoughts.
I frowned, walking toward the door.
I wasn’t expecting anyone.
When I opened it,
I froze.
Victoria.
“Well,” she said smoothly, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. “That was faster than I expected.”
My chest tightened instantly.
“What are you doing here?”
She looked around casually, like she owned the space.
“Checking on you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Of course you are,” she replied lightly. “You always think you are...at first.”
I clenched my jaw. “Say what you came to say.”
She turned to me.
“He ended it, didn’t he?”
Silence.
She didn’t need an answer.
She already knew.
“That’s what he does,” she continued. “The moment it stops being controlled...he cuts it off.”
I forced myself to stay still.
To stay calm.
“He didn’t cut anything off,” I said. “It was an agreement.”
Her eyes softened slightly, almost pitying.
“That’s what I thought too.”
Those words again.
Too familiar.
“You said he made sure you had nothing left,” I said slowly. “What does that mean?”
Victoria hesitated.
Not long.
But enough.
“It means,” she said quietly, “that when I walked away...”
Her gaze dropped for a second.
Then back to me.
“I wasn’t the same person anymore.”
That wasn’t an answer.
Not really.
But it was enough to send a chill through me.
“You’re still here,” I pointed out.
“Yes,” she said simply. “Because unlike you...”
A small pause.
“I don’t run from things I want.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Because part of me, understood exactly what she meant.
“Then why are you telling me this?” I asked.
Her expression shifted again.
Back to calm.
Back to controlled.
“Because you’re at the same point I was,” she said.
“And I’m curious..."
A faint smile returned.
“What you’ll do next.”
Unavoidable silence filled the room.
“I’m not you,” I said finally.
“No,” she agreed softly. “You’re not.”
A step closer.
“And that’s exactly why this might hurt you more.”
But I didn’t look away.
Didn’t back down.
Not this time.
“Then I guess we’ll find out,” I said.
Victoria studied me for a long moment.
She smiled.
Not mocking.
Not cruel.
Something else.
Something almost...impressed.
“Good,” she said.
Then turned.
And walked out.
The door closed.
And silence filled the room again.
It felt like something was starting.
Not ending.
I looked down at my phone again.
At the message.
"The agreement is terminated."
Slowly,
I deleted it.
Because if Adrian Wolfe thought this was over,
he was wrong.
- Writer
