✦ EIRA POV ✦
Oh God.
He saw me.
The thought wouldn't leave me alone.
It circled inside my head like a vulture, tearing apart every ounce of confidence I had left.
Peter saw me.
My fingers tightened around my purse.
But why was I so scared?
I had the video.
I had proof.
Tomorrow I would show Tessy everything.
Tomorrow she would finally see the monster hiding behind that perfect smile.
Tomorrow everything would be fine.
At least that was what I kept telling myself.
The silence inside the car felt suffocating.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Like a storm waiting to break.
Then—
"Are you okay?"
Adrain's voice cut through the darkness.
Low.
Rough.
Almost reluctant.
I stared out the window.
"Hmm..."
That was all I could manage.
The rest of the drive passed in silence.
Not peaceful silence.
The kind that pressed against your chest until breathing became difficult.
The kind that made every heartbeat sound too loud.
Every second felt endless.
Finally the hostel appeared.
Relief flooded through me.
Thank God.
I reached for the handle.
Click.
My hand froze.
The door didn't open.
Slowly I turned toward him.
"What?"
His jaw tightened.
A muscle ticked in his cheek.
"You shouldn't have gone there."
Something inside me snapped.
"Really?"
I laughed bitterly.
"Really?"
I turned fully toward him.
"And what should I have done? Let that jerk marry my friend?"
His eyes flashed.
Dangerous.
Burning.
"What if something had happened to you?"
His voice rose.
"What if he saw you?"
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
The leather groaned beneath his grip.
"What if that guy had—"
He stopped.
His entire body went rigid.
A dark fury crossed his face.
"He was about to touch you..."
The words came out like a growl.
Raw.
Violent.
Possessive.
The intensity in his voice made my heart stutter.
But I shoved the feeling away.
"Why do you care?" I shot back.
My voice trembled despite my best efforts.
"You said you don't care!"
Silence.
Not a single answer.
Not even a glance.
Just silence.
The kind that hurt more than words.
Then—
Click.
The doors unlocked.
My throat tightened.
Of course.
Of course he wasn't going to answer.
I swallowed hard.
"He saw me because of you."
Still nothing.
"When you ripped off my mask."
Nothing.
A bitter smile touched my lips.
"Thanks for saving me today."
And before he could stop me—
Before he could say anything—
I stepped out.
Hours later I had changed into comfortable clothes.
But my mind was still trapped inside that car.
Inside that club.
Inside his eyes.
God.
Why did everything become complicated whenever Adrain was involved?
I pushed open my bedroom door—
And froze.
My heart nearly stopped.
Adrain was lying on my bed.
Comfortably.
Casually.
Like he paid rent.
For several seconds my brain simply stopped functioning.
Then outrage exploded.
"What are you doing here?!"
I stormed toward him.
"How did you even get in? The door was locked!"
He sat up lazily.
Completely unbothered.
As though my panic amused him.
"Don't you think you should ask one question at a time?"
His gaze swept around the room.
"Also—you should really clean your room."
I stared at him.
Speechless.
Absolutely speechless.
Was he serious?
Was this psychopath seriously criticizing my room right now?
"Get. Out."
Every word dripped with ice.
His expression slowly changed.
The amusement vanished.
His eyes became unreadable.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"I'm not going anywhere."
A chill slid down my spine.
"You're coming with me."
I blinked.
"What?"
"Why would I go with you?"
His voice sharpened instantly.
"Peter will come for you."
The certainty in his tone unnerved me.
"You're not safe here."
I laughed.
A harsh, angry laugh.
"And why do you care?"
I crossed my arms.
"I'm not going with you."
His eyes darkened.
"I can protect myself."
The smirk that appeared on his face was brutal.
Mocking.
Cruel.
"Yeah."
His gaze traveled slowly over me.
"I saw how well you protected yourself tonight."
The words hit like a slap.
My cheeks burned.
"You—"
I pointed at the door.
"Get out of my room or... or else—"
His eyebrow lifted.
"Or else what?"
"I'll shout!"
The challenge only made him step closer.
"Shout."
His voice dropped.
Dark.
Dangerous.
"Shout as loud as you want."
His eyes locked onto mine.
"What will you say?"
He took another step.
"That I broke in?"
His lips curved.
"I'll say you called me."
Another step.
"Let's see who they believe."
My stomach dropped.
Damn him.
Damn him for being right.
The warden would never believe me.
Nobody would.
And he knew it.
The arrogant jerk knew it.
"You're a jerk."
My voice cracked.
"Do whatever you want."
I looked away.
"I'm not going anywhere."
For a long moment he simply stared at me.
Something strange flickered behind his eyes.
Guilt.
Regret.
Pain.
Then he whispered—
"I'm sorry for this."
"What?"
I barely had time to react.
The bedsheet came down over my head.
"ADRAIN!"
I struggled instantly.
Kicked.
Punched.
Twisted.
But it was useless.
One arm wrapped firmly around my waist.
Strong.
Unbreakable.
Effortlessly restraining me.
Then suddenly—
The ground vanished.
I was over his shoulder.
Like a sack of potatoes.
Humiliating.
Infuriating.
"PUT ME DOWN!"
I pounded my fists against his back.
Nothing.
The idiot didn't even flinch.
What is he made of?
Concrete?
Steel?
A mountain?
Then the air changed.
The temperature dropped.
The wind became sharper.
Colder.
Stronger.
My stomach twisted.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
A moment later my feet touched solid ground.
The sheet disappeared.
My vision blurred.
I blinked rapidly.
And froze.
We weren't at the hostel anymore.
We weren't even close.
A lonely road stretched through the middle of a dark jungle.
Silence surrounded us.
The kind of silence that felt alive.
My anger exploded.
I shoved him.
Hard.
"Are you mad?!"
My voice echoed through the darkness.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
I pointed wildly toward the distance.
"How do you even know Peter will come?"
My chest heaved.
"How could he get into my hostel with all the security?"
I waited.
Demanding answers.
Demanding explanations.
Demanding anything.
But Adrain wasn't looking at me.
His eyes were fixed somewhere behind me.
A strange expression crossing his face.
I turned.
And my blood turned to ice.
Far away.
The hostel stood beneath the night sky.
A black car had stopped outside.
The driver's door opened.
Peter stepped out.
My heart stopped.
No.
No.
No.
This wasn't possible.
The guards—
The guards were asleep.
Both of them.
Slumped over in their chairs.
Motionless.
Peter walked straight through the gate.
Like he belonged there.
Like nobody could stop him.
Like he already knew exactly where he was going.
My stomach twisted violently.
Suddenly everything made sense.
Every warning.
Every argument.
Every furious look.
Every desperate attempt to stop me.
Adrain knew.
He knew.
And I hadn't listened.
A crushing wave of guilt hit me.
Slow.
Heavy.
Painful.
I turned toward him.
Ready to apologize.
Ready to say something.
Anything.
But he was already walking away.
Toward the car.
Toward the driver's seat.
Toward silence.
I stared after him.
Something tightened painfully inside my chest.
For the first time—
I realized he hadn't been angry because I disobeyed him.
He had been angry because he was terrified something would happen to me.
And somehow...
That realization shook me far more than Peter ever could.
Without another thought I ran after him.
Opened the passenger door.
And climbed inside.
Not a word passed between us.
Not one.
The engine roared to life.
The headlights cut through the darkness.
And the car surged forward.
Leaving the hostel.
Leaving Peter.
Leaving the shattered pieces of my certainty behind.
While an uncomfortable truth settled deep inside my heart—
For all his arrogance...
For all his infuriating behavior...
Adrain had been trying to protect me all along.