y drown in its own drama. Inside, everything was quiet-too quiet for a space that once echoed with laughter and soft jazz. The scent of fresh lilies had faded

e storm in her life. And Rose, soft but unyielding, was a flame that refus

, her umbrella had flipped inside out, and her phone was dead. Adrien's matte black car had pulled up with the grace of a

ere sh

ey'll offer you answers?" Adrien's voi

eves rolled up, the faintest hint of stubble tracing his sharp jawline. H

led," she replied, her tone sharp enough to draw blo

g into the room. "Yo

rm, fed me, clothed me. Wh

you looked like you hadn't

e it was-the honesty that

e coins. There was a softness in his gaze when he thought she wasn't looking. A gentleness in the way he handed her te

ore, but never love. The kind that didn't come with exp

drien walked her to her roo

he said softly. "Something I

"Don't romanticiz

er. "I'm not. I

a brow. "

"I ruin g

d. "Then I must no

at, she clo

face in the flicker of the fireplace. Rose had seeped into his life like water into dry soil-quiet, persistent, essential.

. He didn't flaunt his wealth. He didn't seek praise. He was deeply lonely. An

ted debates over books and politics, chess games by the fir

. Every time their fingers almost brushed over the sugar bowl or th

ing again, this time gentler. He stood there, drenched, as

id, stepping out beside him,

need one,

. "Why do you car

asting shadows on his face. "Becaus

d out and t

fro

o pretend with me

first time he l

ter. Only their breath, mingling in the cold. Two souls soa

of something neither