Page 30 of Silent Night With Adrian

Chapter 23 Mia

December 28

The next day passes slowly, the hours stretching as we wait for the coroner’s late arrival after midnight. I watch Adrian move through the cabin, his face etched with a focus I’ve rarely seen. Even in his quiet moments, he’s always calculating, his mind never truly at rest.

The meal Adrian prepares for our early dinner is simple—a hearty pasta with a homemade tomato sauce. I saute some vegetables in garlic and olive oil, and toast a loaf of crusty bread that I found in the freezer. It’s not much, but under the circumstances, it feels like a feast.

He lights a couple candles at the dinner table lending a romantic intimate feeling to our meal.

I know he’s doing this for me—trying to make this last night feel normal, as if we aren’t both standing on the edge of something irreversible.

“The last supper by candlelight?” I say with a teasing lilt in my voice, trying to add a touch of levity.

He glances up, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “I figured it’s the least I could do… for the woman who’s about to join me in faking her own death.”

As we enjoy our early evening meal, I can feel Adrian’s eyes study me. I look up to see his ocean eyes piercing through the candlelight. There’s something in his expression, a mix of concern and something deeper, something I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s as if he’s bracing himself, like he’s about to tell me something that’s been weighing on him all night.

“Mia,” he says, his voice low, as if the words might break under their own weight. “There’s something I need you to understand about tomorrow.”

I set down my fork, my pulse picking up at the seriousness in his tone. “What is it?”

He takes a breath, his gaze unwavering. “Once we set this plan in motion, there’s no turning back. And… I don’t want you to feel like you’re trapped with me, like you don’t have a choice. You’re not obligated to stay with me once we’re out of this mess. When we’re free, you can make whatever choice you want for your life.”

I swallow, a strange pang hitting my chest. He’s offering me a way out—safety, protection, even a chance at freedom. But he’s also giving me the option to leave him. The thought is almost unfathomable. He doesn’t know it, but he’s already become my anchor, the one constant in the chaos that has turned my world upside down. And he’s offering to let me go, even though I can see how much it costs him.

“Adrian… I know this plan is my only real option,” I begin, trying to keep my voice steady. “The truth is, I don’t have a choice about going through with this. If I don’t, Massimo… or someone else in his family… will kill me. That’s just reality.” I take a steadying breath. “But once we’re out, once we’re free, that’s a choice I do get to make. And it’s a choice I want you to understand that I’m already making now.”

He watches me closely, a flicker of tension in his jaw. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you’re not my obligation, Adrian.” I reach across the table, taking his hand in mine, letting him feel the sincerity in my grip. “If I didn’t want to be with you, I’d find another way to survive. I’m not someone who sticks around out of duty or desperation. I want this. I want you. That’s why I’m here.”

A breath escapes him, something between relief and disbelief, and he squeezes my hand, his thumb tracing gentle circles along my knuckles. “I just… I don’t ever want you to feel like I’ve trapped you. I love you too much to put you in another cage.”

“Adrian…” I begin, my voice thick with emotion. I reach across the table, taking his hand in mine. His fingers are warm and strong, but there’s a tension there, like he’s bracing himself. “Are you… Are you saying this because you’re worried I’m with you for the wrong reasons?”

He shakes his head, but there’s a flash of something raw in his eyes. “No, it’s not that. I just… I know you’ve had your freedom taken from you by so many people. Your father, your brother… hell, even by me, in a way, when I took you to this cabin. I don’t want to be one more person chaining you to something. If you stay with me, I want it to be because you want me. Not because you feel like you have no other choice.”

His words hit me like a tidal wave, washing over every last defense I have. He’s stripped himself bare, leaving his heart open and raw, vulnerable in a way I never imagined. And in this moment, I realize that he’s not just offering me freedom—he’s offering me his love in the purest, most selfless way.

I rise from my seat and walk around the table to him, slipping onto his lap, my hands cupping his face as I look into his eyes. “Adrian,” I whisper, my lips brushing his, “do you really think I would run away with you if I didn’t want you? If I didn’t feelsomething so strong that it terrifies me sometimes? You’re the one good thing in my life. You’re the only thing that’s felt real to me for as long as I can remember. I felt it five years ago when we met at that party. I barely knew you, and yet, I couldn’t shake the thought of you. You were different, Adrian. You still are. And I’ve held on to that feeling all this time, through everything.”

I can see the surprise in his eyes, as if he hadn’t realized how deep my feelings ran. A flicker of understanding crosses his face, and his grip on my hand tightens.

“I don’t want anyone else,” I continue, my voice growing stronger. “I want you. And I’m not staying with you because you saved my life or because I need somewhere to hide. I’m staying with you because I love you. I love you, Adrian.”

The words hang in the air between us, raw and vulnerable, and I see the impact of them in the way his expression softens, the tension easing from his shoulders. He lets out a long breath, as if he’s been holding it in for years.

“I love you too, Mia,” he murmurs, his voice rough with emotion. “And I want you to know… when we’re finally free, I’m going to spend every day making sure you know that. That you’re loved. That you’re cherished. And if you ever want something different… you’ll always have that choice.”

I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.

His hands slide up my back, pulling me closer, and I can feel his heartbeat, strong and steady, beneath my palms.

“And for the record,” I add, my voice dropping to a playful murmur as I start kissing his neck, “it’s not like I’m just sticking around for your resources, you know. I happen to be very attached to this hard-ass body of yours… and that dominant, infuriating way you look at me. Not to mention all the other ways you know how to drive me crazy.”

A low chuckle escapes him, his eyes warming. “Oh, is that so?”

“Yes.” I reach under his shirt to run my hands over his hard pectoral muscles, sliding them down his six-pack.

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