Something was different about Adrian.
Liora noticed it first in class. He wasn't watching her with that same cold, calculating gaze anymore. It was something else now — sharper, quieter, almost… aware.
When someone brushed past her too roughly in the hallway, he was the first to glare.When she dropped her pen, his hand reached it before hers.When one of his friends made a joke that went too far, Adrian's voice cut through the laughter — low, warning.
It confused her.It scared her.And worse — it made her heartbeat quicken for all the wrong reasons.
"Are you seriously defending me now?" she hissed under her breath one afternoon as they left class.
Adrian didn't even look at her. "I'm not defending you."
"Then what was that?"
He adjusted his bag on his shoulder, tone clipped. "He was out of line."
"Right," she said dryly. "And that has nothing to do with me."
He stopped, finally meeting her eyes.For a second, the world went quiet — just the two of them in the busy hallway.
"You think I don't notice things, Liora?" he asked softly.
"What things?"
"The way people talk. The way they look at you." His voice dropped even lower. "You shouldn't have to deal with that."
Her breath caught."Since when do you care?"
He didn't answer. He just looked at her like he wasn't sure himself.
Before she could say anything else, a familiar voice broke through the tension.
"Liora!" Ethan jogged up, flashing a grin that was pure warmth — the kind she could actually breathe around. "I've been looking for you. You left your notes in the lab yesterday."
"Oh— thanks," she said quickly, smiling back.
Adrian's jaw tightened. His hand slid into his pocket, but his posture went rigid.
Ethan glanced at him, expression easy but curious. "Hey, Knight."
"Ethan."
"Still terrorizing people or taking the day off?"
Adrian smirked faintly. "Depends who's asking."
"Me," Ethan said, stepping a little closer to Liora.
It wasn't a threat — but it didn't need to be. The message was clear.
Liora sighed, rolling her eyes. "Seriously? You two done marking territory or should I come back later?"
Ethan laughed, but Adrian didn't. He just watched her, eyes unreadable.
She turned to Ethan. "I'll see you at study group, okay?"
"Yeah," Ethan said, giving her a quick smile before walking off — though not without one last glance at Adrian.
When he was gone, she faced Adrian again. "Whatever that was, don't ever do it again."
"What?"
"Staring him down like that. Acting like I need protection."
He took a slow step forward, his voice low. "Maybe you do."
Her breath caught. "From who? You?"
That hit harder than she meant it to.
Adrian's expression faltered — just for a second.Then the mask came back. "Maybe."
She shook her head, backing away. "You're impossible."
"And yet you're still talking to me," he murmured.
She froze.He didn't mean it as a challenge — or maybe he did — but the truth behind it stung. Because she was still talking to him. Still reacting. Still feeling something she shouldn't.
She forced her voice steady. "You can't keep doing this, Adrian."
"Doing what?"
"Switching between ruining me and saving me."
His gaze softened — something breaking through the cold again. "Maybe I don't know how to stop."
That silence between them… it wasn't just heavy now. It was dangerous.
Because for the first time, Liora realized something she'd been trying not to admit —Adrian Knight wasn't just her enemy anymore.He was the storm she couldn't look away from.
And somewhere in the distance, Ethan had turned back — watching the two of them from afar, expression darkening with something that looked a lot like jealousy.