Celeste’s POV
Three nights. That is exactly how long I had been living in pure, exhausting fear.
Every single time I walked to my car, I had to look over my shoulder. My eyes blurred from staring at that creepy, horrible photo on my phone screen. I was just waiting for something bad to happen next.
The anxiety felt like a heavy stone sitting right on my chest. It made it impossible to breathe. I could not eat. I could not sleep. I was losing my mind.
But Adrian was right there. He was my anchor, the only thing keeping me from breaking into pieces.
He never left me alone for long. He texted me every single hour to check in. He showed up at my place with takeout food I was too nervous to eat. He just held me tightly in his arms until my body finally stopped shaking.
Tonight, he promised me we could escape from it all.
My phone screen lit up with a new message from him. 'Meet me at the gate. Ten o’clock. Wear something warm. — A.'
I read the words twice, my heart jumping. I needed to see him. I needed it so bad it hurt.
I slipped out of the giant penthouse like a thief in the dark. It was surprisingly easy to bypass my dad’s expensive security team. I had been practicing how to sneak past them since I was a teenager, so I knew every single blind spot in the camera angles.
The night air hit my face hard. It was biting and sharp, freezing the breath inside my lungs.
But the second I saw him, the heavy panic in my chest started to fade. Adrian was leaning against the tall stone pillar at the edge of the estate. He looked so rugged and handsome in the pale moonlight. His dark hair was a total mess from the wind. His hands were shoved deep into his leather jacket pockets.
The very moment I stepped into view, his intense gaze locked onto mine.
“You came,” he said. His voice was low, rough, and vibrating with pure relief.
“You knew I would,” I whispered, walking straight toward him.
I needed to be closer. I needed to feel the intense heat radiating off his big body.
He pushed himself off the stone pillar. He crossed the short distance between us in two long, powerful strides. His hazel eyes moved quickly over my face, scanning every inch. That deep look always made my stomach do a slow, dizzy flip.
“You look totally exhausted, Celeste,” he said, his jaw tightening.
“I’m fine, Adrian. Really, I am.”
“No, you’re not fine,” he said, his voice dropping lower. “You’ve been jumping at your own shadow for three straight days. Your hands are shaking right now.”
He reached out, his warm fingers gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He traced the line of my jaw with so much tenderness it actually made my chest ache.
“It was just a bad tabloid scare,” he murmured, trying to comfort me. “A sick joke from some freak. I told you, we are safe here.”
“If we’re so safe, why does it feel like the walls are closing in on me?” I asked. My voice cracked, and I hates how weak I sounded. “I feel like someone is watching us right now.”
“Because you are letting the fear win,” he said.
His large hand slid to the back of my neck. His fingers tangled in my hair, pulling me just an inch closer to his chest.
“Let’s leave the whole world behind for a few hours,” he whispered against my forehead. “We are going to the old greenhouse. No phones. No annoying bodyguards. No paparazzi. Just us. Okay?”
I nodded quickly, my fingers gripping the tough fabric of his leather jacket. “Lead the way.”
We walked fast through the shadows of the estate. The greenhouse at the very edge of the property was filled with old memories. It had been totally abandoned after my grandmother passed away years ago. Over time, it had become our secret sanctuary.
We used to play hide-and-seek in this exact spot when we were only six years old. Then, when we turned sixteen, we shared our very first, fumbling kiss right inside those glass walls. It was the only place on earth where the heavy Lindstrom name did not matter at all.
Adrian reached out and pulled open the rusted iron door. It moved with a heavy, scraping sound.
I stepped into the semi-darkness, gasping quietly. The place was not empty at all.
He had spent time stringing up dozens of tiny, glowing fairy lights all along the glass rafters. They turned the old, dusty space into a beautiful, glowing cave. A thick pile of soft blankets and pillows was spread out perfectly under the center glass window. A small lantern on the floor cast soft, golden shadows against the green ivy walls.
“You did all this for me?” I turned around to look at him, my voice barely a whisper.
He looked down at his shoes. A rare flash of total vulnerability crossed his handsome face.
“I wanted you to have a place where you didn’t have to be a rich heiress,” he said softly, his eyes meeting mine again. “A place where you don’t have to be a target for anyone. I just wanted you to be Celeste.”
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I said.
I walked over to the thick pile of blankets and sank down onto the floor. The warmth of the greenhouse was already making my shivering stop. I patted the empty spot right next to me. “Come here.”
He sat down close beside me, our shoulders bumping tightly. We lay back together, staring up through the clear glass panels at the cold, quiet stars. It was so completely silent that I could hear the steady beat of my own heart.
“Do you ever think about telling them the truth?” I asked suddenly, breaking the quiet air. “Dad? Your mentor, Edmund? Everyone?”
Adrian went completely stiff next to me. The relaxed mood vanished instantly.
“You already know the answer to that, Celeste,” he said, his voice turning hard.
“I just hate hiding like this,” I said, rolling onto my side so I could look at his sharp profile. “It makes me feel like what we have is dirty. Like it's a shameful secret we have to keep locked away.”
“It is not dirty,” he snapped, his voice sharpening with sudden anger.
He turned his head fast to face me. His hazel eyes were incredibly dark with conviction.
“But if your father found out about us? He would cut me off in a heartbeat,” Adrian said, his chest rising and falling heavily. “He would say I am just a gold-digger. He would think I am playing some long, messed-up game just to get my hands on the Lindstrom family fortune.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” I said back, though my voice lacked real confidence. “He loves you like a son, Adrian. You know he does.”
“No, he loves me like a charity project,” Adrian corrected bitterly. “He loves me because I am the sad, grateful little orphan boy he saved from the streets. If I try to become his actual son-in-law? If I try to stand next to him as an equal? Everything changes. He will hate me.”
“So we just stay in the dark forever?” I asked, tears burning the backs of my eyes. “We just hide in the shadows like criminals?”
“For now, yes,” he said, his expression softening as he saw my distress.
He rolled onto his side, propping his head up with one strong hand. His other hand reached out to touch my face.
“Until we have a real plan,” he murmured. “Until I can make completely sure that no one on this earth can ever take you away from me.”
A single tear slipped down my cheek. I brushed it away quickly, angry at myself for being so emotional and weak.
“Adrian, you are the only person who has ever made me feel like a real human being,” I whispered, staring into his deep eyes. “When I am with you, I am not a giant trust fund. I am not a liability. I am not just a pretty face on a magazine cover. I am just me. You are the only thing that makes me feel real.”
He looked absolutely undone by my words. His jaw relaxed, and his hand trembled slightly as he cupped my cheek. His thumb dragged slowly over my bottom lip, applying just a tiny bit of pressure.
“You don't get it, do you?” he whispered, his voice a low, rough rasp. “You are the only person who ever made me feel whole after my parents died in that fire. You are my actual air, Celeste. I would be absolutely nothing without you.”
The air inside the old greenhouse suddenly felt thick and hot, charged with pure electricity.
“Then show me,” I whispered, my heart racing a million miles an hour. “Show me right now.”
He did not hesitate for even a second.
Adrian slid his large, warm hands up to cup my face, his thumbs tracing my cheekbones. He leaned down slowly, his dark eyes burning with a heavy, intense hunger as they locked onto my lips. The pure heat between us was driving me completely crazy. I reached up and grabbed the front of his leather jacket, pulling him down toward me, desperate to break the final barrier between us.
Our faces came closer and closer, our warm breaths mixing together in the quiet darkness. The tension was so thick I could barely breathe. We were just a millimeter away from a deep, passionate make-out session. My eyes drifted closed, my lips parting as I waited for the powerful crash of his mouth against mine.
Then, a sudden vibration shattered the quiet.
The phone shook violently against the dirt floor next to the blankets. The sharp, loud noise ripped through the silence of the greenhouse like a physical blow. I flinched hard, my eyes snapping open in instant fear. Adrian tensed up completely right above me, a low growl of pure frustration rattling in his deep chest.
“Ignore it,” he muttered, his hand tightening possessively on my hip. “Don't look at it.”
“I can’t,” I said, already scrambling to sit up.
My fingers were shaking badly as I dug through the messy pile of our discarded clothes. My heart sank instantly when I saw the name flashing bright on the screen.
Father.
I pressed the button and put the phone to my ear. “Dad?” I answered, trying my best to steady my trembling voice. “Dad, why are you calling me so late?”
My father’s voice came through the small speaker, and I almost dropped the phone right onto the dirt. It sounded completely strained, breathless, and terrified. It was a panicked tone I had never heard from him in my entire life.
“Celeste, where the hell are you?” he demanded, his words flying out in a frantic rush. “Don’t go home. Do you hear me? Do not go back to the penthouse. Do not go anywhere alone tonight!”
“Dad, what is happening? You’re really scaring me,” I said, my chest tightening up as the fear came rushing back.
“There was a horrible accident right outside your university campus today,” he said, his breathing incredibly ragged, like he had been running for his life. “And it wasn’t an actual accident, Celeste. It was a targeted message. They know exactly who you are now. They know where to find you.”
My blood ran completely cold in my veins. The phone felt like a heavy block of ice against my ear. “W-What are you talking about? Who knows?”
“I am sending a security team to get you right now,” he continued, his voice cracking with emotion. “Stay exactly where you are. Do not let a single person near you. Keep your head down, Celeste. I am doing everything I can to—”
The line went completely dead with a harsh, static noise.
“Dad?” I screamed into the phone, my panic exploding. “Dad! Answer me!”
There was nothing but pure, terrifying silence on the other end.
Adrian’s large hand clamped hard around my wrist. His grip was so incredibly tight that a sharp gasp escaped my lips. His handsome face had drained of all its color, turning completely pale in the golden light. His hazel eyes were wide and dangerously hard as he stared down at the dead phone in my hand.
