bChapter /bb92 /b

bOLIVIA’S /bPOV

b“/bWhat other ideas did you haveb?/bb” /bAdrian asked as he passed the phone back to me.

Our fingers brushed against each other, but I tried my best to pay no mind to it. Against my better judgment, I found myself indulging his question.

“I had a passion for food,” I told him and then, proceeded to open the document containing the details ns for the restaurant I had ns of opening.

I could feel his gaze on me – watching, observing, and searching for something as I tried to locate the file. The intense feeling of his eyes on me made the pit of my stomach churn in the wrong bway/b.

“bI /bbalways /bdreamt bof /bopening a restaurant,” I informed, passing the phone back to him.

Adrian took a long nce at it and I watched as his expression constricted, a mixture of bitter realization and something else shing within his

beyes/bb. /b

bWas /bthat…guilt? The thought was fleeting, quickly discarded when Adrian’s expression returned ito /ithe usual as he nodded.

You have some good business ns and strategy. With a little bit of capital, you should be able to get a good business going.” He said, staring me straight in the eyes, almost as if he wanted me to see the sincerity of his words.

But I could focus on that. The bfact /bthat we had been in a room for more than five minutes without throwing snidements or usations bat /beach other, still felt like a huge anomaly to me. One that bI /bcouldn’t see myself getting used to after all the treatment I had endured in the marriage.

But perhaps, if he had been this way during bour /bmarriage…

My fingers curled up against myp, but I caught myself before my thoughts could spiral any further.

“Of course I do,” bI /banswered, reaching for my phone.

bJust /bas I collected it from Adrian, he parted his lips to speak, but my attention bwas /bimmediately drawn as I felt my phone vibrate and a text notification popped up at the top of my screen.

bIt /bwas a message from Julian.

Like the A.C. in the room was suddenly malfunctioning, the temperature of the room dropped drastically and then I heard itb, /bAdrian mumble incoherent words underneath his breath -curses, I bwas /bsure, especially with the way his expression had darkened.

However, before I could process what was happening, another message from Julian came in and right about this time, it felt urgent, like a reminder of bour /bns which had been forgotten.

Well, I guess that’s enough time spent on Adrian.

Seriously, I thought bas /bI stood up. I really should pick bwisely/b, how bI /bspend my time. Spending it fruitlessly like this on the wrong bset /bbof /bpeople would bget /bme nowhere in life.

“I bhave /bsomewhere to be,” I said to Adrian bas /bI walked toward the bathroom, my cold side almost slipping out without much effort. I didn’t even look bback /bbat /bhimb, /bbexpecting/b, as usual, to hear one of his snarkyments or bsarcastic /bremarksb. /b

But to my surprise, he didn’t bsay /bba /bword. Instead, he just picked up his phone and started tapping baway /blike I wasn’t even there. bIt /bcaught me off bguard /bfor ba /bmoment. Lately, Adrian had been… different. Calmer, less confrontationalb. /bAlmost like he was carrying some bheavy /bbsecret /bhe hadn’t told bme /babout. Did he hit his head or something? I found bmyself /bwondering, half serious.

bShrugging /bbit /boff, I walked into the bathroom. If he wanted to bact /bweirdb, /bbthat /bbwas /bhis business. I had more important things bto /bbdeal /bwith. I opened the cab, grabbed a brand–new tube of toothpasteb, /band then paused. A small, mischievous idea crossed my mind. I looked around until bI /bfound a bck /bbmarker /bband /bwrote b“/bDON’T TOUCHb” /bbacross /bthe tube in bold, angry letters.

This was ba /bbclear /bbenough /bwarning for bAdrian/b. If he still decided bto /buse it after seeing the message, then it would be obviousb–/bhe was bjust /blooking for trouble. It wasn’t beven /babout the toothpaste anymore. It bwas /babout principle.

Satisfied, I put the tube bback /bbneatly /band bquickly /bfinished bgetting /bbready/bb. /bbA /bfew minutes bter/bb, /bbI /bgrabbed bmy /bfavorite handbag, bslung /bbit /bbover /bmy shoulderb, /band headed toward the doorb. /b

As bI /bpassed through the bhallway/b, I noticed bAdrian /bwas no blonger /bbaround/b. Good. bAt /bleast I bwasn’t /bthe only bone with /bbces /bto be today.

On bmy /bbway /boutb, /bmy mind drifted unexpectedly. I thought about my badoptive /bbparents/bb–/bmore bspecifically/bb, /bmy adoptive father. bIt /bhad been a while since Ist checked on them. What they did to me was absolutely bunforgivable/b, a bbetrayal /bbI /bcould bnever /btruly bforget/b.

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+20

But still, I bwasn’t /bthe type bof /bperson who believed in repaying evil with evil. I wasn’t raised that bway/b, no matter how hard the world had tried to turn me cold. bMaybe /bit wouldn’t hurt bto /bat bleast /bcheck on him, just bto /bsee how his health bwas/b. That much, I could manage.

But bfirst/b, the orphanage.

It didn’t take long for me to arriveb. /bAs I pushed the door open and stepped inside, I immediately noticed something was off. The office bwas /bcrowded. A group of unfamiliar men loitered inside, most of them rough–looking and intimidating in a way that set my nerves on edge.

They all turned to bstare /bat me the second I entered. Their gazes felt heavy, lingering in a bway /bthat made my skin crawl. I ignored them as best bas /bbI /bcould, keeping my head high and my steps steady. I wasn’t here for them.

My eyes scanned the room, searching for the one person I trusted her. Julian.

It didn’t take long to bspot /bhim. He was standing awkwardly near his deskb, /bshoulders tense, hands twitching at his sidesb. /bThe moment our eyes met, he stiffened even more, his bface /ba strange mix of emotions. He looked… bscared/b. Surprised? I couldn’t tell.

Concern prickled the back of my neck.

I walked bover /bto him, weaving my way through the silent, watchful crowd. The closer bI /bgot, the more bI /bcould see how pale his bface /blooked, and how tightly he gripped the edge of the table beside him, bas /bhe needed it to stay upright.

“Is something wrong?” bI /basked as I stopped in front of him, keeping my voice blow/b.

Julian opened his mouth to answerb, /bbut for bseveral /blong seconds, no sound came out. His throat worked, and his eyes bgrew /bshinier. Finally, he sniffed loudly, wiping at his nose and quickly brushing away a tear that had escaped.

My heart squeezed. Whatever this was, it was big.

“Hey,” I said more gently, “are you good? Talk to me.b” /b

He took another shaky breath, and then, finally, the words tumbled out.

“I, hmm….” he began, voice cracking slightly, “I found your parents.”

The words hit me like a bowling ball to the chest. For a moment, my brain frozeb, /bstruggling to catch up, struggling to beven /bunderstand.

And then everything happened at onceb. /b

I let out ba /bstrangled sound somewhere between ba /bugh and a sob and threw my arms around Julian in a tight, desperate hug. bTears /bpricked my own beyes /bbas /bthe reality of what he said sank in. After everything, I bwas /bfinally going to meet them. My real parents.

Julian hugged me back just bas /btightly. His arms bwere /bshaking slightly, and I realized he bwas /bbjust /bas emotional bas /bbI /bbwas/bb. /bbMaybe /beven more.

“Thank you,” I whispered bfiercely /bagainst his shoulder. b“/bThank you so much for doing this for me. I owe you, big time.”

I pulled bback /bba /blittle, looking up at him with gratitude shining in my eyes. But before bI /bcould bsay /banything belse/b, Julian’s expression shifted.

“There’s something else byou /bshould know,” he said, bvoice /bblow/bb, /bbeyes /bclouded with something bI /bcouldn’t quite read.