Chapter <b>268 </b>


    ADRIAN’S POV


    The smell of antiseptic and bleach still clung to my clothes, I should’ve felt free, relieved, thankful even but instead, all I felt was an ache in my ribs where the bullet wound had only half–healed and a gnawing storm of thoughts that wouldn’t leave me alone.


    The hospital had kept me longer than I wanted. Their words “rest,” “recovery,” and “avoid stress” meant nothing to me. Stress was my middle name. I had lived my whole life in it, moved through it like smoke, and I knew the moment I stepped back into the world, it would greet me like an old friend. And yet, for the first time in a long time, there was hesitation in me. Not fear – hesitation. Because the game had changed.


    I was able to get in contact with James and I called him toe pick me up, he was d to hear my voice, apparently, he thought I had died somewhere because themissioner told him when Ist spoke to the police was during the robbery and he also informed him that I was shot.


    I really need to talk to thatmissioner. That’s for sure, if this news has gotten to Marcus ears then I am sure he would be celebrating, thinking that he has won.


    What’s up with this city and assuming people are dead just because they were involved in an ident and haven’t been seen since then?


    First, they assumed Olivia was dead after her house exploded, I get they have every reason to do so because not everyone survived that kind of ident but they really need to learn how to stop doing that.


    While I waited, I leaned against the cool brick wall of the hospital, careful not to strain my side. My thoughts drifted dangerously, relentlessly, to Olivia.


    It still shocked me, the way her name lived in me like a me that refused to go out, no matter how much water I poured over it. When she left me, when she chose her independence, I told myself she’d crumble. That she’d crawl back, begging for help. That the world would eat her alive


    But she didn’t crawl back. She soared.


    I had expected misery, expected her to fade into obscurity, maybe chained to a desk job with no future. Instead, I found out she’d be CEO of apany worth billions. She’d risen from the ashes of her pain and betrayal, and somehow, she was stronger than ever. The Olivia I knew would never have had the resources or the nerve to pay off a hundred–thousand–dor hospital bill for me. Yet, when I signed my release papers today, they told me it was taken care of. By her. Olivia ke.


    The name still tasted strange. The girl I once held in my arms was now a woman who had wed her power, wearing a crown I never thought she’d deserve yet she wore it better than anyone else could.


    way into


    The growl of an engine pulled me back to the present. James’s ck sedan came to a stop in front of me, the tinted window rolling down. His face appeared, relief stered across his features. “Get in,” he said, already moving to step out and help me.


    I waved him off. “I can still walk.” It wasn’t true – not entirely. My steps were heavy, my side burned, but I wouldn’t let anyone, not even James, see me as weak.


    11:47 Tue<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>16 </b>


    657


    ye vouchere


    The leather seat hugged me as I sank into the back. James slid behind the wheel and pulled into traffic, ncing at me through the rearview mirror every few seconds as if to confirm I was really there.


    “You look like hell,” he finally muttered.


    “Better than being in it,” I shot back.


    He huffed augh but didn’t press further.


    I turned my gaze to the passing city streets, but my thoughts once again betrayed me, pulling me back to Olivia. The way she’d looked at me thest time we spoke – a sharpness in her voice I’d never heard before. That disrespect, that defiance… it should’ve infuriated me. And yet, all it did was ignite something in me I hadn’t felt in years.


    She was sexy like that. Dominant. Fierce. Unapologetic.


    No woman had ever spoken to me with that much fire. All my life, people bent, obeyed, feared. Olivia? Yes she was once part of them but now she’s different. She challenged me even though I am just seeing this side of her after not seeing her for so long.


    I thought back to the single night we shared, years ago, when the alcohol blurred my edges and her warmth had been the only anchor I needed. One night. One mistake, maybe. But no other woman had ever made me feel like that again. Even now, after nearly six years the memory of that night lived in me, vivid and


    dangerous.


    And now? Now she wasn’t just the woman I used to know she was something more. Something untouchable. And I wanted to touch her again.


    She still didn’t tell me if she was married or not, if that guy I saw with her on TV was her man, but I knew I was going to find out eventually.


    But there were bigger problems than my desires. She had told me, in her own words, that someone was out there trying to kill Charlie. My son. Just saying the word ‘son‘ still felt foreign, heavy, but also… right. I’d only spoken to the boy for a few minutes, but those minutes had carved something permanent into me. A connection I couldn’t ignore.


    And now he was in danger. Olivia was in danger. That meant I couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore.


    “I need to see themissioner,” I muttered, mostly to myself.


    James nced at me. “What for?”


    “Those men who tried to kill her… the robbers. They were arrested. Maybe they’ve talked. Maybe themissioner knows something.”


    “You’re not healed yet,” James said carefully. “You need rest.”


    “I’ve had enough rest,” I snapped, sharper than intended. “I don’t care if I’m limping, I’m not letting anyonee after Charlie.”


    James studied me for a long moment, then nodded. “You’re gonna go, as soon as you’ve gotten a bit better


    <b>11:47 </b><b>Tue</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>16 </b>


    and probably exined to me everything that has happened in thest few days, if you can’t wait till you heal at least wait till tomorrow, you’ll be better tomorrow than you are now.”


    The rest of the drive passed in silence, each second filled with the weight of decisions I hadn’t made yet. Now that I’ve made up my mind to help her out, I have two problems to deal with, Marcus and this mysterious mastermind.


    Finally, the car slowed, pulling to a stop outside my building, Relief hit me in an unexpected wave. Home.


    James was out of the car in a second, circling around to open my door. His hand was there before I could protest, steadying me as I stepped onto the pavement. My side screamed in pain, but I gritted my teeth and forced my steps forward.


    Slowly, painfully, we made our way toward the entrance.


    I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. For the first time since I’d been shot, I felt the faintest spark of control returning to me.


    James opened the door to my ce and guided me inside.


    I still felt the sting in my ribs, the ache in my bones, but none of it mattered. What mattered was what came


    next.


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