CHAPTER 5- THE MAN FROM HER PAST

Amelia’s heartbeat stopped for a second.

No.

Not now.

Not tonight.

Sophie looked between the door and Amelia in confusion before opening it wider.

Standing outside was a tall man dressed in a dark coat, rainwater still glistening faintly on his shoulders. His sharp features carried the calm confidence of someone completely in control of himself.

But his eyes—

The moment they landed on Amelia, they softened instantly.

“Amelia.”

Her throat tightened unexpectedly.

It had been years since she last saw him.

Yet Adrian Cross still looked exactly the same.

Warm.

Steady.

Safe.

Sophie blinked. “You know him?”

Amelia slowly stood from the couch.

“Yes.”

Adrian stepped inside after Sophie moved aside cautiously.

The apartment suddenly felt smaller with his presence.

His gaze carefully swept over Amelia’s pale face, swollen eyes, and exhausted posture.

The warmth in his expression disappeared immediately.

“What happened?”

The simple question nearly broke her.

Because unlike Damian—

Adrian noticed she was hurting instantly.

Amelia forced herself to look away.

“How did you find me?”

“You disappeared from the gala.” Adrian removed his gloves calmly. “I got worried.”

Sophie frowned. “Wait… you were at the gala?”

Adrian nodded slightly.

“I had a meeting there tonight.”

Amelia’s chest tightened.

Then he saw everything.

The humiliation.

The divorce.

God.

She suddenly wanted to disappear.

Adrian seemed to notice the shame flashing across her face because his voice softened.

“You don’t need to look embarrassed in front of me.”

That only made it worse.

Sophie crossed her arms suspiciously.

“And you are?”

“Adrian Cross.”

Her eyes widened slightly.

Even Sophie recognized the name immediately.

Everyone did.

The Cross family owned one of the largest private medical networks in the country, along with massive investments in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

Wealthy.

Powerful.

Influential.

But unlike Damian, Adrian Cross carried a reputation for kindness instead of fear.

“You’re that Adrian Cross?” Sophie blurted.

A faint smile touched his lips briefly.

“I suppose.”

Sophie immediately looked between him and Amelia.

Questions practically screamed in her eyes.

Amelia noticed instantly.

“We went to university together.”

“Just university?” Sophie asked slowly.

Adrian’s gaze flickered toward Amelia for half a second.

Something unreadable passed between them.

Then he answered calmly:

“She saved my life once.”

Sophie blinked.

“What?”

Amelia immediately looked uncomfortable.

“It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing.”

Adrian’s voice remained gentle but firm.

“During our second year, I collapsed during clinical training because I’d been working for nearly forty hours straight.” His eyes remained on Amelia. “Everyone panicked except her.”

Amelia sighed softly.

“You’re exaggerating.”

“You stayed with me in the hospital all night.”

Sophie looked stunned.

Amelia looked away quickly.

Back then, Adrian had been the brilliant student everyone admired.

Top grades.

Perfect composure.

A future everyone envied.

But almost nobody knew how hard he pushed himself.

Or how lonely he actually was.

Except Amelia.

She used to scold him constantly for skipping meals and overworking.

A faint ache touched her chest at the memory.

That version of herself felt so distant now.

Adrian studied her quietly.

The exhaustion in her face worried him deeply.

When he saw Damian publicly humiliate her earlier tonight, every instinct in him had nearly snapped.

Especially because years ago—

Before Damian—

Amelia used to smile easily.

And Adrian once believed he might have had a chance with her.

Until Damian Vale appeared.

“You should sit down,” Adrian said gently.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re shaking.”

Amelia froze slightly.

Only then did she realize her hands were trembling again.

Adrian removed his coat before approaching slowly.

“May I?”

She looked confused for a moment before he lightly touched her wrist.

Checking her pulse.

Professional.

Careful.

But somehow the simple gesture felt unbearably comforting.

His expression darkened slightly afterward.

“You’re exhausted.”

“I said I’m okay.”

“No,” Adrian said quietly. “You’re trying very hard to pretend you are.”

Silence.

Sophie suddenly stood.

“I’ll… make tea.”

Amelia shot her a betrayed look.

Sophie ignored it completely and vanished into the kitchen.

Coward.

Adrian released Amelia’s wrist slowly.

“You should’ve called me.”

Amelia laughed weakly.

“At midnight? After disappearing for years?”

“You still could have called.”

The sincerity in his voice hurt unexpectedly.

Because Adrian meant it.

He would have come.

No questions asked.

Unlike Damian.

Amelia swallowed hard.

“You saw what happened tonight.”

“I did.”

Humiliation flashed across her face instantly.

Adrian’s jaw tightened subtly.

The memory still infuriated him.

Watching Damian Vale publicly destroy the woman he once treasured from afar had taken enormous restraint.

“You didn’t deserve that,” he said quietly.

Amelia’s eyes burned again.

“I don’t want pity.”

“You think concern is pity?”

“No.” Her voice cracked softly. “But I can’t handle people looking at me like I’m broken.”

Adrian’s gaze softened painfully.

Too late.

Because she did look broken.

Not weak.

Broken.

There was a difference.

And someone had hurt her deeply enough to change her completely.

Before Adrian could respond, his phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen briefly.

Then his expression cooled.

Amelia noticed immediately.

“What is it?”

Adrian looked at her for a second before answering honestly.

“Damian’s people are searching for you.”

The apartment went silent instantly.

Sophie nearly dropped a spoon in the kitchen.

Amelia felt her stomach tighten.

Of course he was searching now.

Why?

To humiliate her again?

To force legal negotiations?

To protect his reputation?

A bitter laugh almost escaped her.

Too late.

Everything was already ruined.

“He found out the photographs were fake,” Adrian added calmly.

Amelia froze.

“What?”

“They were manipulated.”

Shock crossed her face instantly.

For one dangerous second, hope tried to rise inside her chest again.

Then she crushed it immediately.

Because the truth no longer mattered.

Damian believed the worst about her without hesitation.

That was the real problem.

“He still signed the papers,” she whispered.

Adrian watched her silently.

Then quietly asked:

“Do you still love him?”

The question hurt.

Not because she didn’t know the answer.

But because she did.

Too well.

Amelia lowered her eyes slowly.

“…I don’t know.”

A lie.

Adrian recognized it instantly.

But he also understood something else.

Love wasn’t the issue anymore.

Trust was.

And once trust shattered completely, even love struggled to survive.

A sudden knock sounded again.

This time louder.

Sharper.

Everyone in the apartment froze.

Sophie looked alarmed immediately.

Adrian’s expression darkened.

Another knock came.

“Open the door.”

Damian.

Even through the wood, his voice carried authority like a blade.

Amelia’s blood ran cold.

How—

How did he find her this quickly?

Sophie whispered harshly, “Did you tell him?!”

“No,” Adrian answered calmly.

But his eyes had already turned icy.

Outside the apartment, Damian stood motionless in the hallway while two security men remained behind him.

His shirt sleeves were rolled up carelessly, his tie missing entirely.

For the first time in years, he looked genuinely disordered.

And furious.

Nathan stood nearby nervously.

“We’re certain she’s here.”

Damian already knew that.

The moment he saw Adrian Cross’s car downstairs, something dark had exploded inside his chest.

Adrian.

Of all people.

Damian remembered him immediately from years ago.

The calm, intelligent medical student who always hovered too closely around Amelia during university functions.

Back then, Damian barely cared.

Because Amelia always came home to him.

But tonight—

Tonight the idea of Amelia turning to another man after leaving him made something dangerously irrational rise inside him.

The apartment door finally opened.

Adrian stood there calmly.

The two men stared at each other in silence.

The atmosphere instantly became suffocating.

Damian’s eyes darkened the moment he noticed Adrian wasn’t wearing his coat anymore.

Comfortable.

Settled in.

As though he belonged there.

“Move.”

Damian’s voice was ice cold.

Adrian didn’t move.

“I don’t think Amelia wants to see you right now.”

The use of her first name made Damian’s expression sharpen instantly.

“And I don’t remember asking for your opinion.”

Sophie peeked nervously from behind the hallway corner.

Jesus Christ.

The tension alone could kill someone.

Adrian remained perfectly calm.

“You publicly humiliated her tonight.”

Damian’s jaw tightened.

“This is between my wife and me.”

Adrian’s eyes became colder.

“Then maybe you should’ve treated her like your wife.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Violent silence.

The security guards behind Damian shifted nervously.

Because everyone could feel it now.

This wasn’t only about Amelia.

Something older existed between these two men.

Something deeper.

Damian suddenly stepped forward.

Dangerously close.

“And what exactly are you to her, Adrian?”

The question carried far more meaning than the words themselves.

Adrian didn’t answer immediately.

His calm gaze held Damian’s without fear.

Then quietly:

“Someone who listened when she spoke.”

The hit landed perfectly.

Damian’s face darkened instantly.

Before the situation could explode further—

Amelia appeared behind Adrian.

The moment Damian saw her, everything else faded briefly.

She looked smaller somehow.

Fragile.

Wearing oversized clothes instead of elegant dresses.

Her eyes were swollen from crying.

And for the first time since their marriage began—

Damian realized Amelia looked afraid of him.

The realization disturbed him deeply.

“Amelia.”

Her name sounded rough coming from him now.

She instinctively stepped back slightly.

The movement hit Damian harder than expected.

“I want to talk.”

“There’s nothing to discuss.”

“There is.” His voice lowered dangerously. “I know the photos were fake.”

Amelia froze.

Sophie’s eyes widened.

Adrian remained silent beside her.

Damian took another step closer.

“I was wrong.”

The words shocked everyone.

Including himself.

Damian Vale did not apologize.

Ever.

Yet here he was saying those words at nearly four in the morning outside a tiny apartment.

For Amelia.

But instead of relief—

Pain crossed Amelia’s face.

Because hearing this now only made everything worse.

“You didn’t trust me,” she whispered.

Damian’s chest tightened instantly.

“Amelia—”

“You believed strangers before believing your wife.”

Her voice trembled harder now.

“And you humiliated me in front of everyone.”

Damian had no defense for that.

None.

The silence between them became unbearable.

Then Damian noticed it.

The way Amelia’s hand unconsciously rested over her stomach again.

The memory of the pregnancy test flashed violently through his mind.

His child.

A strange emotion nearly overwhelmed him.

Fear.

Hope.

Guilt.

Need.

All at once.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked quietly.

Amelia frowned faintly.

“Tell you what?”

Damian held her gaze.

“The baby.”

The entire apartment went still.

Sophie’s mouth fell open.

Adrian’s expression changed instantly.

Amelia felt the blood drain from her face.

How—

How did he know?

Damian stepped forward slowly.

His eyes never left hers.

“I found the test.”

Amelia instinctively wrapped an arm protectively around herself.

Emotion flashed violently across Damian’s face at the movement.

“You’re pregnant,” he said softly.

Not a question.

A fact.

And suddenly the atmosphere shifted completely.

Because now this wasn’t just divorce anymore.

There was a child between them.

A child Damian clearly hadn’t expected.

Sophie looked overwhelmed.

Adrian’s jaw tightened almost invisibly.

But Amelia—

Amelia only looked terrified.

Damian noticed immediately.

The realization hit him brutally.

She thought he might take the baby from her.

“Amelia,” he said quickly, “I would never hurt.....”

“Please leave.”

Her voice cracked.

Damian froze.

“Please,” she whispered again. “I can’t do this tonight.”

For the first time in years, Damian Vale didn’t know what to say.

Because the woman before him no longer looked at him with love.

Only exhaustion.

Like he had drained every last piece of hope from her.

Then suddenly—

Amelia swayed dangerously.

Adrian caught her instantly before she hit the floor.

“Amelia!”

Damian moved forward immediately, panic flashing across his face for the first time.

But the moment he tried reaching her—

Adrian looked up sharply and said coldly:

“Don’t touch her.”