The Man Who Watched Her
554 Words
Mina’s POV
I should’ve left the moment he said my name.
FLASHBACK…
“Come down from there, Mina.”
“…How do you know my name?”
“I know a lot about you.”
Normal people did not randomly appear on rooftops during storms already knowing personal information about strangers.
But Adrian Vale didn’t feel normal.
He felt dangerous.
And somehow—
that made it impossible to look away.
“You’re staring,” he said calmly.
I blinked quickly.
“You’re creepy.”
A faint smirk touched his lips.
“I’ve heard worse.”
Rain poured between us while the city lights blurred below.
Adrian looked completely unaffected by the storm. His black dress shirt clung slightly beneath his coat, outlining broad shoulders and tattooed veins near his wrist.
Too attractive.
That annoyed me immediately.
Men like him always caused problems.
“You never answered my question,” I said carefully.
“How do you know my name?”
Adrian remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“I saw you at Saint Mariel Hospital months ago.”
Confusion crossed my face instantly.
“The hospital?”
“You were with your mother.”
My chest tightened painfully.
Nobody mentioned my mother anymore.
Not after the funeral.
Not after the bills.
Not after Ethan disappeared.
I wrapped my arms around myself instinctively.
“You were watching me?”
“I noticed you.”
That answer somehow felt worse.
The rooftop fell quiet again.
Then Adrian suddenly stepped closer and held out his hand once more.
“Come down.”
“I’m not planning to jump,” I lied.
His eyes darkened slightly.
“You shouldn’t lie when your hands are shaking.”
Embarrassment burned through me immediately.
I hated being readable.
Especially by him.
Before I could answer, my stomach twisted painfully from hunger.
Adrian noticed instantly.
“You haven’t eaten.”
“I’m fine.”
“You nearly collapsed walking up here.”
I looked away stubbornly.
“I said I’m fine.”
Something almost amused flickered across his face.
Then Adrian reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small strawberry candy.
He handed it to me silently.
I stared at it in disbelief.
“…Seriously?”
“You look like you’re about to faint.”
The gesture felt strangely human compared to the terrifying aura surrounding him.
Slowly, I accepted it.
“Thanks.”
Adrian studied me quietly for a long moment.
Then he asked the one question I hated most.
“Where’s Ethan Wood?”
My entire body stiffened instantly.
“How do you know Ethan?”
“I know he left you with debt under your name.”
Fear crawled sharply through my chest now.
This wasn’t normal curiosity anymore.
This man knew things he shouldn’t.
I stepped backward immediately.
“What exactly do you want from me?”
Adrian’s expression remained unreadable.
“Nothing tonight.”
“Then why are you here?”
His gaze held mine steadily.
“Because I dislike seeing people destroyed by men who don’t deserve them.”
My throat tightened unexpectedly.
Nobody had ever spoken about Ethan that way before.
Everyone else blamed me for staying too long.
But Adrian?
He looked at Ethan like he already hated him.
And somehow—
that terrified me more than the rooftop edge itself.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD