Chapter 40: How the Monster Learns to Pretend

Ryan didn’t run.

He wanted to. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to bolt get out, scream, call Chris, call Daniel, call anyone. But Adrien’s voice had dropped so low and calm that it paralyzed him.

“You’re not him,” Adrien repeated. “You’re better. You care too much. That’s why I knew you’d come alone.”

Ryan clutched the blue notebook tighter against his chest. “Why did you leave this here? Why show me this?”

Adrien’s eyes flicked to the book like it was nothing more than a discarded memory. “Elias was… sentimental. He liked to believe the world had meaning. Patterns. Redemption.” A faint smile tugged at his lips, slow and cruel. “But the truth is, some people are only born to destroy. No matter how much they love.”

A silence settled between them, the kind that made every breath feel too loud.

“I’m not like you,” Ryan said. His voice shook. “I’m not like him.”

“You are like me,” Adrien said. “But you’re still in the sweet part. The before. The moment right before the world decides what to make you.”

He stepped closer.

Ryan didn’t move. His spine pressed against the bookshelf, one hand gripping the notebook like a weapon.

“I saw you that day,” Adrien whispered. “Onstage. With the lights on your face. You didn’t even know how much you were shining, did you? Not just pretty. Not just brave. You were seen. You were everything Elias wanted to be but couldn’t. Because Elias was too weak to choose.”

Adrien’s voice darkened. “You’re not weak, Ryan.”

A sudden gust of anger surged up in Ryan’s throat. “You think stalking me, threatening me, manipulating me makes you strong? That Elias died because he was soft? Maybe he died because someone like you got close enough to twist everything he believed in.”

Adrien’s smile faltered.

For the first time, something flickered in his expression. A crack. Something brittle and tight.

Then: “You talk about him like you knew him.”

“I didn’t need to. I know what grief looks like. I know what you are.”

Adrien stepped forward and Ryan shoved the notebook into his chest.

“I’m not scared of you,” he said, even though his heart was thudding like a drum.

Adrien’s hands hovered around the book, but he didn’t take it. He looked at Ryan with something almost… mournful.

“No,” Adrien murmured. “You’re not scared now.”

He stepped back into the shadows.

“But you will be.”

Ryan stood frozen as Adrien vanished behind the row of shelves, the silence swallowing his retreat like it never happened.

He exhaled shakily. His knees almost buckled.

Not because of what Adrien said.

Because of what he didn’t.

There had been no apology. No remorse. Just an invitation.

And a warning.

Ryan clutched the notebook tighter. He wasn’t safe. No one was.

Back at the apartment, Chris stood when Ryan entered. “Where the hell were you?”

Ryan looked wrecked. Eyes hollow. Shirt wrinkled. He moved like a ghost and smelled faintly of cold dust and mildew.

“I found something,” he said hoarsely. “About Elias. About Adrien. We’re running out of time.”

Chris reached for him. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Ryan shook his head. “No. But he wants to. He’s playing some kind of long game, Chris. And I don’t think I’m the only one in danger.”

Chris’s jaw clenched. “We’re going to the police.”

“They won’t do anything until something happens.”

“Then let’s make something happen.”

Ryan blinked at that.

Chris stepped closer, voice tight. “I’m done waiting. He wants to play games? Fine. Let’s show him what happens when people like us fight back.”

Ryan stared at him, and something steadied in his chest.

He nodded slowly.

“Okay,” Ryan said. “Then let’s end this.”