Chapter 4

Adrian's POV

I walked out of my office, the weight of everything from the past still pressing heavily on my shoulders. As I reached the cafeteria, my eyes immediately landed on Damian and Lily.

A sudden, violent urge rose inside me to rush forward and beat the living daylight out of Damian, and the woman beside him. My fists clenched instinctively, knuckles white, but before I could even take a step, something made me stop.

Amara.

God… she was beautiful. Absolutely radiant. She walked with a lightness that made it seem as if she barely touched the floor. Her hair gleamed in the soft morning light, and that dazzling smile so bright, so effortless made my chest tighten. She looked… healthy. Alive. And despite all the betrayal she had endured, there was an aura around her that was untouchable.

I wanted, desperately, to walk over and warn her. To tell her she was going to die five years from now at the hands of the two people she trusted most. But I stayed frozen, caught between awe and frustration, the words dying in my throat.

This morning, I woke up in my old house. The year was the same I left my parents' home to hide my identity as the chairman’s son. Back then, I moved into my own place, blending into the company as a manager, learning its weaknesses and flaws. The company was small then, struggling, barely making a name for itself. But I knew what it could become. And after 2018, I had rebuilt it, expanded it, and turned it into one of the richest, most influential companies in the country.

This time, however, my goals were sharper, more personal.

First, I would make sure Amara never ended up with that scumbag, no matter what it took. Damian did not deserve her. Not one fraction of the light she brought into the world. I would not allow it.

Second, I would invest smarter. Knowing how the future would unfold gave me an edge. The company would not only grow it would dominate. But even that ambition paled in comparison to protecting her, to having the chance to finally be close to her, even if she did not yet know the depth of my feelings.

With emotions I couldn’t quite name perhaps a mixture of longing, jealousy, and something sharper I walked into the cafeteria and stood beside Amara to get my food. The air felt thick with tension, every heartbeat amplified in my chest.

She greeted me politely, her voice soft but warm. That tiny, polite gesture almost made me cry from happiness. Just a word, a nod, a smile—and I felt as if the years of silence and longing had suddenly melted away. Back in high school, she had barely spoken to me. She had always been with Lily—quiet, gentle, innocent. I had been too shy, too cautious, too afraid to approach her. I had simply admired her from afar, content to be near, even if unnoticed.

Now… she was here, in front of me, alive and radiant, and my chest ached with emotions I could not name. I simply nodded quietly in return, keeping my composure, and walked to my seat.

Several girls waved and smiled at me as I passed, their attention flitting over me like fleeting shadows, but my mind was entirely elsewhere. It was on the long-haired, dazzling woman sitting a few tables away. My Amara. The thought of all she must have endured—the betrayal of her husband, the treachery of her so-called friend made my stomach knot. She deserved nothing but warmth, happiness, and protection, and I would ensure she got it.

I couldn’t help but sigh, a deep, heavy sound that seemed to carry years of pent-up longing. I reached for my phone and called one of my trusted acquaintances, a man I had relied on for years.

“Gather everything about her,” I instructed, my voice firm, steady, yet carrying the undercurrent of obsession that only I could feel. “Where she goes, her favorite foods, who she meets, everything. I want a full report.”

Even though I had known her since high school, even though I had silently watched her grow, I wanted to know everything about her now, every little detail. I needed to understand her world, her habits, her life—because I was determined not to let anyone harm her again, and because… I wanted to be there. Close to her, in a way I had never been able to before.

As I watched her laugh lightly at something Damian said, the warmth in her smile tugged at my chest like a knife. She had no idea that behind me was a man who had silently loved her for years, who had wanted to shield her from every betrayal, every heartbreak. She had no idea how much I ached to protect her, to claim the space in her life that Damian had stolen.

And yet, despite all the longing and obsession, I kept my composure. I stayed a silent observer, blending into the background while my mind calculated, planned, and dreamed of the moment I could step into her life not as a bystander, but as someone who truly belonged there.

Amara. My thoughts kept returning to her name, as if saying it aloud enough times could make her aware of me, of the promise I silently made to her that day. No one would betray her again. No one would make her suffer. Not while I drew breath.

Even if she didn’t know it yet, my entire world revolved around her.