The drive home felt like a funeral.
Neither Adrian nor I spoke.
I kept staring through the window, watching the city disappear behind us. Every streetlight seemed to pass too quickly, as though they were counting down the seconds before I faced my father.
"Look at me," Adrian said softly.
I couldn't.
"What if he hurts you?"
"He won't."
"You don't know that."
"I know your father."
"No." I finally turned toward him. "You know his name. You don't know what he's capable of."
Adrian went quiet.
I had spent years watching people lower their voices whenever my father entered a room. Employees feared him. Business partners respected him because they were afraid not to. Even relatives measured their words around him.
And now I had betrayed him.
Not with money.
Not with business.
With love.
When we reached my street, Adrian stopped the car.
"I'll come inside with you."
"No."
"I'm not leaving you alone."
"You have to."
He reached for my hand.
"If he asks you anything, don't let him frighten you into saying things you don't mean."
I gave him a weak smile.
"You make it sound easy."
"It isn't."
He squeezed my fingers.
"But you're not alone anymore."
Those words almost made me cry.
I got out of the car.
Before closing the door, I looked back at him.
"Adrian?"
"Yes?"
"If something happens to me…"
He immediately shook his head.
"Don't."
"Just promise me you'll stay away."
He looked at me for a long moment.
"I can't promise that."
Then he drove away.
I stood there until his car disappeared.
When I entered the house, silence greeted me.
My mother was sitting in the living room.
She looked worried.
"Your father is waiting for you."
My heart sank.
"Where?"
"The study."
Of course.
I walked down the hallway.
The study door was open.
My father sat behind his desk.
There were no papers in front of him.
No laptop.
No newspaper.
Just him.
Waiting.
"Close the door."
I obeyed.
"Sit."
I sat opposite him.
He studied me.
"How long?"
I swallowed.
"How long what?"
"Don't insult my intelligence."
My hands tightened around the fabric of my dress.
He leaned back.
"How long have you been seeing Adrian Blackwood?"
Hearing Adrian's name from my father's mouth made my blood run cold.
I said nothing.
My father nodded slowly.
"So it is him."
I closed my eyes.
"I love him."
The words came out before I could stop them.
My father's face hardened.
"You love him?"
"Yes."
"Do you know who his father is?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what that family did to mine?"
"Yes."
"Then you knew exactly what you were doing."
Tears filled my eyes.
"I didn't choose his family. I chose him."
My father stood.
For one terrifying moment, I thought he might strike me.
Instead, he walked toward the window.
"How many times have you met him?"
I didn't answer.
"How many?"
"Many."
He laughed bitterly.
"You lied to me."
"I'm sorry."
"You lied to my face."
"I was afraid."
"Of me?"
I looked at him.
"Yes."
Silence.
His expression changed.
Not softer.
Colder.
"You should have been."
My heart dropped.
He returned to his desk.
"The wedding is still happening."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"You will marry Daniel."
"No."
His eyes lifted.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said no."
It was the first time I had ever refused him so directly.
He stood slowly.
"You think loving that boy gives you the right to disrespect me?"
"No. But it gives me the right to choose my life."
He stared at me.
Then he picked up his phone.
"Call Daniel."
My stomach twisted.
"Father—"
"I said call him."
He made the call himself.
I watched helplessly as he spoke.
"Everything is going according to plan."
My heart pounded.
"Tomorrow, we begin the final preparations."
He ended the call.
Then he looked at me.
"You wanted to know what happens when you disobey me?"
I couldn't speak.
He walked toward me.
"Your relationship with Adrian ends tonight."
"No."
"You will block his number."
"No."
"You will never see him again."
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
"You can't force me to stop loving him."
He stopped in front of me.
"I don't need to."
His voice became frighteningly calm.
"I only need to make sure he disappears from your life."
I froze.
My father's words echoed inside my head.
Make sure he disappears.
I suddenly understood.
He wasn't threatening to separate us.
He was threatening Adrian's life.
And for the first time, I realized that my silence had never protected the man I loved.
It had only given my father time to find him.