Semua Bab Contracted to the man who broke me : Bab 51 - Bab 60

Adrian's POV:They're already seated when I walk in.That's the rule. Not written anywhere. Not announced to anyone new. Just understood, the way everything in this world is understood, through watching what happens to those who forget.The room rises the second I step through the door. Not out of respect. Respect is something you give to equals. What this is, is instinct. Survival wearing the costume of courtesy, standing at attention because the body remembers consequences even when the mind tries to be brave. I don't acknowledge it. I walk to my seat, pull it out without hurry, and sit. Only then do they sit.Seraphina is here.To my right this time. Not across the table like last meeting.Smart.She learns faster than most. Faster than men who have been in this room for a decade. There's something worth noting in that, so I note it and say nothing.My gaze moves around the table once. One pass is enough. I don't need to study faces. I read rooms the way other men read contracts, q

Seraphina's POV:The ride back to the villa was quiet in the way that expensive cars always were — insulated, sealed, the outside world reduced to a blur of streetlights and shadow beyond tinted glass. I sat beside Adrian in the gun shot seat, as I closely observe him.Sharp jaw. Sharper eyes, even when they were fixed on nothing.He hadn't looked at me once since we'd left.I told myself that was fine. I told myself a lot of things on that drive....The villa received us the way it always did — warm light spilling from the entrance, staff disappearing like ghosts the moment they clocked his expression. Adrian moved through his own home like a man who had long since stopped seeing it, unhooking his cufflinks as he climbed the staircase, jacket slung over one shoulder.I followed.Of course I followed.His bedroom door was open. He walked through it without looking back, and I leaned against the doorframe, letting the silence stretch exactly long enough to feel deliberate."You know,"

Ethan's POVThe night was pretty dark now as we ate like pigs. Feeding our belly till our hearts don't stop. No therapy can beat 'Good Food Therapy'. It is always effective and the most reliable one to be trusted.Clearing the bills I walked to the parking lot. While Davel staggers at his feets due to the tipsiness."I'll drop you," Davel said, already reaching for his keys. "No." I crossed my arms."You've had enough to drink. I'll drive you home first.""Ethan—""Don't Ethan me. You had four glasses of scotch.""I'm fine", he tries to retaliate. And I fake glare at him. "You're not.""Then you'll stay at my place tonight," he says. And I gasp. "No!", I deadpan at him."It's almost one in the morning," he says. "Cabs run at one, Davel", I counter back.He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're impossible.""Thank you.""That wasn't a compliment", he groans. I chuckle at his scowl. "I know. Get in."Dropping into the passenger seat with the dignity of someone who had chosen to lose g

Ethan's POVAdrian didn't speak a single syllable with me. He was still upset. Seeing him like this I feel angry too.Passing me a cold shoulder he was sitting in the couch having his black coffee. Sighing, I walk inside the kitchen to bring breakfast for him. But before I could serve him he keeps the cup down and walks out straight. He didn't even look back for once."Ugh.. this guy!", I groan.My head buzzing with his stupid attitude."Now, I need to pacify him or what?", I mumble to myself.The staffs were back in the mansion working as usual. And they notice their boss's indifferent behaviour towards me. I roll my eyes as they whisper among each other and pass me a look. They were dying to know the gossips but surely didn't had courage to ask me directly.Packing lunch for him too, I carry our tiffin box with me and take the car he has alloted for me. I can't take a chance to piss him off more."He will eat me up with Davel..", I say in my head.Even the thought of it is sending c

Adrian's POV:I tried to sleep after Seraphine left. But the bed felt too cold, too vast, too achingly empty without Ethan's scent and presence beside me. I lay there staring at the ceiling for what felt like an hour, maybe more, listening to the silence of the room like it was mocking me. It was disturbing, deeply and unsettlingly disturbing, how quickly I had grown dependent on something I once convinced myself I could live without. He is my long-lost addiction I rediscovered again, and now it seems nearly impossible to exist without it. Like a man who had been sober for years, only to take one sip and remember exactly why he could never stop. That's what Ethan is to me. That's what he has always been.Meanwhile, staying under the same roof with Seraphina felt like cheating on Ethan. Though the rooms were different, though nothing had happened, the guilt sat in my chest like a stone I couldn't dislodge. He was hurt once, and I cannot bear to be the reason for his pain again. Not a s