His Father's Bride

CHAPTER 006

The door to Adrian’s private study creaked open. He hadn’t called anyone, but he knew who it was the moment her scent drifted into the room.

His heart raced as he looked up.

Layla stood in the doorway wearing a satin dress that clung to her curve like silk on fire. The thigh-high slit revealed her legs that once made him weak. But now, it was her presence that startled him the most.

“Layla?” he shouted. “What the hell, how did you get in here?”

She stepped in and closed the door behind her like she owned the room. “I still have my way. I still know how to slip through shadows when it comes to you.”

He stared, then stepped back slightly. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I had to come,” she said as she walked toward him, saying in that dangerous pace that he remembered so well.

She stopped in front of him. “I was the one who posted the photo, Adrian.”

He wasn’t surprised. “I know, and hearing you admit it just made me certain that not only did you lie to me, but you also tried to ruin me.”

“I wasn’t trying to ruin you,” she whispered. “I did it because I couldn’t come to think of losing you to someone else. I’ve been yours for years and I can pretend like I never existed.”

She leaned in lightly against him. Her perfume was thick, her bare thigh brushed his leg and her fingers wandered his arms. “I panicked,” she whispered. “I wanted you to choose me.”

“And you thought showing up here dressed like that would help?” he asked.

She looked down at her body he once admired and, for a moment, her confidence flattered. “You loved to see me dress up like this.”

Adrian looked at her, not with desire but with disgust. “I used to be blind.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Adrian, I did it because I love you. I couldn’t stand the thought of you marrying her.”

He looked at her and, for the first time, he saw nothing but a mirror of his worst choices. “Layla,” he said, “It’s over. Whatever we had, died the moment you chose to humiliate me. You’ve made your choice, and now I’ve made mine.”

She blinked, stunned. “You don’t mean that?”

Layla’s lips parted, but Adrian didn't look at her. She then realized that the power she once held over him was gone and this time her body couldn’t save her. She turned and left quietly, the sound of the door clicking behind her marking the official end of everything they had.

The ballroom was full again, but this time there was no glittering excitement in the air or clinking of glasses, just tension seated tight and thick. Cameras and phones are already live-streaming. Adrian stood before the podium in a sharp black suit. He took a deep breath as flashes blinked rapidly.

“Thank you all for coming at such short notice,” he began, his voice low and steady. “I know things have been chaotic. There have been rumors and assumptions, some of which are true, and I am not standing here to pretend innocence.”

The room stirred with murmurs. He looked straight ahead. “Yes, the woman in the photo, Layla, was once in my life, but that was a chapter from my past, the one I should have closed long before now.”

His voice dropped a little more personal. “I was supposed to be engaged to Clara Anderson, not because of a deal, but because I was beginning to care deeply, and I had already ruined that before I even realized what it meant to me.”

His words were raw, words that came out of feelings that he had never felt before, not even for Layla.

“I have made many decisions in my life, most of them calculated, some of them I already regret. But… ”

He exhaled. “Falling in love with Clara wasn’t part of the plan, but she became something I didn’t expect, and I let my dirty past drag her into the mess I created.”

Cameras kept clicking. Adrian looked directly into a camera, as if he was speaking to Clara herself. “Clara, I know I messed up, but I never meant for any of this to happen and if I have to spend the rest of my life proving to you that you’re the only woman I want in my future, I will.”

He added, “At this moment, I will take responsibility for my mistakes, and I am ending all the lies. Layla is no longer in my life and, as of now, I won’t entertain any further questions about her. Thank you all for your time.”

He stepped back from the mic and gave a slight bow before exiting the podium.

And somewhere behind a screen, Clara was watching quietly. Her hands touched her chest, feeling the rush of emotion she couldn’t name. But none of what he said mattered anymore, since she had made her own decision.

Adrian had never felt so powerless in life. His name alone moved markets, canceled meetings, but it couldn’t make Clara answer his calls. He had called her fifty-six times. He knew because he countered every single ring and a second of silence at the other end.

She was gone, not physically but emotionally. The last time they spoke was when she called off the wedding.

Days passed. He went to her apartment twice, once with flowers and the other with hope, but the place was empty.

He stood in front of her apartment for the third time that week, but it was still empty. Desperate, Adrian turned back to his car, where his driver was waiting and he made a call.

“I need to find her, use whatever contact we have. Check the bank logs, her charity schedules, traffic cam if you have to, just find her.”

Clara stood alone in a quiet art gallery, surrounded by canvases and soft jazz humming. It was one of the places she went to clear her head, somewhere she went to anytime she needed peace.

But Adrian found her. He walked in, breathless from climbing stairs two at a time, instead of taking the elevator so as not to miss meeting with her.

“Clara,” he called out.

She turned slowly, her eyes widened. “What are you doing here and how did you know I was here?”

"I have been searching for you. I went to your house. I even called but you didn’t answer. I…”

“I know,” she interrupted. “I needed space.”

“I needed you,” Adrian said, the word falling before he realized it.

“Why?” his voice cracked a bit. “You could have at least picked up your call or responded to my messages.”

“I didn’t want to hear any more lies or half-truths.” Her tone was neutral.

“I was trying to protect you…”

She tilted her head with annoyance, cutting him off. “Don’t Adrian, don’t say that again. That word always gets to my head.”

His expression flattered. “Clara, I won’t justify my action because I know I was wrong." I didn’t get the chance to understand that…”

“That you are already developing feelings for me?” she scoffed. “Adrian, you had a woman hidden behind the curtain and suddenly am the one you are in love with?”

He moved toward her, desperately. “It wasn’t like that.”

She raised up a hand. “No, let me finish.”

Her voice cracked slightly. “I thought maybe we were going to build something together, even if it started wrong. I felt something would shift between us, but after all the drama, I felt like a fool.”

Adrian’s voice dropped. “You weren’t, and you will never be.”

Her eyes welled with tears. “I already fell in love with you during the dinner, your eyes, the way it looked at me, the way I felt your voice sending shimmers down my skin. But it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

She reached for her bag and held out a folded envelope. “I booked a flight for tomorrow night, one-way.”

“Where?” he croaked.

“I am leaving the city.”

Adrian took a shaky step back. ”Please don’t do this.”

Drops of tears were already rolling down her face. “I have already made up my mind.”

He stepped closer. “Tell me you feel nothing when you look at me.”

Clara hesitated, and her silence spoke for her. Pain flickered in Adrian eyes. “Then why are you running?”

She looked at him, her heartbreaking behind ribs. “Because I’m scared that if I stayed longer, I might not have the strength to leave.”

Adrian felt his throat tighten. “You mean everything to me.”

She swallowed hard. “Then let me go.”

And she walked away, leaving him to reflect on every word she had said.

Clara stood by the edge of the platform, her hands clenched around her suitcase handle. The train will be there in ten minutes. People moved past her, but she felt like the only one there, escaping what she loved.

“Clara!” Adrian called behind her, breathing fast like he had fought the whole city just to meet her on time.

She tried to move, but he caught her by the hand and stood in front of her. “Please, just talk to me.”

His grip loosened, then she stepped back. “There is nothing left to talk about, Adrian.”

He reached for her suitcase, but she yanked it back. “Please, just stay,” he said, eyes glossy.

She scoffed. “Give me one reason.”

“Because I love you,” he said without hesitation.

Her heart started racing fast, tears built in her eyes, but she blinked back. Then the train hissed and the doors opened. It was time for her to go. Their eyes met one last time, full of things like regrets.

She stepped inside, and the door closed slowly between them. He just stood outside, gaze still locked on her, watching her through the glass as the train took her away.