Noah didn't take his hand.
Not immediately.
His gaze flickered from Adrian's face to the extended palm as if expecting a trick—like maybe the handshake would trigger hidden cameras, or a humiliating laugh track, or a sudden demand to kneel.
Ethan—no, Adrian—kept his expression neutral.
Calm. Polite. Non-psychopathic.
Inside, however, he was spiraling.
[Take the hand. Please take the hand. I promise I'm only 15% villain right now.]
Finally, after a hesitant pause, Noah reached forward.
His fingers were warm. Soft. Slightly trembling. The moment their hands touched...
A sharp static shock shot up Adrian's arm.
Not physical. Something deeper. His vision glitched.
For half a second, the room warped and in that flicker, he saw another version of himself.
Cold smile. Predatory eyes. Grip tightening painfully around Noah's wrist.
He heard his own voice—but darker.
"Know your place." Adrian jerked back as if burned.
The vision vanished. Noah blinked in confusion. "Mr. Vale?"
"I'm fine," Adrian replied too quickly.
Noah's brows furrowed.
The original plot. It was trying to overlay itself. Rewrite him in real time. Inside his skull, that mechanical tone echoed again:
[Deviation detected. Emotional response abnormal.] Abnormal?!
He was choosing basic human decency!
Adrian straightened his tie and gestured toward the sofa instead of the intimidating chair across the desk. "Sit."
Noah hesitated again—but obeyed.
Adrian deliberately chose the seat opposite him instead of looming overhead like some corporate demon king.
He picked up Noah's file.
He had memorized this back when he was just a reader.
Top of his class. Orphaned young. Worked three part-time jobs. The embodiment of perseverance.
In the novel, this was where Adrian would mock his background.
Instead...
"I read your thesis on sustainable logistics models," Adrian said calmly. "It was impressive."
Noah froze. "…You read it?"
"Yes."
"You… personally?"
"Yes." A silence stretched between them.
Not tense. Just… stunned.
Adrian noticed something then.
Noah's eyes were beautiful.
Not in a dramatic, cinematic way.
But in the way they carried quiet resilience.
The kind that survived storms.
The kind that didn't deserve trauma for the sake of plot progression.
Adrian placed the file down. "You're hired."
Noah blinked. "…That's it?"
"That's it."
No humiliating questions.
No demeaning remarks. No contract. No power play.
Noah looked more confused than relieved. "Mr. Vale," he said cautiously, "I thought there would be… additional conditions."
Ah.
So the rumors were already that bad.
Adrian leaned back slightly. "There are only two conditions."
Noah's shoulders stiffened.
"One," Adrian continued, "do your job well." Leaving a short pause, "And two—"
The air shifted. Adrian felt it.
Like a magnetic force tugging at his spine.
Like invisible hands guiding his mouth.
The original line burned in his throat.
'You belong to me.' His jaw tightened.
"Noah Bennett," he forced out instead, voice lower, steadier, "you will never be pressured into anything outside your role here."
The pressure snapped, like a rubber band breaking.
Inside his mind: [Major deviation confirmed. Plot resistance escalating.]
Oh, so we're escalating now? 'Fine.'
Noah stared at him as if trying to decode whether this was sarcasm. "…Thank you, Mr. Vale."
There it was.
That small, genuine smile.
In the original novel, Adrian described that smile as "something worth destroying."
Ethan had hated that line.
Now? Now it felt like something worth protecting.
A knock interrupted them. The assistant entered, stiff and composed.
"Mr. Vale, the board members have arrived for the quarterly meeting."
Right. Business.
Adrian stood smoothly.
"Noah, you'll begin tomorrow. HR will finalize details today."
Noah nodded and rose as well.
For a brief second, their shoulders brushed.
Another flicker.
Another distortion.
This time, the voice in Adrian's mind was clearer. Colder.
[Romantic progression insufficient. Obsession pathway recommended.]
Adrian's steps faltered.
Obsession pathway?!
He resisted the urge to look around for hidden cameras.
He was being audited by the universe.
Noah noticed his sudden stillness.
"Is everything alright?"
Adrian forced a composed expression.
"Yes."
No.
Absolutely not.
He walked out toward the boardroom, pulse steady but mind racing.
If the "system" wanted obsession, then it would likely trigger scenarios to force proximity.
Conflict.
Emotional dependency.
The novel loved suffering.
And he had just denied it its opening act.
That meant retaliation.
The boardroom doors opened.
Ten pairs of eyes turned toward him.
Executives.
Investors.
Men who had once feared Adrian Vale's temper.
He sat at the head of the table.
The CEO cleared his throat.
"Mr. Vale, regarding the Bennett intern—"
Already?
"That candidate was not on the final recommended list."
Adrian folded his hands.
"I'm aware."
The room felt cautious.
In the novel, this meeting escalated into a public display of dominance where Adrian crushed dissenters for entertainment.
Today?
He had zero interest in theatrics.
"He stays," Adrian said simply.
One of the senior directors leaned forward.
"With respect, Mr. Vale, you personally requested a different intern last night."
Adrian's heart skipped.
Last night.
Original Adrian had already set things in motion.
"What did I request?" he asked evenly.
The assistant slid a folder across the table.
Adrian opened it.
His blood ran cold. Inside are the surveillance photos of Noah leaving campus and Working late shifts.
Entering a small apartment building and attached, a drafted exclusive employment contract. Three-year binding clause.
Personal residence provision.
Non-disclosure with penalty clauses large enough to bankrupt a small country.
The original trap.
Adrian closed the folder slowly.
The board watched him carefully.
In their eyes, this was standard. Normal behavior for their ruthless CEO.
Adrian exhaled once. "Destroy it."
The room went silent.
The CFO blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"Destroy. It." He slid the folder back.
"We do not surveil interns."
A tense murmur rippled through the table.
One director frowned. "Sir, this level of caution is unnecessary. The boy is harmless."
"I know."
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Because he did know.
Too well.
The CFO exchanged glances with another member.
"Mr. Vale," he said carefully, "this is unlike you."
Adrian's eyes lifted, sharp and controlled, "I'm evolving."
That shut them up.
The meeting continued, but Adrian barely heard it.
Inside his mind, the mechanical voice returned—stronger now.
[Warning. Villain role destabilized. Narrative recalibration in progress.]
Recalibration?
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
A strange unease crept up his spine.
His phone vibrated under the table.
Unknown notification.
He glanced down discreetly.
A message from an unsaved number.
[You can't run from your role, Adrian.]
His stomach tightened.
Another message followed. [The protagonist must suffer.]
The screen flickered.
For half a second, it displayed text like a novel excerpt.
["Adrian watched as Noah stumbled, cornered by debt and desperation."]
Adrian shot to his feet.
Chairs scraped.
"Meeting adjourned."
"Sir—?"
But he was already moving.
He strode down the hallway, heart hammering.
His phone buzzed again.
This time... A news alert.
[Fire Reported Near Westbridge Residential District]
Adrian's steps slowed.
Westbridge.
He knew that address.
Because he had memorized it once as a reader.
That was where Noah lived.
The original plot point.
Apartment fire.
Forced cohabitation arc.
Obsession escalation.
His pulse roared in his ears.
"No."
He dialed the assistant immediately.
"Get me Noah Bennett's location. Now."
Typing.
A pause.
Then—
"Sir… his listed address is within the fire zone."
The world narrowed.
The system's voice echoed, almost pleased.
**Forced proximity event activated.**
Adrian didn't wait for the elevator.
He took the stairs.
Every step pounding with fury.
This wasn't coincidence.
This was correction.
The universe wanted tragedy.
Wanted dependency.
Wanted him to claim Noah under the guise of protection.
His jaw clenched.
He burst out into the parking garage and slid into his car.
Engine roaring to life.
As he sped toward Westbridge, smoke was already visible against the skyline.
His phone rang.
Unknown number again.
He answered without hesitation.
Silence.
Then—
A soft, mechanical whisper.
**Will you protect him… or possess him?**
The line went dead.
Adrian gripped the steering wheel harder.
Flames licked the side of a familiar building as he arrived.
Crowds gathered.
Sirens screamed.
His heart dropped into his stomach.
He searched frantically through the chaos—
And then he saw him.
Noah.
Standing barefoot on the pavement.
Smoke smudged across his cheek.
Shirt torn slightly at the sleeve.
Alive.
Relief crashed through Adrian so violently his knees nearly gave out.
But before he could reach him—
A hand landed on Noah's shoulder.
A tall man in a tailored suit.
Calm.
Watching the fire like it was interesting.
Noah looked up at the stranger.
And the stranger smiled.
Adrian's breath stilled.
He recognized that face.
Leonard Graves.
The rival CEO.
The true antagonist of the business arc.
In the novel—
He was the one who secretly orchestrated the fire.
Leonard's gaze lifted slowly.
Met Adrian's across the smoke-filled distance.
And his smile widened.
As if he had been expecting him.
As if this was all part of something bigger.
Noah turned—
And saw Adrian.
Confusion.
Relief.
Vulnerability.
All in one glance.
And Leonard leaned down slightly toward Noah, lips close to his ear—
As if whispering something dangerous.
Adrian's chest burned.
Not fear.
Not just anger.
Something darker.
Something possessive.
The system's voice purred faintly inside his mind—
**Obsession pathway available.**
Adrian stepped forward.
And for the first time—
He wasn't sure if he was walking toward salvation.
Or becoming exactly what the story wanted him to be.