Chapter 172: And Suddenly, It’s All So Clear

ADRIEN’S POV

The private jet lands at the Vasilis family airstrip. I stare out of the oval window, watching the rain slick the runway.

It’s been raining a lot lately.

I cannot help but remember the last time I was here. It hasn’t even been five months since I set foot on this tarmac, and yet my entire life has been turned upside down twice over.

The last time Orion brought me here, it was to introduce me to the entire world at Lady Dimitra’s fiftieth birthday event.

It was framed as a wonderful celebration, but it felt more like a calculated political dinner disguised as a party. Coming back then, seeing Louise again, running into Leon, meeting Lady Dimitra for the first time... it was a complete rollercoaster.

Pretending to be utterly in love with Orion back then was even harder.

Honestly, I am not even sure if Lady Dimitra ever bought my bullshit acting. Even though I put my heart and soul into every forced smile, I am not an actor. That I am not.

As the jet taxis to a complete stop, the crew opens the door, and the cool sea air rushes into the cabin. Orion stands up, buttoning his dark jacket, and steps out first. I follow him down the stairs into the waiting black sedan.

The driver quietly shuts the door behind us. As the car pulls away from the private terminal, heading toward the main estate, I turn my head and look at Orion.

He is leaning back against his seat, staring out his window calmly. He looks soft.

"Did you actually ever want me to stay by your side just to find out why Louise ended your relationship?" I ask.

The question pops into my mind because the math simply does not add up. That day of Lady Dimitra’s birthday, Orion found out the exact reason why Louise ended their relationship. He got his answer.

Yet he never ended our so-called fake engagement. Instead, he tied me to himself even tighter. He watched my every move, took away my phone, isolated me, and cut off any escape routes.

Orion does not even look at me at first. He lets out a low, smooth laugh that vibrates through the quiet of the car.

"Why are you asking me this now?" he asks, his voice practically humming with amusement. "Is it bothering your head, Adrien?"

"It is a simple question," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. "You said the whole point of keeping me around was to draw out the truth behind Louise leaving you for Leon. You got the truth. You found out everything. So why am I still sitting in your car with a ring on my finger?"

Orion tilts his head slightly toward me, a quiet smirk playing on his lips. "Maybe I just like the scenery."

"I’m being serious," I press, narrowing my eyes at him. "You got what you wanted. But instead of letting the fake story die out, you doubled down. You locked me in your mansion. You made sure I could not step a single foot outside without you or your men behind me."

I know how he operates by now. Whenever I ask him a direct question, he sidesteps it or gives me some bizarre philosophical nonsense. So I decide to play coy. I have noticed that whenever I act indifferent or snide, he hates it.

I turn my head away, looking out at the passing iron fences and landscaped trees. I make my tone as dry and sarcastic as humanly possible.

"Well," I say, trailing the word out slowly. "I’m just wondering if you are still hung up on your relationship of over a decade. I mean, considering you were with a woman for over ten years, maybe this whole thing with a man is just a temporary fling...maybe I’m just a convenient distraction."

I stop talking and wait. I wait for him to snap at me, to growl, or to pull some controlling move like he usually does.

One minute passes. Then two.

The silence inside the car grows heavy, broken only by the quiet purr of the engine. Orion does not move. He does not say a single word.

I frown, feeling a little foolish. I sigh, shaking my head as I turn back around to look at him. "Look, just forget it. Get out of your head. I was just—"

I choke on the rest of my sentence.

The focused, rational look in Orion’s eyes is completely gone. He is staring directly at me with a look that can only be described as pure, manic glee. A wide smile stretches across his face, so broad his cheekbones look sharp enough to cut glass.

"Are you jealous?" he whispers.

I shrink back slightly against my door. "What?"

"You are jealous," Orion says, his voice dropping into a rapid, breathless murmur. He leans closer to me, his dark eyes wide and fixed on my face. "You are jealous of my relationship with Louise. Does it feel like I should belong only to you? Does it feel like you don’t want to share me with anyone else?"

"Orion, no, that is not what I said at all—"

"You truly missed me too, didn’t you?" he interrupts, muttering to himself now, his breath hot against my cheek. "You really wanted to come back to me all along. You care about me so much. You have been hiding these deep feelings this whole time, wearing that angry little frown just to cover it up."

He suddenly raises a hand and slaps his own forehead with an audible thud, laughing softly to himself like he just solved the universe’s greatest riddle.

"I am such a fool for not noticing sooner," Orion says, grinning so hard I am worried his mouth might tear at the corners. "I understand your feelings now, Adrien. I really do. I will act appropriately from now on."

"Act appropriately?" I repeat, my voice pitching higher. "What does that even mean in your twisted head?"

"It means I will prioritize you," Orion says smoothly, his face inches from mine. "I will make sure you never have to worry about another person occupying my space. You don’t have to compete with Louise. You don’t have to compete with anyone."

I stare at him in sheer, unadulterated disbelief. I raise both of my hands, waving them wildly in the air between us to create distance.

"I don’t even know what you are talking about!" I shout. "I do not have feelings for you! At all! I was literally mocking you!"

Orion nods eagerly, his smile widening until his eyes crinkle at the corners. "Yes, I understand. You are shy about it."

"No!" I press my palms against my knees, leaning as far back as the seat allows. "I think you severely misunderstand me! I was joking! Have you completely forgotten the way I act when I am being sarcastic? Stop that! Stop smiling at me like that!"

"Why should I stop?" Orion asks softly, his voice dripping with skin-crawling fondness. "It is adorable when you try to deny what is right in front of us."

"It is not adorable, it is exhausting!" I yell. "I am telling you, plain and simple, there are no feelings here! I am a hostage who likes to talk trash!"

Orion does not stop. The joyful smile remains locked on his features.

In a surge of frustration, I bring my right hand up, slap my palm flat over his face, and physically try to push his head away from me.

"Get your face out of my sight," I snap.

Orion does not fight my hand. He simply lets my palm cover his nose and mouth, continuing to smile right against my skin. I can feel the curve of his lips pressing into my palm, warm and steady.

"I do understand," he murmurs against my skin, his voice muffled by my hand. "You don’t have feelings for me at all, right?"

As he says it, I feel his right eyelid flutter against my pinky finger. The fucker is winking at me against my hand.

"Stop that!" I growl, intentionally digging my pinky tip straight into his eye socket to blind him. "I will poke your eye out, I swear to God."

Orion quickly shuts his eyelid tight, blocking my finger, but he does not pull away. Instead, he reaches up with a lightning-fast hand, grabs my wrist, and gently pulls my palm off his face.

Before I can snatch my arm back, he lifts my hand and presses a firm kiss directly to the skin of my inner wrist.

"You can try," Orion whispers against my pulse point. "I would still look at you with the other one."

When he looks up at me through his lashes, the manic glee in his eyes has melted into something heavy, hot, and thick with raw desire.

My heart does a strange, violent flip in my chest, but I instantly crush the feeling under a mountain of panic. This is not what I was going for. I was trying to mock him, and instead, I somehow stepped directly onto another one of the insane landmines this crazy fucker has.

I forcefully yank my arm out of his grip, rubbing my wrist against my trousers like I am wiping off poison.

"Sit on the other side," I demand, pointing a stern finger at the far passenger door. "Far, far away from me."

Orion looks at the empty space on the far side of the backseat. Then he looks at me.

"Why would I sit over there when you are right here?" he asks.

"Because you are suffocating me!" I snap.

Without another word, he shifts his entire body weight over, sliding right across the seat until his hip is pressed firmly against mine. He crowds me so close there is literally zero space left between my ribs and the car door.

"Is this far enough?" he asks innocently.

I look down at his knee touching mine. I look up at his calm, expectant face.

"You are not going to shift away anytime soon, are you?" I ask dryly.

Orion nods happily, his dark eyes sparkling. "Not even if the car explodes."

I let out a long, exhausted sigh, dropping my head back against the headrest. I give up. There is no point in arguing with a madman.