Chapter 3

Adrian

I was back at Vincen't house the next day to get the rest of the documents.

The first person I met by the balcony was a little boy. He smiled widely at me, watching me with curious eyes. He looked like he was four or five at most and his eyes were his mother's...Lena. He was so beautiful, his entire face was a stark reminder of her.

He could have been mine… The kid watched me get down from my car and walk up to him and then he grinned widely.

Why did I fucking smile back?

"Hello handsome. Where's daddy?" I questioned, but his smile immediately dropped and his little brown eyes held fear.

My eyebrow raised in concern and confusion at once, and I moved even closer to him.

"Are you okay, little man? Do you know where your daddy is?" I queried again, but then I noticed that his hands had started shaking and he was trying to take some steps back.

An older man who introduced himself as the butler the last time I was here, came running to me just then and stopped right beside me,

"Welcome, Mr Adrian. The boss is expecting you."

I turned to him after a long while of just looking at the little boy who was clutching his toy tightly now and just staring between us.

"I will come in shortly, Frank."

Frank looked like he was debating leaving me alone here, but after a long while, he finally moved back a few inches. I turned back to the little boy,

"What is your name?"

"Ethan." His small voice came, and then he did a little smile again, like he needed me to be happy with him.

What was really going on here?

I nodded at his answer still, with a small smile of mine on my face. I was also just getting ready to ask a few more questions when someone opened the front door and walked out briskly.

I looked up to see Lena standing there, staring between both of us for only a mini second before rushing to grab her kid. Her eyes stayed on mine though, and fuck, I knew she felt that tension. I saw the way her lips parted and her cheeks flushed, she was still as affected by me as I was by her.

I know that kiss was a mistake and she might never let me do it again, but I found myself wanting more.

Focus, Adrian.

"Let's go inside, baby." Lena finally whispered, and started walking back inside with Ethan who simply tore his eyes away from me and followed his mother.

My eyes shamelessly dropped to her backside as she walked back inside and the rage I was starting to feel intensified.

It would help more, if Lena was fucking ugly, or just not hot. Even with the sadness in her eyes and the tiredness dragging the flesh under her eyes, she was still gorgeous as hell. She had grown.

Lena was no longer the teenager and young adult I used to know. She was a full grown fucking woman. She was no longer the girl I had fallen in love with.

The public knew nothing yet, but she was not happy in her marriage and it showed if you got close. She came out now in a robe that had Vincent's initials on the chest area and anyone who had seen her would conclude that they were so in love.

She was the perfect trophy wife on the media. Little did they fucking know… miss perfect was actually fighting for her life in the hands of her 'loving' husband.

Once upon a time, Lena and I were happy. She was the love of my life, and I was hers. Until she casually decided to break my heart and marry a richer man, just like that, without explanation. I even had to pay for ever dating her and for trying to get her back.

I paid with blood and years of sweat. Now, I was back to take what belonged to me—revenge.

The door flew open again and Vincent peeked outside with a frown. When his eyes settled on me, he brightened,

"Adrian, my man!"

I forced a smile, "Vince! Good to see you again."

"Always good to see you, man. Didn't you meet Frank? Come in."

I could not wait to teach this man a lesson. He did not know it was my family he had destroyed back then for Lena, but he was about to find out soon.

I was handed the remaining documents and was just on my way out when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw Lena standing a bit far from me like she was afraid to come closer.

I gave her a quick once over. She had changed from the robe she had been wearing to a shirt that stopped right above her knees. My suspicion; it belonged to that less of a man, her husband, Vincent.

My fist clenched and I struggled to remain calm...I realized I would be doing that a lot now that I was around her again.

"I… He took those from my room. I did not give him permission to take those documents. I did not give him permission to take the ranch, too." Her voice was small, pleading.

Too bad. I fully faced her, "And?"

She bit her lip, her eyes searching mine for something, I had no idea what, but I hoped she was not looking for my pity.

"I didn't approve of this, Adrian. Please. The ranch… it's the only thing I have for myself. Please do not let him take it from me." Her eyes were still sharp, her shoulder squared with pride, but her voice shook a little.

Lena did not like begging. More importantly; begging me.

My lips curved in a smirk. "Why should I lose out on such a beautiful offer for you, Lena? Just because you are not okay with it?"

"Please. Put yourself in my shoes..."

"Maybe I will, so I can understand clearly why you dipped the minute you saw a better opportunity." I snapped, then gritted my teeth to control myself.

Her eyes flashed with something, and then she wrapped her arms around her chest, only taking the shirt even further up so her creamy thighs taunted me even more.

As if she noticed my eyes practically fucking her, she dropped her hands with the speed of light and swallowed, "You do not understand what happened, Adrian, it was not about me."

I smiled emotionlessly, "A little too late for an explanation, don't you think?"

"Adrian…"

I could not help it. Her eyes widened and she searched around as I began to walk towards her, pushing her to a dark corner behind the balcony.

"Adrian…"

"Shut up." I groaned, my mind deciding it was the right time to take me back to six-seven years ago when she was still mine, when she moaned my name like this on the first night we had each other.

We were each other's firsts… I had thought we would be each other's last too… I thought we would love each other forever. I was young and fucking stupid.

I gave her a once over with one hand over her head and the other gripping her hip. Our gazes locked, and stayed, "Still playing the perfect wife? You've gotten ridiculously good at it. Or maybe you were always a liar and I just never saw it."

Lena fired back, her anger flaring despite her fear. "Why are you back here in New York, Adrian? What do you want?"

I stepped even closer, my gaze piercing. "The truth. And maybe a little payback."

"There is no truth. I moved on and I am happily married, please leave me alone. Go back to wherever you came from." She begged, but made no move to get away from me.

How could I be so drawn to this woman, even after all these years?

She was so grown, so beautiful, I hated her even more for it. I hated that she was this gorgeous with another man by her side, fucking, touching and marking her skin in ways that could only exist in my imagination.

"You wrecked me, Lena. You are about to pay for it with everything." I muttered and for a moment, we just stared at each other, until we heard her husband yell her name.

Lena's eyes widened with fear and she pushed me away with the speed of light, running off towards the sound of Vincent's voice. I stayed there, my hand still resting against the wall as I tried to breathe steadily.

"What the fuck are you doing out here when my food isn't on the table?" He barked.

"I… Mara was handling it, so I..."

"She was handling it, and so you decided to just lazy about, neglecting other duties? Did I marry you so you could just loiter about? Did you forget your place?"

He kept yelling at her and I just stood there, listening for her response, but she just meekly apologized and he called her a couple of repulsive names before she hurried inside.

Why was I simmering with rage for her? She deserved whatever bad happened to her, maybe this was even her karma… and yet, I wanted to take her out of here.

I rushed out of Vincent's house then, forcing all those absurd thoughts off my head.

Every worker finally resumed work two weeks later at the ranch. I visited the place too… I had other businesses, but Lena was resuming work today too, as a field clerk.

According to Vincent, she had accepted it heartily, as she was lazy and always needed ways to leave the house.

I personally knew it was more than that.

Lena arrived a bit late in a flashy car—2021 BMW model which seemed too extravagant for an ordinary field clerk. But of course, both she and her husband were attention mongers.

I stood a few inches away from her car, at the entrance of the staff quarters, and her head tilted up so her eyes met mine. The smile on her face quickly dwindled and then she waved at her driver, before rushing towards me with quick, successive steps.

"Good morning, Adrian." She greeted breathlessly when I finally stood beside her.

"What's with the sudden respect?" I chuckled, slipping my hands into my pocket before a repeat of what happened two weeks ago would take place.

She ignored me, extending a piece of paper in my direction. My gaze flickered from the paper to her face three times, then I finally took it off her hands.

She looked a bit tensed as I looked down to inspect it. It was a cheque of 1.6 million dollars.

"It's all I've saved. I need the ranch back, please."