Adrian In my house

Liana's POV

It had been an entire week since my mother had casually announced that she intended to marry me off to Adrian Knight, and somehow the reality of it still hadn't settled.

Every morning I convinced myself she would come to her senses but at night I realized she hadn't.

I sat alone on the main balcony overlooking the gardens, a cup of coffee warming my hands while the evening breeze drifted through the estate.

The sun was beginning its slow descent, painting the sky in streaks of amber and crimson, but even a sunset as beautiful as this couldn't quiet the storm inside me but the silence didn't last long because I heard my mother's footsteps before she appeared beside me.

She carried a porcelain teacup with the same effortless elegance she'd always possessed.

There wasn't a trace of hesitation in her expression as she lowered herself into the chair next to mine. "You've run out of time, Liana."

I stared into my coffee. "I'm not doing it."

She sighed, "We can keep having the same argument, but nothing changes. This marriage will happen whether you accept it today or next month. If you truly don't want Adrian, then we'll consider someone else."

She paused before adding quietly, "But if I'm being honest, I don't believe you'll find a better man."

A bitter laugh almost escaped me. "You don't know him."

She turned toward me.."I know enough."

"No, you don't."

"I know that ever since Marcus passed away, he's been the reason this hotel hasn't been torn apart."

I frowned. "No. I've been the one holding this place together."

A soft smile crossed her lips.."You've been keeping the staff together."

Her gaze softened. "Adrian has been keeping everyone else away."

I blinked. "What?"

"There are things happening behind the scenes that you don't see."

Her voice remained calm. "Businessmen trying to exploit us."

"People assuming we're vulnerable because your father is gone."

She looked directly at me. "Every single one of them disappeared."

My fingers tightened around the mug. "Adrian handled it."

I hadn't known and not once had he mentioned it but I refused to let that change anything.

One good deed didn't erase everything else.

My mother took another sip of tea before speaking again. "You're going to talk to him."

"No."

"He deserves the chance to answer your questions."

"I don't have any questions."

She smiled knowingly. "Then why do you sound so angry?"

Every time Adrian's name entered the room, my heart reacted before my pride could stop it and before I could answer, she spoke again. "He's here."

I stared at her. "What?"

"He's waiting outside."

My stomach dropped. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I thought it was best."

"Best for who?"

She reached over and squeezed my hand gently. "For both of you."

Then she stood. "I'll leave you alone."

Before I could stop her, she disappeared through the doors leading back into the house.

I didn't move as the breeze lifted strands of my hair and silence settled over the balcony once more then I felt it, Adrian presence.

I didn't have to turn around but somehow I always knew when Adrian was near.

It was infuriating because my entire body became painfully aware of him standing somewhere behind me.

The sound of measured footsteps broke the silence, he stopped a few feet away, leaving enough distance that I wouldn't feel cornered.

Typical Adrian, always controlled.

I slowly rose from my chair, lifted my chin, and finally turned to face him. "I had nothing to do with this."

His eyes met mine immediately. "I know."

He looked almost exactly the same as the last time we'd stood this close with broad shoulders stretching beneath a fitted black T-shirt and a dark jeans.

The same calm confidence that had always made every room feel too small.

I folded my arms across my chest, needing something to shield myself. "We haven't spoken in years."

His gaze never left mine.."I know."

"And now suddenly my mother wants us to get married."

"I know."

I exhaled sharply. "Then tell me why."

His expression remained unreadable. "You could have anyone."

"You've never struggled to find women."

"So why me?"

For a long moment, he simply looked at me and the fading sunlight caught the sharp angles of his face while the evening breeze stirred the dark hair falling carelessly across his forehead.

He looked like a man choosing his words carefully. "Were you waiting for this?"

I asked quietly. "Is this your revenge?"

A muscle tightened along his jaw. "No."

His voice remained calm, but something flickered behind his eyes. "I told you years ago."

"I'm not that kind of man."

"Then help me understand."

Silence stretched between us before he finally answered.."There are several reasons."

I waited.."I've spent years helping build the Steele Grand."

His gaze shifted briefly toward the hotel in the distance. "I've invested too much into its future to watch it fall apart."

His attention returned to me. "Your mother has transferred half of the hotel into my name."

"I also want a family someday," he continued and his voice softened almost imperceptibly.

"I've always known that."

He wasn't speaking like a businessman anymore, he was speaking like the man I'd once known then his eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that stole the air from my lungs.

"And there's one truth I've never been able to change."

I swallowed.

"What truth?"

His gaze didn't waver.

"Out of every woman I've ever met..."

He paused. "...You are the only woman I really want to continue fucking for the rest of my life."

The evening seemed to fall silent around us.

Adrian Knight was looking at me exactly the way he had the night he first asked me to marry him and somehow that frightened me far more than if he'd admitted this was all about revenge because there was no way I could give him what he wanted