The world faded into a restless haze.
The elevator felt like it was expanding and closing in at the same time as I wrapped my arms tighter around myself, trying to stay small, trying to stay collected.
Every passing second felt like an eternity.
The elevator dinged open, but I didn't dare move or look up.
I was too lost in what I was feeling. I didn't know how to react, how to get up, or how to walk out.
A deep voice echoed in my ears as someone called my name repeatedly.
"Elina…"
"Are you okay?"
"What's going on?"
The world came back into focus as he pulled my arms away from my head, gently forcing my chin up with his fingers.
It was Adam.
Panic crossed his face as he took me in.
"What happened?"
"Talk to me....Why are you crying?"
I tried to pull myself together, dropping my gaze, but the tears kept coming, spilling over again and again.
"Elina…"
His voice faltered. His eyes fell to my wrist.
Slowly, he pulled my sleeve up.
Right where that monster had grabbed me.
His eyes widened in disbelief, his gaze flickering between my face and my wrist.
Words slipped from him, broken and unfinished.
"What… how… who…"
Then something in his eyes changed.
Rage flared, sharp and contained, as he looked back at me.
"Who did this to you?" he asked through gritted teeth, his voice controlled yet dangerous.
My mouth opened, but no excuse followed. My breath caught painfully, each attempt to speak interrupted by uneven gasps.
"Answer me," he said again, firmer this time. "Who. Did. This."
His hands came to my arms, holding me still—not gently, not roughly, but desperately.
When I didn't answer, something in him snapped.
"WHO TOUCHED YOU ?"
"Vic—Victor…"
The name left my lips before I realised what I had just done. Before I realised I had finally said it out loud.
Adam's jaw clenched, the muscle ticking visibly.
He looked at me once—just once—before storming out of the elevator.
I stood frozen, lungs burning as I forced myself to breathe.
Then the realisation hit.
The way he walked away wasn't anger.
It was restraint breaking.
Panic surged back into my chest. I rushed out after him, looking both ways down the corridor.
But Adam was already gone.
My legs felt weak, barely able to carry me forward, but I kept walking anyway.
Voices rose ahead, loud and chaotic, coming from the ground floor lobby near the main entrance.
I reached the railing and gripped it tightly, leaning over just enough to look down.
The crowd had gathered, security rushing in from all sides.
Anxiety flared again, sharp and dizzying, as my eyes found Adam.
He had Victor pinned beneath him.
His fist came down again and again, brutal, unrestrained, each blow landing with a force that made the crowd freeze in place.
I lost my balance, sliding down to the floor as the weight of what my single word had caused finally hit me.
My body trembled, cold and helpless, the world spinning too fast to hold onto.
Noah reached me like a saviour, shrugging his jacket around my shoulders and pulling me close.
"Elina… are you okay?" His voice was rushed, panicked, breaking through the noise.
The last thing I heard before everything went dark was my name being called over and over.
"Elina… open your eyes…"
And then I passed out.
When I woke up, I found myself in a hospital room.
My mother sat in the corner, trying to hold back her tears.
Muted voices drifted in from outside the door.
I recognised them instantly. Noah and my father.
My mother hurried to my side the moment the sheets rustled as I stirred awake.
Her eyes were red, swollen with tears, and I couldn't bring myself to meet them.
By now, everyone must have known.
Everything I had tried to bury for all these years was no longer hidden.
Days passed, and no one dared to talk to me.
They pretended nothing had happened, giving me space, giving me time to heal and to speak when I was ready.
I locked myself away in my room once again, shutting the world out.
Every day, I regretted it.
Regretted letting the truth slip past my lips.
Days came and went in silence.
Nights only made the pain heavier.
Another morning arrived, and I found myself sitting at the dressing table, staring at my reflection, silently asking her the same question again and again.
Was it a mistake… or a relief?
I heard my mother speaking to someone in the living room. A guest.
The voices grew closer, the footsteps clearer.
A knock followed, then the soft click of the door opening.
I recognised the sound of the first step instantly.
I stood up at once, turning away, moving toward the balcony to avoid him.
Adam caught my wrist gently, but firmly.
"Running away…," he said in his usual tone, as if nothing had changed.
I swallowed hard, not ready to face him.
It wasn't his fault, but the thought of being seen so exposed made my eyes turn guarded.
His eyes dropped to my wrist. His thumb brushed the spot, and the past rushed in. I pulled away without thinking.
"Please leave," I said, turning away.
"I'm not here as someone you know," he said calmly.
"I'm here as the senior executive you work under."
After a brief pause, he added,
"You've missed weeks of work."
My eyes snapped to his face in disbelief.
"I needed time," I said, defending myself.
He stepped closer, his presence eclipsing mine.
"Either you come with me right now," he said evenly, "or I drag you to work myself."
I stared at him, stunned.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
When I still didn't react, his eyes narrowed with resolve.
Before I could say anything, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me with him.
"Adam..." I said, startled.
My feet moved with his pace, but the rest of my body resisted every step.
My mother stood up in panic.
"Adam, what are you doing?"
He ignored her. Ignored everyone.
He stormed outside, opened the car door, and guided me in firmly. He buckled my seatbelt himself before I could protest.
"Adam… listen to me," I pleaded.
"Shhh."
He placed a finger against his lips, his jaw clenched tight as he looked at me with a silent warning.
He drove straight to the office and dragged me inside, not stopping until I was pushed into my usual chair in the cabin. Every pair of eyes turned toward me. Ifelt mortified.
Tears pricked my eyes as I stared ahead, painfully aware that by now everyone knew... enough to make me feel exposed.
Before I could steady myself, he spun the chair away from the room.
My scattered focus broke from the watching eyes and landed on him instead.
He leaned down, gripping both handles of my chair. His posture was deliberately calm, as if he wanted me to mirror it, but his eyes stayed intense.
"Don't you dare cry," he said softly, his gaze fixed on the tears threatening to spill.
I looked down.
He let out a small breath, his demeanour softening slightly.
"Listen to me, Elina," he said patiently, waiting until I finally lifted my eyes to meet his again.
"Nothing has changed."
He gestured casually toward the people in the room, his finger arcing pointedly.
"No one here thinks anything bad about you. They respect you the same way they did before."
His gaze lifted again, sharpening as it swept the room in silent warning.
When I looked around, they nodded.
My lips twitched as I struggled to hold myself together.
I bit down on my lower lip, forcing the breakdown back inside.
"And…" he added, a faint smile catching my attention again.
"I respect you," he said softly.
Something in my chest eased, as if a heavy stone I had been carrying for years had finally shifted.
In that moment, Adam earned my respect too.
A faint smile formed on my lips.
"There," he said with a smirk, his gaze briefly dropping to my lips.
He straightened, slipping his hands back into his pockets, returning to his usual smug self.
And for the first time in a long while, I felt like maybe… just maybe… things could go back to normal.
"Ms. Trainee," he said.
"My office. Now."
In that moment, I realised...
What he was doing for me.
And what he was doing to me.
Despite the chaos in my head, for the first time, I pushed through it.
I stood up and followed.
I played along as he distracted me with meaningless tasks and unnecessary reports, knowing exactly why he was doing it.
And I let him.