Chapter 5 I'm Not Yours Anymore

Nora's POV

The next afternoon, I moved into the short-term apartment near campus.

At seven that evening, Adrian came to pick me up himself.

I came downstairs wearing the only black evening gown I owned.

He was standing beside his car. His charcoal-gray suit accentuated the clean line of his shoulders.

When he saw me, his gaze lingered for two seconds.

"Is something wrong with the dress?"

I looked down to check it.

"Not at all."

He opened the car door for me.

"Keep talking like that tonight."

"Who am I supposed to say it to?"

"Anyone who underestimates you."

I was coming down the last step when my injured leg suddenly gave way.

Adrian caught me around the waist.

My hand landed against his chest.

"Got your balance?"

"Yeah."

He waited until I was steady before letting go.

Then he offered me his arm.

"Take my arm."

I didn't refuse.

He slowed his steps to match mine.

A guest list was waiting in the car.

Adrian had marked several architects and the director of a public-projects foundation.

But he didn't tell me what to say to any of them.

"Tonight, you're just Nora Bennett," he said. "You don't need to borrow my last name."

"What if someone asks why I came with you?"

"Tell them I've seen your work and I think you've earned the invitation."

The dinner was being held in a renovated bank hall in Manhattan.

The moment I stepped inside, I wished I'd stayed in the car.

Adrian noticed me slowing down.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

"Then let's stand here for a minute."

He didn't rush me.

Only when I nodded did he introduce me to the foundation director.

"This is Nora Bennett. Her work focuses on adapting older buildings for public use."

The man opened my train station proposal.

"Have you worked on any commissioned projects?"

"Not yet."

His interest visibly faded.

He was already starting to close my portfolio when Adrian spoke.

"Weren't you just complaining about how expensive public buildings are to maintain?"

The man's hand stopped.

"Her proposal addresses exactly that problem."

Adrian turned to me.

"Show him the budget."

He'd kept the conversation going.

But the answer was mine to give.

I turned to the budget page.

"Keeping costs down doesn't mean compromising safety. I've preserved the main structure. What I've removed are the additions that were there purely for publicity."

I pointed to the drawings.

"The savings go toward an accessible entrance and more public space."

The director asked a few more questions.

At first, I kept glancing at Adrian.

Then, somewhere in the middle of explaining the construction costs, I forgot to be nervous.

When our conversation ended, the director handed me his business card.

"Email me a digital copy. You can build your project experience later. You can't fake good design."

I tightened my fingers around the thin card.

He'd given it to me.

My name was written on it.

I'd walked into this room with Adrian.

But it was my design that had made the man remember me.

The feeling was so unfamiliar that I couldn't quite let go of the card.

After the director left, Adrian handed me a glass of water.

"Still nervous?"

"Not anymore."

"I can tell. He's already started running the numbers again."

I couldn't help laughing.

"Adrian."

Someone called his name behind us.

My smile froze.

Julian was approaching with Claire on his arm.

She wore a champagne-colored evening gown.

Together, they looked like a carefully staged engagement photo from a business magazine.

Claire greeted Adrian politely.

Julian barely looked at him.

His eyes stayed on me.

"Why are you here with him?"

"I'm attending an architecture dinner."

His gaze swept over my portfolio.

He clearly didn't believe me.

"Come outside. We need to talk alone."

He turned and walked several steps before realizing I wasn't following.

"Nora."

There had been a time when hearing him say my name like that was enough to make me hurry after him and apologize first.

This time, I stayed where I was.

Claire reminded him that this wasn't the place to discuss private matters.

Julian ignored her.

He came straight back and grabbed my wrist.

"Stop making a scene."

His grip pressed against my injury.

Pain shot up my arm.

I tried to pull away.

He didn't let go.

"Let go."

"She told you to let go."

Adrian's voice came from behind me.

He hadn't raised it.

But the conversations around us fell silent.

He stepped beside me, his eyes fixed on Julian's hand around my wrist.

"Now."

Julian's expression darkened.

At last, he released me.

"You came here with him because you want to make me come back to you, don't you?"

"No."

I looked him in the eye.

"I finally did something that has nothing to do with you."

When I was nineteen, Julian had pulled me out of that wooden chest.

I'd believed he'd always be on my side.

But he'd saved me once.

I'd already repaid that kindness with four years of waiting.

Adrian turned to me.

"Do you want to go with him?"

"No."

Only then did he look back at Julian.

"You heard her."

"This is between Nora and me."

"Not after she said no."

Adrian stepped in front of me.

"You can stay, or you can have security escort you out. But you're not touching her again."

Julian was still waiting for me to do what I always used to do.

Give in.

Follow him.

Instead, I stepped up beside Adrian and slipped my hand around his arm.

His body went still for a moment.

He looked down at me.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

His hand settled against the small of my back, keeping me beyond Julian's reach.

"Nora, don't forget who's been taking care of you for the past four years."

Julian's voice was cold.

My chest still ached at the words.

But I didn't let go of Adrian.

"I haven't forgotten."

I met Julian's eyes.

"I remember you leaving me trapped in that car. I remember you taking away my nomination. And I remember you deciding when I was allowed to leave you."

I looked at the man who had once been my entire world.

"Julian, I'm not yours anymore."

Silence spread around us.

Claire caught Julian's arm and reminded him that everyone was watching.

This time, he didn't come any closer.

I didn't release Adrian's arm until we were back in the car.

My palm was damp with sweat.

"Thank you. For what you did back there."

"Why did you come to me?"

"Because you were the closest."

"There were plenty of men close to you in that room."

His tone was perfectly calm.

But I could hear the displeasure beneath it.

"You think I was using you to make Julian jealous?"

"I don't like the possibility."

"I wasn't."

His gaze stayed on my face.

"Then why did you choose me?"

"Because I knew you'd stand by me."

I paused.

"But you wouldn't make the decision for me."

Adrian went quiet for a moment.

"So Milan is about that, too? Taking back the right to make your own decisions?"

"Yes."

I looked down at my hands.

"I'm tired of people telling me where I should live, who I should love, and when I should give up an opportunity I've worked for."

"When we first discussed marriage, I thought I could solve the problem by finding you another school," he said.

"I underestimated what Milan meant to you."

"Do you understand now?"

"Not completely."

He looked at me.

"But I'd like to."

Those words unsettled me more than any number in the contract ever had.

For the first time, he wasn't assessing whether I'd make a suitable wife.

He was trying to get to know me.

The car stopped outside my apartment building.

After the driver got out, Adrian and I were alone in the back seat.

He didn't immediately open the door for me.

"Nora."

Streetlight spilled through the window.

His eyes looked darker than usual.

For once, he didn't sound as though he was discussing a business deal.

"If you didn't have to give up Milan," he asked, "would you still marry me?"