CHAPTER 37

IS HE YOUR FRIEND OR YOUR ENEMY?..

The morning after Adrian’s call, the house felt unusually still. Abigail woke to the scent of coffee drifting from downstairs, the soft clink of cups on the marble countertop. She slipped into one of Luke’s shirts and padded barefoot into the kitchen.

Luke was there, leaning against the island, mug in hand. His gaze lifted when she entered, but there was something measured in the way he looked at her, like he was weighing what to say.

“Morning,” she greeted, forcing a little brightness into her tone.

He handed her a cup. “Morning.”

They sipped in silence for a moment. The tension from last night hadn’t vanished with sleep; it hung between them like an invisible thread, taut but unspoken.

Finally, she set her mug down. “So… did you call him back?”

“I did.”

“And?”

Luke’s eyes met hers, steady. “I told Adrian about you.”

That caught her off guard. “You told him?”

“Yes. He knows who you are, that you’re here with me. I made it clear he won’t be coming to the house more often. Besides it wasn't today I told him about you, he is someone I had known for long so…i only told him not to come to my house asides on business meeting, I, myself invited him over.”

Abigail studied him. “Because you don’t want me meeting him… or because you don’t want him near me?”

His jaw flexed slightly. “Both.”

She tilted her head, trying to read him. “Luke, you talk about him like he’s dangerous.”

A faint smirk ghosted across his lips. “Dangerous isn’t the right word. Complicated is better.”

“That doesn’t sound much better.”

“It’s not. Adrian is… persuasive. He knows how to pull people into his world, and once you’re in, it’s hard to get out.”

The way he said it made her wonder just how deep Luke had been in that world before her how long he had stayed.

“Is he your friend or your enemy?” she asked.

His expression softened just enough to give her the answer. “He’s my friend. But that doesn’t mean I trust him with everything. At the end we’re all human.”

She frowned. “You trust him with business, but not me.”

“That’s not what I” He broke off, exhaling. “Abigail, it’s not about whether I trust him. It’s about whether I trust the way he looks at people… especially women.”

Her lips parted slightly, realization dawning. “You think he’d”

“I know he would.”

That simple certainty made her chest tighten. It wasn’t insecurity, it was possession, protective to the bone.

“You’ve made up your mind about him.”

“I have.”

“And about me,” she said quietly.

Luke stepped closer, cupping her jaw. “About you, there’s no question.” His voice was low but sure. “You’re mine. And I’m not letting anyone friend or not cross that line. That boundary remains struck.”

The firmness in his tone sent a shiver down her spine. He kissed her then, slow but unyielding, and she could feel the weight of what he wasn’t saying.

When they pulled back, she searched his face. “Then tell me what he wanted, Luke. The real reason he called.”

His hand dropped, fingers curling loosely at his side. “He said there’s an opportunity. A deal he thinks I can’t refuse.”

“Can you?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “But he won’t stop trying.” Part of her wanted to doubt him but she thought…he hadn't lied to her even when he was an ice man.

For the rest of the day, the air between them was careful. They went about their routines, Abigail reading in the sunlit sitting room, Luke working from his study but there was a quiet awareness that Adrian’s shadow still lingered, even without him stepping foot in the estate.

At lunch, Luke sat across from her, his phone face-down beside his plate. She caught him glancing at it more than once, and each time, his jaw tightened.

“Is that him?” she asked finally.

“Not yet,” he said, but the edge in his voice told her, he was expecting it.

Later, as evening fell, they walked through the garden together. The air was cool, scented faintly with the roses she’d insisted on keeping alive despite the gardener’s warnings.

“I don’t like that he can still affect you from a distance,” she admitted.

Luke’s hand tightened around hers. “It’s not him affecting me. It’s me making sure nothing he does affects you. Adrian is someone I had known for long time sake and even before striking power, he has a way of getting what he wants done. There's no doubt this time around.”

She glanced up at him. “You can’t shield me from everything.”

“Maybe not,” he said. “But I’ll try anyway since I already started.”

They stopped under one of the taller trees, where the light was fading. He turned to face her fully.

“Abigail, if there’s one thing you need to understand, it’s that my world isn’t clean. There are people in it who will smile at you while calculating what they can take. Adrian… is one of those people. And I won’t give him a chance to measure you.”

She studied him for a long moment. “You’re afraid I’ll be tempted.”

His lips twitched. “No. I’m afraid he’ll try, and I’ll have to decide whether to break his nose or end the friendship altogether.”

The honesty in his words made her smile despite herself. “I think I’d like to see you break someone’s nose for me.”

Luke chuckled, pulling her closer. “You’d make it hard for me to stay civil.”

“I’ve been told I’m a bad influence,” she said lightly.

He kissed her again, longer this time, the kind of kiss that left no room for doubt about who she belonged to.

When they finally went back inside, the lights from the dining room spilled across the floor. Dinner was quiet, not strained but intimate in a way that came from knowing there was something outside their bubble, trying to push in.

And for tonight, at least, they were determined not to let it.