Adrian hand tightened around his cup. Of all the people to cross paths with in this crowded city, fate had cursed him with this man again. He kept his composure, but inwardly he groaned.
"Hey. " William leaned forward with a playful glint in his eye. " Don't tell me you do not recognize me already, arewà?"
Adrian's lips twitched, his patience wearing thin. "Of course I do. It's not every day you meet someone so annoying— someone who intrudes on another's privacy without shame. People like that are rare… and crazy. Truly, a rare species. I'm only surprised you remembered me." He finished with a smile, sly and cutting, pleased at his subtle insult.
William gasped dramatically, clutching his chest as though struck by an arrow. His wide- eyed surprise would have fooled anyone — anyone but Adrian.
"Oh my! You remember me? " William leaned closer, lowering his voice like a lover sharing a secret.
" I am flattered— deeply flattered! And of course I remember you. How could I not? A face like yours does not fade from memory Arewà. Besides…"
His grin stretched wider, eyes dancing with laughter. " …it is not every day you meet a goddess with the beauty of heaven and the temper of a thunderstorm. People like that, Precious. Rare. Worth chasing. "
Adrian's smile thinned, vanishing almost as soon as it appeared. He gave the man a hard stare. He studied the man across from him, irritation simmering in his eyes, yet beneath it… a flicker of something he would not name. Madness. That was what this stranger carried — thick skin and a tongue so shameless it could charm the dead. No insult seemed to pierce his thick skin.
"You mistake persistence for charm," Adrian replied evenly, voice calm but edged. " And thunder, for tolerance. Do not think I have either."
William chuckled, unconcerned, drumming his fingers lightly on the table as though the whole inn were their private stage.
" Ah, but thunder still answers when it's called, doesn't it? And here you are, sitting before me again. You could have left, yet you stay."
Idowu who has been watching the drama unfold silently, shifted awkwardly, whispering toward Adrian. " Master… this is the same man from yesterday, isn't he?"
Adrian's eyes flicked toward his companion — a silent warning to shut up — before snapping back to William.
The two locked eyes, the space between them crackling with an unspoken tension.
To anyone watching, they looked like rivals ready to draw swords. Yet beneath the sharp words and clashing stares, there was something else— an energy neither of them fully understood. Attraction and irritation, tangled like fire and spice.
For a long moment, neither spoke. The noise of the inn faded into the background. It was just the two of them— Adrian, fighting to keep his composure, and William, savoring every second of their collision.
William had already leaned back, utterly at ease. His grin lingered, shameless and daring as if he'd won a prize. Adrian's face an impassive mask, though his eyes burned with restrained anger.