✨ Forever Bound ✨

🌸 Chapter Two - Two Worlds

Elena's POV

My apartment was quiet. Too quiet.

The kind of silence that pressed against your ears until you wanted to scream just to fill it.

I tossed my bag on the sagging couch and kicked off my shoes, sighing when my feet finally touched the cool floor. The tiny studio smelled faintly of instant noodles and old books, a scent I'd grown used to.

The desk in the corner was littered with papers — startup pitch drafts, invoices, a half-empty coffee mug with lipstick stains. I ran my fingers over the mess, my shoulders sinking under its weight.

This was my empire. Four walls, one flickering bulb, and a dream I was still too stubborn to let go of.

My phone buzzed. Sophie.

"Tell me everything!" Her voice came through before I could say hello. "How was the meeting? Did they love you? Did they throw money at you? Or did you faint and forget your entire pitch?"

I flopped on the couch, groaning. "Option four: I argued with Adrian Knight, the golden boy of New York, in front of half the business world."

There was a pause, then Sophie's laugh exploded through the speaker. "Oh my God, you didn't!"

"I did." I covered my face with my hands. "He called my idea impractical. I called him—well, basically spineless."

"You called Adrian Knight spineless?"

"Not directly." I peeked through my fingers. "Okay, directly."

Sophie was wheezing now. "You're insane. But also... I'm proud. Someone had to knock his perfect jawline down a peg."

Despite myself, I smiled. "Yeah, well, he didn't seem very knocked down. He looked... entertained."

"Entertained?" Sophie's tone turned sly. "Elena Carter, did you just catch the attention of the most wanted bachelor in the country?"

I groaned again, burying my face in the pillow. "I don't want his attention. I just want my startup to survive."

But even as I said it, the image of his smirk refused to leave my mind.

Adrian's POV

The Knight mansion was alive, as always.

The long dining table was crowded — Daniel at one end, scrolling through his phone until his wife, Charlotte, swatted it away. Ethan was trying to get Aria to eat her vegetables, while Grace rolled her eyes and fed her herself. Liam raced his toy cars across the table until Isabella, my mother, confiscated one with a stern but loving glare.

My father, Richard, watched it all with quiet amusement, sipping his wine.

And then there was Victoria, back from London for a visit, lecturing me between bites of salad. "Adrian, you're thirty next year. Do you ever plan on slowing down and finding someone? Or do you want to marry your company instead?"

"Don't tempt me," I muttered, reaching for the bread.

Grace laughed. "He doesn't need a wife. He already has the tabloids."

The table erupted in chuckles.

I smirked but said nothing. This was home. This chaos, this love. And yet, as much as I adored them, I sometimes felt like the odd one out — the one everyone looked at with admiration, but never truly saw.

My father's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "You've built an empire, son. But don't forget... at the end of the day, family is the only empire that matters."

I nodded, chewing slowly, pretending not to feel the hollowness the words left behind.

Because for all my success, when the night ended and the mansion lights dimmed, I'd return to my side of the house. Alone.

And for reasons I couldn't explain, the memory of a stubborn girl with fire in her voice and defiance in her eyes followed me into the silence.