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🌙 Chapter 5 – Adrien's Quiet Storm
Adrien Fernandes had always been the easier one to read.
He smiled easily.
Talked freely.
Laughed like nothing stayed with him too long.
But that night, sleep refused to come.
He stood by the window of the guest room, hands shoved into his pockets, watching the faint glow from Noah Watson's room across the hall. The image from earlier replayed in his mind—Noah holding Luca's sleeve in the dark, instinctively choosing him.
Not Adrien.
He exhaled slowly.
"Get it together," he muttered to himself.
Adrien wasn't angry at Luca.
He wasn't even angry at Noah.
What hurt was how natural it looked.
Like something that had been waiting to happen.
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The next morning, Adrien found Noah in the garden, sitting on the swing with a book resting unopened in her lap.
"You're up early," he said gently.
She looked up and smiled. "Couldn't sleep."
He sat beside her, careful to keep space.
"Yeah. Same."
For a moment, neither spoke. The morning air was soft, birds chirping like nothing complicated existed.
"You ever feel like," Adrien began slowly, "you arrive a second too late to things?"
Noah frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged, forcing a smile. "Like… the moment already passed before you even realized it mattered."
Her expression softened. "That happens more often than people admit."
Adrien looked at her then—really looked.
"Noah Watson," he said quietly, "you're dangerous without trying."
She blinked. "That's dramatic."
He laughed softly. "I know. But it's true."
Before she could respond, Luca Fernandes appeared at the doorway, eyes instantly finding Noah.
Adrien noticed.
Always noticed.
"Morning," Luca said.
"Morning," Noah replied, standing up.
Adrien rose too, his smile never quite reaching his eyes.
"I was just stealing her for a conversation," he said lightly.
Luca nodded. "Breakfast is ready."
Noah hesitated—then nodded and walked toward the house.
Adrien stayed back.
"Luca," he said suddenly.
Luca paused. "Yeah?"
Adrien met his eyes. "Be careful."
"With what?" Luca asked.
"With her," Adrien replied honestly. "And with yourself."
Luca didn't argue.
He didn't deny it either.
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Inside the house, Sofia Watson watched Adrien enter a few minutes later, something off in his posture.
She leaned toward Eva and whispered, "He's hurting."
Eva sighed. "Yeah. And this is only the beginning."
Across the room, Noah laughed quietly at something Luca said, unaware of the silent storm she had just walked away from.
Adrien looked at her one last time before turning away.
Some feelings weren't meant to be confessed.
Some battles were fought quietly.
And Adrien Fernandes realized—
Loving Noah Watson wasn't about winning her.
It was about surviving the fact that he might lose.
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