Chapter 31 – First Mutual VulnerabilityPOV: Isabella

The night had settled over the estate like a soft, suffocating blanket. Outside, the city hummed faintly, distant, irrelevant. Inside, the only sound was the quiet rhythm of Adrian’s breathing as he reclined beside me on the sofa, one arm draped awkwardly across the back. He wasn’t relaxed, not entirely—his posture still carried the tension of someone who had spent decades holding himself in check, controlling every impulse, every ...