Chapter 5

• Chapter 5: Running Away
• Adrian POV
• With my words weighing more than the paper they were written on, I set the envelope down on Adrian's mahogany desk in his office. I wiped it down with trembling hands, the writing of his name, Adrian, looking back at me accusingly.
• Before deciding on simplicity, I had rewrote the letter four times, each time becoming more rudimentary than the last:
• Adrian
• I can no longer live this life. Don't try to find me. Please.
• Elena.
• No justifications. I'm not sorry. Just the truth, which I was unable to express out loud.
• When I slipped out of the penthouse like a ghost, it was still dark. All I brought was a bag full of clothing, my painting tools, and a picture of my parents that I couldn't bear to part with.
• I hopped in, holding on to my possessions like a lifeline, and the cabbie didn't ask any questions. "To where?"
• "Bus station," I said in a tremulous but determined murmur.
• The city, which had never seemed quite like mine, slid past in a haze of lights and shadows. I was on a bus that was going far from Adrian Blackwood's world by the time the sun rose and painted the sky in shades of pink and gold.
• The sparkling metropolis I had left behind was nothing like Ashborne, a little city. It was the type of area where nobody asked too many questions and everyone knew your name, tucked away between a peaceful river and undulating hills.
• It was flawless.
• I leased a little flat above a bakery, which was full of charm despite its old and damaged walls. Every morning, the aroma of freshly baked bread filled my windows, serving as a reassuring reminder that things were slower and easier here.
• Lily was the next person.
• Her birth was the most beautiful and scary event of my life, yet she was born six months after I left. Her big, inquisitive eyes and tuft of black hair made her appear painfully similar to Adrian.
• But I would stop at nothing to protect her because she was mine.
• Using what little money I had left over, I set up an art studio on the corner of Main Street and made it a unique place. Sunlight poured in through the enormous windows, lighting canvases of different sizes, while the walls were painted a gentle blue.
• I felt free for the first time in years.
• With paint and brushes all around her, Lily's little hands were often more smeared with color than the canvases itself. Every day spent with her seemed like a little triumph, and her laugh was enough to drive away even the darkest thoughts.
• Even yet, there were evenings when the past intruded.
• Wondering if Adrian had found the letter, I would lay awake and gaze at the ceiling. if he had made an effort to find me. whether he was even interested.
• In Ashborne, three years went by, each one marked by a peaceful happiness and a resolve to keep going.
• But no matter how far you flee, the past always finds a way to catch you.
• The guy in the suit was the first.
• I sensed that someone was seeing me when I was drawing Lily at the park, her locks bouncing as she ran after a butterfly.
• A few yards away, he stood with a rigid stance and a fixed look. He didn't belong here, and neither did his black suit and shiny shoes.
• I called Lily to my side and hastily grabbed my belongings.
• I forced a grin as I replied, "Let's go, sweetheart."
• With a quizzical inclination of her head, she inquired, "Why?"
• I picked her up and went home, saying, "Because Mommy has work to do."
• The sense of being watched persisted long after we left the park, even though the guy didn't follow.
• I discovered an envelope hidden behind my door two weeks later.
• My name was written in an all-too-familiar script on the front, but there was no return address. With trembling hands, I ripped it open, my heart sinking.
• One piece of neatly folded paper was inside.
• Elena
• I waited for you. However, time is running out.
• Adrian.
• Every logical idea was consumed by panic, which spread like a wildfire. He had located me.
• In an attempt to persuade myself that the letter didn't mean what I believed it to, I spent the next few days in a daze. I realized the truth, however, when the bakery owner said she had seen a "tall, handsome man in a suit" inquiring about the flat above.
• Adrian wasn't only trying to find me. He was present.
• Rain pelted the windows and the wind howled as a storm raged outside the night it occurred. Lily's small hands were gripping her pet bear firmly as she slept in her room.
• A knock reverberated throughout the apartment as I sat at the kitchen table, gazing over the letter for the umpteenth time.
• My blood froze.
• The knock came again, louder this time, and I rose slowly, my feet unwilling to go.
• "Elena."
• Even though his voice was muffled, it was clear.
• As I got closer to the door, I swallowed forcefully, my pulse racing.
• Adrian Blackwood was there on the other side, soaked from the rain but just as formidable, when I opened it. He fixed his gaze on mine, and we were silent for a while.
• When I finally muttered, "You shouldn't have come here," my voice was almost audible above a whisper.
• He clenched his jaw. "You ought not to have gone."
• He entered before I could answer, his presence filling the little room.
• His eyes darted to the locked door at the end of the hall and he yelled, "Where is she?"
• I gasped. "Please, Adrian—"
• "Don't," he said, interrupting me. Elena, don't tell me lies. I am aware of Lily.
• My greatest fears came true when I felt the earth beneath me shake.
• "I had to go," I murmured frantically, my voice cracking. "You're not understanding—"
• His eyes were flaming as he interjected, "I understand perfectly." "You were afraid, so you fled. But now that I'm here, I won't go without answers.
• I remained still, torn between the life I had created and the guy who might destroy it all, while the storm outside became worse and the wind rattled the windows.
• Adrian remarked in a low, menacing voice, "I'll ask you again." "Where is my daughter?"
• I was aware that I could no longer conceal the truth.
• But before I could respond, a little voice pierced the tension like a dagger through the tempest.
• "Mom?"
• Lily was standing in the doorway, staring at Adrian with big eyes as I turned around.
• He gazed at her and froze, his eyes softening.
• "Lily," I blurted, stepping out of her line of sight.
• However, it was too late.
• Adrian stepped closer and stooped down to her level, his face inscrutable.
• He whispered quietly, "Hello, Lily," in a voice that was unlike from anything I had ever heard.
• I then came to the realization that maybe fleeing would not have been sufficient to prevent the past from coming up with me.