CHAPTER FIVE - Fractures Loyalties

Adrian’s POV

“Then tell me to stop.”

The words left my mouth with more force than I intended. They weren’t a request, they were a dare, and we both knew it.

Clara stood frozen, framed by the glow of the city behind her. Her eyes widened, flickering with uncertainty, fear, yes, but also something else. Something that caught in my chest like a blade.

She didn’t move neither did she speak, and that silence told me more than anything.

If she truly wanted me to stop, she would have walked out of my office and slammed the door hard enough to rattle the glass. She would’ve thrown that lily back in my face. But she hadn’t. She was still here, trembling in her heels, fighting a battle I could see written in the lines of her posture.

I stepped closer. Slowly. Carefully. Like approaching something fragile.

“Clara,” I said, her name rough on my tongue. “You don’t understand. I don’t play games. Not with you.”

Her breath hitched. “Then what is this? Because I don’t know if I can survive another man who…”

She cut herself off, but I already knew. Ethan. Always Ethan.

A surge of heat burned in my chest, sharper than jealousy, colder than rage. It wasn’t just about her past with him; it was about the way his shadow still bled into every corner of her life. Even now. Even here.

I tilted my head, studying her. “Do you think I’m Ethan Ward?”

Her lips parted, like she wanted to deny it. But the hesitation… the hesitation gutted me.

“I’m not him,” I said quietly, but there was steel under the words. “I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep. I don’t use people until they break. And I sure as hell don’t discard what matters when the world isn’t watching.”

Her eyes glistened at that, her walls cracking just enough for the truth to slip through.

But then, she straightened her spine, masking the crack as quickly as it came. “And what am I supposed to be to you, Adrian? Another statement? A weapon to prove you’re better than him?”

That stung. Because it wasn’t entirely untrue.

For years, Ethan Ward had been the ghost I couldn’t exorcise. The boy who betrayed me. The man who took what should’ve been mine and spat on it. Clara Hayes had been part of his glittering façade, the perfect accessory to his rise.

But the woman standing in front of me now? She wasn’t Ethan’s ornament anymore. She was fire contained in glass, still burning despite everything. And I wanted her. Not because she was his. Because she was the one thing he could never deserve.

I let the silence stretch until she shifted on her heels, uneasy. Then I said, “You’re not a statement, Clara. You’re the only thing that feels like it isn’t poisoned by him.”

Her breath stuttered. For a moment, neither of us moved.

“Do you even hear yourself?” she whispered finally. “You talk like I’m some… antidote to him. Like I’m meant to erase his damage. I can’t carry that for you.”

My jaw tightened. “I never asked you to.”

“Then what do you want?” Her voice rose, breaking through the controlled calm she usually wrapped herself in. “Because I can’t be in another battle in your war with Ethan. I won’t survive it. I barely survived him.”

I closed the distance between us, lowering my voice to a whisper meant only for her. “What I want, Clara, is the one thing he could never touch. You.”

Her throat worked, like she was swallowing words she couldn’t quite say.

And then, my phone buzzed. Sharp. Intrusive.

Clara jumped, as if the sound snapped her from a spell. I cursed under my breath, pulling the device from my pocket. The name flashing across the screen froze my blood.

Ethan Ward.

I answered, my voice clipped. “Ward.”

“Knight.” His voice oozed through the line, smooth and mocking, like nails dragged across glass. “I see you’ve found yourself a new company.”

My jaw tightened. My eyes flicked to Clara, who was watching me with wide, confused eyes. She didn’t know who it was. Not yet.

“Is there a reason you’re calling me?” I said flatly.

Ethan chuckled, low and smug. “Only to say I hope you’re enjoying my leftovers. She always did like men who pretended to protect her. Funny how predictable she is.”

Clara stiffened. She couldn’t hear his voice, but she knew. She knew.

I felt the familiar heat of fury rise, the same rage that had kept me awake for years after he’d stolen deals, sabotaged projects, ripped apart everything I built brick by brick. But this was different. This wasn’t about business. This was personal.

“Stay out of her mouth, Ward,” I said, my voice a quiet growl.

“Or what? You’ll swoop in and save her?” His laugh curdled the air. “Careful, Knight. We both know you don’t have the patience for fragile things. She’ll break under you the same way she did under me.”

That was it.

I hung up before I could let him hear the threat burning on my tongue.

When I looked back, Clara was pale, her hands twisting together in front of her. “That was him, wasn’t it?” she whispered.

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t need to.

The truth was already written across my face.

*************************

The drive home with her should’ve ended then. I should’ve let her leave, let her breathe, let her think I wasn’t dragging her into the storm Ethan had started years ago.

But I couldn’t.

Instead, I found myself at her side, guiding her into the waiting car, my hand hovering at her back the way it had at the gala.

“You shouldn’t protect me,” she said quietly, staring out the window. “It’ll only make things worse.”

I leaned back, my gaze fixed on her reflection in the glass. “Maybe worse is the only way to finally end it.”