Chapter 3 The Secrets We Keep

Elena couldn't shake the inclination that she was being watched. Wherever she went, she felt eyes on her, a consistent sign of the perilous way she had picked. However, more alarming was the developing connection among her and Adrian. Notwithstanding the alerts, in spite of the peril, Elena wound up attracted to him, unfit to oppose the draw.

She realized it was crazy, even absurd, however there was something about Adrian that enthralled her. He was a riddle she was frantic to settle, a man with layers of obscurity and torment that she needed to reveal. What's more, some way or another, she detected that he felt the same way about her, however he attempted to conceal it behind a cover of detachment.

Their gatherings turned out to be more successive, consistently covertly, consistently in the shadows. Adrian would show up all of a sudden, maneuvering her into discussions that left her both shaken and invigorated. He never discussed his privately-run company straightforwardly, however Elena could see the heaviness of it in his eyes, the weight of a day to day existence he hadn't picked.

One night, as they strolled along the riverbank, Adrian at long last opened up. "My dad was a hard man," he started, his voice touched with sharpness. "He fabricated this realm with blood and dread. I was raised to dominate, to be like him. However, I'm not."

Elena listened eagerly, detecting the weakness in a way that would sound natural to him. "Why do you remain?"

Adrian looked at her, his demeanor clashed. "Since I don't have a decision. Leaving isn't a choice in this world. The main way out is in a casket."

Elena shuddered at the chilly conclusiveness of his words. "Be that as it may, you don't need to be like him. You can change things."

Adrian chuckled, a sound without any trace of humor. "You're credulous, Elena. This isn't a fantasy. There's no reclamation for individuals like me."

"Why do you continue to come to me?" she asked, her voice shuddering with feeling. "Assuming you're persuaded to the point that you're past saving, for what reason do you continue to give me access?"

Briefly, Adrian didn't say anything. Then he went to confront her, his eyes dull and serious. "Since you make me need to trust that there's another way. You make me need to be another person, somebody better. In any case, I can't, Elena. I can't get away from who I'm."

Elena connected, her hand brushing against his. "You're not your dad, Adrian. You can pick your own way."

Adrian peered down at their interweaved hands, his appearance relaxing. "I wish it were just basic."

Their appearances were inches separated now, the unease between them intense. Elena's heart beat in her chest as she experienced the intensity of his breath on her skin. She realized that crossing this line would make a huge difference, yet she couldn't have cared less. She needed to know him, to grasp him, to be a piece of his reality, regardless of the expense.

Automatically, she inclined in and squeezed her lips to his. Briefly, Adrian didn't move, as though he were too stunned to even consider answering. Then, at that point, gradually, he kissed her back, his hands sliding around her midsection, pulling her nearer.

The kiss was serious, loaded up with every one of the implicit feelings that had been working between them. Maybe they were both attempting to empty all that they couldn't say into this one second, frantic to clutch each other regardless of the obscurity encompassing them.

At the point when they at long last pulled separated, they were both short of breath, their brows leaning against one another. "This is risky," Adrian murmured, his voice crude with feeling.

"I couldn't care less," Elena answered, her voice consistent. "I need to accompany you."

Adrian shut his eyes, his grasp on her fixing. "You don't have the foggiest idea, no doubt about it."

"Perhaps not," Elena conceded. "Yet, I'm willing to find out."

Adrian took a gander at her, his eyes loaded up with a combination of dread and yearning. "I would rather not hurt you, Elena."

"You won't," she guaranteed, however she didn't know she trusted it herself.

Briefly, they remained there, enveloped by one another's arms, both realizing that their relationship would bring just a burden. Yet, neither of them could leave now. They were too far, and the mysteries they kept from the world were currently the main thing keeping them intact.