Maria.

The walk to his room felt endless, each step heavier than the last. My legs kept moving forward, carrying me down the dimly lit corridor, yet my mind lagged far behind, tangled in a storm of thoughts and fears. It was as if my body had decided on its own, dragging me toward a fate my heart wasn’t ready to face.

With every step, I rehearsed the words in my head over and over again. I would tell him calmly. Firmly. I would say I wouldn’t be coming to his room at night anymore. That things had changed. That he was engaged now. That whatever unspoken arrangement existed between us had to end.

I wanted peace. Desperately.

But peace had always felt like something meant for other people, never for someone like me. I hadn’t yet found a way to escape the chains wrapped tightly around my life, no matter how much I longed for freedom.

When I finally stopped in front of his door, my chest felt impossibly tight. My heart was pounding so violently it seemed determined to tear its way out of my ribs, each beat loud and frantic in my ears. I stood there for a brief second longer than necessary, staring at the polished wood as though it might give me a warning, or permission, or anything at all.

Slowly, I lifted my hand. My fingers trembled as my knuckles met the door.

The knock sounded far too loud.

The sharp echo ricocheted down the quiet hallway, amplifying my nerves and making me flinch. I held my breath, suddenly hyperaware of the silence that followed, of how empty the space around me felt.

"Come in!"

His voice came from inside.

It wasn’t calm. It wasn’t steady.

It sounded rushed, strained, like the words had been dragged from his chest rather than spoken. There was a slight hitch at the end, as though he was struggling to breathe properly, as though something had caught him off guard.

My stomach twisted.

A strange, unsettling sensation crept up my spine, slow and deliberate, raising goosebumps along my skin. It wasn’t fear exactly, at least not yet, but it carried the same cold edge. An instinctive warning I couldn’t quite name.

Still, I reached for the handle.

I pushed the door open just a little, barely enough to create a narrow gap, and leaned forward to peer inside. The hinges gave the softest creak, but in that moment, it sounded deafening.

And then...

Everything shifted.

The world seemed to tilt, the floor no longer steady beneath my feet. It was as if the air had been knocked from my lungs, as if reality itself had slipped sideways in a single, disorienting second.

What I saw sent a violent shiver tearing through me.

It started in my chest and spread outward, rattling through my bones, leaving my hands numb and my pulse erratic. My breath caught painfully in my throat, refusing to move in or out.

Adrien was there....But he wasn’t alone.

That single fact slammed into me harder than anything else, eclipsing every other thought. My mind reeled, struggling to process the sight before me, while my heart continued its frantic race, now fueled by something darker, heavier.

I stayed frozen in the doorway, suspended between disbelief and dread, knowing, deep down, that whatever I was witnessing had already changed something irrevocably.

He was locked in a passionate moment with Vanessa, his attention entirely consumed by her presence. The intimacy between them was unmistakable, raw and undeniable. His lips kept moving on and out of her mouth as he slid his hands underneath her thighs. Her soft sounds filled the room, and his body was pressed close to hers in a way that left no room for doubt.

Pain exploded in my chest, sharp and merciless, as if a million needles had pierced straight through my heart all at once.

I stood there, frozen.

Invisible.

It was as though I had stepped into the room and ceased to exist.

My breath hitched painfully as reality sank in. This was his fiancée. This was what I had been trying to accept, to tell myself I understood. Yet seeing it unfold before my eyes was something else entirely. Something unbearable.

I turned slowly, instinct screaming at me to leave, to escape before the ache consumed me whole.

But then his voice cut through the air again.

"Rogue 456," he said coldly, without even looking away from her. "Don’t you dare move an inch. You have work to do."

The words struck like a slap.

He continued as though nothing had changed, as though my presence meant nothing at all. The intimacy between them only deepened, Vanessa clinging to him with desperate hunger, as if afraid he might disappear if she let go.

Adrien guided her backward until she lay against the bed, his movements confident and possessive. He leaned over her, showering attention along her skin, peppering kisses all over her body, he moved swiftly from her neck to her breast, he sucked her hard enough that she moaned his name—then his gaze lifted.

Straight to me.

Our eyes met.

A slow smile curved his lips, deliberate and unsettling, before he finally pulled away.

Vanessa’s expression flickered, disappointment flashing briefly across her face, but she masked it quickly, forcing a smile as she sat up.

"Adrien," she asked softly, confusion lacing her tone, "what’s wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied smoothly. "It’s late. I have something to attend to. I’ll come find you in the morning."

There was no hesitation in his voice. No explanation.

"Alright," Vanessa said after a moment.

She stood, adjusting her dress carefully, composure slipping back into place like a well-practiced mask. As she walked past me, her presence brushed close, her faint smile unwavering, as though I were nothing more than a piece of furniture in the room.

And just like that, she was gone.

The door closed behind her, leaving the silence thick and suffocating.

I remained rooted where I stood, my heart still pounding violently in my chest, the image burned into my mind, the pain refusing to ease.

"Do you like what you saw?" Adrien asked the moment the door closed behind Vanessa.

His voice was low, edged with something dark as he moved toward me with unhurried steps, confidence rolling off him like a warning. The space between us shrank far too quickly, the air thick with his presence.

"Won’t you beg me to make you feel that?" he continued, a cruel curve tugging at his lips.

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

Instinctively, I took a step back, my heels brushing against the cold floor as he advanced. Every part of me screamed to create distance, to escape the suffocating pull of his gaze.

"Alpha Adrien," I said carefully, forcing steadiness into my voice despite the tremor beneath it. "What task do you have for me? It’s getting late, and I need to return to my room."

The words tasted strange on my tongue, formal, guarded, deliberate.

His expression shifted instantly.

The faint amusement vanished, replaced by something sharp and unreadable. His jaw tightened, and a scoff slipped from his lips as though my indifference had offended him.

"Do you think I don’t know how much you want me?" he asked coolly.

The question stunned me.

Want him?

Was he serious?

Was he delusional?

I stared at him, disbelief swirling with unease. If anything, all I wanted was to stay out of trouble—to remain invisible, untouched by the chaos that surrounded him. He was engaged now. I had no business standing alone with him in his chambers at this hour, and I knew how quickly whispers could turn into punishment.

"I’m talking to you, Maria," he said suddenly, stepping closer again.

Before I could retreat, his fingers brushed beneath my chin, tilting my face up just enough for his breath to wash over my skin. My body stiffened instantly, every muscle coiling tight.

"Answer me," he murmured. "Just beg me for it."

My chest tightened painfully.

"Alpha Adrien," I said again, my voice quieter now but firm, "if there is no task for me, I respectfully ask that you dismiss me."

The words came out measured, controlled, an act of self-preservation more than defiance.

For a moment, he simply stared at me.

Then his brows furrowed slightly, confusion flickering beneath the irritation.

"What’s wrong with you, Maria?" he asked, his tone shifting. "Why the sudden indi—"

The rest of his sentence never came.

The door creaked open behind us.

The sound sliced through the tension like a blade.

Adrien stiffened instantly, his hand dropping away from my face as both of us turned toward the door.

Vanessa stood there.

Her eyes moved between us, sharp and assessing, her earlier softness replaced by something far more alert. The air in the room seemed to change at once, heavy silence pressing down on all three of us.

Adrien straightened slowly, his expression rearranging itself with practiced ease.

I remained frozen where I stood, heart pounding wildly, knowing that whatever fragile balance existed had just shifted, and that nothing about this night would end cleanly.

The tension lingered, thick and unspoken, as Vanessa took another step into the room.

And I knew, with sinking certainty, that I had just stepped into something far more dangerous than I had ever intended.