10. Bella #3
On the second day, I wake to find Adrian already up, standing by the windows and looking out at the lake.
The morning sun catches his profile, highlighting the strong line of his jaw, the breadth of his shoulders.
He’s wearing just pajama pants, his chest bare, and I take a moment to just appreciate him.
This man saved my life. Multiple times. This man chose me, fought for me, protected me. This man loves me.
“Enjoying the view?” Adrian says without turning around, but I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Can you blame me?” I reply, getting out of bed and walking over to him. I wrap my arms around his waist from behind, pressing my cheek against his back. “You’re very nice to look at.”
Adrian chuckles, turning in my arms so he can face me. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“Good morning,” I say, tilting my face up for a kiss.
Adrian obliges, his lips soft and warm against mine. The kiss is gentle, unhurried, and I feel some of the tension I’ve been carrying start to melt away.
“How are you feeling?” Adrian asks when we finally break apart.
“Better,” I admit. “Being here, away from everything… it helps.”
“Good,” Adrian says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “That’s what I was hoping for.”
We spend the morning making breakfast together - eggs and toast and fresh fruit. It’s domestic and simple and perfect. As we eat, Adrian tells me about his plans for the company once the Marcus situation is resolved.
“I want to expand into sustainable energy,” he says. “I’ve been researching it for years, but I never had the time or focus to really pursue it. Now, with Marcus out of the picture, I can finally move forward.”
“That sounds amazing,” I say, genuinely excited for him. “You’d be incredible at that.”
“I was hoping you’d help me,” Adrian says, his eyes meeting mine. “You have a brilliant mind for business strategy, Bella. I’d love to have you as a partner in this venture.”
I feel a warmth spread through my chest. “A partner?”
“In every sense of the word,” Adrian says, reaching across the table to take my hand. “In business, in life, in everything. I want to build a future with you, Bella. A real future.”
I squeeze his hand, feeling tears prick my eyes. “I want that too.”
After breakfast, we go for a walk around the lake. The air is crisp and clean, the only sounds the rustling of leaves and the occasional bird call. It’s peaceful in a way I haven’t experienced in months.
“Can I ask you something?” I say as we walk hand in hand along the shore.
“Anything,” Adrian replies.
“That day at the wedding,” I begin, and I feel Adrian’s hand tighten slightly around mine. “You - you were there looking for me. You said you couldn’t tell me the reason before but how about now? Is that right? You were there for me?”
Adrian is quiet for a long moment, and I wonder if he’s going to answer. Then he stops walking and turns to face me, his expression serious.
“I need to tell you something,” he says. “Something I should have told you a long time ago.”
My heart starts to race. “Okay.”
Adrian takes a deep breath. “The day I found you running from your wedding… it wasn’t a coincidence. I was there because I knew what Marcus was planning. I knew he was going to leave you at the altar.”
I feel like the ground has shifted beneath my feet. I knew from the files I read that he was ripped off and that’s why Adrian was at the hotel, but I never thought he would confess to it like this. “I know, Adrian,” I say with a sigh covering his hands with both of my own.
Adrian blows out a breath like he is relieved to have finally gotten this off his chest.
“I have… sources,” Adrian says carefully.
“People who keep me informed about my competitors’ activities.
One of them told me about Marcus’s affair with your sister.
They told me he was planning to humiliate you publicly by abandoning you at the wedding, probably to distance himself from you in case you took the fall for his crimes. ”
I pull my hand away from his, feeling a sudden surge of anger and confusion. “So then you knew? You knew what was going to happen and you didn’t warn me?”
“I tried,” Adrian says, his voice pained. “Do you remember that business conference, six months before your wedding? When I introduced myself to you?”
I do remember. It was the first time I’d met Adrian Sterling in person, though I’d heard Marcus complain about him countless times. Adrian had been charming, attentive, and had made several comments about Marcus that I’d dismissed as professional rivalry.
“I tried to warn you that night,” Adrian continues. “I told you that Marcus wasn’t who you thought he was. I told you to be careful. But you were so in love with him, so convinced that he was your future, that you didn’t hear me.”
I remember that conversation now, remember how I’d laughed off Adrian’s concerns, how I’d thought he was just trying to cause trouble between me and Marcus.
“So you just… let it happen?” I ask, my voice shaking. It’s what I’ve been wondering ever since I found out that Adrian knew. “You let me walk down that aisle knowing what was waiting for me?”
“No,” Adrian says firmly. “I was there to stop it. I was going to pull you aside before the ceremony started, tell you everything I knew, give you the choice to walk away with your dignity intact. But I was late. Traffic was terrible, and by the time I got there, you were already walking down the aisle.”
I feel tears streaming down my face. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because I was ashamed,” Adrian admits, his own eyes glistening.
“I failed you, Bella. I should have tried harder to warn you. I should have found a way to reach you before the wedding. Instead, I had to watch you go through that humiliation, that pain. And then when I found you running in the street, bleeding and crying… I knew I had to make it right. I had to give you a way to fight back, to reclaim your power.”
“So the job offer…” I trail off.
“Was real,” Adrian says quickly. “I genuinely needed someone with your skills and intelligence. But yes, I also wanted to give you the tools to take down Marcus. I wanted to help you get justice. And somewhere along the way…” He pauses, reaching up to wipe a tear from my cheek.
“Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you.”
I don’t know what to say. Part of me is angry that he didn’t tell me this sooner. Part of me is grateful that he was there at all. And part of me is overwhelmed by the realization that Adrian has been protecting me, fighting for me, long before I even knew I needed it.
“Say something,” Adrian pleads. “Please, Bella. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking,” I say slowly, “that you should have told me this months ago.”
Adrian nods, his expression pained. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“But I’m also thinking,” I continue, “that I understand why you didn’t. You were trying to protect me. You were trying to give me the space to heal and grow without the weight of knowing that you’d been watching over me all along.”
“I never wanted to manipulate you,” Adrian says. “I never wanted you to feel like you owed me anything. I wanted you to choose me because you wanted to, not because you felt obligated.”
I step closer to him, placing my hands on his chest. “Adrian, I chose you a long time ago. Not because I felt obligated, but because you’re the best man I’ve ever known. You’re kind and strong and protective and brilliant. You make me feel safe and cherished and loved. That’s why I chose you.”
Adrian pulls me into his arms, holding me tight. “I love you so much, Bella. More than I ever thought possible.”
“I love you too,” I whisper against his chest. “Thank you for being there that day. Thank you for saving me.”
“You saved yourself,” Adrian says, pulling back to look at me. “I just gave you the tools. You did the rest.”
We stand there for a long moment, holding each other, the lake stretching out before us. And for the first time in months, I feel truly at peace.
That night, after dinner, we sit by the fire with glasses of wine. The flames cast dancing shadows across the room, and I’m curled up against Adrian’s side, his arm around my shoulders.
“Tell me about the first time you saw me,” I say softly. “Not at the gala. Before that.”
Adrian smiles, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my arm. “It was at a business conference about six months before your wedding. You were there with Marcus, across the room in a red dress, laughing at something, and I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
“Really?” I ask, surprised. I barely remember that conference.
“Really,” Adrian confirms. “You were so confident, so articulate. You commanded the room in a way that most people never achieve. And when you smiled… God, Bella, when you smiled, it was like the sun coming out.”
I feel my cheeks heat. “I had no idea you were even there.”
“I made sure you didn’t,” Adrian says. “I knew you were with Marcus, and I didn’t want to cause problems. But I couldn’t stop thinking about you.
I started paying more attention to Marcus’s business dealings, partly because he was a competitor, but partly because I wanted to know more about the woman who’d captured my attention so completely. ”
“That’s when you discovered what he was doing,” I realize.
Adrian nods. “The more I dug, the more I found. The bribery, the corruption, the witness tampering. And then I found out about the affair with your sister. I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t just stand by and watch him destroy you.”
“So you tried to warn me at the conference,” I say.
“I did,” Adrian confirms. “But you were so loyal to him, so convinced that he loved you. I realized that you weren’t going to believe me without proof.
So I started gathering evidence, building a case.
I was planning to present it to you privately, give you the choice of what to do with the information.
But then I heard about the wedding, and I knew I was running out of time. ”