Chapter 20 – Adrik
I should’ve been mad when I discovered that she ran away. That single act should’ve told me she was hiding something—something that might land her in trouble with me. I should’ve thought she just wanted to save her skin after conniving with Richard against me.
But I wasn’t.
Instead, I was intrigued by her boldness and the fact that she actually pulled off something like that. In light of recent events, I’d doubled the security at the mansion. Yet she still managed to escape.
She was smart enough to have avoided the cameras. Given that not even one of the guards spotted her leaving, it was clear to me that she must’ve studied their movements.
Emika didn’t break out of the mansion by sheer luck. No. She took some time to plan her escape. She watched. She observed. She studied patterns. And when the time came, she ran for it. That was determination at its peak, combined with bad brilliance.
She must’ve been a skilled lock picker, considering that she didn’t have the key to the door down in the basement. The tunnel she escaped through was home to some deadly spiders and snakes.
The fact that she walked through that ‘valley of the shadow of death’ and emerged on the other side unscathed was a damn miracle. The last time a captive of mine tried to escape through there, he’d been bitten three times by three different snakes.
He didn’t make it halfway through the tunnel before he slumped and died.
Even though her escape had everything to do with preparation and perfect timing, passing through that tunnel unharmed was sheer luck. If she were a believer, I’d call her God’s favorite.
Perhaps, deep down, this was the real reason I couldn’t be mad at her. She survived what most people wouldn’t. Instead of anger, what I felt was a mix of fascination, pride, and relief.
The idea that she’d walked twenty-plus minutes through a dark tunnel full of deadly creatures and that nothing had hurt her in any way was something I’d yet to wrap my head around. She was the first person to ever do that.
What happened that night? Was an angel watching over her as she moved? Did the angel blind the creatures’ eyes, or what? How come they didn’t see her, and how come they didn’t hurt her?
Even if I hadn’t believed in fate before, this unexplainable event was enough to make me question some things. This wasn’t the first time she’d survived a deadly situation.
First, it was the guy my men intercepted before he could carry out his assignment: taking her life. Then it was the ambush that claimed a good number of lives and landed Sergei and a few others in a hospital. Now, this one.
Three times now, she’d survived situations that were meant to kill her. This wasn’t just luck. It was fate. It wasn’t her time to die, and something was doing everything in its power to keep her safe.
I remembered showing up in the nick of time on the day of the ambush. One of the armed assailants already had his gun aimed at her. If I’d arrived just a second later, she would’ve been gone.
Yet, somehow, I was right on time.
It was like the universe wanted to keep this woman alive at all costs. I was grateful. But the question lingered—why her? What made her different? Did she have some kind of special purpose?
Or was I just overthinking these things?
Anyway, thanks to my tech team, we were able to track her location on time. I found her easily, and she was back at the mansion now.
That night, I was sitting by the fireplace in the living room, cradling a glass of whiskey in my hand. I was reclined in my chair, absently watching the flames crackle and dance.
I was deep in thought when the sound of the unsteady footsteps approached. And as I turned my face, I found out it was her. Emika. She was clutching a half-empty bottle of merlot and could barely stand on her feet without swaying.
Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, loose strands of her dark auburn hair framing her delicate face. The scent of wine clung to her like a second skin as she stumbled further into the room.
She was drunk.
That was a first.
“Hey. You,” she called, her voice soft, her tone uneven. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a control freak?” Her words came out slow, rounded at the edges.
Silence.
She belched loudly. “I’m talking to you, Almighty Adrik Tarasov!” She took another gulp and shook her head as if to reset her brain.
“Put the bottle down, and we can talk,” I said calmly.
“See what I’m talking about? Control freak.” She laughed. “You’re asking me to put down my bottle, but you’re holding a glass of your own. Typical.”
Without another word, I set down my glass on the side stool.
“Oh, look at that, he’s leading by example!” A quiet chuckle escaped her lips.
“Can you please put down the bottle?” I asked politely.
“Why? Because you said so?”
“Because you’re drunk.”
“No, I’m not.” She hiccupped, the sound like a tiny drumbeat in the room. “I’m just intoxicated by alcohol.”
I rose to my feet and began walking toward her with quiet footsteps.
She made a funny face, hiding the bottle behind her back. “You don’t scare me, Adrik. You’re just a man. Not a god.”
I halted in front of her. “Gimme the bottle.”
She looked right into my eyes. “Only if you ask nicely.”
I locked my jaw and exhaled sharply. “Please, give me the bottle.”
Her lips twisted into a mischievous grin. “No.”
I frowned. “Don’t make me take it from you.”
Her scowl deepened. “Why are you so obsessed with control, hmm?” she snapped.
Silence.
“That’s not a rhetorical question; I need an answer,” she began, the words spilling out in a nervous rush. “Why do you always feel the need to control everyone and everything around you?”
I sensed the pain in her voice, and it broke something in me.
“You’re at war with my grandfather, a ruthless, selfish man who dragged me into this world of death and destruction!” she continued, her tone dripping with frustration. “I just wanna be safe from all this chaos—to get away from both of you!”
I didn’t say a word. I just listened.
She looked up at me. “The truth is, Adrik, ever since I married you, my life has sucked!”
That hurt me more than I cared to admit. It struck me like a bullet to the heart.
“It’s been one near-death experience after another, and I’m tired!” Her voice broke under the weight of all that emotion rushing through her blood. “I’m tired, okay!”
Her words shattered my stone-cold heart in ways I never imagined.
“I’m sorry I ran away, but I never would’ve broken our contract if my life weren’t in danger all the time!”
Silence.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her voice returned to normal. “I have a sick mother, Adrik.” She swallowed, her lips quivering in fear. “She’s in the hospital fighting for her life, and I should be by her side. But I’m not. You wanna guess why?”
I stared at her with an unwavering gaze, silently sharing pain.
She spread her arms wide. “Because I’m here.
With you.” She jabbed my chest with her finger.
“Playing wifely roles just so ‘my grandfather’ could secure an alliance with your family.” She let out a soft scoff.
“Isn’t it crazy how the two families my sacrifice was supposed to unite now want to kill each other? ”
I watched her raise the bottle and begin gulping uncontrollably.
“Emika….” I reached to take it from her.
She glared at me and swallowed hard. “Don’t touch me!” She lowered the bottle, tears trickling down her cheeks. “You’re all the same—all of you!”
That rejection stung like a fuckin’ bee.
“I mean, you said it yourself. There are no nice men in your world. Just liars, looters, murderers, and ridiculously attractive men who take advantage of women but cannot own up to their emotions.”
She was talking about me in the last statement.
Fair enough.
“I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but fuck it—you’re gonna do whatever you want anyway.” She staggered forward, wiping her face with her palms. “I could’ve sold you out, you know.”
My eyes narrowed. However, as usual, I didn’t interrupt.
“Yes,” she added. “I could’ve reported everything I know about your business to Richard because he asked me to be his spy.
” She paused, letting her words sink in.
“But guess what…I didn’t. Not because I couldn’t.
But because I chose not to.” She adjusted the collar of my shirt. “What does that tell you, Adrik?”
At this point, I couldn’t even be mad at her. She’d obviously picked a side in this war. Mine.
“Can you imagine the pain I felt after you accused me of treachery—twice?” She sniffed and staggered past me.
I hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. “When you’ve been betrayed and stabbed in the back—literally and figuratively—as I have, you start to see the world through a broken lens.” I turned around to face her.
She was calmer now, her expression softer than before.
“I didn’t mean to accuse you.” I held her gaze. “I just didn’t want to feel the pain of betrayal again. Not from you.”
She was silent for a while, those tears still streaming down her cheeks. “I’m not going to betray you, Adrik.”
I began approaching her. “I know that now.”
“Look, I get it,” she said, “you’ve been through unimaginable things that turned you into the monster that you are—”
“Ouch,” I teased, a small grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.
She mirrored my gesture subconsciously but continued regardless. “…but we’re not all the same, you know. I know you think good people don’t exist, but you’re wrong. We do.” She paused before adding almost immediately, “Not that I’m claiming to be a good person or something like that.”
“You are a good woman, Emika.” I grabbed her by the waist, my hands possessive around her hips.
She melted at my touch, her breathing steadying as I wiped her tears with my thumb.
“I’m sorry about your mother,” I whispered to her. “I didn’t know.”
She looked up at my face. “I thought you didn’t do apologies.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “There are exceptions.”
The smile on her lips was genuine, and it thawed something frozen inside me. She leaned against my chest, her heart and mine beating as one.
In the silence of this fragile moment, I felt like a human being again. Soft. Vulnerable. Emotional.
Even if I hadn’t been sure before, I was now. Emika was the one for me. And I wasn’t going to mess this up.