The garden behind the Vale mansion was already dressed for the evening. Soft lights were hidden among the hedges, lanterns glowing like quiet stars. Everything looked prepared and polished.
Adrian stood at the edge of it all, leaning against a stone railing at an obscure corner of the garden where only few guests would ever wander. He wore a simple shirt and dark pants, the first few buttons of his shirt left open without care. A glass of red wine rested in his hand. He swirled the wine slowly, not paying attention to it. His mind was elsewhere.
Without warning, the calm gaze of a young woman surfaced again. Adrian frowned slightly. He did not like this. He did not like that she kept appearing in his thoughts, uninvited and persistent. He barely knew her. Their encounters were not that notable if not for scene in the elevator. He had spoken to her only a few times, most of them sharp and cold. And yet, her face, returned again and again.
It annoyed him.
