The gala was the kind of event Elena Carter usually avoided. Too many expensive dresses, too many fake smiles, too many people pretending to care about charity while they whispered about one another’s scandals. But Daniel had asked her to come—his company had sponsored one of the tables—and she didn’t have the heart to say no.

She smoothed her green satin dress for what felt like the hundredth time and tried to relax. The music was soft, the lighting golden, and servers floated around with trays of champagne. Daniel was busy networking, shaking hands with older men in tailored suits, so Elena wandered toward the balcony doors to escape the crowd for a moment.

From above, in the shadowed balcony overlooking the ballroom, Adrian Moretti watched her.

He wasn’t supposed to be paying attention to anything but the conversation at his table—one of his men was quietly updating him on a dispute with a rival family—but his focus had shifted the moment he’d seen her. She didn’t shine like the others in the room, but that was exactly why she stood out. She didn’t belong here. Her smile was real, uncalculated. She didn’t carry herself like a woman who wanted something from this crowd. And in his world, that kind of purity was rare.

He studied her quietly. The delicate line of her neck. The way her hair caught the light when she moved. He watched her sip her champagne, her eyes wandering, a small crease forming between her brows as if she were thinking about how to slip away without offending anyone.

By the time the first hour passed, Adrian already knew her name. Elena Carter. Twenty-four. Freelance graphic designer. Lives in a modest apartment in the city’s west side. The moment he heard about Daniel Hayes, the boyfriend, his jaw tightened. He hated that word.

Boyfriend meant she was already someone else’s. But to Adrian, possession wasn’t defined by titles. It was decided the moment he wanted something. And he wanted her.

When Elena stepped outside to the terrace for fresh air, the night air cool against her skin, Adrian followed at a distance. Not close enough to alarm her—he wasn’t reckless—but close enough to see the way she tilted her head back slightly, closing her eyes as if letting the night take away the weight of the crowded room.

Her phone buzzed in her hand. She smiled softly at the screen, thumbs moving as she typed a reply. Adrian didn’t need to guess who it was. Daniel.

That smile was something he wanted for himself.

He could be patient. He’d built empires waiting for the right moment to strike. But patience didn’t mean mercy, and it didn’t mean letting go.

When she went back inside, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, she didn’t notice the way his gaze followed her. She didn’t feel the shift in her own life—the way a silent thread had been tied to her, pulling her toward a man she didn’t even know existed.

Adrian watched until the crowd swallowed her. And in that moment, one thought settled in his mind like a vow:

She would be his.

---

Elena didn’t think much about the gala after it ended. Daniel had been in high spirits on the ride home, talking about potential clients and business opportunities, and she’d been content to listen, her head resting against the cool glass of the car window. By the next morning, the whole event felt like a box she could close and put away in her mind.

For Adrian, it was just the beginning.

He had people for everything—people who could find out what coffee shop she went to on weekday mornings, the route she took to the grocery store, even the brand of cat food she bought for the gray tabby that lived in her apartment. It wasn’t difficult. Ordinary lives were the easiest to map out. And Elena’s was ordinary… for now.

The first time he saw her after the gala, she was sitting by the window of a small café downtown, sketchbook open beside her laptop. It was a Tuesday morning, and a thin rain was streaking the glass. She was wearing an oversized sweater, her hair in a loose bun, and she was completely absorbed in her work.

He sat in his black car across the street, watching. Not for long—just enough to memorize the shape of her world.

The next time, he was inside the same café, sitting in the far corner with a paper he didn’t read. She passed him on the way to the counter without a flicker of recognition. He listened to the soft lilt of her voice when she ordered her drink, the faint “thank you” she gave the barista, the way she cradled her cup with both hands for warmth.

She didn’t notice the man in the corner. Most people didn’t notice Adrian until he wanted them to.

A week later, he was there again, though this time he made sure she did see him. He didn’t speak to her—not yet. But their eyes met for half a second, and he saw the faint furrow of her brow, the little flash of curiosity. It was enough.

That night, Daniel walked her home after dinner, unaware that they were being followed at a careful distance. Adrian stayed far enough behind that neither of them turned. His men had already mapped the street, noted the security cameras, the timing of the streetlights. If Adrian wanted to, he could take her from here in less than a minute.

But he wasn’t here to take her. Not yet.

He was here to make sure nothing happened to her before she was his.

When they reached her apartment building, Daniel kissed her goodbye at the door. Adrian’s eyes lingered on the way she smiled up at him. Jealousy was a cold thing in his chest, but it was steady, controlled.

He could wait. He’d waited for more dangerous things in his life than this.

By the time Elena went inside, locking the door behind her, Adrian was already turning away, the shadow of a smile on his lips.

She still had no idea she’d been living with him in her world for days now.

---

It was one of those evenings that felt wrong before anything even happened. The air was heavy, the streetlights dimmer than usual, the city quieter in a way that made Elena quicken her pace. She had stayed late at the design studio, finishing a project, and Daniel hadn’t been able to pick her up—some emergency meeting that ran over.

Her apartment wasn’t far, just a ten-minute walk, but halfway there she realized she wasn’t alone.

At first, it was the soft echo of footsteps behind her, almost in sync with hers. She told herself it was just someone heading in the same direction. But when she crossed the street, so did they.

A flicker of unease moved through her.

Elena tightened her grip on her bag, pulling her coat tighter. The man behind her closed the distance slightly, his voice slurring when he called out, “Hey, beautiful… where you headed?”

She didn’t answer. She kept walking.

“Don’t be rude, sweetheart,” he called again, his tone sharpening.

Her pulse quickened. She glanced around—empty street, no open shops this late. She reached for her phone, but before she could pull it out, his footsteps sped up.

And then, out of nowhere, a tall, dark figure stepped from the mouth of an alley just ahead.

The stranger’s presence was immediate, commanding. His eyes locked on hers, steady, intense. “You alright?” he asked, his voice deep and calm, but there was an edge beneath it—a warning, though not to her.

She didn’t recognize him. But the man following her suddenly stopped.

Adrian turned his head slowly toward the would-be harasser, his expression unreadable. “Walk away,” he said. Not loud. Not aggressive. Just certain.

The other man muttered something under his breath, but after one look at Adrian, he backed away, disappearing down the street.

Elena exhaled, realizing she’d been holding her breath. “Thank you,” she said, her voice a little shaky.

Adrian’s eyes softened, just slightly. “You shouldn’t walk alone at night.”

“I usually don’t,” she admitted. “Just… bad timing today.”

He studied her for a moment longer, as if memorizing the way the streetlight touched her face. “Let me walk you home.”

She hesitated—every instinct telling her she didn’t know this man—but something about his steady gaze felt safer than being alone right now. She nodded.

They walked in silence. She didn’t see the way his hand flexed occasionally at his side, as if resisting the urge to touch her. She didn’t see the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes when they reached her building, and she thanked him one last time.

“Goodnight, Elena,” he said.

She froze. “I… didn’t tell you my name.”

He only gave the faintest smile before stepping back into the shadows. “Goodnight,” he repeated, and then he was gone.

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