The streets were quieter than I expected.The city usually roared, but tonight, it felt like it was holding its breath.
I pulled my coat tighter around me as I slipped through the narrow side gate. Claire had left it unlatched intentionally, I suspected. My heart pounded with every step, the cold air biting at my cheeks.
The pier was only a fifteen-minute walk from the house, but it felt longer. My mind kept replaying Adrian's words, layering them over the memory of Ethan's eyes from last night. Every sound every passing car, every rustle of leaves made me wonder if someone was following me.
When I reached the pier, the smell of salt and old wood wrapped around me like a memory. The boards creaked beneath my boots, and the dark water below reflected the golden smear of the setting sun.
He was already there.
Ethan leaned against one of the wooden pillars, hands in his pockets, looking exactly as he had on my wedding day sharp suit, messy hair, and eyes that burned with something between anger and desperation.
"You came," he said, his voice low, almost unreadable.
I stopped a few feet away. "Why did you send that message? Do you have any idea what you're risking? What I'm risking?"
He gave a humorless smile. "I'm risking nothing I haven't already lost."
The wind off the water tugged at my hair, carrying the faint sound of waves slapping against the pier.
"Ethan, why are you doing this?" My voice cracked despite my effort to keep it steady. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Because you don't know the truth," he said, stepping closer. "And until you do, you're in more danger than you realize."
I took a step back, but he followed, closing the gap.
"Danger from who? Adrian?" I asked. "Is that what this is about? You still hate him for"
"This isn't about hate," he snapped, then lowered his voice. "It's about survival, Elena. He's not who you think he is."
I swallowed hard. "You're just trying to turn me against him."
His jaw tightened. "I don't have to try. Sooner or later, you'll see it yourself. He'll show you."
A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "You're unbelievable. You ruin my wedding, you send me these cryptic messages, and now you expect me to believe you're trying to protect me?"
"Yes," he said simply. "Because despite everything, I" He stopped himself, running a hand through his hair like he was trying to rip out the words before they could escape.
I stared at him, heart pounding. "You… what?"
He looked at me then, really looked at me, and the anger in his eyes softened for just a second. "I can't watch him destroy you."
The boards beneath us groaned as another gust of wind blew across the pier. I could hear my own breathing, fast and uneven.
"What are you talking about?" I whispered.
His voice was so low, I almost missed it. "Leave him before he destroys you."
The words hit me like a wave cold, relentless, impossible to ignore.
Before I could ask him what he meant, the sharp sound of footsteps echoed from the far end of the pier. Ethan's head snapped toward it, and his eyes went dark again.
"Go," he said urgently, his hand brushing my arm. "Now."
I turned, my pulse racing, but not before I caught a shadow moving toward us through the fog.
The shadow at the far end of the pier grew taller, sharper with every step.Ethan's fingers tightened around my wrist not hard enough to hurt, but enough to tell me he wasn't going to let me stand there and think.
"Go," he repeated, his voice a low growl.
My mouth opened, ready to demand an explanation, but his eyes dark and urgent silenced me. I turned toward the narrow walkway that led back to the street, my heels clicking against the damp boards.
Halfway down, I made the mistake of glancing back.
Ethan was still there, standing between me and the oncoming figure. His posture was tense, his hands at his sides like he was ready for a fight. The other man's face was hidden in the fog, but there was something about his stride deliberate, unhurried that sent a cold shiver through me.
The wind picked up, whipping my hair into my eyes, carrying with it the faint hum of the city in the distance. My heart pounded so loud I could feel it in my throat. I quickened my pace, resisting the urge to break into a run.
When I reached the street, the world felt wrong too quiet, too empty. A lone streetlamp flickered, casting long shadows that seemed to reach for me. I pulled my coat tighter and kept walking, forcing myself not to look back again.
I didn't see Ethan follow.
By the time I reached the house, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely get the gate open. Inside, the hallway lights were on, the warm glow spilling over polished wood floors. It should have felt safe. It didn't.
I slipped off my shoes and climbed the stairs as quietly as I could. My mind was still on Ethan's voice on those six words that had embedded themselves in my chest like splinters.
Leave him before he destroys you.
The words wouldn't stop echoing.
I reached my room and shut the door, leaning against it for a moment before locking it. My reflection in the mirror across the room startled me I looked pale, my eyes wide and glassy, as if I'd just escaped something I couldn't name.
I sank onto the bed, pulling my phone from my pocket. No new messages. No calls. Not from Ethan. Not from Adrian.
For a moment, I considered texting Ethan demanding to know who that man was, what he meant, and why he thought Adrian was dangerous. But my fingers hovered uselessly above the screen.
A soft knock at the door made me freeze.
"Elena?"
It was Adrian.
I shoved the phone under the pillow, my pulse spiking. "Yes?"
"Open the door." His tone was calm, but there was an edge to it that made my stomach tighten.
I hesitated, then forced myself to stand. The lock clicked under my hand, and I opened the door just enough to see him leaning against the frame, his dark eyes scanning me from head to toe.
"Where have you been?" he asked, his voice deceptively quiet.
My throat went dry. "I was… in the garden. Needed some air."
His gaze lingered on me a moment longer before he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. The sound was soft, but it felt final, like the turning of a key.
"You smell like the sea," he said, his voice low and unreadable.
I swallowed hard, forcing a small laugh. "It's windy outside. Maybe it carried"
He cut me off, his hand brushing a strand of hair from my face. His touch was gentle, but there was nothing gentle in his eyes. "Don't lie to me, Elena."
The air between us felt heavy, pressing down on my lungs. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
Finally, he stepped back, his expression unreadable. "Dinner will be ready soon. Change your clothes."
And just like that, he walked out, leaving me standing there with my heart in my throat.
When the door clicked shut behind him, I grabbed my phone from under the pillow. My fingers shook as I typed a short message to Ethan.
Who was that man?
I stared at the screen, waiting, my pulse racing with each passing second.
Finally, the reply came.
Someone you don't want to meet. Someone he works with.
I typed back instantly.
He?
The dots appeared as Ethan typed, disappeared, then appeared again, as if he was deciding whether to tell me.
And then his final message came through, stark and brutal.
Adrian.
I sat there frozen, my heart hammering so loud it drowned out everything else.