Chapter 11 - The Guest Room
Maya didn't return to her tiny, drafty apartment.
Adrian wouldn't allow it.
Instead, she moved into the guest suite on the first floor of the mansion.
It had French doors opening to the garden, a massive TV, and a bed that looked like a cloud.
"This is too much, Nia," Maya whispered to me on her first night.
"He's a mafia boss, not a hotel manager."
I smiled, pulling the expensive silk blanket over her shoulders.
"He's a father," I corrected gently.
"And he knows how much you mean to me."
The boys were absolutely fascinated by Maya.
They treated her like a fragile piece of glass, tiptoeing into her room with handmade cards and extra pillows.
Luke would sit at the edge of her bed and read her stories about dinosaurs.
Caleb appointed himself her personal bodyguard, glaring at the actual security team if they walked too heavily past her door.
One evening, I walked into the kitchen to find Adrian cooking.
Not the private chef. Adrian.
He was wearing a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, stirring a pot of soup.
"Is that for Maya?" I asked, leaning against the counter.
He didn't look up, but a small smile touched his lips.
"My mother used to make this when I was sick," he said quietly.
"It heals everything."
I watched this dangerous, powerful man carefully taste the broth.
He was entirely terrifying to the outside world.
May you like
But in this kitchen, under the warm lights, he was just a man trying to take care of his family.
And I realized, with a sudden jolt to my heart, that I was falling deeply in love with him.
