Chapter 113: Princess Treatment: Caught in the Act
"Isabella."
We both froze.
Adrien’s body went still above mine, breath halting just inches from my cheek. I didn’t dare move.
Maybe if I stayed perfectly still, we’d become invisible. Like startled animals.
No such luck.
The silence stretched—thick and suffocating—until Adrien slowly, so slowly, straightened up. He didn’t scramble or fumble or even look remotely sheepish. No. He adjusted himself like a man fixing his cufflinks before a board meeting. Calm, collected and unbothered.
Meanwhile, my heart had rocketed straight through my ribcage and into the stratosphere.
I scrambled up from the floor, nearly slipping again, tugging my shirt down in a useless attempt to look less compromised. My face was on fire. My brain completely short-circuited.
My father stood at the entrance, dressed in his scrubs, a pet carrier in one hand and the world’s most judgmental tabby cat glaring out from behind the mesh screen. Ivy—traitorous baby—chose that exact moment to bark once and then trot cheerfully over to him like this was just another Tuesday evening.
"Dad," I said, far too loud, far too fast. "Hi. Hi. You’re early!"
"Isabella," he repeated, tone impressively neutral.