Chapter 3 Dressed in misery

Maya had no rehearsal before now on what she would say. There had been no time to plan a script on what and what not to say when Adrian finally came along. Adrian walked straight to her table and sat across from her like he'd been waiting for this moment all along.

"It's you again," he repeated, his eyes locked on hers.

She looked away and gave a faint smile, unsure whether to be nervous or relieved. "Do I look that familiar to you?"

"No," he said slowly, leaning back in his seat. "But I've seen you watching me. Three days in a row. Same window. Same table. Same stale coffee and a plate containing what i have no idea of.

Maya's cheeks flushed. Watching you?, don't flatter yourself please

Hey hey, Don't deny it Miss.

Don't deny that you saw a really fine man and you decided to cross the seven rivers just to come see his face

I see flattering yourself is a hobby huh??

Fine ,was it that obvious??

"Painfully," Adrian replied, amused. "Now I'm curious. Do I owe you money, gold or are you stalking me for fun?"

She hesitated. The truth was heavy, certainly not something she could spill across a café table in broad daylight. But something about him ,his voice, his ease, his smirk .... almost everything made her think he was used to people with secrets. Maybe even carrying some himself.Or was he even one???

"Oh well,I used to work at SLAYTHEORY," she began, watching his expression. "Your father was my boss."

Adrian's smile disappeared and his face froze for the briefest second. Then he exhaled through his nose and said, "Was?"

It's a thing of the past?

"Yes,i quit."

"Smart move," he said with almost no emotion.

"You don't like him much, do you?"

Adrian laughed, but there was no humor in it. "That's a generous way to put it."

Maya leaned in slightly. "What happened?"

He looked at her, long and slow, like he was weighing the risk of spilling the truth to this stalker he just began a conversation with .

"I walked away," he said at last. "A long time ago. He needed a lapdog ,wanted someone to follow orders without asking. I preferred the truth."

The truth, that was all I ever wanted

That word truth rang through her. She swallowed hard.

"My father..." she started, faltering. "He died in a fire. They said it was an accident. But I think your father had something to do with it."

Adrian didn't flinch.

Instead, he took a slow sip of his drink and asked, "What makes you say that?"

She reached into her bag, pulled out the folded letter, and slid it across the table. "This was left in my apartment. No one knows how it got in. And then, this symbol..." She tapped the corner. "I've seen it before. In your father's office."

Adrian stared at the paper, then looked back at her.

"I've seen it too," he said.

Her heart leapt. "You have?"

"Yeah. It's not just a symbol. It's a mark. A warning. My father's part of something that doesn't exist on paper .Something old, secretive, dangerous. They operate under silence, manipulation, and control. That symbol is their stamp. If you're seeing it now, that definitely means something bigger is in motion."

Maya's hands grew cold. "Why would your father even go after mine?"

Adrian leaned forward, his voice dropping so low to a whisper. "Because your father stood in the way of something. Or someone. That's usually enough."

There was a long pause.

Then Maya said, I need to know more. I can't walk away from this now,it already seems too late.

Adrian looked at her, something unreadable passing through his eyes. "Then we are both in trouble."

He asked for her phone, typed a number into it, and handed it back. "We don't talk about this here again. Ever. If you need to reach me, you call. Nothing else."

Maya nodded, her chest was tightening.

As she left the café, her mind raced with more questions than answers. What exactly was this "thing" Damian was part of? Why was Adrian willing to talk about it? And why, even now, did she feel a very strange magnetism toward him?

She started seeing him often. At first, they talked only about Damian and the symbol. But slowly, the sharp edges of their conversations softened. He opened up about a whole lot..;his childhood, about running away, about the secrets he was never supposed to hear.

And Maya found herself smiling more, even laughing.

Finally, something good is happening since she left SLAYTHEORY

But with the warmth came the shadow.

Three weeks later, it arrived.

A letter, this time not on clean paper but torn and stained. No envelope. Just a threat scrawled in jagged handwriting:

"Stay away from him or you'll regret it".

No signature. No hint. Just rage.

Maya stared at it for hours. Him????

She hadn't told anyone about Adrian except him. Who else could know?

She waited a day before telling him.

Adrian listened quietly, jaw clenched. "This... might be my wife."

Maya blinked. "Wait,Your what?"

"She's not really my wife anymore," he said quickly. "We haven't spoken in over a year or more. She was.....unwell..... aggressive....Possessive. Dangerous. I cut ties. I thought she moved on after that too."

"So, What's her reason for threatening me?"

"Because she always thought I'd fall for someone else. And she doesn't like being right."

How did she know I was with you?

Adrian had no answer to that

Maya wanted to believe him. But a seed of doubt had been planted.

The next time she saw him, she noticed the hesitation in his eyes. The way he checked his phone. The way he asked if she had told anyone else about the letter.

Something had shifted.

And then came the morning she found her apartment door slightly ajar. Inside, nothing was stolen. Nothing broken.

Except the sense of safety.

And on her bed, a second letter:

It read "I see you. I know what you're doing. He's not who you think he is"

The paper smelled faintly of perfume.

She couldn't decipher if this faint smell was familiar or not?