Chapter 114: Adrian’s Reassurance
Sierra's POV
I made it to our bedroom before the tears came and sat on the edge of the bed with my shoulders shaking, hands pressed over my mouth to reduce the sounds. But it was no use. Everything from tonight crashed over me like waves.
The bedroom door opened. Adrian stood there, still in his suit, tie loosened. His eyes found me immediately, and something in his face broke. "Sierra," he said softly.
He crossed the room in three steps and knelt in front of me, his hands covering mine. "Talk to me." I shook my head, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. How could I explain that every word Evelyn said tonight was true? That I felt like a fraud wearing his ring?
"I saw your face tonight," Adrian said, his thumbs stroking my hands. "Every time someone said something cruel, I felt you pulling away from me, brick by brick." His voice was rough. "Don't. Please don't shut me out."
"She's right," I finally whispered. "Evelyn. She's right about everything. This life was supposed to be hers. Those baby clothes she sent, that note, she's not wrong, Adrian. I am carrying what should have been her child. I am living in the future she planned."
Adrian's hands tightened on mine. "No. You're living in the future I chose. There's a difference." He stood, pulling me up with him, and held my face in his hands.
"Look at me, Sierra. Really look at me." I raised my eyes to his, and what I saw there made my breath catch. His storm-gray eyes were full of something fierce and desperate. Not pity or obligation. Something deeper that made my chest ache.
"I need to tell you something," he said. "Something I should have said months ago, but I was too proud, too stupid to admit." He took a shaky breath.
"When I rejected you two years ago, when I sent you away, it wasn't because I didn't want you. It was because I was terrified of how much I did want you. Even though Marcus played a major role in the rejection." His words hit me like a physical blow.
"What?"
"You scared me," he continued, his voice breaking slightly. "The way you made me feel. It was messy and complicated and nothing like what I thought love should be."
Tears streamed down my face as he spoke. His thumbs wiped them away gently, but more kept coming.
"I thought I could forget you," he said. "I thought if I built a future with Evelyn, if I planned everything perfectly, I could erase what I felt for you. But every single day, all I could think about was you. Your laugh. The way you challenged me. The way you looked at me like I was just Adrian, not Alpha Adrian."
"Then why didn't you come find me?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. "Why let two years pass?" Guilt flashed across his face.
"Because I'm a coward. I told myself you were better off without me. That I had already hurt you enough. But the truth is, I was afraid that if I came after you, you'd reject me the way I rejected you. And I deserved that."
He pressed his forehead against mine, his breath warm on my skin.
"When you came back with no memory of us, it felt like the universe was giving me a second chance I didn't deserve. But Sierra, I need you to understand something. I chose you the moment I saw you again, I knew I had been pretending to live for two years, but I wasn't alive. Not really. Not without you."
Something in my chest cracked wide open. "Adrian," I breathed. "I love you," he said fiercely. "Not the perfect, polished version of you that fits into high society. I love the real you. The one who burns toast and says exactly what she thinks. The one who feels everything so deeply it hurts. That's who I want and who I need."
He kissed me then, soft and desperate. His hands trembled against my face like he was afraid I'd disappear.
When we pulled apart, I was crying again, but different tears now. This time it was softer.
He kissed my forehead, then my cheeks, tasting my tears. "You're not a replacement for Evelyn. You're not a second choice. You're the only choice that ever mattered."
His hands moved to my shoulders, sliding the straps of my slip down gently. The fabric whispered as it fell to the floor. I stood before him, vulnerable and exposed, my pregnant belly round between us. But the way Adrian looked at me, it was with hunger, love and something so tender it made my knees weak.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered, his hands tracing the curve of my belly. "Both of you. My whole world right here." He kissed my stomach softly, and fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.
This man, this powerful Alpha who could have anyone, was kneeling before me like I was something precious.
. Adrian stood and lifted me carefully, laying me on the bed like I might break. He stripped off his suit jacket, his shirt, never taking his eyes off me. When he covered my body with his, it felt like special
We made love slowly, carefully. Every touch was gentle, deliberate. His hands touched every part of my body like a language only we spoke. When he slid his cock inside me, our eyes locked, and I saw everything he felt reflected back. Love. Need. Fear of losing me. Gratitude that I had come back.
It was tender, overwhelming and perfect. After we came together it felt so special and magical. We laid tangled together, my head on his chest, his arms wrapped around me.
Our baby moved between us, a flutter of life that belonged to both of us. "Thank you," I whispered into the darkness.
"For what?" Adrian asked, his fingers moving down my bare body making me jerk. "For choosing me. For loving me even when I don't understand why." His arms tightened.
"I'll always choose you, Sierra. No matter who shows up from my past. No matter what anyone says. You're mine, and I'm yours."
I closed my eyes, letting his heartbeat lull me toward sleep. Maybe I will never be the Luna everyone expected. But lying here in Adrian's arms, feeling loved, safe and chosen, I thought maybe that was okay.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Once. Twice. Three times. Adrian reached over and grabbed it, his body going rigid. "It's from an unknown number," he said quietly.
He opened the message before I could stop him, and his face went hard as stone. "What is it?" I asked, fear creeping up my spine. Adrian turned the phone so I could see. It was a photo of us leaving the charity tonight.
But someone had drawn a red X over my face. The message below made my blood run cold. "Enjoy your happiness while it lasts, Sierra. Accidents happen to pregnant women all the time."