❀ADRIAN❀

The board meeting from hell had been going for three hours.

Henderson wouldn't shut up about market positioning. Peterson kept questioning my strategy. The whole room felt like vultures circling, waiting for me to bleed.

My phone buzzed for the fifth time. I ignored it.

"As I was saying," Henderson droned on, "the acquisition timeline is overly aggressive. We should consider a more conservative approach..."

My phone rang. Actual call.

Marcus's name flashed on the screen.

I declined it.

"Mr. Knight, are you paying attention?" Henderson's tone was condescending.

"Every word." I wasn't. I was thinking about rain-soaked balconies and kisses that shouldn't have happened.

My phone rang again.

"For god's sake, answer it," Peterson snapped.

I stepped into the hallway. "What?"

"It's Margaret Ward." Marcus's voice was tight. "There were complications during surgery. Lena's at the hospital. She's... Adrian, she's not okay."

My blood went cold.

"What kind of complications?"

"I don't know. Dr. Chen called me twenty minutes ago. Lena won't answer her phone."

I was moving before he finished. "Cancel everything. Tell Henderson the meeting's over."

"Adrian, the vote..."

"I don't care."

I hung up and ran.

I broke every traffic law getting to the hospital.

Found Lena in a waiting room corner, knees pulled to her chest, mascara streaking down her face. She was making sounds, small, broken sounds that shattered something in my chest.

She didn't notice me approaching.

"Lena."

Her head snapped up. Eyes red and devastated.

"She's dying." Her voice cracked. "They said... there were complications and she's bleeding internally and they don't know if..."

She broke down completely.

I should've said something comforting. Something human. But words were useless.

So I sat beside her instead.

Just sat. Close enough that our shoulders touched.

"You shouldn't have been alone," I said quietly.

She laughed bitterly. "You had an important meeting."

"There's nothing more important than this."

She looked at me then, really looked, and something shifted in her expression.

"You came."

"Of course I came."

"But the board..."

"Fuck the board." I reached for her hand. Hesitated. Took it anyway. Her fingers were ice cold. "I'm here now."

She gripped my hand like a lifeline.

We sat in silence. Minutes or hours, I couldn't tell. Nurses moved past. Machines beeped. The world kept turning while Lena's world fell apart.

"Tell me about her," I said finally.

"What?"

"Your mother. Tell me about her."

Lena's breath shuddered. "She found me on her doorstep twenty-five years ago. No note. No explanation. Just a baby someone threw away."

"You weren't thrown away."

"That's what it felt like." She wiped her eyes. "Margaret could've called someone. Should've. But she kept me. Raised me alone. Worked herself to death to give me a life." Her voice broke. "And now she's dying because I wasn't enough. Couldn't save her fast enough."

"This isn't your fault."

"Isn't it? If I'd found more money sooner. If I'd worked harder..."

"Lena." I turned to face her, my hand cupping her jaw. "Look at me."

She did.

"You saved her. She had no chance before. Now she has the best surgeon in the country fighting for her. Because of you. Because you were strong enough to do whatever it took."

Tears spilled over. "Even marry a stranger?"

"Even that."

She leaned into my touch, and something in my chest tightened painfully.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know."

"What if she doesn't make it?"

"Then you'll survive. Because that's what you do." I brushed away her tears with my thumb. "You're the strongest person I've ever met, Lena Ward."

"Knight," she corrected softly. "Lena Knight."

The name sounded right in her voice.

Dr. Chen appeared, still in scrubs. We both stood fast.

"She's stable," he said, and Lena collapsed against me. I caught her, held her up. "We managed to control the bleeding. She's not out of danger yet, but she's fighting."

"Can I see her?" Lena asked.

"Soon. We need to monitor her for the next few hours."

He left, and Lena turned in my arms, burying her face in my chest. I held her while she cried—relief this time instead of fear.

Her body fit against mine perfectly. Like we were designed to hold each other.

Dangerous thoughts.

"Thank you," she said into my shirt. "For coming. For being here. For..."

"Don't thank me." I pulled back enough to see her face. Ruined makeup. Red eyes. Still beautiful. "You shouldn't have been alone."

"But I was. Until you..."

She stopped. We were close. Too close. I could see gold flecks in her brown eyes. Could count her eyelashes. Could feel her breath against my lips.

"Adrian." My name was a question.

I should've stepped back. Should've remembered the contract. The rules. All the reasons this was wrong.

I kissed her instead.

Soft this time. Gentle. Not like the gala kiss, desperate and angry. This was different. This was real.

Her hands slid up my chest, around my neck, pulling me closer. I deepened the kiss, tasting salt from her tears and something sweeter underneath.

She made a small sound, and it destroyed me.

I pulled away, resting my forehead against hers, both of us breathing hard.

"We shouldn't..." she started.

"I know."

"The contract says..."

"I know."

"Then why does this feel so right?"

I didn't have an answer.

We stood there in that hospital waiting room, holding each other, the space between us both terrifying and perfect.

"Take me home," she whispered.

So I did.

The drive back was quiet. Lena's hand found mine on the center console. I didn't pull away.

At the penthouse, we stood in the foyer. Neither moving.

"I should..." She gestured toward her room.

"Yeah."

But neither of us moved.

"Adrian." She stepped closer. "That kiss..."

"Was a mistake."

"Was it?"

I looked at her. Really looked. I saw everything I couldn't have. Everything I wanted anyway.

"I don't know anymore," I admitted.

She smiled sadly. "At least you're honest."

She started to walk away.

"Lena."

She turned.

"Your mother's going to be fine. I promise."

"You can't promise that."

"I don't break my promises."

Something soft crossed her face. "No. You don't."

She disappeared down the hall.

I stood there alone, touching my lips where hers had been, knowing everything had changed.

The contract was supposed to be simple.

It wasn't simple anymore.

Not even close.