The First Night
907 Words
Mina’s POV
I should’ve left after the call ended.
Any smart woman would have.
But the problem with exhaustion is that eventually, you stop choosing what’s smart and start choosing what feels safe.
And somehow—
Adrian Vale felt safer than the man I once loved.
That realization alone terrified me.
The penthouse had gone quiet after Ethan hung up. Rain continued tapping softly against the windows while the city lights shimmered below us.
Adrian stepped away first.
“Sit,” he said calmly.
“I’ll make food.”
I blinked at him.
“…You cook?”
A faint smirk touched his lips.
“I can survive independently, yes.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
I watched him move around the kitchen while trying not to stare too much.
Which was difficult.
Because Adrian did everything with quiet control.
Even something as simple as rolling his sleeves higher felt unfairly attractive.
I quickly looked away.
Dangerous.
My thoughts around him were becoming dangerous.
“You keep frowning at me,” Adrian said without looking up.
“I’m thinking.”
“That sounds painful.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
The strange thing about Adrian was how unexpectedly normal he could seem sometimes.
Until you remembered the coldness in his eyes whenever Ethan’s name appeared.
“You really hate him,” I murmured quietly.
Adrian sliced vegetables calmly before answering.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I hesitated.
“You don’t even know him personally.”
At that—
something unreadable crossed Adrian’s face.
Then he spoke carefully.
“I know men like him.”
The room fell silent again.
I studied him quietly from across the kitchen.
Expensive watch.
Dark tattoos disappearing beneath rolled sleeves.
Sharp jawline.
Eyes that always looked like they carried secrets.
Adrian Vale felt like someone built from control and violence pretending to be human.
And yet—
he made me tea without asking how I liked it first.
“You put sugar in it?” I asked softly after taking a sip.
“You look like you prefer sweet things.”
The casual observation made my chest tighten strangely.
Ethan never remembered small details about me.
But Adrian noticed everything.
The thought felt unfair somehow.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Adrian asked.
I looked down quickly.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Heat crawled embarrassingly up my neck.
Thankfully, Adrian didn’t push further.
Instead, he placed a bowl of warm pasta in front of me.
“Eat.”
I stared at the food quietly.
Then laughed weakly.
“What?”
“I think this is the nicest anyone’s treated me in months.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Adrian went still.
Something dark flickered briefly across his expression.
“That shouldn’t surprise you,” he said quietly.
But it did.
Because people stopped being gentle with me a long time ago.
Even Ethan only treated me softly when he wanted forgiveness.
Adrian pulled out the chair across from me and sat down.
Watching.
Not in a controlling way.
More like he was making sure I actually ate.
“You observe people too much,” I muttered between bites.
“It keeps people alive.”
The answer sounded too personal.
I looked at him carefully.
“What happened to you?”
For the first time since meeting him—
Adrian hesitated.
Only briefly.
But enough.
Then he leaned back slightly in his chair.
“My mother stayed with a man who hurt her,” he said quietly.
“She believed loving him meant enduring him.”
My chest tightened.
“She died believing that.”
The softness in his voice hurt more than anger would’ve.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Adrian looked down briefly before meeting my eyes again.
“That’s why I hate men like Ethan.”
Silence settled heavily between us.
Not awkward.
Just honest.
I swallowed slowly before speaking again.
“You watched me before we met, didn’t you?”
Adrian didn’t deny it.
“How long?”
“Eight months.”
My fork nearly slipped from my hand.
“Eight months?!”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“That’s insane.”
“Yes.”
“You admit that way too easily.”
His expression remained calm.
“I noticed you at Saint Mariel Hospital.”
A pause.
“You were sleeping beside your mother’s bed after working a double shift.”
My heartbeat slowed strangely.
“You remember that?”
“I remember everything about you.”
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too warm.
Something dangerous passed between us then.
Not physical.
Worse.
Emotional.
I looked away first.
Because nobody had ever looked at me like I mattered enough to remember.
Adrian stood slowly from his chair.
“You should sleep.”
Relief and disappointment tangled confusingly inside me.
He walked toward the hallway before stopping briefly.
“The guest room is prepared.”
Then quieter—
“And Mina?”
I looked up.
“If Ethan contacts you again…”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“You tell me immediately.”
The possessiveness in his voice should’ve alarmed me.
Instead—
it made my chest feel strangely protected.
And as I watched Adrian disappear down the hallway—
I realized something terrifying.
I no longer feared Ethan the most.
I feared how quickly Adrian Vale was becoming important to me.
- Writer
