Chapter 5: Eyes on Us
873 Words
The gala was nothing like Lena had imagined.
It was worse.
Brighter. Louder. Colder.
The grand ballroom shimmered with gold and crystal, filled with people dressed in power and arrogance. Every laugh sounded fake. Every smile felt calculated.
And every eye…
Was on her.
“Stop fidgeting,” Adrian murmured beside her.
“I’m not fidgeting,” Lena whispered back, even though her fingers were gripping his arm tighter than she intended.
“Yes, you are.”
“Well, maybe if you didn’t drag me into a room full of judgmental strangers—”
“They’re not strangers,” Adrian interrupted calmly. “They’re witnesses.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
His lips twitched slightly, like he was holding back amusement.
“Relax,” he said. “Just follow my lead.”
Easy for him to say.
He belonged here.
She didn’t.
“Adrian Blackwood.”
A smooth voice cut through the noise.
Lena turned slightly as a man approached them, dressed in a sharp gray suit and wearing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“It’s been a while,” the man said.
Adrian’s posture shifted—subtle, but Lena noticed.
“Not long enough,” Adrian replied coldly.
The man chuckled.
“And you must be…” his gaze slid to Lena, slow and assessing, “…the surprise.”
Lena forced a polite smile.
“Lena Blackwood.”
The name felt strange—but she said it anyway.
The man’s eyebrow lifted slightly.
“Well,” he said, “that was unexpected.”
“That seems to be a common reaction,” Lena replied lightly.
Adrian glanced at her.
Briefly.
Approving.
“You didn’t tell anyone,” the man continued, looking back at Adrian.
“I didn’t feel the need to.”
“Or you wanted the shock value?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
The man smiled again, but this time it felt sharper.
“Careful, Adrian,” he said. “Secrets have a way of… unraveling.”
A chill ran down Lena’s spine.
Before she could ask anything—
The man walked away.
“Who was that?” she asked immediately.
“Someone irrelevant.”
“That didn’t feel irrelevant.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened slightly.
“Stay focused.”
That wasn’t an answer.
But before she could push further—
Another voice cut in.
“Adrian… is that really you?”
Lena turned.
And instantly felt it.
The shift.
The tension.
The woman approaching them was stunning. Tall, elegant, perfectly composed. Her red dress clung to her like it was made for her.
But it wasn’t her beauty that made Lena uneasy.
It was the way she looked at Adrian.
Like she knew him.
“Well,” the woman said, stopping in front of them, “this is unexpected.”
Adrian’s expression turned colder.
“Victoria.”
Lena’s stomach tightened.
Oh.
This was history.
“And who is this?” Victoria asked, her gaze landing on Lena with a polite smile that barely hid the judgment beneath.
“My wife.”
The word landed like a bomb.
Victoria blinked.
Just once.
But it was enough.
“I see,” she said slowly. “You move fast.”
“I move when I choose to.”
Her eyes flickered slightly.
Then back to Lena.
“You must be very… special.”
Lena smiled sweetly.
“Not really. I just said yes.”
For a split second—
Victoria’s expression cracked.
Then it was gone.
“Interesting,” she murmured.
Adrian stepped slightly closer to Lena.
Possessive.
Intentional.
“Enjoy the evening, Victoria,” he said, clearly dismissing her.
But she didn’t leave immediately.
Instead, she leaned in slightly—just enough for Lena to hear.
“Be careful,” she whispered softly. “Not everything is as it seems.”
Then she walked away.
“What was that about?” Lena asked, her voice low.
“Nothing that concerns you.”
“That’s a lie.”
Adrian didn’t respond.
But she could feel it.
The tension.
The past.
“Was she—”
“Yes.”
Lena blinked.
“You didn’t even let me finish.”
“I know what you were going to ask.”
“And?”
“And it doesn’t matter.”
Lena let out a small laugh.
“Of course it matters.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Right,” she said. “Because marrying a stranger instead of your ex is completely normal.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened slightly.
“Careful.”
“There it is again,” she said. “That warning tone.”
“And yet,” he replied quietly, stepping closer, “you keep ignoring it.”
Her breath caught.
For a moment—
Everything else faded.
The noise.
The people.
The tension.
It was just him.
Too close.
Too intense.
“Why do you care?” he asked softly.
“I don’t,” she said quickly.
“Liar.”
Her heart skipped.
Before she could respond—
A hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
Rough.
Unexpected.
“Well, well,” a familiar voice said.
Lena turned—
And froze.
It was the man from earlier.
But this time…
His smile was gone.
“Let’s talk,” he said.
- Writer
