Chapter 2 - The Bride Who Tried To Die

Adrian's POV

The sound of my office door opening barely pulled my attention away from the contract in front of me.

“Mr. Knight.”

I signed the final page calmly before looking up.

Xavier Reed, my secretary, stood near the entrance of my door with an expression I immediately recognized.

Hesitation, that alone irritated me.

“What is it?”

Xavier adjusted his glasses slightly. “There's been….an incident involving Miss Laurent.”

My pen paused.

Lilith Laurent, ma fiancée. 

Or more accurately, the woman I was contractually obligated to marry in less than twenty-four hours.

I leaned back slowly in my chair. “What kind of incident?”

Xavier hesitated for a second.

“She attempted to take her own life yesterday evening.”

Silence settled across the office.

The city skyline stretched beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows behind me while rain tapped softly against the glass.

I stared at him without reacting immediately.

“She survived,” Xavier added quickly. “The family doctor arrived in time.”

I looked away from him toward the city below.

Attempted suicide, over a marriage arrangement?

Interesting not surprising but interesting.

“And now?” I asked calmly. 

“She regained consciousness this morning.”

I nodded once.

“That's all?”

Xavier looked mildly confused by my response. “Sir…should we postpone the wedding?”

I closed the file in front of me neatly. “No.”

His eyebrows lifted slightly.

“Sir the Laurent family assumed….”

“I know what they assumed.”

I stood from my desk slowly and walked towards the window.

Rain streamed against the glass in uneven patterns whilst traffic crawled through the streets below.

“Prepare tomorrow's schedule as planned,” I said firmly. “The wedding proceeds.”

“Yes, sir.” 

Still, Xavier didn't leave.

I glanced at him slightly. “Something else?”

“Your mother is here.”

Of course she was.

I loosened my tie slightly before turning away from the window. “Send her in.”

A few moments later, the office door opened again.

My mother entered elegantly dressed in a cream silk dress, her expression already tense before she even spoke.

“You heard what happened?”

I returned to my desk calmly. “Yes.”

“And you still plan to go through with this?”

I sat down slowly. “The arrangement benefits both families.”

“She tried to kill herself, Adrian.” 

The irritation in her voice barely affected me.

“She survived.”

Her eyes narrowed immediately. “You can be unbelievably cold.”

I rested my arms against the chair. “Canceling the marriage now would destroy the Laurent family publicly. Their company is already collapsing.”

“And forcing their daughter into a marriage fixes that?”

“This marriage was agreed upon months ago.”

“She clearly doesn't want it.”

Neither did I, but that had never mattered.

My mother sighed heavily before sitting across from me.

“When our parents arranged our marriage,” she said quietly,  “I accepted it because I had no choice. But not everyone survives these things the same way.”

Something about her tone made me pause briefly, not because I agreed, but because I recognized the exhaustion behind it.

My parents’ marriage had never been loving, civil in public, empty in private.

I learned very early that emotions caused unnecessary complications.

Love made people irrational, attachment made them weak.

Weak people got destroyed, simple and predictable.

“I'm not responsible for her emotions,” I said finally.

“No,” my mother replied sharply. “But you are responsible for what kind of man you become.”

Silence stretched between us.

Then she softened slightly, “She's just a girl, Adrian.”

I almost corrected her, Lilith Laurent was twenty-four years old.

Not a girl but the exhaustion in my mother's face stopped me.

“She'll adapt,” I said instead.

My mother stared at me for a long moment, then disappointment slowly crossed her expression.

“That's exactly what people said about me.”

Something uncomfortable settled briefly in my chest, and I ignored it immediately.

Eventually, she stood. “I won't convince you otherwise, will I?”

“No.”

She nodded sadly before walking towards the door.

But before leaving, she stopped.

“Your father taught you how to protect an empire, I just wish someone had taught you how to protect your own heart too.” Then she left.

The office became silent again.

I leaned back in my chair slowly, staring at the rain outside.

Protect my heart, the thought almost amused me, hearts were fragile things.

People destroy themselves by protecting their emotions every day.

Like Lilith Laurent. 

My fingers tapped once against the desk, what kind of woman attempts suicide instead of simply enduring a marriage? Pathetic.

The thought lingered more than it should have, annoying.

I pushed it away immediately and reopened the contract Xavier had brought earlier that morning.

Numbers, Percentages, Acquisitions, things that actually made sense.

The next several hours passed quietly.

From meetings to phone calls to signatures like my days usually were.

By four-thirty, most of the building had emptied while Manhattan slowly shifted into evening.

The rain had finally stopped.

I closed the final file on my desk and checked the time briefly, 5:02 PM.

For the first time all day, exhaustion settled faintly into my shoulders.

“Sir?”

I looked up as Xavier stepped into the office again.

“The car is ready.”

I nodded once and grabbed my suit jacket.

The elevator ride down was silent except for the faint hum of movement.

Xavier finally spoke just before the doors opened. “The Laurent family confirmed the wedding preparations are complete.”

“Good.” I said firmly “And Miss Laurent….?” I glanced at him.

“She hasn't caused any further issues.”

‘Issues’....interesting way to describe an attempted suicide, still I said nothing.

Outside the evening air felt colder than expected as the driver opened the car door for me.

The ride home was quiet.

My phone buzzed repeatedly with emails I ignored while the city lights blurred past the tinted windows.

By the time we reached the Knight estate, the sky had already turned gold and dark blue.

The mansion stood exactly the way it always did, large, perfect and empty.

I stepped inside while the staff greeted me quietly.

“Welcome home, Mr. Knight.” 

I loosened my tie slightly.

Before I could continue walking, Xavier's voice suddenly stopped me from behind.

“Sir…”

I turned slightly, and Xavier hesitated for the first time that evening.

Then he said carefully.

“There's one more thing you should know about Miss Laurent.”

“What?”

Xavier swallowed once. “After she woke up this morning….” He paused.

“....she claims her name isn't Lilith.”