Chapter 5:
Elara didn't know she was being watched.
She stood by the kitchen counter early that morning, fingers wrapped around a cup of tea that had already gone cold, her mind drifting as it often did when the house was too quiet. The silence here was different — not peaceful, just heavy. Every room reminded her that she was a guest in a life that wasn't hers.
Across the city, Adrain Blackwood adjusted his cufflinks, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. The reflection in the mirror showed the same man the world always saw — composed, sharp, untouchable. But behind that calm surface, his thoughts were already with her.
She was exactly where he knew she would be.
The café on the corner, small and unremarkable, had never mattered to him before. Yet years ago, on a day he never allowed himself to forget, it had been the only place that felt real. He remembered the rain. The smell of coffee. The way a younger version of himself had sat in silence, hollowed out by loss.
And her.
She had been there too — quiet, thin, eyes too old for her age. She hadn't asked questions. She hadn't offered comfort. She had simply sat across from him and shared her silence. It was brief. Forgettable, perhaps.
But not to him.
Adrain grip tightened as he recalled it. He had searched for her long after that day, not urgently, not desperately — just enough to confirm she existed beyond memory. When he finally found her again, living a life that looked as fragile as it felt, something in him had refused to let go.
That was why he had gone to the café that afternoon.
That was why he had been waiting.
Back in the present, Elara stepped into the familiar café, unaware of how deliberately her path had been guided. She ordered the same drink she always did and chose the same seat by the window. Routine made life easier. Predictable.
Then he walked in.
Adrian presence shifted the air. She felt it before she saw him — that subtle sense of something changing. When her eyes met his, her breath caught, though she didn't know why. There was nothing warm in his expression, nothing inviting. Yet she felt seen in a way that unsettled her.
He had watched her for a long moment before approaching, as if confirming something only he could recognize.
"This seat taken?" he had asked.
She had shaken her head.
Now, standing alone in the massive house that carried his name, Elara wondered why that memory lingered so vividly. Why the way he had looked at her then — like he already knew her — refused to fade.
Adrian leaned against his desk, phone lighting up in his hand. He hadn't replied to the messages warning him about public appearances or gossip. His focus was elsewhere.
He had married her to keep her close.
He told himself it was protection.Not Control.
But the truth was quieter and far more dangerous.
He had been afraid that if he didn't act, she would disappear again.
And this time, Adrian Blackwood wasn't prepared to lose her.