Chapter 2 The Return of a Ghost

"Elara, stay down!" Adrian's voice was sharp, commanding-too familiar.

Glass rained from above as another bullet sliced through the night air. Screams erupted. Patrons scattered, ducking beneath tables and rushing for the exit. But Elara remained frozen, her back pressed against the cold marble of the rooftop bar floor.

Adrian's arm was wrapped protectively around her, his body shielding hers. Heat radiated off him, and it felt like every memory she had tried to bury over the past year rushed back all at once.

His voice. His touch. His betrayal.

He looked down at her, breath uneven. "Are you hurt?"

Elara shoved him off her. "You don't get to ask me that."

His jaw tightened, but he helped her up. Security had swarmed the area. The shooter was gone. Chaos pulsed through the air, but Adrian remained steady-like always.

"I need to explain," he said, leading her to a private elevator.

She yanked her arm away. "Explain why you humiliated me in front of the entire world? Why you disappeared without a word? Or why someone's trying to kill me now-just minutes after you show up?"

Adrian stepped in front of the elevator doors before they closed. "Because they were never after you, Elara. They were after me."

She stared at him, eyes narrowing. "Why?"

He hesitated, something dark flickering in his gaze. "Because I know too much. And because I refused to play their game."

Elara crossed her arms. "You're going to have to do better than that."

He leaned in close, his voice low. "Then come with me. Just tonight. Let me show you the truth."

She looked at him-really looked. This man who had once promised her forever, then vanished without so much as a goodbye. The man who had just taken a bullet for her.

Every instinct screamed run.

But her heart whispered stay.

"Fine," she said. "One night. You tell me everything. And if I don't like what I hear, I walk. Forever."

Adrian nodded. "Deal."

What truth is Adrian hiding-and will it cost Elara more than her pride this time?