Page 76 of The Contract

I inhale sharply through my nose, locking my eyes on Adrian’s.

There’s satisfaction there. Victory.

But he has no idea who he’s fucking with.

Slowly, he removes his hand from my mouth, but he doesn’t step back.

Breathe. Stay in control.

I level him with a glare, my voice low but lethal. “What do you want?”

I shove against his chest, hard enough to make him take a step back, though his fingers remain curled around the door handle, still blocking my exit. Trapping me inside with him.

I refuse to shrink beneath his stare. Instead, I move with purpose, creating distance, my back straight, my chin lifted. If he thinks for a second he still holds any power over me, he’s dead wrong.

Adrian watches me with the same smug amusement I remember too well. The look of a man who always thinks he’s winning—even when he’s seconds from losing everything.

Not this time.

“What do I want?” He repeats the question slowly, rolling it over his tongue like he enjoys the way it sounds coming from my lips. “You already know, Elena.”

I cross my arms. “You’re wasting your time.”

“Am I?” He clicks his tongue, his gaze sweeping over me, cataloging every shift in my expression, looking for a crack in my armor. “I don’t think so. I think you’re going to hear me out because deep down, you know this is exactly what you need.”

I scoff. “What I need is for you to step the fuck aside and let me leave.”

His fingers tighten around the doorknob, but he doesn’t open it. Instead, he leans in slightly, lowering his voice like we’re conspiring rather than standing on opposite ends of a war I never agreed to fight.

“You didn’t tell him about us, did you?” His voice dips, condescending and coaxing all at once. “Does your fiancé know how many times I’ve fucked you?”

A hot coil of fury tightens in my stomach, but I don’t let my face betray me.

Adrian smirks. “That’s what I thought.”

I hold his gaze, refusing to let him see the anger simmering beneath my skin. “I see you’re still just as desperate to be relevant.”

His smirk falters for the briefest second.

Good.

“And I see you’re still as unreasonable as ever,” he sneers.

“Better than being weak,” I fire back.

His voice dips, taunting. “I just want you to keep him occupied. Distracted. Keep those pretty eyes on yourfakefiancé while this deal falls apart, and I’ll make you a very rich woman.”

“You can throw your money around all you want, Adrian. But I don’t need you. I never did.”

He exhales sharply, his amusement dimming as something darker flickers in his eyes.

There.The real Adrian.The one who hates not getting his way. The one who lashes out when his control slips. The one who doesn’t know what to do with himself when heisn’t winning.

For a moment, we just stare at each other, the tension between us thick enough to suffocate.

Then, he smiles again. Slow. Calculated.

“Fine,” he says, finally lifting his hand from the door and stepping back. “Play hard to get. But think about it, sweetheart. I’d hate for your fiancé to start hearing some nasty rumors about your past.”

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