The gala hadn't ended, but Elena's night already felt like a fever dream.
Adrian's words still rang in her ears: "You belong here more than they ever will."
How could he say that? How could a man like him—powerful, feared, untouchable—look at a maid like her as if she had any place in his world?
And yet, every glance, every subtle brush of his hand on her back, made it impossible to deny. Adrian King was not just protecting her. He was staking a claim.
The thought both terrified and thrilled her.
---
They hadn't made it ten steps further into the ballroom before the first wave of reporters arrived.
"Elena, look this way!"
"Mr. King, who is she? Is she your new fiancée?"
"Are the rumors true—that you've dismissed Victoria Hale for her?"
Flashes exploded. Voices rose, overlapping in a frenzy. Adrian's security tried to hold them back, but the questions kept flying, sharper by the second.
Elena froze under the assault of cameras. She wanted to vanish into the floor.
Then she heard it.
"Adrian! Is she just a fling?"
The words struck like a slap. Elena's breath hitched. Dozens of eyes were on her—judging, mocking, tearing her apart without mercy.
Her hands trembled. Her lips parted to deny it. To tell them she was nobody, nothing, just a maid.
But Adrian moved before she could speak.
In one swift, shocking motion, he pulled her against him.
And kissed her.
---
The world stopped.
Elena's eyes widened, her heart slamming against her ribs. His lips pressed firmly against hers, steady, commanding, as if daring anyone to question it.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Camera flashes went wild, capturing the scandal of the century.
Elena's knees nearly gave out. She gripped his jacket to keep from collapsing, her mind spinning. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening.
And yet—his lips were warm. Real. Too real.
Her body betrayed her, leaning into the kiss despite every warning screaming in her mind.
For one breathtaking moment, the world ceased to exist.
---
When Adrian finally pulled back, his expression was unreadable. His arm remained around her waist, holding her close, anchoring her in the chaos.
The reporters erupted.
"So it's true!"
"Mr. King, is she your girlfriend?"
"When's the wedding?"
Elena's face burned. She tried to step back, but Adrian's grip only tightened.
He met the cameras head-on, his voice like steel.
"Elena Carter is not a fling," he said, each word deliberate. "She is the woman I choose to stand by me."
The ballroom exploded.
Elena's breath caught. The woman he chooses?
Her pulse roared in her ears. This had gone too far.
---
Minutes later, Adrian ushered her into a quiet corner of the hotel, away from prying eyes. The noise of the gala faded behind them, but Elena's head still spun.
She whirled on him, trembling. "What was that?!"
Adrian's gaze was calm, as if kissing her in front of half the city's elite was the most natural thing in the world.
"A solution," he said simply.
"A solution?" Her voice cracked. "You call that a solution? You—you kissed me in front of everyone!"
He stepped closer, towering over her. "If I hadn't, the rumors would have destroyed you. They would have branded you a toy. A disposable plaything."
Her throat tightened. "And now they'll brand me your mistress."
His jaw flexed. "Better a mistress in their eyes than prey."
Elena stared at him, breathless. "Do you even hear yourself? You don't get to decide what I can endure. You don't get to use me like that!"
His eyes darkened, something raw flashing in them. "I wasn't using you."
"Then what was it, Adrian?" she demanded, voice trembling.
Silence stretched between them. Heavy. Charged.
Finally, his answer came low, almost dangerous.
"It was the only way I knew to keep you safe."
---
Elena's chest ached. She wanted to scream, to run, to shake off the weight of what had just happened.
But part of her couldn't forget the way his lips had felt against hers.
That terrified her more than anything.
She pressed a shaking hand to her mouth. "I can't do this. I'm just your maid. This… whatever this is… it's madness."
Adrian's hand caught her wrist, gently but firmly lowering it. His eyes burned into hers.
"You're not just anything, Elena. And I don't care what the world thinks."
Her breath hitched.
He leaned closer, his voice a low promise. "From tonight on, they'll know exactly who you are."
Elena's heart thundered so loudly she thought it might shatter.
And for the first time, she feared that Adrian King—the man who held empires in his hand—had just rewritten the course of her life with one kiss.
---
End of Chapter Seven.
To be continued...
[Write in the comment if you want them to be together]