Chapter 17 Chapter 17
Third Person POV
Clouds thundered the moment Cynthia stepped out of the office building, but she didn’t flinch.
The storm above her was nothing compared to the one raging inside her chest.
She walked down the empty street in uneven steps with her head hanging low and shoulders slumped.
Her body felt heavy. Heavier than she had ever felt before. It was as if she were carrying something very heavy on her shoulders. Every breath scraped her throat, burned her lungs. The air itself was punishing her.
Lucien's words clung to her skin like filth she couldn't wash away. She couldn’t shake off his voice. Her temple started throbbing as his words kept echoing in her head.
He wasn’t chasing her anymore.
One by one, he was closing doors.
From every side.
She looked up when the first raindrop hit her forehead. Even the clouds were crying. Yet her eyes remained dry. Tears were trapped inside her, refusing to come out.
The clouds have opened up, and it will start raining heavily any time soon.
She looked around to find herself completely alone in the middle of the road with darkness and deep silence.
A soft chuckle passed her lips.
She was lost.
Still, she kept walking because somewhere deep inside, a foolish part of her believed she would find a way out, but the more she walked ahead, the more she was losing herself.
And then, suddenly, a honk made her flinch. Slowly, she turned around to find a car. Her heart started beating fast.
She watched as the door opened; an umbrella came out, which was followed by a man.
Adrian.
Her breath caught in her throat in surprise. She wasn't expecting him to be here.
But Adrian?
He knew where she could be.
He knew she didn't have her car today.
He knew the weather would turn worse.
He knew taxi drivers were on strike today.
And somehow, he knew she would get lost.
Even from afar, he could see her wet and hollow eyes that were glistening under the streetlights. Her face was wet from the raindrops, but he could tell that not a single tear had fallen yet.
There was no need to say anything to understand what she was feeling. He could clearly see the exhaustion in those eyes.
All the anger that he had for her faded in that moment.
He didn’t care that he was disappointed or heartbroken. He just couldn't see her like this. So he did what he felt right at that moment.
He spread his arm.
Holding the umbrella with one hand, he spread the other arm, offering her home.
For a second, she froze, and her lips parted slightly as her gaze stayed locked with his.
But when he didn't pull away, she ran.
They were only a few steps away from each other, yet the distance felt very long.
She wasn't thinking about anything else as she ran toward him while he waited patiently.
The moment she crashed into him, the sky broke open.
It started raining heavily as if the clouds had finally decided to cry with her.
Adrian wrapped his arms around her instantly, pulling her close, shielding her beneath the umbrella, and that was all it took to shatter the dam inside her.
A loud sob rumbled through his chest and tore out of her throat as her fingers clutched his shirt desperately. She twisted the fabric in her fists like a child afraid of being left alone.
He stroked her back gently, which broke her completely into his arms.
Her raw and uncontrolled cries echoed through the empty street.
She poured out everything she had bottled inside her for months. She let out the helplessness that was slowly suffocating her.
Without asking what happened or demanding answers, Adrian just tightened his hold around her.
He didn't even ask her to stop crying. He just let her soak his shirt with her tears so tomorrow she could stand strong again.
She continued pouring out her pain, thinking only he could hear her cries since there was no one around.
But she was wrong.
Because there was one more pair of eyes watching her from the shadows.
And those eyes were burning.
Lucien.
A few meters away from them, he was sitting inside his car. The heavy rain made the windshield blurry, but he could still see everything clearly.
Too clearly.
Her shaking body.
She buried her face in Adrian’s chest.
The way she clutched his shirt.
The way he was holding her was as if she were his most precious possession.
Lucien’s jaw clenched hard, and his hold on the steering wheel became so tight that his knuckles turned white.
He followed her the moment the weather turned ugly.
He had planned to be the one who found her, helped her, and offered her shelter. But before he could reach her, Adrian arrived.
"Damn him!" He smashed his hand against the steering wheel.
The veins in his hand bulged out, as rage and jealousy roared inside his chest.
He broke her not to make her cry in his arms.
Those arms…
They should have been his.
Lucien leaned forward slightly, his eyes darkening as he watched her sob uncontrollably against another man’s chest.
His foot pressed slightly on the accelerator, and for a split second, a dangerous thought crossed his mind… the thought that he had multiple times before.
Running the car over Adrian!
The urge was very tempting.
Since Adrian had taken Lucien's life, Cynthia, away from him, Lucien just wanted to see Adrian's life leave his eyes.
His gaze followed the way Adrian’s hand moved to her head, the way he held her protectively, and whispered nothing good in her ears.
Slowly, Lucien’s lips curved cruelly.
"Wrong move, kitten," he spoke to himself. "I already asked you to stay away from him. Now you will be responsible for whatever happens to him."
And with that, he pressed his foot against the accelerator...