Nina had always known Adrian Moretti was dangerous. She had felt it the first night he cornered her outside the library weeks ago, the way his dark eyes pinned her in place, the way his voice carried power that didn't need to be shouted. But until now, she hadn't understood just how far his reach extended.
The whispers hadn't stopped since the fight. Students stared at her in the cafeteria, in lecture halls, even in the hallway outside her dorm. Professors gave her strange looks too, careful and measured, as though they knew something they weren't supposed to know.
And every time she walked across campus, she felt the weight of unseen eyes.
She knew why.
Adrian had men watching her.
The black cars parked too long outside the gates. The men in leather jackets pretending to check their phones. The silence that stretched like a trap around her every move.
She wanted to scream, but the truth was, part of her was too afraid to.
Adrian wasn't just a man. He was a world. A shadowed empire. And she had stepped right into the middle of it.
That night, when her phone buzzed again, she almost threw it against the wall. But she didn't. She never did. She pressed the screen, and his name filled the room like smoke.
"Penthouse. Now."
Just two words.
That was all it took to unravel her.
When she arrived, the city glittered beyond the glass walls, but the room itself felt colder than ever. Adrian sat at the bar, his sleeves rolled to his elbows, pouring himself a drink.
He didn't greet her.
He didn't have to.
"Why were you on the east lawn with your friend today?" His voice was smooth, but she could hear the steel beneath it.
Her breath hitched. He knew. Of course he knew.
"I….I wasn't"
Adrian's gaze sliced into her, shutting her lie down before it could form. He walked toward her, glass in hand, every inch of him controlled and dangerous.
"You're under my protection," he said softly, setting the glass aside. "That means eyes are on you at all times. If you think I won't know when you're with him, you're a fool."
Nina's heart thudded painfully. "He's just a friend"
"Don't insult me." Adrian's hand caught her wrist, dragging her against him. His touch was searing, his body a wall of heat. "I warned you once. I won't do it again."
Her eyes filled. "You can't keep me locked away like some possession."
His mouth curved, though it wasn't a smile. "Watch me."
Then he kissed her, hard, punishing, his mouth demanding surrender. She tried to fight, but her body betrayed her as it always did weakening, melting, trembling against him. His hands roamed with ruthless precision, leaving no space for thought, only fire.
"This," he growled, his lips dragging across her jaw. "This is why he'll never have you. Because your body knows the truth, even if your mind lies."
Her tears slipped down her cheeks. "Adrian, please…"
"Please what?" He pinned her against the counter, his hand sliding to her throat not to hurt, but to remind her who held control. "Please stop? Or please more?"
Her breath caught, shame and need tangling inside her. She hated him. She wanted him. She hated that she wanted him.
And when the words left her mouth, they weren't the ones she'd meant to say.
"More….
Adrian's eyes burned with victory.
Hours later, she lay in his sheets again, her body spent, her heart heavier than ever. Adrian brushed her hair back from her face with a tenderness that confused her, as though the monster who had just claimed her body with ruthless force could suddenly remember how to be gentle.
"You'll understand one day," he whispered, his breath warm against her temple. "This is the only way to keep you safe. The only way to keep you mine."
But Nina knew safety wasn't what he cared about. It was control.
And the more she gave in, the more she felt herself slipping into his shadow.
Across campus, Daniel sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his battered knuckles. They hadn't healed yet. Neither had the bruise on his jaw. But he didn't care.
He couldn't stop thinking about her.
He had seen the men watching her too, and it made his blood boil. Adrian wasn't protecting her he was caging her. Everyone could see it, but no one dared to intervene.
No one but him.
He picked up his phone, thumb hovering over her contact. He had tried to call twice, but she never answered. He had sent messages, short, desperate ones Are you okay? Please talk to me. Let me help.
No reply.
Daniel's chest ached. He knew she was afraid. He knew she was being pulled deeper into Adrian's world. But he also knew something else.
He wasn't giving up.
Not now. Not ever.
He opened his laptop and pulled up the files he had been gathering. Articles. News reports. Police documents he had bribed a friend to get. Every scrap of information about Adrian Moretti and the empire that surrounded him.
If Adrian wanted a war, Daniel would give him one.
Nina's days grew heavier, suffocating under Adrian's tightening grip. He summoned her more often now, sometimes in the middle of the day, pulling her away from class with a single text. Professors didn't question her absences no one dared.
Her friends drifted further away, scared to even be seen with her. Only Daniel kept trying, slipping her notes in class when he could, watching her from a distance with eyes that made her ache with guilt.
Every night she told herself she wouldn't go when Adrian called. And every night she went anyway.
Because if she didn't, he would come for her.
And that thought terrified her more than anything.
One evening, after another summons, Adrian drove her to a private club on the edge of the city. The place reeked of wealth and danger, filled with men who carried themselves like kings. She realized quickly this wasn't just a club it was a gathering of Adrian's world.
He kept her close, his hand firm at the small of her back. Every look, every smile from the others told her exactly what she was: his possession.
The music pounded, the lights flickered, and Nina's chest tightened with panic.
Then, across the room, she saw him.
Daniel.
Her heart lurched. What was he doing here? How had he even gotten in? His eyes locked on hers, fierce, unafraid. For a moment, it felt like the whole world stopped.
Adrian noticed.
His grip on her waist tightened, almost painfully. He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear. "Don't look at him."
But she couldn't help it. Daniel was here. Daniel had found a way into Adrian's kingdom.
And in his eyes, she saw not fear, but defiance.
It was only a matter of time before their worlds collided again.
And when they did, nothing would ever be the same.