Chapter 38
Sofia Bliss
When I heard Adrian say those words...
For a second, my mind just stopped.
It felt like he was asking me.
Or maybe... was he asking himself?
Was that uncertainty in his voice because of me?
I couldn’t tell.
Honestly, I couldn’t even think.
My head was a mess, everything spinning out of place, as if any trace of rational thought had abandoned me.
The officer was still standing right there, unmoving.
Watching us—studying us—like a cruel judge deciding if we were worth a sentence... or just silence.
Then, after realizing Adrian had nothing else to say…
After what felt like a damn eternity of silence…
He finally spoke.
His voice was low and controlled, more full of provocation.
“From what I can see… you’re still deciding.”
“I’ll give you a few more days.”
The way he said it… It sounded polite.
But it wasn’t.
It was a threat dressed as kindness.
All I could do was swallow hard.
He turned away. Picked up the briefcase he’d left on the floor.
And walked off—like none of this had really mattered to him.
It wasn’t until he moved toward the exit that I realized… everyone in the bar had been holding their breath.
No one had moved.
No one had dared to speak.
Time had frozen.
But right before leaving…
Before he stepped through the door…
He stopped.
And turned.
One last look.
Right at me.
And God...It was a look I’ll never forget.
So slow, cold and threatening at the same time.
Like he was memorizing every inch of my face.
My body.
Like he was burning it into his mind, detail by detail.
And every single hair on my body stood on end.
Like I’d just been dunked into a bathtub full of ice.
I had never felt that threatened.
Never.
The door finally shut behind him.
The sound of the lock clicking echoed through the room…
And just like that, people started breathing again.
I let out a shaky breath, my chest trembling like my body was trying to come back to life.
Letícia exhaled, loud and sharp, like she’d been holding it in all night, and rushed over to me.
“Sofia… are you okay?” she asked, her voice still trembling, her eyes wide with shock.
I nodded, barely staying on my feet.
My legs were still shaking.
And then… I looked at Adrian.
He was still there, right beside me.
Unshaken.
Like nothing had happened.
Like that entire power play—the silent threats, the deadly looks—was just another day in his world.
Who the hell is Adrian Valehart?
Who are all these people who get stranger and stranger every time I get close to them?
Letícia looked at him too.
And for the first time, since I’d told her everything he’d said to me…
Her expression wasn’t just anger.
There was something else.
Gratitude, maybe.
Even if she didn’t like him.
Even if she was still pissed…
She knew.
If it hadn’t been for Adrian…
That cop might’ve done something very bad.
I turned to face him fully.
My heart was still stumbling in my chest.
And he was staring again.
That same look.
Deep and intense, without even blinking.
“Thank you…” I murmured, trying to steady my voice.
“But… you can let me go now.”
He didn’t move at first. Not right away.
Just a pause.
A few seconds too long.
Long enough to make something inside me… shift.
And then… slowly, almost reluctantly… he pulled his hands away.
Like he didn’t want to.
Like letting me go was the last thing he wanted to do.
I stepped back, still feeling the heat of his touch on my skin.
And as much as every part of me screamed to stay alert…
What terrified me more…
It was how much of me didn’t want him to let go.
"Sofia... we should go," Letícia whispered, still careful with her tone, as if the cop might still be lurking in the air.
I looked at her. Then glanced around the lounge. Everything seemed... normal again.
People chatting, the background music creeping back in, waiters moving between tables.
It was like we were the only ones who had actually been shaken.
Still...
“No.” I said firmly, lifting my chin as I forced myself to snap back into control.
“I’m not leaving yet.”
Letícia stared at me, disappointment all over her face.
“Sofia…”
“He’s gone,” I cut in.
“And I still have work to do. I have three days to come up with enough for my dad’s treatment. I can’t just leave and pretend everything’s fine.”
I was doing everything I could not to crumble. Trying to convince myself this was just another bad night. Just another damn obstacle I had to push through.
Letícia sighed and opened her mouth to say something, but then his voice sliced through the air.
"You’d do well to listen to your friend and leave..."
That voice. That arrogant tone.
God, it made my blood boil.
I turned toward Adrian, eyes blazing.
“Thanks for helping me, okay? Really.”
“But that doesn’t mean you get to control me or decide what I do with my life!” I snapped, feeling my breath turn shaky.
“I have shit to deal with. Real problems. Someone depends on me to survive. And it's not you or that damn officer who's going to stop me.
He just looked at me — that unreadable expression on his face. Too calm.
But I could feel it.
The tension under his skin.
He was pissed.
And that only made me more… tense.
“Sofia…” Letícia tried to intervene, placing a hand on my arm.
“Please, just calm down. You have until the weekend, remember? You don’t have to send the full amount tonight.”
I turned to her, and that’s when I noticed it.
She was still scared.
It was all over her face.
I didn’t know who that officer really was, or what the hell he was doing there.
But if Letícia was this afraid… she had her reasons.
I sighed.
Felt the exhaustion rising from my feet to my head.
Damn it.
Part of me was still laser-focused on getting the money as fast as I could.
But the other part…
Was tired. So tired. And confused as hell.
Either way, I had questions.
And Letícia would answer them, whether she wanted to or not.
I exhaled slowly, forcing my body to unwind just enough to speak.
“Fine,” I murmured.
“We’ll go. Tonight.”
I took a few steps toward the exit, then stopped.
Turned to face him again.
“But don’t think for a second that this is me surrendering.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow. And the day after that.”
“And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
My voice was low, but steady. Eyes locked onto his.
He didn’t reply.
I didn’t expect him to.
I remembered what he said that night — how he practically begged me to quit working here.
But I needed the money. And I’d get it. One way or another.
So I raised my chin, tossed out a cold, sharp “Good night,” and walked out with Letícia beside me.
Leaving him there.
Alone.
In the middle of the hall.
Surrounded by whispers.
Wrapped in that kind of thick silence that only real danger can summon.