15 Mistakes Of The Past
Adrian rushed in front of her, blocking her path, desperation written all over his face.
“I’ll tell you what happened that night.”
“I don’t want to hear it now!” she snapped, jerking her arm free from his grip. But he caught her again, holding her tighter this time.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she growled, trying to yank her arm free.
But he caught her and pulled her back, tighter this time. “Sienna, please . I’m begging you.”
His voice was raw now, broken and hoarse.
“I didn’t know. I didn’t know where you were that night. I didn’t know it was snowing. I didn’t fucking know!”
“It doesn’t matter now, does it?” she whispered harshly, yanking her arm free as she stormed toward the elevator. “I don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past, Mr. Vaughn. So for God’s sake, stop reminding me of the stupid things I did for you back then. Because I ended up looking like a pathetic girl, blindly in love with a guy who didn’t give a damn about her.”
She stabbed the elevator button with her thumb. The doors slid open.
But before she could step in, Adrian grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back with force. His tall frame loomed behind her as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist, locking her tightly against his chest.
“Just wait a damn minute,” he murmured, his voice low, rough, almost broken. His head dipped down, burying into the crook of her neck. His breath was hot against her skin as he held her like he was scared she'd vanish. His entire body trembled.
“Sienna,” he whispered her name like it was sacred, turning her around to face him. His eyes, dark and tormented, locked onto hers. “That night... that year… when you called me over and over, I wasn’t ignoring you.”
She stared at him blankly, like she didn’t care for what he had to say.
“My grandfather passed away that night,” he said, his voice cracking. “I was at the funeral.”
Sienna’s body stilled, completely thrown. She stared at him, shocked, but he continued.
Adrian didn’t stop. His gaze pierced into her soul. “That call you made—my maid answered. I had fallen terribly sick and passed out. She picked up because you were calling over and over, and she was worried it might be serious. She didn’t tell me about it until I came awake.”
Sienna’s breath hitched. Her anger faltered, but she didn’t speak. She just stared at him, her hands trembling. He continued, his voice quiet, stripped of pride.
“I was depressed. That man was the only family I had. After the funeral, I collapsed. I didn’t even remember anything… I wasn’t myself. I didn’t wake up properly until two days later.”
Sienna blinked rapidly, her chest rising and falling as she tried to process it. All this time, she thought he had abandoned her, ignored her.
She looked at him in disbelief, her lips parted. “There was no news of his death…?”
Adrian shook his head. “He was a very private man. He didn’t want a public funeral. No press. No people. Just me. I did everything. Every ritual. Every prayer,” he said, his grip tightening on her shoulders as his voice turned hoarse. “I was unconscious. I didn’t even have the strength to call anyone.”
“Then… why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, her voice trembling, her eyes shining with a sudden ache. “You didn’t say a single thing.”
“I didn’t want to look weak in front of you,” Adrian said without hesitation. “I didn’t want anyone to see that side of me. Not even you.”
Sienna’s hands trembled against his chest. Her heart twisted. He wasn’t the type of man who opened up, he was always guarded, always in control. Seeing him this raw, this open… it hurt in ways she didn’t expect. Her body remained stiff, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Then why now?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
“Because I don’t want to hide from you anymore,” he said, his voice deep with honesty. “I want to tell you everything. I want you to know the real me, not the man who pushes you away, but the man who loves you.”
Her lips parted in surprise.
“I was a fool before,” he continued, his hand cupping her cheek. “I didn’t know I loved you back then. But when you left, everything shattered. My world broke. And now I know. I love you, Sienna. And showing you my weakness doesn’t make me weak… not in front of you.”
Sienna's fingers clenched around his shirt. Her heart ached, torn between anger and emotion. Adrian had never opened up to her like this. Never let her see beneath his perfect, impenetrable surface.
Was he just saying this to win her back? Or was this truly a changed man standing in front of her?
She couldn’t see through his thoughts, but she could see the truth written all over his face. His words weren’t rehearsed, they were spilling straight from his heart. And that made it even harder.
It hurt.
“I didn’t even know who was in your family,” she whispered. “You never told me anything. I waited for you to open up on your own. But now, it’s been two years. We’re so far apart.”
Adrian took her hands. “Sienna,” he whispered, voice almost pleading now. “Let’s forget the past. Let’s start over. Just this once… let me do it right. Let me make it up to you. Everything I ruined, I’ll fix it. Everything I missed, I’ll give you ten times more. I’ll make you forget every bit of pain I caused.”
He dipped his head lower, his lips barely hovering over hers. “Alright?” he whispered.
She didn’t say a word. Her body was completely wrapped in his arms, her back pressed to his solid chest. Adrian's powerful arms tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer. Then, he turned her around to His lips captured hers, deep and hungry. He kissed her like he couldn’t wait another second, like every second without her had driven him insane.
His mouth moved over hers, rough but controlled, stealing her breath and giving her something deeper in return. His tongue slid past her lips, claiming her with a slow, greedy sweep that made her knees weaken.
“Mhmmm…,” she melted into him, fingers clutching his shoulders, her body pressing up to his like she needed the heat of him to survive. He groaned into her mouth, the sound low and raw, and kissed her harder, his tongue stroking every corner of her mouth to lick away her essence and taste.
He angled her head and deepened it again, slower now but no less intense, like he was savoring every second, every sound she made. His hand slipped to her jaw, thumb brushing her cheek as he kept her close, refusing to let her pull away.
Then her phone rang. Once. Twice.
At first, she ignored it, lost in the overwhelming sensation of his mouth on hers. But it rang again, louder this time, persistent.
Gently, she pushed against his chest and looked down at her phone in her hand. Adrian’s eyes followed her gaze, darkening when he saw Theo’s name flashing on the screen.
His jaw clenched.
He roughly pushed the phone aside, brushing her hand away. His lips grazed the shell of her ear, then his tongue slowly traced down the curve of her neck, his deep voice whispering against her skin, coaxing a shiver from her.
“Don’t pick it up,” he murmured, voice rough with need. “Don’t let him interrupt us. Not now. Please, Sienna?”
Sienna’s skin tingled from the heat of his breath, her whole body burning, every nerve set on fire by his touch. But the phone kept ringing.
She broke away, reluctantly, her swollen lips still tingling, her breath short and shaky. “I have to pick it up,” she whispered, her voice dry and trembling. “He’s my husband. It could be something urgent.”
She gulped, and forced herself out of Adrian’s arms. She walked toward the corner, lifting the phone to her ear.
Adrian’s hands dropped to his sides, his chest tightening with fury and helplessness. He watched, frozen, as she walked away to answer the call. His chest ached, his fists tightening at his sides.
She called Theo her husband. Right in front of him. Like it meant nothing.
She didn’t even notice how Adrian’s expression changed, the sharp twitch in his jaw, the blaze in his eyes. If she had, she would’ve seen the storm brewing beneath his calm. He had to force himself not to storm over and rip the phone from her hands and smash it to pieces.
He didn’t want her to even think of Theo. But that bastard kept getting in between them.
Sienna lifted the phone to her ear.
“Theo?” she said quietly.
“Sienna, get home. Now,”Theo’s urgent voice came through the speaker immediately. “I don’t have time to explain. Just get home immediately.”
And then he hung up before she could ask anything.
She stared at the screen for a second, then lowered the phone slowly, tension lining her face. She turned to Adrian, her voice tight.
“I need to leave.”
Without waiting for his response, she turned toward the elevator.
Adrian followed her immediately. “Sienna, wait! Where are you going?” His voice was urgent, panicked. He grabbed her hand, trying to stop her.
“I can’t stay,” she said, still walking. “Theo needs me. You have to understand. I need to go now.”
“Sienna, please,” he said, matching her pace, desperate now. “Don’t go. I planned everything for tonight—for you . This was supposed to be our New Year.”
But she didn’t stop. She stepped into the elevator and turned around to face him. Her voice was soft.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I have to.”
The doors slid shut.
Adrian stood there, watching her disappear.
His face darkened. His chest heaved. The pain, the rage, it twisted inside him like a blade. His eyes burned, jaw locked, and the veins on his arms stood out as he clenched his fists. He looked like a man on the edge of losing it all.
Behind him, fireworks exploded in the sky, lighting up the night in celebration. But Adrian didn’t see any of it.
Not a single flicker.
He started walking, eyes deadly, and marched into the second elevator. He rode down in silence, then got into his car and followed hers, keeping a distance. His eyes locked on her taillights like a predator hunting what was his.
Sienna reached the Montgomery house and hurried inside. As she walked into the grand hall, her steps halted.
Right in the center, her parents were seated with Theo.
“Shit,” she whispered under her breath.