Chapter 14 — What We Do Not Say

The afternoon passed in a an unclear manner of speed, untouched lunches that was just picked on, and questions she didn’t care enough to answer.

When everyone else has left the office and everywhere was empty, it is getting dark outside. She being to arrange her stuffs slowly, putting her tablet and her notes inside her bag. The room was silent apart from the air conditioner sound.

Her phone buzzed once. A message from an unknown number.

He’s at the Blake Tower ballroom tonight. You should come. It’s business. M.

She stared at the text for a while trying to figure out what to do, her pulse rate quickening. Maya. Adrian’s assistant. She had always behaved in a way that screams she knows things Lia didn’t know.

Her thumb kept going over the screen. Business, Maya said. But there was always more with Adrian a layer beneath every word.

For a moment, she considered ignoring it. Going home. Pretending she didn’t care. But she did. She always did.

When she got to Blake Tower, the city lights were already sharp against the glass building. The lobby was cold, too polished, too clean. Every step of her heels against the floor echoed against marble floors like she didn’t belong there.

The elevator ride to the top floor felt longer than usual. Her reflection in the mirrored walls looked like someone else, someone braver, maybe, or more foolish.

The doors to the ballroom were wide open when she got there. There was light with warm gold spilled out, followed by the low whisper of expensive laughter. Men putting on suits, women in silk wear. Champagne glasses raised mid sentence.

Adrian stood near the center, surrounded by investors. His posture was easy, commanding, the way he always looked when the world was watching.

But when his eyes found hers across the room, everything else seemed to pause apart from her heart rate.

Lia’s breath caught.

He excused himself from the circle with the same composure he wore like armor and crossed the distance between them.

“I didn’t expect you here,” he said quietly, stopping just close enough for her to smell that familiar cologne, the one she has tried to pretend not to remember.

“I got a message,” she said. “From Maya. She said this was business.”

His jaw tightened for a second, then relaxed. “Of course she did.”

“So?” she asked, folding her arms. “Was that her idea or yours?”

His eyes flicked briefly over her dress the one she’d thrown on without thinking, a simple black that somehow felt too intimate now. “You look… different.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He smiled faintly. “You always hated small talk.”

“Only with people who use it to avoid real questions.”

Their eyes locked. The air between them changed. He had a look that says he wanted to say something else, something that mattered but then a voice broke the moment.

“Adrian!”

A tall, elegant woman approached, her laughter seems soft but like something she had practiced over and over again. Cassandra Holt is the CEO of one of Adrian’s partner firms. Lia recognized her instantly; she’d seen her name in headlines beside his more than once.

Cassandra called, “Adrian” she said immediately after making her presence known then putting her hands around his arm like it belonged there. Everyone is waiting for you to start the toast.

“He responded with a nod, but his gaze didn’t leave Lia’s. “Please Give me a minute.” He said to her calmly.

Cassandra’s smile dropped immediately, before she quickly covered it with a smile. “Of course.” She turned around to Lia. “You must be Lia. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Lia smiled back, all polite edges. “I’m sure you have.”

Cassandra’s eyes brightened up, polite, sharp, appraising. “You’re very bold, stepping into this world. It’s not easy keeping up.”

Lia bent her head slightly, her voice steady. “I suppose it depends on who you’re trying to keep up with.”

A flicker of something annoyance? crossed Cassandra’s expression before she turned away, her perfume trailing like smoke.

When she was gone, Adrian exhaled slowly. “You didn’t have to come here, Lia.”

“I know,” she said, though her pulse betrayed her. “But I wanted to see for myself.”

“See what?”

“Whether any of this is real.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “And what do you think?”

She hesitated. The music shifted slow, elegant. People began to dance. “I think you like pretending,” she said softly.

He stepped closer. “Pretending?”

“Being the perfect man in the perfect suit. Making everyone believe you don’t bleed.”

His hand brushed hers just barely. “And what do you believe, Lia?”

She looked up at him, her chest tight. “That you’re still pretending. Even now.”

Before he could respond, a photographer appeared. “Mr. Blake, Mrs. Blake just one shot, please.” He said with a charming smile.

Lia froze thinking multiple things altogether, but Adrian’s hand was already at her waist, guiding her closer. “Smile,” he whispered.

The flash went off. Once. Twice.

She tried to pull herself away from him, but his grip was still firm on her for some second longer than necessary. The photographers moved on, leaving behind the ghost of his touch and multiple eyes that suddenly seemed to be watching.

“I told you,” she said, voice trembling slightly and trying to keep a normal smile. “You're a good pretender.”

His gaze softened. “And you’re not?” He said with a smile.

She wasn’t expecting such a response from him, the response was sharp and she did not expect it. She pulled away from him before he could notice the change in her face.

When she got to the door the noise of the ballroom had reduced into something that looked like murmur, she kept walking fast until she mistakenly hit him.