Chapter 136: Perception
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3rd Person POV
Adrien didn’t move. Not even an inch, he stood there with one hand still gripping the doorknob, knuckles tight, shoulders drawn tense as if the wrong word might make the entire room collapse around him.
The fact that Vanessa...Vanessa of all people, was perceptive enough to piece together what he had buried so deeply made something cold settle beneath his ribs.
Behind him, he heard the faint rustle of the bedsheets as she slid off the mattress. A soft click of her tongue followed, irritation or disbelief, he couldn’t tell.
When he finally turned, she was already pulling the silk robe from the chair, her expression no longer seductive or furious, just tired. The purple lingerie looked strangely pathetic now, stripped of its power and purpose, and her movements had lost all of their calculated sensuality.
"You’re awfully quiet," she said after a deep breath that seemed to drain a lot from her, her voice low but steady as she shrugged into the robe and tied it loosely at her waist. Her copper hair spilled over the lapels, catching the dim light.
"Cat got your tongue?" She let out a small laugh that trembled a bit at the end. "So let me ask again..." Her eyes found his, sharp and searching for something he wasn’t willing to show her at all. "Are you in love with Noah?"
It was the directness that rattled him—not the words, but the simple, devastating way she spoke them. No teasing. No flirtation. No mocking grin. Just the truth hanging heavy in the air.
Shit, she means it.
Adrien swallowed hard, forcing his expression back into the practiced neutrality he wore like armor. He could not allow this. Not here, not with her. Not with anyone else.
He scoffed, trying for nonchalance but hearing the strain in his own voice. "Are you high or something? Why the hell would you even ask me that?"