Chapter 3 The morning he refused to walk away

Racheal woke the next morning with her phone still in her hand, the last unread message from Kai glowing faintly against her pillow. She'd fallen asleep somewhere between overthinking and pretending she wasn't. Now, in the soft wash of early sunlight, the truth hit her she had been waiting for him to text again.

She sat up slowly, stretching, her mind replaying every moment from last night: his stare, the warmth in his voice, the way he'd said her name like he already knew it. And then the message short, late, unexpected.

You got home safe?

Simple. Too simple. But somehow it made her heart stumble.

Before she could think too deeply, her phone buzzed again. She froze. Then looked.

Good morning, Racheal.

Her pulse kicked. She stared at the text longer than necessary, half suspicious of it and half drawn to it like a moth to fire.

Why was he texting her this early? Why did he care? They weren't friends. They were barely acquaintances. And yet... there he was. Already inside her morning.

She got up, brushed her teeth, changed into something clean, and tried to act like a normal human who did not have a billionaire neighbor sending her good morning texts. But even as she made her coffee, she felt it the strange shift in the air, like something in her world had quietly tilted.

Her phone buzzed again.

Are you busy later? I need to talk to you about something.

Racheal blinked at the screen.

Talk to her? About what?

She typed, erased, typed again.

Finally:

Depends... what's it about?

A minute passed. Two. She paced the small kitchen, the coffee cooling untouched.

Then his reply came.

It's better said in person. Can I come by?

She should say no. She knew she should. The night before still lingered the tension, the silence, the way he had looked at her like he wanted to tell her a secret he wasn't supposed to share.

But somehow her fingers moved on their own.

Okay. When?

This time, the reply was immediate.

Now.

Racheal's breath caught.

A knock sounded at her door just as her heart finished its next beat.

She froze.

He was already here.

For a moment she simply stared at her front door, frozen, as if hoping the knock had been a mistake. Her heart pounded too loudly for the quiet of her apartment, and she wasn't even sure she'd taken a proper breath.

Another knock firmer this time, but still gentle. Controlled. Exactly like him.

She wiped her palms against her shorts and forced herself to move toward the door. Every step felt heavier, her pulse thudding against her ribs like it was trying to warn her.

When she opened the door, Adrian Cole was standing there.

Hands in his pockets. Shoulders relaxed but eyes alert. The morning light softened the sharpness of his features, giving him an almost disarmingly warm look nothing like the guarded man she'd met the first day.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Just one word, but it landed somewhere in her chest and stayed there.

"Hey," she replied, hoping her voice didn't betray the chaos inside her.

He looked her over not with judgment, but with something that felt dangerously close to concern. Like he'd shown up early just to make sure she was okay.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

She hesitated for a heartbeat not because she didn't trust him, but because she trusted him a little too easily. Still, she stepped aside.

As Adrian walked in, the subtle scent of his cologne brushed past her, clean and expensive, making her kitchen feel suddenly too small.

He turned to face her once he was inside. His expression was tense, but not cold. More like he was wrestling with something he'd been carrying for too long.

"I didn't mean to come earlier than I said," he began, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just... didn't want to explain this over text."

Racheal swallowed. "Explain what?"

Adrian took a slow breath and stepped a little closer, his gaze steady in a way that made her nerves spark.

"Last night wasn't a mistake," he said. "And this me being here it's not casual."

Her chest tightened. "Adrian... what are you trying to say?"

He studied her for a moment, his jaw flexing like he was choosing his words carefully.

"I need you to trust me," he said softly. "Because something's happening-and you're already involved, whether you realize it or not."

A strange chill swept through her.

"Involved in what?"

Adrian's eyes didn't waver. "In something you weren't supposed to see. Something you weren't supposed to be anywhere near." His voice lowered, almost regretful.

"But I didn't stay away. And now... it's too late for distance."

Racheal's breath caught.

He hadn't come to interrupt her morning or flirt or pretend nothing changed.

He'd come to pull her into something real.

Something dangerous.

Racheal stepped back just enough to anchor herself. "Adrian... what did I see? What are you talking about?"

He exhaled slowly, as if he'd been holding the truth in his chest for too long. "Last night, when you left your apartment... you walked right into something you shouldn't have. Something that wasn't meant for public eyes."

Her eyebrows pulled together. "I just saw you talking to a man in the hallway."

Adrian shook his head. "Not just talking. That man wasn't a visitor. He's tied to a deal that shouldn't be leaking through the cracks." He paused, his voice dipping lower. "And you showed up at the exact moment the situation was supposed to stay buried."

Racheal's skin prickled. "You mean... I walked into something illegal?"

His jaw tightened ,not with guilt but with frustration at the situation itself. "Not illegal. Complicated. Dangerous in ways you don't understand yet."

She swallowed hard, trying to piece together the edges of a puzzle she didn't even know existed. "So what you're saying I'm in danger?"

Adrian stepped closer, instinctively, as if shielding her from something invisible. "I'm saying I won't let anything touch you. But I need you to know what you're walking into, because pretending it didn't happen won't fix it."

Her voice trembled despite her effort to stay steady. "Why tell me all this? You could've ignored me. Avoided me. Let it fade."

Adrian studied her for a long, quiet moment-too quiet.

And then his expression shifted, softened in a way she wasn't prepared for.

"Because," he said slowly, "the moment I heard your footsteps in that hallway... I knew I'd already crossed a line."

Racheal's heart thudded, unsteady.

"What line?"

Adrian's gaze held hers, steady and unflinching, but vulnerable in a way she had never seen from him.

"The line between keeping you at a distance," he murmured, "and wanting you close."

Her breath jammed in her throat.

He wasn't guessing.

He wasn't flirting.

He meant every word.

"Adrian..." she whispered, but she didn't know what was supposed to come after that.

He took one more step toward her slow, deliberate like he was giving her time to stop him, even though she didn't move.

"There's more you need to know," he said, his voice dropping to a low, steady rumble. "But before I tell you everything... you have to promise me one thing."

Racheal's pulse fluttered. "What?"

"That no matter how complicated this gets," Adrian said, "you won't run from me."

Silence settled between them, thick and electric.

Her world had already shifted - because of him, because of this morning, because of the truth pressing between them.

But she lifted her chin, grounding herself.

"What am I promising," she said softly, "if I don't even know the whole story yet?"

Adrian's mouth curved -barely, almost imperceptibly but it wasn't amusement. It was relief mixed with something warmer.

"Then," he said, stepping close enough for his warmth to brush against her skin, "let me tell you everything."

Racheal nodded slowly, her heart pounding hard enough to make her chest feel tight. "Okay. I'm listening."

Adrian exhaled-a deep, controlled breath that felt like he was steadying himself. Then he walked past her and took a seat at her tiny kitchen table, the one that suddenly felt too modest for a man like him. He rested his hands on the surface, fingers laced together, eyes down for a moment before meeting hers again.

"This isn't easy to explain," he began, "because it's not a world I ever intended you to be near."

She moved closer but didn't sit yet, bracing herself against the edge of the counter.

"Then start with the part I did see," she said gently. "The man in the hallway."

Adrian's jaw flexed. "His name is Victor Lagos. And he doesn't show up anywhere unless he wants something."

Racheal's brows pulled together. "From you?"

"From my company," Adrian corrected. "From the deal I'm trying to close. He's not someone you push without consequences."

The seriousness in his voice sent a cold shiver down her spine.

"And what does that have to do with me?" she whispered.

"You walked out at the exact moment we were arguing-when I was telling him I wouldn't agree to his terms." Adrian leaned back, eyes locked on hers. "You heard enough to be considered a liability to him."

A pulse of fear moved through her, sudden and sharp. "I didn't hear anything."

"Victor doesn't care," Adrian said softly. "If you were close enough to witness it, that's enough for him."

Racheal swallowed hard. "So what does he want?"

Adrian hesitated. "He wants leverage."

"Leverage... like me?"

His silence was the confirmation she didn't want.

Racheal's breath stuttered. "Adrian-tell me the truth. Am I in danger because of you?"

His eyes softened, a flicker of something almost painful passing through them. "You're in danger because of the world I'm part of. One I've tried very hard to keep separate from my personal life."

A bitter, quiet laugh escaped her. "Funny, considering you've barely known me a week."

"That's exactly why it's a problem," Adrian said, voice low and tense. "I don't get attached. Not to neighbors. Not to anyone who can complicate my business."

"Then why me?"

His gaze deepened, almost unbearably sincere. "Because the moment you glared at me in that hallway... I forgot the rules."

The room stilled.

Racheal finally sank into the chair across from him, her hands trembling slightly.

"So what now?" she asked. "You just expect me to... what? Stay inside? Pretend none of this is happening?"

"No." Adrian leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "I expect you to let me protect you."

She blinked, stunned. "Protect me? Adrian, we barely know each other."

"Trust doesn't need time," he said quietly. "It needs intent. And mine is clear."

Her mouth went dry. "And what intent is that?"

His eyes dropped to her lips for a fraction of a second-so quick she almost doubted it, but not enough to forget it-before lifting back to meet her gaze.

"To keep you safe," he said. "Even if it means standing between you and a man who would ruin everything just to get to me."

Racheal's pulse stumbled.

"So you're saying someone might come after me... because of you?"

"I won't let it get that far." Adrian's voice sharpened with certainty. "But you need to stay close. You need to trust me when I say this isn't over."

Racheal felt the weight of his words settle over her. Heavy. Real. Unavoidable.

She drew in a slow breath. "Then you tell me what happens next."

Adrian stood up, steps measured, controlled. He walked toward her, stopping right in front of her chair.

His voice dropped to a soft, intimate calm.

"What happens next," he said, "is that I don't leave you alone again."