Chapter Two Hundred Fifty-Three 

Sephie 

He nodded his head. “Since the first time I touched you, I’ve felt a pull back toward you every time we’re apart. When you smile at me, I either feel that pull in my chest that I’m guessing you’re feeling right now or it feels like my heart stops. When you’re sad or upset, sometimes I feel that pull in my chest too. Sometimes it’s stronger when you’re upset, like my heart is demanding I destroy whatever is making you upset.” His eyes got darker and I saw his jaw tense. I was suddenly hit with a wave of sadness. He closed his eyes, preventing me from finding out why. He sighed. “It was especially bad after the ball, when we were on the plane and you wouldn’t let anyone touch you. That pull toward you was so strong, because I just wanted to make you feel better and I couldn’t. I also knew you were upset, on top of being hurt. It felt like there was a ho le in my chest until you allowed me to touch you again.” He opened his eyes and I saw the regret he still carried over that whole situation. I felt the tears welling in my eyes as I saw him struggling with the memory of what happened. 

“Adrik,” I said. I put both of my hands on either side of his face, so he would look at me. “You don’t need to keep carrying this guilt over what happened. It ultimately worked out for the best and I got a kickass scar out of it, to boot,” I said smiling. I was hoping to make him laugh, but he flinched at the memory of me being hurt. I stood on my toes kissing him gently. I sighed, taking a new approach. “I think it needed to happen the way it did, Adrik. If I hadn’t gotten hurt, I wouldn’t have remembered everything about my uncle and I would’ve kept a very big part of me locked away forever. Until we were on that plane, I would still regularly hear my uncle’s voice in my head. Like he was standing next to me, still telling me all the same things he used to scream at me when he was beating me. There was a very large part of me that was terrified he would find me again and ki ll me. Remember the first night I spent at the house? When I had a nightmare and started shaking so bad I couldn’t control myself?” | asked. He nodded. “That was a regular occurrence. I’ve had that same nightmare so many times I last count. It just ended differently that night because of Anthony. Do you know how many times I’ve had that nightmare since the night of the ball?” He looked at me curiously, resuming all efforts to tame my curls. “Zero Limes. So, while you’re beating yourself up thinking that you put me through He ll, I’m eternally grateful to you for saving me from it. It was you, Adrik, that showed me the way out. If that night hadn’t happened, I never would’ve gotten out.” I could see the tears forming in his eyes as he listened to my words, While he felt a pull in his chest, I felt a fire building throughout my entire body. I felt that warmth building as he looked at me, looking at me with complete love in his eyes. Just to see what would happen, I concentrated on what I was feeling and then 

tried to push it to him. 

I heard his breath hitch as his eyes widened and I knew he felt it. I grinned at him. “That’s what it’s been like for me since the 

beginning,” I said. 

“No wonder you’re freezing when I’m not around,” he said, his sexy smirk on his face. 

“That struggle is ridiculously real,” I said. We heard a soft knock on his office door. I stood on my toes again and pressed my lips to his. “That’s Stephen, I’m sure. He’s the only one with enough finesse to be able to knock that softly. You need to hear what we found out about our dearest Giana today.” I walked to the office door to open it. Stephen was there, looking somewhat unsure about whether he should’ve disturbed us or not. I laughed. “It’s good, Yoden. You guys can come in.” 

He turned and motioned to all the guys to come to the office. I walked back to Adrik, who walked us both to one of the couches. He pulled me into his lap and leaned me back against his chest. I crossed my legs in between his as he wrapped his arms around me. 

Both Viktor and Ivan walked in with their laptops. “We need more translations, princess,” Ivan said, handing me his computer. 

Andrei and Misha walked in behind them. 

Stephen said, “Keith will be here shortly. He said Armando had a late meeting, so he asked Keith to grab dinner for him and Glana.” I looked to Stephen, who had a knowing look on his face. “I agree. Weird move.” His phone beeped. He looked at the text, saying, “he’s on his way.” 

It was barely one minute later that we heard the elevator doors ding to signal Keith’s arrival. He walked into the office, looking 

slightly nervous. I’ll give it to him. The last time he was summoned before all of us was slightly uncomfortable for him. 

“Shu t the door, Keith,” Adrik said. I could feel that he was enjoying fu cking with Keith’s head and was not mad in the slightest. It was all I could do to not laugh. I hugged his arms tighter around me. 

“What’s up?” Keith asked, sitting down in one of the chairs. He looked like he was trying to not be nervous. He was failing miserably. 

“We did some investigating into Giana and her frequent excursions to the lobby unattended,” Ivan said. Keith looked surprised, but intrigued. He glanced around the room, looking at all of our faces. His face dropped slightly. “Why do I feel like this is so 

much worse than a drug problem?”