Seraphina's Point Of View
I was already walking away.
One step. Two.
My heels clicked softly against the polished floor, rhythmic, controlled, professional… everything I had trained myself to be. I didn't look back. I didn't slow down. I didn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he had cracked even a sliver of my composure.
Then, a hand closed around my left wrist.
Out of nowhere.
Too sudden. Too familiar.
My body reacted before my mind did. A sharp inhale caught in my throat, my shoulders stiffening instinctively, every muscle going taut. My fingers curled reflexively, nails biting into my palm as if bracing for impact.
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
I felt him.
The grip… firm, deliberate, confident in a way that once upon a time had made my knees weak. Fingers wrapping around my wrist like it belonged there. Like it had always belonged there.
God.
I closed my eyes briefly and let out a slow, tired sigh. Not anger. Not panic.
Just exhaustion.
I tugged my hand, trying to pull free casually, dismissively, like this was nothing more than an inconvenience.
It didn't work.
His grip tightened instead. Not crushing, but unyielding. Too sure of itself. Too wrong. That was when something inside me snapped… not loudly, not dramatically. Just a quiet, clean break.
I turned.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The corridor seemed to narrow as I faced him, the background noise dulling into something distant and irrelevant. The hum of the building faded. The footsteps. The murmurs. All of it blurred until there was just him.
Adrian.
Standing there like a ghost from a life I had already buried.
He looked… familiar. Painfully so. Same sharp jawline, same neatly styled hair, same eyes that used to soften whenever they found mine. Eyes that once held warmth. Promise. A future I had been so stupidly certain of.
And yet… Nothing.
I felt nothing.
No rush. No ache. No old wounds tearing open. Just a strange, detached awareness, like I was looking at a stranger wearing the face of someone I used to love.
Oh. Right.
I forgot to tell you… Adrian and I work in the same company.
Funny how life does that.
Same building. Same floors. Same polished hallways. But not the same level.
Not even close.
I was higher. Much higher.
I had climbed. Scraped. Bled quietly. Earned every inch of where I stood now. And he? He was still looking up, still reaching, still thinking he had some kind of claim.
I stared at him, really stared, at the man I had once loved with my whole chest. The man I had been ready to rearrange my entire life for. The man I had imagined growing old with, arguing over paint colors and grocery lists, sharing quiet mornings and loud laughter.
The man I would have given everything to.
The man I wanted to spend whatever little time life gave me with.
And now?
There was nothing there.
Not even resentment.
Just cold clarity.
His brows knit together slightly, confusion flickering across his face, maybe because he expected something… anger, tears, anything. Maybe he was searching my eyes for the girl he used to know.
She wasn't there anymore.
My gaze dropped to his hand around my wrist.
Still holding.
Still tight.
I slowly lifted my eyes back to his face. My voice, when I spoke, surprised even me.It didn't shake. It didn't crack. It didn't carry even a trace of the girl who once softened around him.
Calm. Sharp. Steady. Stripped bare of warmth.
"Let go of me, Mr. Adrian."
The words landed between us like glass shattering on marble.
He blinked.
Once. Twice.
"Mr…?" he echoed, disbelief rippling across his face like I had slapped him without touching him. His grip loosened just a fraction, more shock than obedience. "Baby, please… please hear me out."
Baby.
That word.
Something ugly curled in my chest.
I didn't give him the dignity of another warning. I smacked his hand away, hard enough that the sound echoed down the corridor, sharp and humiliating. His fingers recoiled like they'd been burned.
"The scene I saw at your house already did all the explaining," I said flatly, my jaw tightening. "I don't need to hear your polished lies on top of it."
The air around us shifted.
People were pretending not to look. Pretending not to listen. But I could feel it, the tension buzzing, curious glances sliding our way, whispers forming in the spaces between footsteps.
Beside me, Rose suddenly found the floor extremely fascinating.
Like, deeply fascinating.
Her eyes dropped immediately, fixed on a nonexistent speck of dust as if she'd just discovered the secrets of the universe down there. She didn't move. Didn't breathe too loud. Smart girl.
Adrian stepped closer, his voice dropping, urgent now. "You need to understand, babe. It's not as it seems."
I laughed.
A short, incredulous sound that burst out of me before I could stop it. It tasted bitter on my tongue.
"It's not as it seems?" I repeated slowly, letting each word drip with disbelief. "Seriously? Are we really playing that card right now?"
My hands curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms. I could feel heat crawling up my spine, anger simmering, threatening to boil over.
"What the fuck did you take me for, Adrian?" I snapped, my voice rising despite myself. "A child? Huh? Say it. Let me know."
His mouth opened.
I didn't let him speak.
"I seriously don't want to have this conversation here," I continued, my tone sharp, clipped, barely holding together. "But you're giving me no choice. And I'm already in a bad mood, so congratulations, you just won the worst timing award."
He started talking again, words tumbling out too fast, excuses lining up behind his teeth.
I lifted a hand.
"Stop."
He froze.
"Let me ask you something," I said, stepping closer now, close enough that he could see the storm in my eyes.
He nodded immediately. "Anything, honey."
Honey.
God.
I took a slow breath, steadying myself, choosing my words carefully, not because he deserved gentleness, but because I wanted precision.
"If I were the one you walked in on," I said slowly, "if I were the one you found in that position… with Noah…"
His face changed instantly.
Noah.
His best friend.
His jaw clenched, eyes darkening, something vicious flashing across his features without warning.
"I'd kill him," Adrian said without hesitation. "He'd never betray our friendship."
He swallowed, then added, softer now, almost tender.
"And I know you'd never do that. I trust you, babe."