All Chapters of A Story That Doesn’t Belong To You: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

Morning came softly too softly for a city like theirs.The rain had stopped sometime before dawn, leaving the windows streaked with pale sunlight and the scent of wet concrete floating through the air. The apartment was quiet save for the faint hum of the refrigerator and the occasional drip from the balcony railing outside.Ryan woke first he didn’t move just lay there on the couch, the blanket tangled around his legs Adrien’s arm still draped across his waist. The warmth was heavy and comforting. It took him a few seconds to remember everything that had happened: the arrest, the release, the dinner, the laughter. The strange, fragile peace that followed.He turned his head slightly, watching Adrien sleep.Even now, he didn’t really look at ease. His brow was faintly furrowed, as if he was fighting off ghosts even in his dreams. There was always that quiet tension in him like a man who couldn’t believe safety was real, not even in his own home.Ryan brushed his thumb across Adrien’s

Two days had passed since the message.Since the rain the silence and the words Ryan couldn’t forget He’s going to make it look like I did.Adrien had been quieter ever since He moved through the apartment like a shadow sharp, restless yet eerily contained His laptop stayed open at all hours, filled with half coded emails and encrypted messages that Ryan didn’t dare ask about anymore.Ryan tried to bring normal back laundry, cooking, returning to work But even there the world had shifted.When he entered the precinct that morning the air felt heavier Conversations stopped when he passed. The same colleagues who used to wave now offered careful smiles that didn’t reach their eyes. Everyone had read the reports seen the rumors Adrien under new investigation and because Ryan loved him that suspicion spilled onto him too.He kept his head down signing off paperwork, pretending not to hear the whispers.Then a familiar voice broke through the noise.“Ryan.”He turned and froze.Chris was s

The morning light was gray filtered through clouds heavy with last night’s storm. The city looked washed out quiet as though holding its breath after something it couldn’t name.Ryan woke to the sound of the printer whirring. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming until the smell of coffee reached him, sharp and bitter. He pushed off the couch, rubbing at his eyes. Adrien was already dressed, sleeves rolled up, a stack of papers spread across the table like pieces of a crime scene.He wasn’t frantic. That was the unsettling part. Every movement was deliberate measured, mechanical. He adjusted files, checked something on his laptop, printed another document. The cold precision of it made Ryan’s stomach twist.“How long have you been up?” he asked softly.Adrien didn’t look up. “Couple of hours.”Ryan glanced at the clock. It was barely past six. “You didn’t sleep.”He crossed to the counter pouring coffee into two mugs Ryan took one, fingers brushing Adrien’s briefly The warmth did n

Ryan stirred awake on the couch the ache in his muscles a harsh reminder of how close they’d come to disaster. His neck hurt, his wrists still tender where someone had grabbed him during the ambush. He blinked against the faint light, the sound of Adrien moving in the kitchen pulling him into the present.The smell of coffee bitter and over-brewed filled the air.“Morning,” Ryan murmured, voice hoarse.Adrien didn’t look up from the stack of documents on the counter. “You should sleep a little longer.”Ryan sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Can’t My head’s too full.”“Then eat something,” Adrien replied automatically, tone flat, distracted.Ryan glanced around the table the mess of printed pages, memory cards, open folders marked with the police insignia. “What are you doing?“Cross-referencing.” Adrien’s voice was clipped, professional. “The data from the encrypted file we recovered at the gallery. I’m matching it against the offshore accounts my father as been using.”Ryan rose and padded

The silence in the apartment was unbearable.It wasn’t the kind of quiet that followed peace it was the heavy kind that came after chaos when adrenaline had burned out and all that was left was the echo of everything that went wrong.Ryan stood by the window, watching rain trail down the glass. The sky outside was gray, the kind that made the city feel smaller. Behind him, Adrien sat at the table, his hands pressed against his temples, the glow from his laptop casting his face in a sickly blue hue.He’d been staring at the same footage for hours.Frame by frame.The charity event The gunfire The panic.He’s smile at the end.Every time Ryan tried to make him stop, Adrien would just rewind the video, eyes locked on the screen like he could will it to change.“Adrien,” Ryan said quietly, approaching. “You need to rest.”“I can’t.” His voice was low, rough. Ryan frowned, glancing at the laptop. “What do you mean?”Adrien’s fingers moved over the keyboard, pulling up side by side videos