Chapter 221: v2- - 40: the fifth test III

Adrian saw the change in Marian’s expression the moment he accepted Ophelia’s hand.

The confidence she had carried when she approached him earlier disappeared almost at once.

Her smile faded.

Her fingers tightened around her fan.

And something inside Adrian tightened with it.

He had expected her to be hurt.

That was why he had done it.

But seeing it was different.

Because Marian had looked so beautiful tonight.

Not merely beautiful.

Radiant.

She had approached him with a confidence that had made something dangerous stir inside him.

And when she had stood beside him, Adrian had nearly forgotten why he had come to the ballroom at all.

For those few moments, everything had felt almost normal.

Marian was beside him.

She was smiling.

She was happy.

And Adrian had wanted nothing more than to keep her there.

He had wanted to take her hand and keep it in his.

He had wanted to forget the years between them.

Forget the anger.

Forget every wound that had accumulated between them.

He had wanted only her.

That was the problem.

Because Adrian had never stopped wanting Marian.

He had wanted her when she chose Cassian.

He had wanted her when she left the capital.

He had wanted her when he knew she would never willingly return to him while Cassian lived.

And he had wanted her enough to make certain Cassian would never stand between them again.

Now she was here.

She had come back.

And for the first time, Adrian had something he had wanted for years.

But he still didn’t know whether she had come back because she loved him.

That question had been waiting beneath everything since her return.

Adrian knew what Valmont was facing.

He knew the difficulties her family had been dealing with.

He had indirectly caused most of them himself.

He had known that, when Marian finally returned to the capital, the Emperor would be the most obvious answer.

The most practical.

The most secure.

The easiest choice for a woman who needed to think about her family’s future as much as her own.

And she had come to him.

Exactly as he had expected.

Yet now that she was standing beside him, Adrian found himself wondering whether he had made his own answer impossible to trust.

Had Marian come because she wanted him?

Or had she simply come to the Emperor?

The distinction mattered more than he wanted to admit.

Because Adrian had never wanted her to choose the crown.

He wanted her to choose him.

And he could not ask her to prove the difference without first admitting how badly he needed to know it.

That was why he tested her.

Not because he doubted that she wanted him at all.

He doubted whether she wanted Adrian, or everything Adrian had made himself into for her.

The Emperor.

The wealth.

The power.

The security.

He had built the path that led her back to him.

Now he needed to know whether she would still choose him if he stepped off that path.

So he had tested her.

He had given her certainty.

Then taken it away.

And now he watched that certainty leave her face.

For a moment, he almost regretted it.

He wanted to cross the room.

He wanted to take her hand.

He wanted to tell her that Ophelia meant nothing.

He wanted to tell her that she had nothing left to prove.

Most dangerously of all, he wanted to tell her how much he loved her.

Adrian kept his expression still.

He would not give her that.

He would not let Marian see how easily she could still undo him.

He had already given her that power once.

He would not give it to her again.

So he danced.

And watched Marian.

The first tear had not fallen yet.

But he could see the struggle in her face.

Her eyes shone.

She blinked.

Then looked away.

Something inside Adrian eased.

There.

She cared.

More than she wanted him to know.

The realization brought a dark, private satisfaction.

She had chosen him.

She had told him she was his.

And now, faced with the possibility of losing him, she was hurting.

He should have been satisfied.

He almost was.

Until the tear finally slipped down her cheek.

Adrian’s chest tightened.

He wanted to stop it.

He wanted to go to her.

But he remained where he was.

He had wanted proof.

Now he had it.

She loved him.

Or at the very least, she cared deeply enough that the thought of losing him wounded her.

That should have been enough.

Instead, he felt the old contradiction rise inside him.

He wanted to pull her close.

He wanted to give her everything.

He wanted to erase the hurt from her face.

And at the same time, he wanted to keep his distance.

Because if Marian knew how much that single tear affected him, she would know how much power she still possessed over him.

He could not allow that.

Then someone moved through the crowd toward her.

Adrian’s attention sharpened.

Julian.

He watched him approach Marian.

Watched him offer her a handkerchief.

Marian accepted it.

Adrian’s expression hardened.

His gaze dropped to the white cloth in her hand.

Then to Julian.

He didn’t like him seeing her like this.

He didn’t like him being the one to notice her tears.

He didn’t like the thought of Marian accepting comfort from another man.

And then Marian looked up at Julian.

She smiled.

It wasn’t a romantic smile.

Adrian knew that.

But it was warm.

Grateful.

Trusting.

The kind of smile that could make a man believe he had been given something precious.

Adrian’s fingers tightened slightly around Ophelia’s hand.

He had wanted proof that Marian loved him.

He had gotten it.

So why did the sight of another man comforting her make him feel as though something had been taken from him?

He knew the answer.

He simply didn’t want to admit it.

Because if Marian was hurt badly enough, someone else might be there to catch her.

And Adrian could not tolerate that thought.

The dance ended.

Applause rose around them.

Adrian released Ophelia’s hand.

His gaze immediately went toward the doors.

Marian was leaving.

For one moment, instinct overpowered everything else.

He wanted to follow her.

He wanted to pull her back.

He wanted to tell her that she had misunderstood.

But he remained still.

He had started this.

He needed to see it through.

He turned toward his aide.

"Go after Lady Valmont."

The aide bowed.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Adrian watched him leave.

He told himself Marian would return.

She had promised him she would choose him.

This was another opportunity for her to prove it.

She would come back.

She had to.

A minute passed.

Then another.

Adrian’s expression remained composed.

But beneath that composure, impatience began to build.

Finally, his aide returned.

Alone.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

"Where is she?"

The aide hesitated.

"She has already entered her carriage, Your Majesty."

Adrian went still.

"She refused to return?"

"Yes."

Silence.

He looked toward the doors.

She had left.

She had not come back.

She had not even turned around.

Something cold settled in his chest.

He had expected resistance.

Perhaps anger.

Perhaps tears.

But not this.

She had simply walked away.

Adrian’s gaze remained fixed on the doors through which Marian had disappeared.

Perhaps he had pushed too far.

The thought did not make him reconsider what he wanted.

It simply made him reconsider the way he intended to get it.

He had always known what would happen eventually.

Marian would become his Empress.

There had never been anyone else he wanted for that place.

Not Ophelia.

Not anyone.

He had only wanted to be certain first.

Certain that Marian wanted Adrian—not merely the Emperor.

Certain that she would choose him even when choosing him wasn’t convenient.

Certain that when he finally gave her everything, she would not turn around and leave him again.

But perhaps he had been approaching it from the wrong direction.

He had been trying to make certain she would stay before binding her to him.

Perhaps he should bind her to him first.

Then he could continue testing her.

Continue watching.

Continue making certain.

The difference was that once Marian was his wife, she would have nowhere to go.

The thought settled his mind with unsettling ease.

Adrian’s expression became calm again.

Yes.

That was better.

He would bring her back.

And this time, he would not merely ask her to choose him.

He would marry her.

Then, if he still needed proof of her love, he would have all the time in the world to obtain it.

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AN: yes a bit repetitive in some thoughts but i want you to understand why adrian is the way he is.