Chapter 10 - The KissAdrien reached for Maya.
The cameras exploded.
He pulled her against him.
And kissed her.
The ballroom stopped breathing.
It wasn't a staged kiss.
It wasn't political.
It wasn't strategic.
It was twenty-two years of loneliness collapsing into three seconds.
Maya's hands trembled against his chest.
When he pulled away, they stared at each other.
Then Vanessa screamed.
A raw, furious sound.
“You're kissing HER?”
Adrien turned.
“Yes.”
Vanessa's face twisted.
“She is a servant!”
Adrien's voice became cold.
“No.”
He looked at Maya.
“She is the person who knew me before I became anyone.”
The room went silent.
Adrien turned back toward Vanessa.
“You had money.”
“You had connections.”
“You had power.”
“But Maya had something none of you ever had.”
Vanessa spat:
“What?”
Adrien answered quietly.
May you like
“My trust.”
And that sentence destroyed Vanessa more completely than any financial document could.
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