Chapter 14
Miles let out a slow breath, shaking his head as if he had already
expected this. He exhaled through his nose, dragging a hand
down his face in frustration.
“Good luck with that,” he muttered dryly, before turning on his
heels. He didn’t spare Adrian another glance as he walked
toward the door.
Because if he did… he might actually say something he’d regret.
He couldn’t watch Adrian like this. He couldn’t watch him
unraveling, spiraling into something ugly.
It reminded him too much of the past. Back when Adrian
Blackwood was a man people feared, not admired. Back when
his fists spoke louder than his words, when he thrived in chaos,
when his name meant violence and blood, not flashing cameras
and magazine covers.
Back when he was everything Miles had tried to avoid
becoming.
And Miles had been thankful for the change. Thankful that
Bianca’s betrayal all those years ago had somehow broken
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Adrian enough to make him walk away from that life. To
choose something better. To use that cold rage of his to build
something out of himself instead of burning everything in his
path.
Adrian had worked his ass off to leave that part of himself
behind and to erase the man who once didn’t know how to live
without destruction.
But now… Now, Miles saw it again. That look in Adrian’s eyes.
That razor–sharp edge in his voice. That barely restrained,
volatile energy crackling under his skin, waiting to explode.
And it scared him.
Because if Noelle was truly gone…
Then so was the man Adrian had become.
Miles hesitated at the doorway, his fingers gripping the
doorknob. His jaw clenched.
Who the hell was Noelle McGrath?
Who the fuck was she to Adrian?
Miles had barely given her much thought before. Sure, she was a nice girl. Pretty in a quiet, unassuming way. Nothing like the
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glamorous, high–profile women Adrian was always seen with.
She wasn’t a model, an actress, or some wealthy heiress.
Just a flower shop owner.
A nobody in their world.
And yet… she had Adrian losing his goddamn mind.
She had him tearing apart his own house, had him standing in
the wreckage of his own emotions, breaking down in a way
Miles had never seen before!
And that terrified him.
Because if a woman like Noelle McGrath could bring Adrian
Blackwood to his knees…
Then she was more dangerous than any enemy Adrian had
ever faced.
With one last glance at his friend, Miles turned the knob and
walked out, leaving Adrian to his madness.
Because if Adrian was truly slipping back into the man he used
to be…
Then there was no saving him.
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Not this time.
Meanwhile, Adrian sat in silence. The thought of their empty
house that was once filled with good memories began pressing
down on him like a deadweight.
The bedroom felt colder than it should have.
The bed beneath him that was once warm, once familiar–now
felt foreign. The scent of her was fading, barely lingering in the
sheets. He sat on the edge with elbows resting on his knees. His
hands folded together while his fingers interlocked so tightly
they trembled.
His mind was a battlefield.
Noelle was gone.Gone.
The word rang in his skull, over and over, until it became
unbearable.
His jaw tightened as he forced himself to breathe. Inhale.
Exhale. A slow, measured drag of oxygen through his lungs,
though it did little to steady the chaos inside him. Then, without
another thought, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his
phone.
His thumb hovered over the screen, hesitating for just a second
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before pressing the contact he knew would answer.
The line rang.
Once.
Twice.
Then-
“A?” Grace’s voice came through, thick with exhaustion–or
maybe alcohol. He couldn’t tell.
Adrian swallowed hard. “Where is she?”
Suddenly, there was silence on the other end.
Then a low chuckle erupted from the other line. “Damn, Adrian.
No ‘hello‘? No ‘how’ve you been? Straight to the interrogation?”
Grace sighed. “You sound desperate.”
tot
Adrian’s grip on the phone tightened as his patience began
thinning. “Grace,” he warned.
She clicked her tongue. “What makes you think I know where
she is?”
“Because you were the last person to talk to her,” Adrian shot
back, his voice cold. “And you knew exactly what you were
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doing when you gave Bianca that fucking ring.”
Another pause came from Grace before she let out a soft hum.
“Ah, so youthinkyou finally figured it out.”
Adrian clenched his teeth. “Grace.”
Grace’s laughter echoed as she asked, “You really think I was the
one who handed that ring to your beloved Bianca?” she mused,
her voice laced with amusement. “Didn’t it ever cross your mind
that Noelle has a mind of her own? That she–oh, I don’t know-
made a choice?”
Adrian flinched.
Grace continued, savoring every word. “I simply led her to
where she wanted to be. And where did that take her, Adrian?”
Her voice turned sharp, the taunt in her tone unmistakable. “To
that goddamn photoshoot where she saw you and Bianca all
over each other. God, what a sight. If I were Noelle, I would’ve
burned the place down.”
His fingers curled into a fist as nails dug into his palm. The
memory of that day flashed in his mind–Bianca draping herself
over him, the camera lights flashing, the way he barely even
thought about anything else because it was just another damn
job.
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But that wasn’t what Noelle saw.
She saw something else entirely.
“You took her to the photoshoot,” he said, voice low, deadly.
Grace didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I did… Because she asked me to.”
A muscle in Adrian’s jaw twitched. His entire body was coiled so
tightly with anger he felt like he might explode.
“I’m going to fucking kill you, Grace,” he seethed.
But she only laughed, unbothered.
“Sure, cousin,” she said sweetly, her voice dripping with
challenge. “If you can. In case you forgot,” Grace added, her
voice turning colder, “we grew in the same garden. You’re not
the only one who knows how to fight dirty.”
Adrian breathed harshly through his nose, his patience hanging
by a thread.
Grace’s voice softened, but it was no less sharp.
“You made your choice, A. Noelle just finally made hers. So
leave her alone.”
And with that, the line went dead.
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Adrian stared at his phone as the dull beep of the ended call
rang in his ears. His grip tightened before he finally hurled the
device across the room. It crashed against the wall with a sharp
crack, but the sound barely registered in his mind.
Leave her alone.
Grace’s words echoed in his head, gnawing at him, sinking deep
into his bones like a slow poison.
He shoved both hands into his hair, his chest rising and falling
with ragged breaths. His patience and his restraint were slowly
slipping. The logical part of his brain told him that Noelle had
every reason to walk away. That she had seen what she saw
and made the only choice that made sense.
But the problem was–he couldn’t accept it.
Adrian pushed off the bed abruptly, pacing the room. His gaze
flickered to the empty closet, to the vacant dresser where her
things used to be, to the faint trace of her scent still lingering in
the air.
She was gone.
Really gone.
And he had let it happen.
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His breathing grew uneven as frustration clawed at his insides.
He ran a hand down his face before turning and landing a hard
punch against the nearest wall. Pain exploded across his
knuckles, but he welcomed it–anything to drown out the
helpless rage consuming him.
He wasn’t letting this end here.
And so, he yanked the door open and grabbed his jacket before
storming out. If Noelle thought she could disappear without a
trace, she was wrong.
He’d find her.
No matter what it took.
