CHAPTER 3: AFFECT HIM?

Halle’s POV

Something was wrong.

Adrian was still holding me, but he wasn’t dancing anymore. His attention had left me.

His focus moved past my shoulder, over the crowd, toward something I couldn’t see.

The music continued. Laughter floated around us. Glasses clinked. No one else seemed aware of anything unusual. But he kept scanning.

What on earth is he looking for?

The romantic softness from seconds ago had thinned. Not vanished.

Just… reduced.

“What is it?” I asked quietly.

He didn't answer immediately. He tilted his head slightly, following a shadow moving near the edge of the reception, and I watched as his expression shifted into full concentration.

“Nothing,”

That tone again. Calm. Final.

“Don’t do that.” I crossed my arms, stepping back a little.

“Do what?”

“Answer without answering,”

His gaze lowered to mine, unreadable.

“I don’t like you being in the middle of things you don’t understand,”

Middle of what?

Before I could press further, a smooth voice interrupted.

“Adrian. I was wondering when you’d show.”

Tall. Blond. A tailored suit that probably cost more than my flight here. He was confident in a way that didn’t need permission.

Ethan Grey.

Larry’s cousin. Investor. The type of man who made rooms feel like playgrounds.

“Ethan,” Adrian replied, clearly annoyed with his presence but barely showing it.

Ethan’s eyes shifted to me.

“And you must be the mysterious one,”

I folded my arms. “I’m not mysterious,”

“That’s exactly what mysterious people say,” He replied, eyes glinting with amusement.

Adrian’s hand remained on my waist.

“I was borrowing her,”

Borrowing.

Excuse me?

I looked at him.

Ethan’s gaze flicked to Adrian’s hand, then back to me. “Does she know that?”

Now I understand. That was deliberate.

Adrian leaned closer to my ear, close enough that I felt his breath along my skin.

“Go get some air,”

It wasn’t a request. I could tell.

“I can decide that myself,” I replied, stepping out of his hold. For a fraction of a second, something flashed through his eyes, a momentary glimpse of something raw and unguarded slipping through his usual mask of composure.

Not anger. Not irritation.

A crack.

Then it was gone.

Good.

Let him feel it. He doesn’t own me. I walked away without looking back.

I moved toward the quieter edge of the reception, keeping my eyes forward. I dared not look back because I could swear I felt Adrian's eyes still on me.

Near the champagne tower, a woman stood with a tablet clutched to her chest, muttering under her breath.

“Of course, the generator is delayed now. Of course,”

She looked like she hadn’t blinked in hours.

“Wedding planner?” I asked gently.

She exhaled. “Is it that obvious?”

“Only slightly,” I said.

She gave a tired half-smile. “Maya.”

“Halle.”

Before she could say more, a man suddenly came beside her.

“Backup secured,” a deep voice said.

I turned to see who it was and realised he was one of the security men, the barely visible earpiece in his ear giving him away.

Maya frowned. “It shouldn’t have failed in the first place,”

“It wasn’t a failure,” he said.

Her brows drew together. “Excuse me?”

“It was interrupted,”

Interrupted.

The word didn’t land lightly.

“Interrupted?” I repeated before I could stop myself.

His eyes flicked toward me briefly.

“Temporary disruption. Resolved,”

That didn’t answer anything.

Maya looked at him carefully. “Are we safe?”

A pause.

“Yes.” He gave a simple answer with no intention of going further as his gaze flicked toward Adrian across the room. I followed his gaze, my chest tightening.

Adrian’s posture hadn’t changed. He still looked composed like nothing was wrong. But definitely aware of something I didn’t see.

What on earth is going on?

I stepped away from Maya, my pulse steady but my thoughts restless.

Maybe it’s a minor issue with the engine or something. It can’t be that serious. I said to myself.

Adrian scans the room for the umpteenth time.

Every security in the room was on edge for some weird reason. This wasn’t just wedding logistics.

This was something else.

I reached for another glass of champagne. This time I kept my grip firm so no one would snatch it away like some certain someone.

“You look like you’re trying to solve a puzzle,” A voice sounded behind me.

I didn’t have to turn.

“I’m not in the mood, Ethan,” I said flatly.

“That’s unfortunate. I’m excellent at improving moods.”

“Does everyone in your family flirt as a hobby?” I faced him, taking a sip of my drink.

“Only when intrigued,”

“By what exactly?”

“You,”

I exhaled slowly, irritation rising hotter than I cared to admit. I took a slow sip.

“You don’t even know me,”

“That’s the appeal” His tone was light and easy. But his eyes were sharper than his smile suggested.

Is the guy drunk?

“You, my darling, are a rare gem,” He said again.

“Why do you say so? What's so special about me, Ethan,” I asked, curious to hear the reason he cooked up in his head to sway me.

He smiled wider as he adjusted his cuffs in his sleeve.

“In all my years of knowing Adrian, he has never, ever been affected by anyone. Not to talk of allowing them access to him,” he continued.

“But you, love, have access to him more than anyone in this room and that’s rare. Plus, he never shows up for things like this, but he did, for you.”

Me? Affect him?

I couldn’t believe my ears.

I glanced at Adrian instinctively after hearing that.

My heart raced against my chest, the second our eyes met.

His gaze held mine like I was the only person in the room. My composure wavers slightly, and for a moment, I felt like I’ve known him all my life.

I turn back to Ethan.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,”

I tried to act as if it wasn’t true. But I knew it was true.

He smiled again and continued the conversation but changed the topic.

Across the room, Adrian stood, now speaking to a man I recognized from earlier, the security one. Their conversation looked brief and it didn’t seem like they were discussing flowers or chairs.

I could tell. And it made me more uneasy. Ethan noticed my glance.

“You don’t need to keep checking on him every five seconds.”

“I’m not.” I cleared my throat awkwardly.

“You are.”

Heat rose to my cheeks. Annoyance, not embarrassment… or so I thought. I still haven't recovered from what he said earlier.

“Fine,” I admitted. “We were dancing,”

“And now you’re not.”

There it was again—that subtle push.

“Are you competing with him?”

He laughed softly. “I don’t compete. I invest.”

“In what?”

“Potential.” He said, eyes playful but calculating.

I almost smiled. Almost.

“Careful,” he added. “He doesn’t like it when people get too close.”

I nearly laughed.

“He doesn’t own space,” I rasped.

“No,” Ethan agreed quietly. “He doesn’t.”

That agreement unsettled me more than arguments would have.

“Then why are you saying it like that?” I asked.

He studied me for a second longer than necessary.

“Because you’re standing exactly where lines tend to blur.”

Before I could respond, a hand touched lightly at my elbow. I turned to see who it was.

Adrian.

He stepped forward, deliberately.

“Too much fun?”

“We were just having a conversation before you rudely interrupted,” I said with a fake smile, trying to ignore the fact that my entire body was aware of him.

I mean who does he think he is?

“And I’m not done talking to him,” I protested.

“Yes, you are,”

Ethan raised both hands in mock surrender.

“Relax, Vale. Just talking,”

Adrian ignored him and turned back to me.

“I’m aware,” his voice was calm, even as tension tightened along my chest. I crossed my arms, brow furrowed.

“Why are you like this?”

“You’ll have to be more specific,”

I wanted to say territorial. Possessive. Jealous.

All of it.

But I decided not to, because knowing him, he might just shamelessly admit it and I know what that would do to me.

“Dance with me, Starlight”

“That’s not an answer,” I countered.

“Well, it’s the only one you’re getting,”