13. Shadows Of The Past

Elara’s heels clicked against the marble floors of the penthouse as she followed Adrian down the hallway. The city sprawled beneath them, glittering and oblivious. Yet the atmosphere inside was anything but calm.

Adrian had been tense since morning, his jaw set, fingers occasionally tapping the railing in a rhythm she couldn’t place. Every so often, his gaze flicked toward her not in concern, exactly but in a way that made her skin prickle. Protective, yes. Watching, calculating… almost obsessive.

“Something’s wrong,” Elara said cautiously.

Adrian didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stopped in the center of the hallway, eyes fixed on a painting. Then slowly, without turning to her, he said, “I’ve been told… someone has been trying to make you look careless. Stumble. Someone has been following you.”

Elara’s stomach twisted. “Following me? Who? Why?”

Adrian’s gray eyes finally met hers. Cold, sharp, unreadable. “I don’t know for sure. But it could be Lydia.”

Her heart skipped. Lydia? She’s gone, isn’t she?

“She’s not gone,” Adrian continued, voice low and deliberate. “She’s never truly gone. And she’s always watching.”

Elara’s breath caught. “Why would she”

Adrian interrupted sharply. “She’s unpredictable. She could be here, there, anywhere. She’s… clever. Ruthless. And I’ve been told she’s coming back. She wants something. Or someone.”

Elara glanced at him, confused. “Someone?”

He didn’t answer. Not yet.

The day passed with a suffocating tension. Elara had barely left Adrian’s side, yet by evening, she was returning from a small floral delivery when something made her freeze. A man had stepped out from an alleyway just as she rounded the corner. He raised a hand, and the metallic glint of a knife caught the last rays of the sun.

Elara froze. Her heart raced.

Before she could react, a car horn blared from the street, startling the man. He dropped the knife and fled.

Shaking, Elara ran back to the penthouse. She barely noticed Adrian waiting for her when she arrived, his expression unreadable.

“You were followed,” he said flatly, as if reading her mind.

“I… I think someone tried to”

Adrian cut her off. “Yes. I know. That was no coincidence. Someone wants to intimidate you. Test you. Make you flinch.”

Elara’s chest tightened. “But why? I haven’t done anything.”

“Because she wants to see you react,” Adrian said. Gray eyes darkening. “And she knows that to get to me, she has to start with you.”

Later that night, Adrian’s office smelled faintly of leather and expensive whiskey. He leaned against the desk, hands clasped behind his back, staring down at Elara.

“You need to understand something,” he said. “Lydia isn’t just a ghost from my past. She’s a threat to your life. To mine. And she will test every boundary until she finds a weakness.”

Elara frowned. “But why… why now? Why come back at all?”

Adrian’s gaze softened slightly but only a fraction. “Because she doesn’t like losing. She never has. And when she sees someone close to me like you she thinks she can replace you.”

Elara’s chest tightened. “Replace me?”

“Yes,” he said quietly. “She’s jealous. And dangerous. And she doesn’t care how she plays the game, as long as she wins.”

Elara swallowed, trying to steady her trembling hands. “What do you want me to do?”

Adrian took a step closer, eyes blazing. “I want you to survive. I want you to stay smart. I want you to trust me because if you falter even once, she’ll take advantage.”

“And what do you want?” Elara asked, heart racing. “From her?”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “I want her gone. Out of my life. Forever.”

Elara noticed, for the first time, the sharp edge in his voice—the kind of anger that comes from someone used to controlling everything. He hadn’t touched her, hadn’t even raised his voice, but she felt the storm behind it.

The next morning, Adrian didn’t leave her side. Every phone call, every message, every knock at the door he answered first. His eyes never left her, a quiet intensity that made her feel both safe and suffocated.

“You’re mine to protect,” he said once, as she carried a vase of fresh flowers down the hall. “I will not let anyone her, or anyone else hurt you.”

Elara stopped, heart racing. “Mine?”

“Yes,” he said simply, voice sharp, leaving no room for debate.

She realized, with a start, that Adrian’s jealousy wasn’t just possessive it was a statement. Lydia’s shadow was more than past romance; it was a constant threat, one that he would fight relentlessly.

By evening, Lydia appeared at the edge of the Hale estate gardens, perfectly composed, as though she had just stepped out of a magazine cover. Adrian noticed her from the terrace and tensed.

“Do you want her?” he asked quietly.

Elara blinked. “I what do you mean?”

“Do you want her to go?” Adrian pressed, his voice low, almost a growl. “Because I can make her leave. Permanently. Or I can let you face her.”

Elara swallowed. “I… I want to handle it. I want to prove I can”

Adrian’s eyes softened, just slightly, but his tone cut through her words. “You’re not ready to face her alone. Not yet.”

That night, Elara was alone in the small sitting room of the penthouse. She was trying to focus on arranging flowers for the morning when a soft buzzing sound made her freeze.

Her phone. A message.

“You’re doing well. Too well. Don’t think I won’t come closer. –Lydia”

Elara’s hand trembled. She knew immediately Lydia had escalated.

She turned to see Adrian standing in the doorway, arms crossed, jaw tight. His gray eyes were unreadable, but the storm behind them was unmistakable.

“She’s coming,” he said quietly. “And she will test you again. Are you ready?”

Elara’s chest tightened. She nodded. “I’ll be ready.”

Adrian stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, protective, and just slightly possessive.

“Good,” he said. “Because I won’t fail. And I won’t let her hurt you.”

Elara felt a strange thrill mixed with fear. She realized that this wasn’t just about surviving Lydia it was about proving herself to Adrian.

And somewhere in the city, Lydia smiled. Watching. Waiting.

The war had only begun.