You Broke Me First

Chapter 6

Kaycee had just finished painting when the sound of her doorbell echoed through the apartment.

She frowned.

No one knew where she lived.

At least, no one was supposed to.

She slowly placed her brush down and wiped the paint from her fingers.

The doorbell rang again.

Kaycee walked toward the door cautiously.

She looked through the peephole.

Then froze.

Adrian Morales.

For a moment, Kaycee simply stood there.

Of all the people she expected to find at her door, Adrian was the last.

Yet somehow—

He was also the one person she didn't mind seeing.

She opened the door.

Adrian stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking as composed as ever.

Kaycee raised an eyebrow.

"Did you get lost?"

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"I was hoping you'd invite me in first."

"You traced my address."

It wasn't a question.

Adrian tilted his head slightly.

"Would you be surprised if I said yes?"

Kaycee stared at him for a few seconds before stepping aside.

"Come in."

Adrian entered the apartment, his eyes quietly observing the space.

It suited her.

Simple.

Elegant.

Private.

Nothing like the extravagant Morales estate.

Kaycee closed the door behind him.

"You shouldn't be here."

"Probably not."

"Then why are you?"

Adrian turned toward her.

"Because I wanted to see you."

Her expression remained calm, but something inside her shifted.

Five years.

During those five years, almost everyone had disappeared from her life.

Friends who once promised to stand beside her had vanished.

Family members had become distant.

And Ethan?

Ethan never came.

Not once.

But Adrian did.

Kaycee could never forget.

He had visited her.

Again and again.

Not frequently enough to draw attention.

Not openly enough to create problems.

But whenever she saw him sitting across from her in the visiting room, she remembered that at least one person still believed her.

She crossed her arms.

"You know, you're the only person who ever came."

Adrian's expression softened.

Kaycee looked away.

"The only person who actually believed me."

He remained silent.

"I used to wonder why."

Adrian slowly took a step closer.

"Did you ever figure it out?"

Kaycee looked back at him.

His expression was unreadable.

"No."

A small smile touched Adrian's lips.

"Maybe you didn't need to."

Kaycee studied him.

Adrian had always been difficult to understand.

Even in high school.

He was quiet.

Reserved.

The type of person who noticed everything but revealed almost nothing.

Yet during her darkest days, he had been there.

Not Ethan.

Adrian.

She remembered one particular visit.

She had been exhausted.

Angry.

Broken.

She had looked across the glass separating them and asked him the question that had haunted her for months.

Do you think I did it too?

Adrian hadn't hesitated.

No.

Just one word.

But Kaycee had remembered it for five years.

She returned to the present and sighed.

"You should have told Ethan."

"I did."

Kaycee's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Adrian's jaw tightened slightly.

"I told him I didn't believe the evidence. I told him something was wrong."

"And?"

"He didn't listen."

Of course.

Kaycee laughed bitterly.

"Naturally."

Silence settled between them.

Adrian glanced toward the hallway.

"Are you living here alone?"

Kaycee raised an eyebrow.

"Is that your concern?"

"No."

He paused.

"But I'd like it to be."

Kaycee stared at him.

There was something different about Adrian.

Something she couldn't quite understand.

Perhaps it was the way he looked at her.

Too carefully.

As if he had spent years memorizing every detail.

She looked away first.

"I'm fine, Adrian."

"I know."

"Then stop worrying."

"I can't."

The words came out quietly.

But Kaycee heard them.

Before she could ask what he meant, Adrian's phone rang.

He glanced at the screen and immediately declined the call.

Kaycee noticed the name.

Ethan.

"Your brother?"

Adrian nodded.

"He's probably wondering where you are."

"He knows I'm not at the estate."

"That doesn't mean he's stopped looking."

Kaycee's expression hardened slightly.

"I don't belong to him."

"I know."

"I don't need his permission to leave."

"I know that too."

She looked at Adrian.

For some reason, his calm agreement made her feel strangely relieved.

He wasn't trying to convince her to return.

He wasn't defending Ethan.

He simply understood.

Adrian walked toward the door.

Kaycee frowned.

"You're leaving already?"

He looked back at her.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"I thought you said I shouldn't be here."

"I did."

"Then I'm listening."

For the first time that evening, Kaycee almost smiled.

Almost.

Adrian opened the door.

Before stepping outside, he paused.

"Kaycee."

She looked at him.

"You don't have to thank me for believing you."

Her expression softened.

"I wasn't going to."

His smile deepened.

"But I'm glad you know."

Kaycee said nothing.

Adrian stepped outside.

The door closed behind him.

Kaycee remained standing there for several moments.

There was one thing she knew for certain.

When everyone had abandoned her—

When Ethan had chosen Isabella.

When the world had decided she was guilty.

Adrian Morales had looked her in the eyes and believed her.

He had visited.

He had listened.

He had stayed.

And Kaycee had never forgotten that.

What she didn't know—

Was that Adrian had never visited her out of pity.

He hadn't stayed because he felt sorry for her.

He stayed because loving her had always been the easiest thing Adrian Morales had ever done.