Chapter 34 Confrontation
"I've dared a lot of things lately. Divorcing my abusive husband. Standing up to the woman who tried to destroy my life. Walking into a trap to bring your daughter down."
Eva smiled, her expression cold and sharp, surprising even herself. "Exposing you would be easy by comparison."
Helena stared at her, unmoving, trying to read Eva's intent.
Helena's false calm vanished, revealing the calculating person beneath. She was clearly thinking through every possible escape and backup plan to save herself.
"Two days," Eva repeated. "That's my offer. If you turn yourself in, then the media won't get involved. And if you think you can escape, you can try, and I will chase you to the end of the earth."
Eva turned sharply and walked toward the door, her steps measured.
"Eva."
She paused but didn't turn around.
Helena's voice changed. It sounded rough now, with a touch of desperation.
"You think you've won. But there are things happening, Eva, that you can't stop. It's not only me. Someone else is watching. Forces bigger than me, bigger than Reena, bigger than all of us."
Helena smirked, "It's them, they are the ones who want to hide this news. To keep everything under wraps. To destroy the Fransis group," A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
Helena glanced, just for a second, at the clock in the corner, as if expecting the arrival of someone. "You really have no idea who you are dealing with."
"Without knowing it, you've opened a door you can't close, my dear stepdaughter. And what's on the other side... you're not ready for it."
Eva looked over her shoulder at Helena, standing still at the threshold.
"Oh, I'll take my chances."
She walked out without looking back.
Adrian was waiting in the hallway.
He leaned against the wall, his good arm resting over his sling, tension showing in every part of his body. As soon as Eva appeared, his eyes quickly scanned her, looking for any sign of distress, for any sign that Helena had harmed her.
"I'm fine," Eva said before he could ask.
"No, you are not. You're shaking."
She looked down at her hands. He was right. Her fingers trembled, the adrenaline from the confrontation finally catching up with her.
Adrian's worry got past her guard, and she felt both embarrassed and relieved.
"Okay, I'm fine-ish." She tried to smile. "She's leaving. One way or another."
"I heard most of it." Adrian's jaw tightened. "What she said about me—"
"I don't care."
Adrian blinked. "You don't care?"
"I don't care what she claims to know about your past." Eva looked into his eyes. "Whatever happened during your fight for power, whatever you did or didn't do, even if it was you who set the fire to the whole mansion, or if you made someone disappear to get where you are, it doesn't matter to me. I know who you are now. That's what matters."
Adrian stared at her in disbelief, loosening his careful composure.
A quiet ache flickered in his eyes, a mix of gratitude and fear; he was afraid she might change her mind.
"Eva... there are things in my past that aren't nice. Things that would make most people want to run away from me. I'm not a good person like you think I am."
"I've been married to a scum for seven years. I've been betrayed by my best friend, manipulated by my stepmother, and drugged at my own birthday party."
Eva stepped closer, raising her hand gently to touch his face. "I have even slept with a handsome stranger. I still don't remember his face clearly."
Adrian chuckled, the tension in his body visibly easing as he met her eyes.
Eva shook her head, hiding the pink cheeks and bashful smile from Adrian.
But what she was about to say made her still, feeling her chest tighten—a ripple of fear and longing threatening to unmoor her. She drew a breath, steadying herself for what came next.
She wanted to sound brave and reassuring, but a part of her was scared of discovering Adrian's secrets.
Of discovering how far she herself would go to protect someone else, someone other than her children. She knew of the pain that might still lie ahead.
She let herself remember other nights, when she was alone and afraid of everyone around her, her mind racing with doubts and regrets, the weight of trusting the wrong people crushing her.
But she forced herself to look into Adrian's eyes, searching for the man he had tried so hard to hide.
What she saw was the man who did everything to protect her and her children—the man she could trust without a doubt.
"Whatever happened is in your past; it doesn't matter. I promise I've seen worse. And I'm not running away. Just like you promised, I'll also stay by your side no matter what comes," Eva said, her voice shaking but strong.
Something shifted in Adrian's expression.
The walls he had built so carefully, the mask of a cold, careful billionaire, finally broke and showed something real and vulnerable underneath.
"You mean that."
It wasn't a question.
"I mean that."
Adrian lifted his good hand to cover hers, pressing her palm to his cheek. His eyes closed, and for a moment, he just breathed, as if her touch was air and he had been struggling to breathe for years.
Her touch steadied him, breaking apart the years of loneliness inside him.
"I will tell you everything," he said quietly. "Every secret, every sin. You deserve to know who you're trusting."
"When you're ready."
"Now." His eyes opened, meeting hers with fierce intensity. "I want to be ready now. I've spent seven years watching you from a distance, telling myself I didn't deserve to be close to you. I'm done hiding."
Eva's heart swelled.
She rose on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips—gentle, brief, a promise of more to come.
"Then tell me. I'm listening."