Chapter seven
Adrian's POV
"What do you mean you're yet to find her?" I growled silently.
It's been three days now, and after a thorough search, there's still no sign of the woman I spent the night with.
It was supposed to be just a one-night stand. Just one night. But everything became complicated.
I wanted to end the arranged marriage without openly defying my family. All my fiancée needed to do was walk in and see me in bed with another woman. The scandal would spread. The engagement would collapse.
But when I woke up, she was gone.
And worse… I realized the woman I had spent the night with wasn't the one my assistant arranged.
She vanished completely. The only thing left was her faint fragrance… and the strange ache in my chest that refused to leave.
I had always thought it was absurd — falling for someone you only spent one night with when it was supposed to be just a one-time thing. But I experienced it.
That night didn't feel like just one night. It felt like something unfinished.
I can't get her out of my head. Her soft breath. Her scent. Her touch. Her gentle gasps… I just can't get them out of my mind.
It wasn't just her body I remembered.
It was the way her voice trembled before she spoke.
The sadness in her silence.
I can't explain it.
"Ma'am, you can't go in there," my receptionist protested from outside.
A second later, someone barged into my office.
She wore a long gown with a slit high enough to showcase her long model legs and flawless skin. Everything about her screamed perfection — expensive, polished, untouchable.
It was Sonia.
She calls herself my fiancée. Maybe she really is, because in a few weeks we'll be standing at the altar, getting married based on my family's instructions.
"Sir, I told her you're busy, but she wouldn't listen," Emeline said nervously.
"You can go, Emeline," I said calmly.
She nodded and left.
"I've been calling you," Sonia said, dropping her Birkin bag on my desk. "You didn't answer."
I reclined in my seat. "As you can see, I've been busy."
She glanced at the scattered documents in front of me. "And you're going to ignore me a week before our wedding?"
I leaned back further. "If I have to."
Her eyes darkened.
"And are you going to keep standing there?" she snapped at Hayes, my assistant, who was still across the room.
"You can go. I'll call you when I'm done," I told him.
He nodded and left.
"What are you doing here?" I turned to Sonia, barely hiding my disgust.
"The designer said you won't come for your suit fitting."
"I've been busy," I replied casually.
"That's why I brought them here for you to try on."
"Not interested," I dismissed coldly. "As you can see, I have things to do."
She ignored me. With a snap of her fingers, her assistant hurried in, struggling to carry two luxurious suits along with Sonia's shopping bags.
Sonia took the suits from her. The moment she did, the assistant rushed back out, leaving us alone.
"Try them on," Sonia commanded. "That day, I want nothing but perfection."
I scoffed, disgusted by her attitude. She had always been like this — even in college.
"As you can see, I'm busy, Sonia. I don't have the luxury of time for this."
I saw the anger flash across her face.
"You haven't been listening to me, Adrian," she said firmly.
"And why should I listen to you?"
"I own you, Adrian!"
"I'm not property you can own, Sonia," I snapped.
There is nothing I want more than to cancel this marriage.
I inhaled sharply. "Leave. Now. As you can see, I'm busy."
"Your sister's treatment… do you want it to be stopped?" Her voice turned cold. Threatening.
The air shifted.
I clenched my jaw. "Is that a threat?"
"You know exactly what I can do." She walked closer, her heels striking hard against the marble floor. "Don't test me, Adrian. If you keep this up, someone else will suffer for it."
That's the only reason I'm still standing here.
My sister.
She has been critically ill since she was twelve.
It was a rare condition. We tried everything but No cure.
Sonia's family owns the largest pharmaceutical and laboratory company in the country. And suddenly, they discovered a breakthrough drug.
A cure.
But it came with a condition.
Marriage.
My family agreed before I could object.
I want to save my sister. But the last thing I want is to be tied to Sonia forever. That's why I tried to ruin the engagement myself.
But it failed. Completely.
"Leave now, before I lose control."
She studied me for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"If I can't have you, Adrian… nobody will."
She grabbed her bag and swayed her hips as she walked out, her heels echoing across the marble floor.
The moment she left, I exhaled sharply.
I hate her.
I hate how calm she looks when she threatens me.
She had always been like that.
Back in college, at prom, she asked me out. I turned her down. I don't know how she became obsessed, but she wouldn't let me go. She kept showing up at my house. In my room. Anytime she wanted.
She once told me she would go to any length just to get me.
And even now, she still won't let go.
My phone rang.
When I glanced at the screen, it was my father.
"Sonia just called. You refused your wedding suit fitting. Do you want your sister's treatment to be stopped? Do you want her to suffer because of your nonchalant behavior?!" Father barked the moment I answered.
She must had called, whining.
"I don't care what this is about. Fix it right now." he added before hanging up.
The moment the call ended, I clenched my fists.
Then a message from Sonia appeared:
Make time tomorrow. We're going for our first fitting. I won't say it twice. Sister-in-law is responding well to the treatment… I'd hate for anything to interrupt that progress, Hubby.>
Hubby?
I let out a humorless laugh and loosened my necktie. Then I swept everything off my desk.
Files scattered across the floor, The coffee mug shattered.
"Are you okay?" Hayes rushed in, looking alarmed.
Even after working with me for years, he had rarely seen me lose my temper.
I loosened my tie completely.
"That woman in Room 550 that night… Find her. At all costs!"