My father’s message didn’t give me time to think. I grabbed my things and left immediately, my heart racing as I stepped outside, knowing I was going back to people who chose her over me, but still my family anyway.

My mind was already racing as I walked, thinking about everything waiting for me at home, my father’s anger, my mother’s silence, and the way no one even tried to hear me out before taking her side.

I reached the main road and stopped, raising my hand for a taxi without wasting time, my eyes moving quickly from one car to another.

None of them stopped.

I stepped slightly forward again, trying to get a clearer view of the road.

For a brief second, I noticed a black car parked across the street. It hadn’t moved since I got there.

I frowned slightly, my eyes lingering on it just a second longer before I looked away.

That was when I felt someone behind me.

Not too close at first, just enough to make me feel uneasy.

I turned slightly just to check who was behind me, and that was when I saw a shadow move too fast for me to fully understand.

Before I could react properly, a cloth was pressed over my mouth from behind.

The shock hit me instantly. A sharp smell filled my nose, and my body reacted before my mind could even catch up.

My breathing stopped for a second as I struggled against someone stronger than me.

I kicked, I twisted, I tried to scream, but nothing came out.

My vision started breaking at the edges, like everything around me was splitting apart. The road, the lights, and the noise all started fading away at once until everything went blank.

~ ~ ~

I don’t know how long I was unconscious.

My head was throbbing painfully when I started coming back, my body feeling weak like I had been drained of all strength.

I forced my eyes open slowly, trying to understand where I was.

I was in an abandoned building.

Cold air hit my skin immediately, and I tried to move, but I couldn’t. I could feel it now, my hands and body were tied to a chair, and I couldn’t move no matter how much I tried.

There were seven men around me, all wearing masks that covered their faces.

My eyes moved around the room again, slower this time… until something didn’t sit right.

These men didn’t look disorganized. Everything about them felt planned… controlled.

Like they weren’t just random people who grabbed me off the street.

I stayed still immediately as I listened closely to their voices moving around the room.

“She’s still out,” one of them said, calm and certain.

“Good,” another replied. “Keep her that way for now.”

There was a short pause before another voice spoke, lower and more controlled than the rest.

“Your father has been a problem for a long time,” he said, anger clear in his tone. “He thinks he can interfere in things that don’t concern him and go Scot-free?”

A quiet, cold laugh followed.

“So now the result of that interference is sitting right here.”

My chest tightened at his words, confusion mixing with fear.

What exactly did my father do…?

And why did it feel like I was the one paying for it?

My fingers twitched slightly at the mention of my father, but I forced myself not to move. I didn’t understand what they meant, but I knew one thing clearly now, this wasn’t random, and I was not taken by mistake.

Something metallic shifted beside me, and my stomach tightened, but I forced myself to stay still.

“Let’s see how long she stays unconscious,” the same voice said again, and I could hear footsteps moving closer to where I was sitting.

That was when my body reacted before I could stop it, tensing slightly, just a small movement, but it was enough.

“She’s waking,” one of them said immediately.

“Hold her,” another voice ordered sharply.

Footsteps came closer, steady, like the person didn’t need to rush at all.

A hand grabbed my chin and forced my face upward. I flinched slightly, my eyes opening more clearly.

A man stood in front of me, wearing a mask like the others, the same man that was talking about my father. He was calm, in control, he was the one everyone answered to.

“Oh, you’re awake,” he said, almost amused. “Good.”

His grip tightened slightly on my chin as he tilted my face from side to side like he was studying me.

“Aria Collins,” he said slowly, like he was tasting the name. “Daughter of William Collins.”

He paused, then gave a small laugh.

“I must say… you are more beautiful than I expected.”

My chest tightened, but I didn’t respond. I just stared at him, trying to stay steady even though fear was rising.

He let go of my chin and stepped back slightly, then turned to someone behind him.

“Maybe I should start by ruining that beauty,” he said casually.

My stomach dropped immediately.

I thought, Oh God… why is this happening to me? First my wedding… now I’m being kidnapped.

He reached for something nearby and pulled out a metal rod already burning red at the tip.

I froze as he brought it closer, slowly, like he wanted me to see every second of it.

I tried to pull back, but the chair held me firmly in place as he lifted it toward my face—

“Let’s see how strong you still are,”

—and just then a voice cut through the room like a gunshot, making everyone freeze instantly.

“STOP.”

My head jerked up at the sound, my heart still racing as the room fell into a sudden silence.

For a second, no one moved. Not the man in front of me, not the others around him, not even me. It was like everything had been forced to pause at once.

Confusion hit me immediately, sharp and disorienting, because nothing about this made sense.

And then I looked up, and I saw him.

Adrian.

How did he even find me?

My mind refused to accept what I was seeing, because there was no reason for him to be here, standing like he belonged in this place. Confusion and fear hit me at once, because he was the last person I expected to find me.

The man in front of me reacted first, breaking the silence with a slow, irritated laugh as he turned fully toward Adrian, the burning metal rod still in his hand.

“Oh well, well… who do we have here?” he said, letting the rod fall from his grip with a sharp metallic clink against the floor.

Adrian didn’t answer immediately.

He stepped forward instead, calm and steady, his eyes locked on the situation in front of him before briefly flicking to me, and something in his expression tightened the moment he saw me tied to the chair.

“Let her go,” he said finally.

His voice didn’t carry urgency.

It was too calm… like he had expected this.

The kidnapper let out a short laugh, shaking his head like he had just heard something amusing.

“Why should I?” he asked casually. “As far as I’m concerned, this whole thing is none of your business.”

My pulse spiked as I watched them, my body still restrained, my mind struggling to process how quickly everything had shifted from silence to confrontation.

Adrian didn’t react to the mockery. Instead, he took another slow step forward, unbothered, like he already knew how this would end.

“I’m giving you one last chance,” he said, his voice dropping slightly, becoming colder and more controlled. “Let her go, and I’ll leave here quietly.”

The man’s lips curled into a smile like that answer amused him even more.

“No, I won’t,” he replied simply.

That single response changed everything as Adrian stopped completely, the air in the room turning heavier like something had snapped, and then without warning he moved.

One second he was still, the next he grabbed the man by the collar, and slammed him hard into the metal pillar. The impact echoed through the warehouse as the room erupted into chaos before anyone could react.

“Now,” Adrian said sharply.

Men rushed forward, but his team moved in behind him just as fast, spreading out and cutting them off as the warehouse exploded with noise, bodies crashing, footsteps pounding, and metal hitting concrete.

Everything was happening too fast…

And yet, there was something about the way Adrian moved—

Like none of this was catching him off guard.

My heart pounded as I flinched at the violence, my wrists still bound and my body helpless while everything spiraled out of control, too fast and too loud to process, yet I still couldn’t look away.

Through it all, my eyes kept finding him.

Adrian moved like none of it touched him, every action precise and already decided. When someone came at him, he took them down instantly, and when another followed, it ended the same way.

It didn’t feel like a fight; it felt like control, like he had already decided how this would end, and then suddenly he was right in front of me.

“Untie her,” he said, his voice steady and commanding.

No one moved at first as silence stretched across the room.

He took a slow step closer, not rushing, not hesitating.

“Now,” he said again.

One of them immediately rushed forward and untied the ropes around my wrists, and the pressure vanished at once, though my hands still trembled as my body struggled to steady itself.

As the ropes fell away, I looked at him again—really looked this time.

And for a second… it didn’t feel like he had just found me.

It felt like he had arrived exactly when he intended to.

Before I could fully process it, Adrian was already in front of me again, close enough that I instinctively froze, and then his arms were around me, pulling me firmly into his chest.

My body stiffened instantly, caught off guard by the sudden contact, my mind still trying to catch up with everything that had just happened.

“Hey,” he said quietly, his voice softer now, calmer than before. “You’re safe now, Aria.”

The words didn’t fully register at first, but his hold did.

My fingers tightened around his shirt without thinking, like my body had decided he was the only thing keeping me grounded.

I was still shaking, still trying to breathe properly, and I couldn’t let go, while he didn’t pull away.

Instead, he held me tighter, like he understood I wasn’t okay yet.

The noise around us started fading, or maybe my mind just stopped processing it.

Either way, nothing else mattered in that moment.

Before I could fully process what was happening, he lifted me into his arms.

A small gasp escaped me, but I didn’t resist. My strength was gone, and my thoughts were still scattered.

My head rested against him as he carried me out, my grip still locked on his shirt like letting go wasn’t an option anymore.

The outside air felt different when we stepped out, but my body still hadn’t caught up with reality.

He placed me carefully into the back seat of a car, his movements slower now, controlled, like he was making sure I wouldn’t break under everything that had just happened.

My hands lingered for a moment before finally releasing him.

The door closed, the engine started, and silence filled the space, heavy, unfamiliar, and almost suffocating after everything.

My thoughts were scattered and unable to fully form into anything clear as nothing felt real, not the escape, not him, and not any of it.

As I sat there trying to steady my breathing, one thought settled in slowly, heavier than everything else.

I wasn’t going home.

I was going with him.

And somehow, that scared me just as much.

The car was silent except for the faint sound of the engine as he turned toward me, his gaze locking onto my face in a way that made me still without realizing it.

He didn’t speak at first, just looked at me like he was confirming I was really there and safe, like even he couldn’t fully believe it yet.

His hand lifted slowly and brushed my cheek, his thumb lingering there as if checking I was okay.

I froze, my breathing uneven, confused by how soft his expression had become compared to everything I had just seen in him.

He leaned slightly closer, close enough that the silence between us felt heavy and impossible to ignore.

“Adrian…” I whispered. “What are you doing?”

Before Adrian could answer, a sharp knock hit the car window, making me flinch as everything from before disappeared in an instant.

The warmth between us vanished as Adrian’s attention shifted outward, his expression hardening into something controlled and alert, and the silence in the car turned tense again.

He didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he reached for the door and stepped out first, leaving me sitting there in confusion, my heart still unsettled from what had almost been said between us.

I hesitated for a moment before following him out.

The air outside felt different, really quiet and it took me a second to realize we had arrived somewhere completely new. My eyes lifted slowly, and what I saw made my breath pause.

A mansion stood ahead of us, large and overwhelming. It was nothing like the place I had been taken to the other night.

Tall gates surrounded the property, with subtle security placed discreetly around it.

But something about the way the guards stood made me uneasy, like they were not just protecting the place.

Adrian walked ahead without waiting for me, and after a moment of hesitation, I followed him through the gates and into the house.

Inside, the atmosphere shifted again. The interior was even more refined, with polished floors reflecting soft lighting and walls showing quiet luxury.

Everything was spacious, organized, and almost too perfect, like nothing was ever out of place.

And yet it did not feel like comfort. It felt controlled, like everything had been placed exactly where it should be for a reason I did not understand.

I stayed close behind Adrian as he led me further in, my thoughts still tangled from everything that had happened before this moment. Finally, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Why are you doing this, Adrian?” I asked quietly, my voice breaking slightly. “You don’t even know me.”

He stopped walking.

For a moment, he didn’t turn around, and the silence stretched between us.

When he finally faced me, his expression was calm, unreadable.

“I can’t say anything for now,” he said. “All you have to know is that you are safe here and you can trust me, okay?”

I frowned slightly, the answer doing little to settle the confusion building inside me.

“I can trust you?” I asked.

“Yes, you can,” he replied simply. “David will attend to all your needs here.”

A man stepped forward from the side immediately, his posture respectful and composed.

“Hello ma’am, David,” he said politely.

I gave a small nod, still trying to adjust to everything happening too fast around me.

Adrian turned slightly, already preparing to leave.

“Take some time to rest,” he said. “I’ll be back in two days.”

My head lifted instantly.

“Two days?” I repeated. “Where are you going?”

He paused briefly, then looked at me.

“I have some things to sort out. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Then, unexpectedly, his expression softened just slightly, and he gave a small, almost unnoticeable smile.

It lingered for a second too long before he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there with David.

The silence that followed felt heavier than anything I had experienced since this all began.

David stepped forward gently.

“Ma’am, let me show you your room and bathroom so you can freshen up,” he said.

I nodded quietly and followed him through the house, my footsteps echoing slightly against the polished floors. He led me down a hallway and opened a room that was just as refined as everything else, prepared as if someone had already expected me to be there.

After a moment, he handed me a phone.

“This is from Boss Adrian,” he explained. “No one will be able to track you with it.”

I took it slowly, still unsure of what to say.

Once David left, I stood alone for a moment before doing the only thing I could think of.

I called Ella, my best friend.

The phone rang for a few seconds before she picked up.

“Hello, who is this?” she asked cautiously.

“It’s me… Aria,” I said softly.

There was a pause, then her voice shifted instantly.

“Where have you been all this time? Your parents called saying you were missing. I’ve been so worried about you. I’ve been trying to call you, I’ve looked everywhere, I even asked your colleagues—”

“Ella, please,” I interrupted quickly, lowering my voice. “No one must know I called you. A lot has happened since the wedding. I don’t even know how to explain it, but we need to meet.”

Her tone softened immediately, concern replacing panic.

“Where are you?” she asked.

I hesitated before telling her, and after some back and forth, we arranged to meet so I could explain everything properly.

Hours later, she arrived at the mansion.

Seeing her brought a small sense of relief I didn’t even realize I needed. For the first time since everything started, I felt like I wasn’t completely alone.

We talked for a long time, and I told her everything I could manage without breaking down completely. She listened in silence, her expression shifting between shock and concern, but she didn’t interrupt.

When she finally left, the house returned to silence again.

And I was alone with my thoughts.

~ ~ ~

Two days passed slowly.

David checked in occasionally, but most of the time it was just silence, the kind that made me think too much.

Then, later that day, everything shifted again.

I heard movement downstairs.

And I knew immediately that he was back.

My heart reacted before I even had time to think, and before I could stop myself, I was already moving toward him.

Adrian had just stepped inside, calm as ever, his presence filling the space in a way that made everything else feel smaller. He hadn’t even taken off his jacket properly when his eyes lifted and met mine.

For a second, neither of us moved.

Then I was already coming down the stairs.

I didn’t know why I was in such a hurry, only that I needed to see him properly, to confirm he was really here, that the last two days hadn’t been some strange blur I imagined.

I reached the bottom just as he turned fully toward me.

His gaze held mine, steady and unreadable, like he was watching something he didn’t want to interrupt.

“You’re back,” I said quietly, almost before I could stop myself.

He studied me for a moment before replying, his voice calm.

“I said I would be.”

And I didn’t even realize I had taken a small step closer until I was already standing in front of him.

We stood there for a moment in silence, neither of us moving.

Then I finally spoke.

“Can we talk?” I asked quietly. “I know you just came back and everything, but… I need to understand some things.”

He studied me for a second, then gave a small nod.

“Okay.”

We didn’t stay in the hallway. He led the way without saying much, and I followed him through the house until we stepped out onto an open balcony.

The air outside was cooler, quieter. The city lights stretched faintly in the distance, and for the first time since I got here, the space between us didn’t feel as suffocating.

We sat down side by side, though not too close.

Then he spoke first.

“I also wanted to talk to you, Aria.”

I turned slightly toward him and quickly spoke before I lost my courage. “Let me start first.”

He didn’t stop me, so I took a breath.

“I want to thank you for everything,” I said honestly. “I don’t know why you would do something like that for me… you don’t even know me.”

He was quiet for a second, then his voice came softer.

“It’s fine, Aria. We had a connection… and I couldn’t stop thinking about you since that night.”

I blinked slightly, caught off guard.

“Oh…”

My voice came out smaller than I expected.

“You left without saying anything,” he added, watching me carefully. “Which is understandable.”

“I had my reasons…” I said quietly, my eyes dropping for a second before I looked back at him.

A brief silence passed between us again, heavier this time.

Then suddenly, he reached out and took my hands, his grip steady, warm, and firm.

“I need to get married,” he said, his eyes still fixed on mine as he kept holding my hands, his tone calm but with a quiet heaviness behind it.

“It is tied to my company and everything I am dealing with.”

I frowned slightly as I tried to read his expression, but he didn’t look away and didn’t give anything away.

“Right now, Aria, I want us to get married,” he said, combining the same steady control with a quiet firmness that made it sound less like a question and more like a conclusion already reached.

“I will protect you, and I will make sure no one can reach you again,” he continued without breaking eye contact. “I will also deal with the people responsible for what happened to you.”

His words made me pause as something in his tone felt different. Not just concern, but certainty, like he knew more than he was saying, and somehow it felt like my name had already been part of his life before I ever met him.

My throat tightened as I tried to process everything at once.

“I know this sounds extreme,” he said quietly, “but this is the only way I can protect you from what your father started.”

I froze slightly.

“…wait, what?”