Chapter 6 SIX

ADRIAN POV

I kept staring at the TIME. 2:00 PM.

Which meant I had ten more minutes before Aria finished her last class.

I leaned against the black car parked across the university gate, folded my hands across my chest, patiently waiting.

Students walked past me in groups, laughing and talking loudly about assignments, parties, and weekend plans.

None of it mattered to me, my eyes were fixed on the entrance of the university, waiting for her to be done.

Aria Bennett. Victor Bennett's daughter.

Just thinking about her name made my jaw tighten. The moment she stepped into that club last night, I recognised her. Immediately.

People believed the masks inside the club hid the identities of those wearing them, but they were wrong. Some people carried their identities in the way they walked, the way they spoke, and the way others reacted to them.

Not even for Aria Bennett, whom I spent the last four month, making research on.

Aria Bennett a powerful businessman's daughter. The girl every media outlet loved to talk about. The obedient princess of the Bennett family.

Except last night... she wasn't obedient. She was anxious, and dangerously curious.

I exhaled slowly.

I never planned to touch her. I never planned to see her in that club., but the moment she challenged me... everything changed.

That night should have never happened.

A group of students passed in front of the car, blocking my view for a moment discussing God know what. When they moved away, I saw her.

Aria stepped out of the university gate with two girls beside her. One I recognised as Ashley, the one who brought her to my club, and the other one was Leah. I know about her through my research on her.

Aria was talking to them, but she didn't look happy. Her expression was blank. Then her eyes found me.

She froze.

The two girls beside her followed her gaze and looked at me curiously. Ashley's gaze hardened at the sight of me.

For a brief second, something flashed in her eyes... before she masked it with an innocent smile, acknowledging me with a stylish bow.

Aria quickly whispered something to them as she walked toward the car.

She took a slow step towards me, like she was taking her time, or like she didn't know whether she wanted to strangle me... or scream at me.

Probably both.

I opened the back door before she reached the car.

"Good afternoon, Miss Bennett."

Her eyes stayed on me with clear irritation immediately.

She climbed inside without answering me.

I slammed the door harder than necessary. I walked around the car and got into the driver's seat.

Then I started the engine.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Suddenly I heard her voice from the back seat.

"So we're still doing this?" she asked in a low voice.

I kept my eyes on the road. "Doing what, Miss Bennett?"

A sharp laugh came from behind me. "Pretending."

The word stayed in the air for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything.

I exhaled slowly.

"You should keep your voice down," I said calmly.

"Oh, don't worry," she snapped. "I'm not screaming this time."

The car stopped at a red light. I glanced briefly at the mirror. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, I could sense frustration on her face.

"Why did you take this job?" she asked suddenly.

Straight to the point. I expected nothing less.

"Your father hired me," I answered simply.

"That's not what I asked." She retorted, glaring at me through the rear-view mirror.

The light turned green, then the car moved again.

Silence stretched between us before I finally spoke.

"I knew who you were when you walked into the club. I was already hired before then." I confessed.

Her breath caught behind me. "I thought so," she said quietly.

"But I didn't expect the night to happen, I didnʼt expect you to be at the club a night before my resumption, nor did I expect you to know about the club." I continued.

"And now?" Her voice was softer now.

"Now it's dangerous," I said calmly.

We stay silent, the word hard on us.

"Dangerous?" she repeated.

"Yes."

"Because of my father?" she questioned.

"Yes," I repeated.

She leaned forward slightly in the seat. "You're scared of him?"

"No."

My answer came immediately. "I respect the consequences, and the rules of my job."

That seemed to irritate her even more.

"So the solution is pretending nothing happened?"

I finally looked at her through the mirror. "Not pretending."

"Then what?" she asked.

"Protecting both of us," I answered easily.

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"If your father finds out what happened at that club..." I continued.

I let the sentence hang.

She understood immediately. Her expression hardened. "He would fire you."

"That would be the best outcome," I replied, and that made her pause.

"And the worst?"

I turned my eyes back to the road. "The worst," I said quietly, "would be far more complicated than this."

The car grew silent again.

Aria leaned back slowly in her seat. For the first time since the drive started, she didn't argue.

Instead, she asked something unexpected.

"Did you regret it?"

My hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel. I didn't answer.

Not because I didn't have one... but because saying it would change things.

Her tiny voice came again. "Last night."

Another long silence filled the car.

Finally, I spoke. "No."

The answer came out quieter than I expected.

Aria didn't speak again after that.

Outside, the familiar gates of the Bennett mansion appeared. The car slowed down as the guards opened the gate.

We drove inside.

I parked the car in the driveway and stepped out.

Opening the back door, I held it for her.

She stepped out slowly. For a moment we stood there again. Closely, just staring at one another.

Her eyes searched my face for a moment. "You're a terrible liar, Adrian," she said softly.

My expression remained calm. "I never lied."

She studied me for another second. Then she turned and walked toward the mansion.

But just before entering the house, she stopped.

And looked back at me.

"This isn't over," she said. Then she disappeared inside