Chapter 79: Would It Have Been Me?
ADRIEN’S POV
I violently blink, snapping myself back to the present with a gasp. The cold marble walls of the church restroom hallway rush back into focus.
My heart is racing like I’ve just run a marathon, and I can almost feel the phantom taste of him sitting on my tongue.
I force my face to go completely blank, leveling Louise with a cold, unimpressed glare. I refuse to let her see how much her little revelation just shook me.
"Is this your sad attempt at a sisterly heart-to-heart, Louise?" I ask, my voice sharp, cutting, and laced with as much venom as I can muster. "Are you trying to make me feel bad for being chosen by that disturbed lunatic? Because if you’re looking for a pity party or a shoulder to cry on, you’re knocking on the wrong door. Go find Leon, he looks just as miserable as you do."
Louise rolls her eyes, the brief flash of vulnerability she showed a second ago vanishing instantly behind her usual mask of pure, unadulterated arrogance.
This bitch wears my family name better than I do. That arrogance just screams ’Dubois’.
"Make you feel bad?" she scoffs, tossing her head back as she lets out a sharp, nasty breath. "Don’t flatter yourself, Adrien. You were a pathetic child then, and you’re barely holding it together now. I don’t care if you feel bad or not. To be quite honest, I don’t care if you breathe your last breath tonight."
She steps even closer, invading my personal space until the scent of her expensive perfume and champagne makes me feel slightly dizzy.
Her voice drops into a dangerous, warning hiss.
"I’m telling you this because you’re acting like a spoiled, stubborn little brat who thinks he’s playing a game. You think you’re being clever by fighting him at every turn? You think your little rebellious, petty attitude is going to save you from the sharks out there? Wake up, little brother. Look at the ring on your finger. You are no longer a runaway runt living in the gutter where no one cares enough to notice you."
She raises a hand, pointing a perfectly manicured, sharp acrylic nail straight at my chest, right over my heart.
"Right now, you are a giant, glittering eyesore standing right in the middle of a high society courtyard. By taking Orion’s ring, you didn’t just accept a marriage—you put a massive, neon target on your back. Do you have any idea how many powerful families out there wanted their sons or daughters in your exact position? They wanted that Vassilis backing. They want your head on a spike just for existing, Adrien."
That’s not even mentioning the entire syndicate after my head.
She leans in even further, her eyes narrowing into cruel, predatory slits that look exactly like her mother’s.
"So if I were you, I’d stop throwing these little public tantrums. You better start learning how to lower your head, bend your knees, and do whatever the hell it takes to keep Orion pleased. Because whether you like his sick little obsession or not, he’s the only thing keeping you from being torn to pieces by the end of the week."
I listen to her little speech, keeping my expression completely flat and unbothered.
The threats of high society don’t scare me anymore. I’ve been dealing with the psychological warfare of the Dubois family since the day I was born.
"And what about you?" I ask, my voice dripping with cold, mocking sarcasm as I look down at her pointed finger. "Do you count yourself along my long list of enemies, dear sister? Are you going to be the first one in line to take a swing at my head, or are you too busy mourning your failed decade of celibacy?"
Louise looks at me for a long, quiet moment. The tension between us is thick enough to choke on, a toxic cloud of childhood resentment and mutual hatred.
Then, she lowers her hand and lets out a bored, dismissive sigh, her expression turning into one of pure disgust.
"Is that even a question? You’d best watch your back, Adrien," she says coldly, her voice snapping back to its usual rigid tone.
Without another word, she turns sharply on her heel. Her heavy, ice-blue winter gown rustles loudly against the polished marble floor as she walks away, her posture perfect, rigid, and unyielding once again.
She doesn’t look back at me as she rounds the corner, leaving me completely alone in the quiet, candle-lit hallway.
I stand there for a full minute, the heavy silence pressing against my ears like a physical weight.
A virgin. Orion Vassilis. The man who handles billions of dollars and commands the underworld’s fear, completely untouched.
I let out a slow, ragged breath, running a shaky hand through my hair and destroying whatever neat style I had left.
My mind is a chaotic, loud mess of old memories, janitor closets, and deadly warnings.
Louise is right about one thing— those sharks called elites are circling the courtyard, waiting for me to bleed. Like they always have.
But as I finally turn to walk back out toward the loud chatter of the party, all I can feel is the dangerous, heated ghost of Orion’s breath against sixteen-year-old Adrien’s ear.
’How far do you want me to go, Adrien? Don’t tell me to stop...tell me how far I can go with this.’
’Stop pretending like you didn’t want me to do this...you kissed me back remember? Don’t start lying now.’
’Keep lying to yourself, duckling...that’s what makes this feel even better.’
And then, I remember the last sentence I heard from seventeen-year old Orion, and the chaotic mess of old memories in my mind clears.
’’Ah, was this one really that important to you? Don’t be so sad, it’s his fault for not taking your feelings into account before acting on his desires’
It wasn’t his desire, Orion. It was mine.
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