All Chapters of Promises We Never Forget: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Adrian sat there a long time after the call ended, phone still pressed to his ear even though the line was dead. He should have been annoyed. Part of him was. At how fast a few words had wrecked a whole week of keeping his distance. At how easily the careful reasons he had stacked up just collapsed. But the annoyance was already thinning out into something else. Relief, mostly. Someone had refused to let him stay locked in his own head another night. Someone had wanted him enough to push. He thought about that afternoon in his office after Jonathan left. The look on Jonathan’s face before he covered it. Not disgust. Concern. Pity, almost. The kind you give someone who is about to lose something they still think they have. Adrian had worked hard not to be the kind of man who got looked at like that. Controlled. Put together. The one other people measured themselves against, not the one they worried about. Marcus finding out the wrong way sat heavy in his mind. The board. The people

Kai brushed the sweat damp hair off Adrian’s forehead, and they lay together on the bed. His voice was rough, barely there. “Was that true? What you said?” Adrian didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and his breathing still hadn’t slowed. “Adrian.” “I shouldn’t have said it.” The words came out fast, almost rehearsed. “It was the… it was the moment. Forget about it. I shouldn’t have…” “Don’t.” Kai’s hand stilled in his hair. “Don’t do that. Don’t take it back before I’ve even…” He stopped, but his voice cracked on the next words anyway. “Just answer me, Adrian. Was it true?” The silence stretched long enough that Kai started to pull away. Adrian’s hand shot out and caught his wrist before he could. “Yes.” The word came out as though it had been dragged from him. His jaw was tight. His hand was shaking where it held Kai’s wrist, and he seemed to notice it at the same moment Kai did, because his grip loosened immediately, ready to let go, ready to retreat,

My apartment was quiet tonight. I had gotten used to living alone when I first moved out of my parents’ house. It had never been much of a problem because Adrian was always coming around after work. Sometimes he stayed for dinner. Other times he brought work he claimed he needed to finish and ended up sprawled on top of me instead. There had always been something to look forward to, even on the most ordinary days.Lately, that had changed. Adrian was busy more often than not, and even when I went to see him, getting his attention had become harder. Calls, documents, late night zoom meetings meetings. I understood, I knew how much he carried, and I had never expected him to put his responsibilities aside for me. Still, understanding why he was busy didn’t make it any easier.I lay in bed with my phone, the lamp still on beside me. It was past midnight, and I had spent forty minutes scrolling through emails without reading a single one. Eventually, I gave up and opened my photos instea

The next morning, Kai was preparing to leave for a site inspection with Jonathan when Adrian walked past them on his way to the conference hall.“Good morning, sir,” Kai greeted him.Adrian gave a brief response without stopping. His expression was tight, and he looked like he’d already had a long day, even though it was barely morning.Kai watched him disappear down the hall before turning back to Jonathan.He’d wanted to ask Adrian if everything was okay, but they’d barely spoken in days, and he wasn’t sure how the question would be received. He decided to leave it alone for now.The inspection took longer than expected. By the time Kai returned to the office that afternoon, he had barely enough time to settle in before the internal review began.Fourteen people were gathered around the boardroom table. The meeting was supposed to take thirty minutes at most. They would review the revised numbers, assign responsibilities to the appropriate staff, and sign off on the next stage of th

The landline rang halfway through the partnership discussion. I glanced at the phone on my desk, surprised by the interruption. I wasn’t expecting anyone to call me at such a time, especially through the receptionist. I hoped it was important.My eyes shifted briefly to Anika, who was seated nearby. Perhaps they had tried reaching her first and, for whatever reason, decided to transfer the call directly to me.I picked up the receiver.“Cole.”“Mr. Cole, someone would like to speak with you,” the receptionist said.I said nothing. A woman’s voice came through faintly in the background, followed by a few muffled words I couldn’t make out. Then I heard the receptionist say something before the phone changed hands.“Hello, Adrian. It’s Eleanor.”I paused, then sat up with a smile spreading across my face.“Wait. Are you serious?”Her answer caught me off guard, and I laughed. I hadn’t realised how much I needed that laugh until it came. The past few days had been difficult, and I’d barel