Adrien sat in the private lounge of the mansion, the city lights casting sharp lines across the angular planes of his face. The world thought him untouchable. A man wrapped in a perfect black suit, untouchable, implacable, a shadow over the entire city. But behind that suit, there were truths that even the most loyal men rarely glimpsed. Tonight, Selene would see a fragment of them.
He had been silent all evening, seated at the edge of the bar, tracing patterns on the polished surface with a glass of water, untouched. Camille had prepared a simple meal, but he had no appetite. Her soft footsteps on the floor had not gone unnoticed, the faint rustle of the fabric of her dress registering in his peripheral vision like a warning.
"Adrien?" Selene's voice was careful. Hesitant. She stood near the doorway, fingers twisting the hem of her sleeve.
He didn't answer immediately. He studied her instead—the way her eyes flicked to the shadows, the way her shoulders were tense, the way she balanced fear with curiosity. She wanted to know him. She wanted to understand what she had married. And for once, he wasn't entirely certain if revealing the truth would protect her… or destroy her.
Finally, he spoke, voice low but steady. "Sit."
She obeyed, perching on the chair opposite him, knees pressed together. Adrien regarded her silently for a long moment before gesturing to the drink on the table. She shook her head. Good. She needed clarity, not comfort.
"You think you know me because of what you've seen," he said, voice calm, measured. "Because of the men, the walls, the city below. But the suit… it hides more than it shows."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
He leaned back, studying her. She was daring, probing, and that made her dangerous. He couldn't allow weakness—not in her, not in himself. Yet, he wanted her to see the man, not just the legend. "I control everything you see. Every shadow, every light, every man who walks these halls. That control… is a shield. A tool. And a trap."
Selene blinked, curiosity sharpening in her eyes. "A trap?"
"Yes," he said softly. "A trap for the world, and for me. The world assumes that a man like me… with my power, my money… my ruthlessness… is complete. Untouchable. Untamed. They do not see the lines beneath the suit, the discipline it takes to hold it all together, to make choices every day that cost lives, cost morality, and… sometimes cost me pieces of myself."
Her hands rested on her lap. She was quiet now, listening. He appreciated that. She absorbed the words without argument, without flinching.
"I married you," he continued, voice dropping slightly, "because you are the one anomaly I did not anticipate. You are both weak and strong, visible yet careful. You notice, remember, adapt. You survive when others would crumble. That makes you… dangerous, yes. But it also makes you necessary. Not just to me… but to my world."
Selene's brow furrowed. "Necessary?"
Adrien took a long breath. "You are my constant. And in this life, constants are rare. Everything else is temporary, fleeting, disposable. You… are neither."
There was a pause. He almost thought she might speak, but she only tilted her head slightly, eyes searching his. That gaze was so unafraid, so questioning and they made him realize just how far his walls had fallen without his consent.
"You see, everyone assumes I am untouchable because I wear the suit. But the truth is…" His voice dropped, heavy and intimate. "I am as fragile as anyone. Fragile because of what I hold, what I protect, and what I cannot allow to fall into the wrong hands. And right now… right now, that includes you."
Selene's eyes widened. "Me?"
He nodded. "You. The way you endure, the way you resist, the way you adapt—it forces me to be… more than I was willing to admit. More aware, more precise and yes… more human than I planned to ever be."
The word 'human' lingered in the room like a confession. She hadn't expected it. No one had. She swallowed, unsure if the revelation frightened her or fascinated her.
"I don't know if I like being... human," he admitted, almost under his breath. "I have built my life to eliminate vulnerability. Every alliance, every action, every step. it is calculated to prevent exposure and yet…" His gaze found hers, dark, unyielding. "…you expose it anyway." He looked away and looked back almost immediately.
Selene's lips parted. "I… I don't understand."
Adrien let out a sound that was almost a sigh. "You shouldn't. Not fully. Some truths… are dangerous to know too early. But know this: I am not just the man the city fears. I am the man who will destroy anything that threatens what I protect and that includes you, that includes me and also includes anyone who thinks they can challenge me."
Her fingers curled around her knees. "Then why… why…. why do you show me this?" She almost stuttered.
"Because you need to see the man behind the suit before the world forces you to confront him blind." He leaned back, eyes never leaving hers. "Because understanding the rules of my world, the truths behind the walls… is your only path to survival. Knowledge is the shield I give you. And for now, it's the only gift I can offer."
For a long moment, they simply sat in silence. The city lights flickered against the walls, casting intricate patterns that seemed to echo the complexity of what he had just revealed. Adrien could see her processing, calculating, measuring the balance between fear and comprehension.
She finally spoke. "You're… more than the suit. And more than the fear."
He studied her closely, a small, almost imperceptible tension easing in his shoulders. "I am. But the suit is necessary. Fear is necessary. Without them, I am… vulnerable. And in my world, vulnerability is death."
Selene nodded, understanding, though not fully. Good. She didn't need to understand everything. Just enough to survive, just enough to navigate the treacherous waters he ruled.
Adrien stood then, moving toward the window. He traced the skyline with a finger, the city spread below him like a chessboard. "You see that city?" he asked, voice lower now, intimate yet commanding. "Every life in it is a move, every shadow a strategy, every whisper a weapon. I am the king of it, yes—but the crown is heavy. The responsibility is lethal. And for the first time, I see that the weight is not only mine to bear."
Selene moved closer, instinctively, drawn to the rare fragility in his tone. "The weight… of caring?" She asked him.
He didn't answer immediately. He rarely allowed emotion to surface, rarely allowed acknowledgment of it. Yet tonight, something different flickered in his eyes—something almost human, almost tender, almost dangerous.
"Yes," he said finally. "The weight of caring. And for you… it is heavier than you could imagine. Not because I allow it, but because the world does not forgive the weaknesses of men like me. And because the woman I married… is alive, aware, and capable. That is a weight that I cannot discard."
Selene's lips pressed together. She wanted to speak, to comfort, to question—but she only nodded. She was confused on what to do but that seemed like the only option she had. That was enough for now.
Adrien straightened, the edge of the suit catching the light, sharp and imposing. The man behind the suit was visible only in glimpses now. Fragile, calculating, human. But the city would never see that side of him. Only she would. And that was… intentional.
"You must understand this," he said, voice low, a warning threading each word. "The man you see behind the suit is not a man who will allow you or anyone else to suffer consequences that can be avoided. But you must learn to survive him as well as you survive the world. That balance… is delicate. And dangerous."
She nodded again.
Adrien turned back toward the city. The moonlight glinted off his cufflinks. He straightened the lapels of his jacket, the mask of control settling back over him like armor. The lounge was quiet again, the only sound the soft hum of the city beneath them.
He had shown her a piece of himself she would remember. A fragment. Enough to understand the peril and power of the man she was tied to. Enough to grasp that his decisions were both protective and dangerous. Enough to know that the lines of fear and fascination, obedience and desire, were blurred in ways she had not yet imagined.
And in that, Adrien knew the truth: Selene was no longer just a pawn. She was a mirror, reflecting the rare glimpses of humanity he had buried beneath the suit. And that reflection… both terrified and captivated him.
But even as she nodded, a shadow moved outside the window—unseen, silent, and waiting.