My Revenge, His Contract

Chapter 16 Almost

The doors closed behind me with a soft click.

My heart thumped in my chest.

I knew he would be standing outside, pissed off that I had walked away from him like that again.

But I kept on walking.

He was not about to see me break.

The noise from outside disappeared instantly, as if cut off completely, swallowed by the building's quiet control. Everything here felt… different. Calmer. Sharper. Like chaos didn’t belong.

I didn’t slow down as I walked across reception, even though I could still feel it—Noel’s presence lingering, his voice, the way he had looked at me like I owed him something.

Like I hadn’t already given him everything.

“Miss Carter.”

I barely glanced at the receptionist.

“Mr Vale is expecting you.”

“I'm sure he is,” I muttered, but smiled.

Of course he was.

I nodded once and headed straight for the private lift, not allowing myself to look back at the doors.

The lift doors slid open smoothly, and I stepped inside, pressing the top floor. My reflection stared back at me from the mirrored walls.

Calm.

Composed.

Untouched.

I held my own gaze for a second longer than necessary.

It wasn’t entirely true.

My fingers tightened slightly around my bag before I forced myself to relax them.

The lift moved quickly, silently.

By the time it stopped, I had already put everything back where it belonged.

Locked down.

The doors opened onto Adrian Vale’s floor.

It was exactly what I expected. Clean. Minimal. Expensive without needing to prove it. Glass walls stretching out over the city, everything placed with purpose.

Controlled.

Like him.

His office doors were already open.

He was standing by the window.

Of course he was.

Tall. Still. One hand in his pocket, the other relaxed at his side as he looked out over the skyline. The light hit him in a way that made him look almost untouchable.

He didn’t turn when I walked in.

“I see your ex-boyfriend has a tendency to make an entrance.”

His voice was calm. Flat. Like nothing about what had just happened had affected him at all.

I stopped a few steps inside.

“I didn’t ask him to come here.” I sighed, placing my bag on the table.

“I’m aware.”

That made me pause.

Because of course he was.

He turned then, his gaze landing on me.

Sharp.

Assessing.

Like he was reading everything I wasn’t saying.

“How long has he been trying to contact you?”

I frowned, not sure why it would concern someone like him. It was not his business.

“Ever since I left him.”

“And today?”

“He decided to show up instead. I don't know how he knew where to find me.”

Adrian held my gaze for a moment longer, like he was weighing something.

Then he moved away from the window, stepping towards his desk with the same quiet control he used for everything.

“He won’t be doing that again.”The certainty in his voice made something in my chest shift.

“You don’t need to worry, I can handle myself.” I scowled, but he dismissed me with a wave of his hand like I were a member of his staff.

“You are here,” Adrian continued, his tone even, “which means anything that reaches you, reaches you through me first.”

My breath caught slightly. “Thank you, but really this is not necessary.”

“It is,” he said firmly.

No hesitation.

No argument.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

I folded my arms, grounding myself.

“He won’t stop,” I said. “Not easily.”

Adrian studied me. “Do you want him to stop?”

The question hit harder than I expected.

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in my answer.

Adrian seemed to register my words. “Good.” He stepped closer to me and stopped just within my space. Not touching but close enough that I was aware of his breathing.

“You do not owe him anything, Luna,” he said quietly.

The way that he said my name did something to me that I did not want to think about.

I should have left.

That was the logical thing to do. The conversation was over, the situation with Noel had been handled, and there was nothing keeping me here anymore.

And yet, I didn’t move.

Adrian hadn’t stepped away either. The space between us hadn’t been large to begin with, but now it felt smaller, tighter, as though the air itself had shifted into something heavier and far more aware.

“You handled that well,” he said.

His voice was quieter now, no longer sharp or distant, but lower, closer, and far more deliberate.

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” I replied.

“You always have a choice.”

My eyes lifted to his, and I instantly regretted it.

Because he was already looking at me.

Not past me. Not through me. Directly at me, like he was studying something he hadn’t quite decided how to define yet.

My pulse began to pick up, subtle at first, then stronger when he didn’t look away.

“You didn’t hesitate,” he continued. “Most people would have.”

“I’m not most people.”

“No,” he said quietly. “You’re not.”

The words settled deeper than they should have, and for a moment, I struggled to find something steady to hold on to.

“This arrangement,” I said, forcing myself to stay focused, “doesn’t mean you have to—”

“To what?”

I hesitated before answering.

“Interfere in my private life.”

A faint shift crossed his expression, something I couldn’t quite name.

“I don’t interfere,” Adrian said calmly.

I shook my head slightly. “You always have an answer, don’t you?”

“I don’t waste time on unnecessary ones.”

My breath caught before I could stop it.

Because he had stepped closer.

Not by much, but enough to notice immediately.

Enough that I couldn’t ignore it.

Every part of me became aware of the distance between us, or rather, how little of it was left.

“You’re still thinking about him,” Adrian said.

“No, I am not.” I held his gaze.

“Not even a little?” he smirked, and there was something in his tone that sounded challenging.

I lifted my chin slightly. “No.”

A moment passed between us, stretched thin with something neither of us was acknowledging.

Then Adrian slowly moved closer as though he was giving me time to step away if I wanted to.

I didn’t.

That was the problem.

My breath slowed, then deepened as the space between us disappeared completely. I could feel the warmth of him now, the quiet intensity that always seemed to sit just beneath the surface.

My heart began to race, louder than I wanted it to be.

His gaze dropped briefly to my lips before returning to my eyes, and that small movement sent a sharp, unexpected tension through me.

“You’re certain?” he asked quietly.

The question was no longer about Noel.

I knew that, and so did he.

“Yes,” I said, though my voice wasn’t as steady this time.

His hand lifted slowly, stopping just short of touching me, as if he was holding himself back.

The moment stretched, tightening until it felt as if everything hung on a single decision.

Then his fingers brushed lightly against my jaw.

The contact was soft, barely there, but it was enough to make my breath catch.

Enough to make everything else fade.

I didn’t move. I wasn’t sure I could.

His thumb shifted slightly, tilting my chin upward, bringing me closer.

Too close.

My heart was pounding now, fast and unsteady.

His gaze dropped again, and before I could stop it, my lips parted slightly.

For a second—just one second—I thought he was going to kiss me.

I felt it.

That pull.

That shift.

That moment where everything changes.

And then he stopped.

His hand fell away, and the space between us returned just enough to feel like something had been taken from it.

Adrian stepped back as though he had never moved at all, as though nothing had almost happened.

“We have a situation to manage,” he said. “The press has picked up the story. That will be why your ex knew where to find you.”

I let out a slow breath, trying to steady myself. “That was fast.”

“They’ve been waiting for something like this.”

I folded my arms, grounding myself again. This was what I had signed up for, the life that I had agreed on for one whole year.