Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Darkness Between Us

The city slept uneasily, its hum of life quieted but never silenced. Elena sat on the worn leather couch in Adrian’s penthouse, her eyes scanning a stack of files he had placed before her. The room was dark, save for the golden glow of a lamp on the corner table. The rain streaked down the glass walls, blurring the skyline beyond. It was a place meant for a king—sleek, cold, and untouchable—but Adrian had offered it to her without hesitation.

“You don’t have to do this,” she said without looking up.

Adrian stood near the window, his broad shoulders framed against the storm outside. “You need answers,” he said simply, his deep voice steady.

Elena set the files down and turned to him. “You don’t owe me anything, Adrian. I don’t understand why you’re helping me.”

He turned then, his gray eyes locking onto hers. In the dim light, they looked like steel, hard and unyielding. “Maybe I see too much of myself in you.”

The words caught her off guard. Adrian rarely spoke about himself. In the weeks since they had joined forces, she had come to know him as a man of action, not words. He didn’t waste time explaining himself, and he certainly didn’t open up.

“And what is it you think we have in common?” she asked, folding her arms.

“You don’t trust anyone,” he said, stepping closer. “You’ve built walls so high, no one can see over them. But I know what that’s like. I know what it’s like to rely on no one but yourself because trusting someone feels like handing them a weapon to use against you.”

The truth of his words settled in her chest like a stone. She wanted to deny it, to argue, but how could she when he had seen through her so completely?

“You don’t know me,” she said, her voice quieter now.

Adrian’s lips twitched in the faintest shadow of a smile. “I know enough.”

The tension between them thickened, a silent pull that neither seemed willing to break. He was too close now, the scent of him—smoke and something faintly earthy—filling her senses.

“You don’t have to do this,” she repeated, but this time her voice wavered.

“Yes, I do,” he said softly. “Because I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you.”

Elena’s breath hitched, and she hated how much those words affected her. She had built her life around being untouchable, invulnerable. But Adrian had a way of slipping past her defenses without even trying.

“And what if I don’t want your protection?” she asked, her tone sharper now, defiance rising to the surface.

Adrian didn’t flinch. Instead, he stepped even closer, his gaze never leaving hers. “You don’t have to want it. I’m giving it to you anyway.”

For a moment, they stood in silence, the storm raging outside mirroring the turmoil inside her. Elena didn’t know whether to push him away or let herself fall into the safety he offered.

“Fine,” she said at last, her voice barely audible. “But don’t expect me to make this easy.”

Adrian’s smile was fleeting but genuine. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

As she turned back to the files, the weight of his presence lingered, heavy and warm. For the first time in years, Elena wondered if trusting someone might not destroy her—but save her.

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