CHAPTER SEVEN Jealousy
373 Words
Holding Isabella's hand should have felt simple.
Instead it felt like standing too close to a fire.
Adrian didn't let go.
Neither did she.
Until a camera flash exploded nearby.
Reality returned immediately.
They stepped apart.
The next morning everything felt different.
The attraction between them was no longer hidden.
It lingered in every glance.
Every conversation.
Every accidental touch.
And everyone noticed.
Especially Noah Reynolds.
The architect assigned to the project.
Noah was charming.
Friendly.
Handsome.
And very interested in Isabella.
Adrian hated him instantly.
"You're being ridiculous," Isabella told him.
They stood at the construction site watching Noah joke with several employees.
"I'm being observant."
"You're being jealous."
Adrian laughed.
"Aren't we confident today?"
"You absolutely are."
His silence confirmed it.
Later that afternoon Noah invited Isabella to dinner.
Adrian overheard the conversation.
His mood darkened immediately.
When Noah walked away, Adrian approached.
"You're going?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"To dinner?"
"Yes."
"Why do you care?"
"I don't."
"Adrian."
He exhaled heavily.
"I don't trust him."
"You don't trust anyone."
"That's different."
"How?"
Because I want you.
The words nearly escaped.
Instead he remained silent.
That evening Isabella accepted Noah's invitation.
Partly because she liked Noah.
Mostly because she wanted to prove a point.
The dinner lasted less than an hour.
Not because Noah wasn't nice.
Because he wasn't Adrian.
And that realization terrified her.
Meanwhile Adrian spent the evening in his penthouse staring at his phone.
He hated himself.
Hated the jealousy.
Hated the uncertainty.
Most of all, he hated how much Isabella mattered.
Near midnight his phone rang.
It was Isabella.
Immediately he answered.
"Isabella?"
"Can you come get me?"
His heart stopped.
"What happened?"
"My car won't start."
Relief flooded him.
"Where are you?"
Thirty minutes later he arrived.
Isabella stood outside the restaurant.
The moment she saw him, she smiled.
And suddenly the drive didn't seem inconvenient at all.
During the ride home they talked about everything and nothing.
When they finally reached her apartment, neither moved.
Neither wanted the night to end.
Adrian turned toward her.
She turned toward him.
Their faces were inches apart.
The air felt charged.
Electric.
One move.
One second.
One choice.
And everything between them would change forever.
To be continued...
- Writer
