Chapter 2 – Watching from the Shadows

Elena didn’t think much about the gala after it ended. Daniel had been in high spirits on the ride home, talking about potential clients and business opportunities, and she’d been content to listen, her head resting against the cool glass of the car window. By the next morning, the whole event felt like a box she could close and put away in her mind.

For Adrian, it was just the beginning.

He had people for everything—people who could find out what coffee shop she went to on weekday mornings, the route she took to the grocery store, even the brand of cat food she bought for the gray tabby that lived in her apartment. It wasn’t difficult. Ordinary lives were the easiest to map out. And Elena’s was ordinary… for now.

The first time he saw her after the gala, she was sitting by the window of a small café downtown, sketchbook open beside her laptop. It was a Tuesday morning, and a thin rain was streaking the glass. She was wearing an oversized sweater, her hair in a loose bun, and she was completely absorbed in her work.

He sat in his black car across the street, watching. Not for long—just enough to memorize the shape of her world.

The next time, he was inside the same café, sitting in the far corner with a paper he didn’t read. She passed him on the way to the counter without a flicker of recognition. He listened to the soft lilt of her voice when she ordered her drink, the faint “thank you” she gave the barista, the way she cradled her cup with both hands for warmth.

She didn’t notice the man in the corner. Most people didn’t notice Adrian until he wanted them to.

A week later, he was there again, though this time he made sure she did see him. He didn’t speak to her—not yet. But their eyes met for half a second, and he saw the faint furrow of her brow, the little flash of curiosity. It was enough.

That night, Daniel walked her home after dinner, unaware that they were being followed at a careful distance. Adrian stayed far enough behind that neither of them turned. His men had already mapped the street, noted the security cameras, the timing of the streetlights. If Adrian wanted to, he could take her from here in less than a minute.

But he wasn’t here to take her. Not yet.

He was here to make sure nothing happened to her before she was his.

When they reached her apartment building, Daniel kissed her goodbye at the door. Adrian’s eyes lingered on the way she smiled up at him. Jealousy was a cold thing in his chest, but it was steady, controlled.

He could wait. He’d waited for more dangerous things in his life than this.

By the time Elena went inside, locking the door behind her, Adrian was already turning away, the shadow of a smile on his lips.

She still had no idea she’d been living with him in her world for days now.

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