Chapter 8 - THE CHASE
The heavy oak door swung shut with a hollow thud.
Nora stood frozen, staring at the closed door.
I am releasing you from your employment.
You need to walk away from me.
The words echoed in her mind, completely drowning out Allison’s quiet sobbing in the corner.
For the last four years, Adrian DeLuca had been the only constant in her life. When her marriage fell apart, the silence of his massive house had been her sanctuary. When her family looked at her with pity, Adrian looked at her with respect.
And tonight, when she finally found the courage to ask for someone to stand beside her, he had literally placed himself between her and a loaded gun.
He wasn’t firing her because she was a bad employee.
He was pushing her away because he thought he was toxic.
Nora looked at the small console table by the door.
Sitting next to the car keys was her grandfather’s vintage Patek Philippe watch. Adrian must have pulled it from Mark’s wrist in the foyer and kept it safe the entire time.
Nora walked over to the table. She picked up the watch. The gold was cold against her skin.
She strapped it firmly onto her left wrist.
“Nora?” Allison whispered from the floor. “Where are you going?”
“To finish this,” Nora said fiercely.
She grabbed the car keys, turned on her heel, and threw the oak door open.
She ran down the hallway, her heels sinking into the carpet. She took the grand staircase at a dangerous speed, holding the banister to keep from falling.
The foyer was empty. The anniversary party had migrated into the dining room for speeches, oblivious to the violence that had just occurred above their heads.
Nora burst through the heavy front doors of Bellweather House and out into the cool night air.
The gravel driveway was lined with expensive cars.
At the far end of the drive, near the iron gates, Adrian was walking toward a sleek, black SUV. The driver was already holding the door open for him.
“Adrian!” Nora shouted, her voice ringing across the silent lawn.
He stopped.
He didn’t turn around immediately. He stood rigid, his broad shoulders rising and falling.
Slowly, he turned.
Nora marched down the gravel driveway, ignoring the stones biting into her expensive heels. She didn’t stop until she was two feet away from him.
Adrian looked down at her, his jaw clenched tight.
“I told you to take the car,” he said softly.
“I don’t want the car,” Nora fired back. “And I don’t want your severance package.”
“Nora, you don’t understand—”
“No, you don’t understand!” Nora cut him off, jabbing a finger into his solid chest. “For twelve years, I was married to a coward. A man who stole, lied, and ran the second things got hard. I know what a toxic man looks like, Adrian. And it is not you.”
Adrian stared at her, his dark eyes wide with shock.
“I bring violence,” he whispered.
“You brought justice,” she corrected fiercely. “Mark ruined my family. Vincent threatened a child. You stopped them. You didn’t use me tonight, Adrian. You saved me.”
She held up her left wrist, displaying the vintage gold watch.
“You brought this back to me,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “You gave my parents their future back. And you gave me back my dignity.”
Adrian looked at the watch, then up at her face. The hollow, dead look in his eyes was slowly cracking, revealing the profound, terrifying vulnerability hiding beneath it.
“If you stay with me,” Adrian said, his voice rough and uneven, “you will never be able to hide on the end of a photograph again. The world I live in… people look. People talk. You will always be in the center.”
Nora smiled, a real, radiant smile that reached her eyes for the first time in years.
“I’m done hiding,” she said softly.
Adrian let out a ragged breath. He closed the distance between them, wrapping his large hands around her waist. He pulled her flush against his chest, burying his face in her hair.
Nora wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in the scent of his expensive cologne and the faint, metallic smell of the night air.
He felt like a fortress.
“I’m not leaving you, Nora,” Adrian whispered against her ear, the words a fierce vow. “Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Never.”
Before Nora could answer, the heavy front doors of Bellweather House swung open again.
“Nora!”
Helen’s voice pierced the romantic quiet.
Nora sighed, resting her forehead against Adrian’s chest. “And here comes reality.”
Adrian chuckled, a deep, rich sound that vibrated against her. He didn’t let her go. He simply turned them slightly so they were facing the house, keeping one arm firmly around her waist.
Helen was marching down the front steps, holding a glass of champagne.
“Where have you been?” Helen demanded, stopping at the edge of the gravel. “Mark completely disappeared, Chloe is crying in the bathroom, and the caterers are waiting to cut the cake. The entire evening is falling apart!”
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Nora looked at her mother.
For the first time in her life, she didn’t feel the familiar wave of guilt or inadequacy. She felt completely, entirely free.
