Lila barely slept that night. Every shadow in her apartment seemed sharper, heavier, as if it were aware of her thoughts. The memory of Adrian's gaze, dark and commanding, haunted her like a shadow she could not escape. She shook her head and tried to focus on work, but every keystroke felt shallow, her concentration fractured by the phantom pull she had felt since the café encounter.
By late morning, she could no longer ignore the nagging thought: she needed to see him again. She didn't know why, and part of her screamed that it was foolish. The other part, stubborn and reckless, urged her forward. Curiosity, and something she did not yet dare name, had rooted her firmly in his orbit.
The upscale restaurant beckoned like a dark promise. She entered cautiously, eyes scanning the dimly lit interior. Her usual calm demeanor faltered when she spotted him—Adrian—leaning against the entrance, eyes scanning the room until they landed on her. That same smirk curved his lips, faint but unmistakable, as if he had known she would come.
"You again," he said, voice low, dangerous, and smooth. "Curiosity is a dangerous habit."
"I… wanted answers," she replied evenly, masking the tremor in her voice. "I need to understand what's happening."
He stepped closer, the movement fluid, almost predatory. "Some things," he murmured, "cannot be understood without risk."
Before she could respond, the air shifted. The temperature dropped suddenly, and a flicker of darkness danced along the edges of her vision. Lila's heart raced as she noticed the candle nearest their table sputtering violently. The glass in her hand rattled, unbroken but tense, as if charged by a silent energy.
Adrian's gaze never left her. "Do you feel it?" he asked softly. "The weight? The pull?"
Her pulse thundered. "Yes," she admitted, her voice trembling. "But what… what is it?"
He leaned closer, just enough for the faint scent of him to envelop her—dangerous, intoxicating, magnetic. "It's the curse," he said, voice low. "It reacts. To proximity. To attention. To… desire."
Lila blinked, trying to process his words. "Desire? You mean… me?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, the candlelight flickered again, casting shadows across his sharp features. For a fleeting moment, the shadows seemed to twist and stretch unnaturally, brushing at her edges, teasing her senses. She shivered involuntarily.
"Yes," he said finally, his tone almost a whisper. "You've drawn it out. And now…" His eyes darkened. "…now it tests you."
Before she could ask what he meant, a sudden crash echoed from the table behind them. A wine bottle toppled, shattering into shards across the floor, and the glass seemed to vibrate with a force that could not be natural. Lila jumped back instinctively, clutching her arms around herself.
Adrian's hand shot out, stopping her from moving further. Cold, firm, and unyielding. "Stay," he commanded, his voice smooth but edged with authority. "Do not run from it."
"I—I can't!" she stammered. "What's happening? Why is this… this happening to me?"
He exhaled slowly, his eyes locking with hers. "Because proximity awakens it. The curse is… alive, in a way most cannot comprehend. And it senses what it fears—and what it desires."
Her chest tightened. Fear mixed with fascination, each thumping heartbeat like a drum in her chest. "You mean… it wants me?"
A shadow passed over his features, fleeting but unmistakable. "It doesn't want. It reacts. It challenges. And sometimes…" His voice dropped lower, almost intimate. "…sometimes, it finds its mark."
Lila's mind spun. "Mark? Me?"
He nodded once, gravely. "If you are not careful, it will not only test you but consume you."
The candle nearest to them flickered violently again, almost blowing out entirely, and a faint whisper of shadow slid across the floor toward her. Lila gasped, stepping back instinctively, but Adrian's hands caught her, steadying her without touching more than necessary. His presence was anchoring, magnetic, and terrifying all at once.
"You are stronger than most," he said softly, almost kindly, though the intensity in his gaze never wavered. "But strength alone will not shield you. You must understand. And survive. Do you understand?"
"I… I think so," she whispered, voice trembling. She had no idea if she truly understood, but she nodded anyway.
He released her hands slowly, letting a fraction of space remain between them, yet the pull lingered, tangible, almost suffocating. "Good," he murmured, voice dropping into a tone that brushed her awareness like silk over steel. "Because this… is only the beginning."
The restaurant seemed to return to normal—the flickering stopped, the air warmed, the shadows retreated—but the sense of unease lingered. Lila's pulse refused to slow. Her hands trembled slightly as she clutched her glass, realizing that whatever this curse was, it had touched her now. And she was already entangled in something far bigger than herself—or Adrian.
She met his eyes again, searching, questioning. "Why me? Why now?"
His gaze softened fractionally, a hint of vulnerability slipping through the shadows. "Because," he said softly, "some people are chosen, not by fate, but by circumstance. And some… are irresistible to what they cannot escape."
Lila felt her stomach twist, a mix of fear, exhilaration, and a dangerous pull she could neither resist nor deny. Her heart told her to run, her mind told her to flee, yet her body betrayed her—rooted to the spot, craving more.
And Adrian, standing there like a storm barely contained, seemed to sense it. A faint smirk curved his lips, teasing and impossible to read. "Do not be afraid," he said, almost a whisper. "Fear is a part of this. Desire… is another."
As he turned and walked toward the shadows of the restaurant, leaving her with trembling hands and racing thoughts, Lila realized the truth:
The curse had chosen her. The pull was real. And her life had just crossed the line from ordinary into a world of danger, darkness, and desire she could not yet comprehend.
And somewhere deep down, she could not wait to see him again.