r 64 Fall for Me


    Brian and Chloe locked eyes. Neither spoke. The air between them grew heavy.


    Brian leaned down as he kept his gaze fixed on Chloe. His breath was warm against her skin. “Maybe you just can’t stand me?”


    His usually t and lifeless eyes rippled with something different. It was almost alluring.


    “I don’t hate you,” Chloe said, meeting his gaze. “But you know I just got divorced. Falling for someone else isn’t on my mind right now. Besides, you’re not interested in me either, are you?”


    “And what if I was? Would you feel anything for me then?” Brian asked.


    Chloe froze. She wondered what he was getting at. “Didn’t I just tell you that I’m not looking for love? So even if you liked me, I wouldn’t like you back.”


    “What about in the future? You’ll fall for someone eventually, won’t you?” he pressed.


    “Who knows what’s going to happen in the future?” Chloe raised her eyebrows.


    Brian narrowed his eyes. A rare smile tugged at his lips. “Yeah. Who knows what will happen then?”


    Maybe it was the chaos of the day weighing on her, but that night, Chloe couldn’t sleep. She was lying on her bed when she heard faint noises from the room next door.


    Startled, she sat up and slipped out of bed. She spotted Brian heading downstairs.


    He caught sight of her and looked surprised. “You really are a good bodyguard.”


    “Where <i>are </i>you going thiste at night?” she asked.


    “The living room,” he replied. “Since you’re awake, why don’t you have a drink with me?”


    He went straight for the <i>liquor </i>cab. “What would you like?”


    “I don’t drink,” she replied. Protecting him was her job. She couldn’t afford to dull her senses with alcohol.


    Brian didn’t push. He poured himself a ss of red wine and downed it. Then another. And another. He wasn’t savoring the wine. He was treating it back like shots.


    It was unlike his usual self.


    By the time he reached for a fourth ss, Chloe grabbed his hand. “Enough. You’ll ruin your body.”


    “Are you worried about me?” He looked at Chloe. Although he sounded casual, his eyes betrayed him. They seemed to be longing for something.


    Longing?


    Chloe frowned. She must have misread the situation. Brian isn’t the type to want pity. <fne802> This text is hosted at FindN0vel</fne802>


    Still, she yed along. “Of course I’m worried. I don’t want anything to happen to you while you’re under my protection.”


    His expression darkened slightly. “So if you weren’t my bodyguard, you wouldn’t care?”


    Chloe pursed her lips. She had the uneasy feeling that if she said “yes“, something would break between


    them.


    “Would you care for me if you had feelings for me and weren’t my bodyguard?” he murmured, leaning


    closer to her.


    Their faces were inches apart. His cool breath brushed her skin.


    “What’s gotten into you?” Chloe scowled and started to pull away, but Brian caught her wrist. He wouldn’t let her put distance between them.


    “Chloe, won’t you fall for me?” His voice was low and husky from all the alcohol.


    She froze and stared at his face. His features were striking–a straight nose, thin lips that glistened slightly, and deep eyes that now seemed to ripple with emotion.


    The alcohol had brought a faint flush to his cheeks. Even the space between his eyebrows and eyes was tinged with a touch of intoxication.


    “I won’t!” Chloe said firmly.


    Brian was far too dangerous for her. She had wanted nothing to do with him from the very start. Had it not been for Allen stepping in, she never would have taken the job to protect him.


    Brian frowned. “Why not?”


    “Would you even love me back?” Chloe retorted.


    <b>It </b>was Brian’s time to fall silent.


    “Falling for someone could lead to love. But as I said before, if I ever fall in love with someone, it has to be someone who can stand by my side. Someone I can trust with my life. Someone who won’t abandon me in times of danger or betray me,” Chloe stated, enunciating each word clearly.


    She didn’t want another Curtis, who was always next to another woman. He was indifferent to the


    sacrifices she had made. He had even broken every single promise he made.


    Brian muttered, “If I could be the kind of man you described, would you fall for me then?”


    “What?” Chloe was caught off guard. She hadn’t expected him to say that.


    But he didn’t exin. Instead, he let his head drift toward her shoulder.


    Chloe jolted. She wanted to move away, but he quicklymanded, “Don’t. Please just let me rest here.”


    She stopped trying to push him away, and his head settled against her shoulder. While her shoulder was much smaller than his, it felt safe.


    “My dad called me today,” he said abruptly.


    Chloe raised an eyebrow. Brian’s father was practically a ghost.


    The Steeles were previously led by Martin. After he passed, Brian took over the family business. As for Liam, it seemed <i>like </i>the Steeles had erased any signs of his existence.


    There was rarely any news about him in Corverssia.


    “My dad and I don’t get along,” he whispered. “If I were to die tomorrow, he’d probably be the happiest


    man alive.”


    Chloe hesitated. His words about how not every parent loves their child finally made sense.


    “You know, when I was a kid, I always loved it when someone could stand up to…” His voice faltered, then


    broke off.


    Chloe let out a confused hum.


    “Nothing,” he said tly. Maybe it was the alcohol, but for a split second, he had almost let slip the thoughts he had buried deep in his memory. He wanted someone to protect him from his dad and help


    him escape.


    Back then, he had been small and powerless. He had always hoped someone would save him.


    But now, he was a strong man who wasn’t afraid of anyone. Yet he had almost revealed the most fragile part of himself to her.


    “Chloe, if I only loved you, never betrayed you, and stayed by your side through everything, would you fall


    for me then?”