Chapter 5: Running Away
Adrian POV
With my words weighing more than the paper they were written on, I set the envelope down on Adrian's mahogany desk in his office. I wiped it down with trembling hands, the writing of his name, Adrian, looking back at me accusingly.
Before deciding on simplicity, I had rewrote the letter four times, each time becoming more rudimentary than the last:
Adrian
I can no longer live this life. Don't try to find me. Please.
Elena.
No justifications. I'm not sorry. Just the truth, which I was unable to express out loud.
When I slipped out of the penthouse like a ghost, it was still dark. All I brought was a bag full of clothing, my painting tools, and a picture of my parents that I couldn't bear to part with.
I hopped in, holding on to my possessions like a lifeline, and the cabbie didn't ask any questions. "To where?"
"Bus station," I said in a tremulous but determined murmur.
The city, which had never seemed quite like mine, slid past in a haze of lights and shadows. I was on a bus that was going far from Adrian Blackwood's world by the time the sun rose and painted the sky in shades of pink and gold.
The sparkling metropolis I had left behind was nothing like Ashborne, a little city. It was the type of area where nobody asked too many questions and everyone knew your name, tucked away between a peaceful river and undulating hills.
It was flawless.
I leased a little flat above a bakery, which was full of charm despite its old and damaged walls. Every morning, the aroma of freshly baked bread filled my windows, serving as a reassuring reminder that things were slower and easier here.
Lily was the next person.
Her birth was the most beautiful and scary event of my life, yet she was born six months after I left. Her big, inquisitive eyes and tuft of black hair made her appear painfully similar to Adrian.
But I would stop at nothing to protect her because she was mine.
Using what little money I had left over, I set up an art studio on the corner of Main Street and made it a unique place. Sunlight poured in through the enormous windows, lighting canvases of different sizes, while the walls were painted a gentle blue.
I felt free for the first time in years.
With paint and brushes all around her, Lily's little hands were often more smeared with color than the canvases itself. Every day spent with her seemed like a little triumph, and her laugh was enough to drive away even the darkest thoughts.
Even yet, there were evenings when the past intruded.
Wondering if Adrian had found the letter, I would lay awake and gaze at the ceiling. if he had made an effort to find me. whether he was even interested.
In Ashborne, three years went by, each one marked by a peaceful happiness and a resolve to keep going.
But no matter how far you flee, the past always finds a way to catch you.
The guy in the suit was the first.
I sensed that someone was seeing me when I was drawing Lily at the park, her locks bouncing as she ran after a butterfly.
A few yards away, he stood with a rigid stance and a fixed look. He didn't belong here, and neither did his black suit and shiny shoes.
I called Lily to my side and hastily grabbed my belongings.
I forced a grin as I replied, "Let's go, sweetheart."
With a quizzical inclination of her head, she inquired, "Why?"
I picked her up and went home, saying, "Because Mommy has work to do."
The sense of being watched persisted long after we left the park, even though the guy didn't follow.
I discovered an envelope hidden behind my door two weeks later.
My name was written in an all-too-familiar script on the front, but there was no return address. With trembling hands, I ripped it open, my heart sinking.
One piece of neatly folded paper was inside.
Elena
I waited for you. However, time is running out.
Adrian.
Every logical idea was consumed by panic, which spread like a wildfire. He had located me.
In an attempt to persuade myself that the letter didn't mean what I believed it to, I spent the next few days in a daze. I realized the truth, however, when the bakery owner said she had seen a "tall, handsome man in a suit" inquiring about the flat above.
Adrian wasn't only trying to find me. He was present.
Rain pelted the windows and the wind howled as a storm raged outside the night it occurred. Lily's small hands were gripping her pet bear firmly as she slept in her room.
A knock reverberated throughout the apartment as I sat at the kitchen table, gazing over the letter for the umpteenth time.
My blood froze.
The knock came again, louder this time, and I rose slowly, my feet unwilling to go.
"Elena."
Even though his voice was muffled, it was clear.
As I got closer to the door, I swallowed forcefully, my pulse racing.
Adrian Blackwood was there on the other side, soaked from the rain but just as formidable, when I opened it. He fixed his gaze on mine, and we were silent for a while.
When I finally muttered, "You shouldn't have come here," my voice was almost audible above a whisper.
He clenched his jaw. "You ought not to have gone."
He entered before I could answer, his presence filling the little room.
His eyes darted to the locked door at the end of the hall and he yelled, "Where is she?"
I gasped. "Please, Adrian—"
"Don't," he said, interrupting me. Elena, don't tell me lies. I am aware of Lily.
My greatest fears came true when I felt the earth beneath me shake.
"I had to go," I murmured frantically, my voice cracking. "You're not understanding—"
His eyes were flaming as he interjected, "I understand perfectly." "You were afraid, so you fled. But now that I'm here, I won't go without answers.
I remained still, torn between the life I had created and the guy who might destroy it all, while the storm outside became worse and the wind rattled the windows.
Adrian remarked in a low, menacing voice, "I'll ask you again." "Where is my daughter?"
I was aware that I could no longer conceal the truth.
But before I could respond, a little voice pierced the tension like a dagger through the tempest.
"Mom?"
Lily was standing in the doorway, staring at Adrian with big eyes as I turned around.
He gazed at her and froze, his eyes softening.
"Lily," I blurted, stepping out of her line of sight.
However, it was too late.
Adrian stepped closer and stooped down to her level, his face inscrutable.
He whispered quietly, "Hello, Lily," in a voice that was unlike from anything I had ever heard.
I then came to the realization that maybe fleeing would not have been sufficient to prevent the past from coming up with me.