Chapter 22: Miss Whitman, Please Have Some Self-Respect
She glanced sideways from time to time, casting a look behind her.
Sure enough, she saw a waiter who was pretending to be on patrol, but was actually following her.
The corridor was nearly empty.
Caroline quickened her pace.
As she reached a corner in the hallway, she was about to head toward the parking lot when she ran right into Adrian.
A flicker of disgust and impatience crossed Adrian’s eyes. Frowning, he looked down to push away the woman who had crashed into him. Just as he did, Caroline looked up. They both noticed a flush on the other’s face, as if from the effects of alcohol.
They both froze. The hostility in Adrian’s eyes vanished.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice huskier than usual.
Right now, Caroline felt like she was clutching at straws. She grabbed Adrian’s hand. "Get me out of here, or take me somewhere safe. Your nephew, Matthew, has targeted me."
She said in a low, hushed voice.
"Got it. Come with me."
With that, a large, strong, and searingly hot hand gripped her wrist. He glanced at the waiter behind Caroline before leading her down another corridor and into an elevator.
Caroline’s head was spinning, as if she were drunk.
Her grip on his hand turned into a full embrace of his arm, as if she were afraid he might suddenly bolt.
She stared at the climbing numbers on the elevator display, a sliver of clarity remaining in her mind. "Why are we going up?"
"This is the private elevator to my floor. I can’t take you home under these circumstances."
He tried to pull his arm away, but it was pressed firmly between two soft mounds.
’Her grip... is so strong.’
Adrian tilted his head back slightly and closed his eyes, giving up the struggle with a sigh of resignation. "It’s safe now. Can you let go of me?"
At that moment, Caroline had no idea what had also happened to Adrian.
She shook her head, hugging his arm even tighter. "You don’t have to take me home. Just take me to my parents’ place."
"It’s not a good time for me to face your parents right now."
Before she could process what he meant.
The elevator doors opened.
Adrian led her into a room.
He had planned to leave her here while he dealt with his own situation first.
But Caroline refused to let go, so he had to muster his last shred of patience to reason with her. "It’s very safe here. Matthew won’t find you. I’ll have someone take you home in a little while."
"Don’t go." Caroline was on the verge of tears from anxiety.
She didn’t dare stay in the room alone. ’Even though Adrian said it was safe, who knows if it really is?’
She felt that staying by Adrian’s side was safer than being alone in this so-called safe place.
’I can feel my self-control about to shatter.’
’Caroline had always scoffed at those cliché Mary Sue plotlines. After graduating, watching the Whitman Group prosper, she’d even felt a smug sense of relief for having escaped such a fate.’
’But who would have thought the world was, in essence, still so ridiculously melodramatic.’
Caroline squirmed, pressing herself unconsciously closer to him. She tilted up her flushed face, her gaze turning sultry and fixing on his thin lips.
The way she brushed against him only made Adrian more agitated, especially since he couldn’t push her away—her grip was just too strong.
He spoke in a cold voice, "Miss Whitman, please have some self-respect."
His icy tone was laced with a detached formality.
The lights in the room were still off. They stood in the doorway, their bodies half in shadow and half in the light from the hall.
At this point, Caroline’s mind had completely filtered out Adrian’s words.
Now I finally understand the saying, "To die among the peonies, one becomes a ghost in bliss."
With a CLICK, the lights suddenly flashed on.
Adrian had flipped the switch.
In the sudden light, their current state was clear at a glance.
Adrian, still clinging to a thread of reason, saw the state Caroline was in and instantly understood.
’So, she’s in the same boat as me.’
"Did Matthew drug... Mmph—" Before Adrian could finish, Caroline lunged at him like a starving tiger, crushing her lips against his.
The moment their lips met, a jolt shot through Adrian. The taut string of control in his mind snapped, and his last shred of reason began to dissolve.
He tossed his glasses aside, closed his eyes, and in the next instant, seized control, transforming his passivity into a searing, dominant heat.
Frantic.
Scorching.
Uncontrolled.
Greedy...
The atmosphere between them ignited.
If nothing had interrupted them, everything that was meant to happen would have.
But now, they were merely sitting on the sofa, holding each other, their heads resting on the other’s shoulder as they panted heavily.
The last, fading wisp of Adrian’s reason suddenly returned.
’This isn’t right.’
’Something was wrong with both of them. It shouldn’t be happening like this.’
Caroline’s body had gone soft, her earlier, formidable strength vanishing as if it had all been an act.
’He could push her away now with just a gentle shove, or even knock her over.’
Adrian sat up straight and pushed her back. Looking down at the woman in his arms, he lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, and asked, enunciating every word:
"Do you know who is in front of you?"
The bright, stark light of the room illuminated them both clearly.
Adrian saw no hint of affection on Caroline’s face—only a hazy, unfocused desire.
Caroline’s vacant mind processed his question a beat too late. She stared at Adrian’s face for a few seconds before answering:
"Adrian."
"And do you know what you’re doing right now?"
"I... I know."
’She knows?’
Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck, licked her lips, and leaned in to kiss him again.
Adrian turned his head to avoid her, and her soft lips brushed against his cheek.
In response, she simply followed the motion and bit his earlobe.
"..."
Adrian barely suppressed a groan, his arms tightening around her reflexively.
He pressed his lips into a thin line, stood up—scooping her up by the waist and hips—and cupped the back of her head with his other hand. He strode toward the door, his voice dark and hoarse, laced with restraint and the last vestiges of reason:
"Don’t forget the agreement we made."
"It shouldn’t be like this between us."
’The agreement...’
Hearing that word, Caroline’s mind cleared slightly.
’Oh, no!’
’What have I done?!’
"S-sorry, I can’t control myself. Wh-where are you taking me?"
Adrian didn’t answer, merely carrying her from the brightly lit room into a dark hallway.
With a CLICK, another door opened.
Still carrying her, he strode into a bathroom, flipped on the light, turned on the water to fill the tub, and then set her down—all in one fluid motion.
The moment the cold water hit her body, Caroline jolted, the shock scattering her thoughts and sobering her up considerably.
Adrian leaned over, his gaze darkening as he took in her drenched form. He paused, then lifted his eyes to meet her own glistening, wet ones.
"I’ll get you some medicine. Just try to calm down."
With that, he turned and left without a moment’s hesitation.
After a few long minutes, Adrian returned with a bottle of water and a blister pack of pills. When he walked in, he froze.
He wasn’t the only one who froze.
Caroline froze too, and the splashing in the tub stopped.
In that instant, a wave of shame washed over her.
Because at that moment, she had been taking matters into her own hands.
With a CLICK, the bathroom light went out.
Adrian had turned it off.
Caroline’s heart was pounding more furiously than it ever had before.