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Chapter 18
Last Updated:
2026-01-15 03:08:40
Latest chapter
Proximity Without Permission Chapter 21
Damon hadn’t expected seeing Adrian again to feel like this. He’d prepared for indifference. For polite distance. For closure he hadn’t asked for but assumed had happened anyway. What he hadn’t prepared for was the familiarity. The way her presence pulled him back into old instincts — the need to read her expression, to anticipate her responses before she voiced them. Adrian had always been precise with words, but her body told the truth first. And right now, it was tense. She wasn’t shutting him out. She was holding something in. That was worse. Damon leaned against the bar, drink untouched, watching her move through the room with the ease of someone who had learned how to command attention without chasing it. She had outgrown him. And still, he wanted back in. “Still pretending you don’t notice when I’m watching?” Damon asked lightly when she approached. Adrian smiled. “You always mistake observation for relevance.” He laughed. “You always mistake distance for control.”
Proximity Without Permission Chapter 20
Family had always been louder than the rest of Adrian’s life. Not chaotic — just dense. Heavy with history and expectation. It was the one place where control didn’t come from titles or influence, but from birth order and unspoken agreements made long before she had learned how to negotiate her way out of them. She arrived last, as usual. The restaurant was tucked behind an unmarked entrance, discreet in the way places became when privacy was more valuable than visibility. Adrian spotted them immediately — her brothers occupying space like it belonged to them, voices overlapping, laughter sharp and unapologetic. And then there was her sister. Nyelle sat at the head of the table, posture relaxed, expression unreadable. She wore power differently than Adrian did — less polished, more instinctive. Where Adrian controlled rooms, Nyelle commanded them without asking. “About time,” one of her brothers said as Adrian approached. “Traffic,” Adrian replied, leaning in to exchange brief
Proximity Without Permission Chapter 19
Family had always been louder than the rest of Adrian’s life. Not chaotic — just dense. Heavy with history and expectation. It was the one place where control didn’t come from titles or influence, but from birth order and unspoken agreements made long before she had learned how to negotiate her way out of them. She arrived last, as usual. The restaurant was tucked behind an unmarked entrance, discreet in the way places became when privacy was more valuable than visibility. Adrian spotted them immediately — her brothers occupying space like it belonged to them, voices overlapping, laughter sharp and unapologetic. And then there was her sister. Nyelle sat at the head of the table, posture relaxed, expression unreadable. She wore power differently than Adrian did — less polished, more instinctive. Where Adrian controlled rooms, Nyelle commanded them without asking. “About time,” one of her brothers said as Adrian approached. “Traffic,” Adrian replied, leaning in to exchange brief
Proximity Without Permission Chapter 18
Adrian decided she was done entertaining unease. Not because it had disappeared — it hadn’t — but because uncertainty was only useful up to a point. After that, it became distraction. And distraction was something she couldn’t afford. She woke early, the city still quiet beneath her windows. Morning light filtered in softly, diffused by clouds that promised rain later in the day. She took her time getting ready, grounding herself in routine. The familiar cadence steadied her pulse. By the time she left her apartment, she felt composed again. The drive to work passed without incident. No lingering cars. No strange detours. Just traffic and impatience and the quiet reassurance of normalcy. Adrian took that as confirmation that whatever she’d felt before hadn’t been a threat — just awareness sharpened by stress. At the office, the day unfolded cleanly. Meetings ran on schedule. Numbers aligned. Decisions were made and executed without resistance. People listened when she spoke. The
Proximity Without Permission Chapter 17
Elliot didn’t go home after leaving the office. Instead, he drove past it. Once. Then again. He told himself he was being thorough, not paranoid. There was a difference — one he’d learned to respect. Paranoia imagined threats everywhere. Instinct narrowed in on one and refused to let go. The man across the street hadn’t been random. Elliot pulled into a small café two blocks away and parked where he could see the sidewalk through the window. He ordered a coffee he didn’t want and chose a seat with his back to the wall. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Just as he was about to stand, the man appeared. Same build. Same posture. No sunglasses this time. He moved with the unhurried confidence of someone who knew exactly where he was and didn’t care who noticed. Elliot watched him enter the café. The man didn’t scan the room. Didn’t hesitate. His gaze went straight to Elliot’s table. That told Elliot everything. “You following me?” the man asked calmly, stopping just short of
Proximity Without Permission Chapter 16
Adrian noticed the feeling before she noticed anything else. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t panic. It was awareness — the same instinct that told her when a meeting was about to turn, when a deal was about to sour, when someone across the table was withholding information. She felt it as she stepped out of her building. The air was ordinary. The street busy enough to feel anonymous. Nothing looked out of place. Still, something tightened low in her chest, a quiet insistence she couldn’t ignore. She slowed her steps without realizing it. Her phone was in her hand, keys threaded between her fingers, posture relaxed by habit. Years of navigating public spaces had taught her how to look unbothered even when she was anything but. She scanned reflections instead of faces — car windows, storefront glass, the dark surface of a parked SUV. Movement registered, but nothing lingered long enough to confirm her suspicion. You’re imagining it, she told herself. But the feeling didn’t fade. Adri
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