Unspoken Rules
After the apartment incident, Lia stopped pretending Adrian Monteverde was normal.
That phase of denial had officially died.
Quietly.
Violently.
Probably somewhere between the repaired sink and the illegal apartment entry.
And yet—
instead of pulling away—
their lives became even more tangled.
Which honestly said deeply concerning things about her decision-making skills.
—
Three days later, Lia walked into Blackthorne University carrying coffee and immediately knew something was wrong.
Students were staring again.
More than usual.
Whispers followed her across the lobby.
Sienna appeared beside her from nowhere looking horrified.
"Oh no."
Lia sighed instantly. "What happened now?"
Sienna shoved her phone toward her dramatically.
A photo filled the screen.
Lia nearly dropped her coffee.
It was a picture of her apartment building.
Specifically—
Adrian's black car parked outside at 1:14 AM.
The caption underneath read:
MONTEVERDE REALLY WAITING OUTSIDE HER APARTMENT LIKE A NETFLIX THRILLER???
Thousands of comments flooded below.
This is either true love or criminal behavior.
Why is that weirdly attractive.
Girl RUN.
Nah if a billionaire watched my apartment I'd fold instantly.
Lia pressed a hand over her face slowly.
"I'm moving countries."
Sienna looked deeply invested.
"The comments are divided between romance readers and people concerned for your safety."
"That's comforting."
"You know what's worse?" Sienna lowered her voice dramatically. "People are starting to think you're secretly dating."
Lia froze slightly.
Dating.
The word felt strange.
Too normal for whatever this was.
Because normal dating didn't involve:
apartment surveillance
repaired locks
possessive text messages
terrifying jealousy
This felt like something darker.
More consuming.
Before Lia could spiral further, her phone buzzed softly.
She already knew who it was.
Message
Adrian: Ignore the photos.
Lia blinked.
Of course he'd already seen them.
Message
Lia: Everyone thinks you're insane.
Adrian: They're late to that conclusion.
Lia: Adrian.
Adrian: Are you embarrassed?
She hesitated.
Because weirdly—
no.
Overwhelmed?
Absolutely.
Confused?
Constantly.
But embarrassed?
Not exactly.
And maybe Adrian knew that already too.
Message
Lia: I don't know what I am.
Adrian: You're overthinking.
Lia: Says the man illegally entering apartments.
Adrian: Your lock works now.
Lia almost smiled.
Almost.
Sienna noticed immediately.
"Oh my god, you're smiling at your stalker."
"He's not a stalker."
Sienna stared at her.
Then slowly blinked.
"...Lia."
She sighed heavily.
"Okay maybe a little."
"A LITTLE?"
Before the conversation could continue, several girls walked past them near the lobby stairs.
One glanced openly toward Lia.
"Must be nice having a billionaire obsessed with you."
Another laughed quietly.
"At least she won't have to worry about tuition anymore."
Lia's stomach tightened immediately.
The warmth from earlier disappeared.
Sienna noticed too.
"Ignore them."
But Lia hated comments like that.
Hated the implication that people only noticed her because of Adrian.
Like she stopped existing independently the second he looked at her.
Her mood remained unsettled the entire morning.
Even literature class felt exhausting.
Every whisper sounded louder now.
Every glance sharper.
And unfortunately—
Adrian noticed that immediately.
He arrived halfway through the lecture wearing a dark charcoal coat still damp from rain outside.
The second he entered the classroom—
his eyes found Lia.
Then narrowed slightly.
Noticing.
Analyzing.
Professor Hale greeted him nervously before continuing the lecture.
Adrian sat beside Lia like always.
Too close.
Too naturally.
And after several minutes of silence, he spoke quietly enough that only she could hear.
"You're upset."
Lia kept her eyes on her notebook.
"No, I'm tired."
"You tap your pen differently when angry."
Her grip tightened instantly.
"There should genuinely be laws against how much you observe people."
"Only you."
The answer came immediately.
Softly.
Honestly.
Lia's pulse stumbled annoyingly hard.
She hated how often that happened now.
Adrian's attention drifted briefly toward the girls whispering across the room.
Then back toward her.
"They upset you."
"It doesn't matter."
"It does to me."
The quiet certainty in his voice settled heavily beneath her ribs.
Because Adrian always sounded serious.
Always.
Even when saying things normal people would dismiss casually.
Lia lowered her voice carefully.
"You can't fix every problem I have."
A pause.
Then:
"I can try."
Something in her chest tightened painfully at that.
Because nobody had ever said that to her before.
Not sincerely.
Not like they meant it.
Before she could respond, Professor Hale called for a short break.
Students immediately stood and flooded toward the hallway.
Lia stayed seated.
Mostly because she suddenly felt emotionally exhausted.
Adrian remained beside her quietly.
The classroom emptied slowly until only a few students remained scattered near the back.
Then Adrian spoke again.
"You skipped dinner yesterday."
Lia stared straight ahead.
"Adrian."
"You drank tea instead."
"How do you know that?"
"I was outside your building."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Lia turned slowly toward him.
"You cannot keep saying horrifying things so casually."
His expression remained calm.
"You weren't answering messages."
"So your solution was apartment surveillance again?"
"You looked upset lately."
The answer frustrated her instantly.
Because beneath all the insanity—
there was always concern.
Real concern.
And that made him harder to hate.
Lia rubbed at her forehead tiredly.
"You know what the problem is?"
Adrian watched her carefully.
"You're slowly acting like I belong to you."
The atmosphere between them shifted immediately.
Heavy.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Adrian's eyes held hers steadily for several long seconds.
Then finally—
quietly—
he said:
"You noticed."
Her heartbeat stopped completely.
Not denial.
Not apology.
Recognition.
Like whatever invisible line existed between obsession and possession—
Adrian had already crossed it a long time ago.