CHAPTER 30: BETWEEN LOVE AND THE LIE

Even though it hurt, Rafael still wanted to hear it—straight from Bianca’s mouth. How she fell for Adrian. Why she chose his best friend over him.

He needed to know.

He needed to understand what it was about Adrian that made her heart shift away from him. What did Adrian have, what had he done, that Rafael hadn’t?

Was it charm? Timing? Destiny?

Because deep down, Raf knew, Miranda wasn’t the only reason Bianca had ended things between them. No, she had already started slipping away before Miranda ever came into the picture.

And maybe hearing it, this love story of hers with Adrian, would finally give him the closure he never had.

Or maybe it would break him all over again.

But either way... he had to know.

Zak’s question snapped Adrian out of his thoughts. His eyes shifted to his wife, and without warning, he reached out and gently wrapped his large hand around her smaller one.

"Tell them, babe. Tell them how we fell in love," Adrian said as softly as possible.

Babe?

The fine hairs on the back of Bianca’s neck instantly stood up at the term of endearment. Her lips twitched slightly when she caught the look on Adrian’s face, too smooth for her liking.

"Come on, Bianca. I’m dying to hear your version of you guys’ love story," Zak urged.

Bianca cleared her throat, stalling. "Didn’t Adrian already tell you?"

"He did," Zak said with a shrug. "But we want the full story, your side. Like, how you fell for this guy—" he gestured dramatically at Adrian—"and how someone so emotionally constipated managed to win you over."

Bianca raised a brow and gave Adrian a sideways glance. "He told you that?"

Adrian smirked. "I may have added a little extra to the story."

"He said when you broke up with your ex, he swooped in like your knight in shining armor," Zak recounted, grinning. "He also said he’d liked you for a while, so when he saw the chance, he took it. Is that true? Or did he scam us again?"

"Everything he told you is true," Bianca replied carefully. "So I guess there’s no need for me to say it all over again."

"Aw, come on. That’s not the same," Zak whined. "We wanna know what you felt. What made you fall for Adrian? What did he do to win your heart? And especially... how did he propose?"

Bianca had just taken a sip of her drink—wrong timing. She choked, coughing violently at Zak’s final question.

Adrian immediately reached out and started patting her back gently. "You okay? Careful when you drink," he said, grabbing a napkin from the table and handing it to her.

"Thanks," she muttered, dabbing her lips.

"You alright, Bianca?" Zak asked, trying to hide his smirk.

"I’m fine," she replied with a weak smile.

"Sorry if I made you choke," Zak chuckled, not sounding sorry at all.

Bianca rolled her eyes.

"So?" Zak pushed again, refusing to let the subject die. "Tell us, how did Adrian make you fall for him?"

Bianca let out a long breath. "Hmm... I don’t know. It just... happened, Zak. Ask Adrian."

She turned to Adrian with a pleading look, silently begging him to save her from this.

Adrian looked at Bianca, who clearly looked flustered from all of Zak’s teasing. His expression softened. Without even thinking, he gently ran his hand over her hair in a caring way.

"She’s just shy," he told Zak and Rafael with a small smile. "Don’t tease her too much. Right, babe?"

Bianca instinctively nodded, completely unaware of what Adrian had just done to her or to the others watching.

But Rafael noticed everything.

Every touch. Every glance. Every small change in Adrian’s voice

And it hurt.

He didn’t show it, of course. He simply smiled faintly and looked away, pretending not to care.

But deep inside, Rafael let out a quiet sigh.

Maybe loving someone from afar wasn’t as unbearable as he once thought. Maybe... Adrian really did care for her too.

But, Zak wouldn’t let it go. He kept pushing Bianca, his grin way too entertained for her liking.

"Come on, Bianca," he pressed. "Just tell us! How did it all begin? I mean, how did you end up falling for a guy like Adrian?"

Bianca let out a slow sigh. She glanced at Adrian, who just gave her a tiny shrug like, your call. Everyone was staring now, including Rafael, whose expression was unreadable.

Bianca rolled her eyes. "You want the short version?"

Zak nodded like an overexcited kid. "Please."

She sighed, giving in. "I guess... I didn’t know I liked him at first. He was just always around. Annoying, bossy, kind of a control freak... but somehow, he showed up when it mattered most."

Her gaze flicked to Adrian’s, just for a moment, before quickly looking away.

"And then?"

"And then... things changed. He changed. Or maybe I just started noticing things I didn’t before."

Zak clutched his chest dramatically. "Ugh. Why do I feel like I’m in the middle of a Korean drama?"

Bianca laughed softly, then gently pushed her drink with her finger, the smile fading just slightly. Because behind the playful act, she and Adrian both knew, this wasn’t some sweet love story. It was just a story they made up.

Meanwhile, Rafael frowned briefly after hearing Bianca’s story. Something didn’t sit right with him.

Bianca broke up with her ex?

Wait a second. Wasn’t he the ex?

But they had only ended things recently.

And Adrian. Rafael clearly remembered seeing him kissing a woman at the nightclub not long ago.

Was that before or after Adrian and Bianca became a couple? Did their relationship really start after the breakup?

Or was there something more Bianca never told him?

The timeline didn’t add up.

Rafael knew Adrian. He wasn’t the kind of man who believed in love, at least not back then. But now, Adrian claimed he had feelings for Bianca all along? Since when?

His head ached just thinking about it. It made him feel sick. But in the end, he accepted it, because what other choice did he have?

Maybe it was true. They saw each other often at work. Bianca was smart, beautiful, kind...

Falling for someone like her? Yeah. That would’ve been easy. Just look at him. He did too. And when he fell, he didn’t just fall—he crashed.

***