Midnight Texts
Lia left the literature mixer twenty minutes early.
Not because she wanted to.
Because she couldn't breathe properly inside that room anymore.
Not after Adrian smiled like that.
Not after realizing his calmness wasn't kindness—
it was restraint.
Rain had started again by the time she reached the front steps of the humanities building. Students rushed past beneath umbrellas while cold wind swept through campus trees.
Sienna jogged after her quickly.
"Lia!"
Lia slowed near the sidewalk but didn't turn around immediately.
"You okay?"
"No."
"That smile freaked me out too."
Lia exhaled shakily.
"I don't understand him."
Sienna wrapped her coat tighter around herself.
"I don't think you're supposed to."
They stood quietly beneath the rain for a moment.
The campus lights reflected gold against wet pavement while distant thunder rolled softly overhead.
Finally, Sienna glanced toward her carefully.
"You know he likes you, right?"
Lia laughed weakly.
"That's not normal liking."
"No," Sienna admitted. "It's more like... fixation."
The word settled heavily in Lia's chest.
Because deep down—
she already knew that.
And somehow that should've made her walk away.
Instead, it only made her more curious.
Which probably said terrible things about her survival instincts.
"You should be careful," Sienna added quietly this time.
Lia looked down at the silver ring twisting slowly against her finger.
"I know."
But even while saying it—
she remembered the way Adrian looked at her when she challenged him.
Not angry.
Interested.
Like resistance itself fascinated him.
That thought stayed with her the entire walk home.
—
By midnight, Lia still couldn't sleep.
Rain tapped softly against her apartment windows while yellow streetlights glowed faintly through thin curtains.
She sat cross-legged on her bed surrounded by unfinished readings, but her focus kept drifting.
Back to Adrian.
Back to that smile.
Back to the unsettling realization that he'd started expecting things from her.
She glanced toward her phone resting beside the pillow.
No new messages.
Good.
That should've relieved her.
Instead—
a strange disappointment settled quietly in her chest.
Lia frowned immediately at herself.
Absolutely not.
This was how people ended up in documentaries.
She reached for her literature book again.
Her phone vibrated instantly.
Lia froze.
Slowly, she picked it up.
Message
Adrian: You left early.
Her heartbeat betrayed her immediately.
Lia stared at the message.
Then at the time.
12:07 AM.
Normal people were asleep.
Adrian Monteverde apparently monitored her event attendance at midnight.
Fantastic.
She typed back before she could overthink it.
Message
Lia: It was getting late.
Adrian: You were uncomfortable.
Lia: You noticed that too?
Adrian: Yes.
Of course he did.
Lia leaned back against the headboard slowly.
The apartment suddenly felt too quiet.
Message
Lia: You scared Daniel tonight.
Adrian: Good.
Lia: Adrian.
Adrian: He looked at you too long.
Her breath caught slightly.
The honesty of it hit differently through text somehow.
Sharper.
More possessive.
Lia stared at the screen for several seconds before typing carefully.
Message
Lia: You can't get angry every time someone talks to me.
Adrian: I can.
Lia: That's unhealthy.
Adrian: Probably.
She pressed a hand over her face immediately.
How was she supposed to argue with someone who admitted everything so calmly?
Most people denied toxic behavior.
Adrian simply acknowledged it and continued anyway.
Another message appeared.
Message
Adrian: Did you eat dinner?
Lia laughed softly despite herself.
Unbelievable.
Message
Lia: You're obsessed with whether I eat.
Adrian: You forget to take care of yourself.
Lia: And you notice too much.
Adrian: Yes.
That dangerous warmth returned to her chest again.
Lia hated how often that happened now.
The conversation should've felt creepy.
Instead—
it felt strangely intimate.
Like Adrian paid attention to details nobody else cared enough to notice.
Her phone buzzed again before she could respond.
Message
Adrian: Your apartment lights are still on.
Lia's entire body went still.
Slowly—
very slowly—
she looked toward the window.
Rain slid down the glass in silver streaks.
And across the street—
beneath the broken lamp—
the black car waited again.
Her heartbeat stumbled hard enough to hurt.
He was there.
Right now.
Watching.
A mix of fear and disbelief twisted through her chest.
She stood quickly and walked toward the curtains.
The black car remained motionless in the rain.
Dark windows.
Engine running softly.
Lia typed back immediately.
Message
Lia: Adrian.
Adrian: Yes?
Lia: Why are you outside my apartment?
Adrian: You looked upset when you left tonight.
The simplicity of the answer somehow made it worse.
Like this behavior felt normal to him.
Lia stared at the message while rain echoed softly outside.
Message
Lia: This is insane.
Adrian: Are you frightened?
Lia: I should be.
Adrian: But you aren't.
Silence.
Because once again—
he was right.
Lia looked toward the car again.
She should've been terrified.
A powerful man sitting outside her building after midnight shouldn't feel safe.
And yet—
for reasons she couldn't explain—
the sight of that black car waiting in the rain made her feel less alone.
That realization unsettled her deeply.
Her phone vibrated again.
Message
Adrian: Sleep, Lia.
Lia: You're seriously staying out there?
Adrian: Until your lights turn off.
Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
Not romance.
Not comfort.
Something stranger.
Something dangerously close to feeling cared for.
Lia sat slowly on the edge of her bed while staring at the glowing screen.
No one had ever paid attention to her like this before.
No one had ever stayed.
And maybe that was exactly why Adrian Monteverde was becoming impossible to resist.
Because beneath all the obsession—
beneath the possessiveness and control and terrifying intensity—
he watched her like she mattered.