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I Fell Asleep In A Billionaire’s Chair—Then The Cold Billionaire Stopped Breathing / Chapter 4 / 8

Chapter 4 - WHISPERS IN THE DARK

The sheer shock of Victoria’s screech broke our contact.

The moment my skin detached from Adrian’s, the electric current vanished. Adrian staggered against his desk, gripping the mahogany wood as he sucked in heavy gulps of air. The heart monitor on his wrist slowly decelerated, its beep returning to a steady rhythm.

Victoria rushed forward, her face twisted in a mixture of confusion and absolute rage. She grabbed Adrian’s arm—over his suit jacket—and glared at me like she wanted to tear me apart.

"Adrian! What is she doing to you?!" Victoria shrieked. "Why were you touching her bare skin?! You don't even let me touch your hand!"

Adrian straightened his back, pulling his arm out of Victoria’s grasp with cold disdain. He calmly retrieved his leather glove from the desk and slipped it back over his fingers.

"Victoria," Adrian said, his voice dropping into a register of terrifying quietness. "You do not enter my private office without an appointment. Ever."

"An appointment?!" Victoria gasped, incredulous. "I am your fiancée! And this... this pest is holding your hand in your private study! What is going on here, Adrian? Is she sleeping with you?!"

"Watch your tongue," Adrian warned, his eyes flashing with a dangerous glint. "Miss Vance is conducting a specialized neurological therapy under strict medical supervision. If you make another absurd accusation, I will terminate the Sterling Global merger agreement before the sun sets."

Victoria went completely pale. The threat was clear and lethal. She swallowed hard, realizing she had pushed too far, but the hatred burning in her eyes toward me was practically glowing.

"Fine," Victoria hissed through clenched teeth. She turned her icy gaze to me. "I apologize for my... intrusion. But Adrian, don't forget the Charity Gala at the Drake Hotel tonight. The entire board expects us to announce our wedding date."

"I will be there," Adrian said coldly. "Now leave."

Victoria cast one last venomous glance at me before turning and storming out of the room, her high heels clicking aggressively against the marble floor.

Once she was gone, a heavy silence descended upon the study.

I leaned against the chair, my heart still hammering against my ribs from the physical shock of touching Adrian. "You should have told her the truth," I said softly.

"The truth is a vulnerability, Mara," Adrian replied, walking over to the decanter on his bar and pouring himself a glass of whiskey. "In my world, if your enemies know you have a weakness, they cut your throat. If the public knows I am physically incapacitated, the stock of Park Meridian drops forty percent in thirty minutes."

He took a sip of whiskey, staring at me over the rim of the glass.

"Tonight, you are coming with me to the Gala," Adrian stated suddenly.

"What?" I blinked in disbelief. "To a High Society gala? Victoria will throw a fit!"

"I don't care about Victoria," Adrian said, stepping closer to me. "My bio-monitor showed something interesting during our... session just now."

He turned the tablet toward me. A graph displayed a chaotic spike in his nervous system, followed by a sudden stabilization.

"When you touched me today," Adrian explained, his voice low and intense, "my nervous system didn't shut down immediately. It held on for twelve seconds longer than last night. My body is adapting to you. But the stabilization only occurs when you are within three feet of me."

He leaned down, his face mere inches from mine. The scent of dark amber and expensive whiskey enveloped my senses.

"Tonight, at the gala, I will be surrounded by sharks, rival executives, and media cameras. I need my mind at peak performance," Adrian whispered, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an irresistible pull. "You will attend as my personal assistant. You will stay close. And if I begin to lose control... you will touch me."

A tremor ran down my spine. The way he said those words sounded less like an order and more like a desperate plea wrapped in ice.

"And what happens if someone catches us?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

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The screech of the chopper’s rotor blades vibrated directly through the freezing slate beneath my spine. The blinding white vortex of snow kicked up by the downdraft burned my eyes, but I forced my lids open, locking my gaze onto the amber visor of the rescue specialist dropping out of the sky.

The screech of the chopper’s rotor blades vibrated directly through the...

Daniel stepped toward the bed, his polished leather shoes squeaking against the pristine hospital linoleum. He reached for the tray table, his fingers brushing the edge of the papers. His voice was low, coated in a practiced, corporate calm that made my stomach churn worse than the spiked blood pressure.

Daniel stepped toward the bed, his polished leather shoes squeaking agai...

The silence in the dining room stretched thin, heavy enough to slice with a butter knife. Robert, Michael’s father, adjusted his napkin, completely oblivious to the silent war being fought across the porcelain plates.

The silence in the dining room stretched thin, heavy enough to slice wit...

Adrian’s gaze dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second before returning to my eyes.

"Then let them watch," he murmured.

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