REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight

Chapter 172: In the middle of the night.

That night, after Carris had left with Tonio and Elara had gone to her room, Ziva sat quietly on the couch with her tablet in her hand, sipping from the bottle of milk Carris had brought earlier that morning.

She scrolled through the screen again, her lips pursing tightly as the content caught her eyes.

"From the way Adrian Vale held Elara? That didn’t look like a polite reflex at all..."

"Isn’t Adrian Vale engaged to Relanie? He shouldn’t be holding another woman like that, right?"

"Honestly, after years of watching them, I’ve never seen Adrian Vale look that close or act that intense around Relanie before. Imagine what he did to the woman who bumped into Elara."

"Look at where his hands are around her waist. There’s definitely something going on there."

Ziva turned the tablet over and placed it on her thighs. She lifted her chin a little and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Slowly, her gaze moved toward Elara’s bedroom door.

Her eyes stayed there for a long moment. Though her expression looked unreadable, the tightness in her jaw was impossible to miss. Just as she looked away and picked the tablet up again, the doorbell suddenly rang.

She froze instantly, her heart jumping hard inside her chest. She quickly looked toward the wall clock.

A few minutes past midnight.

Who could possibly be visiting at this time?

Uneasiness crawled through her immediately, especially after everything that had just happened.

"Who’s there?" she asked cautiously.

There was no reply.

Ziva almost started shaking from nervousness. Her eyes moved toward Elara’s bedroom door.

Should she wake her up?

No. Elara was already exhausted enough. And what if it was just Carris or Tonio trying to pull some stupid prank?

Ziva slowly tiptoed toward the door. When she finally reached it, she straightened carefully and peered through the peephole.

Her expression changed instantly the moment she saw who was standing outside. She stepped back at once, her eyes turning cold as she silently wondered what to do. Then after a sharp breath, she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Adrian didn’t even wait for her to speak before he walked past her calmly and entered the apartment.

Ziva stood by the door for a second, watching him hesitantly before finally closing it behind her. She already knew who he came looking for.

"Elara is in her room," she said quietly. "She’s asleep."

Adrian acted as though he hadn’t heard her. His face remained expressionless as his eyes moved calmly around the apartment. His gaze finally stopped on the piano placed at the far end of the sitting room.

Ziva watched him look around the apartment like he owned the place. Then she turned and walked toward Elara’s bedroom door, peeking inside briefly.

"She’s asleep," she repeated again.

Still no response came from him.

She stared at him for another second before walking back toward the couch. She picked up her tablet, moved to her bedroom door, opened it, then stepped inside and closed it gently behind her.

Only then did Adrian finally move. He walked toward the piano slowly, his fingers brushing lightly across it.

After a long time, he turned away from it and walked toward the bedroom door Ziva had checked earlier. Without the smallest hesitation, he pushed it open and stepped inside.

The room was only lit by the dim lamp resting on the bedside locker. Adrian stared quietly at the figure lying on the bed, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Then he stepped forward, moving to the foot of the bed. He looked down at her silently, his expression barely readable. After a small second, he leaned down slightly and pulled the blanket aside a little.

His jaw tightened instantly at the sight of the bandage wrapped around Elara’s leg. Without a word, he tugged at the blanket and pulled it completely off her legs, his palm landing on them gently.

Apart from the bandage, there were a few other cuts and small bruises there too.

His breath hitched a little at the sight, his expression turning colder. His fingers moved upward slowly, tracing lightly near the injuries on her calf up to her thigh.

Elara’s body suddenly jerked, her hand instinctively reaching down to grab his wrist. Her eyes flew open as she sat upright, but just as quickly, she released his hand again.

A painful breath escaped her lips immediately. It was obvious the sudden movement had triggered the pain in her leg.

Adrian’s hand moved to her waist to hold her in place.

Elara twisted her body slightly to move away from his touch, her lips parting in shock as she stared at him.

"What are you doing here? Who let you into my apartment? Why are you touching my leg like that?" she asked breathlessly, her chest rising and falling quickly.

Then her eyes looked past him toward the closed door before turning back to his face. Her lips tightened the instant she saw his expression.

It remained calm. As if he had simply walked into the most ordinary place in the world.

He retracted his hand and slid it into the pocket of his pants before properly stepping to the side of her bed.

Elara turned immediately, her brows furrowing in confusion as she stared at him. "Just tell me what you’re doing here," she muttered quickly.

Did he think her room was some kind of hotel lobby that he could just walk into whenever he wanted?

A cold snort escaped Adrian’s lips.

"You were attacked in my car," he said flatly.

Elara raised a brow in amusement. Of course she knew she had been attacked in his car, but how exactly did that explain him showing up at her apartment... and even entering her room in the middle of the night?

Clutching the blanket tightly to herself, she shifted toward the edge of the bed, trying to get out of the vulnerable position she was in. But she had barely moved before his hand suddenly wrapped around her bare ankle.

Elara froze instantly, her brows lifting as she slowly looked up at him. "Stop touching me," she warned, slapping at his hand.

It was as if he hadn’t even heard her. He continued holding her ankle calmly, his gaze fixed on her...

Elara’s heart almost jumped out of her chest. Her shorts had ridden up high during the movement, exposing far more of her thighs than she was comfortable with. Heat rushed to her face immediately.

She quickly grabbed the blanket and pulled it over herself again. But before she could even finish the action, Adrian had simply reached forward and lowered the blanket once more.

Elara glared at him, her brows rising in disbelief.