Chapter 4

  Adrian’s POV

  

  The car slowed to a stop in front of the Black family mansion—a sprawling estate tucked behind iron gates, every corner whispering wealth and legacy. I killed the engine and stepped out before she could reach for the door. I opened it for her, watching her tuck her phone into her bag and step down with that poised grace she wore like armor.

  

  Aurora Black.

  

  Up close, she was even more captivating than the photos I’d studied in preparation. She carried elegance without effort, beauty without even trying—but none of that mattered. This wasn’t about attraction. It wasn’t about charm. This was about Lucas.

  

  I reminded myself of that as I followed her toward the house.

  

  “Don’t trail behind me like a shadow,” she muttered under her breath.

  

  I didn’t respond. I was supposed to protect her, stay close. No matter how much she disliked it.

  

  Inside, the house was warm and lively. A maid offered to take her bag; she declined. She looked tired. Her shoulders tense from the long day. She hadn’t even eaten much at lunch. I watched her say goodnight to her mother, who smiled at me briefly, and then she started for the stairs.

  

  I followed.

  

  She stopped abruptly halfway up and turned, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you following me upstairs?”

  

  “I’ve been ordered to stay close,” I replied calmly. “For your safety, Miss Black.”

  

  Her lips pressed into a line. “I’m safe in my own house.”

  

  “That’s not for either of us to decide.”

  

  She stared at me for a second, studying me like she was trying to figure out where she had seen me before. I kept my face neutral, my gaze unreadable. She didn’t need to recognize me. Not yet.

  

  “I don’t like being watched,” she said finally, voice quieter this time.

  

  “That makes two of us,” I murmured before I could stop myself.

  

  Her brows lifted. “Excuse me?”

  

  I straightened. “Nothing, ma’am.”

  

  She huffed and continued climbing the stairs. I followed her down the hallway, past expensive vases, sleek modern lighting, and into a wing that was clearly hers. She stopped in front of a tall white door—her bedroom, I assumed—and turned to me with folded arms.

  

  “You can go now,” she said. “I’m perfectly fine. There’s no one hiding under my bed.”

  

  I didn’t move. “I was told to guard you. That includes nights. If someone were to break in—”

  

  “This is the Black residence. Do you know how many guards are stationed around this house?”

  

  “Yes,” I answered smoothly. “And I’m one of them.”

  

  She ran a hand through her hair. “So what, are you going to sleep on the floor outside my room?”

  

  “If necessary.”

  

  She looked absolutely appalled by that idea. “You’re joking.”

  

  “I don’t joke when it comes to security.”

  

  Her eyes searched mine, and for a moment I thought she might slam the door in my face—but she didn’t. Instead, she sighed heavily and leaned against the doorframe, her voice softening just enough to catch me off guard.

  

  “Why are you really doing this?” she asked. “Is it just a job for you?”

  

  Yes. And no. I couldn’t say the truth—not that her name haunted Lucas’s last words, or that I had studied her every move for weeks, looking for answers to questions my best friend would never ask again. Not that I was living a lie, using the name Adrian Blackwell, infiltrating her life to get close enough to destroy the woman who broke Lucas’s heart.

  

  So instead, I said the version she needed to hear.

  

  “It’s my responsibility to keep you safe,” I said evenly. “Nothing more.”

  

  She looked unconvinced, but after a moment she gave up and turned to open her door. She paused with her hand on the knob.

  

  “Fine,” she muttered. “Do what you want. But don’t creep around in the night or stand at my door like a ghost. It’s weird.”

  

  “I’ll try to be less ghostly,” I said.

  

  She rolled her eyes and entered her room, shutting the door softly behind her.

  

  I exhaled slowly, then leaned against the wall beside her door. The hallway was quiet, the distant hum of the house settling into night. I pulled out my phone and opened Lucas’s last message. A photo of them together. His last text: She’s gone. And I don’t even know why.

  

  My jaw clenched.

  

  She looked happy in that photo. He did too. And yet now he was lying in a hospital bed with machines breathing for him.

  

  I slipped the phone back in my pocket and crossed my arms. I had a job to do. Get close. Gain her trust. Make her pay for what she did.

  

  It didn’t matter that she looked soft when no one was watching. That when she spoke about her company, her voice lit up with passion. That there was a flicker of loneliness in her eyes when no one else noticed.

  

  I wasn’t here to care.

  

  I heard movement inside the room—drawers opening, the soft thud of something landing on the floor. Then silence.

  

  The quiet stretched on. A light flickered under the door, then disappeared. She’d turned the lamp off.

  

  I glanced at the time. Just after eleven.

  

  I shifted against the wall and glanced at her door again. I wasn’t supposed to let her out of my sight for too long. The reports on her stalker had been vague but disturbing enough to warrant serious concern.

  

  If anything happened to her under my watch, my cover would be the least of my problems.

  

  The door opened slightly, and I immediately straightened.

  

  Aurora stood there in an oversized t-shirt, hair loose around her shoulders, her expression guarded. “Are you seriously going to sleep out here?”

  

  “Yes.”

  

  “You’re insane.”

  

  “Maybe.”

  

  She stared at me for a beat longer before sighing. “You’re impossible, Adrian.”

  

  “Blackwell,” I corrected automatically.

  

  She blinked. “Right. Blackwell.”

  

  I could tell she was trying to place me again. A twitch in her brow, the narrowing of her eyes. But I had changed everything—my hair, my name, my voice in public. She wouldn’t recognize me. Not yet.

  

  “I won’t cause any trouble tonight,” she said softly. “You can go to the guest room.”

  

  “Orders are orders.”

  

  “I’ll tell my dad you disobeyed them.”

  

  I allowed a faint smile to tug at the corner of my lips. “I doubt you’ll go that far.”

  

  She looked irritated, then turned again to leave. But before she could close the door fully, she paused.

  

  “I don’t like being watched,” she repeated, this time without the usual sharpness.

  

  “I know.”

  

  “And I don’t trust easily.”

  

  “I’m not asking you to.”

  

  She didn’t say anything else. Just closed the door, more gently this time.

  

  I stayed there the whole night. Not moving. Not sleeping. Guarding the door like I’d promised—even if the reasons weren’t the ones she believed.

  

  I wasn’t just here to protect her.