Adrian leaned back in his leather chair, the hum of conversation around him fading into meaningless noise. His friends laughed at some joke he wasn't listening to, their voices echoing through the cafeteria. His eyes weren't on them.
They were on her.
Liora.
She sat across the room with Ethan, her head tilted slightly as she laughed at something he said. Her smile—bright, unguarded—hit Adrian in a way he couldn't explain. He clenched his jaw and forced his gaze back to the table.
Why was she laughing like that? Why with Ethan?
"Adrian, you in or not?" one of his friends nudged his shoulder. "We're planning the trip for the weekend."
"Do whatever you want," Adrian muttered, brushing him off.
His mind wasn't on trips. It was stuck on the image of Ethan leaning too close, sliding his tray beside Liora's like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Adrian's stomach twisted.
It didn't make sense. She was supposed to be a nuisance. Just another problem dumped into his perfect life. From the moment she'd walked into his house with her suitcases and those wide, unyielding eyes, she had been nothing but trouble.
She talked back. She stood her ground. And worst of all—she embarrassed him.
Adrian's reputation was everything. People feared him, respected him, followed him. But Liora? She didn't seem impressed. She wasn't scared. That fact alone made him want to crush her.
So why couldn't he stop watching her?
He grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink, trying to drown the strange heat in his chest. He wasn't jealous. No—Adrian Lancaster did not get jealous.
Ethan was just… too close. Too comfortable. And Liora—Liora was too trusting.
Adrian's grip tightened on the bottle until the plastic creaked.
"Something bothering you?" another friend asked, noticing his silence.
"Nothing," Adrian snapped, standing abruptly. The legs of his chair scraped loudly against the floor. Heads turned.
Including hers.
For the briefest second, her eyes locked with his. She blinked, then looked away—back to Ethan. As if Adrian wasn't even worth a second thought.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
She was doing this on purpose. Testing him. Pushing him. And Ethan—always there, always in the way—made it worse.
Adrian left the cafeteria without another word, his long strides carrying him out into the quiet hallway. He leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair.
Why did it feel like he was losing control?
He should've been pleased. Liora had no allies when she first arrived. She was vulnerable, isolated. He had made sure of that.
But Ethan…
Ethan was ruining everything.
And what was worse, Adrian hated how much it bothered him. He hated the restless anger in his chest, the way it gnawed at him every time she smiled at someone else.
She was nothing. She was just his stepfather's charity case.
So why did he care so damn much?
Adrian's phone buzzed in his pocket, dragging him back to reality. He ignored it. His mind was already forming a plan.
If Liora thought she could slip out of his control, she was wrong. He wasn't about to let her walk into his life, turn it upside down, and then laugh with Ethan as if Adrian didn't exist.
No.
He would remind her exactly who held the power.
And this time, he wouldn't go easy.