Adrien's POV
The city stretched beneath me in a wash of neon and glass, but I couldn't focus on the skyline. My desk was scattered with papers I hadn't touched in hours, the pen in my hand unmoving. Every attempt at work dissolved into distraction.
I told myself it was because of the board, the press, my mother's latest call. But I knew the truth.
It was Nora.
The distance between us had grown unbearable. And yet I had done nothing to close it.
The knock on my door was brisk, familiar. Daniel didn't wait for an invitation—he never did. He swung inside with the careless ease of someone who knew he belonged everywhere.
"Working late again?" he asked, eyeing the untouched scotch on the table. "Or pretending to?"
I leaned back in my chair, forcing calm. "What do you want, Daniel?"
"To save you from yourself, as usual." He grinned, then pulled out his phone. "Also, I saw something interesting today."
I arched a brow. "Do I dare ask?"
"Depends on how honest you want me to be." His grin widened as he tapped the screen. Then he turned the phone toward me.
The photo was grainy, snapped quickly, but clear enough.
Nora. Standing on a quiet street, sunlight catching her hair. And beside her—Luc.
My jaw tightened before I could stop it.
Daniel leaned against the desk, watching me too closely. "Relax, Moreau. Maybe it's nothing. Just looked a little… cozy, that's all."
"Cozy?" My voice came out sharper than I intended.
He raised his hands. "Hey, I'm not saying she's sneaking off with your long-lost cousin. But the guy clearly has an angle. And you—" he gestured toward me, "—you're doing that thing again. Sitting in your tower, pretending you don't care when you obviously do."
I forced my gaze away from the photo, but the image seared itself into my mind. Luc, leaning in too close. Nora, her expression unreadable.
"What exactly are you implying?" I asked.
"That maybe you should stop waiting for the universe to sort this out," Daniel said lightly. "Before someone else decides for you."
I stood, restless energy crackling beneath my skin. "Luc doesn't care about her."
Daniel tilted his head. "Doesn't he?"
Silence stretched between us.
Because I knew Luc. I knew the way he worked—charming, disarming, every word calculated. He had always been like that, even when we were younger. His games weren't about affection. They were about control. Winning.
And now he had turned his attention to her.
The thought made something primal twist inside me.
Daniel, ever perceptive, caught it. "There it is," he murmured. "The great Adrien Moreau, finally admitting he's human after all."
I shot him a look. "This isn't a joke."
"Of course it isn't." He pocketed his phone. "But you can't just brood about it, either. If you care about her, Adrien—really care—you need to do something. Before Luc does."
The words lingered after he left.
I paced the apartment, tension coiled tight. Daniel was right about one thing: I couldn't sit still. But I also couldn't storm into Nora's life and demand explanations. That wasn't who she was, and it wasn't what she deserved.
What she deserved was honesty.
My hands curled into fists. For so long, I had believed distance was protection. That if I held back, I could shield her from the chaos of my world. But all I had done was leave space for someone like Luc to slip in.
The memory of my cousin rose unbidden—his easy smile, his calculated charm. How he had always known where to press, how to manipulate. How he could turn trust into a weapon.
And now he had Nora in his sights.
I crossed to the window, staring down at the lights below. My reflection stared back—hard, restless, unfamiliar.
I had spent years mastering control, but control wasn't what this called for.
This called for something else.
A choice.
Because if I let Luc keep circling her, if I stayed silent, I risked losing more than just the fragile connection we already had.
I risked losing her.
And that wasn't a risk I could take.
Not anymore.